Chapter 45: A Happy Ending for All

"Xinxin, how can you be so willful?"

Bai Meilan slightly knitted her delicate brows as she looked at Peng Jiaxin.

"I apologize, Mother-in-law, it was my fault for not making myself clear. My headache isn't about having two wedding ceremonies, but rather where to hold the second one. It wouldn't be proper to hold both in Suzhou, would it?"

"That's easily solved."

Peng Guojun chimed in.

"Why not hold another one in Xiaofan's hometown? Come to think of it, we haven't met Xiaofan's grandparents yet."

Hearing this, Chen Fan awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sorry, Father-in-law, the situation in my hometown is a bit complicated and not really suitable for hosting a wedding."

Peng Guojun looked at Old Chen, and Old Chen nodded in agreement.

"It's a long story. To put it simply, our family had a falling out with those people."

"...My apologies."

"It's fine. It's actually us causing trouble for you. I'm sorry, my dear daughter-in-law, that we can't manage to give you two wedding ceremonies."

"No, no, it's fine, I..."

Peng Jiaxin waved her hands frantically. She finally understood why Chen Fan had been so confident that his family absolutely could not host a wedding—so this was the reason!

She glared fiercely at Chen Fan. Why didn't you say so earlier?!

Chen Fan noticed Peng Jiaxin's look and secretly gave her a thumbs-up.

Everything went smoothly!

Smoothly my foot!

Peng Jiaxin was practically on the verge of tears.

But there was no help for it; things had already reached this point. If she didn't carry on, her conscience would suffer a heavy condemnation.

Though, admittedly, she was already feeling overwhelmingly guilty as it was.

Chen Fan, you just wait for me when we get home!

Gritting her teeth, Peng Jiaxin continued according to the plan.

"Mom, isn't there still another place where we could hold the wedding?"

Peng Guojun almost instantly realized what Peng Jiaxin was about to say. He cast a surreptitious glance at his wife beside him.

"Well, I suppose there is, come to think of it."

Bai Meilan massaged her forehead. So the target was her all along?

Back then, in order to marry Peng Guojun, Bai Meilan had a severe falling out with her family. Before leaving, Elder Bai had uttered all sorts of harsh threats, and she, too, had been carried away by the heat of the moment, letting all sorts of hurtful words that wounded both others and herself tumble from her lips. By the time the two of them came to their senses, both were filled with regret, but it was already too late.

In the 27 years that followed, she had never returned home to see Elder Bai even once.

It wasn't that she didn't want to, but rather that she didn't dare.

The words spoken by father and daughter had both left scars in each other's hearts. Time might have dulled them significantly, but the scars remained.

Bai Meilan was afraid her father had not yet forgiven her, and Elder Bai was afraid his daughter still held a grudge against him because of his past words. Clearly, the two of them had communicated through Peng Jiaxin countless times already, yet neither was willing to admit that the other had long since forgiven them.

Wang Juan sensed that something was amiss. The dynamic between her in-laws and the older generation seemed somewhat delicate. She placed her hand on Old Chen's thigh to prevent this fellow from running his mouth.

Old Chen patted his wife's hand.

"Wife, I understand."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

Old Chen returned a "you can rest easy" look.

Wang Juan skeptically withdrew her hand. When had this guy ever been so reasonable? Just to be safe, she added a reminder.

"Then make sure you don't blurt anything out."

"Yeah."

Old Chen patted his chest.

"Trust me!"

With that, Old Chen raised his voice and declared loudly,

"In-law, if you don't mind, why don't we have our daughter-in-law's second wedding ceremony held in Beijing?"

Wang Juan's eyes widened as she stared at Old Chen in disbelief.

"What on earth did you understand?!"

"Huh? Weren't you telling me to step up and break the deadlock?"

"......"

Wang Juan hurriedly offered an apology.

"It's fine, it's fine."

With Old Chen's intervention, the atmosphere was no longer awkward. Peng Guojun wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and looked at Bai Meilan.

"Wife, we really should go back and take a look. I heard Dad had surgery some time ago."

"That's right, Meilan. Our family wronged you in the past, but as children and parents, what hurdle cannot be crossed? Now is the perfect opportunity. Meilan, don't wait until you're separated by death to harbor regrets."

"Mom, please don't put it that way."

Bai Meilan waved her hand hastily, lowering her head. Her voice became very soft, but Peng Guojun, sitting right beside her, heard her clearly.

"If... if Dad agrees to it, I don't have any objections."

It worked!

Peng Guojun cast a grateful look at Old Chen.

Old Chen waved his hand dismissively, remaining modest and cloaked in merit.

"I'll call Grandpa right now!"

With Bai Meilan's side settled, Elder Bai's side was even easier. Upon hearing that his granddaughter was coming to Beijing to hold her wedding, and bringing her mother along too, Elder Bai was so happy that he downed several cups of hard liquor that evening.

"Grandpa agreed."

Barely five minutes later, Peng Jiaxin returned with the good news.

Consequently, for the remainder of the meal, everyone was in an even higher spirits. Thinking of how she would soon see her father, Bai Meilan couldn't help shedding tears of joy.

The wedding date wasn't set that night; Grandma Peng said she needed to consult someone to calculate a favorable date. Both Bai Meilan and Ms. Wang Juan enthusiastically agreed, so the three of them made plans to visit a temple to pay their respects the next day.

"In that case, Old Chen, the two of us must catch a big fish tomorrow to bring some good fortune to the family."

"Well said, Old彭. To be honest with you, Old Peng, I was just a bit rusty today and hadn't gotten used to the local waters yet, otherwise I would have reeled in two for sure."

"Mhm, I'll take you to a great spot tomorrow."

And just like that, the Chen couple smoothly and naturally ended up staying overnight at the Peng family villa. As for Chen Mengting, she hugged Peng Jiaxin's arm and announced that she wanted to sleep with her sister-in-law tonight.

The adults readily agreed.

Chen Fan: "......"

Declaring that you want to sleep with my wife right in front of my face—Chen Mengting, you've grown quite bold, haven't you!

Just you wait until we get home, I'll deal with you.

......

Back home, before Chen Fan even had a chance to lecture Chen Mengting, he was pulled by Peng Jiaxin straight into her bedroom.

This was Chen Fan's first time stepping into Peng Jiaxin's private boudoir. How should he put it... it was very much her style.

Unlike Chen Fan's flashy and colorful room, the overall aesthetic of Peng Jiaxin's bedroom was minimalist and clean, dominated by gray tones without feeling oppressive in the least.

Peng Jiaxin sat down on her large bed and crossed her legs.

"Chen Fan, don't you have anything you want to explain to me?"

"Explain?"

Chen Fan was baffled. Wasn't tonight's operation carried out quite smoothly? With completely natural movements, he tried to sit down beside Peng Jiaxin, only to be frightened into instinctively straightening his posture by the cold gaze of his CEO wife.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

Chen Fan instantly grasped what Peng Jiaxin meant.

"It's not that I didn't want to tell you; it's just that I only knew half of it myself. Everything I knew was pieced together from random scraps whispered by the neighbors. Mom and Dad never talked to me about those unpleasant matters."

"What about your grandparents?"

"They passed away. Apparently, they died when my dad was still a little boy."

Peng Jiaxin fell silent.

"Then your maternal grandfather..."

"The unpleasantness was all because of him. Word has it that when my parents were getting married, he demanded an exorbitant bride price. Claiming they didn't have that much money, he practically tried to sell my mom to some rich second-generation heir in the provincial capital.

My dad showed some backbone—he sold off the house and everything else his parents had left him, married my mom, and then moved to Yunshui Town where we live now. He built a house there and, through all sorts of hardships, raised me and Chen Mengting to adulthood."

"...I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Although my family didn't have much money when I was little, my parents never let me go without food or clothing. I respect them deeply."