Chapter 87 The Wedding Procession
Zhou Anping brought up some fruit and said in a low voice, "Come to my room and rest for a while. There are a lot of relatives at home today, and there's not enough room outside."
Gu Yan was more than happy to oblige and followed behind Zhou Anping.
Wang Leiyang and Li Feifan were sitting at the desk in the room, drinking tea and chatting.
Zhou Anping placed the fruit platter on the desk, saying, "The three of you have some fruit."
Gu Yan kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the small bed covered with floral sheets.
Wang Leiyang shouted angrily, "Gu Yan, have you no shame! This is Anping's boudoir, how dare you lie on her bed?"
Gu Yan groaned comfortably, "I'm exhausted! How many times did I take naps on this bed when I was little? Anping never said anything! I'll wash her sheets later, okay?"
He pulled the blanket over his head, "Don't bother me, wake me up when it's time!"
Zhou Anping blushed slightly. "It's nothing... my mom asked me to go help her..." she said, and quickly slipped away.
Wang Leiyang and Li Feifan looked at each other and shook their heads, laughing and cursing, "Shameless!"
Around 2 p.m., the wedding procession was ready to depart.
Gu Yan's Toyota, decorated with large red silk flowers and a huge "囍" (double happiness) character, led the procession, followed by Wang Leiyang, Li Feifan, and several other relatives and friends who were helping out. All of them were old-fashioned bicycles with small red flowers tied to their handlebars, making quite a grand and impressive procession.
The car drove up to the front of the Lu family's small building.
The firecrackers crackled and popped, deafeningly loud.
Candy, melon seeds, and snacks were scattered among the onlookers, causing adults and children alike to scramble for them.
Mr. Lu and several relatives came out with smiles on their faces, warmly greeting the Zhou family guests, and the scene was extremely lively.
Gu Yan, Wang Leiyang, and Li Feifan escorted Zhou Zhengping to the door of Lu Linlang's tightly closed boudoir.
"The bride is opening the door! The auspicious time has arrived!" Li Feifan shouted with a smile.
A burst of laughter and chatter came from inside: "Want to pick up the bride? Not so easy! First, bring us red envelopes! Big and thick ones!"
Having anticipated this, Wang Leiyang pulled out several red envelopes from his pocket and slipped them through the crack in the door: "Red envelopes here! Open the door! Satisfaction guaranteed!"
The sound of red envelopes being opened came from inside. The bridesmaids seemed satisfied, but their laughter grew even louder: "The red envelopes are alright! But money alone isn't enough to show sincerity! The groom has to say a few heartfelt words! He has to be loud and emotional! He has to move our Sister Linlang! Otherwise, we won't let him go!"
Zhou Zhengping stood in front of the door, his body stiff.
Gu Yan leaned closer: "Zhengping, just say a few words, it won't hurt you."
Zhou Zhengping, however, seemed to have his throat choked, unable to utter a sound.
The room and the surroundings became quiet, and the atmosphere grew cold.
"Speak up, Zhengping," Li Feifan urged in a low voice.
Zhou Zhengping gritted his teeth and squeezed out the words: "...Linlang...come with me. I...I will...take responsibility."
There was complete silence inside the door, clearly indicating utter disappointment with this heartfelt confession.
Just as the bridesmaids were about to continue their teasing, the door creaked open.
It wasn't the bridesmaid who opened the door, but Lu Linlang's mother.
She said gently, "Alright, alright, the children have calmed down enough. Zhengping is a very honest man, and Linlang understands that."
She stepped aside, revealing Lu Linlang, who was wearing a brand-new red wool coat and had exquisite makeup.
Lu Linlang smiled calmly as she looked at Zhou Zhengping.
The bridesmaids seemed a little unwilling. One of them, grinning, spoke up again: "Aunt Lu, one last thing! If the groom wants to take our Linlang away, he has to show his determination to let Linlang be in charge of the household from now on! He has to promise in front of everyone that Linlang will have complete control over the family finances! He has to hand over all his pay slips and food ration book! Otherwise, we won't let him go!"
Wang Leiyang was so angry that his face turned black, and Li Feifan also frowned.
Gu Yan cursed inwardly: These women are really disgusting!
Zhou Zhengping lowered his eyes and remained silent.
The atmosphere became extremely tense, and even the relatives and neighbors watching noticed something was wrong and began to whisper among themselves.
The smile on Lu's mother's face faded a little, and she was about to speak up to smooth things over.
"Hey! Girl, that's a novel request of yours!"
Gu Yan stepped forward, blocking Zhou Zhengping's path, a smile on his face but a cold look in his eyes.
"These pay slips and food ration booklets are things that the young couple discuss behind closed doors. It's pointless to bring them out and make a guarantee in public! Besides, look at our Zhengping brother, he's so happy he can't even speak today. Asking him to guarantee this now? That's just making things difficult for him!"
He changed the subject and took out his car keys.
“Here’s what we’ll do! I’ll stand up for my brother! This thing,” he shook the car keys, “is it heavy enough? I’ll leave it here as a token of my ‘sincerity’! If your Lu family ever feels that my brother hasn’t treated Sister Linlang well enough, these car keys are yours! I, Gu Yan, keep my word! How about it?”
This move completely surprised everyone!
The difficult bridesmaid was completely dumbfounded.
Mother Lu's eyes flickered for a moment, then she quickly put on an even warmer smile: "Oh, Gu Yan! He's such a loyal and righteous child! It was just a joke, why did you take it so seriously! Put it away! You young people should discuss this yourselves!"
She quickly stepped forward, placed Lu Linlang's hand in Zhou Zhengping's stiff arm, and shouted with laughter, "The auspicious hour has arrived! The bride and groom are leaving!"
Amidst the sounds of firecrackers and the throng of people, Lu Linlang, arm in arm with Zhou Zhengping, walked out of the Lu family's gate.
Gu Yan put away his car keys, glanced coldly at the bridesmaid whose face was flushed and pale, and turned to follow.
The ceremony and banquet at the Peace Hotel in the afternoon ended very "smoothly" thanks to Song Lanxin and Lu's mother's skillful maneuvering.
Zhou Zhengping seemed to have completely resigned himself to his fate, or perhaps he had exhausted all his strength. He wore a gentle and polite smile and dealt with all the guests with propriety.
Gu Yan, Wang Leiyang, Li Feifan, and the other groomsmen accompanied the last group of guests to leave, and they felt like their bones were about to fall apart.
After saying goodbye to their elders, the group left the restaurant.
It was getting late.
Wang Leiyang and Li Feifan rode their old bicycles home, waved goodbye, and headed back.
Gu Yan was going to drive the newlywed couple and Zhou Anping back to the compound.
Before getting into the car, Zhou Anping glanced at his brother in the passenger seat, then at Lu Linlang who had already opened the back door and sat down. He pursed his lips, silently opened the other back door, and got in.
Lu Linlang was leaning back in her chair, resting with her eyes closed, when she sensed someone sitting down beside her. Seeing that it was Zhou Anping, she said calmly, "Anping, you've worked hard today. From now on, we're family. You used to get along well with Zhiyi, so you can talk to me more often now."
These words sounded friendly, but Zhou Anping knew all too well Lu Linlang's hostility towards Nan Zhiyi.
She sneered inwardly, but her face remained expressionless. She simply grunted an "Mmm," turned to look out the window, and didn't bother to reply.
Fate really plays tricks; the person she disliked became her sister-in-law.
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