Chapter 772: The Day of the Grand Wedding

Sometimes, when Chen Yuan was alone, he’d wonder what would have happened if he hadn’t chosen to enter the workforce so early, if he had finished college with his roommates before starting his career… After coming home from a business dinner and taking a shower to sober up, he’d gaze at the night view outside his window, and his thoughts would often begin to drift like water.

Why did he have such thoughts?

Because at some point, it suddenly hit him just how busy a person could be…

He often had to be up shortly after seven in the morning to head to the Mingzhu City Energy Planning Bureau with his driver. His mornings were usually taken up by meetings lasting around three hours, and when he wasn’t in a meeting, he had to travel with his team to inspect the progress of various projects.

Quite a few department heads would try to pry about the contents of his team’s reports, terrified that he—the “crown prince”—would sabotage them and bring about some unwarranted disaster.

Even though Chen Yuan promised countless times to be fair and impartial, they remained convinced he was aligned with a certain faction, leaving them perpetually anxious.

At noon, he had to video call Jiangg Ning.

After resigning, Jiangg Ning was enjoying the most leisurely period of her life. She could arrange her time as she pleased, and her biggest task each day was to find something to do…

Frankly, studying childcare was quite boring. Initially, she was filled with anxiety, always feeling like she was wasting the prime of her life.

Chen Yuan picked up on this and, to distract her, resorted to just about everything.

He signed Jiangg Ning up for a slew of hobby classes: yoga, piano, sketching, and even violin. Ningning was enthusiastic at first, but after a while, she lost interest. People are willing to work hard at things they have a knack for, but as good as Ningning was at most things, her grasp of music theory was… lacking.

Previously, Ningning had always been the fastest learner in any setting. Falling behind others made her feel deeply uncomfortable.

When Chen Yuan saw where this was heading, he quickly put a stop to all the classes.

The consequence of this was that Ningning’s need for Chen Yuan grew ever stronger… Yes, that word was the perfect description.

She insisted on calling him at noon to hear him vent about work, and it became an absolute must… At night, as long as he wasn’t out of town, he had to come home to sleep.

If he got home early, they had to be in their bedroom by 8:30 PM.

And if he got home late, he still had to “pay his dues” before he was allowed to sleep.

As cruel as it was… Jiangg Ning said she couldn’t help it. She’d developed a physiological dependence on her husband and wanted to stick to him all the time.

She had asked Chen Yuan more than once if he could take her to work with him.

She wouldn’t even have to do anything, just tag along and watch him in his office.

Chen Yuan was left speechless.

Ningning wasn’t Thumbelina; he couldn’t just tuck her in his pocket and take her wherever he wanted.

Chen Yuan’s afternoons were even busier. As luck would have it, Jiang Group Headquarters had launched a “Spokesperson Program.” The goal was to have designated, trained spokespeople to address any audience—external, internal, the media, superiors, or foreign partners—through any channel and under any circumstances.

Moreover, these spokespeople needed to have outstanding personal qualities and be excellent in every respect.

Jiang Zhengfeng hadn’t wanted to burden Chen Yuan with it, especially since his daughter was pregnant. But a group of board members insisted on forcing the issue. They railroaded the decision, locking in Chen Yuan as the chief assessor. Not only that, he also had to participate in the training himself, to become the spokesperson for foreign affairs.

So now, on top of organizing the reviews, overseeing the assessments, and conducting a three-month-long nationwide screening process, he was also being forced to learn three foreign languages. His schedule was packed.

And then he’d get home only to have to satisfy Ningning.

He was so busy, there was practically no time to catch his breath.

The only… the only small comfort he had was Yaoyao. Chen Yuan would find excuses to go hang out in her room from time to time.

He didn’t have to talk, didn’t have to cater to her emotional needs; he could just be there, quietly.

Jiangg Yao would be engrossed in her games, and he would just rest on her bed and find a sci-fi movie to watch.

After a couple of hours like that, he’d feel some of his depleted energy return.

Come to think of it, ever since Ningning’s pregnancy, the once-immature Jiangg Yao had become much more sensible. She no longer tried to demand a share of Chen Yuan’s time or ask for more attention. In fact, when Chen Yuan was at his busiest, she would be the one to help ease Jiangg Ning’s pregnancy-related anxiety.

Chen Yuan thought back to when he first started college. He’d been desperate to find things to do because life outside of classes was just so boring. He tried out a ton of fun games during that period, always feeling like life was so free that if he just had wings, he could fly.

He never thought that, in the blink of an eye, that life would be gone forever.

But he also knew he had no other choice.

In the beginning, Chen Yuan had been leagues away from Jiangg Ning’s level. She was a college graduate with a successful career, her worldview and life experience far more mature than his. If he hadn’t tried his best to catch up quickly, their relationship would have become incredibly strained and awkward.

At least he had managed to do it. Now, he could be a pillar of support for both sisters.

And for that, at least, he had a clear conscience.

…

Beyond his life, which was fulfilling to the point of being overwhelming, the wedding was also fast approaching.

His biggest takeaway from all this was that as he got older, his say in family matters carried more and more weight with his parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Chen, and even Jiang Zhengfeng, would ask for his opinion on many things, leaving the final decision up to him. Even details like the size of the wedding banquet were left for Chen Yuan to decide.