Read Novel Full Chapter 147 Part 2 – Dr. Ning, You Dug That Pit Too Early (II)
Chapter 147 Part 2 – Dr. Ning, You Dug That Pit Too Early (II)
Xia Mian ruffled each of their heads. “Alright then, I’m counting on you!”
As a video played on stage showing the bride and groom’s journey of love, the kids came sprinting back.
“He made a call,” Mao Huizhu reported. “He said something like, ‘That idiot still doesn’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do,’ and, ‘Did you know his wife’s uncle is a celebrity,’ that kind of stuff.”
“He was talking about our family, right?”
“Yeah, probably.” Xia Mian patted her head. “Okay, got it. Don’t worry, this is grown-up business. We’ll handle it.”
Mao Huizhu nodded at that. Over on the other side, Xia Chuan was calling out, “Qiangqiang, Huizhu, Xiao Feng, Chenchen, come on! Time to take your seats!”
The ceremony had reached its peak. The wedding march began to play, and Xia Mian, along with the others, turned their attention back to the stage.
At the end of the long red carpet, Mao Huimei walked slowly toward the groom, arm in arm with Mao Zhishan, led by the flower children.
When they reached Fang Yongpeng, Mao Zhishan’s eyes suddenly turned red. He clutched Mao Huimei’s hand tightly, unwilling to let go.
Mao Huimei’s eyes were red too, and she called softly, “Dad.”
Fang Yongpeng quickly spoke up, “Dad, don’t worry—I’ll treat Huimei well.”
Mao Zhishan took a deep breath and still couldn’t help choking up as he spoke. “Xiao Fang, I’m entrusting my daughter to you. If you ever treat her badly, or if one day you no longer love her, you come and tell me. However I handed her over, I’ll take her back the same way.”
Tears streamed down Mao Huimei’s face. “Dad!”
Mao Zhishan gave her a hug before reluctantly placing her hand into Fang Yongpeng’s.
Mao Huimei was overcome with emotion and couldn’t stop crying. Down below the stage, watching the scene unfold, Xia Mian was suddenly struck with the overwhelming feeling that Sister Huimei was truly getting married. A wave of emotion surged to her chest, her vision blurred. Beside her, Mao Huilan lowered her head, wiping away tears. Xia Mian gently patted her back in silent comfort.
Xiao Feng had already run over and handed each of them a handkerchief. Mao Huilan cried even harder, and Xia Mian, moved by her tears, found herself tearing up as well. Xiao Feng held her hand, concerned. “Auntie.”
“Auntie’s fine.” Xia Mian rubbed his head. “Go on back. I’ll be over in a bit.”
On stage, the emcee skillfully cracked a few lighthearted jokes, and the atmosphere brightened again. When the bride and groom exchanged rings, the groomsmen started cheering, and the guests burst into laughter once more.
The banquet officially began.
Xia Mian and Mao Huilan still had to follow Mao Huimei around to toast each table. At first, they didn’t feel anything from the busy pace, but when they caught sight of the full tables of food, Xia Mian suddenly felt like her stomach was glued to her spine, absolutely starving!
At the first table, toasting the groom’s elders, she couldn’t stop swallowing as she stared at the food. Mao Huilan was the same—Xia Mian could even hear her stomach growling.
Luckily, the second table was their own side of the family, so they didn’t have to keep up appearances as much.
Before Xia Mian could say anything, Ning Shaobai had already picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and popped it into her mouth. As she ate, Xia Mian let out a satisfied sigh. “I feel alive again…”
“Dumpling. Gimme a dumpling,” she ordered. “With vinegar!”
Ning Shaobai chuckled helplessly and quickly got her one, dipping it in vinegar before handing it over. His other hand held a napkin in front of her mouth to keep her clothes clean.
Seeing this, Mao Huizhu decided to imitate him and tried to feed her sister a bite too. But being a child, she was a bit slow, and just as she finished, Hong Juan followed up by stuffing another bite into Huilan’s mouth.
Mao Huimei, too, was being fed by Li Fang, while Fang Yongpeng watched them with a smile.
Once they left this table, they’d have to go back to being formal, so they lingered at the table a bit longer.
But in reality, they had their own little guerrilla team.
No matter which table they were toasting, as long as new dishes came out and the food was easy to grab, Qiangqiang, Xiao Feng, Mao Huizhu, and Chenchen would come running over with plates to sneak food. Xiao Feng and Chenchen took care of Xia Mian, while Mao Huizhu and Qiangqiang looked after Mao Huilan. Occasionally, Fang Yongpeng would sneak a bite from their plates and feed it to Mao Huimei.
The guests laughed at the scene. Someone praised, “Now that’s a good family—you can tell the kids were raised right.”
Finally, after all the toasts were done and the banquet was over, it was time for Mao Huimei to leave with Fang Yongpeng.
Xia Wenyue looked at her eldest daughter sitting in the wedding car, and at last, tears streamed down her face. “Just live your life well. I don’t wish for anything, as long as you are happy.”
With red eyes, Mao Huimei choked up, “I know, Mom.”
“Dad, don’t worry. I’ll be just fine.”
Only then did Mao Huizhu seem to fully realize what it meant for her sister to get married. She immediately leaned against the car door. “Big Sis, can’t you not get married?”
That one line brought tears back to her parents’ eyes. Mao Zhishan reached out to hug her. “Come here. Big Sis is married now—she’s going to her own home.”
“No! I don’t want Big Sis to get married!” Mao Huizhu suddenly burst into loud sobs. “We already have our own home! Why does she have to go to someone else’s?!”
Mao Zhishan couldn’t hold her back at all. Xia Chuan came to help, but Mao Huizhu clung tightly to the car handle, crying out for her sister over and over. With more than ten years between them, Mao Huimei had always been like a second mother to her.
Mao Huimei, also in tears, got out of the car to comfort her.
Fang Yongpeng stepped down too, gently patting Mao Huizhu’s head. “I’ll bring your sister back to visit the day after tomorrow, okay? Don’t cry.”
Mao Huizhu clung to Mao Huimei’s neck, crying uncontrollably. “Big Sis, I don’t want you to get married!”
She sobbed as she glared at Fang Yongpeng. “We already have a home. If he ever bullies you, you come straight back!”
“Auntie,” Xiao Feng looked over at the scene, eyes red, and hugged Xia Mian’s waist. Xia Mian stroked his head silently.
Loud sobbing came from nearby—it was Xia Li.
Xia Mian had already noticed during the toasts that Xia Li’s makeup was smudged from crying. Now, it was completely ruined.
“You okay?” Xia Mian couldn’t help but ask, handing her a handkerchief.
“I’m fine… just envious.” Xia Li took the handkerchief and wiped her eyes, sniffling. “When I got married, my parents gave me nothing. Even the bedding I brought with me, only the outer fabric was new, the cotton inside was all old. They didn’t give me a single cent of bride price Wang Tao’s family paid.”
“Because of that, I’ve been humiliated over and over in Wang Tao’s family. They all look down on me. When Wang Tao had a mistress, his mom even said I wasn’t even as good as her. At least the mistress had a degree and didn’t ask for as much money as me.”
Xia Mian frowned. No matter the situation, that was far too cruel.
The more Xia Li spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. “Don’t even mention my parents. I couldn’t get help from my in-laws, so I went back to them. But they didn’t stand up for me. They said it was fine if Wang Tao had a mistress—what mattered was that he still supported Xia Bao.”
“They used to tell me all the time that Xia Bao would be my support one day. When I was young and working odd jobs, I gave them all my earnings, keeping only a little for myself. Support?” Xia Li let out a bitter laugh through her sobs. “Now I finally get it. They were never going to be my support. They were leeches, feeding off me. When I fall, they’re only worried I’ll die too soon to bleed more out of me.”
“You know what, Xia Mian?” Her tears flowed again. “These past two days are the first time I’ve ever felt what it’s like to have support from my maternal family.”
“After visiting Second Aunt, Wang Tao actually stayed home properly for two whole days. He even ignored that mistress’s phone calls.”
“And today, when he found out Second Uncle is a celebrity, he actually picked food off the table for me! Even helped look after Junjun.”
Xia Mian let out a long sigh, unsure what to say. She could only pat her shoulder gently and say, “Take care of Junjun. If you ever need help, just call—as long as it’s something right, we’ll have your back.”
Xia Li, who had just stopped crying, burst into tears again. She grabbed Xia Mian’s hand and choked out, “Xia Mian, I’m sorry… I was so foolish back then.”
“Thank you… thank you for forgiving me. When I think about the past, I just want to crawl into a hole.”
“Alright, that’s enough crying,” Xia Mian said. “Junjun’s coming.”
She looked over and saw Wang Tao walking over with Junjun in his arms. Seeing everyone’s red eyes, Wang Tao didn’t think much of it. He simply handed Junjun to Xia Li.
Junjun snuggled into her arms and raised his little hand to wipe her tears. In his soft baby voice, he said, “Mom, don’t cry.”
“Mm, Mommy won’t cry.” Xia Li smiled through her tears. At least her sweet, caring child gave her some real comfort.
Meanwhile, the others had finally managed to soothe Mao Huizhu. But even then, she gave Fang Yongpeng a fierce warning: “If you dare bully my sister, the Three Musketeers won’t let you off!”
Everyone burst out laughing again at her words.
Xiao Feng and Chenchen turned to look at her in unison.
After Fang Yongpeng and Mao Huimei left, Xiao Feng suddenly looked up and asked Xia Mian, “Auntie, does getting married mean you have to leave home?”
Before Xia Mian could reply, Ning Shaobai quickly jumped in. “No.”
Xiao Feng turned to look at him. Ning Shaobai bent down and patted his head. “Getting married means you gain another home.”
“Look at Huizhu—doesn’t she now have a brother-in-law who cares for her? In the future, she can still go back to the house at the alley, and she can also visit her sister and brother-in-law’s house.”
Worried the boy might grow resistant to the idea of marriage, he continued, “Just like now. You can live at your house, and also at mine. Both are your homes.”
“But Auntie hasn’t gotten married yet,” Xiao Feng tilted his head. “If Auntie marries someone new, does that mean I get one more home?”
Ning Shaobai: “…”
Rong Xin suddenly burst out laughing, and Xia Mian couldn’t help but laugh too. “Dr. Ning, you dug that pit a little too early. Might as well bury yourself in it, hahaha.”
Ning Shaobai shot Rong Xin a glare and said to Tang Miaomiao, “When you get married, I expect a wedding invitation from you.”
Rong Xin immediately cried out, “Nooo, I was wrong, Brother Bai, I was wrong!”
Tang Miaomiao already nodded rapidly in agreement.
Seeing everyone’s reaction, Xiao Feng realized he had just gotten Ning Shaobai into trouble. Embarrassed, he dove into his arms and rubbed his head against him. Ning Shaobai stroked his hair, lost in thought.
Author’s Note:
Ning Shaobai: “You forget you already got yourself a future uncle-in-law?”
Xiao Feng: “The more future uncles-in-law, the richer we’ll be, right?”
“There are still three more years…. Auntie can get one every birthday… even better if he has a house in a demolition zone…”
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