Chapter 330

"Keep at it, do your best—I'm looking forward to your masterpiece."

At the restaurant entrance, Wang Yan grinned and patted Guoran on the shoulder, offering his congratulations.

Duan Xifeng, now a father himself, also smiled: "Yeah, Guoran, you've got to take that wilderness survival training seriously—come back in one piece."

"I really want to tear your mouth off." Without another word, Guoran swung a punch straight at his shoulder: "Don't worry—I won't die even if you do."

Hu Qixing and his wife Piaopiao chuckled together beside them. The two of them standing side by side always made people want to laugh—they were masters of lightening the mood.

Wang Yan smiled and said: "Someday, when my kid's older, maybe I'll come find you—join you to shoot lions, shoot gorillas."

"You? Forget it. I know you've got money—you can do whatever you want. But you've got a family now, so don't be so reckless. I'm different—I eat, and my whole family eats. What's the key point? If something really happens to you, like Teacher Sun, losing your legs, going blind—what good is all that money then? Isn't it just wasted? I truly love it, but you? You're just bored out of your mind—why are you rushing into this?"

"I was just saying it offhand—who knows what I'll think later?"

"No matter what, don't put yourself in danger. Just live your life—wife, kids, warm bed—that's better than anything. Alright, enough talk—you've both had enough to drink today—one just became a dad, the other's wife is seven months pregnant—get home now. We'll just have this one meal—I won't tell you when I leave, and when I come back, I'll treat you to drinks again. Go on."

Saying that, Guoran waved down a driver, still using Duan Xifeng's car to take them back to his mother-in-law's residential complex.

At this point, the matter was clear: Guoran had invited them over for drinks today because he'd successfully signed a contract with National Geographic—part celebration, part farewell.

Originally, Guoran had turned down this opportunity. As one of the highest pinnacles for photographers, he'd passed the test—by his own words, a recognition of his ability. But the fate of the revered Mr. Sun, who filmed gorillas but lost his legs and sight, had shaken him deeply—he gave it up for his family.

But now it's different. Wang Yan crashed in, stole his wife, removing all family burdens—so Guoran can now fully pursue his dream. Nothing is better than throwing yourself into what you love. As for his parents, perhaps he felt he'd fulfilled his role as a son for the first thirty-five years of his life; the unknown decades ahead, he wants to live for himself.

Whether neglecting parents for a woman is responsible is hard to say—everyone's standards and inner thoughts differ. To outsiders, Guoran might seem unfilial, but within himself, he must have had a deep conversation—otherwise he wouldn't have gone. How he talked to himself? Unknown, and unnecessary to know.

Put bluntly: though Wang Yan altered his life's trajectory, the choice was his own—no one forced him—and the consequences must be his to bear. Though his meddling, his chaos, is the original sin—Wang Mou has committed too many sins; how many have been sentenced to death by his single word? He too had a harmonious family, a beautiful wife, a lovely child—all vanished because of him.

At first, he felt some discomfort, a flicker of guilt toward those he'd harmed, intentionally or not. But with too many sins, sin ceases to exist—it instead elevates him, grants him the smug, unshakable superiority. Simply put: once again, he is not a good person.

When the two returned home, they certainly wouldn't receive a warm welcome.

Su Qing had just given birth and hadn't even left her postpartum confinement—yet Duan Xifeng went out drinking? If it were business obligations, fine—but coming home with no real purpose, is that acceptable? Xue Sumei understood, but she still looked down on him.

As for Wang Yan, this precious son-in-law—Yang Tao's belly was seven months along, and he still went out drinking heavily? Sure, this precious son-in-law was always by her side, but there'll be plenty of time later—when couldn't he drink? Xue Sumei understood too, but she still had to scold him.

After receiving this lesson, Wang Yan returned home with Yang Tao, smirking with delight…

In the blink of an eye, it was the second day of the second lunar month—the day Lan Weiwei and Li Kui got married.

Given their friendship and past collaborations, this job naturally fell to Wang Yan. Now, their "Tao Yan" still only offered photography and wedding dress services—not full wedding planning. Of course, though lacking a one-stop service, after so long, they'd built some partnerships with hotels, venues, and wedding companies. But Yang Tao felt it might cause unnecessary misunderstandings, so she declined full packages—only custom-made wedding dresses and Wang Yan's photography.

Moreover, the wedding dress and photography were free gifts—as a wedding present. But both held value, and Lan Weiwei and Li Kui knew it well. Though Lan Weiwei and Yang Tao had once been close friends, and though Li Kui's father had a late-life romance with Yang Tao's mother, their relationship hadn't reached that level. So in the end, they only offered a discount. The rest of the gift? When Lan Weiwei gave her wedding gift to Wang Yan and Yang Tao, they'd return the same amount.

Since the job was accepted, Wang Yan rose early, didn't disturb Yang Tao's sleep, and went out to meet his photographers at the venue. Yang Tao, having slept enough, tidied herself up—Zhao Yang would come to pick her up, then they'd go to Lan Weiwei's home, and from there to the hotel where the wedding was held.

Wang Yan's team wasn't the most professional—put bluntly, none of his people were passionate; they'd all stumbled onto this path by accident. They had professional skills, but nowhere near a high level—just knew how to handle high-end gear, could take decent photos, maybe a few small ideas accumulated over years.

For this level, making a living was fine—but to achieve the cinematic feel Wang Yan wanted—the shooting angles, the light-and-shadow art—they were still far behind. So Wang Yan occasionally gave them lessons, using techniques he'd picked up from unpaid gigs, watching legendary films in his spare time, and practical experience.

But short-term results were hard to achieve, so Wang Yan's solution was simple: sheer volume. Send more people. Plus, since he moved among film crews, he could pull in not just high-end talent but also many low-level crew members who weren't always busy—they had to find work themselves—so he could recruit quite a few semi-professionals. Mixing these professionals with his own trained staff, they produced all sorts of messy angles and shots—so long as they didn't stand in the wrong place or shoot other photographers' asses, he'd always find what he needed.

But the real magic lay in post-production—editing, color grading, music—all added the final points, all handled personally by him. This depended on aesthetic pursuit, on a sense and understanding of beauty. Forget everything else—Wang Yan had lived four hundred years; he believed his aesthetic sense was peerless, and combined with his learning ability, he was lightning-fast. So far, no one complained the price wasn't worth it. Though "Tao Yan" App didn't allow reviews, on other forums and BBS, overall feedback was still good—he had a reputation.

In fact, many people disagreed with "Tao Yan"'s no-review policy—even newlyweds who posted their wedding videos on it. But Wang Yan just shook his head and smiled, ignoring them. He felt deeply the disparity among people—before the platform even opened, the forums and BBS were already attacking it; if he opened reviews, he feared they'd be driven away by the insults.

After shooting all morning, when Wang Yan arrived, many relatives and friends from both sides had already gathered—including Yang Tao, Zhao Yang, Li Hongli—already seated in a corner chatting.

Wang Yan sat beside Yang Tao with a grin, concerned: "Didn't you feel bad waking up so early?"

"I woke up naturally today. Besides, am I that delicate?" Yang Tao swatted away his hand as he tried to smooth her bangs.

"Women change after marriage—she never used to be like this, right?" Wang Yan raised an eyebrow at Zhao Yang and Li Hongli.

"Forget it. Stop showing off your love in front of us, okay?" Li Hongli's voice was loud even when speaking normally.

"Exactly—we're both single, and every time we meet, you have to rub it in. That's why we've stopped keeping in touch—we can't take this torture."

"She's got a child and real-life experience—you? Nothing's happened yet." Wang Yan laughed. "Your job—modeling, hosting—it's great, so how come you're still single?"

Zhao Yang gave Wang Yan a glare that screamed "I want to kick you to death": "It's poverty. And even if I weren't poor, those glamorous people with messy private lives—how could I ever be interested? I'll just wait."

"I get it—you haven't had time to meet anyone, right?"

"Exactly! I'm stuck right now. Work's too busy—I don't even have time to think about that stuff." Zhao Yang clapped his hands, nodding vigorously.

Yang Tao pushed Wang Yan away with a laugh: "Enough, stop talking—you've got work to do, don't you? Your work ethic is terrible—I'm criticizing you!"

"Alright, off to earn the baby's formula money…" Wang Yan playfully messed up Yang Tao's long hair and quickly grabbed his gear and ran off.

Yang Tao waved her tiny fist at Wang Yan's retreating back, smoothed her hair, then turned to the two smiling faces and asked curiously: "What? Why are you staring at me? Did I mess up my hair?" She picked up her phone, opened the camera, flipped the lens, and started taking selfies.

"Stop taking pictures—nothing's wrong."

Yang Tao gave a disgruntled look at the chuckling, chubby Li Hongli, put down her phone: "Then why are you two staring at me?"

The two exchanged glances, then Zhao Yang smiled: "Actually, nothing much—we just didn't expect you and Wang Yan to be this close."

"Yeah," Li Hongli nodded vigorously. "When we first heard you two got married so fast, honestly—we talked about it privately, thought you were too impulsive, didn't think it'd last. But we didn't dare say it out loud—you know?"

Yang Tao stroked her big belly and smiled. She didn't care about their opinions—in fact, even her own mother hadn't approved, though she liked Wang Yan. No one thought it made sense to marry after knowing someone for only ten days. Honestly, without those two properties worth ten million, they'd never have gotten the household registration book to register.

Seeing Yang Tao wasn't bothered, Li Hongli kept smiling: "But who could've guessed? You two haven't had a single argument—you've gotten even closer, your life's gotten better and better. You're together all day and never get tired of each other, never told us you were unhappy after marriage—every time we see you, you're glowing with happiness. Now you've opened the wedding dress shop, and the baby's about to be born—I admit, we were blind back then. You really found a good match."

"Yeah, Miss Taozi, your happiness is enviable—do you really believe in fate?" Zhao Yang sipped his drink, gazing at Wang Yan across the room—holding his camera, muttering into his earpiece as he directed people.

Yang Tao followed his gaze to the man focused on his work, then turned back, flashing her white teeth and raising an eyebrow: "Of course there is—he's my destined one!"

Li Hongli and Zhao Yang exchanged glances, shuddered in unison, and wore identical looks of disgust: "Do you know how much you're starting to look like Wang Yan when you raise your eyebrow at us?"

Zhao Yang nodded: "I think so too—they say people who live together grow alike over time. Miss Taozi, you've changed a lot lately."

"Really? I haven't noticed. Tell me—how have I changed?"

The three friends laughed and chatted together, while Wang Yan directed his crew busily around them. Relatives and friends from both sides arrived in waves, familiar faces chatting and catching up—all joy and festivity…

The wedding ceremony itself wasn't worth describing—the couple stood on stage, speaking words no one else cared about except each other. When the parents came up, even fewer paid attention. The most Wang Yan heard was how Lan Caiping had finally landed a guy with a million-yuan salary. Of course, it wasn't said so bluntly—phrases like "successful career," "distinguished appearance," and so on. As for the wedding itself—it was just what it was.

After a whirlwind of activity, Wang Yan dutifully led his team from makeup and pickup, through recording to the guests' departure—from start to finish. The best part of this job? The meals. When busy, it's truly hectic—but you eat banquet after banquet. Since their fees were high, the couples were all wealthy, so every table was top-tier. The downside? Too much fish and meat—got sick of it—and home-cooked meals now tasted bland—a luxurious annoyance.

After eating one table, Yang Tao sat beside Wang Yan, sipping her drink. After the meal, they returned to the shop together.

They barely spoke—had been up since dawn, tired, thirsty, hungry—no energy. Besides, some knew each other, some didn't—nothing to say. Everyone just ate heartily.

Li Kui and Lan Weiwei, half-dazed, came over to toast them.

"Wang Yan, friends—thank you for all your hard work on our wedding. We appreciate it. I toast you." Li Kui raised his glass, speaking politely.

"We're all family here, no need to be so polite." Wang Yan stood up, holding a cup of drinks: "We still have work to do, so we'll substitute drinks for wine. Wishing you and Weiwei a happy life together, forever and ever."

The others, well-practiced in their work, chimed in with auspicious words one after another. Everyone drank together, thanked the newlyweds for their respect, and only then sat back down to continue eating and drinking.

Lan Weiwei looked at Wang Yan: "When will the wedding video be ready?"

"Anywhere from half a month to a month, depending on the situation."

"Alright, Wang Yan, you absolutely have to make the two of us look handsome and beautiful." Li Kui, already a bit unsteady on her feet, still didn't forget to care about it.

"Definitely no problem, don't worry. We're professionals." Yang Tao, standing to the side, laughed, then turned to look at Lan Weiwei: "Weiwei, Li Kui has drunk so much, and you've been tired all day too. Hurry back and rest. In a while, we'll get together again and chat about your newlywed life."

"Alright, I won't stand on ceremony with you all. I'm heading off first, you all eat and drink well." Lan Weiwei cheerfully waved to them, still taking care to show concern for the other photographers who were eating heartily.

Watching the two turn and leave, Wang Yan finally sat back down to eat and drink. Only Yang Tao stared at the newlyweds' retreating backs in a daze.

Noticing her odd behavior, Wang Yan nudged her with his shoulder: "What are you thinking about?"

"Isn't it just what you said before?"

"What's there to think about? It has nothing to do with us." Having said that, Wang Yan ignored her and bowed his head to eat heartily.

"No matter how I look at them, they don't seem like what you described. Isn't it wonderful?"

With too much food in his mouth, Wang Yan mumbled: "Life is just like this. It always catches you off guard with a slap you can't handle. Who knows what the future holds? Whether the two of them can handle it, that's even less certain."

Yang Tao said: "Today Snot-Nose Girl and Jiao Yang also said they didn't have high hopes for us before, but aren't we doing just fine?"

"In the end, it's our life the two of us are living. Same goes for them." Wang Yan said: "Stop overthinking. If you have that kind of time, you might as well think about how to take our business to the next level."

Yang Tao pouted and said nothing more...

She had no particular purpose in saying these things; her mind just jumped around, and she happened to think of what the two of them had said before. Just as Wang Yan said, whether Lan Weiwei and Li Kui lived well or poorly had nothing to do with her.

But what she didn't want to admit was that, thinking of what Wang Yan said — the scene of Lan Weiwei and Li Kui unable to make it work, crying and coming to them to vent — she felt a bit of schadenfreude in her heart.

Of course, she wasn't cursing anyone; it was just letting things take their course, watching the show...