The compound of the special forces team was exceptionally festive today, with "xi" characters, signifying joy, pasted on the gate pillars.
The cafeteria, repurposed as a wedding hall, had all its tables pushed to the walls.
The cleared central area was carpeted with red.
Balloons and streamers hung from the ceiling, and "xi" characters adorned the windows.
Li Weixin watched from afar with Xiao Xiaohei; it was his seventeenth birthday.
Team leader Zeng was getting married, and all available team members were present.
However, his second brother hadn't returned, and his eldest brother was on a mission, leaving only Xiao Xiaohei to celebrate his birthday with him.
But it didn't matter; with so many team members and such a lively scene, it felt like they were celebrating his birthday too.
"Woof woof."
Xiao Xiaohei, beside Li Weixin, whined softly, then turned its head and ran away from Li Weixin.
"Xiao Xiaohei!"
Li Weixin turned to call for the dog, but his eyes fixed on Xiao Xiaohei running towards a couple.
A surprised smile bloomed on his face, "Dad! Mom!"
Li Weixin immediately used his abilities, intercepting Xiao Xiaohei and throwing himself into his mother's embrace.
Xiao Xiaohei braked sharply, then looked at Li Zhengguo, who was radiating a cold aura. It promptly lifted its front paws and placed them on Li Weixin's shoulders.
"Hahaha." Tian Jing was amused by Xiao Xiaohei, "Town Chief Li, Xiao Xiaohei doesn't like you anymore."
Li Weixin quickly let go of his mother and turned to hug his father.
Xiao Xiaohei took a step back, lowered its paws, and stood by Tian Jing's legs, observing the interaction between father and son.
Tian Jing glanced at Xiao Xiaohei's expectant look and said to Li Zhengguo, "Zheng Ge, tone down your aura, Xiao Xiaohei misses you too."
Li Zhengguo patted his younger son in his arms; it was this little guy who had angered him.
Li Weixin moved from his father's embrace and said to Xiao Xiaohei, "Go hug Dad."
Xiao Xiaohei looked at Li Zhengguo for a long time before lifting its front paws and placing them on Li Zhengguo's shoulders.
Two seconds later, it lowered its paws and returned to stand by Tian Jing's side.
Li Zhengguo patted his shoulder with disdain, "You were fine at home, but you've changed so much since coming here."
Tian Jing shot her husband a sideways glance, "Ran Ran treats it like a person, so of course it would change. Don't just criticize, I think Xiao Xiaohei is wonderful."
"Woof woof."
With Tian Jing's praise, Xiao Xiaohei immediately whined twice and rubbed against Tian Jing's legs.
Li Weixin beckoned Xiao Xiaohei to come closer; with Dad here, they couldn't monopolize Mom like last time.
Li Zhengguo shouldered the burden and walked towards the cafeteria first, "Let's go."
Li Weixin winked at his mother from behind his father, flashing a grin. His father was still as jealous as ever.
At the cafeteria entrance, Ji Shiyi, dressed in casual clothes, kept looking towards the gate of the compound.
Jiang Lin, acting as her bridesmaid, was also nervous, "Why hasn't Captain Tian arrived yet?"
When they saw Xiao Xiaohei and Li Weixin running towards the main gate, both breathed a sigh of relief. They had finally arrived.
Seeing Ji Shiyi in casual clothes, Tian Jing was surprised, "You haven't changed yet?"
Ji Shiyi said simultaneously, "Where's the box your dad asked you to bring?"
Tian Jing pointed to the burden Li Zhengguo was carrying, "Isn't that it?"
Ji Shiyi took the box and asked Tian Jing to help her.
Tian Jing glanced at her younger son.
Li Weixin waved at his mother, "Dad and I will wait for you here."
Ji Shiyi then remembered, "Li Weixin, happy birthday!"
"Thank you, Sister Shi," Li Weixin said with a full smile. "Sister Shi, this is the last time I'll call you sister. When the wedding begins, I'll bless you with Mom and Dad."
Ji Shiyi didn't understand Li Weixin's meaning, but she was pressed for time. She left with a "You can still call me sister in the future," and pulled Tian Jing towards the dormitory behind the cafeteria.
Jiang Lin, holding a red umbrella, followed closely.
The dormitory was a four-person room. For the past two years, Ji Shiyi had been living with the Wang sisters.
The room was twice the size of a student dormitory and was clean and tidy.
This space was considered quite small for Ji Shiyi, let alone sharing it with three others.
Tian Jing felt a pang of sympathy, "Shiyi, are you happy?"
"Happy and nervous," Ji Shiyi's face showed only the two emotions she mentioned.
Tian Jing nodded, "In the future, if Zeng Jingrong treats you badly, tell me, and I'll deal with him for you."
Ji Shiyi smiled, "You're the deputy, he's the main, how can you deal with him?"
Inside the room, Wang Xin and Wang Xi were still there, and Jiang Lin had also followed. Tian Jing didn't want to explain and changed the subject, "What did you ask me to help you with?"
Ji Shiyi had already untied the packaging of the box. She lifted the lid and pulled out a bright red wedding dress:
"Help me put on the wedding dress with Jiang Lin."
When Tian Jing received the not-very-heavy box, she had guessed it was a dress, but she hadn't expected such a beautiful red wedding dress.
To be honest, the wedding dress was beautiful, but white wedding dresses always felt like something was missing. A red wedding dress made up for that deficiency.
But, "Shiyi, this weather?"
Ji Shiyi gently placed the wedding dress on the bed and took out a plastic bag from the box, revealing a set of red underwear and a set of red thermal wear. The thermal top had already been modified into a tight strapless.
When Ji Shiyi pulled out a pair of red leather boots, Tian Jing smiled, "Your parents really dote on you."
"Mhmm." Ji Shiyi nodded, "When I called home to say I was getting married and wanted a red wedding dress, my mom immediately had it custom-made for me. This is the result of my mom staying at the dress shop for five days."
Ji Shiyi took the thermal wear and underwear into the bathroom.
Wang Xin looked enviously at the wedding dress on the bed.
Tian Jing pretended not to see it; everyone had their own destiny.
The love Ji's parents had for Ji Shiyi was something others couldn't envy.
When Ji Shiyi came out, her long hair had already been styled.
She put on the red leather boots and stood in the middle of the wedding dress. Tian Jing and Jiang Lin helped her adjust the shoulder straps, put on the sleeves, zip up the back, and secure the veil.
Then, she bent down to pick up the makeup bag on the bed and meticulously applied a rather heavy layer of makeup.
They were recording today, and if her makeup wasn't heavy enough, she wouldn't look beautiful on camera.
Soon, a beautiful bride appeared in the room.
Tian Jing applauded, "Beautiful! That's right, a woman can be beautiful without relying on others."
As she spoke, she glanced at Wang Xin.
Wang Xin's smile faltered for a moment, then brightened again.
Ji Shiyi felt a little embarrassed, "I'm not very good at makeup, and I can't invite anyone in here."
"This is very good," Tian Jing continued to clap, "What time is Captain Zeng picking you up?"
Ji Shiyi looked at the clock on the doorframe, "Ten o'clock."
With five minutes to go, Tian Jing brought a stool and placed it in the center of the room, gesturing for Ji Shiyi to sit.
As she sat, the wedding dress skirt spread out about a meter wide on the floor.
Tian Jing bent down and removed one of her red leather boots. From her other hand, she extended a thin, long vine that wrapped around the boot.
With the red completely concealing the boot's shape, it was hung on a hook behind the door.
"Shh!" Tian Jing made a silencing gesture to Ji Shiyi, "Although your friends and family can't come in, we still need to have our traditions."
Then, Tian Jing said to Jiang Lin and Wang Xin, "When they arrive, we need to block the door. No opening until we get the red envelopes."
Wang Xin nodded vigorously and pulled the quiet Wang Xi to stand beside Tian Jing.
Soon, the sound of "fetching the bride" came from outside the door.
Following that, the door was knocked, "Shiyi, I'm here to pick you up."
Wang Xin, inexperienced in such situations, looked at Tian Jing.
Jiang Lin, who had experience, shouted to the outside, "Bride's over the threshold, red envelopes at the door!"
Tian Jing nodded approvingly, this secretary was quite capable.
Zeng Jingrong outside the door quickly grabbed a handful of red envelopes from the best man's bag, "Red envelopes are here, open the door, open the door."
This time, Jiang Lin also looked at Tian Jing.
Tian Jing reached out, removed the door latch, and opened a crack.
Red envelopes were stuffed through the crack one by one. Tian Jing received them and distributed them to Wang Xin and Jiang Lin.
After receiving eighteen red envelopes, Tian Jing opened the door.
Zeng Jingrong was the first to rush in, "Sweet, uh, Captain Tian."
Tian Jing gestured inside, "We won't make it difficult for you, only the shoe-finding part."
Zeng Jingrong waved to the two groomsmen, "Search."
The two groomsmen searched the bathroom but couldn't find the shoes.
Zeng Jingrong then called the eighteen members of the welcoming party into the room to search.
They searched under the bed and on the roof, but still couldn't find them.
Zeng Jingrong was anxious but not discouraged. His eyes continued to scan the room.
He noticed Wang Xi staring fixedly at one spot.
Following Wang Xi's gaze, he saw the vine roll behind the door.
He strode over, pulled down the vine roll, and after quickly removing the vines, revealed the red leather boots.
He thought this vine was just a decoration.
With Tian Jing present, he was still searching like a normal person.
No, even the twenty team members were searching with normal-person logic.
This was a wrong habitual way of thinking, and it needed to be corrected!
He knelt before Ji Shiyi, gently lifted the corner of the wedding dress, and personally put on her leather boots before scooping up his bride and walking out.
"Best man, give Wang Xi ten red envelopes."
Jiang Lin quickly opened the red umbrella and ran to hold it over the bride's head.
"Oh oh oh oh..."
Amidst cheers, the groom thus carried away the bride.
Wang Xin looked at Tian Jing. Tian Jing shrugged and turned to leave, "Let's go to the cafeteria for the banquet."