spring bite mark

Chapter 248 Extra: Big Shots Gather 1
The wedding of Yan Changye's brother-in-law, Huo Yungui, and Lan Sisi, the eldest daughter of the Lan family, was held in the height of summer.

The Yudu International Hotel YZ District branch was solely dedicated to serving this wedding that day; all other people had already been cleared out.

Almost all the wealthy families in Chongqing have arrived, along with various relatives of both the man and woman, as well as artists and staff that Miss Lan has connections with in the entertainment industry.

The whole scene was very grand.

But there were also many people whispering and gossiping.

Especially on the woman's side, relatives who don't know the inside story are particularly gossipy, bringing up all sorts of old, trivial gossip:
"The Lan family is so wealthy and powerful, and Sisi is their only daughter. If you ask me, this marriage is a real loss. I don't know what Lan Jiang was thinking. They are not a good match. If it were a live-in son-in-law, it would be fine, but this is not right!"

"Don't you know Sisi's personality? She makes all her own decisions, and even her dad can't control her. Remember a few years ago? I don't know why Sisi fell for that guy surnamed Huo, and she kept him for several years. Being kept by a woman, how shameful!"

“I’ve heard my daughter mention this before. Huo Yungui’s family is a bit poor, but he’s a good person. He never messes around with other women and is good-looking. Sisi is very intolerant of women and has seen a lot of scumbags. It makes sense that she suddenly fell for him. She just thought it would be a casual fling for a few years, but she never expected that she would actually marry him. It can be considered a happy ending.”

"A rich heiress and a jobless hoodlum, is this what you call a happy ending?" a relative scoffed. "With such a huge gap between them, their marriage is bound to be a mess. Just you wait and see, they'll become a resentful couple in no time..."

The private gossip within that niche circle didn't travel far. But just behind a screen was Yan Changye, who possessed an extremely keen sense for gossip.

Seeing that Jiang Manman was listening attentively, he smiled and poured her a drink, saying slowly, "Don't listen to their nonsense. Your brother and that Miss Lan definitely have feelings for each other."

Jiang Manman glanced at him: "What have you found out this time?"

"I've heard my brother-in-law, the person involved, mention it a few times." Yan Changye clicked his tongue lightly. "My brother-in-law was just a bit unlucky in starting his business, but his character and looks are excellent. A few years ago, that Miss Lan, who had met all sorts of men in the entertainment industry, was captivated by my brother-in-law, a pure and straight man who never flirted with girls. The so-called sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship was just a hobby."

Jiang Manman found it amusing: "Miss Lan, that's quite interesting."

Yan Changye gave a faint "hmm" and continued gossiping:
"She wanted to date her brother-in-law, and he was also somewhat attracted to Miss Lan. They got together half-heartedly. Miss Lan gave him 10,000 yuan of pocket money every month, but in reality, he was also doing part-time work at that time, earning several thousand yuan a month, which he voluntarily handed over to his girlfriend. It was not a matter of who was supporting whom."

At this point, Yan Changye took the opportunity to praise his mother-in-law:
"It was his superb culinary skills, which his mother-in-law had instilled in him since childhood, his self-discipline in handing over his salary, and his attitude of maintaining clear boundaries with girls that made Miss Lan linger for many years and reluctant to let go."

Jiang Manman coughed lightly: "My brother's personality has been raised quite well by my mother."

“He does have the ability.” Yan Changye pondered. “In the children’s amusement park project in Chongqing, although he is not the main person in charge, his performance is quite remarkable. I have asked those people to mentor him more, and he will soon be able to handle things on his own.”

Jiang Manman looked at him and said, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

“It’s only right that he’s my brother-in-law.” Yan Changye glanced at his watch. “The wedding banquet will start in half an hour, Madam. The other guests should be arriving soon.”

The wedding was hosted by a professional wedding emcee team, and the person in charge of the gift registry boasted that he had seen many grand occasions.

But today, the situation almost got out of control.

The wedding banquet had 68 tables. Sixteen tables were separated by exquisite screens. Eight of these tables were occupied by wealthy families in Chongqing and Ms. Lan's celebrity friends. The remaining eight tables were reserved for the groom's important guests.

Half an hour before the wedding banquet, only one of the eight tables on the groom's side was full, reportedly occupied by the groom's parents and sister's family.

Someone finally couldn't help but mutter, "The man is just putting on a show. He doesn't have the life of a wealthy family, but he acts like one. He puts a bunch of poor relatives in the VIP area. Doesn't he care about offending those wealthy and important people?"

Immediately, someone chimed in: "Not only that, according to the VIP seating arrangement, the groom's eight tables are actually in the most prestigious positions. I've never seen such a lack of manners. What's even more outrageous is that the people at the main table from the wealthy families of Chongqing and the Lan family aren't angry at all; they're even chatting and laughing..."

The staff member in charge of the gift book was initially distracted by listening to people complaining, but in the blink of an eye, their gaze froze.

In the VIP area, the wealthy Chongqing residents who had been chatting idly seemed to have received some news. They all stood up and walked to the reception area, their eyes fixed intently on the entrance to the banquet hall. Miss Lan and Huo Yungui also walked hand in hand towards them, standing at the very front.

Then, a dozen or so men dressed simply and comfortably, with no discernible brands on their clothes, walked in chatting and laughing.

First, they all greeted Huo Yungui with "Congratulations, brother-in-law!" before proceeding to the gift registration area. Each person placed an exquisite red briefcase on the red cloth table labeled "Guests of the Groom" and announced their name.
"Wang Yunni, the son of the Wang family conglomerate in Shanghai."

"Shen Yi, from the Shen family conglomerate in Yuecheng."

"Ji Yancheng, Tianjin".

……

The staff member in the gift register area was a little confused, thinking: I've never seen anyone specifically state their city and company when registering their name...

After vaguely registering his name, he heard Lan Jiang, the head of the Lan family, greet him warmly and respectfully.

"Welcome, Your Excellencies, to my daughter and son-in-law's wedding. It is an honor indeed! Come, come, the banquet is ready, please take your seats."

Holy crap! The princes of various cities!

The staff member in charge of the gift registry trembled slightly.

Fortunately, no one noticed his lapse in composure. The people from Chongqing's wealthy families, surrounding a group of prominent young masters, quickly went to the VIP area to take their seats.

The staff members in charge of the gift registry breathed a sigh of relief and began to cooperate in opening the red briefcases one by one to register the gifts.

More than a dozen suitcases were opened.

The inside was lined with red velvet cloth.

On the red cloth, neatly stacked, were densely packed rows of brand-new, consecutively numbered cash and eight gold bars.

Every single box is.

The bookkeeper's hand cramped again, and after exchanging bewildered glances for a while, they finally found their voices:
"How... should I write this?"

“Cash…” Another staff member counted back and forth more than a dozen times before finally speaking, his mouth dry, “30 in cash, eight 88-gram gold bars. Each prince has them.”

“…Rich people give such extravagant gifts.” The first staff member made a quick decision, pointing to more than a dozen suitcases, “These add up to tens of millions, they’re too hot to handle. We can’t afford to lose even a small one. Let the man keep them himself.”

"Alright, I'll go find the Huo family now."

However, before the staff could get up, another person arrived at the door.

This time, the Chongqing tycoon, who had just entered the VIP area and hadn't even had a chance to sit down properly, once again made a big fuss about coming out!
Even those princes who had just gone in came out!

Huo Yungui was called over again, looking bewildered: "Who's here again?"

(End of this chapter)