Chapter 91

A wedding dress is definitely what every bride-to-be looks forward to the most. Originally, Ji Ran intended to hold the wedding in spring, but Shen Zhi didn’t want everything to be too rushed.

To him, he had waited for over a decade; for the wedding, he wanted to give Ji Ran the best in the whole wide world.

These words were truly not just for show. This time, the wedding dress design involved a world-class top designer from Lebanon whom he had invited. This designer originally no longer accepted individual wedding dress design requests, but no one knew how Shen Zhi managed to move them; regardless, the wedding dress and formal gowns Ji Ran would wear for this wedding were all designed by this person.

Wen Qianxia knew she was trying on the wedding dress today and insisted early on to come along with her.

Seeing that she truly wanted to watch, Ji Ran directly agreed. As for Fang Qian, being her assistant, she also knew about this matter, so she followed along as well.

When the three arrived at the place for trying on the wedding dress, staff members were already waiting.

Today, the entire studio served Ji Ran alone.

Soon, Ji Ran was invited inside to try on the main wedding dress. As the curtain was drawn closed, Wen Qianxia whispered to Fang Qian, “I heard Ji Ran’s main wedding dress took several months to make?”

“That’s right. Actually, things like the wedding process were all set long ago; the reason it was postponed until now was precisely to wait for the wedding dress and gowns.”

Fang Qian had been participating in Ji Ran’s wedding process all this time, so she understood it crystal clear.

It wasn’t the first time Wen Qianxia and Fang Qian had met either. There wasn’t much age difference between the two, so they could quickly chat together.

The studio’s service was very attentive, not only bringing black tea but also serving delicate little pastries.

As Wen Qianxia ate, she said, “A wedding dress made over such a long time—just how expensive must this be?”

This brand was a famous fairy-like brand, and its gowns were also the favorite of female celebrities walking the red carpet. Especially if popular female stars could borrow this brand’s haute couture, fans would flood the internet with frantic banner posts to brag.

The style of the entire brand was ultimate luxury and celestial grace, featuring intricate, heavy-work embroidery and studded with all sorts of magnificent jewels.

At any rate, it was so gorgeous it defied humanity.

As a result, after the two had eaten pastries for over half an hour, Ji Ran’s wedding dress still wasn’t finished being changed into.

Wen Qianxia couldn’t resist looking inside and sighed, “I finally know how men feel when accompanying women shopping.”

Fang Qian lay back powerlessly on the sofa, nodding her head.

Yet in the next second, the staff members walked out slowly and gently pulled open the curtains.

When Wen Qianxia looked over, she only felt her eyes were almost not enough to take it all in. Under the reflection of the aesthetic lighting, Ji Ran standing in the center seemed to be dazzlingly bright as if glowing.

Not just her; at this moment, everyone in the room gathered their gazes onto Ji Ran.

She was wearing a white wedding gown, the sequins on the dress skirt sparkling and magnificent, every pattern meticulously embroidered by hand. When the train of the wedding dress was laid flat behind her, it covered the entire fitting room, spanning several meters long.

Ji Ran also wore a long white veil over her head, her whole person like a glass doll. Perhaps because her looks were overly exquisite, a wedding dress like this didn’t steal her spotlight at all.

Instead, it made the two bring out the best in each other all the more.

At this moment, she was so beautiful that people couldn’t avert their eyes.

Wen Qianxia couldn’t help taking a sharp intake of breath, muttering, “This is way too fucking pretty, isn’t it?”

At this time, the staff member on the side introduced as if reciting family treasures, “Miss Ji, for this wedding dress, as you can see with the back train, the length is four meters. A total of 150,000 Swarovski crystals and 550,000 sequins are embedded across the entire wedding dress. All the embroidery you see was hand-sewn by the embroidery masters of our haute couture workshop.”

What on earth?

As Fang Qian and Wen Qianxia listened on, they couldn’t help looking at each other. They felt it wasn’t poverty limiting their imagination, but rather these filthy-rich big shots with mines at home limiting their imagination.

A four-meter-long train, 150,000 crystals, 550,000 sequins…

Ji Ran lowered her head slightly to take a glance, looking at Wen Qianxia and Fang Qian opposite her, asking with some uncertainty, “Does it look good?”

Even for an extraordinarily pretty girl, she would be somewhat hesitant at this moment, right?

Would her groom like her wearing a wedding dress like this? Would he find it breathtaking?

Deep inside Ji Ran’s heart, there was also such a trace of uncertainty, yet she happened to want to give Shen Zhi a surprise, wanting him to see her in a wedding dress again at the wedding.

So she wanted to consult others for their opinions.

Wen Qianxia abruptly stood up from the sofa. Ji Ran was slightly startled by her action; had she not been standing on the high platform unable to move, her footsteps would have already tended toward stepping back.

“You’re so pretty I can’t bear to avert my eyes, yet you actually still ask if it looks good?”

Wen Qianxia truly lived up to being Wen Qianxia; one sentence precisely expressed everything, and incidentally dispelled that bit of worry deep in Ji Ran’s heart. A bride-to-be always had a bit of uneasy apprehension.

Afraid she wouldn’t look pretty enough in her wedding dress.

Afraid her waist would look a bit thick.

Ji Ran was amused by her, her eyes curving into crescent moons, sweet enough to soften one’s heart, “Seriously, no plastic flattery, okay?”

Fang Qian immediately raised her hand, “Boss, I guarantee you are definitely the most, most, most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”

Suddenly, Ji Ran’s bag placed on the sofa vibrated gently. It should be the phone ringing, so Fang Qian quickly went over to bring the phone to her.

Ji Ran took a look; it was a call from Shen Zhi.

Originally, he had wanted to accompany Ji Ran to try on the wedding dress together, but she just wanted to reserve it until the wedding day and obstinately wouldn’t allow him to come along.

When she picked up the phone, Shen Zhi asked, “Have you tried on the wedding dress?”

Ji Ran nodded and said softly, “I’m wearing it right now.”

There seemed to be a pause of a few seconds over there before he spoke low, “I want to see it too.”

That tone of voice, oh.

Carrying a bit of pitiful vibe.

Ji Ran’s heart softened all at once. This dog of a man now knew all too well how to deal with her; with just a slight addition of soft-heartedness in his tone, she would feel both pained for him and reluctant to say no.

“You’ll be able to see it very soon.” Ji Ran still held onto a tiny bit of bottom line after all, not giving in to agree.

Shen Zhi let out a light chuckle and didn’t continue to press, hanging up the phone very soon.

When she put down her phone, both Wen Qianxia and Fang Qian opposite her were staring straight at her.

Ji Ran had a face full of doubt, “What?”

Who knew Wen Qianxia would actually imitate her tone, saying a line of ‘you’ll be able to see it very soon’, especially drawing out that last word long, carrying a soft, coquettish feeling that reached deep into one’s heart.

Ji Ran frowned and immediately denied, “I definitely wasn’t like that.”

Wen Qianxia glanced at Fang Qian. Fang Qian leaped back and forth repeatedly between keeping her job and whether to tell the truth, finally saying carefully, “Boss, you’ve really changed a lot now.”

The boss in her impression was a swift and decisive boss who showed no mercy to President Shen.

Yet now, love had softened her.

Ji Ran didn’t bother to pay attention to these two drama queens. At this time, the studio staff began taking photos of Ji Ran—on one hand to save the effect of the wedding dress fitting, and on the other hand to keep as a souvenir.

By the time everything was done, several hours had already passed.

Even the two accompanying people like Wen Qianxia were a bit tired, let alone Ji Ran, who was the one trying things on.

Wen Qianxia looked back at the wedding dress hung on the hanger and said enviably, “This wedding dress is truly the most beautiful wedding dress I’ve ever seen. Shen Zhi seems like such a cold and aloof person, how can he know how to pamper his wife so much?”

Fang Qian nodded on the side.

President Shen in the past was an unattainable flower in their Gaotong Securities whom nobody could catch, bearing an aura of abstinence as if bringing a force field that made all kinds of vixens retreat three hundred meters. Who knew he could pamper his wife to such an extent.

When the three went downstairs, the driver downstairs was already waiting.

Once in the car, the driver turned around and said to Ji Ran behind him, “Sir said you’d definitely be very tired after trying on the wedding dress, so he had me take you and these two ladies to the hot spring club together.”

Wen Qianxia wailed in amazement, “My goodness, what kind of fairy-god man is Shen Zhi?”

He was just that kind of person who arranged everything for you properly in every aspect, yet without overly showing off.

By the time the three entered the private hot spring pool and their bodies were soaked in the hot spring, after their pores were completely opened up, even Ji Ran let out a comfortable light sigh.

Had the three of them not ended up soaking until they were ravenously hungry, they would truly be reluctant to get up and go ashore.

This club also served Japanese cuisine. The three people sat in the tatami private room wearing bathrobes. Wen Qianxia looked left and right, expressing once more, “Ranran, we’ll be friends for a lifetime, right?”

Even now, Wen Qianxia still felt baffled about being able to become friends with Ji Ran.

After all, she had initially argued with her ex-boyfriend, and Ji Ran stepped forward to help her resolve it, not only comforting her but also treating her to a meal. After that, the two exchanged WeChat with each other and started contacting each other just like that.

Sometimes, Wen Qianxia found that there seemed to be a certain subtle karma between the two of them.

It was as if Ji Ran understood her very well, knowing what she liked to eat; sometimes the two of them would think of the same thing and talk about the same thing.

Even if she occasionally brought up matters of her high school days, Ji Ran wasn’t unfamiliar in the slightest.

Had Ji Ran not been a woman, she would truly suspect this was the red string the Old Man under the Moon tied for her.

Fang Qian, not wanting to be outdone, said, “Boss, I can be your assistant for a lifetime too, right?”

Ji Ran ignored Wen Qianxia’s words, glared sideways at Fang Qian, and said helplessly, “As someone who graduated from a top 2 university, please have some ambition.”

Wen Qianxia was completely baffled.

She turned to look at Fang Qian, her voice trembling, “You graduated from Peking or Tsinghua?”

Fang Qian puffed up her chest abruptly, putting on a very innocent expression, “Do I not look like it?”

Wen Qianxia was too embarrassed to say she didn’t quite look like it with that silly appearance; it was Ji Ran who glanced at her and shook her head heavily, “You don’t.”

After speaking, the three burst out laughing.

With only a few days left until the wedding, both Ji Ran and Shen Zhi began to get busy to varying degrees. After all, both of them were very busy people, truly making time out of their schedules to get married.

Fortunately, wedding planning companies nowadays were exceptionally impressive, taking care of everything from major affairs to minor details throughout the process.

However, Shen Zhi was a bit busier than her; things like the venue were all set by him, and he was also reviewing the guest list. The Shen family had a large enterprise with numerous guests, and Ji Ran’s family and the Pei family were not to be outdone either.

Even with people helping out, Ji Ran was still quite exhausted.

Who knew that two days before the wedding, Shen Zhi mysteriously drove her out.

Ji Ran had been somewhat sleep-deprived these past few days, so once she got into the car, she dazedly leaned against the seat back and fell asleep. By the time she slowly woke up, the car had long stopped.

It was currently early autumn, with clear skies and crisp air. The air conditioner wasn’t turned on in the car, and half of the car window was lowered, allowing a gentle cool breeze to blow into the car.

When Ji Ran opened her eyelids, she saw at a glance the huge plaza inside the railing and the red-and-white teaching building at the end of the plaza.

The corners of her mouth suddenly curled up, breaking into a slow smile.

When she turned back to look at the man sitting in the driver’s seat next to her, she asked excitedly, “No. 4 High School?”

Even though this high school had always truly existed in this city, Ji Ran had never returned even once. It was just like a sanctuary in her heart—the more she longed for it, the more she dared not touch it.

Ji Ran rested both hands on the car window, leaning over to look at No. 4 High School before her eyes.

Although no one would stay seventeen forever, there would forever be people who were seventeen.

This school thus carried the hopes of class after class of students.

“Want to go inside and take a look?” Shen Zhi tilted his head to look at her.

Ji Ran turned back immediately, “We can go inside?”

Shen Zhi slightly raised his eyebrows and smiled lightly, “Today is the weekend. If we talk nicely to the security guard, it should be fine.”

As a result, when Ji Ran watched Shen Zhi greet the security guard and the guard very politely opened the gate, she was somewhat shocked. Generally speaking, a school like No. 4 High School had very strict management.

Even parents entering and leaving had to register.

Only after Ji Ran entered the gate did she ask in a low voice, “Why is this security guard so polite to you?”

She remembered Wen Qianxia saying before that Shen Zhi used to be very famous in No. 4 High School, even after graduation. He was an existence featured on the notable alumni roll.

Just as she was thinking this, Shen Zhi said faintly, “Probably because I just donated a building to the school.”

Ji Ran, “…”

Filthy-rich big shot!!!

After the two entered the No. 4 High School campus, they found the overall layout of the school hadn’t changed much, but every building had been renovated, and the sports field was much larger than before.

Because today was the weekend, only occasionally did boarding students pass by in the distance.

The entire school was exceptionally quiet. The dry and refreshing autumn breeze, paired with the scene at this moment, truly gave Ji Ran a feeling of time flowing backward.

Ji Ran turned to look at Shen Zhi and said somewhat helplessly, “You should have told me in advance.”

Shen Zhi chuckled lightly, “You still want to wear a school uniform?”

Having her thoughts poked through all at once, Ji Ran blinked her eyes. She stroked her long hair and raised her head slightly, “Is that not allowed?”

“Whatever my wife says is right.” Shen Zhi pinched her cheek.

The two stepped up the stairs along the staircase, finally walking to the classroom of Class 8, Grade 11. The classroom was still the classroom of back then, except the doors and windows had long been replaced with new ones, and even the layout inside the classroom was different from theirs back then.

Multimedia teaching was popular now, more advanced than in their time.

Ji Ran stood by the window near the back door of the classroom. In her memories back then, she and Shen Zhi sat in this exact row.

“When you saw me sitting in this classroom back then, did it feel like a dream?” Ji Ran looked at him playfully.

Shen Zhi’s fingers rested gently on the window, gazing into the classroom for a long time before slowly turning his head, “No.”

Ji Ran slightly curled up the corners of her mouth, clearly unsatisfied with his lack of enthusiasm.

Yet in the next second, his dark eyes tightly locked onto her cheeks, falling gently from her brow to the tip of her nose, and finally onto her cherry-red lips. He approached gently, leaning down slightly, his voice low and deep, “Ranran, your sudden appearance in this classroom was something I didn’t even dare imagine in my dreams.”

His voice was so soft in the autumn day that Ji Ran’s heart held a stinging pain of heartache.

Yet in the next second, Shen Zhi pinned her against the classroom wall all at once. His fingers gently buttoned her wrist against the wall, their bodies pressed closely together.

Ji Ran’s breathing felt a bit constrained, and she couldn’t help calling his name, “Ah Zhi.”

Yet he looked down at her and smiled. Subsequently, his lips kept drawing closer. Seeing that they were about to press onto her lips, thinking that this was the school, even if there was no one around at this moment, Ji Ran still couldn’t resist closing her eyes in panic.

However, the expected kiss didn’t fall.

When Shen Zhi saw her close her eyes, he let out a light laugh, his cheek turning slightly, his lips veering from in front of her lips to her ear, saying in a low voice, “This is also a scene I imagined.”

Ji Ran opened her eyes all at once, staring at him wide-eyed.

“You…”

She was a bit tongue-tied with shock from his words, as if her tongue had been snatched by a cat, unable to speak for a moment.

Yet Shen Zhi had already leaned in to kiss her. His palm slowly unclasped her wrist, sliding down from her wrist with the momentum, and finally slid to her fingertips, squeezing her fingers one by one until their ten fingers were intertwined.

He gently pried open Ji Ran’s lips, driving straight in without leaving her a shred of leeway.

His scent smelled very good, bearing a cool woody fragrance—a bit crisp yet not overpowering. Right now, this scent wrapped around her side like an intoxicating aroma, making her drunk bit by bit.

The cool autumn breeze blew in through the corridor. The man, wearing a simple pinstriped shirt, held the girl in his arms.

This scene had already been rehearsed in his mind thousands of times.

As early as in his memories, he had wanted to kiss her in the classroom.

The day of the two’s grand wedding finally arrived as scheduled after all. The pre-wedding dinner the day before was considered a small-scale one, only inviting some relatives and close friends. Ji Ran wore a bright yellow tube-top long evening gown, her whole person glowing white; such bright yellow highlighted her skin like congealed fat all the more.

The entire dinner venue was decorated into a fairytale castle, and all decorative flowers in the venue were champagne roses air-freighted in.

When the music sounded, the newlyweds danced first as opening dance guests. Shen Zhi wore a pure white suit. He bowed slightly to make an inviting gesture, his whole posture graceful and clear like a prince described in a fairytale story.

Ji Ran placed her hand gently in his palm, after which he held her waist.

The steps of the two were harmonious and light along with the music. Suddenly, Ji Ran opened her mouth and said, “Ah Zhi, everyone is looking at us now.”

Shen Zhi looked at her, his dark eyes deep like a boundless ocean, harboring countless gentleness.

Ji Ran said in a firm voice, “Now, everyone knows how well-matched we are.”

At this moment, another pair of seventeen-year-old youth and girl seemed to have been added beside the two of them.

The scene in memory reappeared once again. At this moment, they let the whole world know how well-matched Shen Zhi and Ji Ran were.

When Shen Zhi heard this, he couldn’t help leaning down to kiss her lips. Finally, ah, his girl belonged to him completely. At this moment, all the guests in the venue immediately began to applaud upon seeing this scene.

Only no one knew what kind of story they had experienced to reach today.

The wedding on the second day was even more bustling; media flocked over, wanting to capture a corner of this wedding of the century. However, neither Ji Ran nor Shen Zhi was willing to have excessive exposure.

The staff didn’t chase the media away, but politely presented gifts and red envelopes belonging to the newlyweds.

As for photos, apologies, they were not celebrities and were unwilling to excessively expose their wedding.

The wedding was held at a manor hotel in the outskirts of B City. This hotel was originally an asset of the Shen family, and from yesterday to tomorrow, it was even booked out for three consecutive days.

Only guests invited by the two families could enter the manor.

The wedding ceremony was held on the manor’s massive lawn. The main wedding stage had been entirely decorated with light pink roses, and even the path Ji Ran walked over was paved with fresh flowers, winding and extending all the way.

Chairs for guests to sit on were placed on the lawn, laid out all the way down, looking extremely grand.

Because Ji Ran’s family situation was quite complicated and Ji Ran’s parents had been divorced for many years, the door-blocking bride-fetching segment was simply omitted, starting directly from the wedding ceremony. Furthermore, Ji Ran’s wedding dress was truly too intricate, and her makeup required careful preparation.

If the bride-fetching segment were added on top of that, there wouldn’t be enough time.

Regarding this matter, Pei Yuan was quite in agreement. Because whenever she thought of having to sit together with Ji Qingli, her whole body felt uncomfortable and awkward.

Even if the relationship between the two wasn’t as tense now.

The makeup team and wedding dress team had prepared in the hotel’s lounge early in the morning. When Ji Ran walked in, she was surrounded by people from almost every angle.

This lounge was forty to fifty square meters large, yet with so many people crowded inside, it still gave a slightly cramped feeling.

When the people from the wedding team removed the cover off the wedding dress, everyone was once again marveling at this ultra-luxurious wedding dress.

As today’s bridesmaid, Wen Qianxia also needed to put on makeup.

Except the bridesmaid was putting on makeup next door. When Ji Ran was getting her hair done, she suddenly ran over, stuffed her phone into Ji Ran’s hands, and said anxiously, “Quick, look, it’s an interview of your husband!”

This was the first time Shen Zhi had accepted a media interview. The other party was a senior media reporter, elegant and proper.

The video was very short, likely a clip taken from a segment of the interview.

One saw the host wearing a light blue professional suit ask with a smile, “We all know President Shen just entered marriage. Actually, for a business elite as young as you, getting married at such an age should be considered marrying early, right?”

Shen Zhi listened to this question, smiling without speaking.

The other party continued, “So, what made you make up your mind to get married?”

Upon hearing up to here, Shen Zhi gently raised his eyelids. He wore a black suit, his tie still a light-colored one Ji Ran bought for him, and even the cufflinks were.

Ji Ran was simply about to be intoxicated by this man’s looks. How could a person be handsome to such an extent?

Moreover, she hadn’t discovered his looks in the past, thinking only about going against him every day.

Ji Ran felt she had truly been blind as a dog back then.

However, at this moment, she had already heard the man in the video speak softly, “To me, being able to marry my wife isn’t something that requires making up my mind, but something I could only dream of.”

At this moment, quite a few bullet comments actually rolled across the video.

“Male god, you love your wife way too much, don’t you!”

“Ah ah ah ah ah, there’s light in his eyes when he mentions his wife!”

“This man, I’m in love.”

The host nodded and smiled, continuing to ask, “So what kind of existence is your wife to you?”

At this moment, the corners of Shen Zhi’s mouth clearly curled up. The originally somewhat official smile softened at this instant, and he said softly, “She’s an existence where, just by thinking of her, my heart feels very warm.”

Even the host was stunned. She had interviewed many successful businessmen; when they talked about their families, they always bragged at length about how their wives suffered with them back then.

Yet for the first time, she truly felt that the person being interviewed opposite her wasn’t giving her a superficial answer.

His wife truly was an existence where, just by thinking of her, he would feel warm.

Because even the curve of his mouth that had been held straight lightly curled up.

Ji Ran looked at the man in the video. In another hour, she would stand at this end of the red carpet and slowly walk toward him. Yet at this moment, just looking at this video, she couldn’t resist wanting to cry.

The person she liked—when mentioning her, his eyes really would shine.

She saw it.

Wen Qianxia had originally been browsing Weibo out of boredom, never expecting to actually see this video pushed to the number one trending topic. It turned out this interview wasn’t scheduled to air today; it was just that this media outlet, in order to celebrate Shen Zhi and Ji Ran’s marriage, specially clipped out the segment where Shen Zhi mentioned Ji Ran and posted it online.

Who knew the netizens’ reaction was even more intense than they imagined; the reposts underneath alone exceeded thirty thousand.

“Holy crap, what kind of fairy-god love is this? It’s way too sweet!”

“Just thinking of her makes the heart feel very warm—sob sob sob, I’ve certified it!”

“Seriously, to be loved by such an outstanding male god, she must definitely be a super outstanding existence as well, right?”

“Had enough of Cinderella and prince stories, finally seeing the ending of the prince and princess—please be happy to death for me!”

Ji Ran didn’t pay too much attention to the netizens’ comments, but watched this video through once more instead. She opened her eyes wide with effort, but in the end, she still couldn’t resist picking up a tissue to wipe the corner of her eyes.

She fanned her cheeks with her hand in embarrassment, laughing, “Agreed not to cry today—whoever cries is a dog.”

The people beside her burst out laughing.

A makeup artist said softly, “Actually, crying is fine too. How happy it is!”

That’s right, how happy.

When Ji Ran stood in the manor building wearing her wedding dress, with Ji Qingli standing beside her keeping her company—later on, they would slowly walk out of this manor castle, walk to the lawn outside, and finally step onto the main wedding stage.

When the staff opened the main doors and signaled for them to walk out slowly, Ji Ran originally thought her emotions were quite stable; in fact, all the way until reaching the doorway, she was fine.

However, upon seeing that tall, upright figure wearing a black formal suit in the distance, Ji Ran’s emotions surged up all at once.

She quickly wiped the corner of her eyes with her glove.

Yet her tears were as if unable to be stopped, constantly wanting to fall downward.

When she walked onto the flower path, Shen Zhi opposite her looked over. Her tearful, hazy eyes intertwined with the surprise deep in his eyes; at this instant, all of time and all other people vanished.

There was only he and she.

Ji Ran took a deep breath. For so many years, he had been waiting for her all along.

Now, she was going to walk toward him, to the side of the man she would love for the rest of her life.

When the man wearing a black suit and formal wear, his short hair combed back revealing a handsome face, slowly extended his palm toward her, Ji Ran lowered her head slightly, reaching out her hand and firmly passing it over.

When he was Yuan Jing, she already knew him.

When he was Shen Zhi, she fell in love with him.

Now, he had become her husband Shen Zhi.

Love can bridge any distance. They crossed over time and oceans, finally holding firmly onto their lover’s hand.