CHAPTER 314: CHAPTER 311: THE IDIOT WHO CRASHED IN HALFWAY

"Getting up so early and your skin still looks so good, love really is the best skincare." Lin Wanwan said with a smile.

A group of people were chatting when suddenly the sound of firecrackers came from downstairs. Gu Jingyu’s two cousins rushed to the window, stuck their heads out to look, and exclaimed excitedly, "He’s coming, the groom is coming."

Sure enough, within moments there was movement in the stairs.

The groom was being stopped by Gu Jingyu’s male cousins at the stairway for red envelopes, which is a local rural custom.

Liang Xingchi was negotiating with them, they started at 8888 but he straight away cut it down to 888, which they naturally didn’t agree to. After several rounds of bargaining, it was settled at 1888.

Finally, after the agreement, the groomsman following Liang Xingchi took out a red envelope and handed it over, "There’s exactly 1888 in here."

Having received the money, the blockers cleared the way, and Gu Jingyu’s cousins hurriedly pulled Lin Wanwan to the door to block the groom for a second round.

Lin Wanwan was not interested in this at all, so she withdrew her hand that was being held by Gu Jingyu’s cousin and stood aside to watch the fun.

Another round of bargaining ensued, and this time it wasn’t just about the red envelope, there were all kinds of performances.

Liang Xingchi seemed to be well prepared, as he quickly took a guitar from the groomsman following him and started to sing:

"Listen to me, hand in hand, walk with me

Creating a happy life

Yesterday is gone, tomorrow will be a pity

Will you marry me today?"

"Oh! Marry him! Marry him!" The guys behind Liang Xingchi shouted.

The videographer and photographer then entered the room to capture everything.

To be honest, Liang Xingchi looked pretty good, standing about 180cm tall, and seemed to have put on some makeup for the wedding, looking handsome and charming, no wonder Gu Jingyu was smiling like a blooming flower.

After finally breaking through the final door with a red envelope and song, they commenced various poses for the camera under the photographer’s guidance as he proposed and kissed.

The wedding room was packed with people, everyone watching the fun. Lin Wanwan stood to the side observing Gu Jingyu’s flushed face, silently blessing her, hoping she had made the right choice.

Judging by appearance, Gu Jingyu and Liang Xingchi were very well-matched, one wore a grey suit and the other a white wedding dress, standing out like stars.

"Are we done shooting here? The ancestral hall is ready, hurry up to the hall to pay respects to the ancestors." Gu Jingyu’s uncle squeezed into the crowd and shouted.

A big group then headed towards the ancestral hall in the east side of the village.

The ancestral hall was an old-style building, a stark contrast to the other rural small villas in the village.

It was supposed to be demolished during the new rural development over a decade ago, but the Gu Family firmly opposed it, dragging on for ages until the village officials and town leaders had no choice but to compromise. Now it’s become a unique historic building.

After the tedious worship rituals, the crowd once again surrounded the bride and groom back home for the next ceremony. The bride’s grandmother held her, while her mother symbolically fed her, though what it symbolized, Lin Wanwan didn’t understand.

After the feeding, the bride was put into red shoes and carried downstairs by her cousin to the main wedding car.

Lin Wanwan, as the bridesmaid, got into the secondary wedding car, along with Gu Jingyu’s cousin and sister.

Both the Gu and Liang families were country folks but lived in different districts, requiring a 40-minute drive. On the way, Gu Jingyu’s cousins chatted with Lin Wanwan, but the topics always revolved around marriage, which Lin Wanwan wasn’t interested in, so she eventually picked up her phone and started reading novels.

Smartphones really are one of the best inventions in the world, whenever you want to avoid pointless conversations, just pretend to be engrossed in your phone.

As they were about to reach Liang Xingchi’s village, the procession of wedding cars encountered some strange old men and women blocking the road. Lin Wanwan had never attended someone else’s wedding before, let alone a rural wedding, this was her first time.

She whispered, "Why are they blocking the road here?"

The driver of the wedding car, also part of the groom’s relatives, responded, "We have a lot of this here, when they see the wedding cars, they drag their benches to block the road and ask for money. On such a happy day, you can’t really argue with them, just have to pay up."

Lin Wanwan looked at Liang Xingchi negotiating in the car with the old men and women, who were adamant about 2888 yuan. Afraid of wasting time, he eventually agreed.

Lin Wanwan was astonished by this way of doing things, how complete strangers could demand red envelopes.

Gu Jingyu’s village at least involved relatives and friends, red envelopes were more about having a lively and festive celebration, since it was all reciprocated. But complete strangers, what right did those old men and women have? Taking advantage of the newlyweds’ desire to not invite bad luck, they extorted money!

Before even entering the village, Lin Wanwan had developed disdain for the culture of this area.

Given this phenomenon, one can imagine the quality of people in this area, likely many have unreasonable tendencies, as they say, birds of a feather flock together.

Based on Gu Jingyu’s various descriptions, Lin Wanwan didn’t have a good impression of Liang Xingchi’s family, especially his shrewd parents.

Having paid the fee for driving through, the convoy finally continued and soon reached the entrance of Liang Xingchi’s home. Lin Wanwan got out of the car holding a red umbrella and ran to Gu Jingyu’s side, with firecrackers snapping at her feet.

Gu Jingyu’s mother-in-law and other women directed her to step on a sack while entering.

Lin Wanwan walked closely behind, surrounded by noisy sounds and chaos.

Absurdly, just as they were about to enter, suddenly a girl appeared from nowhere and started spraying Gu Jingyu with colorful vegetable powder, which showered down on her and even Lin Wanwan, who was at her right rear, fell victim.

Gu Jingyu was bewildered by the sudden attack, and the women jumping around spraying more powder now crowded around them, ushering the bride’s party inside.

"Don’t stop, don’t stop, it’s bad luck, quickly move into the new room."

Gu Jingyu entered the house looking utterly disheveled, Lin Wanwan didn’t care about herself and helped her first.

"What is this! My wedding dress!" Gu Jingyu saw the powder on her hand and dress and felt bad, urgently asking Lin Wanwan for her purse, taking out a compact to check in the mirror.

Upon seeing her ruined makeup, Gu Jingyu immediately collapsed, "What kind of nonsense is this! I went to the bridal shop for makeup at 4 am, spent two whole hours! Renting this wedding dress costs 3800! Oh my god! Wanwan, how could this happen!"

Seeing Gu Jingyu’s messy appearance bothered Lin Wanwan too, her face and body covered in vibrant colors as if she’d opened a dye factory; it was impossible to clean without a shower.

She joined Gu Jingyu’s cousins in pulling out tissues to wipe her, while secretly thinking: Is Liang Xingchi’s family insane? On the wedding day, ruining the bride’s dress and makeup? Even if they sprayed those easier-to-clean streamers!