Trapped In Paradise
Volume 3 Chapter 51 / Chapter 556: A Modest Wedding Banquet
"So you two actually got your marriage certificate? Isn't this way too sudden?"
When Ning Yuan heard the news, he was completely dumbfounded. He almost thought it was one of his mother's pranks.
But when he drove to the restaurant and saw Ning Chu and Wen Yang standing together, inseparable as always, he finally realized that his younger sibling had truly become someone else's wife.
"Bro! Why didn't you bring Sis-in-law?"
The moment he got out of the car, Ning Chu spotted him and hurried over with Wen Yang in tow.
"You gave me such short notice. She had something to take care of and couldn't make it."
Ning Yuan looked the affectionate pair up and down, still scratching his head in disbelief.
"You really got married?"
The last time he'd been this shocked was when he found out his younger brother had become his younger sister—and that his whole family were succubi.
He could still vividly remember Ning Chu's adorable boyish face from back then. Yet that image no longer overlapped with the beautiful young woman standing before him.
"Of course!"
"So fast..."
He still couldn't quite accept it.
Ning Chu rolled her eyes at him.
"You're the slow one! When are you going to marry Sis-in-law? Isn't she getting impatient?"
"Well... not really."
Ning Yuan turned to look at Wen Yang, who was standing beside her.
The two of them occasionally played games together online, carrying his hopelessly terrible-at-games sister in ranked matches.
Honestly, he had a pretty good impression of this new brother-in-law. After spending time together, he'd learned that Wen Yang was easygoing, rarely lost his temper, and treated Ning Chu with great care.
With Ning Chu's gaming skills, Ning Yuan himself often wanted to smack her upside the head. Yet Wen Yang always endured it without saying anything harsh.
The man was practically a living saint.
Still...
Wasn't this guy only twenty-two?
Did he really have what it took to shoulder the responsibilities of being a husband?
Wen Yang warmly slung an arm around Ning Yuan's shoulders.
"Brother-in-law, stop standing out here in the wind. Let's head into the private room first."
"Wait a second. Since you got married, shouldn't I be giving you a wedding gift?"
"When we hold the wedding."
"So when's the ceremony? I'll take time off work."
Wen Yang's smile stiffened slightly.
"Maybe... in a few years?"
"A few years?"
Ning Chu hurriedly explained, "Bro, we're both in the middle of building our careers! Who has time to plan a wedding right now?"
"I suppose that makes some sense... but isn't waiting a few years a little too long?"
"We'll let you know well in advance when the time comes, okay?"
As they walked toward the private room, Ning Yuan still couldn't help asking, "So when are you planning to have kids?"
"There's no rush for that either, right? Wen Yang and I are still so young."
"That's true."
By now, he was completely certain this wasn't some elaborate joke.
The little sister he'd watched grow up had truly become another man's wife.
For so many years, he had been both brother and almost a father figure to Ning Chu. The complicated emotions welling up inside him left a heavy weight in his chest that he couldn't vent.
If Ning Chu had still been his younger brother, he'd have been overjoyed to see him marry.
But his younger brother had become his younger sister...
And now she had married Wen Yang.
It filled him with an overwhelming sense of loss.
As though someone had taken away the person he treasured most...
He couldn't stop imagining all the worst possibilities.
What if Wen Yang showed his true colors after marriage and started abusing his little sister behind closed doors?
What if her marriage turned out to be miserable, leaving her in tears every day?
What if—
The once-chatty older brother suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
All the things he wanted to say stuck in his throat.
In the end, he simply patted Wen Yang on the shoulder.
"Take good care of her."
Wen Yang paused for a moment before looking toward Ning Chu, who was walking ahead to lead the way. His eyes were filled with warmth—and a quiet possessiveness.
"Don't worry. I'll take responsibility."
"I hope so. Don't let me hear anything bad."
"I'll do everything I can to protect her and make sure she never has to suffer."
Ning Yuan let out a quiet sigh. He stopped walking, unable to resist giving a few more pieces of brotherly advice.
"Ning Chu can be pretty clueless sometimes. Keep an eye on her. Don't let her get scammed."
"She's just like Mom—tough on the outside, soft on the inside. If you two argue, give in to her a little. She's awkward by nature, and even when she's apologizing, she'll beat around the bush."
Wen Yang blinked.
Really? he thought.
When she's admitting fault in bed, she's actually pretty quick about it.
"She gets depressed easily. When she was younger, she'd hide alone in her room whenever she got upset. She always looks cheerful, but she keeps a lot bottled up inside. Comfort her more often."
"And don't let her drink too many sweet drinks. She's obsessed with sweets and she's lazy. You have to remind her to brush her teeth. She had cavities when she was only five or six."
"Bro... Hu– Wen Yang, what are you two standing over there for?"
Ning Chu had stopped at the door to the private room.
With other people around, she still didn't have the nerve to call him "husband" out loud.
"It's nothing. Just chatting," Ning Yuan said quickly, forcing a cheerful smile before teasing them.
"So you're already calling him 'husband,' huh? That's so lovey-dovey."
"Is that a problem?!"
The tips of Ning Chu's ears instantly turned bright red. Embarrassed and flustered, she shot her brother a glare before pushing open the door to the private room.
"Come on in. They've already served half the dishes."
The door swung open, revealing a large round table with only a handful of people seated around it.
Her mother. Uncle. Black Bean. Even Lily, who had rushed over by rideshare as soon as she heard the news.
Heaven knew how much courage it had taken for this socially anxious succubus to come and meet a room full of strangers.
Aside from Uncle, everyone present was among the people closest to Ning Chu.
It was supposed to be a celebratory banquet for their newly registered marriage, yet it wasn't even as lively as a college reunion.
"Lily~"
Worried that Lily might feel left out, Ning Chu deliberately sat beside her.
But the moment she sat down, she realized her mother was already whispering to Lily in private.
Perhaps it was because Lily was beautiful, or perhaps because her mother was also a succubus, but the two seemed to have hit it off immediately, leaning close together and chatting about who knew what. Her mother covered her mouth and laughed from time to time, while Lily wore a smile that looked strangely familiar.
They're probably talking about something not suitable for children...
"Congratulations on your marriage."
Lily reacted a beat late after hearing Ning Chu call her name. It wasn't until Ning Chu had sat beside her that she offered her congratulations.
"You'd better hurry up and find yourself a boyfriend. Just look at me—I already got my marriage certificate with Wen Yang!"
"Oh? You're actually proud of yourself now?" Ning Juan said, raising an eyebrow.
"N-Not really..."
Standing behind Ning Chu, Ning Yuan leaned down and asked quietly, "Who's that?"
Ning Chu turned around and beckoned him closer.
"Remember that succubus you used to flirt with online? It's her, she's my best friend."
"Damn~ she's that pretty?"
"Regretting it now? Should I go tell Sis-in-law?"
"Please don't. She'd beat me to death."
Ning Yuan quickly retreated to his seat, though his eyes still drifted toward Lily every now and then.
Several years earlier, his younger sister had introduced him to Lily online and encouraged them to add each other as friends.
On the internet, the succubus constantly cracked dirty jokes and flirted shamelessly, leaving him completely overwhelmed. He had assumed that, in real life, Lily would be the stereotypical succubus—someone who flirted with every man she met and attended wild orgies.
But now that he'd finally met her in person, he discovered she was instead an aloof beauty, as cold and elegant as a snow lotus... and so socially anxious that she could barely speak.
She was nothing like her online persona.
"Big Sis! Big Sis! Here's to you and Brother-in-law growing old together! I'll drink to that!"
Black Bean secretly reached for the bottle of baijiu, only for Uncle to smack his paw down onto the table.
"Drink your coconut juice."
"But it's such a happy occasion!"
"Thanks, Black Bean~"
Smiling, Ning Chu picked up a glass of beer and gently clinked it against Black Bean's cup of coconut juice.
"Kitties get silly when they drink. No alcohol for you."
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Volume 3 Chapter 91 / Chapter 597: A Good Remedy for Low Blood Pressure[1]
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/trapped-in-172547056?collection=234094
[2] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/trapped-in-172547056?collection=234094