Chapter 192 - Arc 1 191 – Showtime!

He knew he should be really mad at Levi, but he couldn’t hold onto this anger. Like a punctured balloon, no matter how he tried to stoke the flames underneath it, the hot air just kept passing right through!

He had clearly been tricked and taken advantage of, but instead of feeling angry and vengeful, he felt… a bit happy. (⁄ ⁄> ﹏ <⁄ ⁄) Being wanted by the person one liked… wasn’t it normal that his little heart felt super sugary-sweet?

This husband of his might be a shameless scoundrel, but… but his heart was in the right place… (／≧ω＼)

Bah, forget it. They were a pair of legally wedded husbands now. There was no point holding on to a petty grudge like this. If it weren't for Levi's aggressive pursuit, who knows when he would have realized that he liked Levi. A pure-minded worldborn like him might have gone on for years thinking that the two of them had a touching brotherhood between them.

He’d much rather be taken advantage of than to put Levi through years of suffering due to his own lack of EQ.

Thinking of it like that, it was good that his other half was a shameless scoundrel. Otherwise, who knows how much time they would have wasted that could have been spent happily together. ╮(╯▽╰)╭

Besides… he might have gotten his tofu eaten but… but actually… if he really hated it… he wouldn’t have let the other eat his tofu in the first place… (⁄ ⁄> ﹏ <⁄ ⁄)

‘Ai, forget it, forget it. I’ll reluctantly forgive you after you are done groveling and coaxing me for a while~’

（灬︶^︶灬）

Levi stared at the docile little thing in his arms and felt as if his heart was so full it would burst. The euphoria that coursed through him was so overwhelming his body trembled, and it was hard to breathe. This feeling was so intense and vexing he wanted to laugh and cry and scream and sigh. Yet, in the end, he only stood there, quietly enjoying this wonderful perfection. Enjoying this reality that felt so unreal it was closer to a beautiful fantasy. Enjoying this lucid dream that he would have suspected to be a figment of his own imagination if it weren’t for the fact that he clearly knew his mind…

…would never be able to come up with something as perfect as his precious darling.

***

Levi patiently and lovingly fondled his baby until the other remembered that the two of them were supposed to be hosting a wedding banquet and NOT ditching the guests to cuddle in private!

“Ah, ah! Hurry, hurry!” Noah pushed Levi towards the door. “We’ve been in here so long! They might think we are doing something inappropriate!” QAQ

And thus, the two missing newlyweds returned to the banquet. With his arm draped around his baby’s waist, Levi slowly brought his precious darling along on a stroll around the hall to greet their guests.

All throughout this stroll, Levi’s mouth, when not busy kissing the top of Noah’s fluffy head, was perpetually stuck in a very satisfied smile that caused all of his acquaintances to shiver. ‘Who are you, and what have you done with Astar Levi???’

No matter how much they looked, this sight in front of them was just too scary, ok?!

The first stop the two husbands made was to greet Levi’s best man, who was standing nearby, attending to his old father.

Levi’s first choice of best man had, of course, been his secretary, who was the person he interacted with the most on a daily basis. However, much to his annoyance, this good idea of his was shot down by all parties involved as soon as it was suggested.

As Maery had very tactfully and eloquently put it, “Are you fucking messing with me?! Who makes their female secretary their best man?! Are you worried that the newspapers WON’T write about a suspected affair between you and your secretary the next morning?!” (ꐦ °Д°)

The extremely pitiful secretary, QAQ “Young master have mercy! The netizens will drown me in spit!”

And thus, Astar Levi, had grudgingly defaulted to his second-best choice – the youngest son of Astar manor’s old housekeeper. Yep. The same housekeeper that got a heart attack a few days back. Which was precisely why Levi’s best man had not attended their semi-fake bachelor party, opting to spend this day in the hospital instead.

“Baby, let me introduce you…” Levi motioned towards the two men, speaking to his baby in a coy and syrupy tone.

The old housekeeper and his son, who were more than 6 feet away, “…” (ﾟдﾟ；) ‘Um… young master? Can you come a bit closer? We won’t infect you with the plague, honest!’

As soon as the introductions had been exchanged, Levi saw himself out of this conversation. Instead, he took hold of Noah’s hand to play with his fingers, kneading them as if he was kneading the soft pads of a kitten.

And thus, Noah was left to exchange pleasantries with these complete strangers, while Levi sneakily eyed his own best man from the corner of his eye, unable to stop himself from cursing Maery in his heart. If she hadn’t forced him to change his choice, now, he wouldn’t need to fear rumors of an affair with his best man! Having a male best man had been all well and good before, but now that they had explained the change in bride as Levi being gay… Tsk! If a gay dude had a female best man, no one would suspect an affair between them! But now… tsk! Tsk!! (ꐦ ≖ ‸ ≖)

The half-exasperated, half-amused Noah who didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “…” ‘Um… husband…won’t it be more suspicious if you avoided the man like the plague?’ (^_^;)

The barely-recovered-from-heart-attack old housekeeper whose old heart was really close to giving out again, “…” _(´ཀ`∠)_ ‘…You should listen to your wife on this one, young master.’

The scorned best man, “…” QAQ ‘Young master… actually… I am happily married with two kids.’

The wife and two kids who just returned from fetching appetizers, “…” ‘Hello, hello! I don’t believe we’ve met before~’ ╰(*°▽°*)╯

After that very awkward meeting, Noah saw Case among the crowd. Feeling touched that the man had still decided to attend his wedding, he flashed him a bright smile, waved, and made his way towards the other.

Just as the two were about to share a man hug between best bros, one big vinegar jar pulled Noah back into his embrace. Levi hugged his precious darling from behind and stared at this adversary with narrowed eyes like a cat that had his tail stepped on, nearly hissing at the other party.

Case, with his hands still opened in a hugging gesture, “…” ‘You know what, how about we talk later? I think I saw a waiter carrying a shot of vodka…’

Noah’s eyebrow violently twitched as he watched Case march towards the nearest waiter and gulp down an entire glass of alcohol all at once. Seeing as the man had no intention to return, Noah turned his head towards the other friends of Aris that he had noticed among the crowd… most of which had forced smiles on their faces.

Baby Noah, “…” ‘You know what, how about I let all the other former love interests console their broken hearts with some alcohol first, and then come greet them?’

Finally, Noah locked eyes with Fynn, who nodded his head towards councilor Desmond. Only then did Noah remember their plan to catch the old fart. Ever since he had arrived at the venue, he only had eyes for this groom of his and didn’t even check whether the councilor was there.

Noah raised his eyes towards the video surveillance covering the entire venue. Seeing as everything seemed to be in order, the pair of husbands made their way towards this influential personage surrounded by other influential personages.

Noah nodded his head towards the people present, giving them a warm and welcoming smile. “Gentlemen, we are truly thankful you’ve managed to make time in your busy schedule to join us today.”

From the corner of his eye, Noah saw Fynn quietly approach the group from the back.

It was showtime!

- Author Note -

And so, the wedding continues. (ﾉ*^o^)ﾉ* Or rather, it is nearly done. We just have two more short scenes before the wedding night. (ಡ艸ಡ)