"But what? Is there anything wrong with the Mist Water Park?" A sharp light flashed across Henry's eyes, so fast that no one noticed.
Vivian pursed her lips. She couldn't decide whether she should tell them about John's fear of water or not.
She thought of how she deceived Nina. She remembered how she tricked her into jumping into the sea and leaving her feeling crushed on the beach in Spring City. Vivian couldn't talk about John's fear, scared that she'd reveal her own secret.
"No, no problem. Since he chose it, we can hold it in the Mist Water Park." Vivian donned a gentle and thoughtful smile.
Henry wanted to put his glasses on, only to find that he seemed to leave them behind in Adrian's house.
His hand froze, lost in thought. Recalling the scene of Adrian taking his glasses off, he smiled.
"Henry?" Vivian frowned and called out, snapping him back into reality.
"What? Well, then the venue is settled. You need to confirm the guest list. Mr. Shi will personally send out the invitations. Also choose a media source you trust to be present, and..."
"Wait!" Julie interrupted him. "Are we doing the guest list now? We should let Mr. Shi and Vivi discuss it together. We can't just invite our relatives and friends only."
"Yes." Henry nodded.
Vivian was stunned. "What?"
'Don't you know?
As soon as I got Mr. Shi's phone, I had to stop what I was doing and rush here. Adrian didn't even have the time to put my glasses back on,'
Henry thought to himself, keeping his fake smile.
"Are we going to confirm the guest list now? Or are the guests only going to be our relatives and friends?" Vivian asked.
"Just ours," Henry answered without hesitation.
Vivian's pupils contracted. Her heart seemed to be abandoned in a world of nothing but ice, freezing and helpless.
Her mouth was left ajar but no words could come out.
No one could change John's mind.
Nobody but Nina.
Vivian's face was riddled with bitterness. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't escape this feeling.
"What does Mr. Shi want?" Julie complained and held her daughter's shoulder, standing up for her. "Only our guests are invited? Does he think that little of my daughter? Mr. Shi promised to marry Vivi. Is he breaking that promise now? Is he not going to make it public?"
Tears welled up in Vivian's eyes. She said, aggrieved, "Henry, is he really ashamed of me? Is that why he doesn't want to make it public?"
"Of course not." Henry grew impatient. 'The mother and daughter are quite good at playing the victim.
If Mr. Shi hadn't promised that he would grant me a wish, I wouldn't have spent time dealing with these two.'
"Nothing is wrong with Vivian. It's just that Mr. Shi feels ashamed of himself." John didn't say anything of the sort in reality. Since John had given Henry this task, he had to come up with something quickly to fool the mother and daughter.
"You know that Mr. Shi values his reputation above most things. Now that he is going to marry Vivian not long after Nina's death, you can imagine how that would damage his reputation. If the news spreads, it will not only be bad for him but Vivian as well.
We can't do it in secret though. It's not fair to Vivian, so we have to invite the guests on our side. Mr. Shi will design the invitations himself and Richard will send them out. Mr. Shi will do everything not to make you look bad."
Julie's gripes seemed to ease. "You're right, but we can't let Mr. Shi not have any guests. That's just ridiculous."
"He'll have some guests. Adrian and Jason will be there," Henry said.
"What's wrong? I didn't say anything wrong." Julie didn't heed her daughter's words. "Mr. Shi promised he would marry Vivi. Marriage is the most important thing in a woman's life after all. How can he be so nonchalant about it?"
"Mom, let Henry at least finish talking." Vivian pulled her mother to sit down.
Henry glanced at them and said, "If Mr. Shi's arrangements aren't to your liking, then you can postpone the marriage for another three years. After a good three years, there won't be any backlash from the public. The wedding will surely be grand enough by then.
But there is one thing I want to remind you about. Undue delay may bring trouble."
The cold wind howled outside the window, squeezing in through the open crack, pouring into the room. Vivian's mind raced just as quickly as the wind hurried along.
"Undue delay may bring trouble," Vivian murmured and had a brainwave. She knew exactly what she needed to do and what was most important.
She smiled and said, "The wedding is just a formality. It doesn't matter how many people are there. I really like John and want to be with him and take care of him for the rest of my life.
Since he can't invite that many people, I won't either. I'll write up a list of people and let you know what media outlet we're going to invite."
As long as the media outlet she trusted was there, she didn't care if the wedding was grand or not. She just wanted it to be reported according to her requirements.
"Okay, next weekend..."
Before Henry finished speaking, his phone started ringing.
"Wait a minute. I have to answer the phone." Henry took out his phone and stood up.
Vivian took a glance at the caller ID, and it read "My Whole World."
'Henry has a girlfriend?' Vivian wondered.
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