"What's wrong with her? She's never behaved in such a way…" Zhou Fei couldn't help but furrow her brows when she heard her daughter's unrestrained words.

It was the same with Zhou Tian, who couldn't help but mutter with a frown, "Is she drunk..."

While the two of them were in frozen confusion, Zhou Lan began addressing the crowd.

"Well…you all must be wondering why I came to this stage all of a sudden, right? It's actually to make an announcement. I'll only be repeating this once, so listen carefully, you all." Zhou Lan took a deep breath and continued, "The Groom Selection Ceremony that was supposed to happen tomorrow is hereby cancelled."

'Cancelled?'

All the guests frowned when they heard her words and met eyes with each other as the sound of whispering echoed in the hall.

"Just what is this girl saying!" Zhou Fei couldn't help but exclaim when she heard this and rushed towards her daughter in order to stop her and apologise to the crowd.

Meanwhile, Zhou Lan started addressing the crowd again after a brief pause.

"Why this sudden cancellation, you ask? Well, the reason is-"

However, before she could complete her words, she was interrupted by her mother, who had reached near the stage.

"Zhou Lan, come down! Your mind is not in its right state!" Zhou Fei shouted from below, asking her daughter to come off the stage.

To this, Zhou Lan replied with a frown, "No, mother, you're wrong. My mind is in the best state it has ever been right now."

"Come down! We'll talk about it later," Zhou Fei said sternly, seeing that she was not listening.

However, Zhou Lan ignored her words and, staring back at the crowd, said, "So where was I? Yes, the reason for the sudden cancellation.

It's quite obvious, actually. In today's banquet, I've already decided on whom I'm going to marry, so therefore there won't be any need for tomorrow's ceremony."

Zhou Fei, who was about to step onto the stage to stop her daughter, paused when she heard those words.

'So she's already made a decision…' She thought to herself as she stared at her daughter.

The frown on Zhou Tian's face also loosened when he heard this. If Zhou Lan were about to choose the groom here right now, then he was willing to look away from her drunken act.

Meanwhile, when those words of hers fell in the ears of all the young men present in the hall, the faces lit up with joy, and they couldn't help but ask with exhilaration.

"Who is it, Miss Lan? Who is the one you've chosen?"

"Yes, please reveal it."

"Choose me, Miss Lannn!"

"Don't keep us in the dark, Miss Lan!"

Several similar modest and blunt sentences resounded in the entire hall as the anticipation amongst the crowd started to grow with each passing second.

Pleased by this reaction, the smile on Zhou Lan's face widened as she said the next instant while raising her voice by a decibel.

"The person whom I'm going to marry is…"

As she said these words, her gaze began to wander around the hall in an attempt to find the person whom she had just mentioned.

Seeing such actions, several young men held their breath as they felt Zhou Lan's gaze directed in their direction.

A second later, Zhou Lan's face turned livelier as she started making her way towards a particular direction.

A few moments earlier.

Yi Chen, who was sharing a light conversation with Huang Bo and the rest, felt a subtle tug on his sleeves.

"Brother Chen, look!" Zhou Mei said while pointing behind him, "My sister is on the stage right now."

"Oh? That's right. What is Sister Lan planning to do?" Hui Min also muttered as her gaze went past Yi Chen and landed on Zhou Lan, who was on the stage.

The similar expressions also appeared on Huang Bo and Xie Rou's faces.

Seeing this, Yi Chen too was forced to turn around and see what was going on, and it was at that moment that a resounding greeting echoed throughout the hall.

"Greetings, you rigid, old bastards!"

'What in the hell...' Yi Chen couldn't help but raise his brows when he heard those words.

An expression of surprise and confusion was also apparent on Zhou Mei and the faces of others standing around them.

"What is Sister Lan saying…" Huang Bo couldn't help but mutter as his gaze fell on the other guests, whose expressions weren't looking very good. It was obvious that they felt insulted by such a greeting.

An expression of worry formed on Hui Min and Xie Rou's faces when they noticed this. They had never seen Zhou Lan act in such a reckless manner, so they were finding it difficult to process this.

Not knowing what her friends had in their minds, Zhou Lan continued with her declaration and dropped the bomb about cancelling the Groom Selection Ceremony and stated the reason for it.

'Cancelled?'

'Already decided?

'This…'

Hui Min, Huang Bo and Xie Rou thought in unison.

Meanwhile, a sudden sense of premonition took root inside Yi Chen's heart the moment he heard Zhou Lan's declaration.

'Why am I suddenly feeling nervous…'

Just when this thought had crossed his mind, he felt Zhou Lan's gaze being directed in his direction, and she started walking straight towards him.

'Wait…I'm not the person she has decided to marry, right? right? We have only talked briefly, so that shouldn't be the case…'

Despite Yi Chen's attempt to convince himself, a sudden sense of déjà vu flooded his mind as Zhou Lan reached closer and closer in his direction.

'Could it be…No! I can't let that happen!' Finally confirming that she was indeed moving towards him, his eyes widened in fright.

With Zhou Lan just a few steps away, he immediately raised his left hand and shouted, "Wait! Miss Lan, this isn't right! I'm married! You can't choo-"

However, before he could even complete his words, he saw Zhou Lan's figure walking right past him, making him turn around in relief and confusion.

"Xie Rou…Will you marry me?" Zhou Lan asked in a loving voice while holding her friend by her shoulders.

Yi Chen: "???"

Everyone else: "???"

'This…' Hesitation became apparent on Xie Rou's face when she heard Zhou Lan's sudden proposal.

Her gaze was then directed towards the surrounding crowd, who were all staring at her with piercing gazes, making her swallow her words.

Overwhelmed by the social pressure, just when she was about to state her refusal, Zhou Lan's lips locked right into hers, stirring all the emotions she had been trying hard to suppress.

The crowd that was already in shock turned flabbergasted by this sudden escalation of the event.

'What in the eastern fantasy…? Yi Chen thought with a stupefied expression as he witnessed this intimate scene right in front of his eyes.

The storybook, which Zhou Mei had mentioned earlier, finally started to make sense to him.

'So that's why she had such books with her…'

It was at that instant that the two faces separated. One had a pleased expression while the other was clearly embarrassed.

"So, answer me now. Will you marry me?"

"Y-yes…I will," Xie Rou finally relented and nodded shyly.

"Hahaha," hearing her answer, Zhou Lan laughed out ecstatically.

Turning towards the crowd, she said, "As everyone could see, this is the person whom I've decided to marry.

I'll be going now since the two of us have to make plans for our wedding day, so don't mind us and enjoy the banquet till the end."

With that said, Zhou Lan grabbed Xie Rou's hand and started walking towards the exit.

"Wait right there!" Zhou Tian's words echoed in the hall.

A soul-shuddering pressure strong enough to crush one's body spread all across the hall the next second.

Under such pressure, Zhou Lan had no choice but to stop in her steps and glance back towards her father as a groan escaped her mouth.

The pain had brought a sense of sobriety in Zhou Lan's eyes as she began to realise what blunder she had just made.

Seeing that Zhou Lan had stopped in her steps, Zhou Tian addressed the crowd the very next moment.

"To all the guests present here, I apologise for the sudden disturbance. It seems my daughter has done something unsightly under the influence of alcohol. I seek everyone's understanding as I'll be calling an end to this banquet now. Thank you for attending the banquet today."

It was evident from his stern expression that he was containing great anger within himself at this moment.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Master Tian. We'll be leaving then."

"Yes, thank you for the banquet"

"Indeed, see you on another occasion,"

Like this, the banquet hall, which was filled with dozens of guests, emptied immediately, leaving only a few inside.

Yi Chen, too, wanted to leave along with other guests, but feeling how tightly his robes were clenched in Zhou Mei's petite hands, he decided to bite the bullet and stay with her.

Hui Min and Huang Bo also remained in the hall, worried about what was going to happen to Zhou Lan and Xie Rou.

With a stern face, Zhou Tian finally made his way towards the two of them with Zhou Fei by his side.

"Zhou Lan," Zhou Tian called with a distant tone and said, "I need an explanation for what just happened."

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