Page 164 of He Is My Bride

Once again Hanjun gave in to his selfishness, his weakness.

“Alright.”

“Hmm.” Li Ying smiled. “…Damn, the soup!” He darted back to the kitchen to stir before the borscht boiled over.

After lunch, Hanjun prepared to leave for his part of the dress rehearsal, and he and Li Ying would not see each other after that until tomorrow, when Hanjun would come to get him with his best man and groomsman for the wedding ceremony.

“See you tomorrow, love! Don’t you get cold feet and escape tonight, I would find you!” Li Ying joked as he gave Hanjun a kiss. Hanjun pulled him in, deepening the kiss, trying to say with that single gesture everything he wanted to say to Li Ying: I love you, and I’m sorry.

Hanjun would be staying at the hotel until the wedding, possibly doing some Wu-esque stag party ‘shenanigans’ in the evening: maybe Hanrong would buy him one drink, possibly Yiyi and A-Yu would prank him once, if things got out of hand.

So Li Ying had the apartment to himself, and Anne came over and would stay overnight, to wake up early with him to do everything from his makeup to his hair and help him get into the dress. And of course she was there to partake in some more wedding traditions, combing Li Ying’s hair in the evening prior.

“Usually this is done by the bride’s mother, but even if—I’m sorry.” Anne quieted, fearing she had been about to say something insensitive.

“No, no, it’s alright. Evenif what?”

“Even if Mrs. Qian knew of the wedding, I suppose she wouldn’t be the kind of mother-figure to do this with you?”

“Haha, definitely not! You’re the best woman for the job, and I’m so happy it’s you who’s here with me.”

“Heh, I guess sometimes I’ve had to act like a strict mother with you, so maybe it’s appropriate.”

They laughed.

They went on to have a mini hen party, mixing cocktails—Anne made sure Li Ying didn’t drink too much—and watched Mamma Mia and sang along to the songs together. Li Ying went full out on Voulez-Vous, standing on the couch and singing to the remote while Anne cheered him on. Li Ying might have been a sworn metalhead, but hey, who doesn’t love Abba?

Anne corralled him into bed in a timely manner, and in the morning of his wedding day, Li Ying emerged from the bed well-rested—and absolutely freaking out.

Anne saw that he ate something and showered, and then began their work: Li Ying’s hair was blow-dried and curled, and Anne worked it into an elegant high bun and wove real pink orchids into it. The wedding bouquet would have the same flowers in it.

A glamorous makeup was applied, with dark red lips, although Anne went lighter on the eyes to keep Li Ying still looking fresh. For jewelry, Li Ying wore a golden wedding bangle with a twin mandarin ducks motif, and on his ears, Anne put dangling gold earrings.

The result was a modern yet elegant bride with plenty enough nods to tradition to please even the Wus. Li Ying stood stunned before the mirror when Anne let him see the end results. It was gorgeous, breathtaking—and Li Ying didn’t recognize himself.

I’m a perfect bride. But is this really me? Is this who Hanjun wanted to marry?

No, this woman in the mirror was for the family, this was for the masses, this was for Shanghai. Shanghai didn’t want Li Ying, it wantedher.

But it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that Hanjun and I will be happy together.They would be happy after this, wouldn’t they?Won’t we be so happy? Won’t we be happy…

“I need to sit down,” Li Ying heard himself say.Not this again.“I’m having a panic attack.” It had been a year since his last episode, but there it was.

“Li Ying?”

“Get me some ice.” He sounded perfectly calm, but he knew his mind was going into a lockdown.

Anne didn’t question, but fetched a tray of ice cubes and brought them to Li Ying.

He pressed an ice cube into his palm. It helped somewhat, and he kept focusing on the cold sensation and his breathing.

“Are you okay, Li Ying?” Anne sounded worried.

“Yeah, just give me a moment.”

“Should we… Can you really do this? Hanjun will be here in less than an hour, should we delay?”

“No. Just give me a damn minute.”