The Overnight Chosen Wife: darling, kiss me deeper

"Me?" Neil pointed at himself in disbelief. "You want me to walk you down the aisle?"

She took his hands in hers. "Yes." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Why me?" He studied her eyes.

She sat down, still smiling in excitement. "Because, why not?"

She knew he was a kind man and he would love to do it, and there wasn’t anyone better fitting for the role.

"Honey, are you sure about this?" Li Yuming asked her. While it would mean the world to her and Neil, she didn’t want Lanni to do something she might regret. "You know, a wedding only happens once."

She then caught sight of Neil’s meaningful gaze and laughed. "Or a few times. But you know what I mean. A wedding is very important. You cannot make decisions on a whim."

"I know, mom. I thought about this and it will be an honor to me if he walked me down the aisle." She took her mother’s hand in hers and stood up, making sure to link it with Neil’s as she left.

Neil chuckled at her dramatics while Li Yuming shook her head. The naughty girl was still acting the cupid role.

___

With Han Xichen hovering over her every minute he was free, it wasn’t long before Lanni was stable enough to move around freely.

Even then, he was not reassured and was merely seconds away from suggesting that she and Xiehan move in with him and Xiaoshi and stay until her baby arrived.

In the end, she had to forcefully send him back to Xiaoshi or his family would miss him.

Several weeks later, she was working near the swimming pool when Xiaomu ran over to her, out of breath and with an envelope in hand.

"Aunty, for you." She reported.

Lanni took it and thanked her with a smile, looking around to search for Luna. When she didn’t see her or Xingyu, she guessed that they were probably playing some prank.

"Where’s mommy?" She asked the girl. Instead of answering her, Xiaomu hesitated and sprinted back to the house.

Great. They had told her to run away if she asked about her parents. What were they planning?

She tore the envelope open and took out the letter, catching the mask that nearly fell out and placed it on the table, then she leaned back to read the handwritten letter that was in Luna’s handwriting.

[Dear Mrs. Ji, you are cordially invited to the bachelorette party of Li Lanni, who will officially tie the knot with her handsome Prince Charming on Saturday. The party will be held in Neon Bar tonight at 10pm. I don’t know what the fuck else one adds to an invitation letter so just make it in time, okay?

Love, Luna. (Mother of your two favorite kids. I can’t wait to see Linhou carry the velvet pillow down the aisle.)

PS. Make sure you wear the attached mask with a black dress.]

She laughed at Luna’s lame attempt at writing an invitation letter? It was a good thing that she didn’t need to write invitations for her company on her own.

She read it again, focusing on the part about Linhou. She couldn’t wait either. Linhou was going to be her ring bearer and Xiaomu and Yue her adorable flower girls. Surprisingly, the kids were actually capable of doing as they were told and enjoyed the role despite not fully understanding what it meant. It was probably because they loved the outfits.

But that wasn’t the main point. Lanni was still in disbelief with her jaw nearly touching the table. Who the hell organized a bachelorette party behind the bride’s back and took the liberty of inviting her?

The answer was obvious. Luna did. She rolled her eyes at the RSVP. As if she could miss her own bachelorette party. She just hoped the ladies wouldn’t go crazy.

She fiddled with the silver mask and thought of the kind of dress she could wear. She worked for the rest of the afternoon but she couldn’t focus much. All she kept thinking about was her wedding. It was only two days away and the closer it got, the more nervous she felt.

Perhaps Lin Jian was right about her taking the month off for her wedding and honeymoon. She had turned him down when he suggested it and it was probably time to take him up on the offer.

She took a shower and found a short A-line peplum black dress. She couldn’t wear high heeled shoes so she paired it with silver strappy sandals and wore her hair in a low, curly ponytail, then she slid the mask on.

Xiehan was not home by the time she had to leave. She guessed the guys must have prepared a bachelor’s party for him too.

_

The ladies were definitely prepared. They had probably informed the bouncer of her arrival because as soon as she entered the bar, a man in a black suit was beside her.

"Miss Lanni?"

She confirmed her identity by nodding.

"Welcome to Neon. I’ll show you to your VIP room. This way, please." He signalled towards the staircase with his hand.

She felt a thrill as she went up the stairs. When she arrived, she was not surprised that all the ladies were wearing black dresses and masks of the same color. Theirs were lilac, which made her stand out among them.

"You are finally here! Come over quick." Cheng Yu pulled her into the room and onto the leather chair that looked more like a throne.

"Isn’t this a bit too much?" She laughed at their exaggerated treatment.

"Not at all. You’re the queen tonight." Xiaoshi poured her a glass of wine. "Don’t worry. It has zero alcohol content."

She poured Luna a glass too, then opened another bottle and poured the rest.

"Let’s get wasted!" She raised her glass for a toast.

"You sound drunk already and you are yet to take a sip." Cheng Yu remarked, making everyone laugh at Xiaoshi. "Let’s make a toast. To Lanni and Xiehan’s relationship. They deserve a toast."

The ladies raised their glasses to clink them and sipped their wine.

The door opened and a uniformed waiter walked in, whispering something to Ruby. She nodded in response and the waiter left the room. Lanni was yet to ask what she was up to when the door opened again. A man walked in, dressed in a pair of black pants and an unbuttoned shirt and locked eyes with her.

"Uhm, what’s happening?"

She didn’t need to ask twice. He walked over to her, smiling seductively as he took her hand and ran it down his ripped torso. Her mouth hung open.

"Ma’am, would you like to dance?" He asked in a voice that sounded almost hypnotising. A soft tune had already started playing as he held his hand out to her.

She tucked hers away. "No. Thanks for the offer but I’m a married woman."

The ladies giggled and it was clear that they knew where this was headed. Traitors!

He grinned as though he had heard those very words too many times to count.

"Your husband doesn’t have to know. I mean, your husband-to-be." He winked. He probably thought that she was yet to get married since it was her bachelorette party.

He leaned over the table, inching closer but not close enough to make her uncomfortable. "This is your last chance to find out if you are certain you really want to be tied down by marriage. You could choose to have more fun instead." He wiggled his brows, making the room fill with another round of giggles.

Ruby, I’ll kill you. She thought but maintained a polite expression. "Well, I’m already married. And I’m sure of what I want."

"Your loss." He moved away. "Then I hope you will enjoy watching me dance on my own."

He spun around and headed for the pole she had not noticed was in the room. Then he began to sway and move his body to the music, swinging against the pole like he was born for it. She had to admit that he was talented. She had never watched a man pole dance but he could give all the women she had seen a run for their money.

She turned to Ruby with a subtle glare. "Your brother would kill you if he found out."

"Then he won’t find out." She brushed her off. She was a little tipsy after downing several drinks in a row. "Besides, he is having fun too, I’m sure. You only wed the same man twice. Let yourself go!"

"Twice?" Luna cringed. "Why would you make the same mistake twice?"

The room went crazy in laughter, and the dancer rewarded them with a wild move that sent their eyes popping.

"Hey, do you think the guys are enjoying the same show but with a woman?" Being the one to overthink, Xiaoshi spoke up.

"Xingyu better not look at a woman tonight or any night for that matter." Luna looked like she was about to explode in jealousy, making Cheng Yu shake her head.

"Yet here you are, enjoying such a show from a man. I’m not saying I won’t gouge Cedric’s eyes out for lusting after a woman."

The women burst into laughter.

__

On the other hand, the guys had decided to throw a pool party in Xiehan’s honor for his bachelor’s night.

He had indulged in their ideas of fun for a while, splashing, swimming and drinking in the heated pool. But when an explicit cake was wheeled to the poolside, he was rendered speechless.

The cake was in the shape of a woman’s boobs in a red, lacy bra, with nipples poking through the fabric. It was so realistic he wouldn’t know it was a cake if he wasn’t told so. Then he read the caption at the bottom that made him burst into laughter.

[Be a man, Xiehan. Eat me.]

"Are you freaking kidding me? The only boobs I want in my mouth..."

"Yeah, we know." Cedric stopped him from speaking. They didn’t need to know the details.

"It’s just a cake." Lin Jian grabbed the knife to cut it and bounced back laughing. Why was it so realistic? It felt as though he would be cutting into a woman’s chest. He was suddenly glad they didn’t give in to the temptation to order it in the shape of some other explicit parts of a woman’s body.

Xiehan stayed in the water to see whether they would really end up eating it. He knew he couldn’t.

"Xiehan?" A girl called out beside him and when he looked over, he had the urge to curse at someone.

The troublemakers had brought him all kinds of women, including those that belonged to the covers of beauty magazines, famous actresses, CEOs he had worked with before, and the one beside him this instant was similar to Lanni. She even had the same shade of ashen blonde hair which must he a wig for tonight, plump lips, big eyes and a figure at least 70% similar to his wife’s.

A smile curled his lips as he realized something he had never really thought of.