Chapter 1: A Grand Wedding, But the Groom is Missing
Beijing, Hilton Hotel Banquet Hall.
Crystal chandeliers refracted light into a myriad of stars, pouring down. The air was filled with the sweet aroma of premium champagne and the rich fragrance of air-flown roses. Elegantly dressed couples, clinking glasses, and the whispered conversation of prominent figures in politics, business, and the military, every detail of this wedding underscored its extraordinary significance.
An extremely luxurious and grand wedding is in progress.
The only thing missing is the groom.
Su Wanqing stood in the shadows of the banquet hall's side entrance. Her priceless custom-made wedding gown, adorned with countless tiny diamonds and pearls, exuded an exquisite opulence, yet felt so heavy that it almost suffocated her. Her veil fell, obscuring her overly calm face. Only her hands, tightly clutching the bouquet, their knuckles white, betrayed a hint of her unspoken emotions.
"Wanqing, I beg you, the Su family cannot lose face... We can't afford to offend the Huo family!"
"My sister ran away, and you're the only one who can take her place! Commander Huo is on an urgent mission, and we can't get in touch with him at all. Let's finish the ceremony first..."
"The Huo family wants the daughter of the Su family. It doesn't matter who she is! What matters is that this marriage must be successful!"
My mother's almost collapsed crying and my father's anxious orders last night are still buzzing in my ears.
How ridiculous.
Her elder sister Su Manning ran away from her marriage on a whim, pursuing the so-called free love, and the mess she left behind had to be replaced by her, the second daughter who had been neglected since childhood and even sent away from the family.
And her nominal husband, a man she had never met, Huo Tingxiao, was picked up by a special plane at the most critical moment of the wedding due to an urgent military mission, without even leaving a message.
Her wedding became a one-man show that was tacitly understood by the upper class in Beijing, a joke that was about to spread.
"Bride, get ready. The ceremony process has been simplified and you will be entering soon." The wedding manager walked over quickly, his tone hurried, with a hint of imperceptible pity in his eyes.
Su Wanqing took a deep breath, her cold eyes sweeping across the bustling banquet hall from behind her veil. She could feel the gazes directed at her: curious, probing, gloating, contemptuous...
She straightened her back slightly.
The heaviness of the wedding dress seemed to be supported by an invisible force.
Since she had chosen to stand here, for the final kindness of her adoptive parents and to completely sever her ties with the Su family, she couldn't retreat. Even if the audience was a sea of fire, a bottomless abyss, she would walk through it with a smile.
"Okay." She responded, her voice coming through the gauze with an unimaginable calmness and composure.
The steward was stunned for a moment, as if he had not expected that the bride, who was appointed in an emergency and was obviously despised, would react like this.
The music started at the right time, it was the solemn "Wedding March".
The door to the banquet hall slowly opened.
All eyes were instantly focused on her.
The light is a bit dazzling.
Su Wanqing narrowed her eyes slightly, then stepped onto the red carpet covered with flower petals without hesitation.
There was no father leading the way (he was busy appeasing the elders and guests of the Huo family), and no groom waiting at the end of the red carpet.
She walked alone towards the stage, holding a pure white bouquet and trailing her gorgeous skirt, step by step, under the gaze of countless complex eyes.
Every step he took was extremely steady.
Her back is slender but straight, with her veil swaying, outlining an almost tragic loneliness and determination.
The whispers in the audience grew louder.
"She's really marrying in a place of someone else..."
"Commander Huo really hasn't come back?"
"The second young lady of the Su family is calmer than expected..."
"Tsk tsk, how am I going to live like this from now on..."
She seemed to have heard nothing, her eyes looking straight ahead, the corners of her lips even maintaining a perfect, gentle curve.
Walk to the center of the stage and stand still.
The emcee was obviously dealing with this kind of situation for the first time, with sweat on his forehead as he tried hard to maintain his professionalism.
"Thank you very much for coming to the wedding of Mr. Huo Tingxiao and Ms. Su Wanqing..." The emcee's voice spread throughout the hall through the microphone. "Due to urgent military duties, the groom, Mr. Huo Tingxiao, was unable to arrive in time. Therefore, the ceremony will be kept simple..."
There was a suppressed uproar from the audience.
At this moment, the door of the banquet hall was pushed open again.
A young man in a neatly trimmed military uniform, his epaulettes marking his rank as a major, strode in. His footsteps were remarkably clear in the suddenly quiet hall. He walked straight to the head table and saluted a respectable elder—Old Man Huo, Huo Tingxiao's grandfather—before speaking briefly in a low voice.
Everyone's eyes followed him.
Old Master Huo had a calm expression. After listening, he nodded slightly and then cast his eyes on the bride standing alone on the stage with a barely perceptible scrutiny.
The officer turned around, walked a few steps to the dais, faced Su Wanqing, and saluted again. His voice was loud and clear, breaking the awkward silence:
"Madam! The commander is currently carrying out an urgent 'Thunderbolt' mission and is unable to escape, so he has specially ordered me to report! All is going well, please rest assured!"
"The chief asked me to convey that the subsequent arrangements for the wedding have been made. Please just follow the procedures."
"Thunder" mission? Some guests who knew the inside story had their expressions slightly changed.
Su Wanqing looked at the heroic officers in the audience. His eyes were respectful and his tone was firm, but what he conveyed was still the man's unquestionable arrangements and absence.
She was silent for a few seconds.
The whole place was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Then, she nodded slightly, and addressed the officer and all those waiting to see her laugh. Her voice, through the veil, was clear, calm, and even a little distant:
"knew."
"Thanks for your hard work."
There was no panic, no crying out of grievance, only utterly calm acceptance.
A hint of surprise flashed across the officer's eyes. He saluted again and retreated neatly.
The MC quickly seized the opportunity and announced loudly: "The ceremony is over! Thank you all! Please move to the banquet hall and enjoy the wedding banquet!"
The music started up again, trying to cover up the awkwardness of this strange ceremony.
Su Wanqing stood there, watching the guests stand up with different expressions, and walk towards the dining area while chatting.
There was no one to guide her.
She became the most gorgeous yet loneliest decoration on this grand stage.
She slowly lowered her head and her eyes fell on the bouquet in her hand.
The pure white lily of the valley symbolizes the return of happiness.
She raised the corners of her lips very lightly, almost inaudibly.
In that arc, there is self-mockery, as well as a sense of clarity that comes from completely letting go.
This marriage that attracted everyone's attention was exactly as she had expected from the very beginning.
Absurd, cold, and lonely.
Her married life seemed to have already seen its end before it even began.
However, in this chaotic interweaving of noise and loneliness, no one noticed that the huge electronic screen hanging behind the stage, which had been playing a loop of wedding photos (with the profiles of my sister and Su Wanqing photoshopped in), flickered briefly. A satellite cloud image passed by so quickly that it was almost impossible to capture it. A clear code was marked in the corner of the image -
【Thunder-A】.
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