When the Heartthrob Meets the Cold-Hearted Ex - Chapter 45 (END)

The next morning, when the Tang family arrived at Shengxin Restaurant, several tables of guests had already taken their seats.

A colorful banner several meters wide was stretched across the entrance, bearing the words: “Congratulations to Ms. Fang Qian and Mr. He Shu on their joyous wedding.”

Tang Yeran handed over the red envelope at the gift table and made her way inside to find their seats.

The largest restaurant in Y City had been decorated extravagantly for the occasion red carpets paired with floral fragrances, gold and splendor reflecting in every corner.

Though Tang Yeran had attended weddings before, few had been as grand as this. It was clear the couple placed great importance on the event.

Her group quickly found seats in the bride’s guest section. Wang Shuran had barely sat down for two minutes when she spotted her elder sister, the mother of the bride, Fang Qian and immediately dragged Father Tang over to greet her.

With the ceremony yet to begin, Tang Yeran idly peeled open wedding candies while chatting with Su Yang.

“See the woman near the stage? That’s my cousin. What do you think isn’t she stunning?”

Su Yang glanced over. From her angle, she could only see the bride’s profile.

Standing over 170 cm tall, the bride strode effortlessly in high heels. The intricate white wedding gown draped over her frame without a hint of excess, only adding to her dignified and sacred aura.

After a brief look, Su Yang turned back and answered honestly, “Your cousin has an elegant presence, but you’re still prettier.”

Tang Yeran’s lips curved at the compliment. “Flattery aside, today, the bride should be the most beautiful.”

She unwrapped another candy. “Look at my cousin’s husband, he’s grinning so wide his gums are showing.”

If anyone was radiating pure joy at that moment, it was undoubtedly the groom. Even from a distance, his gleaming white teeth were blinding.

“With a wife like her, he has every reason to be happy.”

Tang Yeran nodded in agreement before realizing the voice didn’t belong to the person beside her.

Puzzled, she turned and was even more confused upon seeing the newcomer. “Senior Gu? What are you?”

“Same as you,” Gu Qingci said, stopping beside Tang Yeran’s seat. “Mind if I sit here?”

The restaurant had only divided seating between the bride’s and groom’s guests, with no strict arrangement beyond that.

Tang Yeran studied Gu Qingci, seated among the bride’s guests. “You and my cousin…” She trailed off, suddenly recalling the story Gu Qingci had shared the day before, and answered her own question. “You knew each other in high school?”

Gu Qingci gazed toward the bride. After a brief silence, she nodded.

Tang Yeran couldn’t shake the feeling that Gu Qingci seemed different from usual just then.

Before she could probe further, the bride approached them.

It wasn’t yet time for the toast, and as the star of the wedding, Fang Qian should have been swamped with tasks.

Tang Yeran was caught off guard by her cousin’s sudden appearance. As a guest, she momentarily forgot to offer congratulations, but Fang Qian remained composed.

“Qingci, Tangtang, you came.”

Though Fang Qian had addressed both of them, her gaze lingered on Gu Qingci or more precisely, on something behind her.

After a few seconds, she looked back, meeting Gu Qingci’s eyes. Neither spoke first.

A brief silence settled over them. Even Tang Yeran, usually quick with words, forgot to lighten the mood.

She noticed Gu Qingci fumbling in her pocket for a long time, as if trying to pull something out. She really wanted to help by asking what was in there, but her intuition told her it was better to stay quiet now.

She had only come to attend the banquet, how had she suddenly found herself in such an awkward situation?

The wedding was about to begin, but the bride had been taken away.

The music started, and the newlyweds slowly walked to the center of the stage under the emcee’s narration, exchanging vows and rings. Even the air around them seemed to grow romantic and fervent.

Tang Yeran had never thought about getting married herself, but whenever she saw others tying the knot, she always found it oddly stirring though she wasn’t sure why.

From start to finish, the groom flashed a wide grin, as if desperate to tell the whole world how happy he was.

It was just a shame the angle from their seats wasn’t great, making it hard to see the bride’s expression clearly.

By now, the couple on stage had embraced, and the audience erupted into joyful applause.

Almost as if compelled, Tang Yeran glanced toward the seat beside her, just in time to see Gu Qingci stand up and grab her bag.

“Senior Gu, are you leaving?” No one else was paying attention to the guests at the moment, so Tang Yeran whispered in a hushed tone.

“Mm.” Gu Qingci nodded, pulling a pocket watch from her coat and placing it in Tang Yeran’s hand. She replied just as quietly, “Give this to her for me.”

“But you haven’t eaten anything yet.” Tang Yeran barely registered the object in her hand, only feeling confused.

“No need. My presence is enough.” With that, Gu Qingci quickly disappeared down the hallway.

Tang Yeran watched her retreating figure but didn’t try to stop her.

“The newlyweds are coming to toast.” Su Yang, who had been silent until now, had been keeping an eye on the commotion. She nudged Tang Yeran’s arm, snapping her out of her thoughts.

After the toasts, many guests stayed behind to mingle.

Tang Yeran and Su Yang went together to find the bride.

Fang Qian had already changed out of her high heels and was alone in a small private room.

When she saw Tang Yeran, she seemed to have been waiting and stepped forward eagerly. “Tang Tang, I was just about to look for you.”

Tang Yeran knew she wasn’t the one Fang Qian had been waiting for, it was probably Gu Qingci, or perhaps someone else entirely.

She had sensed it earlier, during the toast, when Fang Qian’s searching gaze had given her away.

Though Tang Yeran didn’t understand the full picture, she had a task to fulfill. She pulled the pocket watch from her coat and handed it to Fang Qian.

“Senior Gu had an urgent matter and had to leave. She asked me to give this to you.” She told a small, harmless lie.

Even though she had expected it, Fang Qian still seemed a little disappointed.

She took the pocket watch, running her fingers over it for a few seconds before carefully tucking it into her bag. With a resigned sigh, she looked up again, her smile warm and genuine.

“Thank you, Tang Tang. And Su Yang, I appreciate you both making the trip.”

“You know me?” Su Yang, who had been just a plus-one among hundreds of guests, was surprised to be singled out.

“Not surprising. I’m in the gaming industry too.”

Fang Qian didn’t elaborate, only smiling at the two young women before her with newfound sincerity. “You two are good together.”

Though it was meant as a compliment, Tang Yeran couldn’t shake the odd feeling it gave her.

Almost without thinking, she asked a question that might have been a little inappropriate. “Cousin, are you happy now?”

Fang Qian was taken aback by the question, then smiled serenely. “Why ask that? Your brother-in-law is a very good man.”

Tang Yeran breathed a sigh of relief. Well, as long as her cousin was happy.

They didn’t stay in the private room for long. After the intermission, the wedding reached the bouquet toss segment.

Tang Yeran had planned to just watch from afar, but Wang Shuran insisted on pushing her and Su Yang forward.

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

Amidst the bustling cheers, the bouquet landed perfectly in the hands of both Tang Yeran and Su Yang.

Completely unprepared to catch it, Tang Yeran looked up in surprise to see Fang Qian smiling at her with pure joy, her eyes filled with hope.

In that moment, Tang Yeran seemed to understand the meaning behind her cousin’s gaze.

I hope you’ll be happy, happier than anyone else.

“Drive carefully on your way back, don’t rush.”

“Take this smoked meat with you too, cut it into pieces when you get home. Look how thin Yangyang is.”

“Did we forget anything? Old man, go check if we packed those cookies Yangyang likes.”

More than half of the May holiday had already passed, and now Tang Yeran and Su Yang were preparing to return to H City.

But they’d been standing at the Tang family’s doorstep for nearly ten minutes without managing to take a single step further.

The reason was simple Wang Shuran was terrified they wouldn’t be properly cared for back in H City, worrying they’d lose weight or get sick. She kept giving instructions, practically wishing they could take the entire house with them.

This was treatment Tang Yeran had never received when leaving home alone before.

Turns out she was just benefiting from Su Yang’s presence now. Ah, life.

“Mom, don’t worry. Su Yang and I are grown adults, we won’t starve in H City.”

“We don’t need to take the cookies, we can buy them online.”

“Alright alright, we’ll take everything, let’s go now.”

After much back-and-forth between Tang Yeran and Wang Shuran, they were finally released with Su Yang carrying three large bags and Tang Yeran holding two.

The elevator was relatively empty now, so the two enjoyed a private ride.

Through the elevator mirror, Tang Yeran saw their heavily laden figures, they looked less like vacationers returning home and more like refugees fleeing disaster.

Especially Su Yang, whose hands were completely occupied while also carrying a cat carrier on her back.

“Is it too heavy? Let me carry Yuanbao.” Tang Yeran reached out, but Su Yang turned away protectively. “Not heavy. We’ll be at the garage soon.”

After a couple failed attempts to take it, Tang Yeran conceded her physical disadvantage. Fortunately, the efficient elevator brought them to the underground garage in thirty seconds.

Su Yang remotely unlocked the car and instinctively moved toward the driver’s seat, only to find Tang Yeran had beaten her to it.

Settling into the driver’s seat and placing the bags in the back, Tang Yeran said casually, “You have that video conference tonight. I’ll drive.”

This conference had been added last minute. Tang Yeran had overheard Su Yang mentioning it during a call yesterday while passing by after her shower, she hadn’t expected Tang Yeran to remember.

Su Yang was pleasantly surprised. She obediently took the passenger seat, momentarily frozen in place.

Not commenting on her dazed state, Tang Yeran simply helped move Su Yang’s bags to the back seat before pulling out the seatbelt for her. “Buckle up.”

Su Yang deftly fastened the belt with one hand, her gaze never leaving Tang Yeran’s face.

Tang Yeran rubbed her face with both hands. “What? Do I have flowers on my face?”

“No, it’s just. I feel like today, Ranran, you’ve become… so gentle.”

Su Yang was the type to bloom at the slightest sunshine. In her eyes at that moment, Tang Yeran was practically the embodiment of gentleness, kindness, adorableness, and beauty just missing a halo over her head.

Tang Yeran hadn’t expected such rich inner monologues from someone and retorted directly, “So I’m not usually gentle?”

Su Yang smiled without answering, but Tang Yeran could read the subtext loud and clear: Are you usually gentle?

Tang Yeran made a mock-threatening gesture but didn’t actually follow through, sighing instead. “I just suddenly remembered, Senior Gu told me a story the other day.”

“What story?” Su Yang asked curiously.

“The content isn’t important. What matters is that it made me realize I’ve already wasted a lot of time in the past. From now on… I don’t want to waste any more.”

As she spoke, Tang Yeran fastened her seatbelt with one hand and turned the steering wheel with the other.

The car left the garage and would soon hit the highway.

Green mountains and lush trees lined both sides of the road.

As the car accelerated forward, the scenery blurred into streaks of green behind them.

Birds chirped in succession, singing of spring’s departure and summer’s arrival, a vibrant burst of life.

Tang Yeran hummed a childhood tune as she admired the passing view. Su Yang obligingly kept the beat and, as soon as the song ended, showered her with a string of exaggerated praise.

Having spent more time together again, Tang Yeran had gradually figured out Su Yang’s current temperament.

She cleared her throat and adopted a theatrical tone. “Does my beloved consort have a request for this emperor?”

Faced with this sudden outburst of drama, Su Yang could only draw from her lifetime of watching palace dramas to play along.

“This consort does indeed have an important matter to discuss. I hope Your Majesty will visit my chambers tonight.”

The clumsy line nearly made Tang Yeran laugh, but she kept a straight face. “Denied.”

Su Yang: “Huh?”

“But my beloved consort may come to this emperor’s chambers instead.”

“As you command.”

The awkward palace drama dialogue came to an end as Tang Yeran parked the car at a gas station. She finally couldn’t hold back, clutching her stomach as she teased,

“Wow, you’re something else. Who taught you that a consort refers to herself as ‘this consort’ in front of the emperor?”

Su Yang wore a rare, dumbfounded expression. “Isn’t that right? That’s how the women in the palace talk in those shows. Or should I say ‘this dowager’ instead?”

Tang Yeran: “…”

Is this girl trying to get one over on me?

The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed!

Unable to let it go, Tang Yeran grabbed Su Yang’s arm and bit down.

She had genuinely intended to be gentle but it hadn’t even lasted an hour.

Su Yang didn’t resist. With Tang Yeran’s meager strength, it felt more like a kitten’s playful nibble.

When Tang Yeran finally let go, Su Yang even offered her other arm. “Did Your Majesty enjoy that? Would you like to continue?”

Tang Yeran shot her a sidelong glance and thought, Hmph, what a child.

“This emperor is tired. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

No sooner had she spoken than a perfectly measured pressure settled on her shoulder.

Su Yang’s slender fingers kneaded and massaged the spot, her little bun of hair suddenly very close. “Then, about Your Majesty’s earlier words tonight, in your chambers does that still stand?”

“What do you think?”

(The End)

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