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Shen Tang felt countless gazes falling on her like shooting stars, and she gathered all of tonight’s luck and envy.
Just now, Wen Di said that Zhang Xu and her husband had already held a wedding by the sea on May 20th, attended only by close family members. Today’s banquet was specifically for their friends.
The guests were either from the entertainment industry or the business world. And within the business world, Jiang Chengyu was like a moon among stars, yet he chose to sit next to her.
Wen Di leaned close to her ear. “Second Young Master Jiang has deigned to grace us with his presence. I’ll give him half a star for tonight. I won’t be an annoying third wheel for the rest of the night, okay?”
She smiled, took out her headphones from her bag, and put them on.
Listening to music, she began to conceive her script.
Shen Tang’s glass of warm water was half-empty. She didn’t intentionally seek out Jiang Chengyu for conversation, pretending to browse on her phone.
Jiang Chengyu turned to a waiter, asking for a kettle to refill Shen Tang’s cup.
A simple, ordinary transparent glass kettle, yet in his hands, it seemed like a high-quality work of art. His hands were beautiful, making the glass kettle appear extraordinary.
The owner of Jingxu Group personally pouring water for Shen Tang—this whirlwind of gossip swept through the banquet hall with unstoppable force.
Someone even recorded it on their phone.
Shen Tang finally turned her head to look at him, lowering her voice: “This is someone else’s wedding. If you don’t keep a lower profile, you’ll steal the show.”
Jiang Chengyu filled her cup to the brim, placing the kettle beside him. “If someone else stole the show, Zhang Xu’s husband might not be happy.”
Shen Tang: “...”
His implication was that if it was him, Zhang Xu’s husband wouldn’t mind.
A moment later, he looked at her and said, “It’s not just any wedding that invites me that I’ll necessarily grace with my presence.”
Shen Tang could only silently drink water, his arrogance boundless. His pride came from his bones; it couldn’t be changed.
Jiang Chengyu leaned slightly in her direction, accommodating her posture for speaking. “You don’t have to worry about stealing the wedding’s thunder; I’m the one who brought them this attention.”
Zhang Xu’s husband originally couldn’t invite him and his circle of friends. He brought a few childhood friends today to show support, and this gesture, seemingly insignificant, would bring countless potential resources to Zhang Xu’s husband’s future business, something outsiders wouldn’t imagine.
Shen Tang suddenly realized, “Did you ask Zhang Xu to invite me?”
Jiang Chengyu nodded, humming in affirmation.
Too many people were looking in her direction, so Shen Tang propped her chin on her hand, maintaining a calm and unfazed demeanor.
From time to time, she would also glance at Jiang Chengyu out of the corner of her eye. He was always pleasing to the eye. Today, he had chosen a black shirt, which stood out particularly in a sea of white shirts.
Before today, Jiang Chengyu hadn’t seen her for three consecutive days. “What have you been busy with?”
“All the preparations for starting a company.” Shen Tang had been thinking about company names these past few days, coming up with several that felt a bit old-fashioned.
“Last night, I was thinking about company names until the early hours.”
Jiang Chengyu unfolded a napkin. “Do you want me to give you a reference name?”
Shen Tang nodded, asking him to suggest one.
“Haitang Pictures.” Jiang Chengyu handed her the unfolded napkin. “This name has many meanings; it suits you.”
“Why didn’t I think of that?” Shen Tang muttered to herself, quickly found her phone, and messaged Sister Li: [Let’s name the company Haitang Pictures.]
It was highly recognizable, related to her, and also her hometown.
That’s where her childhood memories were, her grandparents, and her happiest times with him.
Shen Tang casually sent Jiang Chengyu a red packet. “It costs a lot to get a name from a naming agency nowadays, so here’s a small red packet to show my appreciation.”
She couldn’t tell the exact amount, but Jiang Chengyu opened it to see two yuan and fifty cents.
“If you sent two yuan and seventy cents more, it wouldn’t make you poor.”
Shen Tang squinted at him, but didn’t say anything.
She thought, Why don’t you send me a 520 first?
Jiang Chengyu placed his phone on the table, turned to say something to her, but inadvertently caught a glimpse of her chat background. “Let me see.”
He reached out for the phone, but Shen Tang withheld it, tucking it into her pocket.
“I think I saw it was me.”
Shen Tang smiled. “What if it’s not? How embarrassing.”
Jiang Chengyu: “It’s okay if it’s not. I’ll give you time to change the background. Show me in two minutes.”
Shen Tang was no match for him and turned away, ignoring him.
Jiang Chengyu poured himself a glass of warm water, leaned back slightly in his chair, holding the glass cup in one hand and resting the other on Shen Tang’s chair back.
Shen Tang was talking to Wen Di, and he watched her profile.
The banquet hall was noisy and lively. Eight out of ten people were discussing Shen Tang and Jiang Chengyu.
Yan Heyu’s table consisted of insiders who weren’t interested in gossip. Huo Teng had moved to their table, and their conversation revolved around Huo Teng’s movie, making Huo Teng both flattered and uncomfortable.
Yan Heyu had glanced in Jiang Chengyu’s direction no less than five hundred times. He picked up his wine glass, and just as he was about to stand up, two strong hands pressed him down.
Yan Heyu turned his head and realized it was his childhood friend standing beside him.
His friend was guarding Yan Heyu closely today. “Brother Yan, it’s crowded here, don’t run around. What if you get lost?”
Yan Heyu: “...”
His friend took a small cake from the table and ate it. “I’m here with my principles today. I absolutely forbid you from bothering Wen Di.”
Yan Heyu was so annoyed he felt chest tightness. “You’re not even close with Wen Di, why are you interfering?”
He wasn’t close, and he hadn’t spoken much to Wen Di.
His friend had a mission today, fulfilling a trust. “Brother Jiang told me to watch you, not to let you go to his table, and especially not to go find Wen Di.”
Yan Heyu couldn’t understand. “What does me going to find Wen Di have to do with him?”
His friend: “Brother Jiang said you’d ruin his chances, which isn’t good for him pursuing Shen Tang.”
“...”
Not just his childhood friend, but Li Zheng, sitting next to him, heard their conversation. She clung to Yan Heyu’s chair. “You can’t disturb my uncle. I’m still waiting to bring my younger siblings.”
Yan Heyu gloomily drank half a glass of wine and said, “Zhengzheng, you’re just an ingrate. When your uncle was busy, who took you out to play every day?”
Li Zheng pretended to have amnesia and defended herself, “You’re still young, what’s your hurry? My uncle isn’t young anymore; he can’t wait.”
Yan Heyu gave up the idea of going over to chat with Jiang Chengyu. He wouldn’t be welcome there anyway, so it was better not to go.
Li Zheng occasionally glanced at her uncle’s table. Her eyes had a natural filter; she thought her uncle and Shen Tang had the most chemistry. Besides her uncle, no one could match Shen Tang.
Lost in thought, someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind.
“Hi, Zhengzheng.”
Li Zheng immediately turned around. It was Chu Xiaoyue.
She wasn’t particularly close to Chu Xiaoyue. Two years ago, when her mother took her to Shanghai for a relative’s wedding, she sat at the same table as Chu Xiaoyue.
At the time, they were the only two of similar age at the table, chatted well, and exchanged contact information.
Standing attracted attention, so Chu Xiaoyue half-squatted.
Li Zheng also leaned down, speaking to her. “Are you on holiday?”
Chu Xiaoyue nodded. “In the future, we might become relatives.”
Shen Tang was her sister, so Jiang Chengyu would be her brother-in-law in the future.
Li Zheng blinked, suddenly realizing her seniority would be extremely low.
If her uncle married Shen Tang, their children would call Chu Xiaoyue “little aunt,” but call her “older sister,” meaning in terms of seniority, Chu Xiaoyue would be her elder.
Chu Xiaoyue didn’t think that far ahead. She and Shen Tang might never acknowledge each other in this lifetime. She came over only to inquire about Shen Tang’s recent situation.
After Shen Tang retired from the industry, news about her online was scarce, and her family members were reluctant to mention her, so she had no way of knowing related information.
“How is Shen Tang doing lately? Is she really not going to act anymore?”
Li Zheng shrugged, regrettably saying, “I’m not sure. I’ll have to wait until my uncle wins her over. I haven’t even met Shen Tang face-to-face.”
The lights in the banquet hall dimmed, and the stage lights came on. The wedding ceremony was about to begin.
Chu Xiaoyue waved. “Let’s keep in touch! If there’s any news of Shen Tang making a comeback, tell me immediately, okay?”
She ran back to her seat, bent low, so as not to obstruct anyone’s view of the stage.
Xiao Zhen had just turned to speak to someone beside her. In the blink of an eye, Chu Xiaoyue was gone, and she searched for a long time but couldn’t find her.
“Where did she go?”
Chu Xiaoyue settled into her seat, catching her breath. “Restroom.”
The restroom was not in that direction at all, but Xiao Zhen didn’t expose her.
Their table was dozens of meters away from Shen Tang’s table, separated on either side of the stage.
Taking advantage of the dim lighting and everyone’s attention being on the bride and groom, Xiao Zhen adjusted her posture, trying to see Shen Tang through the crowd, but she was still obstructed by people.
Also looking at Shen Tang was Chen Nanjin.
Fan Yu wasn’t looking at the stage; her gaze was fixed on Chen Nanjin’s face.
Chen Yinuo, on the other hand, watched her mother, occasionally glancing at her father.
No one was paying attention to the wedding; even if the vows were moving, they didn’t hear a single word.
Shen Tang stared at the stage, but in her mind, it was the image of Jiang Chengyu’s island wedding from her dream.
The music in her dream momentarily overlapped with the music at the venue.
She could also play this piano piece.
She was lost in thought when her wrist was grabbed.
Shen Tang instinctively tried to pull back, but Jiang Chengyu held her hand tightly, whispering, “Look at the stage, don’t move.”
Shen Tang felt a cold metallic sensation on her hand; it was a watch strap. He had bought her another watch.
Once it was on, Jiang Chengyu intertwined his fingers with hers.
At that moment, palm against palm, more than just their hands were connected.
Then, Jiang Chengyu let her go.
During this time, their eyes remained fixed on the stage; even Wen Di didn’t know what had happened under the table.
When it came to tossing the bouquet, the lights in the banquet hall came on.
Jiang Chengyu looked back at his niece’s table. Li Zheng was fixing her hair, standing up and heading towards the stage.
He asked Shen Tang, “Do you want to go catch it?”
“No, I won’t join that excitement.” Shen Tang said, “I don’t feel like getting married that much anymore.”
Jiang Chengyu followed her lead. “Marriage is inherently a besieged city; why should you trap yourself inside? The saying ‘marriage is the graveyard of love’ isn’t without reason.”
Shen Tang looked at him. In reality, he still deeply resisted and rejected marriage, but he was accommodating her. “Then Mr. Jiang probably didn’t pay attention to the next sentence.”
Jiang Chengyu asked, “Which one?”
“Without the grave of marriage, love would have nowhere to be buried.”
Jiang Chengyu’s gaze shifted from his niece waiting to catch the bouquet on stage back to her face, meeting her eyes.
Since they were discussing marriage again today, she decided to be clear. “Then why bother making sacrifices? If you enter that city with such a mindset, you’ll always want to escape sooner or later.”
“There’s no such thing as making sacrifices. Wanting to offer you marriage was thoroughly thought out; otherwise, I would have just casually promised you marriage when you broke up. Promises aren’t made lightly; once given, I will keep them.”
Jiang Chengyu explained why he wanted to marry now. “It’s not as complicated as you think. I just want to give you a home, and when we’re old, to be buried together, our names carved in one place.”
The bride began to throw the bouquet, and she focused solely on Jiang Chengyu. Those grand vows were simply expressed by him as being together in life and together in death.
Not so grand, yet so touching.
Amidst cheers, someone caught the bouquet.
Shen Tang looked up. It was Jiang Chengyu’s niece who caught the flowers.
The host kept her center stage, asking her about her feelings at that moment, her age, and if she had a boyfriend.
Li Zheng said she was still young, just graduated, and not in a hurry to get married. “I want to give this bouquet to my uncle.” She specifically emphasized, “My actual uncle.”
“My uncle is pursuing a girl he absolutely adores, and I hope he wins her over soon and quickly gives me a younger brother or sister.”
The audience roared with laughter.
The host also laughed. “A niece is truly wonderful, so caring for her uncle.”
He cooperated with Li Zheng. “Is your uncle here at the wedding today? If so, we’ll present him with the bouquet in person and wish them, like today’s bride and groom, that all lovers find their happy ending.”
Li Zheng nodded. “He is. My uncle is sitting at table 9.”
The host turned to the audience. “Where’s the uncle? Come on, cameraman, give us a close-up.”
The high-definition screen on the stage suddenly became a live broadcast.
Table 9 was Shen Tang’s table; everyone at their table appeared on the big screen.
The host asked Li Zheng, “Which one is your uncle?”
Li Zheng: “The one next to Director Zhou.”
Next to Director Zhou Mingqian sat Jiang Chengyu. Now, all the guests in the banquet hall knew that Jiang Chengyu was wearing a black shirt tonight and was pursuing a girl he absolutely adored.
And that girl was Shen Tang, sitting beside him.
Jiang Chengyu was called out publicly by his niece and then teased by Zhou Mingqian. The moment he was projected onto the high-definition screen, his helpless smile made everyone think he was embarrassed by his niece’s words.
No one expected this to be a performance.
The host pretended not to know Jiang Chengyu and asked Li Zheng on stage, “What’s your uncle’s surname?”
Li Zheng: “Jiang.”
“Then we wish Mr. Jiang that all his wishes come true, and that his love and marriage are both perfect.”
Li Zheng thanked him on behalf of her uncle.
This interlude ended promptly, and the host continued with the next interactive segment, with the big screen now showing bloopers related to the bride and groom.
Li Zheng ran down from the stage, turned a corner, and went to Jiang Chengyu’s table. “Uncle, here, give it to my aunt.”
She happily ran off.
Jiang Chengyu handed the bouquet to Shen Tang. “I specifically caught this for you. I wish our CEO Shen success, love, and a happy marriage.”
Shen Tang accepted the bouquet. To publicly confess to her today, he had brought his niece and childhood friends to assist.
She couldn’t help but wonder, “Did Zhengzheng just happen to catch this bouquet or...?”
Jiang Chengyu: “The bouquet was caught by chance. The segment I prepared wasn’t used.”
Shen Tang was curious and asked him what he had prepared.
“In the lucky draw segment, there was a special prize: a customized wedding dress. I provided it myself and secretly arranged for it to go to Zhengzheng. When she won the prize, Zhengzheng would follow the script and say she wasn’t in a hurry to get married so early, and would give the wedding dress as a gift to me, so I could quickly win over the person I like.”
Unexpectedly, Li Zheng caught the bouquet, and the host cooperated with Li Zheng to say what needed to be said in advance, letting everyone present know that he was actively pursuing Shen Tang.
Including that high-definition screen, it was also prepared beforehand.
As they chatted, other guests appeared on the big screen, having won today’s grand prize.
This made Jiang Chengyu’s appearance on the screen earlier seem less abrupt.
He had put so much thought into it, and Shen Tang was indeed touched.
With both business and entertainment industry people present today, such an opportunity was rare. He had carefully considered it before deciding to publicly express his pursuit of her on this occasion.
“I need people to know that I’m actively pursuing you, not that you’re clinging to me for personal gain.”
He paused, then added, “Even so, it still can’t stop some people from fabricating stories to gain attention. I will do my best, within my capabilities, to minimize any negative voices against you.”
Shen Tang took out her phone, trying to divert her attention to diffuse the emotion he inadvertently stirred.
During the banquet, Shen Tang went to the restroom.
Unfortunately, she ran into Fan Yu, who was making a phone call outside the banquet hall.
Shen Tang walked past Fan Yu, her eyes fixed straight ahead.
When she came out of the restroom, Fan Yu had already hung up and was still standing by the window, seemingly waiting specifically for her.
“I heard you’re opening a company and recruiting recently,” Fan Yu went straight to the point.
Shen Tang raised her eyelids. “Scared?”
“Heh.” Fan Yu scoffed. “What am I scared of? Everything I was afraid of has already been exposed by you. What else do I have to fear now?”
She had been a laughingstock, and her vitality had been greatly diminished. Those nightmarish days had finally passed, and she had survived her lowest point in life.
“I know, you’re making a comeback now because you see I’ve turned things around, and you’re not resigned to it. Let me tell you, my company has now been transferred to Yinuo’s name, all belonging to her.”
Shen Tang understood her implication. “For me, anyone is a target. Arrows have no eyes; they don’t care who they hit, hitting the bullseye is what matters.”
Fan Yu sneered, “Before, when you dealt with me, Chen Nanjin turned a blind eye, even siding with you. But now, if you shoot his daughter, do you think he’ll just watch you hit her, or will he stand in front himself?”
Voices came from behind; someone was coming out of the restroom area.
Fan Yu pretended to go to the restroom, brushing past Shen Tang.
Shen Tang felt nothing inside, and unhurriedly walked towards the banquet hall.
The hallway lighting was good, and only then did she notice the watch on her wrist. It was custom-made for her by Jiang Chengyu, with a begonia flower on the dial, its petals lifelike.
Returning to the banquet hall, Jiang Chengyu was drinking with someone, and someone came to their table to toast him.
It had been a busy evening for the people in the business world, coming all that way to find Jiang Chengyu.
The person who toasted didn’t rush off, carrying a cigarette, and offered one to Jiang Chengyu.
Jiang Chengyu waved his hand. “Shen Tang told me to quit smoking, so I don’t smoke now.”
Shen Tang: “...”
When did she ever tell him to quit smoking?
The person who came was from his circle; he probably didn’t need to show off his affection in front of them.
The person laughed. “Really? Already henpecked?”
He still tossed a cigarette to Jiang Chengyu, then turned to Shen Tang, being overly familiar. “Sister-in-law, don’t argue with our Little Jiang when you get back. Today is a joyous day; have a smoke for fun.”
After saying that, he drained the wine in his glass. “I won’t disturb you two anymore.”
Jiang Chengyu handed the cigarette to Shen Tang. “Confiscated.”
“Brother Jiang, come, come, congratulations, congratulations.” His childhood friend came over again.
Shen Tang swallowed the words she was about to say. She’d ask him later when they got back.
The banquet ended, and Shen Tang rode back in Jiang Chengyu’s car. Wen Di had also been bribed, and after the banquet, she slipped away alone, leaving Shen Tang by herself.
In the parking lot, Shen Tang still held the cigarette. She handed it back to him. She paused in front of the car. “Did you really quit smoking?”
Jiang Chengyu played with the cigarette. “Yes, I quit. Didn’t you tell me to?”
Shen Tang was puzzled; she couldn’t remember ever telling him to quit smoking.
Her memory wasn’t that bad. “When did I say that?”
“When you hadn’t retired from the industry yet, you posted it on Weibo.”
Shen Tang laughed, remembering what happened. “That day was World No Tobacco Day. It wasn’t directed at you. Wen Di also reposted it.”
Seeing her laugh out loud, Jiang Chengyu put the cigarette in her mouth.
He leaned down, close to her lips, bit the cigarette filter, and took the cigarette from her mouth.
Their lips were millimeters away from touching.
Shen Tang’s heart thumped a few times. When his familiar scent enveloped her just now, her mind went blank, thinking he was really going to kiss her.
“Regardless of whether that Weibo post was meant for me, I quit smoking for you.” Jiang Chengyu crumpled the cigarette and threw it into the trash can. “I won’t smoke anymore. Quitting smoking isn’t easy. All in all, it took me a year to completely quit.”
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