Chapter 6 I'm Here With You

After some thought, Elsa realized that Soren was referring to her parents. "My parents got a free ride to the city, which is faster than the bus," she answered. "Moreover, they left early in the morning, so they will probably arrive at about one o'clock in the afternoon."

"Why don't we have lunch together with them? My grandparents happen to have some free time at noon."

It occurred to Elsa that he had never mentioned his family before then. But then, a lot of things had happened within a short period of time, so she never really dwelled on it.

Could it be that this relationship would be as short-lived as the time it took to form it?

No, it wasn't a relationship this time around-only a marriage that happened to be convenient for both of them. She was so tired of love that she was choosing to consign herself into a loveless marriage.

"Okay."

The lack of sleep made her a little distracted. The black circles under her eyes were obvious against the pallor of her skin. Soren asked, "How about going back to the hotel to take a rest?"

"About tonight, I have booked six tables in the hotel's banquet hall. Do we need to add more?" The mention of the hotel reminded Elsa of the coming night's arrangements, so she took the opportunity to consult Soren about them.

"How many people of your family will come?"

Elsa counted in her head and replied, "Five families and two friends."

"That's okay, then. No adjustments are necessary," Soren replied. He also inquired about other details about the banquet and found that everything Elsa had arranged were to his satisfaction. Thus, no further changes were needed.

The only thing that needed to be changed was the name of the bridegroom. They should change it from Greenwood Li to Soren Wang.

"Yes, we have to have that changed. Let's go back to get it done right away." Elsa stood up.

Time usually passed quickly when there were a lot of things to be done. Elsa checked everything again. Everything that Elsa had prepared for the wedding, such as wedding candies, wine, cigarettes, and big red towels were all in her car. Except for the name, there was no trace of Greenwood's existence anywhere.

The scheduled time for the wedding ceremony was fast approaching. After their ride entered the city, Elsa's parents called her. The student would drop them off directly at the entrance of the hotel, so Elsa would pick them up there.

Elsa turned her head to take a look at Soren, a worried frown marring her face. Although her parents hadn't met with Greenwood before the wedding, her mother Blanche was a teacher in the high school where Elsa and Greenwood had once studied. Surely she must have had a general impression of him. Moreover, Elsa had sent her parents pictures of her fiance a few days ago. Their names were vastly different, too. Elsa felt the onset of a headache. Now the situation appeared to be a lot worse than when Greenwood suddenly called off their engagement.

She was about to start gnawing on her fingernails, a deplorable habit she had whenever she felt anxious, when she heard Soren's clear voice say, "Don't worry, I'm here with you."

Elsa took out two envelopes from her bag and handed them to Soren. "Take these. Please give each of them to my parents after the banquet, okay?"

A certain wedding custom in the area dictated that when a girl got married, the bridegroom's family should prepare a betrothal gift for her. Then, the bride's family should add to the gift and give it back. At the end of the dinner, the family of the bridegroom should return some of the amount to the family of the bride. Both parties would spend and get back the same amount of money, but this custom was usually done for good luck.

Greenwood found the custom to be too bothersome and said that he would save them the trouble. After some thought, Elsa took ten thousand dollars from the money given by her parents and divided them into two envelopes. She planned to return the money to her parents. Her family lived a normal life, and Elsa only wished to put their mind at ease.

Soren took the money and promised, "Don't worry. I'll give the money to our parents."

The words "our parents" came out of his mouth so naturally that Elsa blushed. She was about to turn away when the man suddenly grabbed her hand. In a delighted voice, Soren exclaimed, "Elsa, come meet my grandparents!"

Elsa quickly adjusted her glasses and followed him to the door, where a pleasant, kind-looking elderly couple was being ushered in by a waiter. They nodded politely at the same time to the waiter and said, "Thank you."

At first glance, one could tell that these people were the sort to make others feel at ease around them. The pounding of Elsa's heart calmed down considerably. Soren walked up to them and said, "Elsa, these are my grandparents. Grandpa, grandma, this is Elsa Xia, whom I've just told you about on the phone."

"Good, good! Ren has been a very unfilial child. We have been waiting for a long time for him to bring home a girlfriend and introduce her to us, but he has always been too busy to visit. We knew it was only an excuse to fool us old people. Elsa, you have to take care of him for us after you get married!" The couple were enthusiastically teasing Soren and complaining about him light-heartedly.

"Grandpa, grandma, please don't complain about me in front of Elsa." Soren led them to sit in a corner of the hotel cafe, ordered come tea for everyone, and asked for a glass of water for Elsa. He said in a low voice, "Don't drink too much coffee because it contains much sugar. You might end up being unable to eat later."

This kind of atmosphere gave Elsa the feeling that they were getting married because they loved each other. It felt exactly the same as it did five years ago.

Mia Mai reached out her warm hands to hold Elsa's. She placed a small box on her palm and said, "My dear, here's a small gift for you. Please take it. The time was limited so we couldn't get you anything else. Really, Ren is to blame. How can he treat something that is such a big deal in a simple manner?"

Elsa thanked her sincerely. She opened the box and found a delicate chain necklace with a key-shaped pendant. It looked like the gift was selected by someone with impeccable taste, as the necklace looked timelessly elegant and tasteful. Moreover, its classic design made it extremely versatile, and it would match any outfit. A real key lay beside the necklace. Elsa thought it was inappropriate to look at the gift too closely in the presence of the people who gave her the gift, so Elsa closed the box and put it away. She guessed that the separate key might be the key to Soren's house. She remembered that when her father proposed to her mother, he gave her the key of their house as a wedding gift.

Now, the same thing happened to her. Watching as Elsa carefully put the gift in her bag, Zed Qi and Mia Mai exchanged smiling glances. They nodded and asked, "My girl, I heard from Ren that your family is in another city?"

Elsa's heart gave a little jolt. People in Linchuan City generally cared about an outsider's status. Although this elderly couple looked open-minded, who knew what they would say on the subject? She nodded. "That is correct."

To her surprise, Zed Qi and Mia Mai only smiled and said, "When your parents arrive, you should ask them to stay for a few more days so they could take a good look at what the city has to offer. Ren has free time these days, so he should show his in-laws around."

"Grandpa, we are about to get married. We plan to have our honeymoon." Soren's steady voice held an odd note of... could it be petulance? Soren could act like a spoiled child at his age? Elsa studied him and saw a smile on his face. The hard lines on his face had been smoothed out, and his entire demeanor was light and relaxed.

Regardless of his age, he would always be a child in the eyes of his elders. The next thing she knew, Elsa found herself joining in on their laughter.

Once their high spirits had settled down, Mia Mai looked at Soren with hesitation in her eyes and asked tentatively, "Ren, will your father and stepmother come?"

"They are busy." The smile on Soren's face was immediately wiped out by the cold expression that crossed his features. The air around them seemed to be frozen. Elsa did not know what had happened, but she was in no position to ask. Thus, she could only stay silent.

The oppressive silence suddenly dampened the formerly cheerful atmosphere. After all of their laughter, the coldness seemed to be glaringly obvious. Compared to the noises of their amusement, the silence was suffocating. Elsa was again filled with a compulsion to start biting her fingernails. However, her phone rang before she could start her fidgeting. Startled, she picked up the call and said, "Mom? I'll be out in a minute!"

"I'll go with you!" Soren stood up and naturally took her hand into his.

At the entrance of the hotel, Blanche and Johnson were standing in front of a pile of luggage. In addition, Elsa's aunt, uncle, and cousin came to visit her. The members of their family were intimately close with each other. Soren was ignored completely. After a long round of hugs and greetings, Blanche asked, "Sasa, where is Greenwood?"

When the topic was brought up, Elsa's family did not think much about the matter. However, Elsa felt extremely embarrassed and was momentarily at a loss how to explain the situation to them. Soren held her hand and said, "Father, mother, aunt, uncle, and Jamie. My name is Soren Wang, but you can just call me Ren."

He greeted each family member by name according to what Elsa had just said. Elsa's family members looked down at their intertwined hands, stunned. "Ah, this is..."

They all looked at the couple again. The two of them looked as close as any couple who were about to get married.

Soren ushered everyone into the hotel and asked someone to bring their luggage to their respective rooms. Elsa had originally planned to bring their stuff to her car, but on second thought, she realized that the space in her car was too small for everything that her family had brought. Thus, she decided to check them into the hotel first and then gradually bring their stuff out.

Blanche seized the opportunity to be alone with her daughter. Taking Elsa's hand in hers, Blanche asked, "Sasa, what's going on? Where is Greenwood? How come you have never mentioned this Ren to me?"

"Mom, I..." Elsa couldn't explain the situation using only a few words. Truth be told, she herself was still feeling befuddled about the whole thing. Moreover, she knew that her parents would worry about her even more if they managed to find out about her hasty decision. She really did not know what to say at that moment.

"Elsa, if mom and you are done, let's head downstairs." Soren's voice sounded from somewhere close.

"In a minute." Elsa breathed a sigh of relief.

She went downstairs, where she proceeded to lace her arm through Johnson's. Johnson had suffered a serious leg injury caused by a work accident, so he had a little limp while he walked. Elsa didn't mind it, but she was still a little worried about what Soren's family would think of her family. She had never thought ill of her father for his slight handicap, but she was afraid that other people would think less of him or her family because of it or that her father would feel ashamed.

Soren was fine with it, but what about his grandparents and the guests tonight?

Once she came downstairs, however, she was glad to realize that she had just been overthinking things. With a kind and polite attitude, Zed Qi and Mia Mai shook hands with the Xia family and asked them with great concern about whether the trip over was tiring for them. They also tried to convince her family to extend their stay for a few days and invited them to visit often in the future. They didn't mention Johnson's leg injury at all.