As he spoke, Sam really reached out to take over the fabric in Jiang Man’s hand, his broad palm covering the back of her hand.
Jiang Man subconsciously gave way to the side, and just as she was about to say there was no need for trouble, a familiar male voice fell by her ear.
“Manman.”
Jiang Man looked toward the source of the sound.
Qi Zhicheng held two leather wine bags in his hand, while his other hand carried a pink paper box. His coat was draped over his forearm, and he stood not far from them, gazing over.
“Manman, I’m back.”
His face carried his usual smile, his voice as gentle as always.
When he walked to Jiang Man’s side, he naturally handed the pink paper box to her, “I passed by a dessert shop and brought you some macarons, your favorite flavor.”
As he spoke, his palm rested lightly against her lower back, carrying a clear sense of ownership.
Meanwhile, his heavy gaze crossed over the top of Jiang Man’s head, landing on Sam.
Jiang Man took the paper box, raising her head intending to say thank you.
Just as she raised her head, she saw Qi Zhicheng’s expressionless profile.
Before she could react, a gentle smile had unfolded on his face once more, and he lowered his head, asking by her ear, “What were you doing just now? I saw you chatting very congenially with this gentleman.”
“Just discussing some things for decorating the party,” Jiang Man gave a simple, rough summary, “Sam said he also wanted to learn how to fold table runners from me.”
Qi Zhicheng gave a faint murmur of agreement.
He reached out to take that unfolded table runner from Jiang Man’s hand, methodically smoothing out the creases, then raised his eyes to look at Sam, walking over step by step.
He was half a head taller than Sam, standing still in front of him.
Lowering his eyes slightly, he looked down at him.
His gaze was icy cold and devoid of warmth, yet a smile remained on his face as he extended his hand: “Hello, I am Zane, Mandy’s husband.”
Sam froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Jiang Man to be married already, his fingertips turning a bit stiff as he reached out, “Hello, Sam.”
After a brief handshake, they quickly separated.
“I heard from my wife that you want to learn how to fold table runners?” Qi Zhicheng smiled, pausing slightly, “As it happens, I have time, shall I teach you?”
Sam felt that this man’s eyes appeared gentle, but were in truth sharp and piercing. When the gaze landed on him, it always carried an invisible sense of pressure.
He waved his hands hurriedly, “Ah, no need, no need.”
“Oh, is that so.” Qi Zhicheng nodded as if understanding, “I saw you staying by my wife’s side the entire time asking her how to fold them, so I thought you really wanted to learn.” The corner of his lips hooked into a smile, “It seems I misunderstood.”
Sam’s scalp tightened under the man’s stare, and he could only pull at his lips, “Yeah… it was just a misunderstanding.”
Qi Zhicheng finally withdrew his gaze, turning to walk toward Jiang Man.
The softness restored to his eyes, he reached out to help tidy her long hair that had been blown messy by the wind.
“Knowing you love to eat strawberry-flavored macarons, I brought back a bit more, do you want to go inside to eat some first? It won’t taste good if left for too long.”
Jiang Man held that dessert box and nodded, “Okay.”
The smile on Qi Zhicheng’s face had not faded, and he naturally wrapped his arm around Jiang Man’s shoulder, their steps slowly walking toward the interior of the villa, his posture intimate.
Jiang Man was led along by him, smiling politely at Sam in a slightly blank manner as a farewell.
As they passed by Sam, Qi Zhicheng’s head turned slightly, the corner of his lips still hooked with a smile, yet his eyes were completely devoid of temperature.
He cast a sidelong glance at him, his lips moving soundlessly.
Sam clearly read the words from that mouth shape, “Fuck off.”
Once night fell, the bachelor party also began.
The back garden featured a broad lawn that connected with a large expanse of native woodland, with several tall oak trees scattered among it, and a few leisure chairs placed randomly beneath the trees.
The outdoor fireplace burned quietly, and red wine and craft beer were arranged neatly on several long tables. Champagne had been placed in ice buckets in advance, and the band in the corner performance area was deeply immersed in playing the blues.
Jiang Man and Qi Zhicheng leaned against the iron railing of the platform, gazing at the laughing and noisy crowd not far away.
Bernard was currently surrounded by a few friends who were forcing him to drink, and the projection screen looped photos of him and his fiancée.
This side was relatively quiet, and the mellow fragrance of wine could be smelled in the evening breeze.
“They look so well-matched.” Jiang Man looked at those photos on the screen, sighing with a smile.
She had indeed had two extra glasses tonight, her cheeks flushed a light red, her eyes also stained with a layer of blurriness by the alcohol.
“So are we,” Qi Zhicheng lowered his head, whispering to her.
Jiang Man raised her eyes lightly, falling right into his gaze.
Perhaps due to the effect of the alcohol, she did not avoid his gaze as he looked over. Their eyes met, a silent tide of emotion rippling, and the jazz blues drifting over with the night breeze became the best background.
Her heartbeat accelerated against her will.
Jiang Man tilted her head away, lowering her eyes, “But, I just feel a bit of regret.”
“Regret over what?”
“We’ve been married for three years, and everyone says we love each other very much, but I don’t remember anything,” she said somewhat dully, “I can’t even remember what our wedding looked like.”
Sometimes she would also wonder if her past self at the wedding was also like Bernard’s fiancée, with a smile that could not be hidden in her eyes.
And what kind of throb she carried in her heart to put on that wedding ring.
Qi Zhicheng raised his hand to help tidy the hair by her ear that had been blown messy by the wind, “It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember, those past memories are actually not that important. What matters is the present, and the future. As long as we are always together, those things that were forgotten can be slowly made up for by us.”
At this moment, a blonde man walked over carrying two glasses of champagne, “Zane, so you’re hiding here slacking off.”
He handed one of the champagne glasses to Qi Zhicheng, his gaze sweeping over the posture of the two leaning together, teasing with a smile, “It seems I didn’t come at the right time, disturbing your private talk.”
Qi Zhicheng responded with a smile, “It’s no disturbance, but if she drinks any more, she’ll have a headache tomorrow.” He turned his body to block Jiang Man, naturally taking the champagne handed over by that person, “My wife has drunk enough tonight, I’ll take this glass for her.”
He drank the wine in the glass completely, and the blonde man left behind a sentence of “I won’t disturb your affection”, leaving with a smile.
A burst of laughter came from afar.
A few young people were surrounding Bernard and clamoring, demanding him to recount the details of his proposal.
Jiang Man looked at the crowd in the distance, asking, “Actually, I’ve always wanted to ask, why… did you choose to marry me?”
She knew that for a wealthy family like the Qi family, marriage was never just a matter between two people.
A marriage was mostly a layout of resources and strategy, emphasizing mutual benefit and mutual achievement.
It often involved many complex connections of interests.
Standing from a realistic perspective, Jiangyuan Real Estate and the Qiheng Group were completely not on the same level.
She was simply not the most suitable marriage partner.
Qi Zhicheng seemed to find her question amusing, raising his lips and counter-questioning faintly, “Why do you think it is?”
Jiang Man thought for a second, “Is it a commercial marriage?”
Qi Zhicheng laughed.
Jiang Man froze for a moment, blinking her eyes as she came to a realization.
As a commercial giant with businesses spread across the globe, the Qiheng Group’s scale and influence had long stood at the peak of the pyramid.
Standing at such a height, it had long since had no need to rely on marriage to consolidate or expand its interests.
Even if there were a marriage alliance, the one who truly benefited would only be the weaker party.
“Manman, I only want to tell you, no one can force me to marry someone I don’t like.”
Jiang Man blinked her eyes slowly.
“The commercial marriage you mentioned, what those people want might be a binding of interests, but what I want is only you.”
Qi Zhicheng looked at her without blinking, his voice dropping lower, tender and affectionate, “I like you, I love you, so I want to marry you, it’s as simple as that.”
Stuck for words for a few seconds, Jiang Man’s face felt a wave of heat.
Her state of mind was thrown into a mess once again because of his words.
Amidst her daze, the lights suddenly extinguished with a click.
The entire backyard instantly fell into pitch darkness.
The darkness without any warning caused Jiang Man to instantly fall into a burst of panic.
She retreated instinctively, but her back bumped against the man’s chest.
In the darkness, a pair of warm, large hands firmly gripped her hand.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Qi Zhicheng’s voice was right by her ear, his breath brushing past the tip of her ear.
Jiang Man heard fine laughter coming from afar, mixed with the sound of the cake cart’s wheels rolling, and there was the sweet, cloying scent of cream in the air.
Qi Zhicheng explained to her, “It’s a surprise prepared for Bernard, they always love to pull off this kind of sudden ceremony.”
Jiang Man’s shoulders were tensed, her fingers holding onto his without letting go.
He squeezed her hand, comforting her, “In truth, darkness is not that scary. Sometimes it just wants you to slow down and look at the things you usually don’t notice.”
The wind blew over from the oak forest, carrying the vague blues melody from afar.
“Let’s count some numbers, shall we? When we count to five, perhaps there will be a different discovery.”
Qi Zhicheng’s voice was very light, saying right by her ear, “One.”
In Jiang Man’s sight was boundless blackness.
“Two.”
Before her eyes was still a patch of black.
“Three.”
Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, and she saw some blurry halos of light.
It should be the unextinguished sparks in the fireplace, orange-red, jumping occasionally.
“Four.”
Jiang Man blinked her eyes, and she saw the blurry outline of the iron railing, with roses and vines intertwined and tangled together.
A warmth swelled within her heart, driving her to want to raise her head, wanting to look toward the man beside her, right at the moment she raised her face—
“Five.”
He happened to count down the final number.
Jiang Man’s gaze bumped into his eyes. Within her not-so-clear vision, she saw the man’s pitch-black, gentle eyes, which seemed to contain fine fragments of light, focusing solely on looking at her alone.
Looking at those eyes, some images suddenly flashed across her mind.
The blues melody by her ear vanished, replaced by the ceaseless flow of traffic on a Manhattan night, and the light sound of the high-altitude wind sweeping past the glass curtain wall.
She stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of a sky garden restaurant, beneath her feet was a panoramic view from dozens of stories high.
In the night sky of prosperous New York, various neon lights competed for brilliance, extending from Fifth Avenue to Times Square. The flow of vehicles gathered into a golden belt of light, winding through the streets.
She wore a white, backless long dress, the hem extending all the way to her ankles.
A warm chest pressed against her exposed back.
The man’s arms encircled her waist from both sides, tightening.
Immediately afterward, a kiss landed by her ear.
“My Manman is so beautiful.”
She did not move, allowing the man’s kiss to linger from the tip of her ear to her neck, merely gazing blankly at the crowded throngs of people beneath her feet.
Times Square was already packed with people, fully charged with the New Year’s Eve atmosphere. Before the building opposite stood that New Year countdown crystal ball, which had been lit up and raised in advance.
The man loosened one hand, handing over a tall glass goblet from behind, inside of which was a pink and white dessert.
Strawberries were sliced into thin pieces, layered atop a pale pink mousse.
“Strawberry Dopamine.”
He placed the dessert on the table by her hand, his voice carrying a trace of a smile, “I remembered you love to eat this dessert from the Conservatory, so I specifically asked the head chef to keep it.”
Her eyes drooped, without any reaction.
The man kissed the side of her neck, “Manman, you know, I like to see the way you smile.”
She pulled up a smile, saying softly, “Thank you, I like it very much.”
Right at this moment.
The main lights of the restaurant suddenly went out.
Exactly the same as the darkness at Bernard’s bachelor party just now.
“Don’t be afraid, it’s the New Year’s Eve ceremony.”
The man’s arms tightened even further, circling her completely within his embrace, his lips pressed against the side of her neck.
Vague sounds of counting down came from afar, and the crowd downstairs was already cheering.
He picked up her hand, his fingers sliding into the gaps between her fingers, locking fingers with her.
“It will be the new year in a moment, let us count together, shall we?”
Her vision gradually adjusted to the darkness, and she saw that outside the floor-to-ceiling window, the giant display screen of the building opposite was jumping with red numbers.
The man’s voice was by her ear.
“Five.”
“Four.”
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One,” he murmured as he kissed the side of her neck, “How wonderful, in the new year, you are still by my side.”
Midnight.
The New Year’s bell rang right on time.
The crystal ball touched the bottom right on time, and at the same moment, massive fireworks bloomed in the night sky.
Countless colorful confetti poured down from the roofs of several tall buildings around Times Square like a grand blizzard.
Fluttering and drifting, boundless and dreamlike.
“Happy New Year, Manman,” he said by her ear.
Along with those floating confetti, the images in her mind slowly receded.
“Manman?”
Qi Zhicheng’s voice pulled back her consciousness.
Jiang Man snapped out of it, the silhouette in her mind gradually overlapping with the man before her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Qi Zhicheng noticed her anomaly, “Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?”
By her ear, applause and cheers also rang out at this moment. The candles on the cake cart were blown out, and the lights inside the backyard lit up once more.
Jiang Man saw Bernard in the distance being smeared with cake by his friends, his face covered entirely in cream.
Someone waved at them while holding champagne.
“I’m fine.”
She shook her head, not telling Qi Zhicheng about those images in her mind just now.
She was not sure if those were her past memories.
The party continued until very late before concluding.
Returning to the guest room on the second floor of the villa, Jiang Man already felt a bit of sleepiness, unable to help but let out a yawn.
“Go take a shower first,” Qi Zhicheng said, “then get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow is the wedding, it might be a bit tiring.”
Her fingers were squeezed lightly. Jiang Man lowered her head, only belatedly realizing that the two of them had maintained their finger-locking posture the entire time.
Her cheeks instantly turned completely red, and she hurriedly withdrew her hand, pulling away from the man’s grip, “I’m going to take a shower.”
She hid into the bathroom almost as if escaping.
After finishing her shower, Jiang Man walked out with light steps, not daring to look at Qi Zhicheng who was sitting on the sofa. With her head lowered, she walked quickly to the bedside, lifted the blanket and slid inside, only exposing half of her head.
Qi Zhicheng stood up.
He began unbuttoning the cuff buttons of his shirt.
His fingers were long and well-defined, and just the action of unbuttoning was highly pleasing to the eye.
He began removing his wristwatch.
His fingers pinched the watch crown, turning it lightly with a bit of casualness.
Jiang Man’s gaze scanned over inadvertently, and various messy thoughts popped up in her mind again uncontrollably.
Her face grew a few degrees hotter against her will. She hurriedly closed her eyes, shrinking further into the blanket, simply closing her eyes to avoid looking at him.
It was not until the sound of water in the bathroom rang out that Jiang Man quietly opened her eyes.
By the edge of the table lay the watch he had removed casually.
When the sound of water in the bathroom stopped, Jiang Man was still not asleep.
She poked her head out from the blanket to look over. Qi Zhicheng was currently drying his short hair, walking over to the side of the sofa, bending down to pick up the blanket folded yesterday.
His tall build appeared exceptionally cramped in front of the small sofa.
He had a tall stature and long legs, his height not losing out in the slightest among a crowd of Western men, whereas the length of that sofa was barely enough to reach his knees.
Lying down, he could not even stretch his legs straight.
Just thinking about it made one know how uncomfortably he had slept here last night.
Jiang Man thought of his hands holding her during the party just now, thought of the security he gave her in the darkness, and looking at this small sofa, a trace of guilt could not help but well up in her heart.
“Actually, the bed is quite large.”
She lowered her head, murmuring softly.
Qi Zhicheng’s movements paused, his eyes casting a sidelong glance.
After a silence of a few seconds, she finally raised her eyes, gathering her courage, “Do you want to sleep together?”