Chapter 371: 143 Wedding Banquet, Unexpected Guest (Part 2)_1
On the other side of the phone, the voice was very respectful, “Mr. Chen, I was just about to leave.”

“Fine, I’ve sent you the address,” Director Chen said and then hung up the phone.

It’s just that he had no spare invitations.

Director Chen didn’t contact Xu En, he only sent a message to Bai Lian to inquire about the invitation.

Bai Lian was in class at the moment, and he didn’t dare to call her.

One minute later.

Miss Bai: [1]

Only after getting a reply did Director Chen start the car and leave.

**

Bai Lian and Ning Xiao’s group of three didn’t leave until nearly ten o’clock.

“Where are you going?” Wang Xu was unaware that they intended to leave early, “Today is the last day.”

“Something came up,” Tang Ming spoke for the other two, patting Wang Xu on the shoulder, “We’re going to a wedding, remember to send us the recording.”

“Sure,” Wang Xu nodded vigorously, patting his chest, “Today’s lecture is on physics, Pei Qin’s specialty, I’ll make sure he prepares it well for you guys.”

“Thanks,” Tang Ming punched his arm.

Yu Guang saw Bai Lian and Ning Xiao walking away and immediately grabbed his backpack to catch up.

Chang’an District was separated from the Yunxiao Hotel by Xingjiang District, and if traffic was bad, it could take more than an hour to get there.

By the time they went downstairs, Jiang Fulai and Jiang He were already waiting in the car.

“Professor Jiang,” upon seeing Jiang Fulai, Tang Ming and Ning Xiao instinctively straightened their backs.

“Hmm,” Jiang Fulai responded indifferently, then his gaze shifted to Bai Lian, “Are you really going back tonight?”

“Yes,” Bai Lian had already packed her things, leaning lazily against the chair back, speaking to Jiang Fulai, “I have to rush back before the New Year; it’s a bit hurried.”

Flying from Jiangjing to Beicheng took half a day, and a train from Beicheng to Xiangcheng also took 12 hours.

Initially, Xu En thought about having the Ji Family stay in Jiangjing for the New Year.

But Ji Heng and Ji Shaojun disagreed.

Not to mention them, Ning Xiao and Tang Ming also need to hurry back for the New Year, as they had no relatives in Jiangjing.

Today, because there were many people, Jiang Fulai had a stretch executive car brought out.

Bai Lian sat in one row with him while behind them was a booth seat where Jiang He and Ning Xiao sat, eating fruit.

When Bai Lian mentioned going back, Jiang He, who was being fed grapes by Tang Ming, immediately crawled over and leaned behind Jiang Fulai’s seat, staring at Bai Lian.

He was pushed away by a finger from Jiang Fulai.

Jiang Fulai’s fingertips rested on a folder, though he hadn’t flipped through a single page, only calmly calculating the time, “There’s no need to rush.”

“But there’s not enough time.”

Boyuan Base also finished today.

They had a flight at nine o’clock tonight to Beicheng, and from there they would have to catch an early morning train to Xiangcheng the following day, arriving only in the evening.

Jiang Fulai tapped the folder intermittently, his expression cool, his voice clear and distinct, “Leave at six o’clock tomorrow morning, I just happen to be going back to the lab for a bit.”

Bai Lian: “…”

That really is just right.

She leisurely took out her phone to call Xu Wenyao.

Xu Wenyao took a minute to answer the phone, “Hello, Alian, it’s a bit noisy and I didn’t hear, are you there yet?”

“Not yet,” Bai Lian said unhurriedly, “I have one guest here without an invitation, could you help me check on it when the time comes?”

“Without an invitation, what’s his name?” Xu Wenyao inquired.

“Surname Shen, called Shen Min.”

Xu Wenyao wrote down the name on a sticky note, “Okay, I got it.”

**

Yunxiao Hotel, wedding venue.

Ji Mulan was getting married from the hotel, taking a round to Xu En’s new house and then returning to the hotel’s wedding venue

At this time, the guests were arriving one by one, with Xu En and Xu Wenyao both outside greeting the guests.

Xu En had invited all his staff in Jiangjing to the event, plus some friends from the industry, classmates, and relatives, totalling several hundreds of people. Even if the greetings started at nine o’clock, and he met three or four people a minute, it would still take three hours.

The hotel was clearly well-versed in handling such a large event, assigning twenty hosts and dozens of servers, making it seem not too busy.

Madam Xu arrived not too late either.

She arrived at the wedding venue at ten o’clock, assisted by the Xu Family butler, sitting majestically in the main seat at the table set up under the stage for the wedding.

Ji Mulan was getting her makeup done in the back, she heard that Madam Xu had arrived.

She went forward to greet her, and surprisingly, she too was nervous, “Madam Xu, why have you come?”

She had thought that Madam Xu wouldn’t come today.

The wrinkles on Madam Xu’s face were deep, exuding an intimidating presence that made people reluctant to look directly at her, she didn’t respond to Ji Mulan, scanning the room instead, “Haven’t seen the person yet?”

She had come so early just to wait for Bai Lian.

With the day so lively and the setting so grand, Madam Xu felt that Bai Lian and her company would arrive very early, which is why she had come in advance.

Butler Xu swept a glance at Ji Mulan and respectfully bowed, “She hasn’t come.”

Ji Mulan had known all along about Madam Xu’s attitude and didn’t mind. If Madam Xu had easily accepted her, she would have suspected something fishy.

“Madam,” people from the Xu Clan walked around to greet Madam Xu, then looked towards Ji Mulan, “Congratulations.”

Madam Xu looked at the other party and spoke indifferently, “Uncle, please sit here. We haven’t seen each other for a long time, let’s have a chat.”

The Xu family uncle glanced at the main table and hesitated, “This…”

Madam Xu looked down and noticed the “Groom’s and Bride’s Parents’ Table” sign in the middle of the table. She raised her eyes, signaling Butler Xu with a glance. Butler Xu immediately removed the two signs.

They were replaced with “Groom’s Table.”

And under this table, the sign for “Bride’s Table” was set up.

“Sit,” Madam Xu said, looking towards the uncle, who now sat down at the groom’s table without hesitation and with a smile.

There was nothing to hesitate about.

If this had been the Qi Family, the Xu family members would have been cautious.

But now, it was the Ji Family…

Madam Xu and the others all knew what kind of person Ji Mulan was. For Ji Mulan’s father to want to sit at a table with Madam Xu would indeed be a step down.

Ji Mulan pressed her lips together, standing aside.

Just then, Ji Heng and Ji Shaojun among others had just arrived at the wedding site.

It was said that this was the bride’s relative, and Ji Heng was the bride’s father. The etiquette lady led Ji Heng to Madam Xu’s table, while Ji Shaojun and Shen Qing sat at the table behind.

Ji Heng held a smoking pipe. Today, he was wearing a black robe with the character for fortune, looking festive, and his presence was not overshadowed by the Xu family members dressed in their fine suits.

Madam Xu was lowering her head, turning a string of Buddha Beads in her right hand, her expression cold and indifferent, not lifting her eyelids.

“Excuse me,” Butler Xu said with a smile while turning over the sign on the table towards Ji Heng and the etiquette lady, “This is the groom’s table. The bride’s table is in the back.”

He indicated the table where Ji Shaojun sat, speaking politely.

“But…” Ji Mulan had not opted for a traditional Chinese wedding. Her hair was only half-done, and her complexion was somewhat dark. She wanted to say something to Butler Xu.

She was stopped by Ji Heng, “It’s fine.”

Ji Heng turned and sat down next to Ji Shaojun, lifting his chin towards Ji Mulan, “Go on with what you’re doing, don’t mention it to Xu En.”

Ji Shaojun reminded Ji Heng, “Dad, your phone is ringing.”

The scene was noisy, so Ji Heng could not hear the ringtone, but Ji Shaojun saw the light from his phone in his pocket.

Ji Heng took out the old man’s phone, it was Director Chen, “Hello, Xiaochen.”

“Uncle Ji,” Director Chen was still driving, “I’ll be there soon. I didn’t come with Miss Bai.”

“Alright,” Ji Heng lit his smoking pipe, squinting as he took a puff, “We’re all here.”

Ji Mulan looked at Ji Heng sitting at the second table and then at Madam Xu’s attitude.

She felt very congested in her heart.

“Go back,” Shen Qing glanced at Ji Mulan cautiously, knowing full well his own standing. The seating arrangement made by the Ren Family for him previously had been even more outrageous than today’s.

**

Outside the door.

Xu En was still greeting guests, and Xu Shujie was looking at the guest list beside him. When she flipped to the Qi Family, her expression changed slightly, and she whispered into Xu En’s ear, “Not a single person from the Qi Family has come, I haven’t seen Shuyun or Madam Qi.”

Everyone had seen the hints between Qi Shuyun and Xu Wenyao.

People thought Qi Shuyun would marry into the Xu Family. This time, Mr. Qi indeed wouldn’t come for Xu En’s re-marriage, but both Shuyun and Madam Qi had said they would be present.

After all, it was a big event for Xu En.

Upon hearing this, Xu En greeted the other guests with a calm appearance, while speaking to Xu Shujie, “It’s probably because of Wenyao.”

“Should we have Wenyao call Shuyun?” Xu Shujie was somewhat worried, “It doesn’t matter if Madam Qi doesn’t come, but Shuyun’s absence…”

“No need,” Xu En was firm, “If they don’t want to come, then let it be.”

Seeing Xu En so resolute, Xu Shujie took out her phone and sent a message to Shuyun—

[Shuyun, the wedding is about to start.]

The other party didn’t reply immediately.

Xu Shujie sighed.

Just as she was about to say something, she looked up to see a man in his forties lingering at the welcome area. She quickly went up to him, “District Chief Shen? How did you come here?”

“Hello,” District Chief Shen didn’t know Xu Shujie but had seen Xu En and was very polite, “Mr. Xu, I didn’t realize this is your wedding. Congratulations.”

Xu Shujie looked at Xu En in shock.

Wait, Xu En had even invited the district chief from Mingfeng District?

Had the Xu Family become stronger behind her back?

Xu En was also startled by District Chief Shen. He put aside what he was doing, “District Chief Shen, are you here on official business?”

His family had no connection to the political world, nor the channels for it.

Xu En was puzzled, too.

Right at that moment, Xu Wenyao approached, carrying a sticky note for Xu Shujie and Xu En, “Dad, Alian says there’s a guest with the surname Shen called Shen Min, a gentleman. I haven’t seen him here; you and auntie keep an eye out.”

Xu Shujie and Xu En hadn’t had time to process it yet.

“That would be me,” Shen Min looked up, giving a slight nod towards Mr. Xu, “I don’t have official business today, I am here to attend the wedding banquet. I apologize for the sudden intrusion, and for disturbing you, Mr. Xu.”