Growing Fond of You, Mr Nian

“I brought her here because I wanted her to try on the maid of honor’s gown.” Ji Chuan frowned. “Didn’t I explain that to you?”

“Speaking of maid of honor, now let’s talk about that. When did I ask her to be my maid of honor?” Nian Xi felt irritable and angry.

“Before, when we got engaged. You said Shuangwei had to be your maid of honor,” said Ji Chuan.

“As you said, that was before. How long has it been? Seven or eight years. My dad and her mom hadn’t had an affair back at that time,” said Nian Xi. She was driven beyond endurance.

Ji Chuan detected the unhappiness from her words. “But you said yesterday that she was a victim, too…”

“Yes, she was, but so were my brother and I. How many more times do you need me to say this? I don’t hate her, and we’re still friends, but before you asked her to be my maid of honor, did you think about my mother’s feelings?” The more she talked, the angrier Nian Xi got. “Ji Chuan, you weren’t a victim of what happened back then, so you don’t understand how we feel.”

Ji Chuan explained, “It has been so many years. Maybe your mother still hates Aunt Jiang, but she watched Shuangwei grow up…”

“You said that because you don’t understand how women feel. Aunt Jiang used to be my mom’s best friend. But in the end, she got together with my dad. Now, you want the daughter of the woman who took away her husband to be her own daughter’s maid of honor? That’s like piercing a thorn into her heart.”

Nian Xi turned to look at Ji Chuan and continued, “A mother should feel touched and happy at her daughter’s wedding, but because of what you did, she will only be reminded of that ugly history. If you don’t believe me, you can call my mom and talk to her right now to see how she’ll react and what attitude she’ll have toward you.”

Ji Chuan fell into silence.

Nian Xi carried on, “What’s even more ridiculous is that you actually asked my brother to be your best man just now. Do you think our wedding will be too happy? Is that why you brought up such a ridiculous suggestion, to upset everyone?”

“Xi, is that how you think about me?” Ji Chuan tightened his voice. “We’ve been through so much, and we are finally getting married. Do you have to say those hurtful words?”

“You felt that way, because you’ve never considered my feelings.” Nian Xi’s face wore disappointment. “First, you decided not to come back without considering my, your fiancee’s, feelings. Now, as we’re finally getting married, you refused to consider my mother’s feelings, and my brother’s, and neither are you aware of what a difficult position you have put me in.”

“Is this because of Shuangwei?” Ji Chuan knitted his eyebrows. “She’s been our mutual friend since long ago. Don’t you already know that? Haven’t I been considering your brother’s feelings? He’s my best friend. Would I ever hurt him?”

“You heard it just now. My brother has been calling me the whole time, saying that Sangsang won’t answer his calls. I’m just too ashamed to tell him that Sangsang met Shuangwei this afternoon when shopping for wedding dresses with me.”

Nian Xi gave a bitter smile. “This morning, he called me specially to tell me that before the wedding, do not invite Sansang to any occasions that Shuangwei will be at, in case she sees Shuangwei and gets unhappy. But that happened this afternoon, because you brought Shuangwei over. If I told my brother about what happened, he’d have a problem with you. I didn’t tell him, because I don’t want to ruin your friendship that has lasted for so many years.”

Ji Chuan rubbed his forehead and responded, “What do you want me to do, then? Shuangwei has tried on her maid of honor’s gown already, and she’s sincerely happy for us getting married. But now, you don’t want her to be your maid of honor. How would she feel about that?”