Chapter 346: Reunion (41)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Amidst the loud crackling of the firecrackers, Long Tianze alighted from his car and began waving to the crowd around him, which included some media reporters.
Carrying a bouquet of fresh flowers in his hand, he stepped inside the Mei family home.
After a while, Mei Yangyang exited the door hand in hand with Long Tianze, alongside the company of her parents and An Xiaoning. Mei Yangyang was donning a sparkly white wedding gown and a veil on her head.
Happiness was written all over her face. She did not mind being photographed by the reporters at all. After all, there was nothing to hide since they’d already been in a relations.h.i.+p for a few years and even had two children of their own.
They got into the car and began driving towards the Long family mansion.
The car was parked outside the gate of the Long family mansion, where a red carpet was laid across the ground to welcome the newlyweds-to-be.
An Xiaoning held onto Mei Yangyang’s hand in the car. They could see the crowd clearly through the window.
However, the people outside could not have a clear view of the pa.s.sengers in the car due to the tinted gla.s.s of the car windows.
Long Tianze had already gotten down from the car and stood beside Ling Ciye. Jin Qingyan was still nowhere to be seen at this point.
The auspicious hour arrived.
The firecrackers continued to crackle for a long period of time. Long Tianze opened the car door, but it was not Mei Yangyang who came out first.
The crowd stared on while An Xiaoning came out of the car, dressed in the pink bridesmaid attire. Although Ling Ciye had already expected it, he was still rather shocked to see her in the flesh nonetheless.
Besides, isn’t it unbelievable that a person who was supposedly dead for a few years suddenly came back to life?
Was there anything more bewildering than that?
An Xiaoning then reached her hand into the backseat to help Mei Yangyang out of the car.
She handed Mei Yangyang’s hand to Long Tianze while the flower boy and girl led the way, each carrying a basket of flower petals that they scattered along the bridal path.
Mei Yangyang held onto Long Tianze’s arm and took center stage as they walked down the red carpet while An Xiaoning and Ling Ciye followed closely behind.
Ling Ciye kept his thoughts and questions to himself and would steal an occasional glance at An Xiaoning.
The wedding march began to play slowly in the background.
It was romantic and heartwarming.
They treaded along the red carpet and arrived at the holding area for guests after pa.s.sing the gate of the main entrance.
The guests were to be seated along the sides of the red carpet. The Master of Ceremony was standing at the front with a microphone in hand and waiting for the bride and groom to arrive.
Staring at the crowd of guests, Ling Ciye was surprised to find that Jin Qingyan was not around.
What was going on?
Little did Ling Ciye know, Jin Qingyan was still trying to placate Gu Xiaoning at home. He only began to rush to the venue when the wedding had already commenced.
After parking the car, Jin Qingyan strode in quickly. He heard the sounds of celebration as soon as he entered the courtyard.
Upon arriving at the guest area, a figure caught his attention.
While walking towards his seat, he kept his eyes fixed on the figure, which he found to be strangely familiar. However, he still did not manage to catch a glimpse of her face in the end.
Just as he sat down beside Ling Ciye, the latter gave him a smack and said, “My goodness, why are you so late?”
“Tianze didn’t allow me to bring Xiaoning and I had a hard time coaxing her. Thankfully I made it in time.” Jin Qingyan paused his speech and pointed at the figure before asking, “Who’s that?”
“Can’t you tell from her silhouette?” Ling Ciye asked softly.
Jin Qingyan squinted and said, “She looks really familiar.”
“She’s An Xiaoning.”
“… Who?”
“An Xiaoning.”
Jin Qingyan turned his head to the side and stared at Ling Ciye seriously. “Who did you say it was!?!”
“Your lover, An Xiaoning. She’s still alive. I’m the groomsman and she’s the bridesmaid. She was supposed to be sitting here, but the bride wanted An Xiaoning to keep her company. That’s why she’s standing there now.”
Jin Qingyan stood up slowly, after which his legs turned jelly all of a sudden, perhaps because he was overwhelmed with agitation. “Calm down!” exclaimed Ling Ciye, who quickly supported him.
“Is this a new clone version that I’m not aware of?”
Jin Qingyan sat down to speak to Ling Ciye, who thought he was going to rush forward straight away.
“I don’t know, you’ll find out for yourself after Tianze’s wedding,” Ling Ciye said with a shrug.
Placing a hand on Jin Qingyan’s arm, he added, “This is Tianze’s wedding, don’t create a scene here. Just wait a little while more, she’s not going to run away.”
Jin Qingyan was held back forcefully by Ling Ciye while he kept his eyes fixed on An Xiaoning. To his disappointment, she never once turned behind.
The crowd applauded along when the solemnization ceremony finally came to an end. It was time for the guests to move to the banquet hall.
An Xiaoning turned around gracefully, finally facing Jin Qingyan’s direction.
An Xiaoning was searching for An Youqing in the crowd when she unexpectedly made eye contact with Jin Qingyan.
She had thought about this day countless times before.
She had constantly been imagining what it would be like to meet him again after returning to the country.
She had even thought about how both of them would react.
An Xiaoning managed to maintain her composure when she finally met him face to face.
She stood in front of Jin Qingyan, who was seated. They held each other’s gaze in front of everyone else.
Jin Qingyan stood up all of a sudden and zoomed towards her frantically.
An Xiaoning was greatly taken aback and stood rooted to the ground like a statue.
An Xiaoning was almost crushed to death by his sudden and fierce hug.
She was overwhelmed with his unique scent, which did not change over the years.
Noticing that she was remaining silent, Jin Qingyan released his grip and stared at her intently. “Are you Xiaoning?” he asked in agitation.
“So what if I am and so what if I’m not?” An Xiaoning then turned to ask Mei Yangyang, “Where did Youqing go?”
Although she knew that her son would not wander about on his own and that there would be someone to look after him at all times, she could not help but feel a little worried to find that he was nowhere in her sight.
“Who’s Youqing?”
“My man.”
Jin Qingyan was perturbed and flabbergasted to hear her answer. “I’m your man, no one else is!” he exclaimed, getting extremely worked up.
Everyone else was speechless.
Mei Yangyang was amused by his words and gestured an “OK” sign at An Xiaoning before hurrying off to change into another gown.
Just as An Xiaoning was about to walk away, Jin Qingyan grabbed her by her wrist tightly and asked, “Where are you going?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Xiaoning. Why didn’t you come back if you’re alive?” Jin Qingyan asked, his lips trembling with nervousness as he reached out to caress her face.
“I’m just another clone, don’t be mistaken,” An Xiaoning said smilingly.
She was clearly being sarcastic and not actually hiding her ident.i.ty on purpose.
Jin Qingyan looked her in the eye. It was that very pair of sparkly eyes that he had been yearning to see every day and night.
“You really are Xiaoning.”
“Seems like you’d think I’m the real An Xiaoning just because I look and sound exactly like her.”
Jin Qingyan raised her wrist and said, “You’re the only one who has this bangle.”
“There are plenty of counterfeits and replicas on the market.”
“Why? Why didn’t you come to find me when you’re still alive? You’re still alive, yet why…”
An Xiaoning shrugged off his grip and said, “No reason.”
Just as she took a few steps forward, she was stopped by him again. Noticing that there were many people around, she decided not to embarra.s.s him and warned him sternly, “If you come near me again, I’ll teach you a lesson.”
“Go ahead then.”
Holding her breath, she gave him a shoulder throw and caused him to fall to the ground, though he was well over six feet tall and much bigger than her pet.i.te self.
He did not resist, seemingly allowing her to do so on purpose.