“Ha… haha.”
Wen Pingping responded with an awkward laugh, shooting Wen Ran a sideways glance: Pull something this huge again and I’ll deal with you when we get home.
The topic was quickly brushed aside, and Wen Pingping and Ju Yaxin moved on to other things.
In the end, all they were really doing was getting to know each other’s families better, with the main focus still on Luo Xiao and Wen Ran’s marriage.
Wen Pingping could tell by now that no matter what the Luo family’s background actually was, they were clearly very supportive of the flash marriage.
Ju Yaxin could also tell that Wen Pingping wasn’t truly opposed to it.
With both sides reassured, everyone was happy. They ate and chatted, and the atmosphere in the private room stayed warm and pleasant.
The only one quietly losing his mind was Wen Ran, who texted Luo Xiao:
【Richest in Asia?】
【Screenshot】
【750 billion?】
【Am I dreaming?】
Luo Xiao replied:
【It’s real】
【I was planning to tell you in the next couple of days】
Then, glancing at Wen Ran, he added:
【Surprised?】
【What are you thinking】
Wen Ran typed:
【Thinking about going to the hospital to get put on a ventilator】
Then deleted it.
【No idea about my mom】
【But yeah, I’m pretty shocked】
【Puppy playing dead, pinching my philtrum.jpg】
Seeing the playful sticker, Luo Xiao smiled and again put an arm around Wen Ran’s shoulder.
Wen Ran kept typing:
【Now I get why Auntie flew in on a private jet】
【If it were my mom with that kind of money, she’d be traveling by rocket】
Luo Xiao smiled at his phone. Luo Feng glanced over, and Luo Xiao turned the screen toward him. Luo Feng skimmed it and laughed too.
The meal ended on a high note.
In any case, Luo Zhenting would be arriving in a couple of days, and that was when they’d sit down to seriously discuss the wedding. Today was just a casual meal to chat and build rapport.
When it was time to leave, Wen Pingping followed the original plan and warmly invited Ju Yaxin, “Since there’s nothing else going on, why don’t you come over to my place for a bit?”
“Let the kids do their own thing—we’ll hang out.”
“Later we can even go to a beauty clinic together and get facials.”
Ju Yaxin had been looking for an excuse to give Wen Pingping the jewelry she’d left in the car, so she readily agreed. “Sure, thank you for having me.”
“Oh, no trouble at all—don’t be so polite. We’re practically family already.”
Arm in arm, Wen Pingping and Ju Yaxin walked out of the private room together toward the elevator.
Wen Ran, Luo Xiao, and Luo Feng followed a few steps behind.
As they stepped out, Luo Xiao asked Luo Feng, “Got work? Want to come with us?”
Luo Feng checked his watch. “No, I’ve got a meeting.”
“Do they really have that much money?” Wen Ran asked, curiosity finally breaking through the shock. His eyes were bright, round and glossy, like peeled grapes, as he looked at Luo Xiao.
“It’s not good?”
Luo Xiao slipped an arm around Wen Ran’s shoulders and gently pressed his forehead to Wen Ran’s. “From now on, we’ll have more money than we could ever spend.”
Luo Feng had been walking his own way, but couldn’t help turning his head to sneak a glance at Luo Xiao and Wen Ran.
Luckily, Ju Yaxin called out to him from ahead before he had time to feel envious. “Boss, could you give me a ride to Ranran’s mom’s place?”
“Sure.”
Luo Feng stepped forward and answered.
Because of that, Ju Yaxin didn’t take Wen Pingping’s car. The two parted ways on the first floor, and Wen Pingping got into her own car.
The moment she sat down, Wen Pingping pulled her phone out of her bag and frantically searched for keywords like “Leo Group” and “Asia’s richest man.”
When the results came up, she stared at the screen, frozen—
Oh my god! It really is Luo Xiao’s parents?! They really are the richest?!
Seven hundred and fifty billion!
Seven hundred and fifty!!!
BILLION!!!
She wouldn’t even dare burn that much paper money for Wen Ran’s dad during holidays!
Her whole body started trembling. Trembling, she messaged Wen Ran:
【With a family background this huge, why didn’t you look into it and tell me ahead of time?!】
【You can’t get a word out of you no matter how hard you hit】
【I’ll deal with you later】
Her leg was shaking as she pressed the gas pedal. Asia’s richest man. 750 billion. Did this count as her family marrying into serious money now?
Her mind flashed back to some novel she’d heard recently. She thought to herself: marry into a rich family—doesn’t that mean having ten kids, all sons?
At this point, Wen Pingping wasn’t even worrying about whether Wen Ran was “zero” or not.
She felt like she should start taking some herbal medicine to regulate herself.
Meanwhile, in the car, Wen Ran sat turned toward Luo Xiao, already launching into a discussion sparked by the words “Asia’s richest man.”
His first question was, “Your Stanford degree wasn’t bought, was it?”
Luo Xiao laughed. Now that Wen Ran knew about his family, why was that his first reaction?
How exactly did that little brain of his work?
“Yeah,” Luo Xiao teased. “We donated a two-hundred-million-dollar library.”
“Really?”
Wen Ran looked genuinely curious—he clearly believed it.
“What are you thinking?” Luo Xiao laughed out loud. “Of course I got in on my own.”
“I majored in applied physics.”
“Who gets in by donating a building and studies that?”
“Physics?” Wen Ran’s eyes sparkled instantly. “That’s amazing!”
Then he jumped topics. “So when you’re hiking, do you solve physics problems in the snow on a mountain?”
Luo Xiao laughed again.
He really had thought about physics formulas while climbing snowy mountains.
Wen Ran jumped topics again. “No wonder you can go anywhere you want.”
Then, especially delighted, he said, “That’s great—then you don’t even need to know how to fix a car.”
“You can go wherever you want, do whatever you want.”
Maybe influenced by Wen Ran’s energy, Luo Xiao also skipped tracks and said, “Why don’t you ask me to buy you Hermès?”
“Why would I ask you for Hermès?” Wen Ran was buzzing with excitement. “You still have to play the quota game for that.”
“I don’t buy things that require quotas.”
“You can buy me the best drawing board and paper instead!”
Then he added, “I was thinking that after we got married, I’d have to sell some paintings. I can’t always ask my mom for money.”
“But now it’s great—no matter what, there’s money. We can do whatever we want. I don’t even have to draw if I don’t want to. I can travel with you.”
“This is so great!”
Luo Xiao turned to look at Wen Ran. Those bright, shining eyes and the joy written all over his face were pure excitement.
It was the kind of excitement that had nothing to do with money at all.
Wen Ran genuinely didn’t care about his financial status.
“Where do you want to go?” Luo Xiao asked.
He didn’t care about money either—didn’t mention net worth, riches, or being the richest.
……
Back at the villa, Wen Ran went off to paint again. His inspiration and emotional fullness for painting had never been as abundant as it was lately.
Wen Ran painted while Luo Xiao stayed by his side. Luo Xiao received a message from Luo Zhengting on his phone:
【Your mom messaged me. She said dinner went very smoothly today】
【Have you decided?】
【Are you really getting married?】
【Marriage isn’t something you can just walk into casually】
【Mm.】
Luo Xiao replied.
Father and son chatted for a while about marriage. Then Luo Zhengting suddenly said:
【I still remember the day your mom said yes to my proposal】
【It was a clear, sunny day】
【On a cruise ship】
【The ocean was incredibly blue】
……
Why was he suddenly getting all sentimental?
Luo Xiao chuckled.
He looked up and saw Wen Ran painting intently with his back to him. Luo Xiao switched to the camera and snapped a photo of him.
Before replying to Luo Zhengting, Luo Xiao—very rarely—posted on his Moments:
Everything’s going smoothly.
The photo was the one he’d just taken of Wen Ran’s back while he painted.
Meanwhile, at Wen Pingping’s place, Ju Yaxin handed over the set of jewelry she’d specially brought—worth seven figures.
The brilliant fire of the gems nearly blinded Wen Pingping, who didn’t really know how to appreciate fine jewelry.
“Oh, this is too much,” Wen Pingping declined politely. “It’s far too expensive.”
“Please take it,” Ju Yaxin said gently, smiling warmly. “Didn’t you say it yourself? We’re family now.”
As she handed it over, she added, “You know—I’m doing this for Ranran and Luo Xiao.”
“To be honest, these past two years, I haven’t wished for anything else. I just want my two sons to find someone who truly understands them.”
“When Luo Xiao called and said he wanted to get married…”
The jewelry wasn’t the point. Saying heartfelt things, closing the distance, and making the marriage go smoothly—that was what mattered most.
Wen Pingping was a mother too. How could she not understand?
In the end, she didn’t accept the jewelry. Instead, she straightforwardly promised Ju Yaxin, “Then let them register first.”
She asked again, “Luo Xiao has domestic residency, right? He’s not a foreign national or anything?”
“No, no, he has a Chinese ID,” Ju Yaxin hurriedly said. “Yes, yes—register first!”
She even decided on the spot. “No need to wait for my husband. How about tomorrow? Tomorrow’s Monday, the civil affairs office will be open.”
“Deal!”
Wen Pingping agreed immediately.
Ju Yaxin was just about to message Luo Xiao, but now her hands were shaking instead.
As she was typing, Wen Pingping suggested, “Let’s go to the spa. Get facials.”
“The place I go to is pretty high-end. They even have medicinal baths.”
“Sounds great.”
Ju Yaxin sent the words “Register tomorrow.”
On the other end, Luo Xiao saw the message, paused, then smiled.
The marriage was supposed to be a whirlwind decided by him and Wen Ran—but their moms were even more impatient than they were.
They’d just had dinner today, and tomorrow they were registering?
Fine.
Luo Xiao had zero objections.
He just looked up at Wen Ran again.
It felt surreal. Before meeting Wen Ran, he never could’ve imagined he’d get married on a whim.
And when he thought about how Wen Ran would fill his life from now on, Luo Xiao felt an unconscious sense of anticipation.
He especially looked forward to the day he could hold Wen Ran’s hand and go hiking together.
He imagined the scenery would look completely different then.
Smiling, Luo Xiao replied to Ju Yaxin:
【Okay. Wen Ran’s painting right now. I’ll tell him later】
No one knew that, on the way to the spa, Wen Pingping—driving Ju Yaxin—ended up talking about Wen Ran’s father, who had passed away young.
As she talked, her eyes suddenly reddened.
She spoke about Wen Ran’s dad, about the hardships they’d endured when they were young, and about the accident that took his life.
As she spoke, tears fell. Ju Yaxin’s eyes also turned red.
Crying, Wen Pingping said, “If Wen Ran’s dad knew that Wen Ran was marrying the son of Asia’s richest man…”
Her voice broke.
Ju Yaxin cried too. “Sister Pingping, raising Wen Ran on your own—it couldn’t have been easy.”
Sobbing, Wen Pingping choked out, “Our family isn’t as rich as yours. Please don’t look down on Wen Ran or dislike him in the future…”
“We won’t!” Ju Yaxin cried, tears streaming down her face. “From now on, Ranran is my son. I have three sons—Ranran is my youngest.”
“I’ll love him just like I love Luo Feng and Luo Xiao.”
The two women cried uncontrollably.
As she cried, Ju Yaxin grabbed her phone, held it near her mouth, and sent a voice message to the small family group chat:
“Auntie Pingping raised Ranran all by herself—it wasn’t easy.”
“I’ve decided. I’m giving Ranran ten billion as bride price.”
“You all don’t have any objections, right?”
“Wuwuwuwu~~”
Not long after, she sent another message, crying and angry:
“Sister Pingping used to do business and was always bullied by male bosses.”
“It’s all you men!”
“You men really are all awful!!!”
【This group has been disbanded by ‘Yaxin’】
In the back seat of a Maybach, Luo Feng had just finished listening to Ju Yaxin’s voice message when he saw the group get disbanded.
Luo Feng: “……”
Then he received messages from both Luo Xiao and Luo Zhengting.
Luo Xiao: 【?】
Luo Zhengting: 【What’s wrong with your mom? Why did she disband the group?】
Luo Feng: “……”
He lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
He replied to Luo Xiao: 【.】
He replied to Luo Zhengting: 【Hold on, I’ll handle it】
He messaged Ju Yaxin: 【Mom, stop crying. I’ll give you twenty billion—give Wen Ran however much you want as bride price】
If he didn’t step in, this family was going to fall apart.