Xu Chen has been looking for an opportunity to stand out.
But unfortunately, she hasn’t found a good opportunity to do so.
Without finding a good chance, she chose not to make any statement.
During the course of the wedding, Ling Mingrui, Xie Enhua, and Luo Liansheng took turns "performing" on stage, and even the ninety-something Ling Jinhua didn’t miss out.
Under such circumstances, Xu Chen certainly wouldn’t steal the limelight.
Only after Luo Xusheng and Ling Ruonan appeared to greet everyone, and the atmosphere in the banquet hall became sweeter, did she step forward.
With just a few natural words, she attracted the attention of the entire audience.
Some people quietly probed about who this beautifully dressed woman with graceful charm, whose actual age was hard to discern, really was.
Some less-than-pure-minded men had already started to fancy her.
Xu Chen’s status was still too low compared to the guests today, hence those bigwigs did not recognize her.
The only ones who knew her were a few of Luo Ziling’s acquaintances and a handful of people who had interacted with her before.
The attendees at Ling Ruonan’s wedding today were of various kinds, but they all shared the primary difference of distinct identities.
The fact that Xu Chen dared to stand out and speak on behalf of the guests made many naturally think her identity and status were unusual.
Some began quietly inquiring about her background, with those interested in her assuming she was the daughter or woman of some influential family.
However, those who showed interest in her did not dig up anything useful.
"Kiss, kiss!" Once Xu Chen finished speaking, many young people immediately began to scream.
Wang Feiyang was the loudest.
Others instinctively feared the bigwigs at that table, but Wang Feiyang didn’t feel much about them.
Her father held a high position, often meeting those bigwigs.
Whenever they met her, they always greeted her amiably.
Especially when she was young, those people really liked her.
Who wouldn’t, when she was so adorable and cute when she was little?
Today she wanted to stand out, so she was the loudest at the wedding, to the point that even Wang Zhengqiang couldn’t help but frown.
Thankfully, Wang Feiyang wasn’t too over the top, so Wang Zhengqiang abandoned the idea of scolding her.
Dong Xiaowan was also fearless, initially somewhat apprehensive as there were too many bigwigs present.
But as the wedding went on, Luo Ziling’s relaxed and cheerful hosting style, combined with Wang Feiyang’s lively antics, naturally brought out her true nature. After hearing Xu Chen’s words and seeing Wang Feiyang jumping and cheering, she also began to shout along.
Both Dong Xiaowan and Wang Feiyang were very pretty, so their lively antics easily caught attention.
Offstage, Xu Chen, Wang Feiyang, and Dong Xiaowan became the most watched individuals besides Luo Xusheng, Ling Ruonan, Luo Ziling, and Yang Qingyin.
Dong Xiaowan and Wang Feiyang were exuberant, and Wang Hanying, Xu Zhiyuan, and others joined in the fray, while Cao Jianhui, Wu Longjiang, and Li Fuming got excited. Normally just observing, Wang Guoguo finally joined the chaotic camp.
A group of young people quickly pushed the atmosphere to a climax.
Ling Mingrui, Lin Zeping, Fang Xiang, and others were all smiling as they watched the events unfold.
Being accustomed to seriousness, encountering such a relaxed and free scene was rare, so their spirits lifted. Especially Ling Mingrui, who hoped his daughter’s wedding would be lively; seeing young people being boisterous, he didn’t have them stopped and instead looked very pleased.
On stage, Luo Xusheng appeared a bit awkward.
Although he was already of advanced age, he had less experience in relationships than even Luo Ziling.
In front of so many people, having him kiss Ling Ruonan was beyond his courage and boldness.
Always so calm in front of others, Luo Xusheng showed panic for the first time.
With so many shouting for them to kiss, even Ling Ruonan felt slightly awkward, but she didn’t panic like Luo Xusheng. Instead, calmly, she walked up to Luo Xusheng, and under everyone’s gaze, grabbed his arm, stood on tiptoe, and initiated a kiss with Luo Xusheng.
When Ling Ruonan took the initiative to kiss Luo Xusheng, even Xu Chen offstage couldn’t help but scream.
Wang Feiyang, Dong Xiaowan, and others cheered even more enthusiastically.
"Who would have thought, our bride taking the lead is really surprising to us!" commented Xu Chen, who then tactfully "withdrew" after making a few remarks, returning to her seat without further fuss.
After Ling Ruonan took the initiative to kiss him, Luo Xusheng finally let go of his reserve, embraced Ling Ruonan, and gave her a passionate kiss in front of everyone. Cheers and praises resounded again.
The scene brought smiles to Ling Mingrui and Xie Enhua’s faces.
The wedding ceremony continued.
After the couple’s bows, it was time for the "Tonglao Hejin" ceremony.
In ancient rites, "Tonglao" refers to a newlywed couple eating the meat of the same animal together, while "Hejin" refers to the couple drinking from exchanged cups — this was the origin of the ceremonial cross-cupped wine exchange. "Tonglao Hejin" is the most significant ritual in a wedding, symbolizing the union of two into one, with eternal togetherness.
Next came the hair-untying and knotting ceremony.
The groom unties the promise ribbon from the bride’s head, and both cut a small piece of each other’s hair, entwine them into a "knot," and place it in a brocade pouch for the bride to keep, symbolizing everlasting ties and bonds — this is commonly known as "knotting hair."
In ancient marriages, the hair-knotting and Tonglao Hejin were indispensable rituals; the term "knotting hair couple" originates here.
Most of these ancient rites have now disappeared or are replaced with others.
Many people don’t even know these rituals, hence they are very curious when seeing them at the wedding.
Guests were reminded not to take photos when entering the wedding venue by staff.
Yet during the wedding, some people still took out their phones and started photographing the couple on stage.
The staff did not prevent this.
While photographing the couple, these shutterbugs "inadvertently" captured the dignitaries sitting centrally.
Someone couldn’t resist the curiosity and tried to post such photos on their social media.
But they were surprised to find they couldn’t post them — there was no network in the banquet hall.
Moreover, most received a message on their phones, advising not to take photos randomly, let alone post on social media.
After a series of formalities, the wedding ceremony neared its end.
During these subsequent wedding procedures, Yang Qingyin took the lead in hosting.
Over the past period, Yang Qingyin studied much about ancient wedding traditions, thus during the Tonglao Hejin and hair-knotting rituals, she was in charge while Luo Ziling assisted. As these ceremonies concluded, Luo Ziling resumed his role as the host.
He then said a few words that shocked everyone present.
"It’s very fortunate that today’s wedding has proceeded smoothly, without any trouble so far. Before the wedding, I was really worried because some people who didn’t want to see the wedding happen went to great lengths to sabotage it, even hiring goons to plan an attack here!"
Luo Ziling’s words shocked everyone!