Nothing is more exciting at weddings than three things: the bride or groom goes missing, a child suddenly claims kinship, or a little video suddenly starts playing on the big screen.
Jian Jing hadn't been to a wedding in a long time. She didn't expect to hit the jackpot on her first time back.
She pricked up her ears and eavesdropped quietly.
The whispering groomsman was very shocked: "What do you mean? Where did he go?"
The reporting groomsman replied impatiently while kneading his eyebrows: "How would I know? He suddenly said he wanted to be alone for a while, but when I went to look for him just now, he wasn't in the room and didn't answer his phone."
"Could it be..." The other groomsmen hesitated and guessed the soap opera-level twist, "He's getting cold feet?"
The others were silent.
Things like this have happened before.
"It's 9:30 now. The ceremony officially starts at 11. We have an hour and a half to find that damned guy and bring him back." The reporting groomsman said coldly, looking around anxiously.
Sunlight turned, projecting onto something. A ray of brilliance flashed through the emerald leaves of the flower rack.
The spot of light was too close. His suspicions arose and he made a quiet gesture with his hand, then suddenly yanked the flowers off the shelf. The lilies and peonies were torn apart by him, revealing the eavesdropper behind the rack.
He circled around and questioned her, "Who are you?"
Although the girl in front of him was quite attractive, men of his background had long been immune to beauty. At least a face alone wouldn't make him lose his head. On the contrary, he was very wary of this young woman who had appeared out of nowhere.
"Why were you eavesdropping on our conversation?" His tone was very unfriendly.
Jian Jing said, "I was here first."
The other clearly didn't believe her and pressed aggressively, "Who brought you here? Which family are you from?"
One should return courtesy for courtesy. Jian Jing hadn't intended to cause trouble, but since the other didn't know how to speak nicely, she naturally didn't want to apologize obsequiously. Her expression suddenly turned indifferent, "If you continue being rude to me, I'll spread the word that the groom is missing."
"Are you threatening us?" Another groomsman couldn't hold back and sneered coldly, "Do you know who we are?"
Jian Jing raised her eyebrows.
But the leading groomsman, Lu, held up his hand to stop his friend. His face suddenly changed as he became extremely sincere, "Miss, although I don't know who you are, you've undoubtedly come for the wedding. If you spread this around, it wouldn't look good for either the Fang or Nie families, and no one would thank you for it, right?"
Abnormal behavior betrays a guilty conscience.
Jian Jing was very curious what they were up to, "So?"
"My surname is Lu. I'm the groom's good friend," the groomsman introduced himself. "If you help us out today, I'll take you out for a meal afterward."
"Wow," Jian Jing made an exaggerated expression of insincerity, "A free meal? Do I look like a beggar starving for food?"
Impatience flashed through Lu Groomsman's eyes, but he concealed it. "Then what do you want?"
"I just want to bask in the sun," she said. "Please, go do whatever you need to do. Don't block my sun."
However, the three men exchanged a look, clearly distrustful.
Lu looked at her and said, "It's settled then. Come with us."
She got up slowly, seemingly reluctant, but when they quickened their pace, she kept right up instead of falling behind.
Humph, acting unwilling when her body is very honest. She's clearly another woman trying to climb the social ladder.
Lu thought disdainfully of her, not even glancing her way as he strode directly into the groom's waiting room. The fourth groomsman already in the room anxiously asked when he saw them return, "Well? Did you find him?"
"No sign of him," Lu frowned. "I've looked everywhere. No trace and no cameras here."
The club emphasized privacy, with no surveillance except at the entrance and parking lot, ensuring guests' privacy and safety. But now, this had become an obstacle in finding the person.
The waiting groomsman hesitated, "Actually, I don't think we need to worry too much. Yan Ge takes marriage very seriously. Doesn't seem like the type to leave someone at the altar. Maybe something came up and he stepped out for a bit."
"What if that's not the case? Could you or I bear that loss of face?" Lu thought about it and felt he couldn't keep this matter down. He pointed at Groomsman B, "Go report this to Fang Da."
Groomsman B, who seemed only focused on continuing the family line, obediently went to deliver the news upon hearing the order.
Groomsman A said, "While no one's here, let's be honest. It's because of that woman, right?"
Lu asked, "Which woman?"
The waiting groomsman said, "Xiao Rou? That can't be right. Yan Ge broke up with her a long time ago. What ability does she have to make Yan Ge not even get married and run away?"
Lu demanded, "Explain clearly to me, who is she?"
"She's said to be an ex-girlfriend from three, four years back. They only recently broke up. She's been clingy about making Yan Ge marry her," Groomsman A said. "Cousin, you know that's impossible. She's made some ugly scenes over it.
Lu asked, "Did any of you see her today?"
Both A and the waiting groomsman answered, "No."
The atmosphere stagnated for a moment.
A while later, Lu finally said, "Forget why he ran off for now. Let's focus on finding the guy first." He organized his thoughts, "His car is still here so he didn't get far on just his legs. Someone must have helped him. Of today's guests, is anyone else missing?"
A said, "Let me check the sign-in sheet."
"Okay." Lu hesitated then told the waiting groomsman, "Find someone reliable to check where that Xiao Rou is. Don't let this really become an ugly scandal."
The waiting groomsman hastily agreed.
With everyone assigned tasks, Lu finally sat down to massage his temples and contemplate their next steps.
Just then, he saw Jian Jing turn around the room twice before climbing onto the window sill and slipping out. The flames of anger rose within him and he dashed forward, reaching out to grab her in one big swipe.
In his imagination, he should have been able to seize her leaf-collared blouse easily like an eagle catching a chick, and haul her back.
Then he would look down condescendingly at her and warn coldly, "Don't cause trouble."
But reality was cruel.
The instant he rushed forward, she neatly sidestepped his hand. At the same time, she stretched out her arm and grabbed his tie with pinpoint accuracy.
With his throat gripped, even a tall man didn't dare struggle rashly. Lu was forced to bend down and meet the gaze of the girl sitting on the slanted window sill.
"What are you trying to do?" she asked.
Lu had never been so humiliated before. He firmly clasped her slender wrist, wanting to pry her hand off.
Theoretically, with his height and weight, overpowering a young girl should have been easy. Their muscles were always soft and spongy. Her punches on his body would feel no different than a massage.
Unfortunately, this was another misjudgment.
She didn't budge an inch. Rather, she tightened her grip, further compressing his throat with the tie.
Uncomfortable, extremely uncomfortable.
Lu was furious inside but revealed a friendly smile on his face. He held up his hands to indicate he meant no harm.
As expected, the girl loosened her hold on him.
"I was just worried you would fall down," he gently explained his actions as if his earlier roughness had all been an illusion.
Jian Jing didn't believe a word of it. She turned and slipped out the window, circling around the back.
Lu asked, "What are you doing?"
"The groom left through the window. I want to check his path," Jian Jing explained.
Lu raised his eyebrows, keeping his composure, "Oh? How do you know?"
"There are cookie crumbs on the carpet that got on his shoes," Jian Jing lifted her chin to indicate the window sill, where flattened cookie pieces were also stuck firmly to the marble edge.
Lu looked back and forth several times before noticing this detail. Was it normal for people to pay attention to such tiny things? Especially when she was near-sighted.
Could she be an accomplice who was left behind deliberately as an inside informant?
His suspicions grew. He probed, "Then tell me, where did he go?"
Jian Jing said, "I don't know, let's look around."
Today she was attending a wedding and didn't bring a magnifying glass, so she could only squat on the ground and slowly look around. Unfortunately, the weather today was sunny with a light breeze, and the particles scattered on the ground had long been blown away without a trace, leaving nothing to search for.
But this was not the end.
Jian Jing recalled the floor plan of the club in her mind.
The exterior of this building was Gothic architecture, but the interior structure was not as complex as a real castle, after all it was a business and too many twists and turns would inconvenience guests.
The overall layout was a "concave" character, with four floors total.
Fourth floor: two super large suites, game room, gym, small dance hall, etc.
Third floor: large and small suites and bedrooms.
Second floor:
Balcony....Waiting Room......Waiting Room..Balcony
Terrace...Rest Area...Public Hallway...Rest Area..Terrace
Stairs...Dressing Room...Huge Dining Room...Dressing Room..Stairs
First floor:
.........Front Garden.........
....Corridor.............Corridor....
Kitchen..Coffee Shop...Huge.....Small Lounge..Kitchen
Room....Western Restaurant...Banquet Hall...Chinese Restaurant..Room
..........Lawn.......Lawn..........
.........Back Garden.........
The groom's waiting room was on the right side. Jian Jing climbed out the window and arrived at the balcony, or the sky garden. There were some rattan tables and chairs here, and the male side's guests were chatting idly.
She poked her head out and saw someone smoking, so she didn't go over and returned to the waiting room instead.
Lu Groomsman followed her the whole way. Seeing her come back, he couldn't help ridiculing: "Not looking anymore?"
"You all came here for the first time today right? He's not familiar with the layout, so choosing to climb out the window first proves he didn't want to be discovered. But he didn't expect there to be quite a few people on the balcony, so he likely chose to come back." Jian Jing analyzed the groom's psychological process at the time and returned to the waiting room.
The waiting room connected to the rest area and dressing room. She walked all the way inside to the dressing room window, where she discovered some cookie crumbs under the window.
"He went out this way." She climbed out the dressing room window and arrived at the corner of the second floor.
This club was very considerate of guests. There were two staircases on the second floor. Usually everyone took the two big staircases by the public hallway up front. At the same time, they also quietly built a narrow little staircase in a hidden place.
The door was also hidden, concealed behind a trellis of vines, and wouldn't normally be discovered at a glance.
But this little trick was certainly not enough to escape Jian Jing's observational skills.
She pushed open the door and walked in, thinking to herself that she'd heard Versailles Palace had many secret passages for the king and his mistresses to secretly meet. This club had learned the essence, providing plenty of convenience for cheating.
Lu Groomsman followed her downstairs, unable to refrain from asking again: "How did you know there was a staircase here?"
"Because I have eyes."
Lu Groomsman was speechless, extremely unhappy.
But his best quality was grasping the key point. No matter where she came from or what she wanted to do, the most urgent task was finding the groom. For that, he could endure anything else.