Lin Leyao's gaze slowly swept over the words "Aren't you happy?" She paused for a moment, then belatedly realized that she did seem to be in a very good mood today.
Feeling confused and bewildered, Lin Leyao quit Weibo.
Lin Leyao stayed at the apartment until nearly noon before driving back to the old house. Ji Rong wasn't at the Ji residence today, leaving Lin Leyao and her grandfather alone together.
At the dinner table, Ji Hongchen asked, "When will that movie you mentioned start filming?"
"The production company has already set up the film studio. If I confirm, filming will begin in half a month."
Upon hearing this time, Ji Hongchen frowned and murmured, "So fast... Although the wedding date we discussed with the Xin family wasn't finalized, they said it would be within the next two months."
Lin Leyao nodded and stated the decision she had been thinking about for a long time: "I remember. So I want to get the marriage certificate first."
Ji Hongchen was very surprised: "Get the marriage certificate first?"
"Yes, let's get the marriage certificate first. I already talked to Xin Ying yesterday, and she agreed. We'll get the certificate first, and we can finalize the wedding details while I'm filming for the next three months."
After hearing this, Ji Hongchen remained silent for a moment, then asked, "Will you announce your marriage after you get your marriage certificate?"
Upon hearing this question, Lin Leyao recalled her conversation with Xin Ying yesterday.
She hadn't expected Xin Ying to suggest not rushing to announce their marriage. Lin Leyao didn't think Xin Ying didn't want to reveal her marriage. She'd thought about it for a long time, wondering if Xin Ying had overheard Tang Ran's conversation with her outside the bathroom and that's why she made that decision.
Lin Leyao also felt that now was not a good time to suddenly announce her marriage, but she wouldn't have to wait too long to announce it.
Lin Leyao said, "We should announce it when we have the wedding."
Ji Hongchen nodded and said, "You young people can decide your own affairs; I won't interfere. But your mother doesn't know about your marriage to the Ji family yet. When do you plan to let her know?"
When asked about this, Lin Leyao replied calmly, "Let nature take its course. We'll know when the time is right."
Seeing his granddaughter's attitude, Ji Hongchen sighed softly.
Xin Ying told Xin Guangjin as soon as she made the decision.
Grandpa Xin always doted on this daughter and trusted her completely, never interfering in Xin Ying's affairs.
When Xin Ying proposed to register their marriage first, postpone the wedding, and keep her identity a secret, he didn't show much emotion. While practicing Tai Chi in the courtyard, he said, "You've really put your heart into this girl. No matter what the final outcome of your marriage is, I've done everything I can for you. I'll also say something to your father: be careful, don't end up sacrificing everything for her."
"Dad, I'm not stupid. Besides, Le Yao isn't that kind of person. Didn't you meet her when we were little?"
Xin Guangjin snorted, "Back then, I never imagined you would marry her."
Xin Ying smiled and said, "If you don't want me to marry you, I'll marry you!"
Xin Guangjin immediately widened his eyes and angrily said, "You brat!"
The father and daughter humorously and quickly set the date for getting their marriage certificate, and also the date for their family banquet.
Let's go back to today. At this moment, inside the Huanning Group building, Xin Ying is sitting in her office working when Kong Anqing knocks on the wooden door and brings in Xin Ying's work meal.
Kong Anqing reported to Xin Ying: "President Xin, Miss Wenwen called me half an hour ago to ask if you were in the company."
Xin Ying paused, then asked again, "She asked me if I was at the company?"
"Yes," Kong Anqing replied decisively.
Xin Ying held her chopsticks, her eyes lowered in thought.
I wonder why my niece didn't call me directly, but instead asked my personal assistant to find out if I was at the company?
Xin Ying quickly recalled the words she had overheard Tang Ran saying in the restaurant yesterday.
Lin Leyao didn't know that she and Wenwen had dated before, but even if she knew now, it didn't matter.
She chose to marry Lin Leyao out of gratitude for the things Lin Leyao had done for her when she was a child. Therefore, she didn't care who Lin Leyao had been with before.
Besides, does Xin Ying need to consider the opinion of a junior when deciding who she marries?
--------------------
Author's Note:
Early stage —
Xin Ying: I didn't care who Le Yao was with before.
Post-production
Xin Ying: Why is Le Yao smiling at others? Why is Le Yao standing so close to others? Why is Le Yao... Waaaaa X﹏X
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 00:00:00 on February 4, 2022 and 00:00:00 on February 5, 2022!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 55157345 (1 landmine);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Cabbage (2 bottles); Mo Han is my wife (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 16
These days, Xin Wenwen has been absent-minded. Every time she closes her eyes, the two figures she saw at the restaurant entrance a few days ago appear in her mind.
One was her own aunt, and the other was a woman who looked very similar to Lin Leyao.
She hadn't yet confirmed whether the other person was Lin Leyao. If her aunt really was with Lin Leyao... the thought of this possibility made Xin Wenwen restless.
Although she and her aunt were a generation apart, her aunt was born when her grandfather was forty years old, making her only five years older than her. Therefore, the two could still have common ground when they were young, and she often followed her aunt around playing.
However, when she was eleven years old, something big seemed to have happened in her family. She didn't know exactly what it was, but one day she discovered that many people were missing from her home. Her second uncle, third uncle, fifth uncle, and aunt were all gone.
With four people missing, the house already felt very quiet, and the remaining grandparents, father, fourth uncle, and sixth uncle all had cold, expressionless faces all day long.
For those six months, the whole family lived in a suffocatingly low atmosphere.
Fortunately, six months later, news came from her aunt and several other uncles, and the atmosphere at home improved considerably. However, she knew that the atmosphere at home was far from what it had been before the incident.
I didn't see my aunt again until eight months later.
When she went to the hospital with her fourth uncle to visit her aunt, Xin Wenwen was shocked to see her aunt lying on the hospital bed, thin and frail, without any of the proud demeanor she used to have as the youngest daughter of the Xin family.
Later, through the sounds of her grandfather, father, and several uncles arguing that she often heard from the family study, Xin Wenwen vaguely realized that her aunt's current state was caused by her second and third uncles.
After her aunt's health gradually improved with treatment, the once friendly aunt became very silent and indifferent after the illness. She would no longer play with her like before, and sometimes when she stared blankly at a certain place, Xin Wenwen felt a little scared.
Xin Wenwen saw her second uncle again a year later, in the same hospital ward, where he had passed away from liver cancer. As for her third uncle, she only heard that her grandfather had told him to go abroad and never return to China or home.
As for Fifth Uncle, he is said to have died during the days he and Aunt disappeared. The culprit can be seen from Grandpa's attitude towards Second and Third Uncles.
Slowly pulling herself out of her memories, Xin Wenwen let out a gentle breath.
Is my aunt serious, or just playing around?
Although same-sex marriage has been in effect for several years, as the highly regarded daughter of the Huanning Group, choosing to be with someone of the same sex will inevitably bring a lot of pressure, and her grandparents' views are also unacceptable.
But she knew that no one in the family would object to any decision her aunt made, because many people in the family felt sorry for her aunt because of her past experiences.
But if the aunt knew that Lin Leyao had been with her before, would she still be with Lin Leyao?
After all, this person had been with his own niece. Wouldn't his aunt mind?
Xin Wenwen couldn't quite explain her feelings for Lin Leyao. She had fallen for Lin Leyao when she first debuted in college.
At that time, she was already a composer with some online fame. She would often express her feelings for Lin Leyao on Weibo. Later, she got in touch with Lin Leyao through someone else's connections and began to pursue her intensely.
After pursuing her for two years, Lin Leyao finally agreed to be with her.
But for some reason, after they actually got together, Xin Wenwen felt that the relationship didn't bring her the happiness she had imagined.
Compared to her glamorous and radiant image in front of the camera, Lin Leyao is very quiet, aloof, and even boring in private.
The two didn't have much in common, and she felt there was a lot of distance between them, preventing them from truly connecting. During their relationship, she also felt that Lin Leyao didn't love her much.
This relationship lasted only three months. Before she and Lin Leyao had even had a physical relationship, she met the passionate and proactive Tang Ran. After meeting Tang Ran, she felt a spark rekindle in her heart.
When she was with Lin Leyao, she often felt guilty, hesitated, and worried that she couldn't give Lin Leyao the results she wanted.
But if it were my aunt instead, with her abilities, wouldn't this relationship have a future? If my aunt chose to marry her, my grandparents would definitely compromise, and my father wouldn't criticize her like he criticized himself.
Thinking about all this, Xin Wenwen's mind was filled with complicated thoughts, and her face turned pale and then red.
Suddenly, a cell phone rang in the room; it was a call from Xin Boliang.
Xin Wenwen clicked to answer: "Dad."
"We're having a family dinner next weekend, remember to come home on time."
Xin Wenwen asked in surprise, "A family dinner? What day was it?"
Xin Boliang nodded and said, "Your aunt is getting engaged to someone. She'll let you younger generation meet him next weekend."
Buzz—
It felt like my brain had been hit by a heavy hammer, and my head and ears were ringing.
It's settled?
Xin Wenwen opened her mouth, but it took her a while to find her voice. She asked anxiously, as if she wanted to confirm, "Dad, is the person Auntie found a man, or... a woman?"
"You'll find out then." Xin Bolang was unwilling to elaborate, but he suddenly asked, "Have you broken up with that minor celebrity?"
Upon hearing this, Xin Wenwen called out unhappily, "Dad—"
Xin Boliang lowered his voice and warned, "I already told you last time, you can play around, play with men or women as you please, but if you really bring a woman home, you can forget about ever returning to the Xin family!"
After saying this, Xin Boliang hung up the phone, and Xin Wenwen's words were immediately cut off.
The room was dimly lit. Xin Wenwen sat quietly on the sofa, lost in thought about what her father had just said.
My aunt is getting married. Is her fiancé Lin Leyao?
Having been indoors for an unknown amount of time, Xin Wenwen's grip on her phone tightened inch by inch.
My sister-in-law can marry a woman, so why can't I?
She slowly closed her eyes, suddenly wanting to do something...
·
Downstairs at Xinghai Entertainment, Lin Leyao ran towards a black Mercedes parked not far away after leaving the company.
Once in the car, Lin Leyao fastened her seatbelt while apologizing, "I'm sorry, the company had an emergency meeting that just ended."
Xin Ying started the car, turned it around and drove onto the road, saying, "No need to apologize, I came here to pick you up anyway."