The next day was the wedding. People came to the house, and Zhan's hair was done and make-up applied. All this time, Baby and her friends were with him. Now, his silence was beginning to worry Xixue, as was his refusal to eat; he had become very thin.
Zhan wanted to know if Yunxi had returned or not, but he didn't know how. Until the last words he said stayed with him: "I will give you something that will make you happy forever."
What was that?
Tomorrow, he would be in Yang-Yang's house. He would like to talk to Yunxi before tomorrow, but he couldn't call him, even though he had turned off his phone so Yang-Yang wouldn't call him.
So he lay down that day, full of thoughts of Dr Yunxi. From the day he first saw him until now. He smiled, adjusted his lying position, and closed his eyes, hoping sleep would take him so he could get relief from the headache he was feeling.
:
:
The next day, from the time Yang-Yang woke up, he kept calling Zhan's line, but it was off. He didn't have Baby's number, and he couldn't call Xixue. He was sitting on the edge of the bed around eight o'clock when Zizi entered the room.
She stood at the doorway, looking at him, smiling. "Happy married life in advance, Yang-Yang."
He lifted his head away from her and didn't say anything. She gave another smile, turned, and left the room.
He stood up and went to the living room. His younger ones and some relatives who had come from far away were in the living room. As it was, they were in the kitchen looking for something to eat for themselves, because since they arrived, Zizi had not even taken water to them. Only if they cooked would she go and take some to eat.
He returned to his room and lay down, because the wedding is in the afternoon.
From the time Zhan woke up, he was crying without knowing why. Baby tried to console him until she was tired. Xixue asked him why he was crying, but he refused to answer and went about his business. The house was full of Xixue's business associates, her relatives, and people from their town. No one would say that she did not give birth to Zhan.
Today, nanny relatives were in the house too. Mrs. Wang had come to the house since morning with her two friends. Yulan's mother had also come into the house since morning. Zhan barely got up and got ready after Xixue gave him a look; he refused to even put on eye makeup.
At twelve o'clock, one of Xixue's aunts went outside the house to call her. In no time, Yulan's mother came into the sitting room to tell her that some guests had arrived, and they said they were looking for the groom's mother.
Xixue looked at Zizi and her friends, about five of them, because she had never seen them before.
Zizi smiled. "Are you the groom's mother, ma'am?"
Xizue said, "Yes. From where are you from?"
Zizi said, "We are his friends from the same school we attended, ma'am."
Xixue looked at them in surprise because Zhan had never told her about having friends from that school. And besides, the way they tied their headscarves, you could see trouble written all over them. They were completely covered in expensive women suits. Zizi's makeup was so heavy you would swear she was the bride.
Xixue gathered her courage and said, "Well, welcome."
Zizi smiled, even twitching. "Thank you, ma'am. So where is the groom?"
Xixue sent one of her nieces to take them to the room where Zhan and the others were. The girl led, and they followed her until they entered the room.
Zhan was sitting with Baby and her friends, just turning over the rice cake that Xixue had brought him to eat, since he hadn't eaten anything since morning. And Baby and her friends were putting on makeup, since Zhan had sworn he wouldn't.
When Zizi and her group entered, Zhan and Baby were looking at them. Zizi smiled, looking at Baby. "Bride, hello..."
Baby gave them a certain look and pointed to Zhan. "You are mistaken. Here is the groom sitting over there."
Then she looked away and continued applying her powder, because she didn't care about Zizi and her friends at all.
Zhan just looked at them without blinking.
Zizi reached him. "So you are Zhan, Meiqin, and Mother of Roulan, right?"
Zhan felt his face fall heavily. He didn't say anything, just looked at her.
Zizi gave a certain laugh, looking at him carefully. "So you are the one planning to enter the Attorney's house as his second wife?"
Zhan swallowed hard but still couldn't say anything to her. After a moment, he began to realize who was standing in front of him. Without a doubt, she was the Attorney's wife.
Baby stood up. "Madam, was this house turned into a radio station for the questions you are throwing at him?"
Zizi gave her a stern look and raised her hand at her. "Wait, I am not dealing with you. Just be a spectator here. Step aside and just stand there."
Then she turned her gaze back to Zhan, giving him a terrible look. "So your boldness has reached the point where you couldn't find anyone to cling to, to marry you except my husband, Attorney Yang-Yang?"
Already, tears had come to Zhan's eyes. His entire body went cold.
Zizi burst into laughter, turned to look at her friends, pointed at Zhan, and said, "Please, who is sitting here?"
As if in unison, they said, "Man Prostitute."
Zizi said, "And what did he do?"
Together, they said again, "Gave birth out of wedlock...And follow married men."
Already, all the people in the living room had rushed to the room when they heard the commotion.
Zizi looked at Zhan carefully. "So, for what reason are you trying to enter Yang-Yang's house today, when you gave birth to a bastard child? You, because you finished all your prostitution at your workplace and gave birth to twins, then my husband helped you, so you cling to him? Just becouse he pity you and help??? Even to the point that he claims that only his pity for you is why he will marry you, nothing else? If it weren't for the pity that Heaven poured into him, would he say he would marry you after knowing who you are?
Well, let me tell you: there is nothing about you that I don't know. All your secrets are in the palm of my hand. Yang-Yang has hidden nothing about you from me. Since he is my husband, he does nothing without consulting me. At first, I thought it was a matter of good fortune. After he told me about you, I agreed that he should marry you to cover your and your bastard's secret.
But then, even before you entered the house, I began to see a change. You have started bewitching my husband. After what you did to him, should I still agree that he marry you to cover your secret? Well, you have done too little. Today, I will see how this wedding will happen. You will leave with nothing. Go back and continue your prostitution..."
Baby did not know how she stood up and lunged at her. They grabbed each other... A fight broke out between Zizi, Baby, and Zizi's friends. Baby's friends also joined in.
With difficulty, the people who had crowded the room separated the fight.
Zhan had his head on his knees, out of breath. He couldn't even move from where he was sitting.
Zizi did not hold back on insults, humiliation, and curses, and her friends joined her.
Even Xixue and the others had to come upstairs.
Baby's mouth also didn't die either.
With difficulty, Zizi and her group were thrown out of the room amid curses.
Only then did tears begin to stream down Baby's face. She felt so much pity for Zhan that her entire body went cold.
Xixue sat down, tears also streaming down her face. She couldn't say anything. Yibo's mother herself stood there, unable to say anything, her entire body cold. One of Xixue's aunts knelt down and gently lifted Zhan's head, full of pity. Tears were pouring from his eyes like a broken tap.
Baby knelt next to him, tears also streaming, not knowing what to say to him.
Zhan grabbed her hand. In a trembling voice, he said, "Is it my fault that I was raped, Baby? Is it my fault that I am an orphan? Is it my fault that I had children out of wedlock? Because I am an orphan..."
He couldn't continue. He burst into deep crying, shaking his head weakly. "I am grateful for my fate... This is my destiny, and I accept it with both hands. But why don't people consider my situation? I didn't want this for myself. Heaven destined it for me. But what can I do, Baby? I have to be grateful. I have never been a prostitute, but they called me a prostitute. I didn't know that Yang-Yang couldn't keep my secret. He betrayed me..."
Baby stood up, took Zhan's phone, and left the room. She turned it on and searched for Yang-Yang's number. She didn't struggle to see the number, because he had saved him as "Attorney." As she dialed, he answered immediately, worried.
"Why did you turn off your phone, Meiqin..."
Baby interrupted him, her heart pounding. "Sir, so you knew you couldn't keep a secret, yet you insisted on marrying Zhan? So you claim to be his husband, only for your crazy, ignorant wife to do this to him?"
Yang-Yang could not say anything at first, because he was completely lost. Then, gathering his courage, he said, "Who is this?"
Furious, Baby said, "You don't need to know who this is. Honestly, you have betrayed Zhan. You have exposed him. And I am advising you to withdraw this wedding. Go, your ignorant wife is enough for you. And may Heaven reward you for what you did to him."
Saying this, she burst into heavy crying and continued. "I see that he was not the one who chose this destiny for himself. Did you think that people would gather as rivals and you would arrange everything in his life from beginning to end, only for him to come to the wedding house and have a madwoman tell him to his face, wishing he were dead, insulting him, humiliating and cursing him?"
Yang-Yang hung up. His head was spinning. He stood up from where he was sitting and went to the living room. He had been standing for about fifteen minutes when Zizi and her friends entered the living room.
He stepped right in front of her and landed two hard slaps on her face. Looking at her with red eyes, he said, "I divorce you, Zizi."
✴✴✴
Zhan slowly opened his eyes and lowered his head from Yunxi, who was sitting next to him. Yibo was standing on his other side.
Xixue came to him quickly, seeing that he was about to sit up. She held him, worried. "Zhan. How are you feeling now?"
Zhan just pointed to his chest, tears streaming down his face. Xixue lowered her voice gently. "It will stop, be strong, son."
Baby, who was standing on the other side, came and sat next to him, looking at him, and took his hand. She didn't know what to say to him. A moment later, tears also came to her eyes. Yunxi stood up and left the ward. Then he returned with a doctor.
Yibo turned and left.
The doctor finished examining Zhan, and they left with Yunxi to his office.
Gently, Xixue said, "You heard what the doctor said to you. Don't cry again, please, because of your health."
Zhan didn't say anything. He reached out his hand and wiped the tears from his eyes.
The ward door opened, and Yang-Yang entered. He stood there at the doorway, looking at him. Xixue lifted her head away from looking at him. Baby took a deep breath as if she had never laughed before. Zhan looked at him once, then refused to lift his head again. Tears continued to pour from her eyes.
Yang-Yang came close to him. With difficulty, he gathered his courage and said, "Meiqin..."
Zhan burst into heavy crying. "I am begging you, leave me alone, please. Yang-Yang, go away. My heart is aching at the sight of you. Please, leave... let me rest, please."
He finished speaking in intense crying.
Yang-Yang gave him a certain look. "But if the words that Zizi said to you have affected your heart, you are not being fair to me, Meiqin. For a good two years, I hid it from my mother. I kept you in my house. Even by mistake, I never informed her about you. I never exposed your secret. Even to my friends, except for Dr.Yun, no one knows your story. Only now you think I would expose your secret? And even if I were to tell anyone, it wouldn't be my wife, with whom I have no comfort at all. Am I that stupid?"
He shook his head in bitterness. "I never expected this from you, Meiqin. I thought you were the one to tell others that it was a scheme she came to display at your house... but I was mistaken."
He could not continue. He turned and left the ward. Zhan put his head on his knees, crying as if bereaved. Baby could not say anything; her entire body went very cold.
Xixue sighed, looking at Zhan. "I hope you heard what I said. I know it's just a woman's scheme. I know he would never do that. He would not have arranged for her to come and do what she did. She set him up, just out of jealousy..."
She was speaking while wiping the tears that were pouring from her eyes. She felt great pity for Yang-Yang.
"Zhan, if you say you are breaking off the marriage, as you claimed before passing out, you are being unfair. You are not being justice to him. And you are showing that his wife has won."
Zhan lifted hos head, crying. "Oh, Mommy, she would have killed me in that house. I cannot marry someone else husband. Mommy, you see how my heart is hurting me. I give up on the marriage completely. I prefer dying a spinster."
Xixue hugged him. "Nothing will be broken off, son. And she is too little to kill you. We will prove her wrong. She came and did evil to you just for you to said you would break it off. Then we will show her her limit. If Heaven wills, you will marry him. If Heaven does not will it, then he is not your husband after all. But nothing will be broken off, you'll get married today."
From the moment Yang-Yang left the ward, he went to a chair outside, and sat down, leaned his head back, and closed his eyes. He was totally lost and sad. He had never imagined Zizi's scheme would go this far. He couldn't figure out where she had gotten Zhan's story. He knew Dr.Yun would not have told her. In fact, how would they even communicate, since she didn't have his number and he didn't have hers? Nothing chilled his body more than the fact that Zhan, of all people, believed what Zizi had come to say.
Zizi was the one who always told people evil things about him. But Zhan was among the believers.
Yunxi, leaning against his car, was looking at him. He felt great pity for him, and he knew what he was feeling. Yunxi spent over five minutes admiring Yang-Yang's wife's skill in hypocritical action. She was just perfect.
He slowly walked to where Yang-Yang was and sat next to him. Yang-Yang opened his eyes gently, feeling someone beside him.
Yunxi took off his glasses and said in a low voice, "Sure, it hurts..."
Yang-Yang looked at him with eyes that had changed color. In a gentle voice, he said, "Can I confide in you, Dr. Luo?"
Yunxi looked at him and nodded. "Sure."
Yang-Yang adjusted his sitting position, looked at him, and began to speak gently....
Much later, Xixue came out to the hospital courtyard. No matter how much she looked around, she didn't see either of them there, so she went back inside to get her phone.
Yang-Yang kept looking at Yunxi, who had fallen silent, his eyes on the ground.
Yang-Yang said, "Don't forget, I asked you before letting out my mind to you, Doctor. Tell me the truth of what is in your heart."
Only then did Yunxi look up at him. He gave a small, brave smile. "Sure." After a few seconds, he said gently, "Yes, Attorney. Perhaps it's the right decision."
Yang-Yang looked at him. "Perhaps? I already told you i prepared the documents."
Yunxi touched his head. "It's just the right decision." He finished speaking gently.
Yang-Yang looked at his ringing phone, saw that Xixue was calling, and answered. He put it to his ear and greeted.
Xixue said, "Do you hear me, Attorney? Nothing will be broken off. Don't let anything spoil your mind, please. If you truly love Zhan, go. It's almost time for the ceremony. The wedding is being set. Nothing has been broken off, just bring the marriage documents i will make Zhan sign them now. You can have the ceremony when he calm down."
Gently, he said, "Okay, Aunty. Thank you very much. May Heaven increase your honor."
She said, "Amen."
He hung up and looked at Yunxi, who was also looking at him, because he had heard everything Xixue said.
Yang-Yang smile and said "She made our work and worry easier."
Yunxi smile too, "Just hope and pray Zhan won't read them, or we'll finish. "
"He won't, I'm sure of it, becouse he already go through them, i just make some small changes from the original one" Yang-Yang assured him.
Together, they stood up. Yang-Yang looked at his wristwatch.
From the time they came to the court building, Yang-Yang's face was falling. Was he really making the right decision?
Yunxi, who was next to him, was observing him. He gently moved very close to him and tapped his shoulder, "It's not only the right decision but the best... for many reasons."
Yang-Yang smiled without saying anything. Then he looked at Yunxi. "Do you have Dr. Yibo's number? I didn't see him..."
Yunxi interrupted him with a small laugh. "Sheer jealousy. Did you expect to see him here?"
Yang-Yang just smiled. Yunxi pulled out his phone, found Yibo's number for him, and handed it over. Yang-Yang dialed the number and put it to his ear. It was answered immediately.
Yang-Yang said, "This is Attorney Yang-Yang. I didn't see you at the court. Or don't you want to witness the wedding?"
Yibo smiled. "It's not a must that I stay near you, Attorney. Though I can see you from where I am. I am not what you might have thought of me. If something good happens to my brother, I am happy for him. If otherwise..."
Yang-Yang spotted him standing not too far away from them with Bozai and some friends. Yang-Yang hung up, smiling. Yibo came over and extended his hand. Yang-Yang gave him his. Then Yibo extended his hand to Yunxi. Yunxi took off his glasses and gave his hand as well.
Then Yang-Yang handed him the documents in his hands, Yibo open them then stared at them confused.....
Back at the hospital, after Zhan was given injections and medicine, they were discharged and returned home. Still, the tears refused to stop. Nothing about the wedding was broken off at the house, just as Xizue had said, she even blackmailed him into signing the marriage papers, because it was as if nothing had happened, except that the groom was unwell.
Xixue had Baby give him tea to drink, and he lay down. Immediately, a deep sleep took him.
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