In Yan Shenyu's opinion, any one of these people could have handled the engagement banquet perfectly, so there was no need for Xie Siyan to do it personally.
"Not tired," Xie Siyan shook his head and tidied his messy hair. "I'm very happy to have been involved in this process."
The engagement party was just the beginning; there would be a wedding and a honeymoon. Unfortunately, they didn't have children, so they couldn't hold a full-month celebration.
Otherwise, Xie Siyan would spare no effort to announce to the whole world that Yan Shenyu was his person.
Yan Shenyu completely failed to understand what made Xie Siyan so happy. He thought Xie Siyan was a traditional person who valued weddings. Since his partner was so particular about the ceremony, he figured he might as well go along with it.
But right now... he'd much rather Xie Siyan cooperate with him...
Yan Shenyu turned to face him and reached into his pajamas to touch his abs.
Xie Siyan's expression immediately changed. After a while, he casually moved Yan Shenyu's hand away: "Stop messing around, I still want to watch the engagement banquet."
Yan Shenyu looked up at him, her eyes watery: "Really don't want to?"
Xie Siyan's breathing became heavy, and he had already reacted.
But there are still various messages in the group that require his decision, and the engagement banquet is less than a week away. If he delays any longer, it will be too late.
but……
His lover was in bed, gazing at him tenderly.
Xie Siyan's body tensed up little by little, and his eyes darkened.
The next moment, the young man on the bed got up and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. The body in his arms was warm and soft, with a rich rose scent, and long hair fell on his neck, bringing a tingling sensation.
Xie Siyan used a great deal of self-control to prevent herself from immediately tackling him.
“Si Yan…” The instigator was still fanning the flames when Yan Shenyu opened his mouth and called out to him.
Xie Siyan was stunned, and the string in his mind snapped.
The man's large hand pressed down on the young man's lower back, forcing Yan Shenyu to kneel on his lap. Then Xie Siyan lowered his head, his teeth almost roughly biting Yan Shenyu's lower lip. Their foreheads touched, exchanging breaths...
The laptop slipped off his lap, and no matter how many messages came in the group chat, there was no further response.
...
It was late at night when it was over, and Yan Shenyu was so tired that she fell asleep in his arms.
Xie Siyan had one arm around him, but he still wasn't sleepy at all.
He closed his eyes and remembered Yan Shenyu's voice again, soft and gentle, with a slight breathiness.
“It’s not that I don’t care about the engagement, it’s just that I feel like we’re engaged ever since we exchanged rings that day…”
Xie Siyan opened his eyes and, in the dim light, took Yan Shenyu's left hand. On the dark silk sheets, two hands, one large and one small, were tightly clasped together, with identical platinum rings on their ring fingers.
Xie Siyan lowered his head and kissed Yan Shenyu's fingers, a slow smile appearing on his face.
...
Knowing that Yan Shenyu disliked complicated procedures, Xie Siyan kept the engagement banquet as simple as possible, only inviting close relatives from both the Yan and Xie families, while other friends would be invited together at the wedding.
The banquet was held in the large banquet hall of the Xie family's old residence. Although it was not large in scale, all the decorations were very thoughtful, which showed how much importance both hosts attached to it.
Yan Shenyu returned to the Xie family's old house a day early. The next morning, he changed into a pure white custom-made suit, and the Xie family's styling team styled his hair.
"Not bad, not bad, it's exactly as I imagined, it looks great!" Grandma Xie looked at it and nodded in satisfaction.
"Beautiful!" exclaimed the cockatiel beside him.
But after looking at it for a while, she frowned and said with dissatisfaction, "It's just that the time was too rushed, and the details are not very good. When you get married, we will definitely make a few more sets."
Yan Shenyu laughed and held her hand happily, saying, "Then make a few more sets for Grandma too."
The old man's hands were rough, withered, and wrinkled, yet they remained warm when held in the palm of your hand.
Grandma Xie nodded and smiled, "Okay, when the time comes, you can change a few outfits, and I'll change a few outfits too."
Downstairs, Xie Siyan had changed into his formal attire early and stood at the door to greet the guests. The Yan family only invited Yan Shenyu's parents, siblings, and relatives. Although the Xie family also only invited close relatives, the Xie family was large, and dozens of people still came.
Xie Siyan's parents sent their blessings remotely, but promised to return to China to attend their wedding in the future.
During the years Xie Siyan had been in charge of the Xie family, he hadn't exactly been a pleasant person; most of the Xie family members felt more awe than closeness towards him. Now, seeing him standing at the door greeting guests, they were all startled, thinking they had done something wrong.
Only Xie Pingfeng showed no hesitation, handing over a gift box and happily saying, "Brother, congratulations on your engagement!"
Xie Siyan nodded, a smile appearing on his face.
Uncle Gao accepted the gift and left them to talk.
Xie Pingfeng exclaimed, "You're exaggerating! How can you get engaged so quickly? When I received the invitation, I thought someone was playing a prank on me."
Xie Siyan: "Not fast."
If I weren't in such a rush, I would have set the time earlier.
"Does it have to be this sweet?" Xie Pingfeng understood his unspoken meaning and teased, "Where's your sister-in-law? Why are you all alone?"
Xie Siyan said, "He was receiving relatives from the Yan family."
"How many relatives can the Yan family have?" Xie Pingfeng said indifferently. "Just call him out to take a look. We're about to eat anyway."
Xie Siyan glanced at his watch, turned around to call Yan Shenyu over, and had just taken a step when a trembling voice suddenly rang out.
"Master!"
No one in the entire Xie family ever called him that. Xie Siyan stopped in his tracks, his expression subtly darkening.
A thin, small young man in a white suit stood at the door, his face blatantly filled with desire.
Xie Pingfeng was shocked to hear someone dare to call Xie Siyan by such an old-fashioned term of address. He turned around and looked at him blankly, asking, "Who are you?"
Unexpectedly, she met the head of the family as soon as she arrived. Xie Xiaoling swallowed hard, feeling that her chance to turn the tables had finally come.
It was worth it for him to have enrolled in an expensive refresher course for the past six months and study in seclusion!
Xie Xiaoling stepped forward and loudly announced her name and her kinship with the Xie family.
They've already crossed five generations, no wonder I've never seen them before.
Xie Pingfeng said "Oh," and asked in confusion, "So what's the matter?"
"I was framed and unfortunately imprisoned. I wonder if you two are aware of this?"
Xie Pingfeng: "..."
Now I know.
"so?"
Xie Xiaoling raised her head and delivered the lines she had prepared long ago: "The person who framed me is Yan Shenyu. His actions not only ruined my reputation, but more importantly, damaged the honor of the Xie family. The Xie family has a simple and honest tradition, and has never had a member imprisoned. It is Yan Shenyu who has destroyed the Xie family's century-old foundation. I hope that the family head can consider the dignity of the family and ban Yan Shenyu as soon as possible."
Xie Pingfeng was instantly stunned.
Has this person lost their mind? How dare they say such a thing in front of Xie Siyan?
Besides, Yan Shenyu isn't in the entertainment industry, so what's the point of banning her?
Meeting Xie Pingfeng's shocked gaze, Xie Xiaoling became even more smug.
Sure enough, his studies paid off, even surprising the usually arrogant Xie Pingfeng.
Just watch, even the head of the family will praise him.
Xie Xiaoling raised her head and mustered her courage to look at Xie Siyan. This was the first time she had seen Xie Siyan's appearance; he was even more majestic and handsome than she had imagined, and unfathomable.
"You said Yan Shenyu damaged the Xie family's honor and hoped I could blacklist him?" the young patriarch spoke, arrogant and nonchalant.
Xie Xiaoling was intimidated by his powerful aura and nodded in fear and trepidation.
“Be careful what you say,” the patriarch said after a moment of silence, turning around suddenly and asking, “When did you damage my family’s image?”
A handsome man in an engagement suit walked out, smiling broadly: "I thought getting engaged to you meant we were engaged."
The moment she heard the voice, Xie Xiaoling abruptly raised her head, her eyes wide as copper bells.
"Nonsense." The patriarch, who was high and mighty in the eyes of outsiders, was now humbled to the dust. He placed a kiss on the back of Yan Shenyu's hand, his tone more devout than ever before.
"It is my honor to be engaged to you."
Xie Siyan's public declaration of love brought joy to the Xie family. Xie Xiaoling, however, stood nearby, trembling with fear, her face dark with embarrassment.
how so?!
The patriarch's fiancée is actually Yan Shenyu? Why didn't anyone tell him this?!
How could that be? This must be a lie, right?
He has studied for so long, so why is he still being opposed by others in this world?
Xie Pingfeng glanced at him and said disdainfully, "Aren't you leaving?"
"I...I..." Xie Xiaoling stood there, still unable to comprehend what had happened.
He had planned everything perfectly. If nothing unexpected had happened, he could have used Xie Siyan to get rid of Yan Shenyu. But why, why did things turn out this way?
The sarcastic voices that followed made his cheeks burn.
"Who is this person? I've never seen him before."
“They’re distant relatives of the Xie family, beyond the fifth degree of kinship. I don’t know how they managed to sneak in.”
"How inexplicable! Wearing white to someone's engagement party? Isn't that just trying to ruin the occasion?"
"I didn't!" Xie Xiaoling quickly retorted. He looked at Yan Shenyu, then at himself, and stammered, "I... I just thought it was festive..."
Xie Siyan left with Yan Shenyu without even glancing at him.
Xie Xiaoling tried to run up and pester him again, but Xie Pingfeng shouted to the security guards, "What are you standing there for? Get her out of here right now!"
The security guards nearby then realized what was happening and grabbed Xie Xiaoling by the arm, dragging her outside.
Uncle Gao couldn't keep his composure. He had served the Xie family for many years, and this was the first time he had made such a mistake. His face flushed red, and he went to Xie Siyan to accept the punishment.
Xie Siyan glanced at him and said calmly, "Find out how the person got in here, and dismiss all the relevant personnel involved in the dereliction of duty."
"Okay, okay, I understand!" Uncle Gao nodded gratefully.
Fortunately, Mr. Yan was here today. If we hadn't wanted to avoid any complications at the engagement party, the punishment would have been much more severe than this.
Although it was called an engagement banquet, there weren't any complicated procedures. Apart from the incident with Xie Xiaoling, the rest of the time was quite pleasant.
After the meal, the relatives from both sides left one after another, some playing cards, some strolling around the garden, and Yan Shenyu didn't have anything to do.