3 Chapter 3: On Family Trees_1

Looking at the freshly issued, red marriage certificate in her hands, Shen Xinglan felt like she was dreaming.

Just last night, she and her fiancé decided to cancel their wedding, and today, she had become the aunt of her former fiancé.

"What, is it unbelievable?" Huo Shiyan snatched the marriage certificate from her hand, finally feeling a sense of reality.

"It's like a dream, maybe I'm still not fully awake."

Shen Xinglan always believed that she would become Mrs. Huo, but she never thought she would become Mrs. Huo Shiyan.

Huo Shiyan gave a light laugh but didn't say anything – they had a long future ahead of them.

After leaving the Civil Affairs Bureau, Shen Xinglan was taken by Huo Shiyan directly to the Huo family's old mansion, straight to the Ancestral Hall.

Upon hearing that Huo Shiyan had opened the front door of the ancestral hall, the members of the Huo family hurriedly rushed over.

When they saw Huo Shiyan bringing Shen Xinglan into the ancestral hall, the faces of everyone in the Huo family changed.

No outsiders were allowed in the ancestral hall, especially not women from outside the family. The only exceptions are brides marrying into the family who need to be added to the family tree.

"Shiyan, what is this?"

Huo Shiyan's father, Huo Jinghua, staggered over. Upon seeing Shen Xinglan, he had a bad feeling.

"Entering your daughter-in-law into the family tree," Huo Shiyan replied indifferently, sweeping his gaze over the crowd, and then taking Shen Xinglan's hand, signifying her status.

"Isn't she Huaichuan's wife? How did she become Shiyan's?"

An old man with white hair voiced the question that was in everyone's hearts.

Aside from Huo Jinghua and Huo Huaichuan's immediate family, no one else knew that Huaichuan and Shen Xinglan had decided privately to cancel tomorrow's wedding.

"Great uncle, you're rather confused. Xinglan has always been my fiancée. When did she become Huo Huaichuan's fiancée?"

Huo Shiyan grinned slightly, his deep gaze swept over everyone, the warning in his eyes was clear.

Without caring what the others thought, Huo Shiyan took out the family tree, wrote Shen Xinglan's name next to his own, then put the family tree back.

"Shiyan, have you really thought this through?" asked Huo Jinghua, unable to hold back. Had he already decided on this girl from the Shen family?

"The marriage between the Huo and Shen families has been handed down through several generations, but no one has fulfilled it. Now that we're fulfilling it, isn't it fulfilling the wishes of our ancestors?"

Huo Shiyan looked at Huo Huaichuan with a relaxed expression and gave a light laugh.

"Tomorrow's wedding will be held as scheduled, but be sure not to get the groom's name wrong again."

Huo Shiyan led Shen Xinglan away, leaving the Huo family members who looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Jinghua, are you going to let him do as he pleases?" The great uncle disapprovingly looked at Huo Jinghua. The girl from the Shen family was Huo Huaichuan's fiancée, the wedding invitation listed Huo Huaichuan, not Huo Shiyan.

"It's all because of Huo Huaichuan. As soon as Xie Weiyi returned to the country, he immediately asked Shen Xinglan to cancel the wedding. Since Huo Huaichuan doesn't want to marry her, it's not a problem to change to Shiyan instead. I only hope that Huo Huaichuan doesn't regret it in the future."

Huo Jinghua took a deep look at the silent Huo Huaichuan, then left the ancestral hall.

Everyone in the Huo family looked at Huo Huaichuan in amazement. Did he have a hole in his brain? He didn't want Shen Xinglan, but wanted Xie Weiyi instead!

"Forget it, after all, Huo Huaichuan is not good enough for Miss Shen." The great uncle said, then left with the help of his old servant.

"Third Uncle, if you add me to the family tree and later regret it, or if you meet someone you like, what will you do?"

Shen Xinglan asked. A marriage could be divorced, but once you were on the family tree, that was a different matter.

"I never do things I'll regret. Also, don't call me Third Uncle. From now on, I'm your husband."

Huo Shiyan stared at her, his voice low and magnetic, his deep, dark eyes filled with an inexplicable expression.

Naturally, Shen Xinglan couldn't bring herself to call him 'husband', and luckily, Huo Shiyan didn't insist on it.

The next day, a grand wedding was held in the largest hotel in Yun City.

Although the groom's name on the invitation differed from the groom they saw on the day, given Chen & Huo families' power and influence, naturally no one dared to raise objections.

Shen Xinglan, dressed in a white wedding gown, looked sacred and beautiful. Standing next to Huo Shiyan, whose posture was upright and demeanor poised and dignified, she aroused envy in all the women present.

"Shen Xinglan really is lucky. She was jilted by Huo Huaichuan but managed to marry Third Master Huo, it's simply envy-inducing."

"I heard it's because Xie Weiyi returned to the country that prompted Huo Huaichuan to call off the wedding with her."

"Xie Weiyi is Huo Huaichuan's first love, Bai Yueguang. Didn't she go abroad because of the marriage arrangement between Shen Xinglan and Huo Huaichuan?"

"Shen Xinglan is really lucky, not only does she hail from a good background, but she also married extremely well."

"Huh, she's nothing but a girl who lost her mother at birth. If she had been raised by a mother, she wouldn't have the audacity to seduce her former fiancé's younger brother after being jilted."

This discordant voice caused many socialites to fall silent.

Although they also harbored such thoughts, they wouldn't dare to voice them so boldly.

"What, am I wrong? Shen Xinglan killed her own mother at birth, maybe she's an omen of misfortune. The Third Master isn't scared of being bewitched by her?"

Lin Shuyue raised her voice on purpose, seeming to want everyone to know that Shen Xinglan was a bringer of misfortune and ruin her reputation.

"Shuyue, don't say it like that, Shiyan will be upset if he hears you." Lin Shuying said in a somewhat helpless tone, appearing like she was at a loss for what to do with her uncontrollable younger sister.

"But it's true, maybe Third Master was forced into this marriage with her. It's such a pity that my sister spent so many years by Third Master's side, but in the end, it was all for naught."

Lin Shuyue voiced her frustration. She used to fantasize that Third Master would be her brother-in-law, which would allow her to strut around Yun City with arrogance.

"Shuyue, stop talking nonsense." Lin Shuying's face turned pale, but she had to put on a brave face. Her longing gaze following Huo Shiyan was filled with deep sadness.

"Huh, the way you two sisters perform your act, those who don't know any better might think there's some secret relationship between Third Brother and Lin Shuying."

As an old friend of Huo Shiyan, Jiang Li quickly morphed into a critic, berating the scheming sisters online.

Not only were they misleading everyone, but they were also implying that the new sister-in-law was poorly raised. They were in big trouble!

"Jiang Li, you've misunderstood, I didn't, I just...just..."

Lin Shuying hurriedly tried to explain. Despite her attempt to clarify, her hesitations only seemed to mislead people further.

Jiang Li crossed her arms over her chest, looking at Lin Shuying with a smirk, the sarcasm in her eyes plain to see.

"Jiang Li, you've misunderstood me. Later, I'll explain everything to Shiyan myself. We've known each other for many years, he won't misunderstand me."

Lin Shuying continued in her helpless tone, purposely using Shiyan's name in an intimate manner. In front of the many socialites and heiresses of Yun City, she wanted to show off her uniqueness.

Everyone else could only refer to Huo Shiyan as "Third Master", but she was able to call him by his name. In Huo Shiyan's heart, she was definitely a special existence.

However, she was put in her place the very next second!