Chapter 578: The Wedding (Part 1)

Chapter 578: The Wedding (1)

Shi Shiwu arrived in Hangzhou five days before the wedding. Given the closeness of his relationship with Meng Fan over the years, everyone knew without guessing that Shi Shiwu would definitely be one of the groomsmen. Netizens joked that if Shi Shiwu weren't a groomsman, he might very well have tried to steal the bride at the wedding.

As for who the other groomsmen were, there was no word online. After much thought, it seemed there were no other male celebrities in the entertainment circle who were close to Meng Fan. There probably were some from the sports circle.

The bridesmaids were even harder to guess. Wu Tong was not from the entertainment circle, so few knew who her friends were.

This only piqued netizens' curiosity even more.

While everyone was focused on the groomsmen and bridesmaids, more and more guests gathered at the Hangzhou West Lake Cultural and Creative Park, drawing enormous attention.

Not many people from the entertainment circle came—unlike the grand wedding everyone had expected, where half of the entertainment industry would appear—but every single one who did come was a big name.

Many came from the sports circle, both domestic and international. Gathered together, you could almost say a global Laureus ceremony was about to take place. Looking around, all you saw were world champions, Olympic champions, and top-tier talents—not only from fields Meng Fan had been involved in, like weightlifting and golf, but also from sports like football and tennis, which Meng Fan hadn't touched but were heavily influenced by the Meng training method.

These days, Chinese sports fans were truly blessed. These sports giants didn't hesitate to post updates.

The comic and animation circles also came in force. Almost all well-known painters and illustrators in the industry showed up, along with many foreign masters—all of whom had very close cooperative relationships with Meng Fan or Shanhai Studio.

For these three circles, no one was surprised by who appeared. In comparison, the appearance of big shots from other circles brought both delight and confusion, because some people were both too unfamiliar and too familiar to netizens—familiar with their works, but never having seen or even heard their names.

For example, masters from the calligraphy and painting world, whose works appeared in textbooks and whose names were recorded in art history.

There were also the antique circle, architecture circle, literature circle, and so on.

After being educated, netizens became curious about the connections between these people and Meng Fan. Then they remembered: oh, the wedding invitations went not only to the couple's friends and family but also to the friends and family of their elders. Wu Tong's family was in the antique business. As for Meng Fan's family, his mother was China's youngest master of traditional Chinese painting, and his father was the country's second Pritzker Prize winner. The distinguished guests invited by these elders were truly "distinguished"—each one with a shining master title above their heads.

…

"Nervous?"

"How could I be nervous!"

"Hahaha, you look way too not nervous!"

The groomsmen assembled and began taking photos and recording vlogs. Seeing Meng Fan like that, everyone couldn't help teasing him. It was truly rare to see Meng Fan's legs trembling.

Who were the groomsmen?

Meng Fan's three roommates: Zhang Zhouwei, now a teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts; Chen Daqiang, who had become a renowned painter; and Xing Tage, head of the screenwriting department at Shanhai Film and Television Company.

Shi Shiwu, his best friend in the entertainment circle; Xu Jiayu, his best friend from the sports circle and also a fellow townsman; and Kun Ye, his best friend in the web novel circle and his favorite author, who always got sleepy as soon as he touched the keyboard.

Then there was Leng Lianyin, ten years older than Meng Fan, a man Meng Fan had admired since childhood. He had taken great care of Meng Fan when they were young. Later, after experiencing very fantastical events in his life, he returned to Ruicheng and began writing. At the start, he couldn't even afford food and wanted to give up. Meng Fan gave him enough living expenses to support a year of writing, helped him get published, and later, after establishing a studio, acted as his agent, managing his copyrights and handling public relations for the global release of his books.

It was truly fantastical: Leng Lianyin's novels were not only bestsellers but also sold globally. He had won top domestic and world-class awards, becoming one of the most bestselling and renowned Chinese authors in the world. The total number of his fans, both domestic and international, was certainly no less than Meng Fan's comic fans.

Compared to Meng Fan, Leng Lianyin was extremely low-key—so low-key that he didn't even attend award ceremonies for the Nebula or Hugo Awards, sending only Shanhai Studio staff and translators to accept the prizes. After winning, countless media wanted to interview him, but he referred them all to Shanhai Studio, staying in Ruicheng to continue enjoying his freedom and solitude.

Chen Daqiang and Xing Tage, both Shanhai employees, had never met Leng Lianyin before. They only saw him for the first time when Meng Fan dragged him in to be a groomsman.

These days were incredibly happy for Kun Ye. First, he never expected Meng Fan to ask him to be a groomsman. Second, he got to meet his idol. Although he wrote horror, his favorite genre was fantasy (science fiction and fantasy), and his favorite author was Leng Lianyin.

At the same time, he was very nervous. Yin Ye was so prolific that standing before him with his own update volume made him feel inferior. Moreover, who would have thought Leng Lianyin would look so impressive? His image was too masculine—about 1.85 meters tall, a strong physique, sharply defined features, and an aura that could only be described as fierce. He really didn't look like an author at all. You'd be more inclined to believe he was a recently retired soldier king.

Kun Ye saw that Yin Ye was always taciturn and didn't dare talk to him much. It wasn't until one night when he was drunk that he dared to ask: "Tell me, do you never show up because you're afraid that once people see you, they'll stop focusing purely on your work? Afraid they'll say you rely on your looks?"

Tonight was the last night before the wedding. They filmed many pre-wedding vlogs together and posted them online. Thus, netizens finally got to see the complete lineup of the groomsmen.

Whether this lineup was luxurious or not no longer mattered. What mattered was that in these vlogs, besides some pre-wedding anecdotes, Meng Fan was also seeking spouses for several currently single groomsmen. Netizens had their eyes fixed on Xing Tage and Leng Lianyin—these two were just too handsome.

Especially Leng Lianyin. Like Kun Ye, no one expected the winner of both the Nebula and Hugo Awards to look like this!

Clearly could rely on his face, but he chose to rely on talent!

On the bride's side, Wu Tong also posted many photos and videos today, and the bridesmaids thus came to light.

Compared to the uneven looks of the groomsmen, the bridesmaids were all stunningly beautiful—every single one could rely on their looks. But upon learning more about them, it turned out they too were all people who chose to rely on talent!

(End of chapter)