Grandma Xie: "!!"
"What are you looking at? Come help me up, I don't want to die!"
Xie Siyan, who was nearby, rushed over and hugged the old lady immediately, but he lost his balance due to the strong impact and fell to the ground. The back of his head hit the armrest of the mahogany chair with a dull thud.
"Grandma!" Xie Pingfeng ran over and asked anxiously, "Are you alright? Do you feel nauseous? Are you dizzy?"
“I’m fine,” the old lady said, standing up shakily. “Don’t worry about me, go see your older brother.”
"My brother will definitely be fine. He's strong and healthy. He just bumped his head...!" Xie Pingfeng had barely finished speaking when he noticed Xie Siyan lying unconscious on the ground.
"elder brother--"
The next moment, Xie Pingfeng's scream echoed throughout the entire Chunxie Garden.
...
Amidst the chaos in the private room, Yan Shenyu returned to the grand banquet hall where the wedding was being held.
The fishing platform was so big that it took him a full twenty minutes to walk back to the banquet hall where the wedding was being held under the blazing sun.
Before he could even sit down properly, a man in a groomsman's suit rushed over, looking anxious, and said, "Brother Yan, where have you been? Why are you only coming back now? The wedding is about to start."
This guy's name is Wu Yun, the original owner's good brother. After graduation, he took a sinecure at his family's company, working only sporadically and just like his brother, a rich second-generation heir who was good for nothing. He wasn't very ambitious, but he wasn't a bad person either.
Yan Shenyu temporarily sided with him, saying frankly, "Don't worry, the wedding can't start."
"You..." Wu Yun's expression changed instantly, "You saw everything?"
"What do you see?" Yan Shenyu randomly pointed to a staff member guarding the bride's room and instructed, "Hey you over there, could you please get me a glass of water with ice?"
Seemingly surprised to be called out, the young man nodded somewhat flusteredly, "Okay, okay, I'll be right there!"
"You still have the mood to drink water?" Seeing that only the two of them were left in the room, Wu Yun didn't stand on ceremony. He pulled out the chair opposite Yan Shenyu and sat down, saying irritably, "Look at this, Xie Shiba is squatting on your head and pooping!"
Wu Yun handed over the phone, and Yan Shenyu then noticed that Xie Xiaoling had recently posted a long article on Weibo—"My First Love, with whom I've had a ten-year relationship, is getting married, but unfortunately, the groom isn't me."①
The article showed no anger or frustration; instead, it offered Xiao Zhenliang a peaceful and magnanimous blessing for his marriage.
However, in the process of describing it, they inevitably mentioned part of their past love and some visible regrets.
Xie Xiaoling, whose Weibo account is "Super Large White Rabbit Candy," is a popular relationship blogger and a well-known lesbian couple in the entertainment industry. They were once a public couple whose public displays of affection were widely known, and many were heartbroken when they broke up. Now that one of them is getting married, netizens are lamenting that true love has been defeated by reality.
Just two hours after the Weibo post was published, it had already been reposted over ten thousand times, causing countless netizens to sigh in disbelief.
[This is so heartbreaking. I've been following them since they first got together, and after so many years of breaking up and getting back together, it still ended in a tragic ending.]
[It really hit me hard. After the breakup, I was still thinking about getting back together, but you were already preparing to marry someone else.]
[This is so sudden! They just broke up, and he's already getting married. Does anyone know who the other groom is? Could he be the other woman?]
[I don't know for sure, but I heard it was pressure from his family that made X go back to get married.]
[A marriage alliance? That makes even less sense; White Rabbit Candy is from a super-rich family.]
[A super-rich second-generation heir? How come I didn't know that? Please dig deep!]
[Bai Tu Tang is very low-key, and I only know the gist of this matter. Once, he shared a GIF on Weibo and forgot to blur it, accidentally including another picture from his album, which showed the Xie family's famous manor house. Although that Weibo post was quickly deleted, and he never directly responded, netizens later dug up many details about his family, all of which matched the Xie family.]
[Holy crap, White Rabbit Candy is actually from the Xie family?]
"Pah! What Xie family?" Wu Yun spat angrily. "They're just distant relatives of the Xie family's eighteenth branch, acting all high and mighty just because they share the same surname. Do you see any of the main family members even giving them a second glance?"
Yan Shenyu raised an eyebrow: "You know someone from the Xie family?"
“I don’t know him,” Wu Yun said matter-of-factly, “but that doesn’t stop me from despising Xie Shiba! It was clearly Xiao Zhenliang who pursued you, but the way he wrote it makes it seem like you were the other woman! What about you? He’s already bullied you, are you just going to let it go like that?”
Yan Shenyu was silent for a moment, then nodded: "You're right, we can't just let it go like this."
"So what should we do now?" Wu Yun frowned. "Or should I have someone stuff him in a sack and beat him up, or drug him with aphrodisiacs and take nude photos of him?"
Before Yan Shenyu could answer, the young man who came over to deliver water trembled slightly.
"Look at you, you scared him." Yan Shenyu smiled as she took the water glass and comforted him, "He was just joking, don't take it to heart."
“I’m not joking,” Wu Yun frowned, wanting to say something more, but then realized there were other people present, so he quickly waved for them to leave.
“That water…” the young man glanced at it.
"Thank you, I'll drink it." Yan Shenyu smiled. He was usually quite unserious, but when he got serious, he was so handsome that it was hard to look away. Even the guy delivering water next to him was almost mesmerized.
"You..." Wu Yun was stunned when he saw that smile, and suddenly felt a little confused. Was Yan Shenyu really that good-looking?
Of course, Yan Shenyu has always been good-looking, but his good looks are limited to still photos. While he is also good-looking in person, he loses some charm when he moves.
But things are different now... Wu Yun couldn't quite put his finger on what was different, but he felt that Yan Shenyu was particularly attractive now, and every move she made was full of charm.
"What's wrong?" Seeing that Wu Yun had been staring at him for a long time without saying a word, Yan Shenyu was getting sleepy and yawned widely.
Wu Yun: "..."
What nonsense about charm! It's all an illusion. What beautiful woman yawns with her little tongue sticking out?
Receiving no reply, Yan Shenyu picked up her water glass to drink, but before her lips could even touch it, it was snatched away.
"You're still in the mood to drink water at a time like this?" Wu Yun downed the water in one gulp and slammed the cup on the table with great bravado. "No way! I can't swallow this insult. I have to teach him a lesson!"
Yan Shenyu: "..."
"You can't swallow your anger, but you swallowed my water."
"Sorry, I'm so thirsty. I'll have him pour you another cup," Wu Yun said, and was about to have someone come in.
"Never mind." Yan Shenyu was too lazy to bother, so she simply took out a bottle of room temperature mineral water from the drawer to quench her thirst.
"What do we do now?" Wu Yun tugged at her tie, her face full of anxiety. "There's less than an hour until midnight, and Xiao Zhenliang still hasn't shown up. He must have gone to see Xie Xiaoling. If he doesn't show up in an hour, will this wedding still happen?"
Yan Shenyu: "Whether he shows up or not, the wedding is off."
"Huh?" Wu Yun was stunned. After a while, he seemed to understand something and tentatively asked, "You...you've finally figured it out?"
"I've thought it through." Yan Shenyu recounted what she had seen them being intimate in the garden, which aroused Wu Yun's indignation. Perhaps it was because of the anger, but this time not only his cheeks but his entire neck turned red.
"Why do I feel a bit hot?" Wu Yun tugged at his collar, unbuttoning three buttons of his shirt in a row, but still feeling uncomfortable. He fanned himself while cursing, "It's all because of those two scumbags. I could breathe fire right now."
The boy in front of me had flushed cheeks, his eyes were unusually moist, and his body felt limp.
Yan Shenyu stared at him for a long time, then suddenly asked, "Have you been... drugged with aphrodisiacs?"
"Huh?" Wu Yun paused in taking off his clothes, completely stunned.
...
"Is everything taken care of?" A low male voice sounded from behind the emergency exit door. His figure was hidden in the darkness, making it impossible to see his expression.
“It’s done,” another voice rang out. It was the man who had just been serving in the bridal room. He was bowing, and his voice was somewhat obsequious. “I personally added the ingredients to his water glass.”
"You saw him drink it?"
This time, the other person was silent for a while before nodding: "I saw it. He was very thirsty. He asked me for water as soon as he came in. I never suspected anything."
"There's a balance of 100,000 in this card. I'll give you the other half after you've finished your business. Do you understand what to do?"
"Understood. The groom's indecent video will be on the big screen in half an hour." The man put the card in his pocket, and before leaving, he couldn't help but ask one more question, "But manager, why are you targeting the groom? Do you have a grudge against him?"
"Stop your curiosity," the person in the darkness frowned. "This is not something you should know."
The other person touched his nose, turned around and left sheepishly.
The emergency exit door opened and closed, a faint light illuminating the corridor before quickly disappearing, leaving only darkness.
A note from the author:
The meme "My first love, with whom I've had a ten-year relationship, is getting married, but unfortunately, the groom isn't me"① comes from the internet.
Chapter 4: The Groom Runs Away from His Wedding.
At this point, there was only half an hour left until midnight, and the guests began to arrive one after another. However, the newlyweds were still nowhere to be seen. Only the emcee was on stage trying to liven up the atmosphere, but there was an unspoken awkwardness amidst the enthusiasm.
"Why hasn't anyone come out yet?" The guests below the stage had been waiting for a long time and gradually realized that something was wrong.
"You don't know yet?" another low voice said, "This marriage is most likely not going to happen."
"Huh? What happened?"
"I heard the groom ran away from the wedding, and the backstage area is now in complete chaos."
"No way? She really ran away from the wedding? This isn't a TV drama."
"Even TV dramas wouldn't dare to portray this like this. The groom's first love comes to steal the bride, and I heard she's already out of Beijing."
"This..." The guest turned to look at Yan's parents at the main table, his expression a mixture of sympathy and gossip.
"Listen to what kind of nonsense this is!" On the other side, Yan Zhengang's face had turned completely black. "I didn't agree to their marriage in the first place. She had only known him for two months when she started making a scene and insisting on marrying him. Now look what happened? The groom ran away from the wedding?"
“What’s the use of scolding Shenyu now?” Xu Jingshu glared at her husband and ordered, “Go and appease the guests first. I need to go check on our son.”
“I can’t afford to lose face like that,” Yan Zhengang stood up abruptly. “I have things to do at the company, so I’ll be leaving now.”
"Yan Zhengang, sit down!" Xu Jingshu shouted angrily.
"Uh..." The man, who had been so aggressive just moments before, plopped back down and said fiercely, "Yan Yu, you stay here and greet the guests."
The boss, who was about to slip away: "..."
He and Yan Shenyu didn't get along, so he couldn't be bothered to entertain these random guests. Just as he was about to get up and leave, an unexpected message came in.
Yan Yu opened his phone and raised an eyebrow in surprise: Yan Shenyu was looking for him?
The argument at the main table did not escape the notice of the guests present, and for a time, various discussions rose and fell in the hall. Even the lively music could not drown out the enthusiasm of the onlookers.
"I'm leaving." In the VIP room on the second floor of the lobby, Xiao Zhenliang turned and left through the window.
“Let’s wait a little longer,” Xie Xiaoling looked up at him, her worry genuine. “With something like this happening so suddenly, he must be feeling lost and unsure if he can handle it. Besides, I’m the one who wronged Shenyu in this matter. I think we should wait a little longer. If anyone makes things difficult for him, I might be able to help in some way.”
Xiao Zhenliang's face was stern, and his tone was cold: "You don't need to get involved. I will explain to him myself."
Xie Xiaoling bit her lip and said with some grievance, "You told him about my situation?"
“No, I will keep your terminal illness a secret,” Xiao Zhenliang frowned, “and his phone is switched off.”
Xie Xiaoling's expression dimmed slightly. She took a step forward and hugged Xiao Zhenliang, gently comforting him, "Don't worry, he was probably delayed by something."
Xiao Zhenliang turned his gaze to the noisy hall, his eyes darkening.