Chapter 51: Boiling A Disastrous Vacation

Xiulan was nervously waiting inside the bridal room while she hears the loud commotion outside. She's currently sitting on top of the newly decorated bed which has the abundance of two embroidered quilts beneath her. The first quilt was decorated with a phoenix and a dragon while the other quilt was decorated with cute babies. This was a sign of wishing the couple a harmonious marriage and a wealthy life.

It looks like some of her relatives, Hongqi's entourage, and family were enjoying the games they prepared for Hongqi's arrival. It was a tradition to make the groom suffer a little bit before he can escort the bride back to his house.

She could hear Qiaohui's very unladylike loud laughter while her mother kept on nagging at her to stop laughing like an old man. Overall, the situation outside is merry.

"Xiulan, it's about time." Her graceful big sister Nuo Shu entered the room. The mysterious beauty Nuo Shu extruded and the obvious discomfort was rather darker than usual.

"Are you okay?" Xiulan concernedly asked. She thought that her sister might say something very unethical again against this second wedding. Her big sister's principles were rather conservative.

"Hmm…" Nuo Shu only nodded and went closer to Xiulan to fix her hair and straight out the creases on her dress. "I'm going to open the door so he could enter now."

Xiulan only nodded in response. She didn't like the quiet temperament her big sister and her mother have been displaying. It was oddly abnormal that they don't push their opinions and life lessons to her. Maybe they were tired of giving off speeches that she will never follow anyway.

Nuo Shu opens the door and revealed the very dashing Hongqi in his black suit with a little bit of gold dragon embroidery on the chest part. His face was rather very bright and fresh, it looks like he had a good night's sleep.

Hongqi charmingly smiled at Xiulan when saw her sitting on top of the two quilts. She was really beautiful and her waist was really eye-catching. He can't wait to embrace that.

His smile was a very entrancing sight for the gushing relatives that kept fangirling on Hongqi's ethereal visuals. They came to to the Song family mansion so early in the morning just to take a glimpse of Hongqi. They never had the opportunity to see him this close. They were not allowed to see the ceremony in the Xing household and they have to wait until the reception starts just to see this fine man.

Xiulan's throat felt dry all of a sudden. Seeing him in that attire made her feel more nervous. The more this day develops, the more her anxiety eats her up. It was a very uncomfortable feeling.

"Okay, Hongqi. We hid Xiulan's shoes somewhere inside the room and you need to find it. This will be your last mission before you can take her away from us." Qiaohui announced while she has a microphone on and she sneered quite deviously.

Hongqi nodded and started searching for the shoes. He didn't give much reaction since he wanted this event to finish so they can fly to Maldives soon.

"Oh no~ can the groom find the shoes? What if he doesn't find it?" Qiaohui teased at the side. She was enjoying making Hongqi suffer a little bit. She was the one who hid the shoes and she placed it behind the golden dragon statue. Actually, she made it easier for Hongqi to find it. She was a supportive sister-in-law.

Hongqi was concentrating and his face was displaying a handsome frown. The female relatives gushed over this again. "He's so handsome even when he's frowning. Sister Xiulan is really lucky."

Mother Song can't help but sigh seeing how popular Hongqi was. Even the relatives who were very picky in a man's visuals were pouring out good compliments.

Song Yingpei was really busy and enjoying the calls from relatives abroad and friends congratulating him about this auspicious and important day. The old Song didn't watch the games anymore and only enjoyed the tea outside and waited for the morning ceremony to finish. After this, they will go to the Xing mansion.

Hongqi finally found the shoes and quickly picked it up. He displayed a rather enchanting and naughty smile while he moves forward where Xiulan was.

The audience made a huge uproar and loud squeals can be heard.

"Yes! The groom finally found the shoes! Go go, put the shoes on her!" Qiaohui excitedly said. Everyone was squealing like crazy. Nuo Shu and Qingge were covering their ears from the loud noises of the guests.

Xiulan sweated when she saw that smile and everyone's reaction. She has bad premonition seeing everyone too happy and jolly. She reveals her bared white feet so Hongqi can put the shoes on her.

Hongqi came closer and go down on his knees at the end of the bed. He was smiling while he held her soft and white foot. "Even her feet are beautiful, what's more in those hidden parts." He naughtily thought.

He wears the gold shoes on her and quickly stands straight. He went closer to Xiulan and didn't say anything but quickly lifts her from the bed.

"Oh!" Xiulan gasped from Hongqi's sudden actions and held onto his arms. She remembers that the groom must lift her up from the bed after he wore the shoes on her and he must carry her to the car. Her feet must be on air and never touch the ground to avoid bad luck.

Hongqi held Xiulan's body tightly and strides outside to go to his car.

"Oh my! Look at our groom, so impatient!" Qiaohui giddily commented.

While Hongqi carries Xiulan towards his car, the guests can't help but comment on what they were witnessing.

"Oh gosh, how dreamy!" one of the young guests said.

"Sister Xiulan is really lucky! I'm so jealous!" another young female relative can't help but be jealous.

Hongqi places Xiulan inside the backseat of the car then he proceeds to go inside as well. While they were inside the car, Hongqi held Xiulan's small hands and caressed the back of her hands using his thumb. They were quiet but it was obvious that the groom was in a merry state while the bride was nervous.

"We're married for months now yet this will be your first time visiting the main house, right?" Hongqi suddenly asked. He gazed at her quite lovingly.

Xiulan nodded and said "Yeah… it never occurred to me to visit it anyway."

Hongqi chuckled. "I was never fond of staying in that house so I never invited you to come. Since this is a special day, it's inevitable that we have to go there."

Xiulan can hear in his statement that he doesn't have a good relationship with his parents.

They finally arrived at the five hectares mansion of the Xing family. The size of a normal home was too big and spacious just to be occupied by a small family. The mansion was surrounded by rare plants and small trees. There's also a tall black gate with a gold crest of the Xing family on the middle part.

From an outsider's perspective, the exterior was really promising and intimidating. What's more, if they go inside?

The couple finally arrived at the parking way of the mansion. There were a lot of guests waiting for them and there's even a red dancing dragon. Xiulan can hear the loud sounds of the drums while the dancing dragon happily dances. They wait for a little bit so Xiulan's family can go through first to welcome them.

Hongqi was the first to come out of the car and helped Xiulan to come out next. They were greeted by fireworks and the loud sound of the dancing dragon music.

A male host with both families at the back greeted them "The couple is finally here. Oh, how good they look together."

Since Hongqi's mom already passed away, it was only Hongqi's dad that was present. His current lover was not there since she's not a family member yet and also it might disrespect the couple.

"Ah~ my beautiful daughter-in-law." The head of the Xings, Hongqi's father briefly greeted Xiulan and he offers his arms so Xiulan can hold onto it while she's being escorted to enter the house. It supposed to be the groom's mother's role but since Hongqi's mom is already deceased then the father must do it.

They must follow a strict schedule and timing since it was related to being auspicious.

Xiulan was finally inside and they can now start the tea ceremony. After the tea ceremony, they can finally go to the reception.

In the tea ceremony, Xiulan must dutifully fill each family member's cups with tea. In Hongqi's side, there was his grandparent's father's side, his two uncles and his father. While on the Song's family side; Xiulan's parents, her two sisters, grandparents from both parents' side. The uncles and aunties from the Song family didn't come anymore; instead, they will be waiting in the reception. There were too many of them.

This will be also the first time for Xiulan to meet the other family members of the Xing family, especially the grandparents. They were really intimidating especially the old madam, Xing Xiaodan. There was a rumor that the old madam Xiaodan was not fond of Xiulan and didn't have any interest in meeting her. No one knows if it's true or what the reason was.

But now that Xiulan greeted the old Xiaodan, she knew that the rumors were kind of true. The old madam only gave her a curtsy greeting and didn't even smile. While Xing Huojin, Hongqi's grandfather was happy to greet her. The uncles also warmly greeted her.

The tea ceremony started and ended quickly too. Though it ended quickly, Xiulan can still remember the dark gaze of the old Xiaodan at her. It seems that the old lady was obvious in her contempt towards her. She didn't even lift the glasses for Xiulan that made everyone awkward in their seats. The old lady was passive and didn't move too much. Everybody excused she was being lazy due to old age, but in reality, she was being a bitch towards the bride.

Hongqi secretly apologized to Xiulan about his grandmother's treatment towards her. "Sorry about nana. I'm her favorite grandson so she was rather protective of me and causes a little bit of suffering on your side." Hongqi reasoned and held Xiulan's hands. His gazes were warm and it has a little bit of worry in it.

"It's okay. We must always understand the old." Xiulan responded and flashed a smile. She actually doesn't care about the old hag. She even wanted for the old hag can be mad as much as she wants. It's better if she'll meddle between the two too.

Since the tea ceremony finally ended awhile ago, the couple has to ready themselves for the reception. Xiulan has to change to a different red qipao dress for the reception, same to Hongqi as well.

Xiulan changed to an almost identical red qipao but decorated with floral embroidery mixed with green, gold, white and pink hues. They also retouched her makeup. Hongqi also changed to a different suit but this time it has silver dragon embroidery on the left chest part.

The reception will be held in a lavish event place that was near the airport. The whole building was booked by Hongqi and no other events were allowed for today. Booking the whole building caused a lot of money but Hongqi didn't care. He doesn't like the idea of another event happening while their wedding reception is being held.

The two arrived at the venue just in time. The auspicious wedding planner was delighted that the whole plan and schedule were met. She was rather only pissed that the old Xiaodan was being a bitch today. If only the old hag didn't reveal her bad attitude during the tea ceremony, then the whole ceremony could have a 100% chance to be perfect.

The wedding planner ushered the couple to the entrance of the reception and signaled the others that to announce the couple is finally here.

When the doorkeepers opened the door for the couple, they were greeted by hundreds of guests. Xiulan was not even familiar to the 70% of these guests. The only familiar people for her were her family, some of her relatives and the relatives that Hongqi introduced awhile ago.

Xiulan also noticed the long table that contains the gifts from guests. She could see that there was a little bit of competition who contributed more to the gifts. The gifts were too big and there was a lot of ampao (red envelope) too. She remembers that when a guest gives money, it will be listed on the money book how much they contributed so when the future the newlyweds can be paid by the same amount of money back when the guest gets married.

The reception will last for two hours and after that, they will go straight to Hongqi's jet. Oh, how she dreaded this.

The reception started and Xiulan started plastering a smile for everyone. The banquet starts with the host storytelling the newlywed's love story.

Xiulan wanted to cough so hard from the host's over the top story. "Our dear young master Hongqi was so bewitched that he immediately wanted to put a ring on it. Thus, the last western wedding was abrupt and a surprise. What a charming man! Now that we the most awaited traditional wedding happened, we can now sleep better at night."

Hongqi automatically held tightly on Xiulan's hand and chuckled beside her. He wanted to laugh so loud at the host's commendation. The little white lie that the host said was a good excuse for his selfish plans a long time ago. The host also tried to shade the bad rumor that was coming from the socialites, a very witty man.

"We should tip him big," Xiulan had a brief pensive look on Hongqi but immediately changed it to a happy expression.

"Yes, indeed." He happily agreed without looking at her and pulled Xiulan closer to him. He embraces her and happily listens to the host.

This small interaction between the two made the female guests who were not invited in their western wedding before are currently burning in jealousy. How they wanted to be embraced by his broad body. Now that they are seeing Hongqi like this, his past lovers might be so hateful right now.

After a series of flattery, wine toasting and more activities to unify the two families, finally the reception has come to an end. Xiulan's mother tried to delay the two's hasty leave from the venue but Hongqi was such a cunning man that he managed to get out of the mother-in-law's grasps.

Xiulan blankly stares at the passing cars and buildings while she sits in the backseat of the car going to the airport. She can't believe that the ceremony has ended and now they are flying to the Maldives. Oh her heart was thumping so harshly. She may look calm right now but she actually wants to jump off the car.

"Just send me the details, I'll be riding the jet soon. I won't be able to receive any calls for a few hours since I'll be resting. Just tell them to halt the filming until noon." Hongqi was busy talking to Secretary Yang Bo through the phone. It seems that there was a problem with one of his artists' drama series.

Hongqi ended the call and sighed tiredly. It was his second wedding yet people still dare to pester him. Secretary Yang Bo didn't attend the wedding since the invited people were more of relatives and close friends. He has to fill in the work that Hongqi left.

"So are you ready?" Hongqi put his attention to Xiulan and smiled widely at her.

"I was never ready." Xiulan remarked. She was serious yet Hongqi laughed out loud at her statement.

"Oh love, you will enjoy there. Hot summer, beautiful beaches and a lot of amazing food! A paradise!" Hongqi tried to entice Xiulan with what they could see in Maldives yet Xiulan was still disinterested. "You will see me naked." He shamelessly added.

Xiulan squints her eyes at Hongqi and gave him a deathly glare. Hongqi laughed again and embraced her. "Now now don't give me that glare. I'm a chivalrous man, okay? I won't bite unless the woman didn't' give any initiative."

Xiulan was still silently sulking in her seat. She can't fully believe him especially their whole activities in Maldives will have a lot of skinship. Even now, he embraces her like it was the most natural thing. Xiulan nervously purses her lips and she could only think of Qiaohui's advice "Just drink the aphrodisiac and do regretful things without you knowing anything!"

She's not even sure anymore!