The wedding was even more lively than a first marriage. If Luo Qiao hadn’t prepared hangover pills in advance, Luo Haotian would’ve been completely knocked out by the alcohol today.
After seeing off the guests, Gu Qianru quickly changed into the flat shoes Luo Qiao handed her: "My daughter’s the best."
Everyone present burst out laughing: "She’s already changed how she addresses you!"
Then they egged Luo Qiao on to change how she addressed her too. Luo Qiao smiled at Gu Qianru without saying anything.
Gu Qianru was just about to say, "If it’s really hard to call that, just call Aunt. After all, it’s not wrong either."
But then they heard Luo Qiao call out, "Mom."
Gu Qianru’s smile froze, and with excitent, she extended her arms and hugged Luo Qiao: "Thank you, thank you, Qiaoqiao."
Luo Qiao had been wrestling with calling her ’Mom’ for a long ti now. In truth, she had been pondering this form of address a lot lately. It made sense that her four brothers couldn’t bring themselves to say it.
But she had thought deeply about it over this ti. Lu Yichen and his siblings were all raised by Auntie, who never had children of her own. And deep down, she had always envied mothers.
More than once, Luo Qiao noticed the envy in Auntie’s eyes when she saw her peers being called ’Mom.’
Besides, Auntie did marry her dad, so calling her ’Mom’ was completely normal. They had gotten along very well before anyway, and she believed there wouldn’t be any problems in the future either. Calling her ’Mom’ would fulfill Auntie’s dream of being addressed in this way, so it was her personalized gift for Auntie’s wedding.
Luo Haotian watched his wife and daughter’s interaction with gratitude and emotion written all over his face: "Let’s go, clean up, and head ho."
Gu Qianru glanced around but didn’t see the kids: "Qiaoqiao, where are the kids?"
Luo Qiao picked up so leftover sweets: "Qi Ling and Elder Rong took them back to the family quarters ahead of us."
Luo Qiao smiled at Gu Qianru: "Once we’re back, we’ll have them change how they address you. From now on, you’ll be gloriously promoted to grandmother."
Gu Qianru laughed: "Yes, grandmother sounds much closer than Auntie."
The group chatted and laughed as they left the restaurant and got into the car parked outside.
Back in the family quarters, the kids dashed out of the courtyard. Xiao Ye was the first to speak: "Auntie, my dad said that starting today, we can’t call you Auntie anymore. We have to call you Grandma."
Gu Qianru bead: "Let hear you call Grandma, then."
Xiao Ye called out loud and clear: "Grandma."
Gu Qianru happily scooped Xiao Ye up in her arms: "Ah, such a good child."
At this mont, Gu Qianru felt incredibly grounded and full of hope. Over and over again, she told herself: "Today is a good day; it’s the start of a wonderful new life."
Just as they entered the courtyard, Luo Penghao erged with his younger siblings, leading them in calling out together: "Grandpa, Grandma."
The younger ones followed suit.
Gu Qianru happily responded, then whispered a few words to Luo Qiao, who quickly went inside, upstairs to the bridal room, and took out a handbag from a cabinet.
When she ca downstairs, everyone had already moved inside.
She quickly handed the handbag to Gu Qianru: "Mom, your handbag."
That word, ’Mom,’ made everyone in the room turn to look at her. The four brothers and their wives exchanged glances, their expressions awkward and unsure.
Gu Qianru noticed this too and said with a smile, "You don’t need to look at Qiaoqiao. I understand if you can’t say it; calling Aunt Gu is perfectly fine and still feels very close."
Only then did they relax. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to call her that; it was simply hard to say. Over the years, even calling out for their own birth mother had been rare.
Gu Qianru accepted the handbag and handed each child a red envelope as a token of gratitude for changing how they addressed her, even giving one to each of the children from the eldest and third families.
At this ti, several won from the courtyard ca over with their children, ostensibly to ask for wedding candies but really for a chance to see the bride. Luo Haotian stood by, introducing them to Gu Qianru, who graciously distributed candy and eased into conversation.
Gu Qianru left a good impression on the people in the family quarters, and everyone remarked that Director Luo had found himself a pretty, poised, and sociable wife.
******
Elsewhere, Ning Xueling heard from her nephew, who had just delivered sothing to her, that Luo Haotian got married today. Her heart was a mix of complicated emotions.
After the nephew left, she furiously flipped the items beside her onto the ground and covered her face, breaking down into sobs.
She had ended up like this, while Luo Haotian had joyously tied the knot—she couldn’t accept it. As she thought about it, she began pounding her wheelchair and twistedly cursing in her heart.
Once she had vented her emotions, she tidied herself up, wheeled herself over to the public telephone booth, and dialed her second brother’s number: "Second Brother, it’s ."
"Xueling, calling about sothing?"
"Luo Haotian got married today; why didn’t you tell ?"
Ning Hongbo was silent for a long while: "Xueling, you’ve already remarried three tis. Can’t he remarry? You two are divorced—why would this have anything to do with you? Not telling you—is it even wrong?"
"You’re my brother! Why are you speaking on her behalf?"
"Because you’re being unreasonable. Haven’t you caused enough trouble over the years? Xueling, stop acting like a child. You’re not young anymore; we’re all tired. Can’t you just settle down for once?"
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