On January 23rd
It was the wedding day of John and Vivian.
Last night, the snow did not let up, falling until dawn broke. All of Lexingport City—buildings, roofs, road, and cars—was covered with pristine blankets of white snow.
It should be a quiet and peaceful morning, but today was the day of John's second marriage. Hordes of onlookers were waiting to witness what was starting to be called as "the wedding of the century."
No one knew who leaked the scale of grandness of today's wedding, and it didn't matter—people who had nothing better to do were bound to look forward to it.
There were those who had business connections with the Shi family but didn't receive invitations to the event. This subset of people did not feel slighted or angry at not being invited, but instead watchfully stood on the sidelines.
The general mood outside the place was chaotic, but no big news filtered out from the inside. There must be a problem.
The wedding attracted massive attention.
Vivian felt it, too. A bone-deep intuition that told her that something was not quite right. Instead of reassuring her, the outpouring of blessings and expectations from all over the Internet made her even more nervous.
The make-up artist assisted her in putting on her bridal make-up and wedding dress. People flitted around her, but Vivian didn't say much during the entire preparation process—she was just like a marionette being manipulated to their satisfaction.
Seeing the thin material of Vivian's wedding dress, Julie remarked with concern, "Vivi, isn't it too cold for you to wear it like this? This dress is long. Do you want to wear warm pants inside? Your exposed shoulder should also be covered with a pretty, warm shawl. What do you think?"
Vivian didn't reply.
"Vivi?" Julie waved a hand in front of Vivian's eyes, but there was no respond. She had to shake her. "Vivi! What are you thinking about?"
"What?" Vivian was finally pulled out of her reverie.
Julie's face fell. "You look so upset. People who don't know you might think that you are going to attend a funeral. You should smile today. It is your wedding day."
Vivian forced a smile, but it was too stiff. There was something on her mind. Julie could see that, and she asked the others to get out of the room.
When there were only the two of them left, Julie sat down beside her. "Tell me, what are you worried about? Are you worried that Chester would expose the bug in the necklace? Don't worry. He won't show up at the wedding today."
"What did you do to him?" Vivian's eyes clouded over with anxiety. "Just take the necklace back. He is just a kid, so he won't be able to do anything to me as long as I deny it. If anything happens to him, the Shi family won't let me go."
"Don't worry, Vivi. I know what I'm doing." Julie comforted Vivian, but her words failed to ease Vivian's anxiety.
"Mom, I always feel uneasy. I have this feeling that something would happen and that the wedding would be ruined."
"Bite your tongue! Don't say such bad words." Julie threw her a stern glare. "That's just wedding jitters. You're too suspicious so you can't get through the worry in your heart.
Look, Chester has disappeared for more than an hour, but no one in Shi family is anxious, which means that no one knows. No one will find it strange if Chester appears again after this afternoon."
"Well, that's good." The words worked this time around. After taking a few deep breaths, Vivian finally flashed a smile.
The Shi family was not alarmed by Chester's absence because when James was at the airport to fetch the child, Chester called him to say that he went back earlier.
The Shi family members were quite busy on this day. After all, the media would be present today. They didn't really pay attention to Chester.
Besides, Chester was a reassuring child.
Instead of going to Mist Water Park, James headed to Michelle's house because his fiancee was there.
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