October 2, 2015, National Day holiday.
At Yicheng International Hotel, a banquet hall was decorated as a wedding venue, and large photos of the bride and groom were displayed at the entrance guide.
"Congratulations to the groom Tan Jincheng & bride Li Jingxian, wishing you a harmonious union for a hundred years!"
Next to the photos, there was also a table covered with red cloth, with several men sitting in front of it.
This was the gift receiving area.
At this time, a man wearing a light yellow POLO shirt, black casual trousers, with a black leather bag tucked under his armpit, and holding the latest iPhone 6S in his hand, quickly walked towards this side.
"Zhang Xupeng, ten thousand yuan gift money."
The man said as he took out a wad of cash from his leather bag.
This person was Zhang Xupeng, Tan Jincheng's good friend who grew up with him, was his classmate from kindergarten all the way to high school, and later started a business together.
"A big boss is indeed different, right away it's ten thousand yuan in gift money!"
The person responsible for collecting the money was a paternal uncle of Tan Jincheng's clan, and naturally knew Zhang Xupeng.
"Uncle, stop teasing me, what kind of big boss am I? Isn't it because Little Tan is different? I wouldn't give this much to other friends."
Zhang Xupeng laughed heartily.
It was indeed different.
The gift money among friends in Yicheng was not this high, but Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng were not biological brothers, yet they were closer than brothers.
For 30 years, except for when they were ignorant children and fought over each other's snacks, they had never truly fallen out.
After graduating from high school, the two of them sold boxed lunches together for several years, never quarreling over splitting the money.
Later, they partnered to open a large restaurant, and it wasn't until Zhang Xupeng got married that Tan Jincheng withdrew from the restaurant's operations and started something new.
Even then, the two never had disputes over interests, and their relationship had always been the focus of conversation for both families after meals.
Just as Zhang Xupeng was chatting leisurely at the gift receiving area, a man in a suit, whose eyebrows resembled Gu Tianle's, walked out of the hall.
The man was full of vigor and immediately laughed when he saw Zhang Xupeng,
"Damn it, why are you only just arriving? I thought you wouldn't be able to make it back."
"You're the groom today, so be more civil, alright? I rushed back, leaving such a profitable National Day behind and not doing business, that's enough to show I care about you."
"Bullshit, I helped you for several days for your wedding, and even acted as your best man. When I get married, you just show up to eat, and you still have the nerve to talk about your broken restaurant."
"Alright, alright, your export factory is booming now, you definitely look down on my restaurant, you're awesome, happy now?"
The clan uncle responsible for collecting gifts couldn't listen anymore,
"Alright, alright, keep your mouths clean on such a joyous day. Those who know you two well will say your relationship is good; those who don't will think you're fighting. Jincheng, what are you doing out here? Aren't you inside with your in-laws?"
"Oh, my dad said relatives from our hometown have arrived, so he told me to go out and greet them."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tan Jincheng grinned and asked the clan uncle,
"Uncle, how much did Little Zhang give?"
"Here, see for yourself, Little Zhang is quite generous, he gave you ten thousand yuan."
"That's more like it. I'm going down now. Little Zhang, you go in and help me entertain the guests. Your wife is also helping inside."
"Who are you calling Little Zhang? I'm half a year older than you, alright? No manners."
"Go, go, go, I don't have time for you, I need to go greet guests. I said you got married early just so you wouldn't have to be my best man, but seeing as you gave ten thousand yuan, I'll forgive you."
"Are you crazy? Unless we get married on the same day, someone will always miss out on being a best man. Why didn't you find a girlfriend a few years ago? Wasn't your deskmate quite good? Why were you like a fool back then, showing no reaction at all?"
"Holy crap! Are you sick? I'm getting married today and you're spreading rumors about me. Don't talk nonsense inside!"
Tan Jincheng cursed with a laugh, then ignored him and turned to go downstairs to greet people.
Zhang Xupeng cursed at the clan uncle with a laugh,
"Uncle, look at this, my wife is helping him inside, and now I have to go entertain guests, and I even have to pay ten thousand yuan, eat his banquet, and still get cursed at. Is there any justice!"
"Alright, alright, hurry up and go in; say less, just go in quickly. Your Mandarin is better, go inside and entertain Jincheng's in-laws."
The clan uncle just wanted him to leave quickly; their bickering was giving him a headache.
Both of them were 30 years old, yet they were still like children.
There were many relatives from their hometown.
According to local customs, for a happy event like his wedding, anyone at home could come.
For this reason, Tan Jincheng's father, Tan Lihua, specifically chartered two minibusses to their hometown to pick up relatives.
The wedding night, the time of success in imperial examinations.
Tan Jincheng didn't experience success in imperial examinations, but getting married today, Tan Jincheng truly felt that his life was complete.
Having just turned 30, he had a successful career, a car and a house, and now he had married a beautiful wife 6 years younger than him, who was also from the Imperial Capital.
The children they would have in the future could study in the Imperial Capital, without having to struggle in Anhui or Zhejiang provinces.
Speaking of his acquaintance with his wife, Li Jingxian, it was quite an extraordinary fate.
Unlike other small bosses, Boss Tan's usual hobby was reading online novels, often using fragmented time to read them on Qidian to pass the time.
Occasionally, for books he particularly liked, he would join some reader groups, though he didn't have much time to chat.
But it was precisely in a reader group that he met his wife.
Boss Tan, whose business was thriving, certainly had high emotional intelligence, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to do business.
But when it came to marriage, for some unknown reason, it never worked out, which was a headache for his parents.
However, the Bodhisattva closed the door, but seemingly forgot to close the window.
Boss Tan snagged a wife in a book club group! He got into an online romance!
He remembered it was New Year's Eve four years ago, when smartphones were just emerging.
Boss Tan, who loved surfing the internet, unusually chatted in a reader group all night.
26-year-old Tan Jincheng met 20-year-old Li Jingxian.
Initially, our Boss Tan thought Li Jingxian was a man.
Where would women reading male-oriented novels come from? Impossible.
He spoke without much restraint, until the second year after QQ groups launched voice chat.
Li Jingxian, who had become familiar with them, sang a song in the group on a whim, and only then did our Boss Tan realize there really was a woman!
Voice-controlled? Apparently not.
The Imperial Capital accent and tone weren't particularly melodious, but it seemed to have truly struck a chord in Tan Jincheng's heart.
Perhaps he had enlightened.
Tan Jincheng immediately sent a friend request to Li Jingxian.
Before that, they had only chatted in the group, never adding each other as friends.
Thus, he opened up.
Although he had dealt with relationships before, Tan Jincheng, who had never seriously dated, used various methods to obtain Li Jingxian's information, never considering if there was a dinosaur or a scammer behind the phone screen.
Quite sci-fi, right? Reality is more sci-fi than novels.
The two really did get to know each other little by little this way, and it was a genuine online romance.
In the second half of 2012, the two met for the first time in the Imperial Capital.
Tan Jincheng was 27, Li Jingxian was 21.
Fate was very kind to the two young people and didn't play jokes on them.
Tan Jincheng's gaze was fixed on Li Jingxian, dressed in a white wedding gown, as she was slowly led towards him by her father.
Three years of online dating plus a long-distance relationship, occasional meetings, mutual trust, finally came to fruition; it was tough, but not melodramatic.
If life was only like the first sight!
(End of chapter)