At 11:10 a.m., guests began arriving one after another.

Since there were business partners from both families, both the bride’s and groom’s sides had to greet the guests first.

No one noticed that Jiang Chenlin had been absent for a while.

It wasn’t until some of Su Qingran and Jiang Chenlin’s close friends arrived and took pictures with Su Qingran that they curiously asked, “Hey, where’s your Jiang Chenlin?”

Su Qingran replied naturally, “He went to pick someone up, said he’d be back soon.”

As she spoke, she glanced at her phone to check the time.

It had been about ten minutes since Jiang Chenlin left to pick someone up.

“Oh, he’s probably helping someone find a parking spot,” one of the friends said. “When we arrived, it looked like a luxury car exhibition outside.”

Su Qingran knew this as well. With the Su and Jiang families being prominent in business, many guests were eager to network, so the turnout was even larger than expected. The pre-arranged parking spots were likely tight, and she had noticed Wen Yue coordinating to borrow parking spaces from the nearby building.

As time passed, the guests had nearly all arrived.

The clock pointed to 11:20 a.m.

It was then that Su Zhen realized he hadn’t seen Jiang Chenlin yet. Lowering his voice, he asked Lu Ruolan, “Have you seen our son-in-law?”

Lu Ruolan shook her head. “Isn’t he in the dressing room?”

At this time, Su Qingran and Jiang Chenlin were supposed to be in the dressing room, waiting for the moment they would appear together at the end of the red carpet.

“Is he in the dressing room?” Su Zhen asked, puzzled, and quickly went to discreetly find Wen Yue.

At that moment, Wen Yue was on the phone.

Jiang Ruo stood beside him, her expression tense. The usually composed woman was now sweating visibly on her forehead.

“How is it?” Jiang Ruo asked.

Wen Yue shook his head. “No answer.”

Jiang Ruo said, “We can’t wait any longer. You need to send people to look for him.”

Su Qingran hurriedly emerged from the dressing room, clutching her phone. She asked, “Uncle, Aunt, have you found Chenlin?”

“This boy!” Jiang Ruo was exasperated but still reassured Su Qingran, “Don’t worry, Ranran. Your uncle will send people to find him.”

Inside the hall, the guests were already seated. Since there were only a few minutes left, they were quietly chatting with their friends, unaware of any issues.

The clock inched closer to 11:30 a.m.

According to the schedule, the host had already taken the stage.

The script had been prepared in advance, but just ten minutes ago, the host received a message from Jiang Ruo asking him to delay the proceedings slightly.

Outside the dressing room, Su Qingran was repeatedly sending messages to Jiang Chenlin, trying to call him on WeChat, video call him, and dial his phone number. But no matter what she did, there was no response, as if the number that usually answered her calls immediately had fallen into a deep slumber.

The unease in her heart grew heavier by the minute, and everything around her seemed to lose its sound.

For some reason, Su Qingran suddenly recalled the expression on Jiang Chenlin’s face when he talked about their engagement the day before at the cemetery.

How could she describe it?

It seemed even more torn than the expression she had when carving the statue of enlightenment for Pei Jingyan.

At that moment, the host called on Su Zhen to give a speech.

Standing behind a curtain, Su Qingran listened to her father’s hopes for her and Jiang Chenlin’s future, and it felt as though her blood was slowly freezing.

As her father stepped down from the stage, Su Qingran peeked through a small gap in the curtain and saw her usually composed father, walking awkwardly, as if his steps were mismatched.

Just then, someone in the crowd shouted, “Isn’t it time for the groom to come out?”

The crowd, not realizing what was happening, started to cheer.

The host, having not received the signal from Jiang Ruo, had to improvise. “Let’s do something special today—how about we introduce the bride first?”

Though unconventional, the atmosphere was so lighthearted that no one thought anything was amiss.

In the midst of this, Su Qingran stepped from behind the curtain and walked onto the stage.

Dressed in a white wedding gown that accentuated her tall and elegant figure, with her black hair contrasting against her snowy complexion, her features were bright and flawless.

The photographer she had hired was capturing every moment, while the guests below lifted their cameras, aiming at her.

But the groom had not arrived, and Su Qingran knew it.

Why he hadn’t, she had no idea.

Standing there, she felt as though she were on a cloud. No matter what had prevented Jiang Chenlin from coming, if he didn’t show up today, she would become the laughingstock of this grand engagement party.

“Thank you all for coming to my engagement party,” Su Qingran said to the crowd. Her voice was steady, without a hint of tremor, though the sweat in her palms made it difficult to grip the microphone.

At just 22 years old, the most thrilling moment of her life had been when she won the gold prize in a youth carving competition at 14 and stood on stage in front of the media and cameras.

Back then, she was naive and full of confidence.

Now, she felt as though she were standing on the edge of a cliff, one step away from falling.

Her mother, Lu Ruolan, and her sister, Su Qiantang, were watching her intently. Su Qingran could clearly see the tension they were both trying hard to conceal.

The surroundings were quiet, save for the incessant ringing in her ears, like a curse—unanswered calls.

“Chenlin and I have known each other since childhood. We’ve come this far with the support and witness of many elders and friends,” Su Qingran continued, her voice gentle and calm. She turned slightly, revealing the large screen behind her.

On the screen were photos of her and Jiang Chenlin together.

“This one was taken during a school flag-raising ceremony. Coincidentally, we were both flag bearers. A classmate took the picture. I didn’t even know about it at first, but later found out that Jiang Chenlin bought that classmate breakfast for a month just to get this photo.”

The crowd laughed at her words.

A boy raised his hand. “I’m that generous classmate.”

The guests erupted in laughter again.

Su Qingran continued introducing the next photo. “This picture was taken at my first carving competition. On the way there, Chenlin tripped and fell, splitting his lip and bruising his face. He even lost his entry ticket. So, while I competed, he waited outside for hours, looking pitiful when I came out.”

In the photo, a young Jiang Chenlin, looking innocent and clean-cut, had a slightly swollen face and a few scrapes, his eyes full of grievance, a sight that was both endearing and amusing.

Some emotional guests in the crowd had already started tearing up.

“This picture was taken during a trip abroad with both of our families. We had a contest over who had better English, and the local said his was better. I got upset, and he bought me a whole bag of snacks to make it up to me.”