Chapter 696 - 695: The Wedding (Part 7)

"Even if she’s capable, that’s not a place just anyone can get into. Let’s hope she’s not just puffing herself up to save face. Wasn’t there that news story a while back? Someone claimed they were holding their wedding at the Imperial City Restaurant, but when guests showed up, it was at some little eatery in an alley *next* to the Imperial City Restaurant. It was absolutely humiliating."

The female colleague chuckled dryly. "A lot of our colleagues said they had to attend the moment they saw the venue, just to see if it’s for real."

A sarcastic smile touched Li Anna’s lips, but her words were, "Su Li wouldn’t do that. She’d never do something so embarrassing, right?"

She said the words, but her tone told a completely different story.

Hearing this, Tongtong’s mother shut her mouth completely. She wasn’t a fool; she could clearly see what these two were really thinking.

She pursed her lips, now watching the two of them as if they were a joke. She had no intention of warning them again.

"My car is parked right out front, you can ride with me..." After stepping outside, Li Anna began to speak, but she froze mid-sentence as she turned her head.

Staring at the long line of cars parked at the entrance, her jaw dropped. "This..."

No one paid any attention to Li Anna. Her colleague had no time for her, either, as she was busy gaping at the spectacle along with everyone else.

"Are... are these cars here for us?"

The gatekeeper grandpa asked a member of the uniformed wedding procession standing nearby, a broad smile on his face.

"Yes, sir. This way, please."

The group moved forward slowly, almost in a daze, following the procession.

In the lead car, Wu Sheng was carefully lifting Su Li inside while Li Li helped arrange her dress.

"Three people to a car, everyone! Find a spot," Wa Wa Lian called out from the side.

Wu Sheng’s special forces team, who were acting as drivers, had already exited their vehicles and were standing in a neat line beside them. Without any command being given, they simultaneously raised their hands and gave the guests a brief military salute.

Their ranks were clearly not low; they were all bona fide military officers. The guests were stunned by the honor, and one by one, they hurriedly bowed in return.

The gatekeeper grandpa, holding his grandson’s hand, was the first to walk up to a car. The uniformed officer acting as the driver glanced at the guest list in his hand.

"Are you Mr. Qi Baocai? And young man, are you Qi Chuxi?"

The gatekeeper grandpa paused for a second, then nodded quickly. "Yes, yes."

"My apologies, just confirming your identities. Please, get in." The officer nodded and pulled the car door open for them.

"No problem, no problem." The gatekeeper grandpa got into the car in a bit of a daze, still slightly bewildered. ’This is the first time I’ve ever had my identity checked just to be a guest at an event,’ he thought.

It wasn’t just the gatekeeper grandpa and his grandson; everyone was being checked.

Li Anna and her female colleague had a bit more trouble. Their names weren’t on the list, so when they followed the crowd to one of the cars, they were stopped with a question.

"Do you have your invitations?"

Both Li Anna and her colleague froze. "Invitations? Of course we have them."

"May I see them?" the officer asked immediately.

"Of course, but... we didn’t bring them with us." Li Anna saw that everyone else was already in the cars while they were still stuck outside. The whole situation felt wrong, as if they were the only outsiders.

’Okay, so maybe we *are* outsiders in a way, but we shouldn’t be treated like this, right?’

"What’s the meaning of this? Do you really think we’re trying to crash a wedding banquet? Who brings the invitation with them when they’re already a guest? Didn’t you see us come out with everyone else?" Li Anna couldn’t hold back anymore, her words tumbling out in a low, rapid stream.

"Exactly! We’re both Su Li’s colleagues. Don’t you recognize Anna? Don’t you watch TV? She’s a famous host!" the other woman added, clearly displeased.

The officer’s expression remained unchanged. "My apologies, I’m just doing my duty. Your names might be on the list at the restaurant. What are your names, and is there anyone who can verify that you are the bride’s colleagues?"

Li Anna’s face instantly flushed crimson. His words made it painfully clear: they hadn’t been invited to the bride’s home. They had come shamelessly on their own!

"You..." Li Anna wanted to throw a tantrum, but looking at the stern, serious officer in front of her, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

"You can go ask Su Li. We’re her colleagues," the other woman cut in hastily.

Li Anna was mortified. As the only guests left standing outside, every minute felt like an eternity. Just as she was about to turn and leave, she heard Tang Mo’s voice.

"Uncle, these two aunties are my mother’s colleagues."

It was Tang Mo. He had noticed they hadn’t gotten into a car yet and that everyone was waiting, so he came over.

He had seen the list Su Li gave Wu Sheng earlier—the list of guests who would be coming to the house. Li Anna and her colleague weren’t on it, but since they had shown up, they were of course welcome.

It’s just that no one had thought to add their names to the list.

Tang Mo was quick-witted and had hurried over to explain.

The officer, of course, recognized Tang Mo. The Chief valued not only his wife but also her adopted son—that had been made clear before, and they had been given specific instructions.

The moment Tang Mo spoke, the problem was solved.

"Understood. Please, ladies." He immediately opened the car door for Li Anna and her companion. "My apologies for the offense just now. I hope you’ll understand."

This was simply a man being responsible and doing his duty. As angry as Li Anna was, she couldn’t possibly curse him out for it, so she just got into the car as quickly as she could.

After the two of them were inside, the convoy of cars promptly set off.

Li Anna and her colleague had a car all to themselves. Gazing at the sheer extravagance of the procession and then at the uniformed officer driving in front, their expressions were a mixture of complicated emotions.

After a moment, the colleague couldn’t help but lean toward Li Anna and whisper, "Anna, I’m starting to think the restaurant is real."

Li Anna shot her a venomous glare. Talk about touching a sore spot. She wasn’t an idiot; of course, she knew it was probably real.

The moment she saw this fleet of cars, she knew the booking at the restaurant had to be real.

This level of extravagance, a wedding like this, and a reception at the Imperial City Restaurant... it was practically her dream wedding. And yet... and yet it was Su Li who was getting it all.

Just like the groom, Wu Sheng.

To this day, Li Anna had never met a better candidate for a groom than Wu Sheng. What a pity...

The resentment in Li Anna’s eyes was impossible to hide. A moment ago, she had hated her colleague for speaking up, but now she couldn’t stop herself from doing the same.

"Honestly, Su Li... If she was planning such an elaborate wedding, she should have told us beforehand. And the whole thing with the Imperial City Restaurant, she didn’t say a word about it properly. Just sent an invitation and left it at that."

The sourness in Li Anna’s tone was practically overflowing.

She remembered how nonchalant Su Li had been when she handed out the invitations, and she ground her teeth in resentment.

If it had been anyone else holding a wedding at a place like the Imperial City Restaurant, with this kind of pomp and circumstance, they would have broadcast it to the high heavens, making sure the whole world knew.

But Su Li? She hadn’t breathed a word, as if none of it was anything special to talk about.

It was precisely because of that casual attitude that everyone had gotten the wrong idea, making them all think the Imperial City Restaurant booking might be fake.

The humiliation she had just suffered was also because Su Li hadn’t been clear. It was all Su Li’s fault!