Chapter 77
The worst thing about Hong Kong is its traffic congestion. Iris is particularly unlucky in this regard, often getting stuck in traffic for at least half an hour. Knowing she wouldn't be able to see the live coverage, she scrolled through her tablet, switching from one webpage to another, but none of the news channels' live broadcasts satisfied her. Peering at the only clearly visible ship on the screen, she muttered, "I should have invested in one first and upgraded their equipment to top-of-the-line."
The figures were indeed indistinct, but that was actually a form of protection. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was pondering how to dissuade his wife from her Elaine-style extravagant spending ideas when Iris brought it up again: "Forget it, if I accidentally cultivate a top-tier paparazzi team, Elaine will definitely kill me." Thinking of Miss Hao, who was in the news for half the year, Zhuang Zhuoyuan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Their lateness meant they were destined to miss Zhuang Zhuohua's heartfelt confession at the critical moment of life and death. Worse still, they didn't even witness their older sister and future brother-in-law's tight embrace after their ordeal. Hearing others recount it later just didn't feel right! Zhuang Zhuoyuan gently rubbed Iris's scrunched-up face, softly comforting her, "Baby, they're together now, why worry about not getting any sweet moments later?"
But Zhuang Zhuohua confessed her feelings! The opportunity had passed, and there was no going back. She didn't want to relive the scene of Zhan Hantao dragging a criminal holding a bomb into the sea! Iris closed her eyes in anguish, sighing and burying herself in Zhuang Zhuoyuan's arms. It couldn't be more regrettable; she believed she would still feel this regret on the day Zhuang Zhuohua and Zhan Hantao got married.
Zhuang Zhuohua had no desire to endure her younger siblings' nagging, and besides, time had passed, asking her to repeat the words she had used to confess, even just the four words "I like you," was simply too much for her to bear. Seeing Zhuang Zhuoyuan, who was deliberately watching the commotion in silence, give her a helpless look, Zhuang Zhuohua rolled her eyes, thought for a moment, and then changed the subject to the party that would likely pique Iris's interest: "This time it was a close call, and everyone got through it. We could totally have a party to celebrate, and also to say goodbye to you, okay?"
“Unless we have a barbecue,” Iris rolled her eyes and turned her body away, deliberately ignoring Zhuang Zhuoyuan’s protest, “we really can’t get through.”
Du Tianyu's body was recovered from the water; the thieves, husband and wife, were both dead, and the matter could finally be brought to a close. Because of his significant contribution to rescuing Qiu Junxuan, Inspector Qiu treated Zhuang Zhuoyuan and Iris to a meal after his youngest son was transferred to a regular ward. Qiu Junsheng was also present, a rare occurrence. "A young talent indeed," Iris observed the newly met Chief Inspector all night, ultimately choosing four words to describe him—"watertight." "However, it's clear he quite admires you."
Being patted on the shoulder, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was flattered, feeling as if a thousand pounds had suddenly fallen on his shoulder. Xuanzai had already been discharged from the ICU, so it was naturally time for him to be discharged as well. It couldn't feel better to be back home. Zhuang Sir put his arm around his wife, buried his face in her chest, and said in a muffled voice, "Don't try to fool me."
Iris wasn't that free. She'd been busy replying to emails these past few days—she hadn't even returned to England yet, and invitations from friends there were already pouring in. Since her husband still had a week of work to do, Iris decided to go back to her parents' home with AK first. She was going to have another wedding, and even if it was a small one, there would still be a lot of preparations to make. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was truly astonished to learn that someone in the family would leave things for a pregnant woman to do.
Iris was determined to stick to her excuses.
The second wedding was to be held in the forest. Woods or a church—Iris and Ella had long debated this choice. England has many churches with wonderful atmospheres, and Iris, who had always dreamed of being a princess, longed to be like a cartoon heroine, letting the wind lift her veil at the end of her wedding, showcasing a unique sense of fantasy and vitality. However, as her wedding dress size was repeatedly altered, Iris's hope for this serendipitous opportunity gradually weakened and eventually disappeared. Gazing at her belly for a long time, she decided that a forest wedding, with a higher chance of perfection, would be better; at least her pregnant belly wouldn't be so conspicuous in the natural environment.
"It's all your fault!" On the night before leaving Hong Kong, Mrs. Zhuang had already forgotten that the unexpected arrival of Tangyuanzi required both of them to take responsibility. Mr. Zhuang, who had been inexplicably scolded, blinked, touched his cheek where he had been bitten, and successfully pulled himself out of his reluctance to leave, returning to his efforts to comfort his wife. But as he held her, he began to miss his dear wife again. "My most beloved baby Iris."
With its lights, flowers, and desserts, I thought Iris's second wedding would be set up in a gentle and romantic fairytale style. It wasn't until I saw the photos uploaded to Facebook that Iris's family and friends in Hong Kong, who couldn't attend the ceremony, realized how well the Zhou family fared under the home advantage.
Several kilometers from the entrance to the venue, elegant ribbon-adorned signs guide visitors along the way. Pots of champagne roses are neatly arranged on both sides of the road, connecting all available space to converge outside the forest, merging into two enormous flower walls. Above these walls, dozens of strings of lights meander upwards, reaching halfway into the air, transforming into fireflies and starlight at night, ensuring ample brightness and romance. Reception staff wait nearby, presenting gifts to guests, tying flowers to ladies' wrists, and lifting the vine-covered curtains hanging at the far end of the flower walls for visitors.
Behind the curtain was a forest path. The trees on both sides of the path were not arranged neatly, so the path meandered. However, the host family still used silk, ribbons and vines and flowers to guide the path, and occasionally decorated it with balloons, to create a pleasant little path.
The woods were shady, and sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, casting dappled patterns on the ground. However, after walking a short distance, the light and shadow on the ground began to shift, with more vibrant colors appearing in the dappled patterns. It turned out that the petals of the flowers on the vines had transformed into a glassy material.
“Truly ingenious.” A guest raised his phone to photograph the decorations that shimmered in the sunlight. But what surprised him even more was that at the end of this stretch of road, there appeared a beaded curtain door framed in jade and strung with gemstones. “Edward is insane!” he couldn’t help but exclaim.
Behind the door was a long glass walkway that stretched all the way to the main venue under the large tree. The colorful flowers lining the walkway were a given, but the most surprising thing was the giant, lifelike tree—a wedding held in a forest, who would think of building a tree inside? Even if it was just for the sake of creating a treehouse that looked like something out of an animated film. But Edward and Jennie were willing to go to such lengths; their daughter's wedding naturally had to be perfect and dignified. Even the dome was designed to extend and connect from all sides if necessary, in case of unforeseen storms in England. Actually, a light rain, accompanied by violin music, would make it even more romantic, Iris thought, but dared not say it aloud. Her current status as an expectant mother was limiting her in far too much.
The glass walkway wasn't originally suitable for her. It was only after she pestered Jennie for a long time that Edward had the glass specially treated and cut into irregular small and medium-sized pieces for paving. When Iris's heels touched it, the sound instantly made her feel like a princess wearing glass slippers. She whispered to her father, who was holding her hand, "Daddy, I really regret that I'm not carrying a girl."
“Tangyuan will hear you,” Edward joked without batting an eye. Iris smiled and said, “This doesn’t conflict with my love for Tangyuan at all.”
The father and daughter entered with ease, while Zhuang Zhuoyuan, who was waiting in front, was a little nervous. Even though it was his second wedding, he still seemed as uneasy as if it were his first time, as if all the rehearsals he had done at the beginning had no effect.
“Take easy, honey.” When she took his hand, Iris felt the sweat on his palm. She never expected Zhuang Zhuoyuan to be so nervous. She was surprised but also found it funny. This wedding was much more interesting than the first one.
The entire wedding was conducted in English. Fortunately, Zhuang Zhuoyuan didn't make any mistakes when reciting his vows. After saying "I do" twice, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief and joyfully kiss his bride. Iris enjoyed the sweetness and romance, and even as she boarded a gondola in Venice, she felt that this vacation was particularly perfect.
It was assumed that the conjoined twins would only be separated for a month at most. Zhuang Zhuoyuan's vacation was limited, and after their honeymoon, Iris would likely return from Venice with him. In their free time, Jianren started a betting pool on this specific date. Unfortunately, working-class vacations are never as long as those of students. While Mrs. Zhuang was still enthusiastically planning their next travel destination, Mr. Zhuang had already packed his bags and returned to Hong Kong with a large pile of souvenirs.
Once again separated by distance, the Flying Tigers members were actually quite looking forward to playing a guessing game like last time. However, it turned out that the pre-marital treasure had turned into a post-marital scumbag. Ah Sao was living a wonderful life abroad, updating her social media three times a day, while Zhuang Sir spent his days at the canteen and PC Bar, alone in his empty room.
Jianren deliberately came over to encourage him: "Since your sister-in-law isn't here, just treat it as a holiday and find some fun for yourself."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan raised his wine bottle and clinked glasses with him, asking in return, "Isn't this it?" His gaze then swept over the five human surveillance cameras in front of him—one, two, three, four, five. How could he dare to do anything reckless? He feared that even the slightest movement would be reported rapidly across the ocean. Besides, he was currently enjoying the wait for his wife to come home; there was only a week left, and he could wait.
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