Chapter 655: 412 With everyone’s help, "Bride kidnapping" is successful (4 more Chapters)
"All right, let’s call an end to the martial arts exam," Qi Zeyan said with a smile, "Mr. Xie, weren’t there some intelligence questions left? Come on, let’s continue!"
With so many people around, Jiang Jinsang naturally hadn’t exerted himself yet, and was consequently pushed forward...
Xie Duo had not intended to make the intelligence questions difficult for them, and Jiang Jinsang won with ease.
"Then we can go in now, right?" Jiang Yanting said with a smile.
Xie Duo gritted his teeth and said nothing.
Huo Qinqi, who had already put on his coat, glanced again at the second-floor window while buttoning up. By now, Shen Shuci was no longer there...
"Let’s go; let’s head in," Qi Zeyan prodded his arm, "Old Huo, that grappling move earlier was so cool, teach me sometime."
"No."
"Why not?"
"This is professional combat, not for you to show off or act cool with." The words were cold and ruthless. He had never known what it meant to be subtle. With one sentence, he pierces right through his intentions.
"..."
Qi Zeyan bit his teeth, and inside he felt as if countless "f*** yous" were galloping past.
Tang Wan was walking behind them and couldn’t help but burst into laughter – listening to their bickering always cracked her up, especially Huo Qinqi, who was always expressionless, as if unaware of the power behind his words.
After the group entered the house, they briefly greeted some of the Xie Family elders and went straight to the second floor.
Some of the Xie Family relatives and Shen Zhixian’s bridesmaids were blocking the way with little girls insisting on red envelopes. Despite stuffing quite a few underneath the door, no one seemed to be attempting to open it.
"At least open a crack in the door if you want a red packet. Otherwise, we can’t fit the big ones in!" Jiang Chengsi said outright.
"From under the door!" Jiangjiang’s voice.
"It’s possible to fit them from underneath," Taotao agreed, "Dad, go on!"
The people outside burst into laughter. It appeared that those waiting inside for red packets were actually Jiang Yanting’s two children?
"The red packet you gave is too small," laughed someone inside.
"Dad, that’s too little; stuff some more in," the voice continued.
Jiangjiang felt that his days had peaked recently.
Although it was Jiang Yanting and Shen Zhixian’s wedding, outsiders giving gifts would surely look after the children too, so the siblings indirectly received quite a few presents.
Today was even better than New Year’s – not only sweets to eat but also red packets to collect.
Shen Zhixian was already sitting on the bed, and her bridesmaids had already hidden her shoes, now plotting how to tease the groomsmen later.
While it was lively both inside and outside the door, someone spoke up at this point.
"We might as well break down the door and go in." Others didn’t recognize the voice, but Shen Zhixian and Shen Shuci could tell it was Huo Qinqi’s, "Wooden door, it’s pretty old, easy to blast through."
"That wouldn’t be quite appropriate," Jiang Jinsang chuckled, "After all, you are ladies."
"I’ve also learned lock picking," Huo Qinqi stated bluntly.
The bridesmaids: "..."
"I’ve seen people use electric saws to break down doors online," Qi Zeyan excitedly chimed in.
Jiang Chengsi added: "There’s also cutting through the aluminum frames of windows and climbing in through them."
Inside, everyone was like: "..."
What exactly are you preparing to do?
After another round of red packets, they finally opened the door and let them in. Honestly, the bridesmaids upstairs were well aware of these people’s combat power and were genuinely afraid they would forcibly break in to take the bride.
But when a crowd swarmed in, the atmosphere was nearly as intense as if they were actually snatching the bride.
Once everyone was inside, Shen Zhixian sat on the bed in her Xiuhe attire, adorned with a Cyan Feather headpiece, gold wire craftsmanship, azure green feathers, matching the red festive wear embroidered with dragon and phoenix motifs.
She was always a gentle and serene person, dressing even more simply after having children, but now, attired in glorious ceremonial dress, her pale skin contrasted with red lips, she exuded beauty in all its charm.
Jiang Yanting had accompanied her to try on the Xiuhe dress, but now with accessories, the impression was entirely different.
When Shen Zhixian looked up at him, their eyes met, and a blush tinged his ears.
"Mr. Groom, doesn’t the bride look beautiful today?" teased a bridesmaid.
"Yeah, it looks good," Jiang Yanting was direct.
The whole room burst into laughter because he normally wasn’t such a forthright person.
"But if you want to take her away, you’ll have to pass several tests from us."
The bridesmaids had tricky questions, but their approach was entirely different from Xie Duo, who was undoubtedly an actual gentleman—both literate and martial, yet straightforward. However, the bridesmaids’ tests included things like putting on a blindfold to apply lipstick, transferring flour using playing cards, passing playing cards mouth-to-mouth, doing push-ups...
When it came to tests of strength, Huo Qinqi usually took over, mainly because not many girls dared to challenge him. Even Xie Duo shied away, let alone young ladies.
But for the rest, it was mainly up to Qi Zeyan and Jiang Chengsi.
"Brother, Xiaowu, aren’t you two helping?" Jiang Chengsi frowned. Passing playing cards mouth-to-mouth? That game was so overdone. Why did these young ladies still like such stuff?
They didn’t even play those games in his club anymore.
Jiang Shiyi: "Before the competition just now, I didn’t warm up enough, and now my body’s uncomfortable, I might have sprained my back."
Jiang Jinsang: "I’ve always been frail."
...
Tang Wan was dying of laughter. Just a moment ago, they were all valiantly competing in a show of brotherly harmony; now they had started infighting.
Could their brotherhood last a bit longer?
Amidst the laughter and commotion, everyone managed to pass the tests successfully. During the final challenge of finding the shoes, which the bridesmaids thought they had hidden quite well, they were easily uncovered.
Jiang Yanting helped Shen Zhixian put on her shoes amidst the uproar from the crowd, the two shared a couple of kisses, and then, amid rowdy cheers, they made their way downstairs.
Shen Shuci walked alongside Tang Wan, Jiang Jinsang naturally followed his own wife, and Huo Qinqi had been by his side the whole time, which didn’t seem odd at all. Only Qi Zeyan and Jiang Shiyi were fully aware:
Someone was also following his wife.
Upon arriving at the Xie Family’s living room, the old Master Xie was already sitting there. After kneeling for the tea ceremony, giving red packets went unusually smoothly.
All of the Xie Family members, including Jiang Yanting and the two children, took several family photos. Then, the photographer signaled the bride and groom, as well as the groomsmen and bridesmaids, to head to the grass in the courtyard for more pictures.
Men and women teamed up, and as a bridesmaid started to walk over to Huo Qinqi, Qi Zeyan swooped in.
"Let’s do it together."
As a renowned bachelor of Beijing, his initiative to team up was naturally met with an eager agreement from the bridesmaid.
The other groomsmen knew that Qi Zeyan was supposed to pair up with Shen Shuci and wouldn’t dare to invite her themselves. But now Qi Zeyan was pairing up with another lady—what about Shen Shuci...
Shen Shuci inexplicably found herself alone.
"Huo Big Brother, you should go to Miss Shen, she doesn’t have a partner," reminded Jiang Shiyi.
Both were single, making a pairing seem natural.
Then someone listened to his advice and approached Shen Shuci.
Tang Wan stood on the side, taking pictures of Shen Shuci with her phone to send to the Shen elders—not for anything but to let them see how beautiful Shen Shuci looked today. The lighting inside the house was too dim to capture it properly.
And naturally, Huo Qinqi also ended up in the frame.
**
Old Master Shen, wearing his reading glasses, examined the photo carefully. "Who’s this man next to Shuci? I don’t seem to have seen him before. The young man looks very spirited and capable..."
"Let me see," Mrs. Shen came over and looked for a long while as well, not recognizing him.
However, since he was wearing a groomsman’s attire, the Jiangs surely knew him. So, they went to ask Grandma Jiang, "Oh, this? Xiaohuo, Huo Qinqi, I thought he wouldn’t be able to make it back in time."
"This young man is quite tall, and he looks very spirited," observed Grandma Shen. Seeing him standing next to her daughter, they seemed quite a match, which inevitably led her to think a bit more.
"He’s definitely spirited. You have no idea, he is..." Grandma Jiang adored Huo Qinqi like her own grandson. Upon hearing someone asking about him, she praised him with all sorts of compliments.
Parents and elders always liked someone who was reliable and had a capable spirit—his profession added even more to his appeal.
"How old is this young man?" Mrs. Shen asked in a low voice.
"In his thirties."
"That’s a bit..." frowned Old Master Shen, "a bit on the older side."
"He doesn’t look old at all. Seems quite good to me, very solid. Let’s meet him in person and I’ll take a good look. With Grandma Jiang praising him so much, she must be right."
"Don’t go thinking about pairing up Shuci with every young man you see. This young man’s demeanor doesn’t seem very approachable," Old Master Shen frowned.
"I’m just asking."
Mrs. Shen’s health wasn’t great, and she couldn’t wait for Shen Shuci to start dating immediately, to be engaged the next day, married the day after, and to give her a grandchild very soon...