Chapter 26 – I Do

In the afternoon, the ceremony in the pool hall officially began.

Zhou Ziyi had no parents or relatives present, and Yan Xiuzhi’s biological father did not attend, the part where “the bride is escorted by his father” was canceled, and it was replaced with two newlyweds entering hand in hand.

After getting their hair and makeup done, Zhou Ziyi and Yan Xiuzhi stood in the indoor waiting area.

Zhou Ziyi had already put on his white gloves, holding a bouquet of pink roses in one hand, while the other hand seemed to be hanging down but he was actually tapping it one by one, and reviewing various precautions one by one. He kept his head down, pacing back and forth in place. The makeup artist who did the final touch-up for Yan Xiuzhi glanced at Zhou Ziyi and smiled, “Mr. Zhou is nervous.”

Yan Xiuzhi also took a look and, after the touch-up, walked toward the young man.

“Don’t keep going back and forth.”

The CEO stopped in front of Zhou Ziyi and looked at him. “Nervous?”

“Um, a little.” Zhou Ziyi stopped and sighed lightly. “I’m a bit worried about making a mistake in the process later…”

Yan Xiuzhi said, “You’ve confirmed and checked all of this many times. Are you still afraid of making a mistake?”

“Rationally, I know that’s the case, but I just can’t help it emotionally.” Zhou Ziyi smiled helplessly. “It’s just like athletes who have trained a thousand times or students who have practiced countless exercises. They still get nervous when they officially enter the field, unavoidable.”

Yan Xiuzhi said, “I’ve also remembered. Our procedures are the same, so there’s no need to worry.”

“I’ve already said it’s a natural reaction for me, I can’t control it either.” Zhou Ziyi touched his chest. “My heartbeat has accelerated, I feel like I can hear my own heartbeat…”

Suddenly, Yan Xiuzhi grabbed his hand.

Zhou Ziyi: ???

“Look at me,” Yan Xiuzhi said lightly. “Follow my instructions, take a deep breath, inhale, exhale…”

Zhou Ziyi followed his words and took a deep breath. Then, whether it was an illusion or not, he seemed to have really relaxed a bit.

He looked at their clasped hands and suddenly smiled, “It’s a good thing I wore gloves, otherwise my hands would be full of sweat now, and you might have been disgusted with me.”

Yan Xiuzhi let go of his hand, “What nonsense are you talking?”

Zhou Ziyi smiled again, “Thank you.”

Yan Xiu6 said, “…You’re welcome.”

Everything was ready, and they were about to enter.

The indoor door leading to the swimming pool opened, revealing a flight of steps. Yan Xiuzhi and Zhou Ziyi walked up one step after another. Zhou Ziyi had to grind his fingers every time they stepped on a step.

His heart rate, which had finally calmed down a bit, suddenly quickened once more.

Compared to the day of their registration, this wedding made Zhou Ziyi more nervous and gave him a stronger feeling of actually being married. As they ascended the steps layer by layer, Zhou Ziyi’s mind was constantly occupied with thoughts of the upcoming wedding process and the days ahead.

What will the next three years be like?

Following Yan Xiuzhi, Zhou Ziyi stopped in front of a pavilion.

This was the starting point of the wedding process.

Two young relatives from the Chu family were arranged in front of them, dressed in pristine little suits and dresses, each holding a flower basket filled with petals. Yan Xiuzhi and Zhou Ziyi had just stood side by side for a few seconds when the hotel staff in charge of the wedding process approached and whispered, “Please hold hands, it’s about to start.”

Zhou Ziyi took Yan Xiuzhi’s arm.
This wasn’t the first time she had linked arms with him, but it was the first time he did so nervously. And he couldn’t just casually link arms; for the sake of a good picture, Zhou Ziyi could only slightly lean on Yan Xiuzhi’s arm.

There was no other way. The secret to a good-looking photo was to appear relaxed and laid-back at first glance, but in reality, one had to tense up and maintain the posture.

Yan Xiuzhi seemed to not be very clear about this secret. He noticed that Zhou Ziyi’s actions were not as intimate as before and thought that the young man had once again become so nervous that he couldn’t control himself, so he turned his head and whispered, “Relax. Don’t be afraid.”

Zhou Ziyi was taken aback for a moment, then smiled at him and said, “Okay.”

Yan Xiuzhi turned his head away.

The music began to play.

It was the globally renowned background music of weddings.

With a wave of the hotel staff’s hand, the two children walked forward, scattering petals as they went, without any stage fright. Yan Xiuzhi turned his head, and Zhou Ziyi met his gaze, as if they had a tacit understanding, then the two of them also walked out.

They first crossed a rectangular pool on an arched bridge, entered an archway, and then walked through the middle of the guest seats. There were over a hundred relatives and friends present, all applauding and looking at the two newlyweds in white suits with eyes full of blessings.

Not a single relative from the Yan family had come today, but the advantage was that there was no one to spoil the atmosphere.

The flower children stopped in front of the transparent bridge, making way.

A glass altar had been added to the transparent glass bridge, adorned with white and pink bouquets. The priest stood behind the platform, smiling and waiting for the couple.

The two newlyweds held hands and stepped onto the glass bridge, approaching the priest.

The music stopped.

This is not a believer’s wedding, so the pastor did not have the long speeches in front. He went straight to the point as soon as he spoke: “Now, please, the two newlyweds to take an oath – Mr. Yan.”

Actually, it should have been “groom” at the beginning, but both are grooms, so the pastor directly called out the names: “Whether you are healthy or not, do you want to love your partner deeply, respect him, comfort him, help him, and swear to be with him for life?”

Yan Xiuzhi looked at the pastor and answered without hesitation, “I do.”

Zhou Ziyi’s heart skipped a beat.

“Mr. Zhou,” the pastor called Zhou Ziyi, “Whether you are healthy or not, do you want to love your partner deeply, respect him, comfort him, help him, and swear to be with him for life?”

Zhou Ziyi replied, “I do.”

“Amen,” the pastor smiled, “Please face each other and exchange rings.”

Li Fei and Tang Shirong rushed up to hand over the rings.
These rings are the diamond rings that appeared at the engagement banquet before, preserved by President Yan in the safe, and now they are worn again by both of them.

However, this time, it was the ring finger.

When the two exchanged rings, Yan Xiuzhi noticed that Zhou Ziyi’s hand was trembling slightly, thinking to himself, “He’s nervous again.”

After putting on the rings, the pastor said, “Now, you may kiss each other.”

Zhou Ziyi’s hand, which was trembling slightly, suddenly grasped Yan Xiuzhi’s. At the same time, he tilted his head slightly and moved closer to Yan Xiuzhi.
It seemed like he was going to take the initiative to kiss Yan Xiuzhi.

After all, Zhou Ziyi did not expect President Yan to take the initiative to do such a thing. Not backing away when being kissed was already President Yan’s greatest restraint.

But the unexpected happened at this moment.

Yan Xiuzhi actually leaned in and kissed Zhou Ziyi on the lips!

Although it was just a light peck, it was enough to shock Zhou Ziyi. He watched Yan Xiuzhi suddenly approach and kiss him. If it weren’t for the inappropriate occasion, Zhou Ziyi almost wanted to scream.

Yan Xiuzhi, on the other hand, looked at him widened his eyes after being kissed, and suddenly found it somewhat amusing.
It wasn’t a mocking laugh, but rather an involuntary sense of finding something amusing.

This kind of amusement even brought a noticeable smile to Yan Xiuzhi’s face.

——I’ve always been played by this guy, but now I finally turned the tables on him.

——This person isn’t adept at everything after all…

Seeing Yan Xiuzhi’s actions, his relatives and friends thought it was a happy smile, showing understanding and goodwill. Yan Xiuzhi’s mother and uncle were especially pleased, as they had previously worried that Yan Xiuzhi wanted to resist Yan Wenwu and forcefully get married. Now, seeing Yan Xiuzhi actually showing such a relaxed smile, they no longer worried about the two young people getting along.

However, Zhou Ziyi’s thoughts were completely opposite to those of the others. It suddenly dawned on him: This guy is actually joking at this moment, and even mocking me!

It’s really unbelievable. This big CEO is quite malicious when he jokes around.

As they turned to hold hands again, Zhou Ziyi couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, “Is this fun?”

Yan Xiuzhi smiled but said nothing.

Watching the expressions of the two, but not hearing the conversation, Li Fei and Tang Shirong were going crazy.

——What’s going on? How could Yan Xiuzhi take the initiative to be intimate with Zhou Ziyi?!

——And now he’s smiling, what does that mean?!

But no one could answer their questions.

Zhou Ziyi also threw the bouquet, and a few girls from the Chu family joined in the fun. Tang Shirong asked Li Fei, “Why aren’t you going?”

Li Fei replied, “I have a boyfriend and we’re planning to get married, so I won’t join in this fun with the kids.”

On the other side, after throwing the bouquet, Zhou Ziyi whispered to Yan Xiuzhi when they met, “By catching my bouquet, won’t it bring any bad luck? If something happens in the future, your little friends from home, please don’t blame me.”

Yan Xiuzhi glanced at him and said, “You’re overthinking it.”

After the wedding ceremony, it was said that there would be a brief rest, but in reality, only the guests who were to move to the banquet hall could rest.

Yan Xiuzhi and Zhou Ziyi were going to change clothes, slightly adjust their hairstyles and makeup. Later, the indoor wedding banquet would be lit up, so the makeup needed some adjustments to ensure they didn’t look too pale in the photos.

*
After fussing for a few minutes, before changing clothes, Tang Shirong and Li Fei came in with a simple meal.

As we all know, the newlyweds basically have no chance to eat well at the wedding banquet. In order to conserve energy, it’s better to eat something now.

But Tang Shirong couldn’t stay for long, and as he put down the things, he was about to leave. “My dad is arriving soon, I’ll go out to meet him. I’ll be back later. You must have something to eat, otherwise you will be in trouble if you drink at night.”

Zhou Ziyi said, “Remember to eat something first, and you have to help me fend off the alcohol.”

“Rest assured, when it comes to drinking, I’m the best.” Tang Shirong waved his hand and went out.

Li Fei was originally planning to stay in the lounge. But for some reason, when Yan Xiuzhi and Zhou Ziyi were quietly eating, Li Fei felt a bit out of place. After thinking about it, Li Fei found a reason to slip away: “I’m going to check on the hotel’s preparations.”

In the lounge, only two people were left again.

Zhou Ziyi put down his fried rice, glanced at Yan Xiuzhi, as if he wanted to say something, but then buried his head and continued eating.
After doing this for several times, Yan Xiuzhi finally said, “What do you want to say?”

“Um…” Zhou Ziyi didn’t know how to say it, hesitated a bit, “It’s just… during the ceremony, why did you… take the initiative?”

The words were a bit vague, but Yan Xiuzhi understood: “Oh, you mean why did I take the initiative to kiss you?”

Zhou Ziyi: “Ah.”

Yan Xiuzhi: “We have to kiss anyway, why can’t I take the initiative?”

Zhou Ziyi: “But, you’re not…”

“Playing along, I can do that too.” Yan Xiuzhi looked at him and said lightly, “Do you think I really wanted to do it?”
“Don’t overthink it.”