Chapter61
Not long after New Year’s Day came the Lunar New Year.
This was perhaps the year Meng Fanchuan was most eager to leap into. Earlier, Zhuang Tai had consulted a master to analyze their birth charts and select an auspicious date, determining April as the ideal time. But Meng Fanchuan couldn’t wait at all, wishing he could marry Cen Zhen the moment the clock struck midnight on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Zhuang Tai had no choice but to ask the master to pick another date, finally settling the wedding for the eighth day of the first lunar month.
That day also coincided with Western Valentine’s Day, adding an extra layer of romance to the wedding.
In the twelfth lunar month, Meng Songnian and Zhuang Jiayi took Meng Fanchuan to Hangzhou for a formal visit.
Zhuang Jiayi, being from Hong Kong, followed her hometown traditions for her son’s wedding. Half a month in advance, she arrived at Cen Zhen’s home for the betrothal and gift-giving ceremonies.
Though Xiao Yunqi had mentally prepared herself when Zhuang Jiayi promised to marry Cen Zhen grandly, she was still stunned when the Meng family arrived with their betrothal gifts.
Their entire 45-square-meter living room couldn’t contain the Meng family’s offerings.
The only authorized media team, there to document the event, was equally dumbfounded. Their cameras couldn’t keep up, so they frantically photographed the gift ledger, afraid to miss such an extravagant scene.
They hadn’t expected that a wealthy family’s betrothal gifts would require a detailed inventory.
The ledger vaguely listed luxurious items like “one diamond tiara, six pairs of gold bangles, six brooches, six pearl necklaces, a pair of couple’s watches,” alongside everyday items like “ten coats, ten handbags, ten pairs of shoes and socks, dragon-phoenix bedding,” and even things like “several boxes of wedding cakes, paired lotus roots, paired pomegranates.”
The densely packed booklet was impossible to tally in monetary terms.
And these were just the ordinary gifts. The most valuable were the 680 million yuan dowry, two villas in Beijing and Hangzhou, and two cars worth tens of millions.
Xiao Yunqi stood in the living room, filled with jewelry, luxury bags, and watches, feeling dizzy. “In-laws, isn’t this too much?”
Zhuang Jiayi smiled. “You raised such an outstanding daughter. It’s Fanchuan’s blessing to marry her. No matter how much we give, it’s only right.”
Meng Songnian nodded. “It’s a custom from my wife’s side. We hope you’ll share the wedding cakes generously with relatives and neighbors.”
Did Xiao Yunqi even need to distribute them herself? Word had spread that the Xiao family’s celebrity daughter was getting married, and neighbors crowded at the door to watch the spectacle. Ordinary folks had never seen a betrothal ceremony with five or six luxury cars leading the way, parked in a grand procession outside the Xiao residence, exuding grandeur even before the formal wedding.
While the parents discussed wedding details outside, the young couple whispered in the room.
“We have to be apart for so many days.” Meng Fanchuan held Cen Zhen lightly, sighing. “Can’t I just stay?”
With less than a week until the Lunar New Year, last year they’d spent it together. This year, with special circumstances and her impending marriage, Cen Zhen wanted to stay in Hangzhou to keep her mother company.
Meng Fanchuan wanted to stay too, but Cen Zhen playfully shooed him away. “We’re getting married on the eighth. Don’t be so clingy.”
“But that’s still half a month away.”
“You waited a whole year. Can’t you handle half a month?”
“…”
Meng Fanchuan gave a helpless smile. She was right—he’d waited a year, but these last few days before the wedding made him oddly impatient.
He leaned down, kissing her lips gently. “Which wedding dress did you pick?”
Cen Zhen pursed her lips. “Not telling you.”
After Meng Fanchuan’s successful proposal last year, Zhuang Jiayi had taken charge of preparing her daughter-in-law’s wedding attire and jewelry. Not trusting her son with these matters, she personally oversaw everything, from the main wedding gown to the smallest diamond in the jewelry.
Zhuang Jiayi met countless haute couture designers, showing Cen Zhen over a hundred dress sketches. Last summer, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo finalized a brand, flying to France for measurements. Cen Zhen thought she’d pick one dress, but by year-end, the brand airlifted dozens of elaborate, luxurious gowns to Beijing. When the staff delivered them to the Meng family, Zhuang Jiayi told Cen Zhen, “Pick nine for the wedding day.”
Cen Zhen was stunned. Nine?
Was she getting married or walking a runway?
But that wasn’t all—
Zhuang Jiayi added, “There’s also a traditional qun kwa being handmade by a master in Hong Kong. The embroidery is intricate, so it’ll take a bit longer.”
On the wedding day, there would be ten outfits in total—various wedding dresses and the qun kwa—for a perfect, auspicious ten.
“Auntie…” Cen Zhen felt it was excessive. “Isn’t that a bit much?”
“Fanchuan insisted,” Zhuang Jiayi said with a smile. “Don’t worry. He’s covering the costs. You just focus on looking beautiful for the wedding.”
So when Meng Fanchuan asked now, Cen Zhen refused to tell him which dress she’d chosen as her main gown.
“You’ll see it then.”
Meng Fanchuan didn’t mind, smiling and gazing quietly at Cen Zhen.
Even on the eve of their wedding, he sometimes felt this happiness was too surreal. His memory still lingered on the night they met, her in a white dress, sitting quietly in a corner, his gaze cutting through the crowd to land on her. He’d never imagined there’d come a day when they’d be anticipating their wedding together.
“What if you’re too beautiful?” he asked, teasing with sweet words. “I might not be able to handle it.”
The living room outside, adorned with various red and festive decorations, already had Cen Zhen’s heart racing. She teased Meng Fanchuan for being impatient, but deep down, she too had been waiting for this day for far too long.
“If you can’t handle it, you’ll just have to endure.” She laughed softly, her arms wrapping around Meng Fanchuan’s neck. After a pause, she looked up at him earnestly. “I’m going to marry you looking absolutely stunning.”
Just hearing those words filled Meng Fanchuan with an indescribable happiness that surged through his entire body. He encircled Cen Zhen’s waist, leaning down to kiss her, brushing her lips slowly before delving deeper to entwine their tongues. Laughter from their parents outside drifted in, unaware of the unabashed intimacy unfolding in the room.
They couldn’t even bear to part long enough to lock the door, kissing as they moved. Finally, Meng Fanchuan simply lifted Cen Zhen into his arms. The familiar position made her tremble instinctively. “Don’t—”
Heaven knows how she survived that night at the ski resort, helplessly suspended, neither here nor there, until she left Meng Fanchuan a mess.
The next day, when Zhuang Jiayi asked why she wasn’t skiing, Cen Zhen’s face flushed red, too embarrassed to tell her future mother-in-law that her legs were sore from walking.
Now, being held like this again, Cen Zhen feared he might go for another round. She hurriedly pressed against him. “…No way.”
Meng Fanchuan set her down at the door, reaching to lock it, then looked at her leisurely. “You want me that badly?”
Cen Zhen’s arms were still around his neck. “…Then why’d you lock the door?”
Meng Fanchuan might have had a fleeting impulse, but they were in Hangzhou, with both sets of parents just outside. No matter how much he wanted her, he wasn’t reckless enough to do anything here.
“I just wanted to kiss you quietly,” he said, honest enough.
Cen Zhen looked at him. “Really?”
Meng Fanchuan didn’t answer.
Leaning against the door, Cen Zhen paused, then tightened her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. “Hold me.”
She kissed him actively. After being together so long, she’d learned where Meng Fanchuan’s sensitive spots were. Her hands deliberately wandered downward. Meng Fanchuan was no saint—teased like this by his fiancée, his breathing grew heavy. No longer overthinking, he gripped her waist and kissed her back fiercely.
He kissed her lips, her collarbone, down to her slender neck, his wet tongue grazing her skin. Cen Zhen responded almost too eagerly, and he loved it, his body’s desires teetering on the edge of control. Then her soft laughter broke through:
“Didn’t you just want a kiss?”
Her hand rested on undeniable evidence, leaving Meng Fanchuan no room to argue.
He finally realized, “You did that on purpose.”
Cen Zhen blinked, unafraid. “I was just testing you.”
Clearly, Meng Fanchuan failed the test, his true intentions exposed all too easily.
“You tested me, so you’re responsible.” He pressed toward her aggressively, seeking another kiss. Cen Zhen, smiling, dodged him, but he trapped her in his arms, unable to move. Just as the kiss deepened with passion, a knock came from Zhuang Jiayi outside: “Fanchuan, it’s time to go.”
Cen Zhen: “…”
Meng Fanchuan: “…”
Cen Zhen hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. Meeting Meng Fanchuan’s gaze, she realized she might have played too far.
Meng Fanchuan was clearly at that unbearable peak.
“What do we do?” Cen Zhen wanted to laugh but didn’t dare.
Meng Fanchuan first answered Zhuang Jiayi outside, then pulled Cen Zhen close, lowering his voice to whisper in her ear, word by word: “Just wait. I’ll settle this score with you on our wedding day.”
Cen Zhen: “…”
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For Cen Zhen, besides the joy of her upcoming wedding, her starring role in *The Fall* was also making waves, rumored to be shortlisted for the main competition at Cannes. This meant that, at just 22 years old, this Chinese film actress had a shot at competing for the Best Actress award that year.
Many female celebrities walk the Cannes red carpet each year, but few have works selected for competition. Domestic films face numerous creative restrictions, resulting in rare nominations for top international awards.
Now, with *The Fall* in the main competition, even if Cen Zhen didn’t win the acting award, her resume already outshone her peers by miles.
If luck was on her side and she won, she’d become the youngest Chinese actress to claim the Cannes Best Actress title, with a limitless future ahead.
“Cannes contender, billionaire’s daughter-in-law, lavish wedding”—these tags tied to Cen Zhen made her and Meng Fanchuan’s wedding garner unprecedented attention.
When the betrothal gift ledger was reported, netizens were stunned.
“Is this what a wealthy family’s wedding looks like? The dowry alone could fund my life for ten lifetimes, right?”
“Those gold bangles look heavy enough to crush me. One pair is already wild, but six pairs?”
“I’ve never read a paper this closely. I roughly calculated—excluding the houses and cars, the gifts alone are worth about 100 million.”
“That’s how it is in Guangdong and Hong Kong. Cen Zhen’s future mother-in-law is from Hong Kong high society. There’s probably tons of fish maw, sea cucumber, and abalone too.”
“Cen Zhen’s studio hasn’t posted any February schedules. The wedding’s definitely in February!”
“Just flexing a bit: I live across from Cen Zhen’s hometown. Her mom sent over wedding cakes, saying the Meng family gave so much they couldn’t even give it all away in our neighborhood, lol.”
“Can’t Cen Zhen’s mom randomly send me a box too?”
“Hahahaha, I also want a random box!”
“Who knows where their wedding is being held? I want to go on the day to leech some traffic and livestream.”
“What kind of daydream is that, haha? Even the media might not get in, and you want to livestream?”
“Probably in Beijing. Keep an eye on the top luxury hotels for recent activity.”
#CenZhenMengFanchuanWedding #CenZhenWedding #MengFanchuan and other tags took turns trending during the New Year. Major marketing accounts tried to dig up the wedding date and location from various clues, while reporters and media quietly scoped out Beijing’s major hotels.
But what they didn’t know was that Meng Fanchuan and Cen Zhen’s wedding had long been set in Hong Kong.
There were many reasons. First, Zhuang Tai, Cen Zhen’s grandfather, had only recently recovered his health and had difficulty moving around. He expressed his wish for Meng Fanchuan to hold the wedding near him. As the only elder left in both families, no one could refuse.
Second, Beijing was still too cold during the New Year. Meng Fanchuan knew Cen Zhen was sensitive to the cold, and Hong Kong’s milder climate would let her comfortably wear those beautiful dresses for the wedding.
But the reason both Meng Fanchuan and Cen Zhen agreed on was this: they had too many cherished memories in Hong Kong.
Their first kiss was here, their first intimate moment was here, and their first mutual confession was here.
So many firsts made them feel that holding the most important ceremony of their lives in Hong Kong would be a kind of fulfillment.
Whether it was the eldest son’s alliance marriage before or the second son’s wedding now, the Meng family’s celebrations were never just a simple wedding.
The Meng family couple wielded well-known influence in elite circles across both sides of the strait. This wedding wasn’t just a celebration for the couple but also a grand social event showcasing the family’s wealth, connections, and status. Who to invite and how to invite them had been planned over six months ago by a dedicated team from Yawan’s PR department, led personally by manager Susan, handling everything from logistics to media and guest arrangements.
In the ceremony-obsessed Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau region, a wedding was more significant than getting a marriage certificate, especially for the prominent Zhuang family in Hong Kong.
For his beloved grandson’s wedding, Zhuang Tai was in high spirits, personally arranging the grandest venue. Before the wedding even began, he openly told the media he’d prepared a red envelope for his granddaughter-in-law.
When asked how much, the old man didn’t hide his favoritism. “Enough to buy a building on the Peak.”
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Hong Kong media finally caught Cen Zhen and her mother, Xiao Yunqi, secretly checking into a hotel. They excitedly reported:
“Meng-Zhuang adds another cross-strait wedding of the century! Following the eldest son’s grand wedding, Yawan’s second son, Meng Fanchuan, will wed mainland actress Cen Zhen! Our reporter captured Cen Zhen secretly arriving in Hong Kong recently, likely preparing for the wedding! Grandfather Zhuang Tai, in a recent interview, was in great spirits, praising Cen Zhen as beautiful and sensible, and revealed the couple will hold their wedding at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Our reporter scouted the venue, which began preparations a week ago. Exclusive photos released!”
The Meng family hired top interior designers to make the wedding lavish and romantic. Apart from fresh flowers to be flown in on the day, all other decorations started being set up a week prior. Thousands of staff at the Convention Centre worked overtime, with the venue tightly secured. Paparazzi could only snap a blurry photo from afar.
Even so, netizens quickly spotted two familiar names on the decorative backdrop.
—Lewis, Zhen!