Chapter 145: Scarlet
“Is it from Chen Kai?”
Su Yu was fiddling with the package he had just picked up. After he had torn open the seal, there was a red-bordered photo album inside, with a festive “wedding” character printed on it. “He’s already married, and with Mo Yufei…”
He flipped through a few pages and looked at the man and woman who were embracing and snuggling in the photo. He inexplicably felt a sense of a world-apart separation. Time seemed to have slipped through his fingertips in a daze, and not a single trace had been left. But looking at the man in the photo, who had a smug look on his face, the corners of his lips couldn’t help but rise. “It’s pretty good. This kid is not young anymore. How can he still be so handsome?”
“It’s a pity that I was too busy at that time and couldn’t find the time to go back to attend the wedding.”
Xia Qiange brought a cup of warm milk and handed it to Su Yu. Her body was still stained with the moisture from the bathroom she had just come out of. Her wet hair was wrapped in a dry towel and was tied into a bun, revealing her slender and exquisite collarbone. Her collar was slightly wet, and it looked a little transparent, and a few slight lines were revealed.
She pointed to one of them, and her eyes were wet and were shining with a watery light. She was like a lively little deer, and her eyes were full of longing. “Look at this one. Yufei looks so beautiful in a wedding dress.”
“Yes, you’ll be as beautiful as her soon.”
Su Yu put away the photo album and kissed her on the slightly wet corner of her eye.
It was drizzling outside the window.
…
The rain stopped the next day, and the gloomy clouds were blown away by the wind. The bright and dazzling daylight was suddenly revealed, and the white clouds were like tassels, decorating the clear sky, and the wind and sand had been washed away.
The wedding was today.
The flower baskets in front of the chapel were soaked in the morning water mist, and the flower branches were in full bloom, and they were more and more vibrant and dazzling.
“Are we getting married?”
Su Yu held Xia Qiange’s hand, and his fingertips were warm and soft. He looked around, and everyone’s face was filled with a festive and blessed smile. But every face was strange to him, as if his feet were suspended in the air, and he couldn’t find a real sense of reality.
“Yes, we’re getting married.”
Xia Qiange turned her head and looked at Su Yu, and their gazes met in the cool morning light. She repeated his question and then gave an affirmation.
He looked at the strangers around him again, and he suddenly felt at ease.
“Alright, alright. The bride and groom are not allowed to see each other before the wedding starts. Hurry up and get ready. It’s about to start.”
Xiao Qi was propping up her hands and was struggling to separate the two of them, who were looking at each other. Her mushroom-head hairstyle was swaying. She glared at Su Yu with a bad temper. “You’ll have plenty of time to look at her in the future. Why are you clinging to Qian Ge now? I’ll take her away first.”
Su Yu smiled and let go of the warmth in his palm. He watched as Xiao Qi pulled Xia Qiange away.
“Then… see you later.”
The girl hurriedly turned her head and smiled and waved at him, like the morning sun that was slowly rippling in the sky, beautiful and bright.
“Yeah, I’ll wait for you.”
He had been watching Xia Qiange as she had entered the dressing room in the back. The curve of his lips had paused, and then it had returned to a plain and simple look. From the day the date had been set, he had been looking forward to it for more than a dozen days, but he had not been repaid in full when this day had come.
For some reason, he always felt that something was missing. Perhaps it was an illusion caused by his nervousness, or perhaps it was his greedy desire that was at work. He wanted to give the girl more but couldn’t, so he was guilty, so he was hesitant…
A very good reason. He had been convinced by himself again.
“Sir, your dressing room is over here.”
The etiquette lady pointed to the room on the other side and welcomed him in. He pinched his fingertips, and the slightly astringent pain had brushed away his distracting thoughts. He smiled and nodded, and he had followed the other party in.
The wedding was only for the two of them from beginning to end, and many of the tedious details had been omitted. What was strange was that the girl’s initial importance to the wedding seemed to have only lasted for two or three days. The wedding designs that she had been looking for online for a long time had all been erased because she had found them troublesome. Everything was simplified.
So they had found a wedding company that had a vacancy recently and had chosen the simplest and fastest process. After they had decided on the date and had arranged the venue, it had only taken them a day or two from beginning to end. Besides the wedding dress that had been customized from the beginning, everything else was so simple that it made him feel guilty.
“Sir, do you think it fits?”
Su Yu had come back to his senses in a daze. He had subconsciously loosened his collar and had folded his tie neatly. He had looked up at himself in the mirror. A well-ironed and neat suit had outlined his tall and straight figure. His skin was fair and his face was clean, and his exquisite and three-dimensional features were stunningly beautiful. He was as handsome as an orchid under a step.
He had looked at it for a full few minutes, and the impression was very strange. It was as if the man in the mirror was not him at all.
“Yeah, it fits very well. Um… are they ready over there?”
“Don’t be in such a hurry, groom.” The etiquette lady had withdrawn her surprise at the man in front of her and had covered her lips and had smiled. “The bride’s side always takes a little more effort. There’s still a long time in the future. There’s no need to be in such a hurry.”
Su Yu nodded with a wooden expression. He was envisioning the future, but in the etiquette lady’s eyes, it was as if he were so nervous about the upcoming wedding that he couldn’t speak.
“It’s okay. Just follow the master of ceremonies then.”
“Okay, I know.”
Su Yu immediately smiled and agreed. He inadvertently raised his eyes, and the door of the dressing room was pushed open from the outside. It was another etiquette lady who was waiting in the chapel. Although no invitations had been sent out for this wedding, the wedding planner had still sent an etiquette lady to welcome the guests at the entrance.
“Um, someone has put something next to the gift box. It seems to be a wedding gift from someone.”
The etiquette lady was standing at the door, and she was dragging a red suitcase by her side. A “囍”(double happiness) character was pasted in the center of one side of the leather suitcase, and it was made of a very rough sandpaper.
The square-cut paper was crookedly pasted on the leather suitcase, and the bright red was very unevenly soaked into the paper. It was as if it were exuding a pungent and fishy smell. It was baring its fangs and brandishing its claws like a monster, and it had torn apart the color that should have been festive.
“Is there a mistake? We haven’t invited anyone to the wedding, nor have we sent out any invitations…”
“I don’t think so. There seems to be a signature on it. It says ‘Mr. Su, Miss Xia, please accept…'”
The etiquette lady murmured a few words and suddenly realized something. Her face turned pale. Such a strange thing had happened before the wedding started. The guests might not be happy and might not want to hold it. She began to regret that she had rushed over to ask.
She hurriedly turned and left. “Then since it’s not, I’ll go and deal with it first…”
“Wait…”
Su Yu suddenly called out to the etiquette lady who was turning and leaving. He quickly walked up. “Let me see first.”
“Mr. Su, this… the wedding is about to start.” The etiquette lady had a bitter face, and her palm, which was holding the handle of the suitcase, was covered in sweat.
“It’s okay. I’ll just take a look. It might be a gift for the bride.”
Su Yu pressed his hand on the suitcase, and his eyebrows and eyes were gentle and relaxed. The corners of his lips were slightly curved, but his hand was extremely forceful as he snatched the suitcase.
He looked down at the tightly closed lock on the leather suitcase. The strangeness that had been suppressed in his heart since the beginning of the wedding suddenly began to stir. He seemed to hear a voice murmuring in his ear, and his vision was slowly sinking into the red in the center of the leather suitcase. He twitched his nose, and the wind seemed to be mixed with a faint and fishy smell of blood.
Something that was floating was slowly being compressed.
His trembling fingertips, the lock was gently opened.
“Ding-dong…”
The phone suddenly rang, and he was pulled out of his trance.
The inner lining was wet and sticky on his back. Su Yu took out his phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen. It was a call from the police station.
“Hello?”
“Hello, is this Mr. Su? I need to inform you of something. Ms. Zhou Lan, that is, the suspect who is suspected of trespassing and harassing your family, jumped to her death yesterday…”
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