Sean Quinn and Sasha Shaw are from the sa hotown. However, even though they co from the sa province, the province is so vast that their dialects are different. Moreover, they suddenly decided to get married because of the baby, skipping the formal courtship process, so Sasha has never been to Sean’s hotown.
It was actually the first ti she learned that he is the only son in the family, the child of his parents’ older age, with four older sisters. His eldest sister is a full eleven years older than Sasha, so it’s easy to imagine the advanced age of both parents.
Sasha feels that she might only get married once in her life. They skipped the dating stage, and Sean’s proposal was so casual, without preparation or surprise. So, the honeymoon is sothing she definitely can’t skip. After the baby is born, she doesn’t know when she will have the chance to travel again, so she insists strongly on this matter.
After hearing about Sean’s wedding leave, Sasha began worrying over the calendar.
They just finished taking their wedding photos today. The photographer is soone Sasha knows through Ethan Sterling, who helped them borrow the famous Ariston University campus. Sasha is quite photogenic, and even though Sean is a bit awkward, the groom is never that important, so the photoshoot went smoothly.
They started preparing around four in the morning, began shooting at dawn, and were nearly done by noon.
After wrapping up, Sasha treated everyone to a al, and it wasn’t until the afternoon when they got ho that she had ti to discuss the wedding with Sean. No matter what Sasha says to him, he just responds with, "Sure," and "Whatever you say."
Although his attitude seems agreeable, in reality, he simply doesn’t want to think too much, leaving everything for others to handle.
Today, after Sasha laid out her plan in front of the calendar and told him about the ti he could take off, Sean imdiately had a different opinion.
He insisted that the feast at his hotown couldn’t be skipped.
"Ariston is about halfway between your ho and mine, and it’s convenient for relatives on both sides to get there. I can rent a big manor, and we can cover food, lodging, entertainnt, and travel expenses. This way, we can save at least five days. Although five days might be a bit rushed for the Nordheim countries, we can consider just going to Suonia or Vitiara."
Sasha’s social circle is in Ariston. Thinking about the environnt in Sean’s hotown, she doesn’t want her friends to undergo a long journey to a village to attend her wedding. In her hotown, she’s the most accomplished person for miles, but because she hasn’t gotten married yet, there’s been a lot of gossip. So, her parents also want to host a big return banquet in Sasha’s ho.
Adding in the four-hour-plus drive between the two families, just thinking about these three weddings gives her a headache.
Having a joint wedding in Ariston is the simplest way, and Sasha believes her parents would also be satisfied. After all, their main concern is pride; they want a grand ceremony to save face. Bringing friends and family to Ariston would better satisfy their vanity.
But Sean disagreed, "I’m the son, so I definitely can’t skip the feast at ho."
He thought this was easily resolved, "Then let’s not go on a honeymoon. We have so much ti together in the future; we can go with the child later."
"But..." Sasha had explained many tis before, but his intelligent mind was only filled with surgical procedures and tumor chanisms, completely failing to rember any of her small concerns.
If they were to hold the wedding in Sean’s hotown, Sasha would have to return ho a day early, then the next day, arrange with her family relatives to either drive together or take a train to Sean’s house, stay a night, and then attend the wedding the next day.
Setting aside the travel ti, just thinking about these three days makes Sasha very frustrated.
Before she could say more, Sean spoke again, "Besides, in our area, there’s a custom that the day after the wedding, you have to walk around the village. The whole family will give you money."
"What kind of money?" Sasha beca very wary at the ntion of money. There’s no such thing as free money, is there? The girls at her studio had already done various investigations on Sean’s hotown. Apparently, it’s a place where bowing is still required.
She wasn’t sure if she’d snap if faced with this kind of situation.
Sasha believed that besides her own parents who raised her, no one else deserved her bow.
"I’m not exactly sure about the details; yesterday my mom ntioned it over the phone. Probably ten to twenty bucks per person, maybe fifty if they’re close relatives. The main thing is to introduce you, let people recognize you."
Upon hearing this, Sasha’s face went completely expressionless, "I’m not going to live there. Does it really matter if they know or not?"
"It’s all for my parents." Sean coaxed, if that could be considered coaxing.
Sasha sighed, not knowing what else to say.
Sean knew she had been busy with wedding preparations lately, so he added, "Aren’t you going back with this Saturday to et my parents? Once there, listen to their arrangents. You’ve prepared so early, and if it doesn’t match their plans, it’d be for nothing."
Sasha: "...Alright." She got up to go to bed, suddenly too tired to say another word to Sean.
She couldn’t quite describe her feelings at that mont, just slightly wronged.
If they really did as Sean suggested, this wedding might turn out to be her biggest regret in life.
She thought about calling Ruby Sullivan but decided against it.
Back when the Sullivan family and the Sterling family got married, it wasn’t just celebrated in Ariston — it was a major event there. Even the advertisent screens on the downtown pedestrian street were lit up with blessings for them. Ruby surely wouldn’t know more about ordinary people’s weddings than she does.
She didn’t want to drag her friend into worrying about sothing outside of her expertise.
Soon it was Saturday, and they set off before dawn. Sean said he hadn’t been ho for a while and wanted to get there early to spend more ti with his parents.
Sasha had had a certain idea of Sean’s hotown before, but once they truly arrived, she was still quite shocked. As the car passed through the town, she felt like she had stepped into a historical drama.
Sean’s house, in the village, was considered decent — a small square courtyard with three main rooms and two side rooms.
Aunts and uncles had all arrived early to prepare at Sean’s house. As soon as Sasha got out of the car, they surrounded her with simple smiles on their faces.
As soon as she heard them speak, Sasha was bewildered.
She couldn’t understand the dialect here — not a single word.
She turned to see Sean talking to his family with the sa smile, using the local accent, and suddenly, he felt like a stranger.
She ntally drew a question mark, not sure why she was there.
With Sean’s introduction, Sasha learned that among the crowd, the two oldest-looking individuals were his parents. Both had graying hair but seed energetic. Particularly, his mother looked robust, almost like she could easily throw Sasha out.
His mother kept repeating a word while gazing at her, and Sean quietly explained that his mom thought she was too skinny.
Sasha wondered if she had been influenced by the studio girls, as she instinctively thought of this phrase: Childbearing hips are better for giving birth.
Then, she felt a bit nauseous.
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