Chapter 324: Guests Take Their Seats

Chapter 324: Guests Take Their Seats

Seeing Xiao Xiao’s puzzled expression, Bai Mengan called toward the door, “Then sing *Tian Mi Mi*—let’s liven things up a bit!”

Han Xing turned to his handsome groom buddy. “Showtime, hotshot—it’s your moment.”

Lu Hanchuan lifted his chin slightly. “Isn’t Teresa Teng your idol? You should go.”

Han Xing frowned. “Wouldn’t that be stealing your spotlight? Doesn’t seem right.”

He shifted his gaze to Jiang Yi. “Jiang Yi, you’re the artist here—you do it!”

Dressed in a white suit with short, slightly curly hair and Cupid’s bow lips, Jiang Yi looked annoyed. “I paint—I don’t sing.”

Han Xing threw an arm over his shoulder. “Art, music—it’s all creative. Come on, duet with me and I’ll buy ten of your paintings tomorrow.”

Then he led off outside the door, belting out: *"Tian mi mi, wo xiao de tian mi mi..."*

Ye Xiaoxiao remarked, “That hurt my ears.”

Bai Mengan thought this wasn’t just self-sabotage—it was torture.

While Han Xing sang, Lu Hanchuan and the others were slipping red envelopes under the door.

Bai Mengan said, “Come on, is this really how you bribe your way in?”

She hesitated for a moment when she heard the lock click—someone had actually opened it from the outside.

“Who has the key?!”

Tang Xiuxiu quietly stepped back. She was just a frail little thing—no way she could stop them.

“Comrade Bai, we should retreat.”

Su Tong pulled Bai Mengan back just as the door swung open and the crowd poured in.

There was no need to search for the wedding shoes—they were already by the bed. As soon as Lu Hanchuan entered, he slipped them onto Xiao Xiao’s feet and swept her into his arms.

Ye Xiaoxiao wrapped her arms around his neck, admiring his perfect jawline.

“You got here fast.”

Lu Hanchuan replied, “A man who isn’t eager to marry his wife has something wrong with him.”

“Wait—aren’t you going to kiss first?”

Bai Mengan held up her notebook. “I still have a whole checklist!”

With the bride and groom gone, no one else wanted to hang around either.

Han Xing waved at Bai Mengan. “Comrade Bai, don’t let your plans go to waste—save them to give your future hubby hell.”

Bai Mengan shot him a glare before shoving the notebook into her pocket.

Han Xing teased, “Need a ride, sweetheart?”

“In your dreams,” she snapped.

In the end, Bai Mengan hurried over and climbed into Qi Zheng’s car. Though stoic, he was a man of few words—perfect for avoiding chitchat.

The convoy consisted of all-black jeeps—a rare sight even in the capital.

The bridal procession's route had been carefully planned in advance, while relatives and friends attending the banquet could ride ahead to the Capital Restaurant.

By now, many guests had already taken their seats at the Capital Restaurant.

Yun Chengxiu and Lu Xingzhou were greeting guests. The banquet hall was packed with people, and despite the crowd, many had only sent gifts without coming in person.

After getting out of the car, Yun Bohai walked straight toward the restaurant. His stern expression broke into a smile only when he saw Yun Chengxiu.

"Auntie, Uncle."

"Bohai, did you get leave from the army? Honestly, it's not such a big deal—your work should come first."

Yun Bohai smiled. "How can my little cousin's wedding not be a big deal? My grandfather and father told me to come help Auntie and Uncle."

Yun Chengxiu: "There's nothing much to help with. Why didn't Yue Zhu come?"

Yun Bohai: "Our kid's running a fever, so she stayed home to take care of them."

Yun Chengxiu asked a few more questions about the child, but couldn't help feeling envious. Bohai was only two years older than Lu Hanchuan, yet his child was already three.

Lu Xingzhou: "Bohai, head on inside. We'll catch up properly later."

Yun Bohai: "You two go ahead with your duties."

Meanwhile, Grandma Lu and Grandpa Lu were seated separately with groups of old army buddies.

When the topic turned to Lu Hanchuan's bride, everyone was curious—who was this girl?

"Our Xiao Xiao is absolutely beautiful."

Grandma Lu was Ye Xiaoxiao's biggest admirer.

"Old friend, I wasn't asking whether your granddaughter-in-law is pretty. I meant, which family is she from? What do they do?"

The elderly woman sitting across from Grandma Lu whispered gossipily.

This was something everyone else wanted to know too, so they subtly perked up their ears.

"The Lu family doesn’t care about that sort of thing. Besides, what’s with this 'noble family' talk? Nowadays, every child is a treasure. Back in our day, we were all covered in dirt—you didn’t hear us throwing around terms like 'noble daughters.' How come now that life’s better, people are getting so snobbish?"

Grandma Lu herself came from a wealthy family, had studied abroad in her youth, and later returned to contribute to the liberation cause. Her family had even donated generously to national construction.

That was why the Cheng family had been relatively unscathed during those political campaigns.

Her words left the others looking somewhat ashamed—except for the woman who had asked the question, who sucked her teeth in disapproval.

From her reaction, it was clear the bride wasn't from some fancy family.

Why make such a fuss about it? This Cheng Yan was still as hung up on status as she'd been in her youth.

Despite the Lu family’s efforts to keep it simple, inviting only close friends and family, the banquet hall still had sixty-plus tables.

The Ye family had three tables—though few in number, they were given pride of place.

You could tell at once they were the bride’s family.

However, the sense of status disparity that others had imagined wasn’t there. The Ye family was dressed appropriately and had good energy about them.

Some even recognized Ye Changning as someone who had been on TV before—several businesspeople were already making moves to network with him.

Most guests here were old-family types, but in terms of real clout, they might not match the newly rising enterprises.

Even before the banquet started, people had already come over to greet Ye Changning.

Though he didn’t recognize them, Ye Changning was polite to anyone who came up to him.

After all, this was his sister’s wedding—he wasn’t about to let anything go wrong.

“Who’s that young man?” asked the same skeptical old lady from earlier, noticing the buzz around the Ye family.

“That’s our Xiao Xiao’s older brother,” Grandma Lu said, tilting her head up smugly. “He owns a business and seems to be doing pretty well—has several factories.”

The others exchanged glances: “…”

As if we can’t tell you’re showing off.

A while later, Song Guangjing arrived with Song Xiaoguang, which raised eyebrows among those who recognized them.

Song Laoshi had been retired for years—unless it was a life-or-death illness, you couldn’t usually get him to come out.

This time, Grandma Lu jumped in: “This is our Xiao Xiao’s mentor. She’s training to be a doctor.”

Another elderly woman said, “Old Cheng, why didn’t you say so sooner? Being Mr. Song’s apprentice is a *big deal*.”

Grandma Lu shrugged. “You never asked.”

Just when they thought the bride’s family had already pulled out all the stops, Zhou Ziran showed up too—someone who hadn’t attended any private events in years.

And like it was nothing, he slid right into a seat at the bride’s family table.