When I went home for Chinese New Year, I spent a million times more money on my foreign wife.

Three days before the wedding, flights from all over the world to China were operating at full capacity.

The tarmac at Harbin Taiping International Airport is not enough.

The Snow Palace butler team coordinated with the military to provide two backup runways specifically for parking the private jets of guests from various countries.

The ice and snow town closed to the public five days ago.

All regular tourists with hotel reservations were relocated to the second phase of the Ice and Snow Town's commercial area, receiving a full refund plus triple compensation.

Tie Niu stood in front of a coffee shop on the main street of the town, watching another convoy drive up the winding mountain road behind the town.

Who was in that car just now?

The shop assistant next to her peeked out, then pulled back, her face pale.

"The advance team of the Crown Prince of Al Aal in the Middle East."

Tie Niu's hand holding the coffee cup wobbled, spilling a few drops. He wiped his hands and muttered, "My brother's wedding is like a United Nations General Assembly."

No one responded to him.

---

On the wedding day.

Six o'clock in the morning, at the villa behind Snow Palace.

Chen Yue pushed open the door to the master bedroom, where Chen Yang was already dressed.

The dark red Chinese-style dress features a stand-up collar with Chinese knot buttons, and the shoulder line and cuffs are embroidered with dark cloud and dragon patterns, using handmade gold thread that was rushed out overnight by the Suzhou embroidery team.

"Where's the convoy?" Chen Yang fastened the last button.

Chen Yue glanced at her phone.

"No need for a convoy."

Chen Yang looked up.

Chen Yue turned her phone over and showed him the live feed on the screen, unable to suppress the smile on her lips.

"I've prepared something different for you."

---

It's exactly 7 o'clock.

On the snowy road leading from the Snow Palace territory to the Ice City, the ground began to tremble.

The first to hear the noise were the Black Kite security personnel on duty by the roadside.

A dull, rhythmic clanging of metal came from the end of the avenue, each clang resonating with the ground.

Then, everyone saw it.

Twelve bipedal mechs, arranged in two columns, were moving along the snowy road toward the Ice City.

Each mech stands 4.2 meters tall, with a matte black finish and silver hydraulic structures visible at the joints.

A gold-stamped "囍" character is embossed in the center of the breastplate, and with each step, the servo motors in the knees emit a deep hum.

The mechanical arms of the two foremost mechs stretched forward, with a ten-meter-long red silk ribbon spread out between them. As the autumn wind blew in, the red ribbon billowed and fluttered, rustling above the cold metal shells of the mechs.

The mechanical arms of the ten mechs behind each held a pair of red lanterns. Instead of candles, the lanterns contained miniature LED light sources that were dazzlingly bright even in broad daylight.

Golden leaves fell from the birch forests on both sides of the Ice and Snow Avenue in the autumn wind. The leaves were swept into the air by the air currents generated by the mechs as they moved, mixing with the colors of red silk and lanterns to create a colorful scene.

One of Black Kite's security guards was standing by the roadside, holding his walkie-talkie halfway up but forgetting to press the button.

His colleague next to him nudged him.

"Shut up, don't embarrass yourself."

"I didn't say anything."

Your mouth is open.

---

Ice City, Chen Yang's private residence.

This building was originally a century-old house from the Tsarist era, which Chen Yang bought and renovated.

Today it plays a special role – the maternal home.

Ivan has been staying here for three days.

According to Chinese custom, the bride must leave her parents' home to get married. Chen Yue arranged for the mansion to serve as Katyusha's "parents' home residence," with Ivan as her father in charge.

Katyusha sat in front of the mirror in the dressing room on the second floor of the mansion.

Six stylists surrounded her, making final adjustments.

The kingfisher feathers on the phoenix crown were carefully adjusted to the correct angle, and the embroidered fabric of the embroidered robe was laid flat on the chair back, awaiting the final draping.

Chen Yue stood at the door, her phone vibrating incessantly.

"Sister-in-law, the mech formation has crossed the Songhua River Bridge and will be there in twenty minutes."

Katyusha looked at her in the mirror.

"Twelve units?"

"Twelve of these are newly finalized industrial-grade bipedal mechs in China, originally intended for use in mines and deep-sea operations. I borrowed a batch from the R&D team and painted them overnight."

Katyusha raised an eyebrow.

"Whose idea was this?"

"Mine," Chen Yue said, leaning against the doorframe. "My brother said he didn't want a fleet of luxury cars, too tacky. So I came up with something more unique."

Katyusha didn't ask any more questions, her gaze returning to the mirror. The stylist was inserting the last gold hairpin of the phoenix crown into the hair bun, the ruby ​​at the tip gleaming richly under the light.

Ivan's loud voice came from downstairs.

"What was that sound? Was it an earthquake?"

The butler's answer was largely drowned out by the tremor.

Ivan opened the window and looked out. In the direction of the mansion's main entrance, the ground was trembling rhythmically.

Then he saw the silhouette of black metal appear at the end of the street.

A four-meter-tall mecha strode steadily around the street corner, its red ribbons unfurling in the wind. One mecha after another followed, their footsteps forming a rhythmic metallic beat.

Ivan stood by the window, unaware that his cigar had gone out.

The butler cautiously approached: "Sir, that's...?"

"My son-in-law's wedding procession." Ivan tossed his extinguished cigar into the ashtray, his voice slightly unsteady.

"Using mechs to pick up the bride."

He repeated it, shook his head, and squeezed out a short laugh from his nose.

"This person never lets me down."

---

It's exactly eight o'clock.

Twelve mechs stood in front of the mansion's main entrance, lined up on both sides, their mechanical arms holding up red ribbons to form a passageway.

Chen Yang stepped out from behind the last mech.

His dark red Chinese-style formal attire gleamed in the autumn sunlight, its subtle gold thread patterns flowing gently with each step. He walked through the red silk corridor, his pace neither hurried nor slow, his gaze fixed ahead.

The mansion gates opened.

Ivan stood on the porch, dressed in a suit and tie, with a composed expression.

According to the procedure that Chen Yue had explained to him in advance, his role was "the father who sees his daughter off at the door".

Chen Yang walked up the steps and stood in front of Ivan.

The two men stared at each other for two seconds.

Ivan spoke first, his voice low: "Treat her well."

"You don't need to tell me."

Ivan snorted and stepped aside.

Katyusha emerged from the depths of the porch.

She wore a phoenix coronet and a wedding robe, her head adorned with pearls and jade. The golden phoenix threads on her robe swirled in the sunlight, and her skirt trailed on the century-old stone steps of the mansion, making a soft, rustling sound. Her steps were small, and the tassels of her phoenix coronet swayed gently with each step.

Chen Yue followed half a step behind Katyusha, holding up the hem of her wedding gown for her. When they reached the edge of the steps, she handed the hem to the bridesmaid and stepped aside.

Chen Yang took a step forward.

Without a word or hesitation, he bent down, put one arm around Katyusha's waist, and supported her knees with the other.

Katyusha wrapped her arms around his neck, and the tassels on her phoenix crown brushed against his shoulder.

Chen Yang picked her up, turned around, and walked down the steps one by one.

Behind them, the mechanical arms of twelve mechs rose in unison, stretching the red silk to a height of three meters, creating a scarlet corridor.

Ivan stood on the porch, watching his daughter being carried into the red silk passageway.

He reached into his pocket and touched the cigar box, but didn't take it out.

Chen Yue walked over to him and handed him a handkerchief.

Ivan didn't take it, turned his face to the side, and rubbed the corner of his eye with the back of his hand.

"The wind is too strong."

Chen Yue put away her handkerchief, didn't expose him, and turned to follow the convoy.

The wedding car drove out from the end of the red silk passage, and the twelve mechs turned around at the same time, forming a guard formation, and the sound of footsteps resumed.

The entire team drove along the main road of the ice city towards the Snow Palace, and all the traffic lights at the intersections along the way were switched to green.

More and more pedestrians stopped to take pictures by the roadside, but no one could get within fifty meters of the convoy—the Black Kite's outer control line stretched from the mansion all the way to the entrance of the suburban expressway.

Inside the car, Katyusha leaned on Chen Yang's shoulder, a tassel from her phoenix crown draped over his chest.

"Your sister's idea?"

"Um."

"The mecha is holding up a red ribbon." Katyusha chuckled. "What's going on in her head?"

Chen Yang did not answer. Outside the car window, the black outlines of twelve mechs were aligned with the crystal dome of the Snow Palace in the distance.

The lights inside the dome are all on.