The next few days passed peacefully for Xu Lai. His life was ordinary but warm, and soon it was the end of September.

It was the day of Liu Nanwei and Li Mi's wedding.

The wedding banquet was held at Mingyue Tea House.

Mingyue Tea House was a property belonging to the Su Family of Hangcheng, with a clientele of elites and dignitaries from East Sea City. Since opening, it had never hosted a wedding banquet, but it made an exception for Liu Nanwei. This went to show that although the Liu Family hailed from a line of medical experts, their status in Hangcheng was very high, and their relationship with the Su Family was exceptionally close.

Mingyue Tea House was decorated inside and out with lanterns and streamers, bustling with extraordinary liveliness. Nearly every medical practitioner from East Sea, Hangcheng, Liu City, and other surrounding cities sent their blessings. Various hospitals even customized balloon banners.

From afar, the scene was utterly jubilant—

"The First People's Hospital of East Sea City wishes Mr. Li Mi and Ms. Liu Nanwei a long and happy life together."

"Hangcheng Mingyue Gynecology Hospital wishes Mr. Li Mi and Ms. Liu Nanwei the early birth of a precious child."

"Liu City Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital..."

"Hua Country Martial Dao Association..."

"East Sea Wushu Association..."

"..."

The marriage of the Liu Family's pearl of Hangcheng truly stirred the entire medical community of Hua Country. Li Mi could understand all of this, but what he found incomprehensible was why even the Martial Dao Association had sent their blessings...

However, his new father-in-law and older brother-in-law seemed to take it as a matter of course, their smiles growing even more sincere.

The wedding was a traditional Chinese ceremony. The bride, Liu Nanwei, was dressed in a cheongsam that perfectly showcased her figure and feminine charm. The groom, Li Mi, wore a Sun Yat-sen suit and looked quite impressive himself.

The pair stood at the entrance, greeting the arriving guests.

"Director Xu, you and your wife finally made it," Liu Nanwei said.

"The bride looks absolutely beautiful today," Ruan Tang remarked genuinely.

"Thank you," Liu Nanwei said with a beaming smile.

"A wedding gift."

Xu Lai took two jade pendants from his inner pocket and handed them over. Although he hadn't crafted them personally, they were far from ordinary; they were life-saving talismans.

Liu Nanwei and Li Mi reached out to accept them.

Coming from a prominent family, Liu Nanwei knew the moment she touched the jade that it was no ordinary object. It was a priceless treasure that money couldn't buy, and she loved it so much she couldn't put it down. She even took off her wedding necklace on the spot and put the jade pendant on, wearing it close to her skin.

And while Li Mi came from an ordinary family, he was a Second Grade Martial Artist with a much keener sense of Spiritual Energy. He couldn't help but exclaim in shock, "Director Xu, this... this is too precious! We can't accept it!"

"Why stand on ceremony with Director Xu?" Zhou Feng appeared with a grin. "It's your wedding day! You're the most important people here, even if the Jade Emperor himself shows up!"

"He has a point," Xu Lai laughed.

Li Mi was about to refuse again, but then he saw some friends and classmates waving him over and hurried off to greet them.

"Director Xu, please make yourselves at home. It's so busy today!" Liu Nanwei said cheerfully. She pointed to her new jade pendant, then gave Xu Yiyi's cheek a gentle pinch. "Thank you so much."

Holding Xu Yiyi's hand, Xu Lai walked into the tea house and leaned over to whisper in Ruan Tang's ear, "I'm really looking forward to seeing you as a bride."

Ruan Tang's beautiful eyes sparkled. She indulged in the fantasy for a moment before saying with a hint of regret, "I always imagined getting married in the winter, so I probably won't be able to wear a cheongsam."

"You look beautiful in anything."

Ruan Tang savored his words, but before she could respond, she heard him add, "Of course, I also like how you look with nothing on."

"Shut up!" Ruan Tang blushed as she scolded him.

They followed the crowd and presented their wedding gift—a neat sum of one thousand yuan.

Xu Lai's seat was arranged at the second table, a very good position. But that table was also occupied by Li Shouzhong, Yan Gui, and others...

Xu Lai had no desire to spend such a happy occasion lecturing on the medical arts, so he simply took his wife and daughter to a table in the farthest corner.

To everyone's surprise, Qian Xiao was also there with his mother. At last, Xu Lai met Ruan Tang's elusive good friend—Luo Chu.

True to her name, she was a remarkably gentle woman with glasses. That gentleness vanished whenever she looked at her son, Qian Xiao, however, replaced by an unusually strict expression.

Xu Lai frowned slightly. He sensed a powerful fluctuation of Spiritual Energy from Luo Chu—she was a Martial Artist, too! Her Boundary was even higher than Tan Chang's.

Luo Chu gave Xu Lai a small smile by way of greeting, then began happily catching up on domestic matters with Ruan Tang. She lamented how she and her husband had been so busy in recent years that they had no time to look after their son. Fortunately, Ruan Tang had enrolled Xu Yiyi in Galaxy Kindergarten, so at least Qian Xiao had a companion.

Compared to the adults' reflections, the children's happiness was much simpler. Qian Xiao and Xu Yiyi ran off together to play in Mingyue Tea House's children's area.

As Luo Chu and Ruan Tang were sipping tea and chatting, their conversation took an animated turn, and Luo Chu suddenly proposed, "Ruan Tang, why don't we just arrange a childhood marriage for our kids?"

"Sure."

"No!"

Ruan Tang was naturally willing, but Xu Lai's refusal was swift and absolute.

What a joke. Yiyi was his whole world. How could he possibly promise her to that little brat, Qian Xiao?

"I think we should respect the children's choices. This isn't the old days; who arranges child marriages anymore?" Xu Lai said earnestly. "Besides, what if Qian Xiao doesn't like girls?"

Luo Chu: ???

Ruan Tang's face darkened as she kicked Xu Lai under the table. "What nonsense are you spouting!"

"Ahem." Xu Lai coughed. "What I mean is, children should be in charge of their own lives."

"That's true." Luo Chu smiled apologetically. "I was being rash. It's just... something you said has me a little concerned..."

Xu Lai nodded. "Go on."

"Does Qian Xiao really not like girls? He seems to enjoy playing with Yiyi quite a lot," Luo Chu asked, her voice filled with worry.

Just as Xu Lai was about to explain it was just a slip of the tongue, Ruan Tang shot him a warning glare, forcing him to fall silent.

But his silence only made Luo Chu more certain that her son, Qian Xiao, might really have... that tendency.

"Thank you." Luo Chu gripped Ruan Tang's hand, her voice thick with emotion. "If your husband hadn't told me, Qian Xiao might have strayed further and further down the wrong path."

Ruan Tang's expression was rigid.

Xu Lai, however, waved his hand graciously. "No need to thank me. I love to help people."

ACHOO!

In the children's play area, Qian Xiao sneezed. The little guy, happily playing with building blocks with his "Miss Boss," was completely unaware of the storm awaiting him at home.

It wasn't until a late night many years later that Qian Xiao suddenly recalled that evening's "mixed doubles" beating from his mother and father. Tears streamed down his face as he sobbed and stared up at the sky.

To this day, he still didn't know why his parents had been so harsh. He had even less of a clue about the ulterior motive behind his mother's question about whether he liked girls. All he remembered was that a few dark clouds dotted the sky that day, a perfect mirror for his aggrieved heart.

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