The wedding wasn't a grand affair as Fujikawa had suggested. Instead, Miku opted for a simple public ceremony, and invitations were sent only to Naga's friends and a few colleagues. The venue was a hotel that was relatively easy to book. Because they hadn't anticipated that Miku's relatives would be attending, the hall felt a little crowded with over a dozen guests from the Fujikawa family.
Of course, this little bit of crowding didn't affect Naga's good mood. After seeing Miku in her wedding dress in the lounge, he couldn't stop laughing, looking like a silly goose.
Whether intentionally or not, Asami chose a bridesmaid dress that resembled a short wedding gown, complete with a hair clip that resembled a veil, giving her the look of a second bride.
The two sisters, who inherited their mother's beautiful looks and were even more charming after being carefully made up, were enough to occupy Naga's mind at any time—if Hoshina, who was to be her best man, could not make it for some reason.
Unfortunately, Hoshino was just stuck in traffic and was only a little late because he was picking up his girlfriend.
Wanting to take the opportunity to assert his older brotherly authority, Naga waited at the hotel entrance, intending to savor Hoshina's apology. But he didn't expect that when Hoshina got out of the taxi and hurriedly went around to the other side to open the door, the girl who stepped out would be her…
She had lost some weight and looked even more petite. Her eyes were still as deep and bright as black gemstones, and her waist-length hair now only reached her shoulders, with a simple orange hair clip above her bangs. Of course, she was no longer wearing her school uniform; instead, she wore a lemon-yellow dress that looked quite cheap, and below the hem were still her straight and slender legs, clad in knee-high white socks and small leather shoes similar to school shoes.
Her rosy lips were still so alluring, slightly upturned, and she walked briskly towards him with a sweet smile. When she reached him, she feigned anger, as if being coquettish, "Strange sir, you weren't home when I first came to visit."
His chest pounded with intense emotion, which he struggled to suppress, managing not to show too much surprise. "Yuai, I...I didn't know it was you..."
Yui touched her cheek a little shyly and said bashfully, "It's my fault. I deliberately didn't let Hoshina know. He only found out today that I actually know you. So, it seems I really have a connection with the Yumeno family."
"Why?" he asked, somewhat anxiously and unwillingly.
"Huh?" Yuai blinked her big, clear eyes in confusion. "It's nothing, it's just that back then, my situation was really bad, and I didn't want anyone I knew to see it."
Her eyes dimmed. "My parents are gone, and I have a huge debt. I even wanted to die at that time." As she said this, she subconsciously covered the inside of her left wrist, guessing that she might have attempted suicide by cutting her wrist. Naihe's heart suddenly ached.
"Well...it's all in the past now, let's not talk about it anymore. Congratulations, Mr. Strange. You're so clumsy when it comes to girls, yet you still fell for her. She must be a really, really good woman. Happy wedding!" He called her by her familiar nickname softly. Yui smiled, shook his hand, and turned to walk towards Hoshina. "Hey, hey, the wedding gift should be in my name too. I don't want to pay separately, I'm so poor."
Looking at Yui's retreating figure, Naga felt an indescribable sense of frustration and anguish welling up inside him. It was as if if he had a gun in his hand at that moment, he would have shot Hoshina without hesitation, snatched Yui, and fled from here.
Fortunately, the impulse only flashed for a moment before disappearing amidst the continuous congratulations around me.
"Today is my wedding day, and my bride is still waiting for me." He silently repeated this to himself, and finally managed a forced smile on his face.
"Mr. Strange, you don't look happy?" Yuai suddenly appeared from the side, staring at him suspiciously, then put her hands together and apologized pitifully, "If you're angry with me, then I'll apologize to you, okay? Don't look so gloomy. It's a wedding, after all. Don't the grooms always smile like an idiot at weddings?"
She smiled, as if recalling Naga's clumsy performance when they first met, "That's something you must be really good at, right? Hehe."
Yeah...acting like a fool in front of you was actually one of my best skills. Naga laughed and patted Yui's head. "It's nothing, I was just too nervous. I can't help it, it's my first time getting married."
Yui nuzzled her head against his hand, then stepped back, smoothing her ruffled hair. "Then you can be nervous all you want, I'm going to see the bride. Shimokawa-neechan looks absolutely gorgeous today. Hey, I hope she won't give me the cold shoulder again today?"
"No. Go ahead." Miku shouldn't harbor any hostility towards a competitor who is no longer a threat, so Naga suppressed the bitterness in her heart and said in a deliberately lighthearted tone, "Remember to eat more at the banquet later. You're almost transparently thin."
"Yes, I'll eat every last bit of Hoshina's!" Ai replied with an exaggerated salute, as if to cheer him up.
After the most intense shock subsided, Naga, whose mood gradually calmed down, discovered that with the appearance of Ai, the longing and admiration that had been painstakingly accumulated were easily blown away. Intense jealousy and resentment were coursing through every nerve in his body, causing his temples to twitch with a stinging pain.
Regardless, the wedding would proceed as planned. Not wanting to make Miku feel uneasy, Naga spent some time at the hotel entrance composing himself and transforming into the demeanor of a normal groom before entering the hotel.
The ceremony lasted about twenty minutes. Both of them were a little nervous. Naga took a special look at Miku's expression and only breathed a sigh of relief after finding that she was not paying much attention to Yui.
When Miku, dressed in her wedding gown, sat at the Yumeno family's table at the banquet and sweetly called Naga's parents "Dad" and "Mom," his thoughts finally returned to where they should be. The focus in his eyes finally left the girl beside Hoshina and returned to his bride, now called Yumeno Miku.
Asami sat next to Yui, and the two whispered to each other throughout the meal, occasionally covering their mouths and shaking their shoulders in happy laughter. It seemed they had become acquainted quite quickly. Naga glanced at them, thinking with some worry, "I hope this pervert doesn't take a liking to Yui."
A dozen outstretched hands made a commotion, and the bouquet of flowers was flung high into the air, landing in the hands of love.
"Eh? I... I'm still young..." Yui blushed and looked at Hoshina, unaware that jealous eyes were being cast at the cheerful bride.
All the necessary items had been moved in two days ago, and the house number had been changed to Mengye's surname. After leaving the hotel and saying goodbye to his parents and younger brother, Naga felt independent for the first time. Despite living in the oppressive atmosphere brought by his younger brother for so long, he still felt a little sad when he finally had his own world and left his original shell.
From this moment forward, he will officially become the head of a household. A Yumeno family that belongs to him and is under his control.
On the drive back, Asami, sitting in the back seat, tapped Miku on the shoulder and whispered, "Sis, Dad got drunk today."
Miku hummed in agreement and nodded, her fingers playing with the embellishments on her dress.
Ashi thought for a moment, then rested her arms between the seats in front of her and leaned her head closer. "This is the first time I've ever seen him drunk in my life."
Miku hummed in agreement and said calmly, "If you were to have a normal wedding, he would most likely get drunk too."
Asami smiled and touched Miku's hair, which was tied up. "If Naga is willing to disregard the law and marry another wife, I'd be happy to have another wedding with him. If same-sex marriage is allowed, I'd also be willing to have one with you, sister. I'm so fascinated by you in your wedding dress; I could look at you every day and never get tired of it."
It seems that Miku has become accustomed to or numb to such comments, and she did not show any unhappiness, but simply did not reply.
"You're going on your honeymoon tomorrow, so how about you wear your wedding dress tonight for your wedding night? I bet Naga will be very happy."
Miku's cheeks flushed. "Hey, you promised you wouldn't bother me on our wedding night."
"I promised, but I only suggested you wear a wedding dress. How could that be harassment? Men would be super excited to do 'that' while wearing a wedding dress, right, Naga?" Asami deliberately adopted an innocent tone, speaking with a smile.
Miku must have remembered her first erotic dream, because her cheeks turned bright red, and she secretly glanced at Naga.
Naga glanced at Miku, and after confirming that his wife was simply shy, he smiled and nodded, "Yes, I don't know about other men, but I would definitely be overjoyed."
Miku snorted, turned her head away, and muttered under her breath, "I don't care if you're happy or not, it's such an embarrassing thing..."
Naga didn't recall the half-naked, alluring image of Miku in her wedding dress that he had seen in his dream. Instead, he inexplicably thought of Fujikawa, whom Ami had mentioned. The drunken father was finally showing signs of aging, maintaining his pride while laughing and drinking with his relatives, all the while secretly glancing at Miku as the bride.
Even the hardest and most resolute heart will always retain a soft corner for its daughter...