Zhang Xuyun was getting married.
But his birth family had long been scattered. As a child, after his mother remarried into the Chen Family, he had lived with them ever since.
His mother had passed away years ago, so the bridegroom's family background was not easy to trace.
In any case, Jiang Yan and he would certainly live with the Chen Family after marriage. Old Master Chen made a grand gesture and decided to hold the wedding at the Chen Family Ancestral Residence.
So before the wedding, Jiang Yan made one more trip to Tian Tang Village.
The wedding of the Chen Family's young lady caused quite a stir, as expected!
Cars were used to fetch the bride, and the dowry included brand new large items like televisions, bicycles, refrigerators, and washing machines.
That was just the visible part; there was also a considerable amount of gold, silver jewelry, and shops given behind the scenes.
After the firecrackers finished crackling, Jiang Yan was carried out by her uncle.
At this tense moment, Zhang Xuyun's mind wandered. He thought, if his cousin hadn't married him, he would have been the one carrying her out today.
Because he was her only male cousin.
Zhang Xuyun suddenly imagined a parallel world where his cousin was marrying someone else, and he had to carry her out to be taken away by another's wedding car...
That would be totally out of character for Zhang Xuyun. If it were him, he would definitely pull the groom out at the moment of sending his cousin off to the car, and then elope with her!
If his cousin was unwilling, then he would deal with that fresh-faced groom later...
Zhang Xuyun was nearly enraged by his own wild imagination.
Luckily, Jiang Yan had already been sent off in the car, her bright red wedding gown dazzling and radiant.
Such an extravagant wedding was unprecedented in Tian Tang Village. The beautiful bride and handsome groom were truly a pair of celestial lovers, no matter how you looked at it.
Old lady Wang distributed nuts and candies to the guests, giving Tian Zhennian a little more, but the usually amiable child remained silent, silently watching the wedding car drive away.
The Ancestral Residence was just the place to fetch the bride. The Chen Family held the wedding banquet at their main residence instead.
Thus, after an extremely lively volley of firecrackers, the gates of the Chen Family Ancestral Residence were locked again.
The wedding cars departed, and the Chen family members returned home. Tian Tang Village suddenly fell quiet, as if emerging from a dream that did not belong to their ordinary lives.
Only pieces of red paper from the burst firecrackers littered the ground. Tian Zhennian squatted down, picking them up one by one and holding them in his palms.
Tian Yulian thought he was picking up trash and called out, "No need to pick it up, we can just sweep it up later!"
There was no grudge between them. It was the first time Tian Yulian saw Jiang Yan on her wedding day. She had long forgotten whatever was said before, only feeling that the wedding was distant from her own life.
The wedding proceedings were quite elaborate, leaving everyone exhausted by the end. But fortunately they were all family, so there was no need to be too formal.
The lights in the newlyweds' room had a warm hue, appearing cozy amid the red decorations.
Jiang Yan picked at the peanuts on the bed, ones she had specially chosen for their savory taste that went well with the red dates.
She didn't eat the longan, as they needed to be peeled.
The two enamel gold bangles on her wrists swung with her movements, proving to be a bit of a nuisance, so she took them off.
Zhang Xuyun was being incessantly plied with alcohol by the others. Fortunately, he was clever enough to have developed skills to avoid getting drunk, which allowed him to walk into the bridal chamber.
Otherwise, with Old Master Chen's enthusiasm, he might have ended up passed out on the table.
Zhang Xuyun was quite drunk, but he propped himself up and came in, seeing his cousin sitting on the bed. He quickly closed the door behind him.
The loud "thud" prompted laughter from the remaining guests outside.
Zhang Xuyun leaned dizzyly against the closed door, calling out to his cousin with effort, but his voice was too soft.
Jiang Yan only saw him unmoving against the door and waited for him to approach, not hearing him speak at all.
His cousin ignored him. Zhang Xuyun felt a little hurt, so he pursed his lips and slowly stood up.
Seeing that Jiang Yan still wasn't looking at him, he staggered another step forward.
He continued this way, taking one step and checking if she noticed, all the way until he reached the bed. Just as Jiang Yan looked up to ask, "Why did it take you so long to walk just a few steps?" Zhang Xuyun, feeling wronged and ignoring her, leaned right onto the bed, pinning Jiang Yan beneath him and bumping his chin against her forehead.
Yet he didn't seem to notice, his muffled voice carrying the warm scent of alcohol as he said, "Why are you ignoring me?"
It was a childishly naive question.
But as he spoke, his chin bobbed up and down, making Jiang Yan feel he was too heavy, so she tried to push him off.
He sensed her intention and didn't want to get off, acting pitiful as he tried to appease his cousin.
Then, a sloppy, fresh kiss landed on Jiang Yan's forehead, complete with saliva.
Jiang Yan had thought he looked a bit cute just moments ago, but after recovering from surprise she was enraged enough to want to beat him up. Not knowing where her strength came from, she struggled to crawl out from under Zhang Xuyun.
Zhang Xuyun looked like a child who had just watched candy run away, nearly heartbroken.
Jiang Yan had no idea how to deal with him in his drunken state and didn't want to argue, so she cleaned up a space for herself to sleep.
But just as she was about to lie down, the drunkard perked up again.
Looking at Jiang Yan, he suddenly smiled and called out, "Little wife."
The yellow lamplight shone on the red bedding.
Jiang Yan didn't know what came over her, but she was struck with a mischievous thought and reached out with her foot to touch his face.
Zhang Xuyun seemed dazed and didn't dodge at all.
