—It was Ji Ya!
Ji Ya noticed Xia Xiao Lan and hesitated in her steps.
George happily ran over, “Fan, buddy, are you here for the wedding too?”
Xia Xiao Lan realized George was truly a bit naive. This person had asked Xu Chang Le for money in Pengcheng, and when Xu Chang Le refused due to cash flow issues, George seemed not to take it to heart at all.
If it were someone petty, being refused a loan might cause resentment, but George appeared unaffected.
What a big-hearted American.
The Wilsons were full of schemes, yet somehow hadn’t passed that trait to their son?
“Yes, I was invited by Mr. Zhu.”
As Xu Chang Le chatted with George, Ji Ya slowly approached, passing by Xia Xiao Lan and speaking in a low voice:
“Are you feeling smug?”
Xia Xiao Lan thought for a moment and decided to be an honest good child:
“Yes, quite smug actually. I heard the bank is pressing you for payment… if you really can’t repay, you could consider borrowing from me. I won’t even charge interest.”
But they both knew the conditions.
If Ji Ya had to borrow money from Xia Xiao Lan, that would truly mean she was at a dead end, completely defeated.
She would have to admit Xia Xiao Lan was more capable, admit she had lost their bet!
Then she would have to kneel on Chang’an Street.
Ji Ya clutched her bag and turned her head away:
“Don’t even think about it.”
Xia Xiao Lan just smiled, not getting angry.
The two couldn’t possibly quarrel at the hotel entrance—they were here for a wedding, and they had to show some respect to the newlyweds—of course, if the bride started fighting with Ji Ya, Xia Xiao Lan wouldn’t stop them.
Song Ming Lan watched them vigilantly.
One was Tang Hong En’s ex-wife, one was Tang Hong En’s stepdaughter, and the bride had once declared she would marry no one but Tang Hong En. Today’s wedding was certainly lively—there might even be a big scene. She needed to keep a close eye on Xia Xiao Lan and Ji Ya to prevent them from ruining her aunt’s wedding.
She couldn’t understand why her aunt had invited Ji Ya in the first place, sigh!
Just then, Second Madam Song came out, and Song Ming Lan pulled her mother:
“Please stand here for a while, I’ll escort Xiao Lan and the others inside.”
Second Madam Song was puzzled why her daughter was so friendly with Xia Xiao Lan.
Seeing Xia Xiao Lan arrive with another young man instead of Tang Hong En, Second Madam Song felt slightly displeased, but didn’t show it on her face that Tang Hong En was so disrespectful:
“Go ahead and take Xiao Lan and the others inside then, take good care of the guests.”
Xia Xiao Lan smiled at Second Madam Song.
“Uncle Tang is slightly unwell, but he asked me to convey his blessings.”
Second Madam Song nodded, “Your presence is just as good, you’re the little representative from your family.”
Nonsense, it wasn’t the same at all.
Everyone was wearing fake smiles,
Song Ming Lan linked arms with Xia Xiao Lan as they walked to the wedding venue. Outsiders who didn’t know the situation might think they were very close, but Song Ming Lan lowered her voice with a warning tone:
“Xia Xiao Lan, today is my aunt’s joyous day. We welcome you to attend the wedding, but you are not allowed to cause trouble!”
Xia Xiao Lan made an agreeing sound, then asked seriously:
“If I can’t cause trouble today, does that mean I can tomorrow?”
“You—”
Song Ming Lan was about to die from anger, “Can’t you just behave yourself? Aunt has given up on Mayor Tang and married someone else, isn’t that good news for you?”
Xia Xiao Lan held back her laughter.
Song Ming Lan was someone who couldn’t be teased—once teased, she couldn’t maintain composure.
Xia Xiao Lan had discovered this long ago.
“Fine, you make a good point. So why are you holding onto me so tightly? You should be watching Ms. Ji—I think she might cause trouble with your aunt today.”
Song Ming Lan wouldn’t fall for that so easily.
How would Ji Ya dare cause trouble? Ji Ya was currently unable to repay her loan, she should be afraid of her aunt.
Thinking of this, Song Ming Lan wanted to roll her eyes again:
“Xia Xiao Lan, you almost led me astray. My aunt wants to transfer jobs, and it was you who had someone—”
“Third Miss Song, you can eat carelessly, but you can’t speak carelessly. What power do I have to influence the Pengcheng branch’s decisions? If you continue speaking, are you going to drag Uncle Tang into this? He is the mayor of Pengcheng after all, hehe.”
Song Ming Lan immediately shut up.
She had harbored such suspicions, but could such suspicions be voiced?
Speaking them would affect the relationship between the Song family and Tang Hong En.
If she made a big deal of things for her aunt’s sake, the first person to come after her would be her father, Song Zhi Cheng.
Just then, Zhu Sui Zhou came over.
Sheng Xuan stood beside Zhu Sui Zhou, wearing a red dress today, her hair up in a bun, with a corsage on her chest—the bride was indeed beautiful.
The groom wasn’t bad either, wearing a tailored suit. Joy brought out the best in them both, and they looked well-matched.
“CEO Xia, Mr. Xu, please come in, please come in!”
“Mr. Wilson, Ms. Ji…”
Zhu Sui Zhou showed no favoritism, greeting everyone with the same enthusiasm.
After exchanging pleasantries, Xia Xiao Lan and Xu Chang Le took their seats. Sheng Xuan maintained a smile but didn’t say anything to Xia Xiao Lan.
Song Ming Lan plopped down beside her, and Xia Xiao Lan asked curiously: “Aren’t you a bridesmaid today? Shouldn’t you be receiving guests?”
She was guarding her like a thief, making Xia Xiao Lan want to check a mirror—had she forgotten to wash her face before leaving home? Was “I’m here to cause trouble” written in big characters on her face?
“You’re an honored guest, I just need to take good care of you.”
Xia Xiao Lan desperately resisted the urge to roll her eyes and turned to chat with Xu Chang Le instead.
After a while, another familiar face arrived—it was Huo Chen Zhou.
His mother Song Nan Zhen wasn’t present. Indeed, there must be discord between the sisters-in-law, as Song Nan Zhen hadn’t given face to her second sister-in-law and had sent her son to attend instead.
Huo Chen Zhou also took his seat, sitting next to Song Ming Lan, at the same table as Xia Xiao Lan.
Adding Ji Ya and George, among the ten people at the table, six knew each other… Xia Xiao Lan didn’t want to share a table with Ji Ya either, but George was happy to see Xu Chang Le, Ji Ya followed George, and Xia Xiao Lan had to consider Xu Chang Le, resulting in this awkward seating arrangement.
Huo Chen Zhou found Song Ming Lan blocking his view annoying and asked the same question as Xia Xiao Lan:
“Why aren’t you greeting guests? It’s your aunt’s wedding today.”
“My aunt was worried I’d get too tired, so she told me to sit down and rest for a bit.”
“…”
Time passed quickly as they talked, and soon the wedding ceremony officially began.
There were over twenty tables of guests today, and the hotel had decorated the venue beautifully—while not extremely luxurious, it showed careful attention to detail.
First, Zhu Sui Zhou’s parents and Sheng Xuan’s parents were invited on stage to speak, followed by Zhu Sui Zhou’s heartfelt declaration to Sheng Xuan, similar to other weddings Xia Xiao Lan had attended.
Oh, perhaps because the guests were all people of status, there were no playful traditions of teasing the bride and groom.
As Xia Xiao Lan had guessed, this event’s significance as a social gathering outweighed the wedding itself.
The Beijing Hotel’s chefs couldn’t be bad—Xia Xiao Lan enjoyed the food, but Ji Ya could hardly swallow a bite.