The living room housed a massive, three-paneled antique mirror, its surface adorned with classical patterns, reflecting starlight-like white beams from various angles.
Yin Xiaomo’s eyes instinctively squinted slightly.
The pure white wedding gown, the classical filigree, the soft, elongated lines, the crown woven from lilies and baby's breath—she looked like a princess stepping out of a spring fairytale.
Standing beside the gown were several maids holding open jewelry boxes, a tailor with a tape measure, and—unexpectedly—Yin Cheng was also there! “Sister—!” Yin Cheng called out to her with a smile.
“What are you doing here?” Yin Xiaomo asked, surprised.
When she left the hospital, he had clearly been in his room looking at art books.
“Because I don’t want to see you in your wedding dress later than Brother Ou Chen does.”
Yin Cheng smiled and glanced at Ou Chen, who stood behind her. A subtle, unspoken understanding seemed to pass between the two men.
Yesterday, due to the reporters’ appearance, her sister hadn't been able to try on the gown, so it had been left temporarily at the boutique.
But last night, while her sister was out of the room, Ou Chen had asked him, “Did you design the wedding dress for Xiaomo?” “...Yes.”
He suddenly felt nervous; Ou Chen asking this must mean he knew what had happened at the bridal shop that afternoon.
Did Ou Chen also know that his sister had run into Brother Luo Xi again? “However, the gown for the wedding itself was already designed by Master Gui Youmei and is complete; it arrives from Japan tomorrow,” Ou Chen stated.
Yin Cheng was crestfallen.
Even someone like him, who paid little attention to fashion, had heard of the renowned bridal designer Gui Youmei; it must be an exceptionally magnificent gown.
Seeing his dejection, Ou Chen smiled slightly. “However, I’ve decided we will use the dress you designed for the ceremony.”
“Really?” Yin Cheng exclaimed, surprised.
“Yes.”
Ou Chen nodded. “And I’ll hire the best tailor to help you finalize the last touches. There is only one condition—”
“What is it?”
“When Xiaomo puts on the gown for the first time, I must be standing beside her.”
Ou Chen’s eyes were a clear green, like a summer lake.
The opulent plum-red drapery slowly drew back.
The afternoon sun streamed brilliantly through the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows. Within the crystal-like flow of light, the mirror reflected every beam onto Yin Xiaomo, making her appear almost ethereally transparent under the illumination.
Ou Chen gazed at her profoundly.
The flawless white of the wedding dress set off the purity of her skin; her gaze was as deep as the sea, and the scattered baby's breath in her floral crown seemed to cast a halo of light around her tranquil lips, hinting at a smile.
Holding a bouquet of blooming lilies, she stood serenely, as beautiful as a fairytale mermaid, so lovely that the very air around her seemed hazy and dreamlike.
The maids opened the jewelry boxes they held.
Ou Chen’s gaze swept over them, and his fingers gently picked up a diamond necklace etched with a vintage pattern, then he walked toward her.
His hands delicately settled around her neck. Her neck was porcelain white and long; her earlobes, perfectly round and pale, resembled tiny, delicate white blossoms, and she bowed her head gently, her eyelashes intensely black.
His fingers trembled ever so slightly. The diamond necklace chimed with a faint, soft contact as she started in surprise and looked up, her eyes meeting his gaze.
Ou Chen’s fingers were near her throat.
His eyes were deep and intense.
A slight hesitation and bewilderment flickered in her eyes.
The autumn sunlight enveloped them both, creating a scene as beautiful as a painting, bathed in brilliant silver radiance.
The gown was largely a perfect fit, as if every line had been tailor-made for her figure, both alluring and elegant.
Yin Cheng quietly instructed the tailor to cinch the waistline slightly tighter; it seemed his sister had lost a bit more weight these past few days.
The tailor meticulously measured Yin Xiaomo’s waist and confirmed with a nod that the alterations could be completed that very day.
Summer of Foam III