Chapter 1 — Good Hours Don't Wait For You

There are twelve minutes left until the auspicious time to get married. Luc Thua An finally overcame the door barrier and put the wedding bouquet in my hand. Relatives surrounded the door, cheering in unison: "Quickly take the bride out and get in the car, it's almost a good time!" Mom's eyes turned red and she adjusted my veil. I was just about to step out when I suddenly heard the voice of bridesmaid Tong Loan Loan from behind. "Wait a minute! My eyeliner is smudged, I have to reapply my makeup!" My steps stopped, Luc Thua An also stopped: "Okay, no rush." Tong Loan Loan searched her makeup bag and smiled at me: "Nim Niem, don't worry, I'll retouch very quickly." “I don't want to get my makeup smudged and make you lose face at the wedding.” Having finished speaking, she naturally handed the bag to Luc Thua An: "Hold it for me for a moment." Luc Thua An received it. The room suddenly became silent. My mother's face gradually turned pale. I looked at him: "Luc Thua An, the auspicious time to get married is eight fifty-eight minutes." “It's just in time to go now.” He frowned again: "I'm already here, it's okay if you're a few minutes late." Looking at the pink makeup bag in his hand, I suddenly burst out laughing. I turned around, picked up my phone, and sent a text message to a number: 【Don't you want to steal the bride? Eight fifty-eight minutes, come pick you up.】 As soon as the message was sent, the other party quickly replied with one word: 【Okay.】 My hand holding the phone tightened, I looked at Luc Thua An again. He was still standing next to Tong Loan Loan, bowing his head and watching her apply her makeup. Relatives standing outside the door began to get impatient. She lowered her head to look at the clock, lowered her voice and reminded: "Thua An, it's eight forty-eight minutes now." "The auspicious departure time is eight fifty-eight, the convoy under the door is waiting, there can be no further delay." The eldest uncle also spoke up: "According to the old rules in our place, the bride price is when the bride leaves her mother's house, walks out and gets into the wedding car." "The most important thing is to be on time. Early or late is not good for the newlyweds." Luc Thua An just said: "I know, Loan Loan is almost done." Having finished speaking, he looked at me again: "Nim Niem, don't worry. I have arranged the wedding process well, there will be no problems." I asked him: “Do you know what time it is?” "Know." "So you know I have to sit on the float at eight fifty-eight." Luc Thua An was silent for a moment, his voice lowered: "I told you, it's okay to be a few minutes late." "Loan Loan is my best friend, her makeup is smudged, it's normal to touch it up a little." Hearing that, Tong Loan Loan immediately turned around and smiled at me: "That's right, Niem Niem." “I'm your best friend, you can't force me to leave my smudged eyeliner alone and go out with you, right?” Her tone was calm, even carrying some self-pity. I looked at her. Since college, she has been very good at doing so. When Luc Thua An and I were dating, she would suddenly call and say she was drunk, asking Luc Thua An to pick her up. On my birthday, she said she was heartbroken and heartbroken, so she dragged Luc Thua An out to drink with her all night. The day Luc Thua An and I took wedding photos, she said she wanted to come and see. As a result, she complained that the shoes hurt her feet, so she forced Luc Thua An to carry her from the parking lot to the studio. Every time I mentioned keeping distance, she would say: "Nim Niem, we are close friends. Can I do anything wrong to you?" “You shouldn't always think so much.” Luc Thua An also said: "Nim Niem, Loan Loan has such a personality, she has no bad intentions." I believed it before. But now, I'm standing here wearing a wedding dress, the whole house is full of relatives waiting for me to show off. Yet just because of a line of eyeliner, she asked everyone to stop and wait for her. Grandmother stood by the door with a cane, her voice trembling slightly: "Thua An, Niem Niem getting married is a big deal. Our family has been up and ready since four o'clock in the morning, just to be on time for this auspicious time." “You young people don't value it, but we older people value it.” Luc Thua An had not yet spoken, Tong Loan Loan spoke first: "Grandma, I know the auspicious time is important, but I don't know."

intentionally prolonging the time.” “Nien Niem, please quickly advise her. On such a happy day, don't make the atmosphere so serious." Hearing her speak, Luc Thua An turned his head to look at me: "That's right, Niem Niem. There are so many people here today, don't cause trouble anymore." I was stunned: "Are you causing trouble?" He nodded, his voice light: "Loan Loan just touched up her makeup." “Now you are determined to make the atmosphere so tense, everyone's faces are unsightly.” I laughed. It turned out that in his eyes, Tong Loan Loan forcing all the relatives in the room to wait for her to put on makeup was not causing a riot. I remind you of the good times, which is chaos. At eight forty-nine minutes, the MC waiting downstairs called. My cousin answered the phone and after saying two sentences, his expression changed: "MC said the leading car outside the door has started. If we don't get down, the whole convoy behind us will be in chaos." The atmosphere in the room immediately became more tense. I looked at Luc Thua An and said each word clearly: "Luc Thua An, at eight fifty-eight minutes, you must get married." Luc Thua An frowned, seemingly starting to lose patience. Tong Loan Loan suddenly let out an "ah" sound. She picked up the eyeliner, frowned and looked in the mirror: "It's done, I used the wrong color." “This tree is dark brown and doesn't look sharp enough. I have to change it to black and redraw it.” Seeing her continue to pick up her makeup bag and search, my mother couldn't hold back anymore: "Loan Loan, can you just go down first, get in the car and continue doing your makeup?" “Now relatives and convoys are all waiting. The hotel side also arranges the process according to this time, there really cannot be any delay.” Tong Loan Loan turned her head, her face full of disagreement: "Auntie, the car is shaking a lot, and there are so many people downstairs." “What if I make one eye dark brown and the other black and then go down, making Niem Niem lose face?” The eldest uncle said coldly: "Missing a good time will make Niem Niem lose face." Tong Loan Loan's movements stopped, her expression immediately turned to self-pity: "Eldest uncle, you speak as if I intentionally delayed Niem Niem's matters." “You and Niem Niem have been friends for so many years, how could you harm her?” Luc Thua An immediately looked at my mother and eldest uncle, raised his voice: "Mom, eldest uncle, I told Loan Loan to touch up her makeup." "If people want to say something, just say it, don't say Loan Loan like that." The eldest uncle seemed to be choked up. My mother's face was also pale. I looked at Luc Thua An, feeling like my heart had just been hit by something. The clock on the wall read fifty minutes past eight. “Luc Thua An, eight minutes left.” Luc Thua An rubbed his eyebrows: "I know. Niem Niem, just wait a moment.” “Our wedding cannot be held just because it is a few minutes late.” "Our seven-year relationship won't change just because of one good hour." “So you feel that good times are not important?” Luc Thua An looked at me, his tone firm: "Nothing is more important than you marrying me." If it were before, maybe I would have been comforted by this statement. But right now, there is no wavering in my heart at all. He didn't feel that I was important, but just thought that the outcome was predetermined. I will definitely marry him. So during this process, it's okay if I suffer a little self-pity, lose a little face, or miss a good time. Tong Loan Loan finally found the black eyeliner in her makeup bag: "Found it." She looked in the mirror, redrawn two lines, then suddenly frowned: "It's done, it's even smudged." She pulled out a makeup remover cotton pad and pressed it directly onto the corner of her eye. My mother finally couldn't bear it anymore: "Loan Loan!" Her voice trembled: "It's almost time to heal!" Today is Niem Niem's wedding, not yours." Tong Loan Loan was not panicked at all, on the contrary, she laughed: "Auntie, I know. That's why I can't do it lightly." After speaking, she looked at me: "Nien Niem, is what you said right?" I don't answer. Maybe she got used to my silence so she continued to remove her eye makeup. "Don't rush, I'll erase it and redraw it, it'll be done in three minutes." Eight hours fifty-one minutes. Seven minutes left until good time. I took a deep breath and asked: “Luc Thua An, b

Now, will you come with me or continue to wait for Tong Loan Loan?" Luc Thua An's face darkened: "To Niem, can you not force me?" Tong Loan Loan sighed while applying eyeliner: "Nim Niem, you're really being too much today." “I know you're stressed about getting married, but you can't take your anger out on me.” I looked at her and Luc Thua An and heard my calm voice say: "Okay, you keep doing your makeup, I won't force you." “Eight fifty-eight, I will bid on time.” At eight fifty-two, my father came up from downstairs. He pushed past the relatives outside the door, his tone impatient: "Why aren't you down yet? The convoy is all ready.” No one spoke up. The cousin coldly said: "The bridesmaid's eyeliner was smudged and had to be reapplied. The groom wants to stand next to her and wait for her." My father's face gradually became gloomy. He looked at Luc Thua An: "So you made Niem Niem wait?" Luc Thua An pursed his lips: "Dad, just a few minutes." “Don't call me dad!” My father immediately interrupted him. The room immediately fell silent. Luc Thua An's face became unsightly. My father pointed to the clock on the wall: “It's eight fifty-three now. It's 8:58 a.m., our family decided this time a month ago." “Invitations, motorcades, hotels and MCs are all arranged according to this time.” “Now you tell me it's only a few minutes?” Luc Thua An lowered his voice: "Dad, it's not that I don't value Niem Niem, but Loan Loan is her best friend." “On a day like today, wouldn't it be nice for everyone to save some face?” My father was so angry that he burst out laughing: “Face? You make the bride stand in her wedding dress and wait for the bridesmaids to remove their makeup and then repaint, that's called face? “You make a whole house of relatives stand here and watch the joke, is that called dignity?” Luc Thua An was speechless. At this moment, Tong Loan Loan stood up again: "Uncle, you don't need to say Thua An like that. I admit I was a few minutes late.” “But don't you also want to be good for Niem Niem?” “I dressed beautifully just because I hoped her wedding would be perfect.” "Perfect? Today you..." My father was about to say something, but I stopped him: "Dad." He turned his head to look at me. The nearly fifty year old man's eyes immediately turned red. “Nien Niem…” I said softly: “It's okay, it's eight fifty-eight minutes, I'll get married no matter what.” Hearing this sentence, Luc Thua An's face became unsightly: "Nim Niem, at eight fifty-eight o'clock, Loan Loan could not be ready at all. How do we get down and out and sit on the float?" "Do you have to use the wedding ceremony to get angry?" “Can you do that? Can your parents bear this loss of face? He spoke with such enthusiasm, each word was like needles piercing my heart. Turns out he knew I loved him. Knowing that my parents value face.