Chapter 4: The Wedding without a Groom

"Nuannuan is truly beautiful."

"Ha, the most beautiful bride has to be Nuannuan."

When Nuannuan walked out of the dressing room, almost all the friends and family exclaimed in admiration. In response to such praise, she managed a slight smile, but her eyes held only desolation.

Just a moment ago in front of the large mirror, she had already seen herself in a wedding dress. Indeed, she looked beautiful, an ethereal beauty, but that's all it was. She didn't possess the excitement a bride should have, so her beauty was only on the surface, not radiating naturally from within.

In comparison, she preferred to witness other people's weddings, where the bride glowed with excitement and shyness, feeling that was true beauty, stemming from the heart, seeping outward with the flavor of happiness.

Walking out and greeting relatives and friends, she finally saw a truly genuine smile appear on her lips as a stunning young man approached her: "Pengfei, you're back."

"Sister, you are the most beautiful bride in the world." Wen Pengfei held his sister's hand, a look of admiration and joy shining in his eyes, and his tone overflowed with affection for her.

"You too are teasing your sister." Wen Nuan said, with a slight smile, ruffling his hair, her eyes full of doting affection.

He was her only brother, the future pillar of the Wen Family, and also her most beloved person. Especially after their mom passed away two years ago, she became even more concerned about this brother.

Compromising to marry into the Wen Family was partly for his sake as well.

Wen Pengfei was still young, unable to support the Wen Family. Her father was getting older, and after their mother passed away, his health had never been good. She couldn't bear to see anything else happen to the Wen Family, breaking her father. Nor could she bear for Pengfei to lose his carefree life, suffering hardships for survival in the future.

"I wasn't teasing sister; sister has always been the most beautiful, always." Wen Pengfei pursed his lips into a smile, looking around: "Where's brother-in-law, why isn't he here?"

He was studying at a fully-closed private school in another city and wanted to come back early to help Wen Nuan prepare for the wedding. However, since the college entrance examination was this year, Wen Nuan didn't want him to be distracted. So, he was only picked up by the Wen Family's driver on the day of the wedding.

"He..." Wen Nuan's heart fluttered with a slight panic.

Old Master Leng said Leng Yan should have arrived at the airport by seven in the morning, changed his clothes, rested a bit, and reached the church by ten, but it was already eleven now.

"He had an urgent matter at the company in France, so he went to Paris a few days ago, and promised to rush back today."

Seeing the disappointment on Pengfei's face, she explained somewhat frantically, not wanting her brother to see through anything.

"Maybe something got delayed, the Leng family said he would arrive soon... even if something came up and he couldn't make it, it's okay... a wedding is just a formality, as long as he genuinely cares for sister, that's enough."

Wen Nuan tried to make her explanation sound reasonable, with a growing sense of foreboding in her heart. Watching the extravagant wedding scene, she only felt a certain desolation and sorrow.

She had thought things through, if this Leng Yan could treat her well, she would try her best to spend her life with him.

Love is beautiful, but how many people truly obtain it. She used to hold on, but the current situation of the Wen Family did not allow her to indulge in the luxury of love.

Moreover, when she met the person she liked, she was only seventeen, as old as Pengfei now. She quietly told herself: Nuannuan, just think of it as a long, lingering dream, it's time to wake up.

At the church entrance, Leng Siyan and Wen Qingyan exchanged a few words. Soon, they walked towards her with Leng Siyan wearing a gentle, apologetic smile:

"Nuannuan, something came up in France, Leng Yan probably won't arrive until the afternoon or evening. He asked me to apologize to you. Nuannuan, you've been wronged, but things don't always go as planned, please don't be upset."

"I won't." Wen Nuan nodded politely, responding with a light smile.

As she gazed towards the end of the red carpet, her heart also smiled coldly.

A wedding without a groom, this wedding was indeed unique.

So unique that she would remember this silent humiliation for a lifetime.