Soft, ethereal piano music started playing in the background. Nobody had heard this music before.
The eyes of Enrique Valdez, Maestro Ludovico De Luca and JJ all lit up. They seemed to guess right away who composed the original piece. Maestro De Luca closed his eyes and started moving his fingers as he imagined himself playing the same music on a piano.
“How exquisite,” he whispered.
“Her skills have improved again,” Enrique Valdez murmured.
JJ nodded.
Everyone was standing up and looking at one direction as the wedding procession finally started.
First to walk down the aisle was the groom, Jin Liwei. He was wearing a custom-made tailored deep-grey tuxedo suit with an emerald-green necktie. He stopped just before reaching the edge of the pond.
Following him were his two best men. His younger brother Jin Chonglin and his fifth brother Lu Zihao. The two men walked together in the same custom-made dark-green tuxedo suits but still managed to evoke completely different vibes from each other. They stood behind Jin Liwei.
Next to walk were the groomsmen—Lin Yehan, Wang Yingjie and Yu Mo. They also wore the same tuxedo suits as Jin Chonglin and Lu Zihao but with simpler boutonnières on their lapels.
There was a delightful thrumming of a harp and tinkling of tiny crystal bells as the soft music smoothly changed and began sounding more magical. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you’re not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It’s very discouraging to see thieves profiting from my hard work. Please support the original author, ArriaCross. Thank you! Also follow me on Instagram @arriacross]
The bridesmaids also started walking—Jiang Ying Yue, Long Jinjing, Chen Fei, Meimei and Clover. They were all wearing the same brilliant forest-green dresses but in different styles and carrying draping bouquets of wildflowers and decorative greens.
Next was the man of honour—Dom. He was wearing a tuxedo suit in the same forest-green colour as the bridesmaids’ dresses. Unlike Jin Liwei and the groomsmen’s simple boutonnières, Dom had a more elaborate boutonnière pinned on his lapel that looked like a mini and simple version of the bridesmaids’ draping wildflower bouquets.
Following him was the adorable Little Jun who was carrying a delicate lace pillow that had two ring boxes fixed on top. He was wearing a light grey tuxedo suit in the same style as Jin Liwei’s outfit. His mother, Jiang Ying Yue, was waving at him and silently encouraging him at the front. Although the toddler was still very young, he remembered his mother and aunties’ repeated instructions to follow closely behind his Uncle Dom. And that was what he did.
After Little Jun were the flower kitties. Ice Cream and Popcorn wore emerald-green collars while their catsitters carried them and threw wildflower petals on the aisle at the same time. Behind them were another two people who some recognized as staff from the mansion. They were each carrying a large tablet. One showed a white cat while the other one a black cat. These cats were also wearing the same emerald-green collars as their older cat siblings before them. The staff carrying the tablets were also throwing wildflower petals on the aisle.
When all of these people finished walking, the anticipation was at the highest. The magical music winded down before finally stopping.
Silence.
Jin Liwei’s eyes were trained in only one direction. He couldn’t see her yet but he could already sense her presence. It felt like there was a magnet inside of him reacting to a magnet inside of her and their magnets were pulling at each other. If he didn’t know that he was supposed to stay here and wait for her, he would’ve already hurried towards her and carried her down the aisle himself. Now he knew why wedding rehearsals were necessary.
“Chill a little, Big Bro,” he heard his younger brother whispering to him. “You’re almost vibrating from overexcitement. Stay cool.”
However, Jin Chonglin’s words somehow failed to register inside Jin Liwei’s mind. All he could think about at the moment was his wife. He hadn’t seen her since they returned home from the Civil Affairs Bureau yesterday because his brother-in-law Nikolai blocked them from seeing each other before today’s official ceremonial wedding.
Then new music started playing in the background. This time, it wasn’t just a simple tune. It sounded like it was played by a full symphony orchestra but still sounded ethereal and magical like the piano tune earlier. However, this music sounded fuller, more complete, and absolutely romantic. Although there were no words being sung, it was as if everyone could feel the passionate love through the beautiful melody. Many eyes already started watering from just the music alone and the bride hadn’t even appeared yet.
When the music soared for the first time, it was at this moment that the bride finally appeared.
Everyone’s eyes seemed to only focus on her. Some didn’t even realize that Long Tengfei was walking beside her because her appearance and presence strongly pulled everyone’s attention.
Long Tengfei had been called earlier and left before the start of the wedding procession. Now he was back but only a few noticed his presence because his daughter was just too breathtaking.
As for Iris, she paused just before reaching the aisle. Her eyes were only looking at one person—her husband, Jin Liwei.
Before this, she felt extremely calm and at peace. Now, however, she felt her heart skipping a beat as soon as she laid her eyes on Jin Liwei. Then it started racing inside her chest.
How was this possible?
She felt herself falling in love more deeply with him.
How much more deeply could she love another person?
She wanted to run to him because she couldn’t wait anymore. However, a firm hold on her arm pulled her back.
“Slow down, my daughter,” Long Tengfei’s voice managed to penetrate through her mind. He sounded a little choked up but was trying his hardest to control his own emotions. “I’ll bring you to him, I promise. But for now, allow your father to enjoy this short moment with my daughter before I give you away to your man.”
Iris found her eyes suddenly watering after hearing his words. It confused her at first but then she realized that although her soul was Evelina, her body still originally belonged to Long Xiulan and it reacted to her father’s words.
