Wei Hanyun was abruptly summoned by Wei's Mother from the banquet hall.
The oil tycoon and Middle Eastern prince seated across from him smiled understandingly—after all, no matter how high one climbs in life, your mother will always be your mother.
"Don’t make a sound later," Wei's Mother instructed, stylishly dressed in a resort-style strappy maxi dress and a silk shawl. "Just take a quiet peek from the side, and don’t let yourself be seen. Got it?"
Wei Hanyun obliged amiably. "Alright, but I can also skip the surprise if needed."
Wei's Mother playfully raised a hand as if to knock his head. "How can you be so indifferent about your own wedding!"
Truthfully, Wei Hanyun believed that no matter what the wedding dress looked like, there wasn’t a single gown Zhong Ziyan couldn’t pull off.
When someone was breathtakingly beautiful, even a plain white T-shirt could look like a masterpiece.
Though the wedding dress had been custom-designed by an entire team at great expense, Wei Hanyun, like Zhong Ziyan, hadn’t seen the final product yet.
Wei Hanyun was led by Wei's Mother to a dimly lit corridor and positioned beside a closed door, where he received another instruction: "Stay right there and don’t move."
Then Wei's Mother slipped into the dressing room, leaving the door open just a crack to chat with Wei Hanyan.
The room was filled almost entirely with women, save for one or two male designers whose preferences clearly leaned the same way.
Wei Hanyun silenced his phone, leaned against the doorframe, and checked an email, followed by a message from Fang Nan reminding him that Old Master Wei’s other sons had begun arriving.
Wei Hanyun lowered his gaze to type a reply: Treat them as ordinary guests. If they cause trouble, don’t hold back.
Halfway through typing, he heard the sound of a sliding door opening inside the dressing room, followed by Wei Hanyan’s exaggerated gasp and the click of a camera shutter.
Wei Hanyun glanced up absentmindedly, then froze mid-motion, accidentally sending the half-finished message.
...
Zhong Ziyan stepped out and was immediately captured by the lens of a DSLR, her slightly surprised expression immortalized on the memory card.
Wei Hanyan whipped out her phone and snapped another photo, eyes sparkling. "Auntie—no, Fairy Sister, smile for me~"
Clutching her bouquet, Zhong Ziyan sighed in amusement and glanced toward the barely open door.
—Her billionaire boss was standing like a statue in a dim, unlit hallway. The thought was almost pitiful.
But Wei Hanyun probably only had to wear a suit similar to his usual attire, possibly without even needing a fitting. Who had it worse was debatable.
Zhong Ziyan raised her bouquet slightly in a subtle wave, a hint of a smile in her eyes.
Wei Hanyun instinctively smiled back before realizing Zhong Ziyan shouldn’t have been able to see him in the shadows.
He retreated quietly from the dressing room door, sent Fang Nan a revised instruction, and received a quick acknowledgment.
Returning to the car, Fang Nan was waiting. "Back to the banquet hall?"
Wei Hanyun shook his head. "Let’s visit the wedding venue."
Fang Nan paused briefly before tucking away his documents. "Understood."
After extensive renovations, the island now boasted three newly constructed venues: the dreamlike wedding site itself, the banquet hall for pre-ceremony socializing, and a party space for post-wedding festivities.
The three locations were connected by elevated glass walkways lined with floral lanterns, all seamlessly climate-controlled.
As Wei Hanyun’s personal assistant, Fang Nan had overseen the construction and reviewed the blueprints.
But Wei Hanyun, having delegated the task entirely, hadn’t inspected the progress himself.
Fang Nan had assumed his boss wouldn’t see the lavishly crafted "Elven Kingdom" until the next day.
—At Zhong Ziyan’s request, the design team had gone all-out to recreate her vision.
Tall birch trees had been transplanted onto the island, their canopies casting dappled sunlight over bushes laden with edible berries. The entire venue seemed bathed in a soft, ethereal glow.
A channel of crystal-clear seawater ran through the space, its glass-bottomed walkway revealing the aquatic flow beneath, flanked by winding vines and blossoms leading to the grand wedding platform.
The platform itself was a masterpiece—like the hidden palace of an enchanted woodland realm, its beauty bordering on surreal.
Having seen the near-final product, Fang Nan calmly explained the details: "The production team reportedly watched The Lord of the ○ings twelve times for inspiration. The aisle lanterns are motion-activated with custom-colored bulbs, and there’s a mechanism beneath the walkway that will—at the perfect moment—extinguish all lights and release butterfl—"
He trailed off, realizing Wei Hanyun wasn’t listening but instead studying the venue thoughtfully.
Fang Nan humbly cut himself off. "Is there something that needs adjustment?"
"Have you seen those films?" Wei Hanyun asked instead.
Fang Nan cleared his throat. "Of course—both the books and the six-film saga. Madam might have seen them too. It’s only natural to aspire to such a setting for a wedding."
"Elves..." Wei Hanyun repeated softly.
"Pure special effects, naturally," Fang Nan added.
Wei Hanyun smiled without comment.
From his position near a side door by the platform, he had a clear view of the elevated seawater aisle’s endpoint—where the bride would emerge.
Fang Nan followed his gaze and added, "Since Madam has no other family, Old Master Wei offered to escort her down the aisle."
Wei Hanyun neither agreed nor disagreed. "Ensure security is tight."
"Rest assured," Fang Nan said solemnly. "Every guest is screened upon arrival. We’ve tripled the security personnel. Nothing will go wrong."
Wei Hanyun nodded and stepped outside, dialing Wei Hanyan. "Send me the photos you just took."
Wei Hanyan, who hadn’t even gotten a word in: "..." How did you know I took any?!
...
Second Miss passed through security and stepped onto the island, feeling as if she were in a dream.
Like countless others, she’d seen photos of Claude Island’s untouched beauty—endless beaches and forests with barely a structure in sight, save for that half-billion-dollar floating villa.
But now, disembarking from the yacht, she gaped at what looked like an expo site—three sprawling venues erected in what felt like no time at all. This wasn’t just a matter of throwing money at the problem.
First, you needed a team this capable.
Having organized large-scale events before, Second Miss quickly estimated this was a project requiring thousands of workers and multiple specialized teams. She whistled under her breath.
If not for Zhong Ziyan’s prior ban, she’d have livestreamed this obscenely extravagant wedding in a heartbeat.
"Have all of you brought luggage? Would you like us to transport it first, or would you prefer to rest at your accommodations for a while?" The staff at the reception greeted them with a warm smile.
Out of professional habit, Second Miss glanced at the employee's name tag and was slightly stunned. It seemed the wedding organizers had directly contracted the globally renowned luxury hotel group Mandarin Oriental for reception services—no wonder the service was so impeccable.
The two elderly guests quickly expressed their exhaustion and opted to rest first. Song Xi tossed her luggage aside, declaring she wanted to check out who else had arrived. Second Miss hesitated. "Where exactly are the accommodations? Will I be able to find my way back later?"
"No need to worry about that," the staff replied sweetly. "There are fifty-two shuttle buses on standby around the island at all times, and our team is more than happy to assist with any inquiries." She turned slightly and gestured toward the sea. "As for your stay over the next two days, all rooms have been arranged on the water."
Second Miss: "……?" Staying on a yacht? Come to think of it, were those massive structures at the dock warships or yachts…?
"Did you notice the octagonal eco-floating pods on the water when you arrived?" the staff explained. "They can float on the surface or submerge underwater, and the interiors are furnished no differently than luxury hotel suites. If you need anything, simply use the phone inside the pod to request room service."
"……" Second Miss suddenly remembered—when they had approached Claude Island on Zhong Ziyan's yacht, she had seen those white floating pods dotting the sea.
At the time, she had joked to Song Xi beside her that they might be some rich person’s pearl farms. Who knew they were actually ingeniously designed guest rooms?
After a moment’s thought, Second Miss decided to leave her luggage as well and smiled at Song Xi. "I’ll go check out the venue too. Maybe I’ll run into someone I know."
The Mandarin Oriental staff promptly registered them on the spot and handed out smart wristbands. "Wishing you a wonderful day."
Second Miss raised her phone to capture the distant floating pods but hesitated. "Do you think we’re allowed to take photos?"
Without a word, Song Xi coolly pointed toward a nearby yacht, where several bikini-clad women with long legs were unabashedly taking selfies. Nearby, security personnel in short sleeves stood by the dock, making no move to stop them.
Reassured, Second Miss adjusted her camera to avoid the crowd and snapped a shot of the floating pods, uploading it to Weibo with the caption: "Friends, feast your eyes on the new-age ocean-view hotel rooms."
Before long, a top comment appeared:
["Fully solar-powered luxury floating pods? Just a casual FYI—each one costs nearly four million."]
