Wаng Yuаn and Jiang Вaoliаng's wеdding finаllу tооk plaсe as scheduled.
Thе bridе was а renоwnеd viоlinist, аnd the grооm а рrоminent lаwyer in the сitу. Naturаlly, the wedding bаnquet was fillеd with distinguished guests аnd bustling with аttеndееs.
Аnу woman, еvеn if she hаd nо dеsire tо marrу, wоuld still want to trу оn a wеdding gown.
And Wang Yuаn's wedding gown was nоthing shоrt оf a drеam comе truе. Shе and Jiаng Ваоliаng hаd beеn lеgallу marriеd for ovеr a уеаr, but the wеdding сеrеmony had bеen delayed—rеportedlу to wait fоr the соmplеtion of this handcrafted gown she was wearing.
Wu Mangmang's gaze lingered on Wang Yuan, yet Lu Sui, who was usually observant, showed no reaction at all. Wu Mangmang knew he must be feigning ignorance on purpose.
"How does it feel to see your ex-girlfriend getting married, Mr. Lu?" Wu Mangmang asked, linking her arm with his.
"A bit bittersweet," Lu Sui replied. "I never realized Wang Yuan could look so beautiful in a wedding gown."
Wu Mangmang forced a smile. "Really? I'd support you if you wanted to crash the wedding. Should I help you drag Jiang Baoliang away?"
"Is that so? Then I'll leave it to you," Lu Sui said solemnly, nodding his thanks to Wu Mangmang.
"Dream on. Thinking like that would disrupt their family harmony. In modern terms, it's called having twisted values, understand?" Wu Mangmang glared at Lu Sui, hands on her hips.
Before she could finish her dramatic act, Lu Jianan approached from across the room. Wu Mangmang quickly dropped her hands and smoothed her perfectly tidy hair, assuming a ladylike posture.
"What's going on here?" Lu Jianan asked, having just witnessed Wu Mangmang's rather rough gestures.
Lu Sui wrapped an arm around Wu Mangmang's waist and smiled at Lu Jianan. "She saw how beautiful Wang Yuan looked in her wedding gown and got a little jealous."
Lu Jianan nearly rolled her eyes. "What's there to be jealous about? If she wants to wear a wedding gown, just hurry up and plan the banquet. It's not like you two are teenagers with endless time to waste."
Wu Mangmang felt a bit awkward. "I don't want to wear a wedding gown." It was too embarrassing—it made her seem desperate to marry.
Lu Sui turned to Lu Jianan. "Mangmang doesn't like wedding gowns. I was thinking a qipao would work just fine."
Wu Mangmang immediately protested, "No, I want to wear a wedding gown." She was truly afraid of Lu Sui—what if he actually arranged a qipao wedding? She'd be devastated. She had grown up playing with Barbie dolls and had collected many wedding-themed ones. While qipaos were beautiful, her dream wedding dress had to be a snow-white gown.
"Alright then, a wedding gown it is," Lu Sui said, sounding somewhat resigned.
Lu Jianan shook her head in exasperation, wishing she could avoid the increasingly childish couple before her.
So she simply left them with one final remark: "Whatever you wear, just don't make it a shotgun wedding. Our family can't afford that kind of embarrassment."
Upon hearing this, Wu Mangmang immediately looked up at Lu Sui, as these matters were under his responsibility—including buying condoms and calculating her safe periods.
Lu Sui met her gaze and asked, "Do you feel nauseous at all?"
Wu Mangmang was utterly exasperated with him. "Could you please not joke about this?" She didn't feel nauseous in the slightest. But if she were pregnant, it would indeed be terrifying.Ever since they had completely reconciled this time, Wu Mangmang felt that Lu Sui particularly loved to bully her, as if he had calculated that she had no way out and was destined for him alone, so he truly was all kinds of terrible.
Wu Mangmang no longer wanted to chat with Lu Sui because the bride was about to toss the bouquet.
Everyone present was a person of status and naturally felt too embarrassed to jump up and grab it. Wu Mangmang silently chose a spot to stand, having researched online beforehand—this direction had the highest probability of catching the bouquet.
And when Wang Yuan tossed the bouquet, she really did throw it in Wu Mangmang’s direction.
Wu Mangmang’s heart leaped with joy, though her expression remained calm as she stood in place, waiting for the bouquet to obediently land in her hands. But in the blink of an eye, Long Xiujuan suddenly darted out from nowhere, jumped up, and snatched the bouquet right into her grasp.
Wu Mangmang was practically on the verge of tears.
"Long Xiujuan, are you that desperate to get married? Afraid you won’t be able to?" Wu Mangmang said angrily, her embarrassment turning to rage.
Long Xiujuan had been engaged to her wealthy boyfriend for nearly two years, but there was still no news of a wedding. No wonder she was so desperate to marry that she didn’t even care about maintaining her dignity.
Long Xiujuan glanced back at Wu Mangmang and said, "At least it’s better than someone who’s desperate to marry but pretends to be a lady, then lashes out after failing to catch the bouquet, don’t you think?"
Wu Mangmang was instantly left speechless, nearly choking on her words.
Lu Sui walked over and patted the nearly tearful Wu Mangmang. "It’s fine. The idea that catching the bouquet means you’ll get married soon is just a superstition. Lu Lin has caught it so many times over the years, and look at her—is there any sign she’s getting married?"
That was hardly comforting at all, okay? Wu Mangmang angrily pushed Lu Sui away. He clearly knew what she wanted but pretended not to understand.
Stomping her high heels, Wu Mangmang thought, Hmph, as if I care! This lady doesn’t want to get married either. Jia Baoyu said that married women are like dead fish eyes.
Wu Mangmang was so angry that she didn’t watch her step and tripped over a pebble as she was leaving the garden, nearly falling. Fortunately, someone quickly reached out to steady her arm.
"Thank you," Wu Mangmang said, looking up to see that it was Shen Ting who had caught her.
"Is your foot okay?" Shen Ting asked.
Wu Mangmang straightened up and gently moved her ankle. It hurt a little, and she frowned. "Could you help me over to sit down over there?"
Shen Ting nodded and was about to reach out to support her waist so she could lean on him and avoid further injury.
"Shen Ting, thank you, but I’ll take it from here," Lu Sui’s voice came from behind them.
Shen Ting smiled and gestured politely. Lu Sui had already scooped Wu Mangmang up in his arms. "What am I going to do with you? You can sprain your ankle just walking normally?"
Wu Mangmang pouted, not looking at who had caused her anger, and bit Lu Sui’s neck. "I’m going to suck all your blood dry."
Shen Ting stood quietly behind Lu Sui and Wu Mangmang, watching the couple flaunt their affection in public. The loneliness on his face was something he probably couldn’t even imagine himself.He gazed at Wu Mangmang's feet dangling in mid-air—pale, delicate, and lustrous, like the white jade he had recently acquired at auction. Those feet were now encased in silver strappy high heels. Shen Ting's throat moved slightly, and it took him a long while to finally avert his gaze.
From the very beginning, he hadn't made an effort. Once missed, it was missed forever.
In the lounge, Lu Sui gently massaged Wu Mangmang's ankle. "Does it hurt like this?"
Wu Mangmang shook her head.
"How about this?"
Wu Mangmang shook her head again.
Lu Sui kneaded her ankle for a while longer before saying, "It's nothing serious. It'll feel better in a bit."
"You're not a doctor. How do you know it's nothing serious?" Wu Mangmang pouted and playfully kicked Lu Sui's shin with her foot.
"Don't flirt in public," Lu Sui said, catching her foot.
Mr. Lu actually knew a word like "flirt"? Wu Mangmang was utterly speechless.
"Have you been secretly playing my games again?" Wu Mangmang accused.
Lu Sui remained silent.
"Don't you know that gaming wastes both money and time? With all that free time, why don't you do something more meaningful and cultured? Even contributing to our country's GDP would be better," Wu Mangmang began to lecture him.
"Fool," was all Lu Sui replied.
Wu Mangmang was so angry she nearly stumbled. Back at the Lu residence, she decided to throw caution to the wind and prepared to play games. In truth, she hadn't played in a long time. After reconciling with Lu Sui, she had vowed to become a motivated and ambitious young woman. But now that Mr. Lu was being so unreasonable, she no longer felt like being ambitious.
The game Wu Mangmang played had recently released a new expansion pack, so she needed to download and install the supplementary files.
While waiting for the download, she browsed the game forums and learned that the new expansion had introduced a new map called "The Siege."
The character level cap had also been raised from the previous maximum of 100 to 101.
Wu Mangmang wondered if the game's planners had lost their minds. In the past, when the level cap was raised, it was always in increments of five levels—like from 50 to 55. This time, they had only increased it by one level. What a bizarre decision.
Once her game was successfully updated, Wu Mangmang immediately logged into her old account. Her character was still at level 100, which meant Lu Sui hadn't actually logged into her account. Otherwise, she would have already reached level 101.
Wu Mangmang slowly guided her character through quests, planning to level up to 101 so she could join her old friends in dungeons again.
Midway through, Lu Sui came upstairs to call Wu Mangmang for lunch. Hearing the commotion, she panicked and didn't have time to close the game, so she simply turned off the computer monitor.
But who was Mr. Lu? With his sharp eyes, Wu Mangmang's little trick couldn't possibly escape his notice.
"Playing games?" Lu Sui asked.
Wu Mangmang timidly lowered her head. "Um, I was just a little bored and decided to check it out. I wasn't planning to actually play."
Lu Sui said gently, "It's fine. I won't scold you. Everyone needs to relax sometimes. That game of yours has beautiful graphics, and the planning is quite good too."
"Really?" Wu Mangmang's eyes lit up as she walked over and hugged Lu Sui's arm. "I really only play during my free time. Don't worry, I won't get addicted."Lu Sui lowered his head and kissed Wu Mangmang's lips. "I know."
After lunch, Lu Sui said he had work to do. He turned his head and kissed Wu Mangmang's cheek again to comfort her. "Be good, go play your game. I'm going to the office, and I'll come back to have dinner with you tonight."
Only then did Wu Mangmang reluctantly nod, complaining, "You seem very busy lately. Is something going on with Lu Corporation?"
"Not at all," Lu Sui said. "Don't overthink it. Go play your game."
To level up from 100 to 101, there was a mandatory quest that players had to complete. Only after finishing this quest could they be considered fully trained.
Wu Mangmang rode her phoenix and flew to the main city, "Weicheng." She went to the highest tower in Weicheng to hand in her quest to the city lord.
Wu Mangmang presented the antique ring she had snatched from the old witch to the city lord, and the game dialogue began—"City Lord Lu, will you marry me?"
Looking at this line, Wu Mangmang thought it was utterly ridiculous. How bored must the game designers have been to come up with such nonsensical dialogue?
Wu Mangmang took a closer look at the appearance of NPC City Lord Lu. She hadn't noticed before, but now that she looked, she was truly startled. This City Lord Lu looked so much like Lu Sui.
Wu Mangmang frowned, wondering if Lu Sui knew his portrait rights had been violated.
She picked up her phone to call Lu Sui and inform him about this. As she dialed, she glanced at the screen and saw the game dialogue box pop up. City Lord Lu said, "Brave maiden, you overcame countless obstacles and retrieved my family heirloom from the devil's grasp. Your beauty and courage have deeply moved me. I am willing to marry you, Lu Mangmang."
Wu Mangmang didn't feel particularly moved by this, but the entire game world was already in an uproar.
Beside Wu Mangmang, there were over a dozen other players who had also come to hand in this quest, as well as a few who had just completed it and hadn't left yet.
The unified response they had all received earlier was: "You foolish humans, don't even think about laying a finger on me."
When these players saw the dialogue box floating above NPC City Lord Lu's head displaying the words "I am willing to marry you, Lu Mangmang," they all spat their drinks all over their computer screens.
【Impossible!】
【Are you insane? That flashy city lord of Weicheng actually agreed to Lu Mangmang's proposal.】【Who is Lu Mangmang? An NPC?】
【Is Lu Mangmang the same Lu Mangmang from the champion statue outside the Arena in the main city?】【That's her!!!】
【What's going on? Is this a hidden quest?】
【What the hell? I heard some NPCs are semi-AI, and some are operated by staff. Could this City Lord Lu also be staff-operated?】【Wow, what's happening? The '101st Proposal' quest has actually been completed? Oh my god, hero, let me worship you.】Soon, in the blink of an eye, countless players teleported to Weicheng, swarming into the city lord's mansion, eager to witness the passionate scene between City Lord Lu and Lu Mangmang firsthand.[System Notification: Attention all players, due to Player Lu Mangmang completing the 101st marriage proposal quest, the game will undergo an update. We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Please prepare to log off. At 8:30 PM, please gather together in Weicheng to attend the wedding of City Lord Lu and Lu Mangmang. All players attending the wedding will receive a red envelope containing 9999 gold, a pair of limited edition, Bind-on-Pickup 'Harmonious Lute and Zither' accessories, and a set of 'Flying Wing to Wing' Appearance.] The entire game exploded.
9999 gold in-game currency was equivalent to 99 RMB in real life. Moreover, accessories currently sold in the game cost over 299 gold each, and Appearances were even more expensive, starting at 699 gold.
The system's announcement was essentially giving all players a huge red envelope.
Wu Mangmang stared at everything before her, covering her mouth in disbelief.
That scoundrel Lu Sui, so this was his plan all along. No wonder he had been playing dumb and refusing to propose. He had actually orchestrated this scheme in the game to make her propose to him.
Soon, Wu Mangmang's phone rang.
"Hello," Wu Mangmang said, feigning calmness.
Lu Sui's laughter came from the other end of the line: "Miss Lu Mangmang, I sincerely invite you to Weicheng tonight to attend our wedding. I hope you will honor us with your presence. I look forward to your esteemed arrival."
The evening wedding was incredibly grand. Wu Mangmang watched as her game character, "Lu Mangmang," wearing a phoenix coronet and ceremonial robes, performed the traditional wedding bows with City Lord Lu, drank the ceremonial wine, and then walked to the riverbank in Weicheng to watch the floating of river lanterns.
Every player entering Weicheng automatically received a "Lantern of Blessing" in their backpack. When they placed this lantern into the moat, the system's promise would be fulfilled, and the game currency, accessories, and Appearance would automatically appear in their backpacks.
City Lord Lu held Lu Mangmang's hand as they stood side by side at the riverbank. Wu Mangmang then saw the City Lord begin to set off Fireworks named "Eternal Heart" for Lu Mangmang.
This type of Firework was priced at 999,999 yuan per piece in the game mall. Wu Mangmang lost count of how many Lu Sui had set off for her. She only knew that when she came back to her senses, the sky above Weicheng was filled with diamonds engraved with the names of City Lord Lu and Lu Mangmang.
They would remain forever in Weicheng's night sky. Every player who looked up would remember the magnificence of this day.
A man, by this moat, had promised Lu Mangmang an "Eternal Heart."
Wu Mangmang was moved beyond words, her tears flowing like a river. The internet was also in an uproar.
Weibo, Tieba, and WeChat Moments were flooded with shares. Male netizens began expressing resentment towards the wealthy: "What idiot is this, spending so extravagantly to propose to his girlfriend? Does he want the rest of us to live?"
Female netizens collectively swooned with envy: "Oh my god, so romantic, so romantic, so deep, so deep."
After Wu Mangmang finished being moved, she began to scold Lu Sui: "Are you stupid? That 'Eternal Heart' Firework is just virtual. Selling it for that price is basically scamming gullible people. Buying one would have been enough. Why did you buy so many? May I ask, Mr. Lu, do you still have any savings left in your bank account? Is it enough to buy me a wedding dress?"Lu Sui took Wu Mangmang's hand and said, "If it's not enough to buy your wedding dress, will you still marry me?"
Wu Mangmang didn't speak, only pursed her lips and smiled.
Lu Sui took out a ring from his pocket, knelt on one knee before Wu Mangmang, and asked, "Miss Wu, will you marry me?"
Wu Mangmang still didn't speak, but playfully extended her hand to Lu Sui: "Let's see if the ring you bought fits, shall we?"
Lu Sui slipped the diamond ring onto the ring finger of Wu Mangmang's left hand. "This ring was passed down from my grandmother to my mother, and my mother entrusted it to me to keep for my future wife. Do you think it fits?"
Wu Mangmang looked at the super-large-carat diamond ring, blinked her eyes, and said with difficulty, "I think I probably can't wear it normally—it might get stolen." The diamond was simply too big.
"No problem, I'll hire two bodyguards for you." Lu Sui lowered his head and kissed Wu Mangmang's finger, sealing the deal. No backing out now.
It wasn't until much later that Wu Mangmang learned that the gaming company she liked had long been acquired by Lu Sui. Those virtual items like game currency, accessories, red envelopes, and Fireworks didn't cost Lu Sui much at all. Only the biggest boss could have ordered the game developers to create the "101st Proposal" expansion pack just for the two of them.
And this grand wedding feast turned out to be the most successful and classic marketing case ever, more effective than the tens of millions spent on advertising by the gaming company.
Lu Sui truly gained both beauty and wealth—there was never a time when Mr. Lu came out at a loss.
The trending topic on Weibo, "So This Is How You Propose," remained lively for over a month.
It stayed lively until Wu Mangmang and Lu Sui's real-life wedding began, reaching its peak.
On this day, Wu Mangmang frowned as she looked at the wedding date Lu Sui had chosen. "Isn't this too rushed? With less than two months in total, my wedding dress definitely won't be ready in time for custom orders. But I don't want to buy a ready-made dress. Wang Yuan's wedding dress was so beautiful—I absolutely can't lose to her, or I'll feel resentful for the rest of my life," Wu Mangmang said willfully.
"It's fine, I'll have them rush it." Lu Sui laid out dozens of wedding dress sketches designed by the designer in front of Wu Mangmang. "Pick one. Once you've chosen, I'll have the designer work overtime to make it for you."
All the wedding dresses were breathtakingly beautiful, and Wu Mangmang once again struggled with indecision. But this time, Lu Sui firmly refused to indulge her.
"You can only choose one wedding dress, and you'll only get married once in your lifetime," Lu Sui said.
"Superstitious," Wu Mangmang muttered. Who said choosing two wedding dresses meant getting married twice?
After a night of deliberation, Wu Mangmang finally selected the one she wanted most.
"This one," Wu Mangmang said to Lu Sui, pointing to a design sketch.
Lu Sui nodded.
In less than three days, the wedding dress was placed before Wu Mangmang.
"How is this possible? It's only been three days. You're not tricking me with a knockoff dress, are you, Lu Sui?" Wu Mangmang said in disbelief.
"Do you think it could be a knockoff?" Lu Sui tilted his chin at Wu Mangmang.
Of course, it couldn't be a knockoff. The dress, adorned with diamonds, was truly Wu Mangmang's dream gown.
"But how was this done?" Wu Mangmang remained bewildered."Fool. The wedding dress has been in the making for over a year," Lu Sui said.
"So you never intended to let me go, did you?" Wu Mangmang looked at Lu Sui with an expression that said, "I've finally caught you."
"Yes. But there was someone so foolish, thinking I wouldn't want to marry her. I've been longing for it almost to the point of madness, yet our little fool refused to wander into the game and see the surprise I prepared for her." Lu Sui wrapped his arms around Wu Mangmang's waist and gently nibbled the tip of her nose.
"Yes, I am a fool." Wu Mangmang admitted it so readily for the first time.
If she weren't so foolish, perhaps she would have long since become the genuine Mrs. Lu by now.
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