CH 131

Chapter 131 – A Wedding

As the last “jump” command was given, Wei Chen and Chen Li leaped together and exited the helicopter. The moment they left, the sensation of weightlessness engulfed them, and they started plummeting rapidly. The wind became sharp, stinging their faces.

This kind of free-fall and weightlessness could stir up the deepest fears within a person, causing them to lose their sanity and surrender to this terror.

However, Chen Li was different. He felt unusually clear-headed at this moment. Adrenaline surged through his body, and he was in a state of extreme excitement. He didn’t feel afraid because he knew Wei Chen was behind him, and Wei Chen would ensure a safe landing on the ground.

Soon, they heard a “whoosh” sound as the parachute opened. Their descent slowed down due to the large canopy, and the moment was tranquil, allowing them to open their eyes and take in the world from high above through their goggles.

It was a completely different feeling from being in the helicopter—a sense of immersion that made them feel crazier and more exhilarated.

“Li Li, we’re flying,” Wei Chen said to Chen Li, lowering his head to speak in his ear. However, the strong wind carried his words away, and they didn’t reach Chen Li’s ears. Still, Chen Li understood what Wei Chen meant and turned to look at him, and Wei Chen looked back.

At kilometers above the ground, they exchanged a deep affectionate gaze, and then they exchanged smiles.

Their parachute slowly descended in the sky, and the world around them gradually regained its normal size. When they finally touched the ground, the salty sea breeze welcomed them, just as Wei Chen had anticipated. They landed on this beach.

In theory, this should be the peak tourist season in Australia, and even if the beach wasn’t crowded, there should still be a few people around. However, at this moment, there were only Wei Chen and Chen Li on this beach.

This could only mean that it was a private beach.

But why did Wei Chen bring Chen Li to land on a private beach? What was his intention?

Wei Chen certainly didn’t have any malicious intentions; all he had planned was a carefully prepared surprise.

This private beach didn’t belong to Wei Chen; it was owned by the Sheng family. When Wei Chen asked for leave and mentioned taking Chen Li to Australia for a trip, Sheng Jiaqi gave him the address of this private beach, allowing him to use it if needed.

Originally, Wei Chen had already put some thought into this trip, and now with someone providing a venue, he had the perfect place to execute his carefully prepared surprise.

As they landed, Chen Li was still immersed in the excitement of the sky, but Wei Chen pulled him up and said, “Li Li, I’ll take you somewhere.”

With a bewildered expression, Chen Li followed Wei Chen, carrying his doubts along.

They walked forward, and there was a path paved with colorful flowers. Various flower petals adorned the path, and ahead of it was a draped curtain blowing in the sea breeze. The setting sun’s rays passed through the curtain, creating an ethereal scene.

In the distance, the flying curtain glimmered with golden light, and beyond that was the azure expanse of the sea and sky—a truly magical place.

Holding Chen Li’s hand, Wei Chen walked along the path decorated with colorful flowers. The combination of the salty sea breeze, the fragrance of flowers, and the sea of colorful marbles buried on both sides of the flower path created an indescribable sensation—a feeling of tranquility and joy.

The path was long, and Chen Li soon noticed the dazzling marbles lining both sides. Under the sunlight, the marbles reflected colorful lights, making the flower path look like it was adorned with radiant glass, a mesmerizing display.

“Achen, marbles,” Chen Li said. The colorful flowers couldn’t grab his attention, but the two rows of gorgeous marbles captivated his gaze.

His acquaintance with Wei Chen began with a marble, which Chen Li used to treasure before reuniting with Wei Chen. When endless darkness weighed him down, and he struggled to breathe, he would take out that marble, wipe away the dust, and place it over his heart. At such moments, Chen Li felt invigorated.

“Hmm, marbles,” Wei Chen seemed unusually nervous now. He couldn’t understand why, given that he had faced countless grand occasions before. His palms were sweating, and he thought that Li Li should know.

“Achen, your hand seems sweaty,” Chen Li was always honest.

“Yeah,” Wei Chen admitted openly. “My hand is sweaty because I’m nervous.”

“Why are you nervous?” Chen Li asked.

Wei Chen locked his gaze onto Chen Li’s eyes and earnestly replied, “Because our wedding is about to take place.”

“A wedding?” Chen Li’s eyes widened suddenly. “Our wedding?”

Wei Chen nodded. “Yes, our wedding.”

The pre-arranged wedding march began playing, and Wei Chen first let go of Chen Li’s hand, then performed a gentlemanly gesture and extended his hand towards Chen Li. Devoutly, he asked, “My dear Mr. Chen Li, will you join me in walking into the wedding hall?”

Chen Li understood the significance of the wedding, but he had never really thought about it. After all, he knew he and Wei Chen were already legally married, a legally recognized couple.

Wei Chen’s actions surprised Chen Li, his eyes grew wide, and his mouth curved into a smile. “Sure,” he said and placed his hand in Wei Chen’s outstretched hand.

Though everything was already settled, Wei Chen was still nervous. During those few tens of seconds when his hand was open, Wei Chen’s palms became sweaty again. When Chen Li finally put his hand in Wei Chen’s, Wei Chen noticed that Chen Li’s palm was also moist. It turned out that his Li Li could also get nervous.

When Wei Chen looked up at Chen Li, his gaze met a broad smile on Chen Li’s face, and Wei Chen was left dumbfounded. He had never seen Chen Li smile like this before.

“Li Li, you’re smiling,” Wei Chen said.

“I am,” this time Chen Li didn’t wonder what a smile was because he already knew how to smile and what it meant.

Wei Chen resisted the urge to kiss the curved eyebrows and eyes of Chen Li’s smiling face. He held Chen Li’s hand and walked along the flower path adorned with five hundred flowers, step by step, approaching the tent draped with a curtain.

Because of the curtain, they couldn’t see inside the tent clearly, but once Chen Li stepped inside, he saw the decoration.

It was quite simple inside, with a few of the paintings Chen Li had drawn before hanging on the walls. At that time, Chen Li’s paintings were filled with gloom and fear, but now, with the golden sunlight passing through them, the darkness in the paintings was dispelled.

“Mr. Chen Li, I’m willing to be your partner, through good times and bad, wealth and poverty, health and sickness, happiness and sorrow. I will love you, cherish you, remain faithful to you, forever and ever. What about you?”

While Chen Li’s gaze lingered on his previous artwork, Wei Chen’s deep voice echoed in his ears.

Chen Li immediately turned his head to look at Wei Chen, and their eyes met, with Wei Chen’s gentle gaze having the power to drown him. In that moment, Chen Li felt his heart skip a beat, but the next moment, it pounded fiercely, thumping in his chest.

“What about you?” Wei Chen couldn’t bear Chen Li’s silence and asked again, his palms sweating and his fingertips trembling slightly.

Chen Li kept his gaze fixed on Wei Chen and then spoke, imitating Wei Chen’s words, “Mr. Wei Chen, I’m willing to be your partner, through good times and bad, wealth and poverty, health and sickness, happiness and sorrow. I will love you, cherish you, remain faithful to you, forever and ever.”

Their eyes locked intensely, and a surge of emotions filled both of them.

“Li Li, I want to kiss you,” Wei Chen said.

Chen Li’s response was straightforward. He immediately tiptoed and kissed Wei Chen’s lips.

Wei Chen held Chen Li’s waist possessively, deepening the kiss, as if through this contact, their souls were intertwining, bound together.

Sunlight poured through the curtain, casting their embraced shadows, until they merged into one, tightly entwined.

It felt like a century had passed, and finally, their lips and tongues separated. Wei Chen took out a crimson box from his pocket.

His slender fingers opened the box, revealing two identical rings, a pair of wedding rings for them, lying side by side.

Wei Chen selected the smaller-sized one and placed it on Chen Li’s finger.

These rings were not store-bought; Wei Chen had specially designed them, incorporating their names into the design. Since Chen Li had lost weight, he had the designer add a mechanism that would allow the ring to adjust to his finger even if he gained weight in the future.

Wei Chen took off the ring he had bought from the store and replaced it with the new one. Chen Li didn’t mind at all; he could feel the intertwining of their names within the ring, and he loved it.

“Li Li, will you put it on me?” Wei Chen asked.

Without any hesitation, Chen Li picked up the other ring from the crimson box and carefully put it on Wei Chen’s ring finger. As he slid it on, Chen Li felt a surge of excitement, as if by putting this ring on Wei Chen’s finger, he had locked him in forever.

Wei Chen didn’t throw away the crimson box because it contained another part of the rings—a small key, one for each ring.

The designer of these rings was quite ingenious. He suggested that since one ring could be adjusted to fit a larger finger, they should make both rings with the same adjustable mechanism. They added a small lock inside this mechanism.

Once the ring was on the finger, it would lock firmly in place, able to adjust as the finger changed in size. However, without the corresponding small key, the ring couldn’t be removed.

So now, Wei Chen and Chen Li helped each other put on this pair of rings, essentially locking each other in. To remove the rings, they would need to use the small keys.

Wei Chen mixed up the two small keys and handed the one that could unlock his ring to Chen Li, while keeping the key to Chen Li’s ring with him.

In doing so, they became each other’s keys, and without each other’s consent, they couldn’t remove the rings from their fingers.

The tent was not far from the seashore. After receiving the key, Chen Li walked to the edge, took a deep breath, and forcefully threw away the key that could unlock Wei Chen’s ring.

He wanted to lock Wei Chen firmly, never to let go.

After tossing the small key into the vast sea, Chen Li turned to Wei Chen with a determined look, expressing his resolution.

Wei Chen was pleased by Chen Li’s actions. He reached out, ruffled Chen Li’s hair, and then, in a carefree manner, threw the other small key into the boundless sea.

From then on, they locked each other, never wanting to let go of one another.