Chapter 528: Lively, Lively

Having lost count of how many times he had visited Zhou Yi's hometown, Zhou Xinran no longer felt the reserve she once had; in its place was a sense of closeness and ease.

"Uncle, Auntie, I've come to mooch a meal again!"

Seeing Zhou Xinran, who was simply dressed yet still drew every eye, Zhou Yi's mother immediately smiled and said, "What is this child saying? Come, hurry inside."

"Zhou Yi, why are you still standing there like a post? Hurry up and get some slippers for Xinran!"

Zhou Mouren was a bit dazed; why did it feel like he had already been cast aside before anything had even happened?

The meal wasn't ready yet, so the two sat on the sofa waiting, while Zhou Yi's mother would occasionally bring out fruit or similar things, urging Zhou Xinran to eat a little.

The three of them chatted happily, while as for Zhou Yi's father, he was currently in the kitchen stir-frying dishes.

Usually, Zhou Yi's mother did the cooking, but her skills weren't as good as Zhou Yi's father's, so if there were guests, Zhou Yi's father would always take charge of the ladle.

Just then, Zhou Yi's mother's phone rang; she picked it up, took a look, and smiled, "It's Lingling. I wonder why she's calling me at this hour."

Answering the phone, Zhou Yi's mother listened to the words from the other end, her expression turning somewhat unpleasant.

"I can't say for sure. They are friends brought by Xiao Yi, not just anyone else. It definitely won't work. That's that, Lingling, you find someone else yourself."

Hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi's mother looked at Zhou Yi and said, "Lingling called you too, right? She wanted Xinran to be her bridesmaid, saying she can't find anyone suitable right now."

"I don't know what she's thinking. I've already refused."

Zhou Yi also shook his head and said, "Isn't this something that should have been settled earlier? Bringing it up only now, and asking Xinran to go—Xinran wouldn't know a single person there."

"By the way, Mom, what does the groom's family that Lingling found do?"

"They do business, have some money; anyway, I hear they are very impressive."

While the mother and son were talking, Zhou Xinran was listening from the side.

She didn't need to say anything, because she understood Zhou Yi very well and knew that Zhou Yi couldn't possibly force her to be some bridesmaid just because of a relative.

Total strangers, no relationship whatsoever—just going to be a bridesmaid for the sake of Zhou Yi's face—that experience certainly wouldn't be good.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this. Let's eat."

There was no more talk of this at Zhou Yi's home, but on the other side, at her own home, Zhou Lingling was on the phone with her boyfriend.

"Chuanchuan, I can't help it. There are only three right now, and I can't find a fourth."

On the other end of the line, Zhou Lingling's boyfriend, Zheng Chuan, said, "Didn't you say your younger brother brought a girl back this time? What's wrong? He's not even willing to help out? What kind of relative is that!"

Zhou Lingling didn't take the bait; she hesitated for a moment before saying, "There's really no other way. I have a girl from another relative's family here, it's just that she's quite young."

"Make do with it. Anyway, I have to tell you, my groomsmen are all my brothers. It's agreed upon—let's see if they can find partners among your bridesmaids."

Hearing this, Zhou Lingling smiled and said, "Sure. If I see anyone suitable, I'll help introduce them. But I have to say this in advance: don't go overboard with the hazing when the time comes."

"Why are you saying that? Don't worry, they have a sense of propriety. It's a wedding, after all; having some fun is just for the sake of the lively atmosphere. It'll be fine."

Hanging up the phone, Zhou Lingling also felt a bit uncomfortable. That son of her second uncle's family, who supposedly made a lot of money, brought a girl back and wouldn't even help out when asked.

It's not like he just made a little money; acting as if he's something special.

Forget it, better to ask that relative's girl if she's willing first. To think someone wouldn't be happy about such a joyous occasion, and they even get to take a red envelope.

Time in Lincheng always passes very quickly; after returning home, Zhou Yi stopped thinking about this and that.

He just slept until he woke up naturally, then took Zhou Xinran out to stroll around Lincheng.

And today was the day the wedding was to be held.

Zhou Yi got up very early and checked the legal almanac he carried with him. It was a bit strange—on such a grand day, it was actually "suitable for entering prison"... surely Lawyer Fang didn't just write that randomly.

Forget it, no point thinking about it. Anyway, this legal almanac was compiled by Lawyer Fang himself, and the final right of interpretation belonged to him. If he wanted to say today was suitable for entering prison, then it was suitable for entering prison.

Could there be anyone brainless enough to want to have a Debate about it?

He washed up, tidied himself, and put on the clothes Zhou Xinran had picked out. You have to admit, clothes make the man; wearing good clothes, he didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt he looked a bit more handsome.

Coming out of the bedroom, Zhou Xinran was also up, wearing casual clothes. Those who didn't know her would surely think this girl had a very gentle personality.

"Let's go, we have to get there early. We need to be there when they come to pick up the bride," Zhou Yi's mother said quickly from the side.

They went downstairs, drove out, and headed straight for Zhou Yi's uncle's house.

His uncle had bought a house in the Lincheng Development Zone. Yes, you read that right—the very Development Zone that was transformed from a subsidence area.

And what was the most profitable thing in the Development Zone? Naturally, it was real estate.

Arriving at the Small Residential District, they parked the car and went upstairs, only to find that there were already quite a few people in the room.

His uncle and aunt were there, busy entertaining guests.

Zhou Yi could be considered to have attended quite a few weddings, and the differences in customs across the country were vast.

For instance, some places held the wedding banquet at noon, while others held it in the evening.

Or perhaps in some places, the bride wasn't picked up from her maiden home, or the wedding procession couldn't take the same route back, and so on...

Of course, the custom in Lincheng was that the bride stayed at home, which was how Zhou Yi got to see his cousin.

It was just a pity that Zhou Lingling only gave a casual greeting and then didn't speak again.

Zhou Yi didn't pay any mind to that; he found an elder to ask about the subsequent procedures, as he still had to go to the groom's house to escort the bride.

During the conversation, Zhou Yi also saw a few bridesmaids; three were Zhou Lingling's friends, and the remaining one was a relative.

She was also a cousin of his, named Zhou Min.

While Zhou Yi was busy getting the procedures straight, Zhou Xinran was wandering around the room, incidentally attracting a bunch of stares.

No help for it; she had specifically dressed up today. She was already good-looking, and after dressing up intentionally, many people couldn't take their eyes off her.

Some young men had already started asking whose daughter she was, to be so exquisite.

Soon, Zhou Yi figured out the procedures and prepared to go talk to Zhou Lingling, but just at that moment, bursts of rowdy noise erupted outside the door.

"The groom is here to pick up the bride!" someone shouted outside.

According to custom, there was also a rule about blocking the door; basically, they would shove red envelopes in from the outside, and once enough were shoved in, the door would open.

There were also many outrageous things in the process of picking up the bride, such as the bride's side complaining that the red envelopes prepared by the groom were too few and directly pulling out a QR code to demand a scan...

There was nothing you couldn't imagine; there was nothing they wouldn't do.

Fortunately, this time they didn't do that kind of thing; after handing over some red envelopes and showing the right intention, the door was opened.

What followed were some normal procedures, and there were no surprises.

The groom looked quite handsome, but the brothers he brought along gave off a bad impression; they were shouting and yelling, feeling like a bunch of hoodlums.

However, Zhou Yi felt that it was impossible for anything involving jail time to happen; it was a proper wedding, after all, and a very joyous day.

After finishing the procedures and picking up the bride, Zhou Yi naturally had to escort her; they didn't have many relatives escorting her, and according to custom, the wedding cars that came to pick up the bride usually had to be full.

Zhou Yi hesitated for a moment, but Zhou Xinran beside him already said, "Let's go, why are you standing there? I'll go with you and take the opportunity to see how your wedding process works."

Although both were in Handong Province, Lincheng and Jingzhou were just different.

This is normal; look at a certain province, when they go out to provide support, other places do it by province, but over there, they do it by city, county, and even by town...

"Fine, you can come with me, but pay attention when we get there later; sometimes they can be quite excessive with the wedding hazing..."

Zhou Yi still cautioned her.

However, when Zhou Xinran heard his words, her expression was as if she were looking at an idiot: "Excessive hazing? Are you worried I'll be taken advantage of? When have you ever seen me get the short end of the stick?"

Damn, that's true; although Zhou Cainiao had always been a rookie in front of Lawyer Fang, he really hadn't suffered any losses outside.

Just look at those blind date partners who ended up in prison, and you'd know...

"But the only thing I'm worried about is, if they haze too hard, can I do anything? After all, this is your sister's wedding, and I'm an outsider..."

Although Zhou Yi felt that nothing should happen, there was always a "just in case"; if something really were to happen, that would definitely not do.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yi said, "It doesn't matter that it's my sister's wedding; if they go too far, do whatever you have to do!"

He hadn't attended a wedding in Lincheng since graduation, and he didn't know the extent of wedding hazing in Lincheng over the last two years.

He just remembered that people used to haze back then.

The whole way back to the groom's house in the wedding car, they first arrived at the house to perform some rituals, and then they would go to the hotel for the wedding banquet.

It took about ten or twenty minutes to reach the groom's house; it was clear that this family had some money, as this Small Residential District was considered a high-end one in Lincheng.

As the wedding car stopped, Yuan Xiangnan immediately got out; he was one of the groomsmen this time, and according to custom, there had to be hazing upon returning from picking up the bride.

And it wasn't just about hazing; it had to be done on a large scale to be lively.

"Hey, hey, Old Yuan, you went to pick up the bride, how were the bridesmaids? Pretty?" a guy with a lecherous face leaned in and asked.

Yuan Xiangnan looked at the guy and said, "The bridesmaids are all so-so, but let me tell you, there's a girl who came this time who is truly beautiful; I've never seen anyone that pretty!"

"Really, Old Yuan? Where is she? Which car is she sitting in?"

Yuan Xiangnan pointed to the wedding car Zhou Yi and the other were sitting in and said, "Right there. I heard from Brother Chuan that she's a friend brought by the bride's brother. Look, she's getting out!"

Several men looked over in unison and saw Zhou Xinran walk out of the car; her appearance and figure were stunning!

They hadn't expected such a beautiful girl to be there this time!

Immediately, a bunch of streamers and such started spraying wildly; none of the bridesmaids were spared, and they were sprayed all over their heads.

There was no need to even think about their makeup; that stuff would need a special wash.

Naturally, quite a few people took their spray strings and headed straight for Zhou Xinran.

Before they could get close, Zhou Yi hurriedly blocked the front and said, "Don't spray, don't spray. This is my girlfriend, she's here to attend the wedding with me, and she doesn't know the customs here."

One of the men laughed and said, "Brother, it's a joyous day, let's just have some fun, it's not like we're doing anything else."

"Better not. On a joyous day, we want the right atmosphere, right? There's no need to spray people like that."

Zhou Yi tried to persuade them, but the men just kept chuckling.

"This is the bride's brother, right? Come on, brothers, let's spray together, spray together!"

As soon as the words fell, Zhou Yi quickly turned to shield Zhou Xinran, and immediately a bunch of inexplicable stuff was sprayed onto their heads and bodies.

Finally, the spraying stopped, and the men walked away chuckling; even Zhou Yi couldn't say anything about this kind of thing.

After all, it was a joyous day...

Just like the saying "it's the New Year," you can't get angry at this time; if you get angry, it means you can't take a joke.

The wedding hazing over there had only just begun.

The groom carried the bride upstairs, and with all sorts of hazing going on around them, it was inevitable that there would be some contact with the bride.

The bridesmaids tried to protect her, but some were pulled away; Zhou Yi could even see the groom's brothers starting to push and shove, constantly pressing against the bridesmaids.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Xinran also shook her head and said, "If someone hazed like this at my wedding, I think I wouldn't be able to hold back."

Zhou Yi sighed upon hearing this and said, "It depends on the people. Lincheng has always had the custom of wedding hazing, but some people just haze a little to make it lively and create an atmosphere."

"Some people, however, just want to take advantage of the opportunity to get a little touch..."

Fortunately, since they were out in public, even if they were doing something, they restrained themselves; soon the groom and bride went upstairs, and the rituals at the groom's side began again.

According to the rules, Zhou Yi, as an escort, had to sit there and drink tea, so he could only let Zhou Xinran pay attention to herself on the side.

After the rituals outside were finished, the groom and his group were pushed into the bedroom; those young people started shouting and yelling, constantly pulling people into the bedroom.

Zhou Yi watched as his sister, who wasn't very old, was grabbed by two men who were about to drag her into the bedroom, and he couldn't sit still anymore.

He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Wait, this is a relative of my family, she's still young."

As soon as he finished speaking, an older auntie from the groom's side laughed and said, "Oh, it's fine, it's fine. It's a wedding, the livelier the better; it's just for fun."

"Exactly, exactly, let's go, hahaha..."

As they spoke, the two men grabbed the young girl and were about to walk inside.

Zhou Min was only fourteen years old this year; although she didn't look like a child after being dressed up, she had never seen such a scene.

Several men came up and started grabbing her, and not knowing what they were going to do, she suddenly got a bit anxious.

"Let me go, let me go!"

Zhou Yi's expression turned a bit ugly; he entered the bedroom and hurriedly went to find the groom.

"Chuan, talk to your friends and tell them not to haze too hard. Min is not very old, don't haze like this, it's not good."

The groom was laughing there and said upon hearing this, "Oh, Brother, it's fine. They won't go overboard, they're just playing..."

Beside him, Zhou Lingling also smiled and said, "That's right, it's just to liven things up..."

There is one more chapter today, but I will send out the red envelopes first in a moment.

(End of this chapter)