Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
However, Ning Yaohua's status was very different now. Even if he were delighted in his heart, he maintained a reserved look. When he saw that Ning Xueluo and Zhuang Lingyu had walked over to them, he did not rush to walk up. Instead, he responded to the praises of the crowd as he waited for the congratulatory wishes from the Zhuang family.
Under all of the guests' watchful scrutiny, the bride, Ning Xueluo, had personally gone over to greet them at the hall entrance, she intimately called out, "Cousin, Aunty... This way please..."
When she finished, she did not forget to introduce them to Su Yan, "Bro Yan, this is my cousin and my aunt. I've told you about them before..."
Cousin!Aunt!
When the other guests who were still not familiar about the Nings' and the Zhuangs' relationship heard Ning Xueluo's address, there was the unmistakable rise and fall of gasps.
In fact, this time, Ning Xueluo was very high-profile. She did not hold back voice when addressing them too as she was practically afraid that the others would not hear it.
Initially, if it were just Zhuang Keer who had come, she would be afraid that the others would know about the truth of why she was there. In turn, she definitely would have been more low-profile and bring her to a place where no onc would not hear them speak. She would have made it more obscure and ambiguous. It was best for others to misunderstand if that were the case, but now, she did not need to do that at all!
Su Yan's mother was eager too. "Madam Zhuang, what a surprise to see you here too. Ms. Zhuang is really getting prettier by the day..."
At the entrance, just as Ning Xueluo and Su Yan's mother were enthusiastically making small talk, Meng Linlang finally spoke.
Meng Linlang glanced past the people before her indifferently as she would look at a stranger, then her beautiful brows wrinkled slightly and she turned towards Zhuang Keer beside her. "Keer, who are they? Do you know them?"Zhuang Keer was further bewildered, but she put on an innocent expression. "I don't know either. I don't know them... Mother, let's go, if we're any later we won't be able to make it!"
Meng Linlang nodded, then allowed herself to be pulled away by Zhuang Keer. They made their way upstairs without turning their heads back at all...
Ning Xueluo, Zhuang Lingyu, Su Yan's mother, Su Yan, Ning Yaohua... and all the guests behind them were speechless.
There had been at least more than ten seconds of silence before the huge hall of people who had been ditched started to react...
What... What was going on?
Did Madam Zhuang and Miss Zhuang just say that they did not even know them at all?
In fact, the two of them were not even there to attend Ning Xueluo's wedding. It seemed that were only passing by when they walked to the entrance!
Su Yan's mother was confused and seemed to not be able to regain her senses from the unforeseen scenario. She could not even mask her tone that was filled with anxiousness as she shouted at the waiters at the entrance, "What did Miss Zhuang and Madam Zhuang say to you earlier?"
The waiters were dumbfounded as well but they nervously answered, "N-nothing... Earlier, Madam and Miss were just asking for directions..."
What? Asking for directions?
This scene from earlier was heard clearly by everyone present. Very soon, amidst the whispers, all the guests found out that Madam Zhuang and Miss Zhuang were not even there to attend Ning Xueluo's wedding.
"Oh my God... What is happening? I'm completely confused..."
"Don't you understand? The Zhuang family is not related to the Ning family at all. Hmm, okay, whether or not they're related, based on the Zhuangs' attitude, the point is that they definitely aren't planning to be related to the Nings. From the start to the end, it was just the Ning family's own wishful thinking!"
"Pfft, this is funny... Even if Ning Xueluo wanted to put a feather in her own cap, she didn't need to tell such lies, did she?"
"Who knows!? It could also be possible that the Zhuang family did actually agree, but they backed out halfway through. It's even more likely that purely because the Zhuang family is hostile towards the Nings, they intentionally embarassed the latter with their show of strength!"
"Haha, this is truly a case of trying to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it [1]..."
...
[1] "trying to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it" - an idiom to mean: to try to gain an advantage only to end up worse off