When Xiao Ran and Shanamia stood together before the priest, the atmosphere throughout Satellite Integration reached its peak. The residents of Satellite Integration cheered the loudest, drawing even those from outside Satellite Integration into the fervor. Countless flashes went off at that moment, recording it forever.
At a time when everyone had fallen into such a frenzy, all it would take was a single gunshot or a bomb detonating here for that fervor to instantly turn into chaos and fear. Cheers would become screams, dancing would become shoving, followed by even greater disorder.
Xiao Ran stood at the highest point of the ceremonial platform. After exchanging rings, he gently kissed Shanamia on the cheek. A strange feeling rose within him. He felt like a monkey being watched by countless people, and this wedding, from beginning to end, was nothing more than a false ceremony staged for the public.
Yet Xiao Ran knew that although it looked false, the marriage had become reality. His first wedding in all his years of life had been with someone he had known for less than a few months, someone with whom there was hardly any emotional bond. Though they had become more familiar during those months, their contact from the very beginning had carried a stronger sense of purpose.
That made Xiao Ran seem somewhat deliberate in his interactions with Shanamia, and he felt somewhat unfamiliar with her as well. Yet after he gently kissed her cheek, that deliberateness and unfamiliarity instantly transformed into something else, becoming sincere. No matter what, from this moment onward, Shanamia had become his woman.
The two exchanged a glance and smiled in mutual understanding. Together, they turned toward the area beyond the venue below the platform and raised their hands in a light wave.
But in Xiao Ran's