Chapter 37 Blessing (Bonus Chapter)

Before leaving, Jiang Xia went back to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror.

He specifically wore a relatively fitted, low-cut sweater, paired with a striped shirt underneath, and a loose black coat, which was warm and comfortable without overshadowing the engagement party.

He checked the time repeatedly.

The engagement banquet officially began at 12:30.

The engagement banquet was secretly divided into two parts. The first part was a meal where the elders of both families met.

Wu Zhou said that the meal would start at 11:30 and the actual engagement banquet would begin at 12:30.

It's 10:30 now.

Jiangxia estimated that he would arrive at the manor around noon.

The scenery around him receded, and he didn't think about anything; his mind was blank, and he drove solely on his years of driving instincts.

Despite his busy schedule, Wu Ming sent him a message: "Jiang Xia, have you boarded the plane yet? Have a safe trip, and remember to message me when you arrive."

Jiang Xia saw the message while waiting at a traffic light, but he did not reply.

After all, he should be "on a plane," without internet access, and unable to receive messages.

The vehicle drove across the bridge, passing towering buildings on both sides. The buildings on both sides became shorter and shorter, and the river gorge arrived at Wu Family Manor.

I've been here many times over the years, but I never imagined that the last time I'd come here would be to attend the engagement banquet of Wu Ming, who always says things like, "What's so great about marriage? I don't want to get married. I just want to spend the rest of my life with him."

Jiang Xia arrived a little late, and there were almost no empty spaces in the parking lot. He searched around twice and quickly recognized Boss Zhan's black G-Class among a bunch of colorful supercars.

There's an empty seat next to it.

Mr. Zhan parked his car perfectly straight, and Jiang Xia easily parked it in the adjacent parking space.

Before Jiang Xia even got out of the car, colorful smoke, as dazzling as a galaxy, drifted across the lawn in the distance, indicating that the engagement banquet was about to begin.

The waiter approached, bent down, and opened the car door: "Sir, this way please."

Jiangxia got off the bus, took a deep breath, filled his lungs with air until he felt suffocated, then quickly exhaled, raised his head and smiled, and strode to catch up with the waiter.

The waiter wasn't in charge of collecting gifts, so Jiang Xia carried the bag herself and followed him to the main venue of the engagement banquet.

Before he even got close, he saw a pink and white floral archway in the distance.

Zhan Lintian stood to the side of the flower wall archway, a cigarette dangling from his lips, constantly lighting a lighter.

Jiang Xia squinted slightly to get a clear look at President Zhan in the distance.

The man had one hand in his pocket, skillfully playing with a lighter, spinning it between his fingers, but he didn't light a cigarette.

Before Jiang Xia could speak, Zhan Lintian caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye, waved to him first, and strode towards him: "Jiang Xia."

"Hello, Mr. Zhan. Don't you smoke?"

"Just quit."

Jiang Xia unconsciously looked at his fingers, worried that he might get burned by the flames.

Zhan Lintian put away his cigarette and lighter, raised his hand to show him: "So meticulous? But you're not injured. Let me take a closer look..."

Jiang Xia took a closer look and felt relieved.

When others engage in reckless and dangerous behavior, one may experience a strong physical reaction. For example, when traveling and seeing others taking photos on the edge of a cliff, one may feel so scared that one crouches down and one's heart rate spikes.

During the years when he loved Wu Ming the most, he would even dry heave in the middle of the night because he was worried that Wu Ming's excessive drinking would harm his health.

Looking into Jiang Xia's eyes, Zhan Lintian softly replied, "I won't play anymore."

Jiang Xia coughed a little awkwardly, pointed to the gift in his hand, and asked who it should be given to.

Zhan Lintian pointed in a certain direction and tilted his head: "As for the gift, you can put it over there."

"Or you could give it to him yourself, but he's not here right now, and neither is Wu Zhou. Their dinner party is probably still going on."

Jiang Xia withdrew his hand and chuckled awkwardly, "I'm not familiar with the process."

Zhan Lintian led him to the lawn: "Every family is different, there's no need to remember the procedure. Just find a place to sit down and start eating. Or would you like to take some photos?"

The engagement decorations are nice, and many people are taking pictures of the "double happiness" character.

Jiang Xia doesn't like taking photos, so he waved his hand and said, "Never mind."

"Have you had lunch yet?" Zhan Lintian asked.

Jiang Xia replied, "I've had breakfast."

"Let's grab something to eat first, the host's coming on stage soon. What's the schedule for tonight?"

"Go home and rest?" Jiang Xia turned his head to look at President Zhan.

Zhan Lintian said, "Come to my house and play. Don't stay at home alone. Follow me in my car later, and I'll lead the way."

After saying that, he put his hand on Jiang Xia's shoulder and strode forward naturally.

"President Zhan." Jiang Xia responded with a sound of surprise and was subconsciously led away by him.

As soon as the two entered the crowd, many people greeted Zhan Lintian.

"President Zhan!"

"Mr. Zhan, you seem to be in a good mood."

"Mr. Zhan, how about we go play golf sometime?"

Jiang Xia watched his retreating figure. Wu Zhou said that he was the boss of the recently popular Yuanxing Fund, and many people hoped to get his investment.

At this moment, the halo of money was on full display, so bright that everyone's attention naturally turned to the river gorge behind Zhan Lintian.

Some people who recognized Jiang Xia greeted him, saying, "Jiang Xia, it's been a long time!"

Jiang Xia looked at the person who was speaking. This was Wu Ming's friend, whom he had met by chance once.

But I don't know his name.

He could only respond with a smile.

In the crowd, someone eagerly handed Jiang Xia a glass of wine: "Champagne, tastes good."

Jiang Xia looked at the person to the side and said, "Thank you."

Jiang Xia took it, pretended to take a small sip, but didn't actually drink it.

These people, with their kind eyes concealing a wildness, were all sizing them up and observing.

Zhan Lintian naturally accepted the wine glass, and the waiter next to him naturally took the glass as well.

Zhan Lintian frowned and lowered his voice: "Just take a taste, it's not a formality anyway."

Jiang Xia hummed softly.

Seeing this, everyone realized that the news of Jiang Xia and Zhan Lintian's recent close relationship seemed to be true.

Seeing this, Zhan Lintian said, "Let's find a place, sit down and eat something."

Zhan Lintian actually arranged for a waiter to bring over a plate of fruit.

Why are you sitting here?

Jiangxia found a spot under a large tree, a ginkgo tree, in the middle of autumn, its leaves orange and yellow, dancing in the wind and sunlight.

It provides shade and is also quite far from the engagement platform.

The wind rustled the leaves, and the leaves fell onto the river gorge.

Jiang Xia gently shook his head, and the leaves slid past his shoulder and fell to the ground beside him.

Zhan Lintian looked at him, sat down in a relaxed manner, crossed his long legs, and said, "It's romantic, but when you eat here, you have to watch out for leaves falling onto your plate."

Jiang Xia didn't eat any fruit; instead, she collected the ginkgo leaves that had fallen on her and gently placed them to one side.

Zhan Lintian looked at his profile and smiled, "If you had come in right on time, when they were reciting their engagement vows, you would have really startled him."

Jiang Xia's gaze softened, and she murmured softly, "That's impolite."

Zhan Lintian raised an eyebrow and rested his forearm on the back of Jiang Xia's chair.

At this moment, Wu Ming and Xie Xingzhang are following their elders toward the engagement platform.

The host was already reading out blessings, welcoming the perfect couple onto the stage.

Miss Xie wore a white and pink off-the-shoulder fishtail gown, the hem of which swayed to the ground.

Wu Ming was wearing a formal suit today and was still a little uncomfortable, but when Xie Xingzhang went up the steps, he still thoughtfully bent down to help her lift her skirt.

This gesture brought smiles to the faces of both sets of elders, who nodded repeatedly in approval.

The host, with his keen eye, noticed this scene and began praising the couple's deep affection and the man's thoughtfulness and understanding. The cameraman also started snapping photos.

Ms. Xie even hired a cameraman to film a vlog for her. When she saw Wu Ming lifting her skirt, she turned slightly to the side, covered her mouth with one hand, and showed a surprised and delighted expression.

Very photogenic.

Throughout the entire process, Wu Zhou remained calm, showing neither joy nor sorrow, and followed his grandfather on the left, watching the scene with indifference.

Wu Ming and Xie Xingzhang had argued many times about not getting engaged, but now they truly seemed like a loving couple.

It's true that they like each other, but it's also true that they don't like each other enough.

Wu Zhou quickly looked around. There were too many people. He looked very carefully and finally spotted Jiang Xia in a corner on the edge.

Fortunately, Zhan Lintian was there, and everyone instinctively left a passage for him to view the host's platform; otherwise, Jiang Xia would have been completely overwhelmed by the crowd.

He was dressed rather lightly, but thankfully the sun was out today.

After the elders finished offering their blessings, it was time for the young couple to take their vows.

Their halting recitation interrupted Wu Zhou's thoughts.

"...Fortunate to have met you in this life, I will spend the rest of my life with you..."

As soon as the words were spoken, cannons exploded all around, and fireworks and pale pink petals drifted in the wind, converging into a dazzling daytime fireworks display.

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, Wu Ming shyly tapped the tip of his nose, then hugged Xie Xingzhang and kissed her.

The elders left during this process, leaving the lively banquet to the younger generation.

Everyone stood up and applauded. Someone shouted "Oh!" and walked towards the two of them while clapping his hands above his head.

Those who stepped forward to surround them were all friends of Wu Ming and Xie Xingzhang.

Jiang Xia and Zhan Lintian got up and walked over there.

Everyone scattered so quickly that Zhan Lintian wasn't an investor, but a gangster boss...

The originally crowded people hadn't even asked Jiang Xia to make way for them; they had automatically cleared a path leading to the stage.

On stage, Wu Ming thought to himself that once the engagement banquet was over, Jiang Xia should be able to land on the island.

Everyone gathered around, and he was pushed, staggering and instinctively grabbing his smiling fiancée. He glanced back at his friend who had suddenly pushed him, his eyes filled with disdain.

"Don't push me!" he said, sounding a little angry.

"Second Young Master, I'm so sorry..." The friend who pushed the other person quickly apologized, thinking that by creating an opportunity for the Second Young Master to kiss and hug, Wu Ming would be all smiles...

Unexpectedly, I was scolded instead.

Wu Ming wanted to say something more.

As I turned around, a familiar voice rang out.

"Wu Ming, congratulations on your engagement."

.

A note from the author:

Information Dissemination

Zhan Lintian wasn't addicted to smoking, but he would smoke, especially when he was out socializing and didn't want to drink. He would use the excuse of having a cigarette to sneak outside and get some fresh air.

During his period of quitting smoking, Mr. Zhan tried to distract himself from his nicotine cravings by kissing Jiangxia. However, his kisses were very gentle. He would first lightly touch Jiangxia's lips, and after she reacted, he would slowly touch them several times before finally starting to suck and kiss her.

James: Quitting smoking was so hard for me. [Burning with emotion]

Later, Yinghua learned: What? He smokes several cigarettes a year? [Question mark] Doesn't he always get cigarettes from others? Even if he doesn't, it doesn't matter, how could he be addicted to cigarettes? [Question mark]

Mr. Wu's kisses are a bit more unrestrained; he likes to kiss and touch his wife at the same time. [Eating popcorn]