"He-he is on his way, Old Madam! Please just give him some more time."
Her voice thundered. "Will you tell me what to do now?"
Fu Renshu begged. "Just a little more time please."
The Old Madam stomped away but not without warning that Wei should be back by fifteen minutes by hook or by crook.
Fu Renshu sobbed. "I will call Boss right now!"
---
At the venue, everybody had started murmuring as they didn't see Wei anywhere. The only guest calm in this whole situation and even enjoying it was none other than Yang Mingshen.
He chuckled as he sipped his wine. His sharp eyes had already observed how Fu Renshu seemed panicked. As he had expected, Wei wasn't going to be present tonight.
"This will be so much fun~"
Mingshen gulped down his wine and walked up to Ruomei's side. "Hey."
She softly smiled. "Yang Mingshen."
"I don't see your fiance anywhere."
"He will be coming at any moment."
Mingshen chuckled. "Are you sure?"
"What do you mean?"
"Who knows that he would never come to this ceremony?" He mysteriously smiled.
Ruomei blinked her eyes. She sighed. "Yang Mingshen. Do you have to be so mean all the time? I know you don't like Wei so much, but it is bad to always bully him."
Mingshen raised his brow. "Ah, so deep trust you have in Wei there. I am so touched. Here you are eagerly waiting for Wei and who knows where he is right now...or with whom," he whispered the last part to himself. "I hope Wei remembers that today is his engagement ceremony~ Otherwise it would be such a shocker to everyone," he laughed.
Ruomei grimaced. "Is this a thing to be forgotten? Yang Mingshen, you are really…"
He shook his head. "Let's wait and see," he smiled, "will your blind trust in him win or will he make a fool out of you tonight? I am dying to know the answer."
---
Wei plainly said, "There will be no engagement."
Lihua furrowed her brows. "No engagement? But isn't today your ceremony?"
"Renshu says so."
"..."
"So that means everybody must be waiting for you, isn't it?"
Wei thought about it. "Renshu says so."
Lihua sighed. "I seriously cannot believe that somebody would be unaware of his own engagement."
"I never agreed to it," Wei seriously said.
"But your family misunderstood your agreement for the engagement."
Suddenly, she felt startled. "Wait a minute. I am so dumb! If everyone is waiting for you, shouldn't you be at the ceremony right now!? They are waiting for you, but we are here…"
Wei frowned. He pulled her waist and said, "You want me to go back and get engaged to that woman?" He held her chin between his thumb and index finger and squinted his eyes. "You are my woman. I won't put the ring on anyone else besides you."
A fuzzy sensation warmed up her heart, and she couldn't help but giggle. But she soon realized the seriousness of the situation.
"No Boss! This cannot be done! Did you talk to your family about this? Do they know that you were unaware about this engagement?"
"I talked to Fu Renshu."
"What did Assistant Fu say?" She urgently asked.
Wei calmly said, "He didn't talk as much as he cried."
"!!!"
"Boss, you should call him!"
Wei knitted his brows. "I said I would talk to the Old Madam, but he didn't let me. I assume he will tell her everything himself."
Lihua widened her eyes. "No, Boss. For such a huge thing as clarifying this incredible misunderstanding, you should personally meet and talk to your Grandma. You are a CEO. Your family is so famous in the country. If you are absent from your own engagement ceremony, then would it not affect the reputation of the Jiang family? They might even think that you ran away!"
He didn't seem much affected. "It doesn't matter to me what others think of me. The Old Madam taught me this herself. Today is an important day for us. I want to celebrate it with you. Our one-month anniversary precedes everything else."
His black orbs shone in determination and resolve.
Lihua had mixed feelings. Joy bubbled in her chest to know that Wei was so serious about this even if it was just a small date. But on the other hand, she felt worried for his family. She didn't want him to have any clashes with his family because of her.
The engagement of a CEO who belonged to the richest and the most influential Jiang family was a big deal. So many guests and socialites would be attending this ceremony. It would be a huge blow to their reputation.
Lihua faced him, putting her hands on her waist. "Boss, you cannot be selfish. Your family also has other members. This won't just affect you. Your grandma, mother and father will also have to bear the brunt of this. They would feel embarrassed in front of everyone. A child should always make his parents proud, not ashamed. Uncle and Aunt will be so sad!"
Wei raised his brow.
As far as he knew his father, Jiang Weizhe wouldn't feel ashamed at all. He hardly bothered about him. As for his mother, Jiang Yubi would be absent in the first place to feel any embarrassment.
"Not just them. It's about Shi Ruomei too. Hmph. I know she is a mean, rude and arrogant woman. I don't like her at all. But she must be waiting for you. She shouldn't get humiliated in front of the guests."
There was silence for a while as Wei was in deep thought. He looked at her and said,
"I won't leave from here."
"..."
Even after saying so much, Boss is still adamant.
"But."
Lihua felt hopeful.
"I will talk to the Old Madam and clear out the misunderstanding."
"How?"
"Over the phone."
Lihua coughed hard. "Boss, such an important thing over the phone…"
Wei pursed his lips.
"I am sorry, Lihua. You are my woman and I know I should listen to you, but I cannot budge any more than this. Tonight is our special day, and I don't want to ruin it. I would have to wait one more month to celebrate our two-month anniversary."
She was dumbfounded.
Boss is planning to celebrate an anniversary every month!?
"I understand Boss. You prepared such a great surprise and it would all go to waste…" her shoulders slumped.
He shook his head. "It's not about the preparations. I don't want to wait another thirty days. Also, I read on Baidu that the first anniversary of anything holds the most importance be it a first date, first meeting or the first anniversary of marriage. I want to celebrate our first event together."
Her heart thumped loudly in her chest. She never thought that she would ever meet such a sincere man who would hold so much importance and cherish these little dates.
Wei kissed her forehead. "I don't want to leave your side tonight."
Her face turned red at his proclamation. It sounded too intimate and wild. She cleared her throat.
Just at that time, his phone buzzed and as expected, it was Fu Renshu's call. Somehow, Lihua could imagine his sobbing face behind this call.
Wei patted her head and smiled. "Wait for me. I will be back."
"Ah...Will it really be fine like this?" She worriedly asked.
He nodded. "En. No worries."
---
*Ten minutes before*
Thirty minutes had passed since the ceremony started, but there was still no sign of Wei anywhere. Ruomei stood at the podium all alone as she anxiously waited for him. The guests had already started to whisper and murmur about his absence that reached her ears. The more she heard their sarcastic comments, the more panicked she got.
Where is Wei? He should be here by now!
Shi Zhen and Shi Cuifen quickly walked up to the Old Madam. "Old Madam this... Wei isn't here yet. Where is he?"
Mingshen and the other Jiang family members quietly watched the commotion. Yang Bingqing, Mingshen's mother, tugged his arm. "Mingshen. What do you think must have happened? This is so shocking. Wei has never been late before."
He simply chuckled. She glared at him. "This is not a thing to laugh about! Look at poor Ruomei. She is so scared and anxious."
"Well if there is a joke going on, of course, I would laugh, right?"
"You…"
All the elders were now finally starting to panic. The guests were beginning to question the Mafia King's absence. There was neither a call nor any message from him.
Shi Zhen anxiously said, "Mr. Jiang. Did you get any message from Wei? When will he reach here?"
Jiang Weizhe didn't reply, making Shi Zhen stumped for any words.
This man...How can he stay so silent even in this crisis?
Shi Cuifen said, "Didn't Assistant Fu say that Wei was stuck in traffic? How far is he away now? If we don't announce something soon, the guests will start asking questions…"
The Old Madam clenched her stick. She was so infuriated that she felt an urge to kill someone. Every moment was making things difficult for her and if Wei didn't arrive right now, it would be a complete mess.