Chapter 36 The Wedding

After the little male fish took the initiative to contact Luo Qingyan, Luo Qingyan learned about the little male fish's recent situation.

The little merman who was forced to come ashore was in a special situation, but fortunately, the land-based merman organization was very professional and able to handle everything. Moreover, the little merman learned some things that made him happy, although he couldn't say them directly, he just wanted to share this joy with Luo Qingyan.

Luo Qingyan was becoming more and more accustomed to this semi-concealed way of getting along, so she didn't ask too many questions and simply accepted the joy. After all, the little merman had also subtly hinted that he hadn't contacted her earlier because he wanted to give her a surprise after training. The other party was becoming more and more like a human, which was truly something to look forward to.

The return time for the little male fish is still uncertain, but the other party said they would do so as soon as possible.

After that, the two continued to keep in touch. Although each contact might only consist of a few words and a simple chat about everyday things, that was enough for them, and they both felt very comfortable with each other.

-

This day was the wedding day of my old classmate, Fan Shuxin.

Attending Fan Shuxin's wedding is a happy occasion, but the last class reunion wasn't very pleasant, so there's a high probability of some friction this time as well.

Luo Qingyan will try her best to avoid conflict. Marriage is a joyous occasion, so of course it should be peaceful and harmonious. However, the premise is that no one can go too far. Her patience has its limits, and if someone is bullied to the extreme, she will not care about anyone.

Today is a sunny day. The weather in late September is especially comfortable if it doesn't rain. The autumn sky is clear and the air is crisp, with light clouds and gentle breezes, making it perfect for going out.

The weather is nice, and I'm in a good mood. It's a great start.

Attending a wedding requires formal attire, but Fan Shuxin's wedding had no dress code, which made it difficult to choose. Luo Qingyan even asked Xiao Nanyu for help when choosing her clothes.

Having someone to help with the decision made things easier, and I finally chose a dark purple dress. The style is very simple; at first glance, it's just a well-tailored solid-color long dress. But upon closer inspection, you'll notice a small cutout design at the neckline, and the mid-calf length is both elegant and allows for easy movement.

Today, after putting on the dress, I think it looks really good. She even stayed in the courtyard for a while longer; it was just the right temperature.

The reason she was so unhurried was that she had planned to go as late as possible from the beginning. After all, the last party was unpleasant, and she always felt that going too early might lead to accidents.

She used to be fearless, and no one could mess with her, but now she just wants to stay out of it.

Because Liu Yimiao, who was on good terms with her, was going to be a bridesmaid and had to go early, and was also busy with many other things, she couldn't go with Liu Yimiao. Other classmates also invited her to go together, but those classmates were easy to refuse, saying they had other things to do and could only go later, unlike Liu Yimiao who would pester her to change the time.

Fan Shuxin chose an outdoor lawn wedding. The ceremony was scheduled for 4:30 pm, but a tea party was arranged, so guests usually started arriving around 2:30 pm.

The guests need to gather 20 minutes before the ceremony begins, so it's definitely not appropriate to arrive at that exact time. Luo Qingyan calculated the time and decided that arriving around 3:50 would be more suitable.

She arrived at 3:52. The timing was perfect, but when she arrived, she sensed something was off.

On such a joyous occasion as a wedding, everyone should be relaxed and happy, especially old classmates gathering together. Even without new topics, they could reminisce about the past. However, everyone was quiet, and not everyone was present. Luo Qingyan immediately noticed that Fang Tang and Huo Bowen were both absent.

Is it like last time? Did something happen to these two that made them arrive even later than her?

No, besides these two, there are no other people around. Something must have happened.

However, everyone present seemed to avoid talking, and Luo Qingyan sensed that it was best not to bring it up herself, so she didn't ask anything and just stayed quietly.

They didn't argue in front of everyone, but rather the two of them were alone in a corner of the tea party when they suddenly started arguing. Fang Tang pushed Huo Bowen. Huo Bowen fell to the ground, cutting his hand on a pebble. A classmate took him to disinfect and apply medicine, while Fang Tang ran away, and a classmate chased after her to check on her.

Today is Fan Shuxin's wedding, a joyous occasion. Arguing is certainly not a good thing, so everyone kept quiet, hoping to minimize the conflict and resolve it peacefully.

Huo Bowen appeared before the wedding ceremony began, but Fang Tang was still nowhere to be seen.

Other classmates said that Fang Tang seemed to be crying and was very sad, so she couldn't come to the scene for the time being.

Luo Qingyan simply listened; if it weren't for the discussions among her classmates, she wouldn't have even bothered to listen. She wanted to stay as far away from those two as possible and didn't want to get involved in any trouble. She focused her attention on the wedding ceremony.

The newlyweds entered together, hand in hand, slowly walking into the wedding venue to the accompaniment of romantic music.

Fan Shuxin, dressed in a satin wedding gown, beamed with happiness. Holding flowers in one hand and her lover's arm in the other, she shone brightly in the sunlight on the green grass.

The newlyweds walked to the ceremony platform and stood still, and under the guidance of the emcee, began the next part of the ceremony.

First, the bride and groom each gave a speech. Their words included each other, their family and friends, and were simple, sincere, and full of emotion and warmth.

Next came the oath. It wasn't the kind of oath you usually hear about; it was one that the two of them wrote themselves. There was no life or death involved; it was very ordinary, like a casual chat, but it gave you a sense of enduring love.

The ring was then presented by the couple's pet dog. A Corgi wearing a little dress, carrying a small bag containing the ring, ran towards its owners. The newlyweds even took several photos with the dog as they knelt down to receive the ring.

Then came the bouquet toss. The bride didn't throw her bouquet; instead, she divided it in two and gave each half to one of the bridesmaids. The bouquet toss was a flower made of red envelopes, symbolizing good fortune and prosperity. There were about ten people catching it, and everyone was friendly. One couple even caught the bouquet together.

Finally, it was time for a group photo. The newlyweds wanted to take photos with all their relatives and friends, so the photo session took quite a while.

Fang Tang appeared when taking a group photo with the bride's classmates. Fang Tang and Huo Bowen were far apart, and they both looked like they were still angry. No one else said anything; they didn't want to bring their unhappiness to the newlyweds.

After the group photo session, the wedding ceremony was over, and everyone gradually moved to the restaurant.

Dinner will start at 6:30. After everyone rests for a while, it will be time to eat.

Luo Qingyan naturally walked towards the restaurant with her classmates. She walked quite quickly because she didn't want to be bothered by annoying things.

However, when they arrived at the restaurant and were about to sit down, Liu Yimiao suddenly appeared and pulled her away.

-

"What are you doing here, bridesmaid?" Luo Qingyan noticed Liu Yimiao pulling her towards a secluded spot and sensed something was wrong. "Is there something important? Do we need to go somewhere else?"

"The ceremony is over, it's alright." Liu Yimiao pulled Luo Qingyan to a corridor outside the restaurant, some distance from the door, where there was no one else.

"What are we doing here?" Luo Qingyan looked around, unable to figure out what he could do here.

Liu Yimiao's expression was serious as she whispered, "Did you know that Fang Tang and Huo Bowen had a fight today?"

Upon hearing that it was about Fang Tang and Huo Bowen, Luo Qingyan had a bad feeling, but she calmly replied, "I arrived late and didn't see it, but I heard it from others."

"I... um..." Liu Yimiao hesitated, then sighed.

"What's wrong?"

Liu Yimiao took a deep breath: "Don't be angry when I tell you, I just want to deal with this. They said that the two of them arguing is related to you."

"I wasn't even there when they were arguing." Luo Qingyan understood that Liu Yimiao was just stating the reason, but she was speechless and couldn't help but feel disgusted.

"I know, it mainly involves things from high school."

"Ha! I'm impressed. They can still bring this up after more than ten years since graduation. These two are..." Luo Qingyan suddenly shut his mouth, not wanting to say anything unpleasant.

“I think there’s a misunderstanding, and you’re the victim.” Liu Yimiao said seriously, “What exactly happened between the three of you back then…?”

Luo Qingyan frowned slightly. She pondered for a moment and said, "I've always felt that everyone has taken the past too seriously. I initially thought it was because we were young and naive, but now it seems that what I know might differ from what you know. So, could you tell me what you know about the situation?"

Liu Yimiao's eyes widened slightly in surprise. After thinking for a few seconds, she said, "Well... what we know is that Fang Tang likes Huo Bowen, but Huo Bowen likes you, and... you also have a secret crush on Huo Bowen, but you think high school students shouldn't be dating, so you didn't date at that time..."

Luo Qingyan frowned upon hearing this, but she felt that Liu Yimiao hadn't finished speaking, so she pressed on, "Anything else? It's not just this, is it?"

"And..." Liu Yimiao pursed her lips, "There was a conflict between the three of you. As for the conflict, it's closely related to the performance at the cultural festival. It's kind of like two women fighting over one man... you know... the legitimate one and the one who's getting involved, you know..."

"What nonsense is this?" Luo Qingyan felt it was absurd and tried hard not to roll her eyes. "It's completely different from what I've experienced, seen, and know. Is someone exaggerating or is someone with malicious intent?"

"Completely different?" Liu Yimiao's eyes widened. "The...the general direction is completely different..."

Liu Yimiao was interrupted by Luo Qingyan's ringing phone before she could finish speaking.

Luo Qingyan took out her phone. It was a call from a classmate. She told Liu Yimiao what was going on, and then answered the phone: "Hello."

"Qingyan, where did you and Yimiao go? Dinner is about to start, and the waiters are already asking if anyone is seated." The classmate was there to urge the two of them to go back to the restaurant. Today's wedding banquet is served individually, and it wouldn't be appropriate to go too late.

"Okay, we'll go back right away." Luo Qingyan hung up the phone and explained the situation to Liu Yimiao.

It was time to eat, so they had to go back. They decided to eat first and talk about other things afterward.

-

When Luo Qingyan and Liu Yimiao returned to the restaurant, they both acted as if nothing had happened. In addition, the waiters started serving the dishes shortly afterward, so no one else asked any questions.

However, Luo Qingyan's mind was in turmoil. She knew that many things were viewed differently from different perspectives, and everyone's understanding was different, so the messages relayed would inevitably be less objective. She didn't want to pay attention to certain things or certain people, but unfortunately, certain things and certain people would take the initiative to find her, leaving her helpless.

Unexpectedly, during this period of distress, I actually received a WeChat message from Little Fish.

To Luo Qingyan, the little male merman was like someone from outside this world; being with him allowed her to forget all her troubles. So, she poured out her heart to him for quite a while.

She made it very clear that she didn't like certain people and even had the urge to leave. However, there were some unpleasant things that needed her to deal with, and there was also an after-party. The newcomer had promised everyone that no one could be left out, so unless something too outrageous happened, everyone had to give the newcomer face.

She doesn't need to pretend to be a good person when talking to the little male merman. The little male merman knows that humans have many facets, and she can vent her dissatisfaction to her heart.

After venting her frustrations, she even said a few kind words about the little male merman. She genuinely believed that humans were more complex than fish, and she preferred being with the little male merman, eagerly anticipating his return.

Their previous chats were usually brief, but this time the little fish patiently chatted with her for a while, comforting and reassuring her, and finally promised to go back as soon as possible.

The chat with the little male fish ended, and the meal was also coming to a close. Fortunately, Luo Qingyan's mood had improved considerably after the chat, and she had the energy to face those troublesome matters.

What's meant to happen will happen eventually.

Unexpectedly, before Liu Yimiao came to find Luo Qingyan, he sent Luo Qingyan a WeChat message saying that Fang Tang also wanted to talk to Luo Qingyan.