The heated discussions died down as soon as everyone’s attention was brought to the entrance of the ballroom.
Under their gazes, Fan Fan entered in her full glory. Her wedding dress was pristine white. She was as radiant as the sun. An air of intellectuality that was cultivated through years of effort shone through. But at the same time, she had also possessed the gentleness and virtuousness of ordinary women. All in all, she was fascinating to look at.
Three bridesmaids trailed behind the bride dutifully. On the left was Liang Siyao and Long Bing while Jiang Ruyi stood on Fan Fan’s right. These three women were equally as gorgeous.
The bridesmaid accompanied Fan Fan to one-third of the red carpet and took their stop. Meanwhile, Xia Lei’s three best men did the same. The best men for this occasion was Liu Zhengnan, Qin Xiang and Lu Sheng. The assembly of three pretty-faced men was no small feat, topped by the main attraction which was the groom. Xia Lei had become everyone’s focus as soon as he appeared on site.
Shentu Tianyin studied Xia Lei’s appearance, his back straight and his hair styled. The sight of his handsome side-profile triggered an onslaught of melancholy from the depths of her heart. All those sweet memories they shared began to seep through the crevices of her brain, reminding Shentu Tianyin of what they had. Never had she expected those honey-like memories to morph into a weapon that stabbed at her mercilessly years down the road.
“Look at how happy he is,” commented Tang Yuyan.
“Please= stop.” Shentu Tianyin’s heart ached.
At this moment, Xia Lei’s gaze had hovered over to their side. He had a habit to observe everyone when faced with a crowd. It was through this brief scan that he quickly pinpointed Shentu Tianyin and Tang Yuyan amidst the guests.
Their gazes locked, a wordless exchange occurring through their glance. It felt like a subtle humming of a sorrowful tune.
Xia Lei was genuinely surprised. Shentu Tianyin had made it clear that she would gladly accept his invitation but not attend. It was a shocker that she was actually here and an even larger shock that she was standing there right beside Tang Yuyan.
Shentu Tianyin offered Xia Lei a small smile that left behind a bitter aftertaste.
Xia Lei returned a nod, accompanied by a faint smile. Despite her sins, she was his wife and he had loved her deeply. They said being husband and wife for a day meant a hundred days of grace. They were married for a while and he was not a heartless man.
After greeting Shentu Tianyin, Xia Lei trained his eyes on Tang Yuyan. Admittedly, he was fond of her in the past but after what Long Bing was met with during her mission in Japan, that initial fondness was diminished. Xia Lei no longer harboured feelings for her and not to mention the Tang family.
Albeit so, there was a time when they were involved with one another. With that, Xia Lei extended his greeting, opting to grace her a simple nod.
That elicited a beam from Tang Yuyan. But as she made a move to motion Xia Lei over, Xia Lei turned his head away, peeling his attention away from her. It was that split moment that tore at her heart, letting it bleed silently within her. She hastily put down her arm and pretended that nothing happened.
The wedding host took the stage and announced the commencement of the ceremony enthusiastically. Xia Lei had hired a popular anchor from the Satellite Station. The man had appeared rather lacking in the height department and he was very thin. Despite all of that, his wrists were thick.
Fan Yiming was late. As the guardian of the bride, he was supposed to walk Fan Fan into the ballroom and hand her over to Xia Lei. But not only was this old man late, but he had also said something that made Xia Lei’s temples throb.
“Kid, I’ll be leaving my granddaughter in your care.” Fan Yiming leaned closer to Xia Lei’s ear. “Hey, when exactly are you planning to tell me Alloy X’s formulation?”
Xia Lei was taken aback. They were all here to celebrate a joyous occasion and this man was still adamant on knowing the formulation?
“Look, I don’t care. My granddaughter is yours to keep and we’re already a family, right? It makes no difference to tell me about it now, right?”
Xia Lei stared at him hard.
“Grandpa! Jeez, quit it already! It’s my wedding today for crying out loud! If you continue to do this, I’m really going to ignore you forever.” Fan Fan glared at Fan Yiming threateningly.
It was only then that the older man dropped the act.
“Now, let us welcome the bride and groom!” The host’s tone was gleeful and infectious.
Xia Lei let Fan Fan slip her hand onto the insides of his elbow and began their march along the red carpet.
The bridesmaid lifted Fan Fan’s train while the best men cleared a path.
“Wait a second. Why are the bridesmaids all pregnant?” Someone in the crowd chimed.
That would have gone unnoticed by the crowd but as soon as that person had pointed it out, more eyes studied the little lump on the three bridesmaids. The three of them were dressed in loose dresses that concealed their figure. Albeit so, the shifting of fabric had subtly given away the form of their slightly swollen bellies.
“What’s going on? Why did Xia Lei select three pregnant ladies to be his wife’s bridesmaids?”
“Yeah, this is too weird. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Is this some kind of local practice?”
“Xia Lei is from Haizhu and I’m very familiar with that place. There are no practises like that there.”
“Could there be something going on behind the scenes?”
“It’s probably the case. But anyway, we should not gossip about their private affairs.”
“Yeah, this is none of our business. Xia Lei had already given us face for inviting us here.”
The discussions about the three pregnant ladies were gone as fast as it had manifested. Most guests present had an image to uphold. They were elites of society and their upbringing was way different from regular civilians. They would not tarnish their images by making unnecessary comments about other people’s private lives, especially Xia Lei’s.
However, while the situation had calmed down, the same person who pointed it out spoke once again. “Wait, the bride is pregnant too.”
Another round of debate ensued.
“Getting pregnant before marriage? How could they be so careless?”
“I heard the bride is a high-ranking officer. Does the government allow their employees to engage in such acts?”
Thankfully, the discussion was shot-lived. The pin-drop silence was resumed after three minutes.
Among the crowd, Shentu Tianyin glanced at Tang Yuyan. “Who is that person? Is he here to sabotage the wedding?”
“Who?” Tang Yuyan's eyes widened in surprise.
Tang Yuyan pointed her finger at the person not far from their location. It was a middle-aged man that seemed to be a businessman. Shentu Tianyin could not recall meeting this person anywhere. This felt too weird. Shentu Tianyin was Xia Lei’s wife and she was very clear of the faces in Xia Lei’s crowd. This man was obviously not part of his closest circle so how would he learn of such private information?
“I see him. I don’t know who he is.” Tang Yuyan stopped staring. “Just ignore him, it’s just harmless comments. You can’t deny the truth.”
Shentu Tianyin watched Tang Yuyan carefully, lips itching to say something. But those words did not come.
At that moment, that man spoke again, “I heard that the three bridesmaids are also Xia Lei’s lovers. They and the bride are most probably carrying his child.”
The comments he made earlier were comparatively minor but this was major.
“Is that a joke? How is that possible?”
“Xia Lei is marrying Fan Fan but the other three women that were pregnant with his child are acting as her bridesmaids? Who the hell said that? Is this even true?”
“If it is true then his private life is one hell of a mess.”
“Xia Lei is our national hero. How can his life be so chaotic? This is impossible!”
“No wonder the bridesmaids are pregnant, they’re all sisters. That’s pretty impressive on Xia Lei’s part, being able to manage his relationships well.”
This time, the discussion roared on for a while. Some of the guests even started to gauge more of the bridesmaids’ background.
Shentu Tianyin returned her gaze on Tang Yuyan. “Are you sure you don’t know who that person is?”
Tang Yuyan replied, “Tianyin, what are you trying to say? Don’t forget, we’re both on the same boat.”
That effectively shut Shentu Tianyin up. She had seen enough in her life and it was clear that the man was here to sabotage the ceremony. In China, no one in the right mind would dare to hackle Xia Lei’s wedding without support. Shentu Tianyin was beginning to suspect that the man had something to do with Tang Yuyan but there was no proof to solidify her hypothesis. Plus, even if she had evidence, what could she do about it?
The voices became louder.
Initially, Xia Lei didn't have a clue of what was going on among his guests. He had most of his attention on the wedding itself and the subsequent operation that’d follow. But as more people joined in on the discussion below and the voices had gotten increasingly louder, he had no choice but to acknowledge the disturbance. His eyes did a rapid scan through the guests, in an attempt to locate its source.
Long Bing and Liang Siyao locked eyes.
“Someone is sabotaging the ceremony.” Liang Siyao scowled as she studied the crowd. It was a pity that the man had already fallen silent. There were too many faces in this venue and she couldn’t locate where the culprit was.
“If I find him, I swear I’m going to rip his mouth open.” The glint in Long Bing’s eye was terrifyingly murderous.
The host found himself in an awkward spot, not expecting someone to sabotage the wedding. But his adaptability was applaudable. With a beam, he quickly brought the attention to himself, “Haha! Are you surprised? This is part of the agenda. Yes, this is the effect we’re going for.” The gears in his mind turned. “Let us invite the bride’s grandfather, the director of the Academy of Sciences- Professor Fan Yiming on stage!”
Fan Yiming jolted. “What am I supposed to do on stage?”
Laughter erupted.
The host’s chuckle was charming. “Mister Fan, because Mister Xia’s father is absent from this ceremony, you’re the only parent present. You need to come up for the tea serving ceremony. Please, make your way over.”
Fan Yiming heeded and went on stage.
Xia Lei and Fan Fan bowed once to Fan Yiming and served him tea.
“Now, the couple shall read their wedding vows,” announced the host.
Xia Lei began, “I, Xia Lei, am willing to take Fan Fan as my lawfully wedded wife. For the rest of my life, I promise to support you and give you all I have. From this day forward, be it for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us apart.
Fan Fan followed, “I, Fan Fan, am willing to take Xia Lei as my lawfully wedded husband. For the rest of my life, I promise to support you and give you all I have. From this day forward, be it for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us apart.”
The host turned to Xia Lei. “Do you, Xia Lei, wish to marry this woman? To love her, to respect her and tenderly care for her for the rest of your life?”
Xia Lei muttered, “I do.”
The host turned to Fan Fan this time. “Do you, Fan Fan, wish to marry this man? To love him, to respect him and tenderly care for him for the rest of your life?”
Tears of happiness were already brimming in her eyes. “I do.”
The host offered them his smile. “Very well. You may now exchange your rings.”
Xia Lei and Fan Fan brought out the prepared wedding bands.
But before they could slip it onto their fingers, the heckler disrupted the exchange from the crowd. “Mister Xia, shouldn’t you exchange rings with the four of them? You can’t play favourites. They’re all pregnant with your child.”
Xia Lei found him.
Before anyone could react, Shentu Tianyin had rushed over and delivered a harsh resonating slap onto the man’s cheek.