Chapter 644: 571 Wedding Fiasco (6): Cleaning Up the Mess
"Lu Xiaoer!"
"..."
Lu Xiaoer stood upright, looking at Zhongli Wuzhi, who was panting and standing on the stage.
Those eyes were still narrow like a fox’s, and his face was distinctively handsome.
Their gazes met in the air, and after a long while, Lu Xiaoer was the first to show a smile. Zhongli Wuzhi’s tense expression also gradually relaxed, having been terrified when he had come out and seen her stand up through the glass of the second-floor corridor.
He had feared that, a step too late, the stubborn Lu Xiaoer would resolutely walk away.
That smile of hers allowed Zhongli Wuzhi’s heart, which had climbed to his throat, to return to its place.
At the same time, all the guests in attendance turned their full attention towards Zhongli Wuzhi on the stage.
It seemed everyone was waiting for the conclusion of this drama, but...
Zhongli Wuzhi put down the microphone. He had no intention of airing all he and Xiaoer had been through.
He jumped down, walked up to Lu Xiaoer, and reached out his hand to her,
"Let’s go."
"Where to?"
Lu Xiaoer blinked, and the few people sitting at her table also watched him, especially Wu Shen...
Among them, she was the least likely to believe that Zhongli Wuzhi would jilt her at the altar without a second thought.
"To the civil affairs bureau—to get married!"
"..."
Lu Xiaoer’s eyes widened.
"Didn’t you say you wanted me to marry you? Come on, I want to marry you."
Zhongli Wuzhi gripped Lu Xiaoer’s hand and pulled her close, his toes nearly touching the tips of her shoes.
Lu Xiaoer was looking almost directly into his eyes. Those eyes, which usually weren’t fully open, always gave off a cunning, fox-like vibe.
Now, as she gazed steadily into his eyes, her brown pupils shone with an uncommon brightness.
Lu Xiaoer curved her lips and gripped his hand tightly.
That small motion was her response.
Zhongli Wuzhi firmly held Lu Xiaoer’s hand and walked down the bright red carpet towards the banquet hall’s entrance.
The guests sitting on both sides of the banquet were stunned as they watched them leave.
It was only after the doors closed again, with Zhongli Wuzhi and Lu Xiaoer’s figures no longer in the banquet hall, that the guests snapped out of it and a buzz of discussion broke out.
The groom had left the scene with Lu Xiaoer without any explanation.
"Wow, the groom is so handsome..."
That eighteen-year-old girl, her face full of envy, probably only someone as pure and young as her would find such a bridal robbery romantic and profound.
For more people, it wasn’t the depth of emotions between Lu Xiaoer and Zhongli Wuzhi that they saw, or how hard-won it was, but... how this situation was going to end, and who would end it.
Onlookers had been waiting expectantly, and finally, the person who would clean up the mess arrived—Zhongli Yuting.
He walked to the front of the stage with his wife.
"Zhongli Yuting, your son just walked away with someone else, does this wedding still count?"
"Where’s Princess Chinian? You as a father are not doing your job well, letting your son just..."
Although they were all taking the opportunity to question Zhongli Yuting, most did it with a joking, teasing tone.
Zhongli Yuting looked at these old friends with whom he had many years of acquaintance, who were the ones to start the commotion at times like these!
He shook his head, and then with a face full of emotion, said,
"Young people these days, each one pampered and growing up impulsive without thinking of the consequences. What can I do?"
Zhongli Yuting spread his hands, conveying helplessness,
"At his birthday feast, I promised that Zhongli Wuzhi would be the heir of the Zhongli Consortium. Now, the kid has caused such a big mess, I can only clean up after him."
"To the distinguished guests who took time out of your busy schedules to attend my son’s wedding, I, Zhongli Yuting, am very grateful. The sudden change and cancellation of the wedding has wasted your time, and for that, I am truly sorry."
"All the gifts and money that the guests have brought will be returned in full, and this banquet, let’s consider it a lunch hosted by the Zhongli family, where everyone can gather together. What do you say?"
"If you say so, who would dare say ’no’?"
Someone else joked.
Zhongli Yuting quickly said,
"Ah, that’s not what I meant. Zhongli Wuzhi is already the heir to the Zhongli Consortium and in not too long, he will officially take over the position of chairman of the Zhongli Consortium. When that time comes, this brash young man will still rely on the guidance of all the seniors present."
"If Wuzhi does something wrong, I also hope that the uncles and elders here can be forgiving, just as with today’s events..."
"Half of Anlin City’s elite are here today, but the reason the other half didn’t come is that you are the people the Zhongli family considers friends, the ones we have connections with."
"There are many guests, but even so, I hope that you can keep what happened today to yourselves and not embellish and spread the story. It would start a sensation not only in Anlin City but across the nation."
Zhongli Yuting pleaded earnestly,
"Most of you here are guests of honor who are somewhat older than Wuzhi and Xiaoer. Actually, everyone has been through the trials of love before..."
"There are eighty thousand characters in this world, yet ’love’ can be the most hurtful. This saying is not trivial..."
"My son, Zhongli Wuzhi, has always had a bad reputation in this regard, known as a frivolous and dissolute young master, but since meeting Xiaoer, Wuzhi has only had eyes for her."
"Young couples always wear down their affection for each other with this or that problem because they are not mature enough, and they haven’t truly tasted the bitterness of loss."
"What Wuzhi and Xiaoer did today is definitely not right, even in their pursuit of their own love, their actions were too reckless and absurd, and they were exceedingly rude to all the guests present! Without manners! This is my fault as a father for not teaching him properly, and it also falls on Lu Yonghuai, that old chap, for not managing his daughter well."
Having gone this far in his speech, Zhongli Yuting even brought Lu Yonghuai into it, as if he could not feel at ease until he did.
"So I ask you all to please let today’s incident go for my sake... I, Zhongli Yuting, assure everyone that the next time my son marries, it will be handled with the utmost care!"
"Old Master Zhongli, actually, it doesn’t really bother us. Wuzhi’s wedding feast was so luxurious, we would enjoy it a few times over!"
At this joke, laughter erupted throughout the hall!
Zhongli Yuting joined his hands in a bow, deeply grateful to the friend who had bailed him out.
Actually, even if Zhongli Yuting hadn’t given this face-saving speech, no one would truly dare to question the Zhongli family, because... this was the Zhongli family, the leading financial empire of the country.