The Overnight Chosen Wife: Darling, Kiss Me Deeper

"Huh? Yue?" Cheng Yu found the name familiar but no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't remember. She inched closer to Lanni and asked, "Who is Yue?"

"Han Xichen and Xiaoshi's daughter. What a poor memory." Lanni called her out for having the memory of a goldfish but she could not be blamed. She had only met Han Yue once at Xiehan's welcome party. How the hell was she supposed to remember her when she rarely heard anything regarding Han Xichen and Xiaoshi? ​​

But when she looked over at the adorable little girl, she had to admit that she looked like a tiny version of Xiaoshi. "Ah, yes she does look like Xiaoshi's daughter. She even has her mother's red hair."

Red hair was becoming more common in the Ji family lately, Lanni started wondering what color her own children might have when she had them—not that she had a particular preference. Her own hair was no longer its natural color after all. It kept growing out too fast whenever she dyed it and would have conspicuous black roots within just a few days, so she opted to let it grow and dyed the tips silver. Her kids could simply do the same if they wanted to.

Cheng Yu continued observing Linhou who had just received a toy from one of the professionals taking care of them. Instead of playing with the tiny car, he stuffed it into Yue's little hand and smiled. "How adorable. Your kids found each other and became friends."

Although the mothers were no longer awkward around each other since they were not pining for the same man anymore, they were not the closest of friends either. They would greet each other briefly when they had to and each mind their business afterwards. Apparently, they would probably not become friends any time soon.

"Xiaoshi must be nearby. I'll give her a call." Lanni pointed it out based on Yue's presence.

She dialled Xiaoshi's number and sure enough, the latter was in the store. "Hey, Lanni. I was about to give you a call. I saw Xiaomu around and thought you must be here with her."

"I came shopping with Luna and Xiao Yu." She informed the latter, so she would decide whether or not to come over even with Luna around.

"Where are you guys? I will come and say hi." Xiaomu said, much to Lanni's relief. She was still waiting for Lanni to describe her location when she heard a gasp. "Ah, I think I saw you. Wait for me."

When the latter hung up, Lanni turned to her friends. "Shishi is coming to say hello." She especially looked at Luna.

"Stop looking at me. I don't mind being her friend if she wants to. I have nothing against her." Luna chuckled. Having nothing against her was an understatement. She respected Xiaoshi. If it were another woman, they would probably still be battling it out for Xingyu's attention. Xiaoshi chose the high road by giving up and moving on, and the heavens must have rewarded her by giving her her own happy family.

Xiaoshi arrived in a few minutes, out of breath from having used the staircase. She was holding a shopping bag with everything she had purchased.

"How have you been? It' s been long." Lanni embraced her.

"Long? We saw each other on your wedding night." Xiaoshi laughed. "But I'm great."

"Hey there, bosses." She still called Luna and Cheng Yu her bosses despite being more casual with each other. The women laughed at her form of address and hugged her. When Luna raised a cup to her arrival, she frowned. "You are drinking tea on such a hot afternoon?"

"I can't drink cold juice…" Luna cleared her throat and the other two women gave her suspicious glances too. She could only explain. "Uhm… my period is late."

"That's not fair!" Lanni jokingly pouted.

"Hey, it's not for certain, okay?" Luna burst into laughter at her sister who sounded like she had been robbed of something. Well, seeing her sister have a third child before she had her first might make her a little jealous. She chuckled as she explained to the shocked women who looked like they were about to salute her. "I like to take precaution every time my period is late. Just in case."

"You and Xingyu want another baby?" Cheng Yu asked in surprise, not because it was odd but because Luna had never mentioned it.

"We are not specifically trying but we wouldn't mind one more bundle of cuteness." She smiled. "Only, I think the twins are still little. We may start trying when they are older—if we will want it."

"I'm so jealous. I'm not even married yet." Cheng Yu pouted, painfully realizing that she was the only unmarried woman in the group.

Lanni and Xiaoshi laughed at her expense while Luna asked, "When is Cedric going to pop the big WYMM question? I mean, he is planning to, right?" She hoped that Cedric was not holding her friend back because he was afraid of commitment or some other crappy reason.

Cheng Yu took a sip of her iced apple juice. "I don't know…I think it's still too early for us."

"You have been dating for two years. Your third anniversary is already knocking, hello." Lanni waved a hand in front of her as though to wake her. "And you are certainly not too young for marriage. He isn't either."

"Uhm...you are right. I just feel like there are things that need to be settled." She looked uneasy. "It's not that I don't want to spend the rest of my life with him but marriage is something else altogether. I'm not sure."

It was probably crazy now that she thought about it. She was willing to be with him forever without the piece of paper but when she added the thought of said piece of paper to the mix, she became nervous.

"It's totally fine. Take your time, Yu." Luna rubbed her back.

"As long as you explain your views to Cedric. Don't let him misunderstand your hesitance." Lanni reminded her, then noticed that Xiaoshi looked off. She had blanked out at some point and looked sad.

"You look unhappy. Trouble in paradise?" Lanni teased. She had merely said it as a joke because she knew that Xiaoshi and Xichen would never have trouble but when she saw the former's eyes dim, she freaked out. "Oh no, I'm sorry. I…" 

1/10

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AN. 

I wanted to mass release before sleeping but unfortunately, I can barely keep my eyes open T_T 

Please be patient for a few hours, I will mass release at different hours of the day when I wake up.

PS: I'm trying out the bold and italics features. Please let me know if the whole text from 1/10 is in bold italics, thanks! ❤️