The wedding procession left at seven and didn't bring the bride back until eleven, after which they still had to rush to the hotel near the Sun family's residence.
After the tea ceremony, the bride only had a few minutes to sit on the new bed before preparing to depart.
On the way to the hotel, Li Min chattered excitedly about the wedding procession to her family members.
The Li family's expressions were grim upon hearing the details.
During the procession, the bride's room was not only occupied by bridesmaids but also by the alleged matchmaker, Sun Baoyun's three paternal cousins.
They refused to let the groom take the bride away unless he paid the matchmaking fee.
Li Weiyu insisted that he and Sun Baoyun had no matchmaker.
The three cousins retorted that this was a "disgraceful union without a matchmaker."
In short, not a single pleasant or celebratory word was spoken.
Li Weiyu was firm on not paying, and the three cousins were equally adamant about not letting them leave.
Li Weiyu then asked Sun Baoyun if she wanted to go through with the marriage. If not, they could call it off.
Sun Baoyun asked a bridesmaid to retrieve her hidden shoes, put them on herself, and prepared to leave with Li Weiyu.
When the three cousins blocked their path, and the six groomsmen stepped forward to intervene, the cousins shouted "Assault!"
Ultimately, it was Sun Xuelan who stepped in to stop the three cousins.
Sun Baoyun's brother was too young, and her paternal cousins acted as if they were blind, none coming forward to carry Sun Baoyun. Li Weiyu carried the bride out himself.
Tian Jing looked at her sister-in-law and commented, "This Sun family, no, Sun Baoyun's immediate family, is clearly not well-regarded, are they?"
"Indeed," Ouyang Meihua nodded. "I noticed it during the proposal. Sun Baoyun's father kept his head down and didn't speak, letting Grandpa Sun make all the decisions."
"Grandpa Sun deferred to Grandma Sun, and that Grandma Sun seemed to hold a strong dislike for Sun Baoyun's father."
"Logically, Sun Baoyun's father, being the youngest, should have been doted upon. Sun Baoyun's mother tried to resist, but every time she made a move, Sun Baoyun's father would suppress her."
Tian Jing couldn't fathom the reason for Sun Baoyun's father's weakness to the point of incompetence.
However, the Sun family's affairs were not the Li family's concern; they were for Sun Baoyun and Xiaoyu to consider.
By the time the Li family arrived at the hotel, it was nearly noon. This was not the main issue, but it was inexcusable that the bride and groom had only just arrived.
The guests were unbothered; they came for the Sun and Li families.
However, the Sun family felt deeply embarrassed.
Old Mrs. Sun shot a stern glance at Sun Baoyun before turning to Li Weiyu with a kindly smile, "Was the traffic very bad?"
Li Weiyu replied indifferently, "A bit congested. The key issue is that this hotel is too far away."
Old Mrs. Sun paused for a moment, then chuckled, "We couldn't book a hotel on the Third Ring Road."
"Oh."
Li Weiyu nodded, "If I had known the Sun family was so reluctant to part with Baoyun, only letting her leave at ten, we should have discussed it like my cousin did and simply canceled the wedding procession. You want everything to be the same, yet you do everything differently."
Seeing Old Mrs. Sun's expression about to crumble, Li Weiyu then pulled Sun Baoyun aside.
The Li family members entered one after another.
Sun's four brothers hurried to greet Li Zhengguo and Li Liguo.
Sun's four sisters-in-law welcomed Tian Jing and Ouyang Meihua.
Old Mrs. Sun approached Li's mother. Upon seeing Li Sixuan beside Li's mother, she exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, what little fairy is this? So beautiful!"
Her exclamation immediately drew many eyes.
Tian Jing frowned slightly. Old Mrs. Sun, a woman of her age, was so unseemly?
Just as she was about to lead her granddaughter into the hall, a young man rushed in from the hotel entrance.
"Xuanxuan, you came to Kyoto, why didn't you inform me?"
Damn it!
Tian Jing felt like cursing. This fellow's appearance was pouring oil on the fire.
Li Sixuan looked up at the young man before her. "Xingyang Gege, are you on leave?"
Mai Xingyang, who was captivated by the elaborately dressed Xuanxuan, snapped back to attention. "Yes, I informed my team leader. Didn't he tell you?"
Li Sixuan shook her head. "Dad didn't come home."
Mai Xingyang looked at Tian Jing. "Grandma Tian, after the banquet, may I take Xuanxuan out to play?"
"No!"
Tian Jing shook her head. "Have you forgotten what I said? Keep your distance from us, or I'll end your leave immediately."
"I, I..."
Ever since he was caught by Captain Tian during their first meeting, Mai Xingyang felt a pang of regret every time he faced her.
Sometimes he wondered if he would still have been so impulsive if he could go back in time.
The answer was yes, because without the unpleasantness of their first encounter, he wouldn't have joined the special training squad.
Mai Xingyang's gaze flickered to the guest registration table by the door. He immediately took out five hundred yuan from his pocket and put it on the table. "I'm here for the wedding."
As his five hundred yuan landed on the table, it was covered by a thick stack of cash, and a voice with a hoarse rasp declared, "I'll give ten thousand."
"Jiang Junhu!"
Mai Xingyang saw who was registering and glared angrily, "Are you following me?"
"Yes."
Jiang Junhu admitted, "I saw you rushing over like you were desperate, barely avoiding a car, so I came to see what's in this hotel that would make 'the child of someone else' dash in so recklessly."
As he spoke, his gaze swept over the hotel guests.
Mai Xingyang quickly turned around. The Li family was no longer behind him, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
The Sun family members looked at Mai Xingyang and Jiang Junhu with delight.
These two young men were the true scions of official families, individuals their Sun family could never hope to curry favor with.
Grandpa Sun personally stepped forward. "It is our Sun family's honor to have the two young masters grace us with your presence. There's no need for the gift money, please come inside!"
Jiang Junhu glared at Grandpa Sun. "What do you mean? Do you take me for a beggar? Not giving a gift for a wedding?"
"No, no."
Grandpa Sun quickly shook his head. "Young Master Jiang misunderstood. I just..."
Jiang Junhu interrupted him. "You know me?"
"Yes."
"You know me and still dare not accept my gift? This is asking for a beating!"
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."
Grandpa Sun was startled and quickly said to the registrar, "Record it. Young Master Jiang Junhu, ten thousand."
Jiang Junhu put his arm around Mai Xingyang's shoulder. "Tell your brother, why were you rushing here? And giving five hundred yuan as a gift? I heard your allowance is being controlled by your old man."
Mai Xingyang shook off his arm. "Don't touch me. I'm afraid you can't handle one punch from me."
"Get real."
Jiang Junhu said dismissively, "After a few years inside, you've completely changed. Now that you're 'the child of someone else,' you look down on us old friends?"
"Does it mold people in there that much? I don't believe it."
Mai Xingyang narrowed his eyes. "Is this the purpose of you following me?"
"Heh."
Jiang Junhu chuckled lightly. "Don't be so serious. Wasn't this kind of thing common for us before?"
Mai Xingyang's handsome face turned stern. "Before is before, and now is now. Don't you know my current status? I will apply for an investigation into the purpose of you and the Jiang family following me."
With that, Mai Xingyang turned and walked towards the hotel entrance.
"Don't!"
Jiang Junhu quickly chased after Mai Xingyang out of the hotel. "You can't do this. If I'm actually investigated, my grandfather will beat me to death."
"That's your problem."
Mai Xingyang said without looking back, "Every hint of suspicion must be investigated."
"You're not serious, are you?"
Jiang Junhu caught up to him. "I really saw you almost get hit by a car on the road, and that's why I followed."
"Even more suspicious."
Mai Xingyang turned to face him. "What if I were on a mission, or if I had discovered a suspicious person?"
"Even if you're reckless, you're not stupid! Doesn't that mean you want to expose me? This is non-negotiable, it must be investigated."
"Investigate, investigate."
Jiang Junhu became impatient. "So you joined a special training squad, so what? It's not that great. I'll join too, let's see how arrogant you can be then!"
"Heh!"
Mai Xingyang sneered dismissively. "Do you think this is your grandfather's military base? You'll join too? Can you even get in? Weakling!"
"You!"
Jiang Junhu pointed at him. "You just wait, I will definitely get in."