Chapter 324: The Ritualistic Feeling of the Wedding Night!

The guests dispersed one after another.

Tang Ye noticed a detail: Jiang Jing and Zhou Chengwu had specifically waited until Tang Ye and Du Xi finished the toasting process before leaving, which clearly showed how much importance the two placed on it.

Tang Ye asked Wan Ming to take Hong Ruilin back to his residence.

Wan Ming smiled and accepted the order.

Today's wedding allowed Wan Ming to witness Tang Ye's foundation and potential.

It also indirectly gave Wan Ming a chance to show his face.

Returning to Xiyue Garden, the house was brightly lit.

Seven or eight close elders were sitting around, and both sets of parents were among them.

Du Xiaofeng looked at the lively room, and a sour feeling couldn't help but rise in her heart.

Compared to when her own daughter got married, the scale and atmosphere of today's wedding banquet were superior.

At the main table, several City Leaders were chatting and laughing.

In Du Xiaofeng's eyes, this honor was undoubtedly due to the status of her older brother, Du Chengfeng.

It had nothing to do with Tang Ye.

The Tang Family was basking in the Du Family's glory!

"Even the Municipal Party Secretary came to the wedding in person! Xie Miao, you must get along well with Du Xi in the future; these are all solid connections and resources." Du Xiaofeng lowered her voice to instruct her daughter.

Xie Miao glanced at her mother with feigned annoyance and reminded her in a low voice, "Mom, watch the occasion when you speak; some things should be said at home."

Since joining Haihua Group, Xie Miao's career path had been quite smooth.

Thanks to Zhu Junting's care, the few projects she was in charge of, while not arduous, often involved dealings with government departments.

At the wedding banquet, taking the opportunity of the toasts, she cleverly introduced herself to several leaders, laying a foundation of connections for her future work without leaving a trace.

After the last guest left, Tang Ye and Du Xi sat side by side on the wedding bed and poured out all the red envelopes from the bag.

The two worked in coordination, one focused on recording the guests' names, the other carefully counting the amount of the gift money.

"A total of 23,800 yuan; the hotel expenses plus cigarettes and alcohol cost 18,500 yuan. Other people make money when they get married, but we, on the contrary, actually lost money." Du Xi looked at the ledger, her tone full of complexity.

Among the ten or so tables of the banquet, it had been agreed in advance not to accept gift money from colleagues.

Tang Ye couldn't help but laugh and comforted her, "Look at it from another angle; isn't this a good thing? Relying on a wedding to collect wealth inevitably invites criticism."

Du Xi carefully put the money away and said, "Tomorrow, give this money to Mom; there were many relatives and friends here today, and she will have to handle the social interactions in the future."

Tang Ye shook his head with a smile, "You should keep it; Mom won't take it."

In the room, the soft light reflected on the two of them.

In their warm conversation, the newlyweds' expectations and plans for their future life were hidden.

After counting the red envelopes, Tang Ye was exhausted and lay flat on the bed.

Du Xi's mental state was better than Tang Ye's; she went to take a shower first, and when she returned, Tang Ye had already fallen into a deep sleep, his mouth emitting a slight snoring sound.

Tang Ye was startled awake by the movement beside him and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth with a smile, "I drank quite a bit today and got up early, so I just fell asleep."

Du Xi said with a smile, "Then hurry up and go to sleep!"

Tang Ye shook his head, "That won't do; today is our wedding night, and the most important ritual must not be skipped."

A blush appeared on Du Xi's face, and she whispered, "Mm! Tonight, just count sheep once..."

The night was deep, and Li Guozheng pushed open the door to his home, swaying.

The strong smell of alcohol instantly permeated the entire room.

Zhang Ayi frowned and walked up to him, her face full of displeasure: "How much did you drink? How did you get this drunk?"

Li Guozheng slumped onto the sofa, rolled his eyes in annoyance, and mumbled incoherently: "It's all those two guys, Dean Lu and Qi Pingsheng; they kept going with their drinking, and they forced me to drink all night."

As he spoke, he loosened his shirt collar, his flushed face full of exhaustion and dissatisfaction.

Zhang Ayi turned to pour a glass of water and handed it to him, unable to suppress her curiosity as she asked: "By the way, how was the wedding tonight? Was it lively?"

"Lively?" Li Guozheng sneered, gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, and said with disdain, "There were only ten tables in total, and they added three more at the last minute; it was cold and cheerless, not even as good as our department's team-building event."

Zhang Ayi showed a look of sudden realization and said softly, "After all, their in-laws are government leaders; if the wedding were too flashy, it would easily cause trouble. Being low-key is something they can't help."

"Hmph!" Li Guozheng sneered, "Many colleagues at the hospital didn't even receive invitations; now they are all bad-mouthing Old Tang behind his back for putting on airs."

"So what if they bad-mouth him?" Zhang Ayi curled her lips in annoyance, "He is a Vice President now; does he need to please anyone? The people who want to curry favor with him are about to break down his threshold."

Li Guozheng opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

After a long silence, he suddenly gritted his teeth and said: "When Li Qin gets married, we must hold a grand one, at least fifty tables!"

Zhang Ayi looked at her husband's distorted face, feeling a pang of bitterness in her heart.

For so many years, he and Tang Yu had been secretly competing.

Back then, she gave birth to a daughter, and Qin Lan gave birth to a son; if it weren't for the family planning policy, he probably would have kept making her give birth until she had a boy.

"The children are all married now; why do you still have to dwell on the past?" Zhang Ayi persuaded him softly.

"It's not me competing!" Li Guozheng suddenly flew into a rage, "It's Old Tang who has always held a grudge about the past; I have never taken him seriously!"

Xiao Hui took a deep breath and pushed open the door as the lock clicked.

Tonight's wedding of Tang Ye and Du Xi was like a heavy hammer striking her heart.

When she stepped into the venue, the room full of City Leaders made her almost dizzy.

This scene formed a glaring contrast with her and Shao Jinbo's wedding.

Back then, at their wedding, Shao Jinbo's uncle acting as the Witness was already the highest standard of the whole event; although the number of guests far exceeded tonight's wedding, it had a sense of being small-time.

Xiao Hui came from an ordinary background, and her parents were common people making a living in the streets; in their eyes, their daughter marrying Shao Jinbo was already a great blessing, even bordering on marrying up.

But at this moment, her heart was full of bitterness and unwillingness.

Shao Jinbo leaned back against the sofa, his drunken, hazy gaze sweeping over Xiao Hui's lonely figure as a mocking smirk curled his lips: "What? Were you provoked?"

Xiao Hui's voice was cold and biting: "If you went to see it with your own eyes, you would know just how vast the gap between people can be."

Shao Jinbo tilted his head back and downed a mouthful of alcohol, malice churning in the depths of his eyes: "Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? It's a pity, though; you're tied to me for the rest of your life."

Xiao Hui let out a cold snort and turned to walk toward the bathroom.

The knuckles of the hand Shao Jinbo used to grip his wine glass turned white from the force, his eyes filled with raging jealousy.

He could absolutely not tolerate Tang Ye leaving him far behind.

Recalling the private instructions his uncle gave him a few days ago, Shao Jinbo's gaze suddenly sharpened.

This was an opportunity sufficient to change his fate.

As long as he seized it!

He would have a chance to turn the tide of defeat.