Neither the Yan family nor Xie Shi was someone Yuan Tianlei could afford to offend.
If the Yuan family wanted to maintain its position among the top five wealthy families in Fengcheng, it couldn't do without the support of the Yan family. The marriage between Yuan Ya'er and Yan Zhen must not fall through.
As for Xie Shi, her customers were all over Country C, including many big shots on par with the Yuan family. With just a single word from Xie Shi, the Yuan family would find itself in an extremely difficult situation.
If he had known things would turn out like this, he would never have let Yan San take this girl's household registration documents. Then the Yuan family wouldn't be in such a disadvantaged position now.
Forced by the situation, it seemed he could only wrong his own daughter.
Thinking of this, Father Yuan made up his mind and finally changed his tune. "Since Uncle Yan has said so, I have nothing to say."
Mother Yuan turned around, covering her mouth and crying quietly. As for Xu ZiXi's biological parents... they were neither powerful nor influential in Xingcheng, and in Fengcheng, they had no say at all. Since the Yuan family had already agreed, they had no choice but to keep quiet.
It was fortunate that they had never raised this daughter for a single day. They might as well just consider her a stranger as she had said.
At this moment, the only ones who felt unwilling were probably Yan Zhen and Yuan Ya'er on the stage. But who cared about their feelings?
Confirming that no one at the scene dared to cause trouble for the woman in his arms anymore, Yan Yincheng heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Where's the wedding emcee? Where the hell is he? Hurry up and continue the wedding!"
The wedding emcee had been hiding on the stage, watching the drama. Hearing someone call, he finally snapped out of this shocking gossip, stepped forward with the microphone, and said,
"Hehe, then let's continue the wedding. Where were we just now? Oh, it seems the groom knelt down and asked the bride if she was willing to marry him, right? How about we do it one more time?"
Yan Zhen stared blankly at the familiar yet strange woman nestled in his uncle's arms. Even though she didn't say a word, the intimacy that seemed like a soul - to - soul connection was impossible to ignore. The sight was so eye - piercing that it made his heart ache.
From the moment she said she was going to change her name, Yan Zhen felt that something had completely left him. Changing her name meant that the past of Yuan Xi, the past of the two of them, would be buried forever.
Yan Zhen couldn't control his legs. He wanted to walk towards the woman and pull her back to his side.
But at this moment, a tearful call came from behind him. "Brother Yan Zhen..."
He suddenly turned around and met Yuan Ya'er's tearful face. She clutched her chest and said tremblingly, "Are you going to abandon me now, Brother Yan Zhen?"
"Brother Yan Zhen, I'm willing. I'm willing to marry you."
Her gaze was as fragile as broken glass, pinning Yan Zhen's feet in place.
To avoid any more mistakes in the process, the emcee, seeing the bride's response, deliberately raised his voice into the microphone and said,
"The bride has agreed to marry the groom! Let's all stand up and bless this new couple. May your love last forever! I hereby announce that Mr. Yan Zhen and Miss Yuan Ya'er are officially married!"
On the stage, Yuan Ya'er threw herself into Yan Zhen's arms and hugged him tightly.
Yan Zhen hesitated for a moment before reaching out to hug her back.
Scattered applause rang out at the scene, but it gradually increased and finally filled the whole venue. It was just unknown whether these applause were for the new couple hugging on the stage or for the "unmarried couple" hugging tightly below the stage.
At this moment, in the thunderous applause, Yan Yincheng leaned most of his body weight on Xu Zixi. His breath was so weak that it seemed to disappear the next second.
"Zixi, I... I'm in so much pain..." he whispered in her ear.
His breath blew on Xu Zixi's ear again and again, turning her fair ear red.
Xu Zixi never expected him to show up, let alone that he would say those words for her in front of so many people. She was both worried and touched. Hearing him say he was uncomfortable, she could only hug him clumsily and stammer,
"Brother Cheng, you... you weren't supposed to... Why did you come? I could handle it alone..."
He whispered softly, "Silly girl. How could I let my fiancée fight alone for me? Even if my leg is broken, even if I have only one last breath left, I'll crawl here. I want the whole world to know that you have me behind you."
His uninjured hand held the back of her head and pressed her face against his chest. "Listen, my heart is still beating. So don't worry. I'm alive. I'm just a little hurt. Let me lean on you for a while. Just a while."
Hearing the steady "thump, thump" of his heartbeat in her ear, Xu Zixi's eyes grew moist. She whispered in response, "Okay."
"However, now it's your turn to think about how to explain things to me, Xu Zixi." he murmured.
Xu Zixi was stunned for a moment. A smile bloomed on her face buried in his arms. She couldn't help but hug him tighter. "I've already thought it through."
She had already thought it through. When she heard someone in the recording mention that Yuan Xi was allergic to alcohol, she had already guessed that she had been exposed. Brother Cheng was such a sensitive person. How could he not have thought of it? They had drunk together before, and she had even gotten drunk in front of him. Although she didn't know why she didn't have an allergic reaction, she guessed it was a reaction after the soul and body were completely in tune, just like the good luck from her past life had followed her to this world.
So, on the night they watched the movie, he had reminded her to drink less and asked about the story of her grandparents. But Xu Zixi didn't feel panicked about her identity being exposed. She was happy because from now on, she didn't have to be an ostrich anymore. All her hints and the most real her had actually been fully accepted by him.
Because of her intense emotions, she used a little more strength in her hands. Yan Yincheng gasped and smiled bitterly. "Zixi, be gentle. I really hurt..."
Yan Haikun was still standing beside them, listening to their conversation without missing a single word. It made his ears turn red. He sighed that youth was wonderful. Although he didn't want to interrupt, he still put his fist to his lips and coughed forcefully:
"Ahem, ahem, ahem!"
Only then did Xu Zixi suddenly realize that there was someone else beside them. She quickly let go of Yan Yincheng, looked at Yan Haikun, and called out in a small voice with a straight face, "Uncle Yan."
Yan Haikun nodded in response. "Yes."
Then he looked at Yan Yincheng behind Xu Zixi and said seriously, "Why were you so late? What were you doing? Do you know how worried we were when you didn't answer the phone! Don't ever do this again!"
Xu Zixi couldn't help but stand in front of Yan Yincheng. "Uncle Yan, Brother Cheng he..."
"Alright, since you're here, go and sit down. We'll talk about everything after the wedding."
"I'm afraid that won't work..." Yan Yincheng's voice sounded a bit strained. "The effect of the medicine... the effect of the medicine has worn off. I may need to inject a couple more needles..."
As he spoke, he leaned completely on Xu Zixi. His body couldn't stop shaking, and his face became even paler.
Only then did Yan Haikun realize that something seemed wrong. His face darkened, and his hawk - like eyes were full of sharpness. "What on earth is going on?"