The wedding was set on an island in Mexico.
Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez, the sea and sky blended into one endless expanse. Palm trees grew freely upwards, and villas were scattered picturesquely, their roofs glittering in the sun. The seasonal flowers in the garden were in full bloom, and every guest room had a view of the sea.
“Seriously, why can’t the newlyweds see each other the night before the wedding?”
“Seriously, why am I on Qi Ke’s side of the family? I feel like I’m closer to the Captain!”
“Seriously, I have the same question.”
Under the blue sea and sky, Zhong Yi, Meng Ying, and the bride-to-be Qi Ke lay side by side on lounge chairs. A giant parasol blocked the scorching sun, and in the small patch of shade, the three of them sighed in unison, bit down on their straws, and took a sip of iced Coke.
Simultaneously, the three said: “Ah, refreshing!”
“You two are heartless. Haven’t I been good to you?” Qi Ke crossed her legs. Her long, fair calves were dotted with a bit of sand. Her beautiful eyes darted back and forth, glaring at them both several times before she said slowly, “Besides, this was Sister Ming’s decision. I didn’t pay her salary, so whatever she says, goes.”
Meng Ying pushed her sunglasses up onto her forehead and said lazily, “I saw online that Sister Ming assigned the normal people to the Captain.”
Zhong Yi was furious. “Who are you calling not normal?”
Qi Ke threw cold water on her. “Would a normal person want to be a best man at a friend’s wedding?”
Zhong Yi flicked her long hair. “I had short hair back then. Who knew you’d be getting married now?” She glanced at Meng Ying. “So a normal person would say they want to be a flower girl?”
Meng Ying said calmly, “I’m not a normal person.”
Zhong Yi: “…”
Damn! She actually lost an argument to Meng Ying!
Zhong Yi placed her cup on the table beside her and suggested, “Want me to tell you guys a bad joke?”
The air was silent for two seconds.
Qi Ke stood up. “I suddenly feel like swimming.”
Meng Ying: “I suddenly miss Zhou Er.”
Qi Ke: “Get lost! You’re the only one who gets to see your partner!”
The two of them quickly walked away on the beach, bickering, leaving Zhong Yi’s lonely figure by the sea. She cursed under her breath as she finished her Coke, then collapsed onto the lounge chair and stared at the sky. “I miss Chengzhi so much!”
After a pause, she sent a message to the villa’s butler: “Please send me a glass of orange juice, thank you.”
If she couldn’t see the person, a substitute would do.
Meanwhile, Chengzhi was with Song Yushi… tidying up.
Finally, Chengzhi couldn’t take it anymore. She threw herself onto the sofa. “Captain, just kill me, will you?”
Song Yushi had just placed that day’s newspaper on the bedside table. Hearing this, she retorted reflexively, “No way. I’m getting married tomorrow. It would be bad luck if you died today.”
Chengzhi: “…”
Someone please just stab me!!!
“Captain, in the past two hours, you’ve moved this newspaper from the dining table to the bedside table, from the bedside table to the coffee table in the small living room, from the coffee table in the small living room to the table on the balcony, and now, it’s back on the bedside table.” Chengzhi wailed, “Please let it go! It’s just a newspaper!”
Song Yushi looked at the dense English text on the newspaper and asked in a small voice, “Really?”
Chengzhi nodded frantically.
“Alright.” Song Yushi sat on the bed, looking a bit like she didn’t know what to do. After a while, she said, “I’m a little nervous.”
“I know.” Having been her teammate for so long, how could Chengzhi not understand her captain? “The day before our debut stage, you cleaned the entire dorm inside and out, and you even wanted to wash the bed. If Qi Ke hadn’t stopped you, you would have had to squeeze into a small bed with Qi Ke that night.”
Song Yushi: “…”
Don’t remember my dark history so clearly, thank you.
Chengzhi got up and sat next to Song Yushi, patting her on the shoulder. “Alright, Captain, don’t be nervous.”
Song Yushi stared blankly out the window at the azure sky and sea, listening to the waves crashing against the shoreline. She sighed softly and murmured, “It feels like I’m dreaming.”
Chengzhi: “Hmm?”
“When I was adopted into the Ruan family, I sometimes really envied Ruan Xiangmeng. Her happiness was so easy. She had a mom and dad, pretty dolls, and a whole playroom. Back then, I felt like I had no future.”
“Captain…”
“The future… it felt so far away. I never thought I’d be sitting here one day, looking at the sea, waiting to marry the person I love tomorrow.”
“You deserve this.”
Song Yushi paused, turning to look at Chengzhi.
“Our Captain, so talented and so hardworking, and so beautiful. You’ve always worked hard at life, worked hard to find your way. Even at your lowest, you were unwilling to show any negativity to your fans. Don’t be scared. This happiness didn’t just suddenly appear. It was won by your past self for your present self.”
Song Yushi looked at Chengzhi and smiled.
Five minutes later.
Chengzhi received a message from Zhong Yi: How are things on your end?
Chengzhi: The Captain is a bit nervous. I gave her a little pep talk.
Zhong Yi: How did it go?
Chengzhi: Pretty good.
Zhong Yi: Oh.
Chengzhi: Haha, she just took the newspaper to the living room for the eight hundredth time. Kill me!!!
Zhong Yi: Knowing you’re not having a good time either, I feel relieved.
Chengzhi: Fuck you!
To prevent the young couple from meeting in secret, Song Yushi and Qi Ke’s villas were set far apart. After dinner, Song Yushi and Chengzhi went to the pier to pick up Ruan Xiangmeng, who had flown in from Copenhagen.
Song Yushi hadn’t seen her much since she went abroad. The little girl had grown up, become a designer after graduation, and was in a perpetual state of balding from stress. Although her heart condition couldn’t be completely cured, her life was peaceful, and her complexion had improved considerably.
After a few pleasantries, Song Yushi sent her back to the villa to catch up on sleep, while she and Chengzhi wandered on the beach.
Wandering and wandering.
Barefoot, she looked down at the trail of footprints she made in the sand. Just as she was enjoying herself, she suddenly heard Chengzhi gasp, grab her by the wrist, and pull her back to run.
Song Yushi was stunned for a moment, thinking they were under some kind of terrorist attack. Just as she was about to turn back, she heard someone shout, “Don’t turn around!”
It was Meng Ying.
In that instant, Song Yushi realized who was with Meng Ying. The more you’re told not to see someone, the more you want to. Song Yushi stopped. She didn’t turn around, but simply raised her voice and called out, “Qi Ke!”
“I’m here!” Qi Ke shouted back.
They weren’t far apart, a distance that could be covered in a dozen steps.
A faint smile graced Song Yushi’s lips. She asked, “How are you spending your last night of being single?”
Qi Ke asked back, “What about you?”
Song Yushi mercilessly exposed her. “You want to copy my answer.”
Qi Ke: “Uh-huh.”
Song Yushi said, “After my walk, I’ll go back, take a shower, read the newspaper, and sleep.”
Qi Ke said, “Well, I’m different.”
Song Yushi tilted her head, the back of her head full of little question marks.
Qi Ke said, “I have one more thing to do. Miss you.”
The rest of Sweet Day: “…………”
They shouldn’t be here. They should be at the bottom of the sea.
Being a bride is exhausting.
Song Yushi thought that if she had the chance to do it over, she would have preferred to elope and travel with Qi Ke, rather than being dragged out of bed at three-thirty in the morning for makeup after a night of sleepless excitement.
For a moment, Song Yushi thought she was back on a film set.
Chengzhi, however, was full of energy, bustling about happily.
The makeup artist was from Song Yushi’s own studio and was also incredibly excited. She applied every step meticulously and declared, “Our boss will definitely be the most beautiful woman there!”
Song Yushi was so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open. “Lucy, I’m going to marry Qi Ke, not to outshine her.”
Lucy’s movements paused. “Oh, right.”
Song Yushi: “…”
Would the media really publish articles today titled ‘Song Yushi and Qi Ke in Matching Wedding Gowns, Who Outshone Whom?’ Have they no heart?
At this moment, the internet was also buzzing with excitement.
【Am I right to say the official Sweet Day Weibo account is an angel? They’re actually live-texting the wedding progress!】
【They’re doing makeup! Oh my god! The two most beautiful brides are getting married!】
【IDO!!!】
【Is whether you ‘do’ it or not important? My CP is gonna ‘do’ it tonight!】
【Damn, that’s the vibe.】
【The three bridesmaids are so beautiful too. Sob, our five Sweet Day babies are still best friends after so many years, being each other’s bridesmaids. Group spirit, this is group spirit!】
【Hey, is that Zhou Er next to Meng Ying? Why is she holding Meng Ying’s waist? It looks so gay.】
【It does a little. I’ll just ship them casually then.】
【??? Obsessive shippers really have no heart.】
Under the blue sea and sky, the wedding venue was romantic and warm.
Long tables were set up on a vast lawn, with roses of various colors blooming in small baskets. A long red carpet led from the beach to the church, which was filled with people.
Chen Sheng, holding his invitation, finally said to his long-time teammate Jiang Jing what he had always wanted to say: “I told you they were real, didn’t I?”
Jiang Jing: “…”
Why are you still hung up on that!!!
In the front row of the church, Ruan Xiangmeng was still taking deep breaths. Next to her, Qi Yue was also trembling. Seeing her breathing so deeply, she asked puzzledly, “Sis, I’m the one going up to present the rings in a bit. What are you so nervous about?”
Ruan Xiangmeng said irritably, “It’s my sister’s wedding, can’t I be nervous?”
Qi Yue: “…”
Whose sister isn’t getting married here!!!
Outside the church.
Song Yushi and Qi Ke stood on opposite sides of the red carpet, looking at each other. After a moment, Qi Ke said to the Sweet Day bridesmaids, “You all are so lucky.”
The Sweet Day teammates: “?”
Who’s getting married?
Qi Ke said, “To be able to see the two most beautiful brides in the world get married at the same time, how rare is that.”
The Sweet Day teammates: “…”
They actually couldn’t refute that.
Then they all looked at Song Yushi in unison, hoping she would manage her own bride. Song Yushi did not disappoint. She glared at Qi Ke and said, “Stop fooling around.”
The Sweet Day teammates: “…”
Is that you being coquettish?!!
Only Meng Ying was still nervous. Beside her, Zhou Er tugged her hand and whispered, “What are you nervous about? It’s not your wedding. Two bridesmaids would have been enough anyway.”
Meng Ying instantly calmed down, realizing, “You’re right!”
Zhou Er facepalmed.
Just then, the church doors opened, and the wedding march began to play. Song Yushi took a deep breath and stood on the red carpet with Qi Ke. Qi Ke raised her hand, her white-gloved hand reflecting the sunlight, and smiled brightly at her. “Let’s go, baby.”
Let’s go, to the future, to a better tomorrow.
Song Yushi returned a brilliant smile and took her hand.
The long red carpet was scattered with rose petals. At its end was the place for their vows.
Solemn and devout.
—Do you take her to be your partner? For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love her, care for her, respect her, and be faithful to her until death do you part?
Exchanging rings, they kissed.
—Yes, I do.
I am willing to go against my nature, defy my instincts, and love you forever.
