Hong Yunpeng and Ni Li were startled when they saw Fatty and me, and then a blush appeared on both their faces.
"Yo! What a coincidence?"
Fatty, being his usual boisterous self, walked up and touched Hong Yunpeng's black suit, "This suit is good quality. Get me one too later."
Hong Yunpeng smiled and said, "If you like it, I'll have the designer take your measurements. I'll bring it back to you when it's ready."
"No, I can't wear the same thing as the groom," Fatty said, glancing at Ni Li beside him, "Hello, Sister-in-law Ni."
Ni Li smiled, a little shyly, clearly still a bit embarrassed.
"Brother Peng, for such a big event, you didn't tell us in advance. That's not very loyal of you," I said with a smile.
Hong Yunpeng scratched his head, "We only decided these past few days. We're just here to try on suits today."
I looked at Ni Li, "It seems I'll have to call you sister-in-law from now on."
She smiled, "Xiang Fei, I'm really grateful to you..."
"Grateful for what?"
"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have returned to the country, nor would I have met Yunpeng..."
As she spoke, she looked at Hong Yunpeng, and their loving gaze made me feel a great deal.
Fatty interjected, "Alright, you two, stop being so mushy. Fatty and I haven't eaten yet, and we'll have nothing to throw up later."
"You haven't eaten yet?" Hong Yunpeng asked, "Then I'll treat you today, take you out for a meal!"
"That's what I've been waiting for!" Fatty grinned.
We chatted and laughed as we left the bridal shop and headed to a nearby restaurant.
After getting a private room, the four of us sat down.
Before we could even order, Hong Yunpeng brought up, "Little Fei, do you want to call Xiao Bai over?"
"Call her for what?"
Hong Yunpeng grinned, "You're not getting any younger, isn't it about time you..."
Before he could finish, I quickly cut him off, "Alright, you should focus on yourself first. Have you and Ni Li set a date?"
Hong Yunpeng glanced at Ni Li, "We have, we're planning to set it for the sixteenth of next month."
"Have you spoken to Uncle Hong?"
"I have..." Hong Yunpeng's expression turned a bit grim.
"What's wrong? Uncle Hong..."
"Let him be, it's my marriage anyway."
Seeing his demeanor and tone, I roughly guessed that Uncle Hong hadn't agreed.
I couldn't discuss the matter in front of Ni Li, so I changed the subject and talked about other things.
During the meal, everyone was happy for Hong Yunpeng's upcoming marriage. Fatty, in particular, drank half a liter of baijiu before settling down.
As a result of the half-liter of baijiu, he slumped over the table, completely motionless.
In the end, there was no other option but to have Ni Li go home first, as her daughter was still at home.
Afterward, Hong Yunpeng and I carried Fatty back.
Back at my place, I spoke with Hong Yunpeng again, asking about Uncle Hong's situation.
"What exactly did Uncle Hong say?" I asked.
Hong Yunpeng looked at me and gave a wry smile, "What else can he say? He said if I marry Ni Li, he won't acknowledge me as his son anymore."
"That serious?" I was taken aback.
"With his way of thinking, marrying a widow has disgraced the Hong family," Hong Yunpeng said with a helpless shake of his head, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it slowly. "I just don't understand, how have I disgraced the Hong family?"
I patted his shoulder and lit a cigarette myself, "Brother Peng, in my opinion, you still need to communicate with Uncle Hong about this properly."
"How do I communicate? I've tried talking to him many times, but he stubbornly refuses."
I slowly exhaled a puff of smoke and thought, "Have you told him everything about Ni Li's situation?"
"Yes."
"How about I go talk to your father with you later?"
Hong Yunpeng gave a wry smile, "Better not. If you go talk to him, he'll be even less likely to agree."
"Why?"
"Little Fei, even though we're brothers in daily life, think about it – you're the boss of An Yuan Tang, and my father and I are working for you. If you speak to my father, what will he think?"
Hong Yunpeng exhaled smoke, "He'll feel even more cornered, and at worst, he might just throw in the towel and stop managing An Yuan Tang altogether."
Hearing him say that, I realized he was right.
Uncle Hong was the pillar of An Yuan Tang, and if he quit, An Yuan Tang would indeed struggle to operate.
"Alright, I'll handle my own affairs," Hong Yunpeng said. "My idea is, at worst, it will be like this. Ni Li and I will get married, and I don't believe he'll really disown me as his son. Even if he doesn't, he'll eventually have to acknowledge his grandson, right?"
"Grandson?" I was surprised, "You and Ni Li..."
Hong Yunpeng smiled and nodded, "Yes, we have one. Just found out, three weeks along."
"So soon?"
Now it was my turn to be surprised.
"It's not that soon, after all, we're in love," Hong Yunpeng raised his eyebrows and looked at me, "What about you? How are things between you and Xiao Bai? She hasn't been to An Yuan Tang lately either."
"What could be between her and me?"
"You're not planning to be with her?"
"I haven't thought it through yet."
"It's been this long, and you still haven't thought it through?" Hong Yunpeng clicked his tongue. "Xiao Bai, although she's usually quite forthright, is a good person. Besides, she's completely devoted to you. Where else would you find such a good girl?"
I chuckled, finding it both funny and exasperating, "Brother Peng, you should be a matchmaker."
"I'm serious, you should seriously consider it. Don't miss out and then have nowhere to go for regrets later."
I let out a sigh, "I'll think about it."
Every time this topic came up, I would get very conflicted, always thinking of An Ying.
But what was the use of thinking about her?
She was likely Chang'e, and I was like Zhu Bajie...
Thinking about it made me laugh, so I decided not to dwell on it anymore.
In the following days, I started trying to contact Yang Hanxue to inquire about An Ying's whereabouts.
The response I got was: "I haven't been in touch with her for a long time either."
This woman was elusive, and the last time I went to the Philippines to find her, I didn't know if I could find her again this time.
For a while, I had nothing else to do and started helping Hong Yunpeng with his wedding preparations.
One day, I was going to order wedding candies for Hong Yunpeng, but Bai Hanyan found out I was back and insisted on coming with me.
Anyway, after returning to Guangling, I felt unaccustomed if she didn't look for me.
Since there was no reason to refuse, I let her come with me.
In the afternoon, we went to the wedding candy street. As we entered a candy shop, the owner said, "Are you two here to look at wedding candies? When is your date set?"
The owner clearly mistook us for a couple. Just as I was about to clarify, Bai Hanyan said, "The date is set for next month. What good wedding candies do you have?"
Seeing the smile beaming on her face, I had to swallow what I was about to say.