Chapter 67#
第67章#
Chapter 67#
Chapter 67#
Zhao Rong’s smile was very beautiful.
So beautiful that even at this very moment, Qiao Nanqi’s heart ached with every beat, and looking at that smile, he could still recall how Zhao Rong looked when he smiled at him.
Although he was in the first row, there was still some distance between him and Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping, making it impossible to clearly see Zhao Rong’s expression. But Zhao Rong’s expression at this moment…
Perhaps it was the same as when he looked at him before, or even brighter.
Qiao Nanqi finally averted his gaze.
He had just thought that he could watch the wedding proceed no matter what, but now he realized he had overestimated himself.
He tightly gripped the two rings hanging on his chest, hidden beneath his collar, now unfit to see the light of day. His fingertips, through the shirt fabric, traced their patterns again and again.
All of this had once been in his hands.
And now, even his silent heartache could not be revealed.
Because this was Zhao Rong’s wedding to someone else.
Because in the eyes of others, this was the wedding of his friend and Zhao Rong.
Zhao Rong’s hand, which once wore their wedding ring day and night, would now, from this moment on, wear another wedding ring, paired with someone else.
The style of the wedding ring was even vastly different from the one on his own hand.
Completely different.
Qiao Nanqi couldn’t help but wonder if this was also carefully chosen by Zhao Rong, if Zhao Rong had changed his taste, if…
All of this he could only think in his heart, unable to voice it.
Perhaps even if he were to obstruct it now, disregarding all propriety, no one would believe he was there for Zhao Rong.
Qiao Nanqi slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and with great difficulty, suppressed the urge to rush forward and stop it.
This time, he didn’t look up.
If he were to truly watch it now, he might not be able to uphold the words he had spoken to Xia Yuantu on the way here.
In front of everyone.
Zhao Rong secured the ring, and after silently thanking Lu Xingping, he turned to look at Lawyer Lin and others at the very back, who were documenting the wedding.
The other party, across all the guests, nodded to him from afar.
—It seemed the confidentiality agreement had expired.
In front, Liu Shun, one of Zhao Rong’s few friends, seemed to notice Zhao Rong’s gaze and, thinking Zhao Rong was looking at him, raised his hand and waved.
Zhao Rong: “…”
He withdrew his gaze, smiling wryly, and was a little worried that his change in expression might be noticed by others. As his gaze shifted, he inevitably saw Qiao Nanqi sitting in the front row.
This person had just been watching, but now he was slightly bowed, lost in thought, his expression unclear.
Zhao Rong’s gaze paused, then he pulled it back.
He slowly relaxed, followed the steps, and put the casually chosen ring on Lu Xingping.
When it was Lu Xingping’s turn, Lu Xingping took the ring in his hand but raised his hand, stopping Zhao Rong’s outstretched hand.
Zhao Rong was startled.
Lu Xingping leaned in slightly, very discreetly, a few inches from his ear, and whispered in a very low voice, “If you’re unhappy, you can stop at any time.”
Unhappy?
This was the second person to ask him that.
Just before the wedding started, Fang Zhuoqun had asked him the same thing.
Had he shown something, or done something, that made them all misunderstand?
How could he be unhappy?
By holding a hasty fake wedding, the confidentiality agreement would expire, and after he and Lu Xingping completed the legal procedures, he would receive half of the inheritance. That was a quarter of the once-prominent Chen family’s assets; even if he wasn’t in Yangcheng, no matter where he went, this money would be enough for him to establish himself directly in the circles of aristocratic families.
An easy, big deal.
It was also Zhao Rong’s initial goal.
“No,” he also lowered his voice and quietly told Lu Xingping the truth, “I’m quite happy. I’m about to get the life I want. If I had to say anything…”
“It’s just a bit complicated.”
He had once given up all this for Qiao Nanqi, or rather, not even for Qiao Nanqi, but just for a chance to stay by Qiao Nanqi’s side.
Now, everything had reversed.
He had just imagined countless possible accidents, worrying about the unstable factor that was Qiao Nanqi, yet this wedding had actually proceeded smoothly until now.
At the beginning of the wedding, Zhao Rong even thought, with so many people watching, if Qiao Nanqi truly disregarded even the last bit of peace, then all his past love and regret were nothing but selfish jokes. In that case, he wouldn’t mind abandoning his last shred of dignity, tearing off the facade with this person completely, and never interacting again.
Let ten years pass like an arrow, shot by him from a drawn bowstring, to some unknown distant place.
But Qiao Nanqi did nothing.
Zhao Rong naturally felt complicated.
He reached out and smiled, “Just one more step.”
Lu Xingping nodded and slowly put the ring on him.
At this point, the dust settled.
When Qiao Nanqi looked up again, Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping had already completed the ring exchange.
Xia Yuantu sat beside him, asking in a low voice, “You…?”
“I’m fine.” He was answering, but it was more like he was telling himself, “I’m fine.”
Xia Yuantu seemed to have nothing more to say.
After the procedures concluded, Lu Xingping allowed the attendees to mingle freely, then took Zhao Rong to engage in those polite, useless, yet necessary exchanges with some of the Lu family relatives.
Qiao Nanqi remained seated there.
He looked at the spot where Zhao Rong had stood moments ago and suddenly said, “Am I… a very failed person?”
In his life, he had only encountered two people who loved him with everything they had.
One was Qiao Anqing.
His name was given by Qiao Anqing—originally with a beautiful meaning: Qiao from Qiao Anqing, Nan from Henan, and Qi for expectation. She adopted him, disregarding blood ties, and to entrust the Qiao family to him, she nurtured him, bit by bit, into the spirited young man he was in his teens.
But she eventually became depressed and went mad, little by little, because of an unworthy Henan, and in the end, even his attempts to keep her were useless.
He failed to keep Qiao Anqing.
The second was Zhao Rong.
Not only did he fail to keep him, but he also had to watch Zhao Rong walk away, while he alone stood in place, solitary and without support.
A person like him…
Truly deserved the word “failure.”
Qiao Nanqi’s mind had turned over countless thoughts, but this sudden remark made Xia Yuantu, who was watching him from beside him, unable to comprehend it for a moment.
Xia Yuantu even suspected he had misheard.
This couldn’t be something Qiao Nanqi would say.
Xia Yuantu clearly remembered that Qiao Nanqi’s personality had changed significantly around the time Qiao Anqing passed away, but the one constant was his unwavering pride.
Qiao Nanqi never bowed his head.
Even if he had feigned submission in front of Henan, that was merely a facade; internally, Qiao Nanqi had never truly admitted defeat—and he did indeed win later, beautifully and thoroughly.
As for their peers, there was even less to say. Let alone those of the same age, even their parents, who among them wouldn’t speak Qiao Nanqi’s name with a hint of awe?
Xia Yuantu had always believed that Qiao Nanqi would never admit defeat in this lifetime.
Because no one could make his always-victorious childhood friend admit defeat.
Yet, he had truly heard Qiao Nanqi himself utter the word “failure.”
Flowers fragrant, glasses clinking, balloons drifting in the gentle flow of warm air.
The sky had already darkened, the dome gilded with a layer of gold, and as night approached, the beautiful lights adorning the venue lit up, laying a carpet of stars on the ground in advance.
It was like noisy yet peaceful, prosperous and beautiful years.
Only Qiao Nanqi was not among them.
Not hearing Xia Yuantu’s reply, Qiao Nanqi absurdly asked again, “Am I a failed person?”
“No,” Xia Yuantu replied without hesitation this time, “How could you be?” He glanced at the people around them who were eager to approach, then continued, “Look up, they’re all waiting for you to stand up, eager to get close to you.”
“Why would they want to get close to me?” Qiao Nanqi pulled at the corner of his mouth, self-deprecatingly, “For my status? My career? My wealth? I have all of those.”
He looked at Zhao Rong.
Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping had, at some point, walked over near them with others, laughing and chatting playfully.
He said, “But the person I want to give all of this to doesn’t care for any of it.”
“Well, you… sigh, you’re not a failure. There are plenty of fish in the sea,” Xia Yuantu, being a philanderer himself, didn’t know how to console him, repeating the same old clichés, “Breakups are sad, but once you move on, you won’t feel anything, and you might even be glad you met a new love.”
These words were originally meant to comfort Qiao Nanqi.
But as soon as they left his lips, Qiao Nanqi stiffened, then looked again at Zhao Rong not far away.
Xia Yuantu then realized his own blundering, wishing he could slap himself and swallow those words back.
Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping had already returned.
Some of their mutual friends saw them still sitting there and called out, “Old Xia, Big Qiao, why are you still sitting?”
The group stood together, truly looking like a few friends gathered at a wedding banquet, exchanging a few congratulations amidst playful banter.
Qiao Nanqi restrained himself, glanced at Zhao Rong, composed his expression, and slowly stood up. He was so skilled at disguising himself that at this moment, even if he wanted to deliberately show a hint of the bitterness in his heart, he couldn’t.
He could only remain numb, hearing someone among them say, “Xingping, this is too sudden. Your engagement wasn’t supposed to be fulfilled, I was stunned when I received the invitation.”
“Yeah, and Zhao Rong,” another person added, “You used to come and hang out with us often, but for the past year or so, we haven’t seen you much. You wouldn’t come even when we called.”
No one mentioned the Chen family’s affairs. If Zhao Rong had truly fallen on hard times with the Chen family’s incident, they might not have even spared him a glance, but now that Zhao Rong stood before them, married to Lu Xingping, their attitude was naturally different.
Another person nodded, “But today you suddenly gave us a big surprise, impressive!”
The others also laughed, clearly sharing the same thought.
Lu Xingping smiled, “Some things just happen suddenly, there’s nothing to be done.”
Zhao Rong interjected, seemingly afraid that others might misunderstand Lu Xingping, and quickly said, “It has nothing to do with Senior, I’m the one who wanted to get married so quickly.”
These words were like adding fuel to the fire.
Qiao Nanqi’s gaze was deep, his expression unchanged, but his lowered hand was clenched tightly, almost crushing his knuckles.
Xia Yuantu subtly stood a little in front of him, looking ready to intervene at any moment.
They chatted for a while, Qiao Nanqi occasionally uttering a few words, his attention entirely on Zhao Rong. Every time Zhao Rong smiled, every time his movements revealed the newly worn wedding ring, every time he spoke to Lu Xingping, it dug another hole in his heart, so he naturally had no interest in the content of their conversation.
However, Qiao Nanqi always appeared indifferent to everything in front of others, and apart from the three who knew the truth, no one noticed any difference.
Although this group of people wasn’t as close as Xia Yuantu, Lu Xingping, and Qiao Nanqi, they were at least trustworthy friends, free from the misunderstandings of others, knowing that there was nothing between Qiao Nanqi and Lu Xingping.
But how Zhao Rong used to look at Qiao Nanqi back then, in those lively places, amidst the neon lights, after glass after glass of wine, others had seen it clearly.
In Xia Yuantu’s words, ten out of ten people who saw it would have felt it was deeply affectionate.
However, Zhao Rong had held a wedding with Lu Xingping and openly invited Qiao Nanqi, so most others probably thought Zhao Rong had moved on.
A past love affair that had been let go was no longer an unmentionable past, but rather a topic of conversation after meals.
The person who had earlier mentioned the sudden marriage joked, “I still remember how you, Zhao Rong, used to chase after Big Qiao every day. It’s a good thing Big Qiao didn’t take a liking to you back then, otherwise, where would your fate with Xingping come from? Big Qiao, in this sense, is still a matchmaker, I wonder what gift he brought today—”
The person’s voice abruptly stopped.
Qiao Nanqi coldly swept his gaze over him.
This gaze was not merely pure coldness; it was an ice blade wrapped in fire, chilling to the bone, yet burning intensely.
The person almost dropped the highball glass in his hand, and after falling silent, didn’t even dare to ask what he had said wrong.
Xia Yuantu saw it clearly: if these words had been spoken before, there would have been no problem at all.
Their circle of friends never associated with those dissolute rich kids, always speaking of them with a hint of disdain. Even when Zhao Rong used to hang out with them to get closer to Qiao Nanqi, they inherently maintained a superior attitude. No one thought there was anything wrong with those words—after all, who could catch Big Qiao’s eye?
In the past, those flirtatious women, even attending one evening party with Qiao Nanqi, would be considered reaching above their station.
But times were different now.
He quickly interjected, “Who knows about the past? By the way, why didn’t your family’s fifth child come today?”
Clearly, he was trying to change the subject.
Zhao Rong, however, spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly: “Whether two people are compatible is a matter for those two people. Thank you for your concern, but this kind of thing is not suitable for jokes.”
Lu Xingping, who had been about to speak, raised an eyebrow and remained silent.
The person, blocked by several people in a row, turned pale, then green, and after a long while, managed to stammer out an “I’m sorry.”
But as soon as those words came out, Qiao Nanqi suddenly realized that even by standing here, he might cause Zhao Rong to become a topic of gossip for others.
He seemed to be numb with pain.
He had to accept the fact that Zhao Rong had completely left him, had to accept that he no longer had the right to pursue Zhao Rong, had to accept that from now on, Zhao Rong’s eyes would only hold another person, and that person was his friend since childhood.
But why couldn’t he let go?
It hurt so much.
He didn’t even know how long he had stayed there, or when he had said, “I have something to do, please excuse me, I’m leaving first.”
By the time he realized it, he had already left the wedding venue and was sitting on a bench by the path outside the hall.
The sky had completely darkened, and the new moon slowly climbed among the stars.
On such a cold day, Xia Yuantu handed him a newly bought bottle of iced mineral water: “Calm down.”
Qiao Nanqi glanced at him, took it, twisted open the cap, and tilted his head back, gulping it down.
“Damn it, I told you to drink a few sips, not the whole thing! How long has it been since your high fever broke?!”
Qiao Nanqi had already drunk more than half the bottle.
“You should be inside,” he said to Xia Yuantu, “It’s not good for us to be absent together.”
“I told Xingping, he said it’s fine.”
Qiao Nanqi was silent.
Yes, he wasn’t the protagonist of the wedding; whether it mattered or not wasn’t up to him.
He glanced at the dried wine stain on his sleeve; that faint red patch was particularly obvious and out of place on the white shirt sleeve.
Like him at the wedding today.
A moment later.
Qiao Nanqi took out his phone and called Xiao Wu.
Xia Yuantu originally thought Qiao Nanqi was just calling someone to pick him up, but after listening for a long time, it was all about various funds, assets, and shares.
He almost snatched the phone away: “Old Qiao, calm down—”
“I am calm,” Qiao Nanqi frowned, “What do you think I’m going to do?”
Do what?
Xia Yuantu was naturally afraid that his two best friends would turn against each other because of Zhao Rong.
A few days ago, Qiao Nanqi had said he would destroy the Lu family, and now with all these instructions, how could he not be afraid?
Qiao Nanqi raised his eyes indifferently, the light in his brownish eyes completely extinguished, darker than the starry sky above.
From the day he learned Zhao Rong was marrying Lu Xingping, he seemed to have stopped being angry.
Even when he smiled, it was without any emotion, like the smile of a walking corpse.
Qiao Nanqi clenched his back teeth, expending great effort to steady himself slightly, and said, “A wedding gift.”
“Huh?”
“They’re right, I shouldn’t come without a wedding gift.”
“Why bother with this…”
Xia Yuantu originally wanted to persuade him, but then he thought of Zhao Rong.
Why did Zhao Rong bother back then? Didn’t he also stubbornly hold on for so many years?
Now the tables had turned, the stubborn one had changed, but the other person had directly cleared away all remaining possibilities.
“Fine, I won’t persuade you,” he sighed, “Sending a wedding gift is fine, consider it an end, and letting go. After a long time, if you ever want to find someone to be with again, your brother here will help you vet them—I’m experienced in that.”
Unexpectedly, Qiao Nanqi said, “I haven’t let go.”
“Ah? No, Old Qiao, the wedding gift has been sent, the wedding has been held. Even if you go in and beat someone up now, it wouldn’t be justified. I’m telling you upfront, if you really do something, I’ll have to break it up.”
“If I were going to do something, I wouldn’t be sitting here.”
This wedding wouldn’t have been able to take place.
Xia Yuantu understood this logic, “Then you…”
Qiao Nanqi actually smiled.
His smile was faint, yet it surprisingly carried a sense of anticipation.
“Zhao Rong is right, people’s hearts change.”
“Who can guarantee he’ll like Lu Xingping forever?”
Zhao Rong would never wait for him in the same place again, and there were even many beautiful sights along the way. Zhao Rong would do with Lu Xingping the things he once did with him, and would even reveal those expressions he had only seen, those fleeting looks that only appeared in the dead of night, to Lu Xingping.
He envied, he was jealous.
But he could always stay in place.
The years were so long, so long; he couldn’t let go, so he simply wouldn’t let go.
Xia Yuantu was truly startled by his words this time, staring at Qiao Nanqi dumbfounded, wanting to speak but unable to, and after a long pause, he finally managed to blurt out, “…Are you crazy?”
He was very calm.
He had said this once before, and wouldn’t say it again.
Today’s wedding was like a hailstorm in his heart; at this moment, he was much calmer than on the day he learned of Zhao Rong’s marriage.
He clearly heard the discussions of those people, and clearly saw their attitudes.
Those cold words, those rumors that were not the truth at all, those unspeakable things…
Indeed, a mere “like” could not offset them.
He could be the one in the shadows.
He could be the one who waits.
Xia Yuantu had already recovered and asked him again, “What if Zhao Rong doesn’t change his mind? What if you don’t wait?”
This time, Qiao Nanqi was surprisingly patient with Xia Yuantu’s nagging questions.
He said, word for word: “Someone told me that giving up is a momentary thing, and persistence is a process whose success can only be known on the very last day. And on the way to that day, every day holds two possibilities—giving up or persisting until the next day.”
“Why are you suddenly talking so mysteriously?”
“No one knows the outcome until the very end.”
He raised his hand and once again touched the two wedding rings hanging around his neck.
Two wedding rings that Zhao Rong had discarded like old shoes.
No one knows the outcome until the very end.
But every day, he could hope for two possibilities—to persist until tomorrow, or to succeed today.
The wedding was over.
Zhao Rong saw off Fang Zhuoqun, Liu Shun, and other friends one by one, and together with Lu Xingping, they properly handled the attending guests, sending off those who needed to leave and arranging hotels for those who needed to stay nearby. After all the commotion, it was already late at night.
Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping finally saw off Lawyer Lin and the others.
Lawyer Lin told them that the wedding met the standards, the confidentiality agreement had expired, and the steps to obtain the inheritance were no longer a secret. He gave Zhao Rong a two-part document. The document wasn’t long; it mainly required Lu Xingping and Zhao Rong to sign it, after which they could smoothly obtain the specific legal documents.
The two discussed it and decided to sign it at Lu Xingping’s house that evening. The next day, Lawyer Lin would bring people over to begin preparing for the marriage and inheritance matters.
They weren’t truly getting married, and there were no post-wedding procedures. Xu Xin drove Zhao Rong, Lu Xingping, and Lu Xiaoyue back to Lu Xingping’s house directly.
Lu Xiaoyue, who had worn high heels and a long dress all day as a bridesmaid, took off her high heels as soon as she got home, holding them by the heel and saying, “I’m so sleepy, I’m going up to bed first.”
“Otherwise?” Lu Xingping said without hesitation, “Do you still want to play games?”
Zhao Rong remembered Lu Xingping losing all night that day and couldn’t help but laugh.
Lu Xiaoyue was choked by him, her eyes darted around. Standing on the stairs, holding her high heels in one hand and leaning on the banister with the other, she looked down at her brother, who never admitted defeat, and said, “Brother, even though it’s a fake wedding today, I finally got to experience what it’s like to be your bridesmaid.”
After she finished speaking, she quickly ran upstairs, and the sound of a door closing soon followed.
Lu Xingping stood still, stunned for a moment.
Zhao Rong rarely saw such an emotion on the face of this young master, and for a moment, he didn’t speak, not wanting to disturb Lu Xingping.
After a while, Lu Xingping came back to his senses and led him to the study on the first floor.
It was connected to the music room, and the outermost part had a one-way floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the path outside. A desk and bookshelves were placed nearby. Lu Xingping had told Zhao Rong before that he usually conducted consultations with patients here.
Although Zhao Rong had been visiting Lu Xingping’s house frequently recently, he didn’t often come into this particular room. The last time he was here, it seemed they hadn’t yet decided on the fake marriage, and he had only recently left Qiao Nanqi’s house.
Lu Xingping held the document, already seated at the desk, scanning page by page, his pen slowly turning in his hand, ready to sign.
Zhao Rong slowly walked in behind him, his first glance falling on the grand piano with its lid closed—Qiao Nanqi had sat at this piano countless times, his beautiful hands once lingering on it.
Somehow, Zhao Rong remembered Qiao Nanqi raising his hand earlier today, his sleeve pulling back to reveal a fleeting glimpse of an unknown wound. When he first saw it, Zhao Rong didn’t want to investigate.
But at this moment, he actually wondered what kind of cruel hand would be willing to leave a wound on those hands’ wrists? He shook his head, no longer wanting to think about it.
“Have you read the document?” Lu Xingping asked him.
“Mm,” Zhao Rong stopped looking at the grand piano and walked in, “I was bored on the way, so I’ve already read it. There’s nothing much in it. Lawyer Lin said the inheritance documents will be available after we sign this.”
Lu Xingping nodded, looking down and scanning, clearly intending to review it himself before signing.
Although they had already cooperated to this extent, he still wasn’t careless about such matters.
Zhao Rong naturally understood that a person like Lu Xingping was highly cautious in this regard, so he didn’t rush him. He leisurely wandered around the spacious study, looking around casually.
Unlike Qiao Nanqi’s meticulously organized study, and unlike his own currently cluttered home, Lu Xingping’s study was warm and peaceful, with a fair amount of items, but most were decorative accents.
As Zhao Rong wandered, he noticed on the outermost shelf of the bookshelf several science fiction novels that had originally been unopened, now with their plastic seals torn open and their corners slightly curled, clearly having been read.
Weren’t these… the books Qiao Nanqi used to often send to Lu Xingping’s house, which Lu Xingping would never read?
Now that he knew the whole story, seeing these books, his state of mind was completely different from the last time he saw them.
But these books…
Zhao Rong turned his head and looked at Lu Xingping, who was still reviewing the document: “Senior, have you started reading science fiction novels recently?”
Lu Xingping looked up, his gaze falling on the bookshelf in front of Zhao Rong. When he saw the opened science fiction novels, his eyes flickered slightly, and he said, “I didn’t read them.”
“Oh? Xiaoyue read them?”
Zhao Rong asked casually, his attention already drawn to a small greenhouse nearby.
The greenhouse was clearly designed for those with money to spare; it was small and didn’t contain much, just a complete small ecosystem and a few cocoons that were about to break open.
So Lu Xingping had this hobby.
Zhao Rong rarely saw such things and, on a whim, stared at it for a while.
“Not Xiaoyue,” Lu Xingping had already lowered his head, picked up his pen, and began to sign at the end of the two-part document, “It was someone who kept coming to my house to wait for you a while ago.”
Zhao Rong was startled.
Who this person was, was self-evident.
But he, a while ago…
“You didn’t see him at my house,” Lu Xingping added, “because every time that person waited until you actually called to say you were coming, he didn’t dare to stay and left.”
Before Zhao Rong’s eyes, the cocoon that was about to break seemed to gently sway, he wondered if what was inside was struggling to break free.
“I’ve signed it, now it’s just you,” Lu Xingping told him.