The Overnight Chosen Wife: Darling, Kiss Me Deeper

"Congratulations on finally managing to get Ruby." Xingyu patted Lin Jian on the shoulder. "Did Xiehan give you the standard warning for brothers already? Do I need to say it on his behalf?" He teased Lin Jian.

The latter frowned as though he had received a huge blow. "I know, I know. I will not dare to do anything to hurt Ruby and if I do, you will beat the hell out of me."

"Don't tease my future brother-in-law." Xiehan spoke up for Lin Jian.

"You finally called me that! You finally acknowledged me." Lin Jian would have clung to Xiehan to hug him if the latter didn't glare at him. Never mind. As long as there was no one opposing their relationship. Ruby placed her fair palm on the back of his hand, making his heart melt in joy. "Why don't we grab some drinks to celebrate?"

"Of course we should. But let's do that after getting together the details of Xiehan's wedding." Xingyu grabbed his tablet to continue ticking out whatever he thought Xiehan would like.

"We should hire an agency." Cheng Yu suggested. It would be much easier than trying to work out all the details on their own.

"Xiehan and I are already looking into wedding planners." Lanni smiled as she held Xiehan's arm. She smiled gently when she saw a beautiful gown. It's design was simple for the most part, aside from the diamonds embedded along its hem. She imagined herself wearing it and Xiehan's reaction seeing her in it.

"Hold on, Lanni. Are you choosing your gown with Xiehan beside you?" Cheng Yu widened her eyes when she recalled what she heard before. "Isn't it bad luck for the groom to see the gown before the day of the wedding?"

"Not necessarily." Luna shook her head with a shrug. "According to our wedding planner, the main point is to give the groom a beautiful surprise. Speaking of wedding planners, we should hook you up with some of the planners we found when planning our wedding." She suggested to Lanni.

"If you think she did a perfect job at our wedding, we could simply give you the contact number of our wedding planner." Xingyu added.

"Why don't you simply connect us with your wedding planner?" Lanni decided after seeking Xiehan's opinion.

"Honey, do you still have her contact details?" Xingyu asked, and Luna nodded.

"Yes. Here." She took out her phone and searched for the telephone number, which she gave to Lanni.

"Why would you keep the contact details of your wedding planner after the wedding anyway?" Lin Jian mumbled with a chuckle to tease Luna yet again.

"Because my sister is still unmarried, you idiot." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Honey, she is scolding me again." Lin Jian looked at Ruby to complain.

Ruby, who was too busy checking out venue design examples, rolled her eyes at him. "You deserve it."

Everyone burst into laughter at Lin Jian's expense.

…

Meanwhile, in Li Yuming's villa.

Li Yuming hummed as she arranged fresh flowers in a pot. When she was done, she double checked whether the floor had enough padding to ensure no one got hurt if they fell. She checked the edges of furniture too, and when she was certain that it was all safe, she opened a bag she had brought and took out a myriad of toys which she arranged on the floor.

She then brought snacks and placed them on the table, making sure to put more of them into the blue bowl for Linhou—so he would be too full to snatch his sister's snacks. She laughed just at the thought of it.

The last time, the little boy had grabbed Xiaomu's fair little hand and put it in his mouth, which ended in the girl screaming her lungs out.

"You are happy." A voice came from behind her. She paused what she was doing and turned with a smile.

"Neil. My grandchildren will come back soon. I'm making arrangements for them." She went over to meet him. "Have a seat. Are you hungry? I'll bring you something to eat."

"I would like a glass of chilled water." He requested with a smile, and she brought him the water in a flash then sat beside him.

"Artificial sand?" He looked at one end of the living room, where there was a large tub full of what looked like sand but was whiter and looked finer.

"Linhou likes playing with sand." She explained. "However, he gets his whole body dirty if we let him play with sand so we use this instead. It's actually made of plastic and will not stick on his clothes."

"That's a smart option." He had to admit. If only he knew about it when Ruby was a child. He didn't want to think about his daughter's muddy face, hands and clothes, and the fact that she would always cry to get away with playing in the dirt.

Li Yuming chuckled. "I think it gets more fun with each new child. You discover new tricks to counter their naughtiness. I don't know if I'm being selfish, Neil. I still hope for Lanni's and Xiehan's children."

He patted her shoulder when he heard her words. One might expect her to be satisfied since she already had an adorable pair of twin grandchildren but he didn't think so. He patted her shoulder." You aren't selfish. You should in fact hope for more children—our children."

She was taken aback by the sudden change of topic. "Neil, you know that I'm too old to have kids."

"Who said that? Everyone would believe me if I told them that you are in your twenties." He checked her out with a wink.

"You flatter me too much." She laughed.

He smiled along, looking at her beautiful face. "Yuming, I wouldn't like to steal Xiehan's and Lanni's thunder but…"

"But what?" She probed when he stopped.

"Would you like to go on a date with me, my love?" He asked

"I'm preparing for my grandchildren." She would have loved to go but she wanted to receive the duo as soon as they returned with their parents.

"We don't have to go anywhere. We can have lunch on the patio." He suggested when he realized that he was also looking forward to playing with the duo. Xiaomu especially liked him and would always give him a bright, toothless smile that melted his heart.

She liked the idea so she agreed. Since it was on short notice, he didn't have enough time to prepare too much; he could only order flowers and cook. His cooking skills had improved tremendously in the past two years so when he finally laid the table at the patio, it was enough to make Li Yuming swallow her drool at the sight.

"You are getting better in the kitchen." She complimented honestly when she had a taste.

"In other aspects too." He joked.

She chuckled and focused on his food, only to catch him staring at her wordlessly. She looked up questioningly.

"I love you so much, Yuming." He took her hand and kissed her knuckles.

"I love you too." She confessed.

He was taken aback by her words and it took a while for him to register them, then he smiled. "It's the first time you said that despite all the months we have been seeing each other."

"I wasn't certain before." She explained truthfully. "I didn't know whether I really wanted to leave the past behind and move on. I was still afraid but now I'm certain that I want to be with you, Neil."

Neil gazed at her deeply. He felt as though the empty part in his heart had finally been completed. He pressed her palm against her cheek.

_____

This ship finally set sail. What do you think,

A Yay!

B They don't suit each other.

Any other opinion?

I'm sorry darlings for not updating since the start of the month. I joined spirity and have more books now. Laziness caught up for a while and I've been slacking so much T_T I'm so sorry!

I've had enough rest for this book so I'm ready to resume… I can't promise to update every day at the moment because I feel a little detached but I will keep the update rate at 5-7 chapters per week (at least). I will let you know when the update rate increases. Thanks for understanding <3