"Yes, Father," Iris replied in a soft voice. Curious, she asked, "Are you upset that Liwei and I kept our wedding today a secret from all of you?"

Long Tengfei hesitated, but in the end, he still decided to be honest to his daughter. "I was upset, yes. But when I saw you looking so happy in your wedding dress, I no longer feel upset. I've seen so many brides in my life. I've even had three…" He winced upon realizing the topic before clearing his throat and forcing an awkward smile. "I've seen so many brides but I'm 100% certain that you, my daughter, are the most beautiful bride that I've ever seen in my entire life."

Iris smiled, feeling a little choked up. She wasn't sure if this was her own emotions or some residual feelings of Long Xiulan's body. Or maybe she was just simply touched by Long Tengfei's words. It must be a struggle for a man like him who wasn't an affectionate type of person to say these emotional words to his daughter.

"Thank you, Father," she whispered.

He nodded. His jaw was tense and he was blinking rapidly in an effort to keep his composure.

"Your Liwei is an excellent man," he said.

"I know."

"I'm glad that it's him you're marrying."

"Me, too."

Silence.

However, it didn't feel awkward at all. Both of them were taking their time to process their own emotions. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profiting from my hard work. Please support the original author, ArriaCross. Thank you! Also follow me on Instagram @arriacross]

"Xiulan…."

"Yes, Father?"

"Thank you for letting me walk you down the aisle."

Iris' eyes trembled before she smiled. "It's only natural for a father to walk his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day."

She felt a little guilty saying this. Her original plan was to have her big brother walk her down the aisle because Evelina's father wasn't available to do it. However, Jin Liwei decided all of a sudden to have two best men—Jin Chonglin and Lu Zihao. She didn't protest against this because she now understood the reason why he made this decision. It must be because of the original Lu Zihao's remnant. Jin Liwei wanted to include his fifth brother and give him a special role on his wedding because Lu Zihao died without them knowing.

This caused her to change her original plan and ask Long Tengfei to walk her down the aisle instead. Although her soul didn't really feel a close paternal bond to Long Tengfei, she now treated the man as a father figure ever since she started living as Long Xiulan. Long Tengfei might not be a warm and affectionate person but he was a supportive father in his own way.

Perhaps this was how it should be. If she went ahead with her original plan of her big brother walking her down the aisle, people would surely question her decision. She wouldn't care, of course, and neither would her brother. Jin Liwei would also support her. However, she realized now after hearing Long Tengfei thanking her for allowing him to walk her down the aisle that she would've hurt him if she went ahead with her original plan.

Long Tengfei was a father so of course he would want to walk his own daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. If he saw another man doing the task, he would feel hurt. He would question why he wasn't the one chosen to do it and think that perhaps his own daughter hated him.

Realizing this, Iris gave a silent thanks to Jin Liwei for suddenly deciding to make her big brother one of his best men instead. It made her avoid hurting Long Tengfei. He might not be the father of her soul, but he was definitely the father of her current flesh.

Long Tengfei nodded at her before offering his elbow again. She held on to his arm and they began walking slowly down the aisle. It was Long Tengfei who was controlling their speed. If it wasn't for him, she would've dashed through the aisle to reach her husband sooner.

###

Jin Liwei's breath caught in his throat as soon as he saw his bride.

She was stunning.

Absolutely breathtaking.

The most beautiful woman in the world in his eyes.

His heart felt like it stopped before starting to race inside his chest. Time seemed to freeze all around him except for him and his beautiful bride.

"Wow," he vaguely heard someone say but he was too preoccupied to care who said it.

It wasn't only him who became dazed after seeing Iris. Everyone couldn't take their eyes off her. Even her friends who saw her getting ready earlier still sucked their breaths because of her beauty.

Her pristine white wedding dress flowed like smooth waterfalls on her body and rippled whenever she moved. The top of her dress was off-shoulders but still had long, flowing sleeves that swayed with her every movement. The dress accentuated her tiny waist before ballooning into a full but effortless skirt. It didn't have a long train behind her but just enough so that she wouldn't need another person to help her arrange it every time she moved.

The wedding dress looked simple at first but a closer inspection would reveal intricate embroidered lacework of wildflowers, crawling vines, flying birds and butterflies that took many people and hundreds of hours to finish. The design evoked a sense of being one with nature and freedom to live without restrictions.

When sunlight hit the dress, tiny emeralds, rubies and diamonds would sparkle, making her look like a fairy queen glowing with a colourful ethereal aura. The jewels were very small. Their purpose was to enhance the dress and the bride's beauty, not to drag it down into gaudy territory.

Her long hair was down in gentle waves. On top of her head was a sheer veil and a beautiful crown of fresh wildflowers and greens with a single dangling tear-drop diamond resting on her forehead. She was carrying a lush, draping wildflower bouquet that almost reached down her legs.

With the beautiful nature surrounding her, there was no doubt that she looked like an ethereal fairy queen who descended into the mortal world.

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