Chapter 66#
第66章#
Lu Xingping’s words were spoken lightly, yet the air around them seemed to grow heavy, as if burdened by those two simple words.
The wedding staff, already arranged, were guiding other guests to their seats, breaking the brief silence.
The sun slowly moved westward, its gentle winter light, not at all harsh, streamed through the glass dome, like a quietly flowing warmth. Outside, the cold wind howled; inside, it was peaceful and warm.
—Except for the somewhat strange atmosphere between the wedding protagonists and their friends.
A moment later.
Qiao Nanqi first lowered his head slightly, concealing an unknown expression, then looked up again, having already resumed the inscrutable demeanor he had when conversing with others.
Only, the hand gripping the wine glass was too tight, veins bulging on the back of his hand, as if he was suppressing an immense impulse.
He actually smiled.
This smile was more heart-wrenching than crying.
“Good,” he simply said.
To others, it was unclear what he found “good.”
Xia Yuantu watched from the side, clearly seeing a seemingly peaceful exchange of pleasantries, yet for some reason, looking at Qiao Nanqi’s taut body, he felt that Qiao Nanqi would collapse at any moment.
But Qiao Nanqi didn’t.
Not only did he not, he even took a sip of wine after clinking glasses with Lu Xingping, then turned slightly towards Zhao Rong, made a toasting gesture, and said, “…Congratulations.”
Xia Yuantu instinctively looked away—even as an outsider, he couldn’t bear to watch.
And Lu Xingping, as if oblivious to the situation his “of course” had just created, glanced at Qiao Nanqi and Zhao Rong, then turned to chat with other guests who came to greet him.
Others dared not disturb Qiao Nanqi’s conversation, so someone walked up and greeted Xia Yuantu.
Everything just now was like a strange interlude, briefly played for a moment, then ceased.
Zhao Rong looked at Qiao Nanqi standing before him.
He didn’t possess Lu Xingping’s ability to remain unfazed when Mount Tai collapsed before him, nor could he remain as calm as the other uninformed guests present.
The moment he saw Qiao Nanqi, after the initial surprise, his heart began to pound—he didn’t know what Qiao Nanqi was doing suddenly appearing at the wedding at this time.
He had originally thought this person wouldn’t show up.
Qiao Nanqi’s previous “madness” seemed dramatic, but in reality, it was a well-contained obsession, merely a never-failed person’s persistence for the one thing he couldn’t obtain.
So, on the day of his and Lu Xingping’s wedding, Qiao Nanqi would calm down and eventually give up.
Just now, when Lu Xingping asked if Qiao Nanqi had come, hearing the staff’s reply, a not-so-honorable thought even flashed through his mind: See, he was still all talk.
Zhao Rong wasn’t actually hoping Qiao Nanqi would come.
This thought was like someone making grand pronouncements in front of him, talking about things he never believed would happen, and when they ultimately didn’t, he would always have a sense of “I knew it.”
But if these things actually happened, he would then start to worry about how to handle them.
For instance, now, looking at this person’s seemingly calm but turbulent eyes, he was already worried about whether something would go wrong with the wedding later.
He lowered his gaze, took the wine glass offered to him, and politely clinked it with Qiao Nanqi.
He said, “Thank you.”
Qiao Nanqi had managed to hold his ground no matter what when facing Lu Xingping, but at this moment, Zhao Rong’s light, calm words stung him.
His hand trembled, and a few drops of red wine sloshed out of the glass, flowing down his hand to his arm, instantly dampening his pure white sleeve. Someone immediately came forward to offer him a tissue. His gaze remained fixed on Zhao Rong, and he meticulously wiped his hand.
Unfortunately, no matter how clean he wiped it, a faint red stain remained on his sleeve.
Zhao Rong watched Qiao Nanqi wipe the wine stain, and when the man raised his hand, the cuff of his left sleeve was slightly pulled back, seemingly revealing a small, scabbed wound.
But Qiao Nanqi moved quickly, and the wound only flashed before Zhao Rong’s eyes.
Although he didn’t see it clearly, he didn’t probe. He smiled politely at Qiao Nanqi and prepared to leave.
As he brushed past Qiao Nanqi, the man suddenly whispered to him, “I haven’t given up.”
Zhao Rong’s steps faltered slightly.
“You…”
“I won’t affect your wedding, but I can’t let go,” he said, his voice hoarse and slightly muffled. “I’ll never be able to let go in this lifetime. You can marry him, and I can continue to love you.”
Zhao Rong’s expression trembled slightly.
Fortunately, he and Qiao Nanqi were talking sideways, so the other person couldn’t clearly see his expression.
He immediately composed himself and quickly walked away, joining Lu Xingping to talk with other important guests.
Xia Yuantu then leaned in, hesitated for a moment, and still said, “Why don’t we go back? You’ve seen him, you’ve asked…”
Why stay here and make himself miserable?
Those words were too direct, so Xia Yuantu didn’t say them aloud.
That day, amidst the heavy snow, when he went to Zhao Rong’s house to pick up Qiao Nanqi, he already felt that Qiao Nanqi was too pathetic, completely unlike his composed and calm self before Zhao Rong left.
But after returning, in the days leading up to the wedding, Qiao Nanqi hid in his room every day, repeatedly writing “Happy New Marriage,” crying countless times where no one could see. Xia Yuantu felt then that it would be better to give Qiao Nanqi some hope, even if it was that day in the snow, at least it could make Qiao Nanqi cheer up a bit.
At this moment, Qiao Nanqi seemed to have truly returned to his usual self, seemingly cheered up, but Xia Yuantu felt that he was even worse than a few days ago.
Now…
The more outwardly well-dressed and radiant he appeared, the more lifeless he was inside.
“Someone just came to talk to you,” Qiao Nanqi completely ignored his advice. “Were they talking about us?”
Xia Yuantu didn’t expect him to notice even in this state and was about to try to gloss over it, but Qiao Nanqi said again, “I don’t want to wait until the wedding is over to use my methods to ask them. Tell me the truth.”
Xia Yuantu, helpless, had to tell the truth: “It’s nothing… they just asked me a few questions, if you…”
“…if you’re unhappy because Xingping is getting married.”
Qiao Nanqi’s heart clenched violently.
“Anything else?”
“Nothing else, they just asked me again,” Xia Yuantu really didn’t want to say it, but he also knew Qiao Nanqi’s capabilities, so he stammered, “Since Xingping is marrying his fiancé, and you don’t have anyone in your heart right now, you… you… cough, you’ve been single for so many years, shouldn’t you find someone to be with? Their family has an unmarried daughter…”
Xia Yuantu felt like he was suffocating.
He couldn’t even understand why Lu Xingping, also a childhood friend, could withstand Qiao Nanqi’s pressure just now, while he was almost out of breath?
He bit the bullet and finished: “Or if you like men like Xingping, they can also set you up…”
Qiao Nanqi’s expression paused slightly.
He knew why Xia Yuantu was hesitant.
“Single for so many years.”
“Since Xingping is married.”
A moment later.
Someone came to urge them to be seated. Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping had already walked to the front, smiling, one after the other. The wedding staff on both sides pulled some kind of confetti cannons.
Suddenly, inside the venue, under the sunlight, colorful balloons and sparkling paper confetti floated with the sound of the cannons, as if endless splendor had fallen from the sky.
Someone passed by his side, seemingly a friend of Zhao Rong’s, who didn’t recognize him and Xia Yuantu, and chatted loudly: “I heard Zhao Rong used to have someone at home, loved them dearly, and never fooled around outside. I didn’t expect him to end up marrying this man named Lu…”
“Girls in our class used to send him love letters and confess, but I didn’t expect him to like men. But… hey, don’t tell me, with the conditions of the other groom today, if it were me, I’d be willing even if he were a man.”
“Stop daydreaming! But, hey, what was Zhao Rong’s ‘person at home’ like? He’s changed partners now, and we still haven’t seen them once.”
“Maybe they were just ordinary, with nothing remarkable about them. Don’t you think, even if Zhao Rong said he liked the one at home before, he still married someone else and never showed them to us? Maybe they were too unsightly or not presentable…”
“That’s true, maybe he just didn’t like drinking or smoking, and used the ‘person at home’ as an excuse. Saying you like someone is useless if you don’t really like them. If he truly liked them, how could he never show them to everyone?”
“…”
The staff urged them again.
Qiao Nanqi lowered his head slightly, curled his lips, and let out a self-deprecating laugh.
He felt that the words he had desperately tried to get used to these past few days shouldn’t be “Happy New Marriage.”
But rather, “Serves you right.”
Xia Yuantu seemed to still be saying something beside him, but he couldn’t hear any of it.
The surrounding commotion, all of it, couldn’t enter his ears.
Amidst the clamor, he quietly took his seat in the first row.
As he sat down, he noticed a few people in black suits behind him, some holding documents, some holding photography equipment, as if recording something.
Perhaps they were wedding videographers.
Qiao Nanqi had no mind to pay attention to others at this moment; he merely glanced and then withdrew his gaze.
He didn’t even know when the wedding began.
He only knew that Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping were at the very front, both with faint smiles on their faces, following the procedures step by step.
And he would only mechanically raise his hand and clap along when applause erupted, not knowing why he was clapping.
His heart ached with every beat.
Xia Yuantu asked him every few minutes if he wanted to leave, but he remained silent, still looking at Zhao Rong. The more he couldn’t let go, the more he didn’t want to miss a single moment of Zhao Rong before his eyes.
He was even somewhat grateful for this first-row seat, which gave him the best cover, preventing others from noticing his unconcealable gaze.
The sun continued to slowly shift.
He didn’t know how much time had passed; for those present, it might have been quick—this wedding actually had few steps, but for Qiao Nanqi, every second felt like a year.
When Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping exchanged rings, Qiao Nanqi watched with wide eyes as Zhao Rong opened the jewelry box someone handed him.
He instinctively raised his hand and touched the two rings hidden beneath his collar, strung on a necklace, above his chest. They were completely different in style from the one Zhao Rong slowly picked up, yet they were once carefully chosen by Zhao Rong.
But Zhao Rong wouldn’t let him wear them, so he could only hide them secretly beneath his collar like this.
He told himself for the umpteenth time, Qiao Nanqi, you truly deserve this.
In front.
Under everyone’s gaze, Zhao Rong took out the ring from the jewelry box, the one he was supposed to put on Lu Xingping.
He and Lu Xingping both wore faint, polite smiles for the guests, following the announced procedures, only to fulfill the requirements of the confidentiality agreement. So, when it came to exchanging rings, Zhao Rong didn’t think too much, even thinking to himself—he was a bit tired, it seemed like it would be over soon.
Lu Xingping had already extended his hand to him.
He gently held the ring, and as he lowered his head, his peripheral vision happened to catch Qiao Nanqi sitting in the first row.
This person was looking at him.
This person seemed to have been looking at him the whole time.
Those eyes were filled with despair and struggle, dark and profound, like a connection to an extinguished galaxy, or like a helpless trapped beast, silently wailing.
He hadn’t given up on attending this wedding.
Nor had he, as he said on that snowy day, recklessly stepped forward to obstruct it.
Zhao Rong was startled, and his fingertips instinctively loosened.
Just as the ring was about to fall from his hand under everyone’s watchful eyes, Lu Xingping quickly grabbed his hand, caught the ring, and as if nothing had happened, said, “Come, put it on me.”
“Okay,” Zhao Rong smiled, silently sending him a grateful look.
In the first row.
From Qiao Nanqi’s angle, he couldn’t see the ring slipping from Zhao Rong’s hand; he could only see Zhao Rong’s face angled towards him.
Through his shirt, he tightly gripped the rings hanging around his neck, his gaze fixed forward, watching as Lu Xingping seemed to raise his hand at that moment, gently—
He took Zhao Rong’s hand.
As if holding hands in front of everyone.
Then, he saw Zhao Rong look up, his gentle, affectionate peach blossom eyes curving slightly, revealing a smile to Lu Xingping.