Don’t Ignite It chapter 70

Pre Wedding Jitters

On this particular evening, Xia Yu didn’t stay overnight at the small mansion with Lu Zhao. Instead, they stayed in an apartment that Lu Zhao had purchased in the city.

As they were leaving, Xia Yu caught a glimpse of Shen Rao, who had been by Lu Yuqing’s side for many years, and exchanged greetings with her before departing.

Xia Yu had never met this Ms. Shen before, but in his imagination, she should have been an ethereal and charming type to have kept Lu Yuqing by her side for so many years.

However, Shen Rao was far from being as beautiful as Mrs. Lu and could only be described as delicate, even a bit timid and reserved. She seemed nervous in front of Lu Zhao and instinctively held her daughter close.

Lu Zhao had always maintained a polite but distant attitude toward Shen Rao.

He exchanged a few pleasantries with her and placed a safety charm for the child in his sister’s crib before leaving.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t attend her one-month celebration,” Lu Zhao said. “I wish her a lifetime of safety.”

Then he left with Xia Yu, never looking back.

Behind him, the heavy doors of the small mansion, inspired by Jiangnan gardens, closed shut. His father, his father’s lover, and his young sister remained behind those doors.

The home he had as a young boy, not warm enough but still nurturing, seemed frozen in the past.

Lu Zhao sat in the back seat of the car, watching as the small mansion grew farther away, gently holding Xia Yu’s hand.

……………………

Time passed quickly, and another half a year had gone by, now in the summer of the following year.

The wedding date of Xia Yu and Lu Zhao was approaching, the invitations had already been sent out, and the wedding attire had been delivered to their homes. The wedding venue was chosen at a seaside hotel invested in by Lu Zhao, and there was no turning back now.

As Xia Yu looked at the countdown on the calendar, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.

At this moment, he wasn’t at his own home or at his fiancé’s house; instead, he was at Xu Zhan’s place.

This didn’t sit well with Qin Sheng, and he couldn’t help but resent Xia Yu for it.

But Qin Sheng couldn’t do anything about it. Xu Zhan treated Xia Yu like a pampered younger brother, showering him with affection. Even their two pet cats couldn’t compete for his attention.

Xia Yu leaned against Xu Zhan as they watched cartoons, and he couldn’t stop talking about how it seemed like Lu Zhao had pre-wedding jitters, as if he wanted to put a camera on him to make sure he didn’t run away.

Qin Sheng was in the kitchen washing dishes with a disgruntled expression on his face. He secretly wanted to inform Lu Zhao to come and take his fiancé away. However, when he looked into Xu Zhan’s gentle and smiling eyes, he didn’t dare to. He could only continue washing dishes and then pace around the living room, like a proud peacock.

In a matter of minutes, Xu Zhan called out to him, “Qin Sheng.”

Qin Sheng’s spirits lifted, thinking that finally, Xu Zhan couldn’t resist his charms and was no longer ignoring him.

However, Xu Zhan said, “Stop pacing around; it’s making me dizzy. If you have nothing to do, go and play with Mao Tuan for a while.”

Qin Sheng: “…”

He felt defeated and glared at Xia Yu before reluctantly heading to the balcony. There, he played with a white-furred cat with a feather toy half-heartedly.

Xia Yu laughed softly behind him.

Xu Zhan patted Xia Yu’s head. “You, too. Your wedding is just two days away. What are you doing here with me?”

Xia Yu couldn’t explain. He wasn’t having second thoughts about marrying Lu Zhao, but he did feel a bit anxious. These days, he didn’t feel like seeing Lu Zhao. When Lu Zhao came to his house a few days ago to look for him and smiled at him through the window, Xia Yu had actually blushed. At thirty years old, Lu Zhao was exceptionally handsome and charming. Xia Yu had felt embarrassed behind the window.

Now, thinking back to that scene, he couldn’t help but smile.

He covered his face with a manga book and said confidently, “I’m superstitious. It’s not good for us to see each other before the wedding. But when I’m at home, Lu Zhao always wants to visit me, which is not good.”

Xu Zhan laughed and held Xia Yu’s hand. “When we got married, why weren’t you this superstitious?”

Xia Yu peeked out from under the manga book and smiled sweetly at Xu Zhan, his eyes crescent-shaped.

Xu Zhan gently ruffled Xia Yu’s hair.

He could see that Xia Yu was a bit nervous, quite different from when they had gotten married. Xia Yu seemed to be a mix of anticipation, nervousness, shyness, and joy, as if he had returned to his impulsive and passionate youth.

Xu Zhan found it amusing but also felt a hint of envy.

While he was lost in thought, Xia Yu lightly hooked his finger with Xu Zhan’s and whispered, “Xu Zhan, my bouquet is made of lilies, it looks beautiful.”

Although neither Xia Yu nor Lu Zhao had prepared a bouquet to throw or give speeches, the bouquet-throwing tradition was still retained. During the wedding banquet, they would each throw a bouquet to their respective groomsmen.

Lu Zhao’s bouquet had already been reserved by his friend named Qi Xun, who was getting married later in the year.

Xia Yu had hesitated for a long time between Jiang Ti and Xu Zhan but ultimately leaned towards Xu Zhan.

He was happy now, and he wanted Xu Zhan to be happy too.

He hooked Xu Zhan’s pinky finger and whispered softly, “You have to remember to catch it, okay?”