Chapter 64#
Inside the massive venue capped with a glass roof, the clear sky and sunlight outside fully covered the area, yet not a bit of the cold wind could blow in. It was warm as spring inside, but not quite hot; once you stepped in, you could feel the temperature was just right.
It was evident that someone was behind the scenes regulating all of this.
At intervals, long European-style white tables were covered with luxurious tablecloths. In front and behind hung many balloons in fresh colors. On the tables were various pastries, famous wines, and cakes that ordinary people might not even be able to name…
Everything was extremely simple in arrangement and color—low-key and luxurious, yet seemingly devoid of emotion.
Anyone who had seriously organized a wedding could see with a careful look that this was just a wedding scene prepared in a very rigid, formulaic manner according to specifications.
Quite rushed.
Among the attendees, some were relatives of the Lu family, while others were people who had received invitations due to some connections but were not actually that familiar with Lu Xingping or Zhao Rong. As for Zhao Rong’s side, they were all his friends, having nothing to do with these prestigious families, and were not many in number.
But as long as they came, most sat on one side holding wine glasses in twos and threes, whispering to each other—how did these two suddenly get married?
For friends familiar with Zhao Rong, he had worn a ring on his hand every day the previous year; there was someone at home.
So how was he sending out wedding invitations now?
As for others, who Zhao Rong was had been heard of more or less within the prestigious family circles.
If asked before, someone would surely have said he was that useless, good-for-nothing “waste” the Chen family picked up halfway. Good-looking and lucky, but capable of nothing, only knowing how to eat, drink, and have fun.
When the Chen family fell, everyone thought Zhao Rong would certainly be the most miserable one—after all, he had lost his family background and had no skills.
But during this period, they hadn’t seen Zhao Rong’s destitution. Instead, rumors frequently spread that Zhao Rong had established some connection with Young Master Qiao, and that he still had a lot of money, somehow even connecting with prestigious families from out of town. It was as if he couldn’t be associated with the word “waste” at all. Clearly, the Chen family was gone, yet he became increasingly brilliant.
—And he was holding a wedding with Lu Xingping today.
The marriage contract established by Old Madam Chen when she was still alive was taken seriously by no one.
No one expected it would actually be realized one day.
Before long, one of the main protagonists of the wedding came out.
He was smiling slightly, his eyes curved at the corners, revealing a few traces of faint tenderness.
Zhao Rong seemed to have just stepped out temporarily from some lounge in the back. He wasn’t wearing a tuxedo jacket, just a well-tailored white shirt with a pure black bowtie pinned at the collar.
Clearly a most formal and rigid style, yet on him, it seemed to have a bit of liveliness.
As soon as he stepped out, some people who weren’t very familiar with him walked up to him holding wine glasses, seemingly wanting to establish some connection.
But he just raised his hand: “Sorry.”
He was clearly smiling and looked very approachable, but when he refused, it was decisive.
The other party was stunned, and before they could react, Zhao Rong had already walked forward quickly.
Zhao Rong met several people who had just entered with invitations.
“Lawyer Lin,” he said, “sorry to trouble you all.”
“It’s my job.”
Before the wedding, Zhao Rong had contacted this lawyer responsible for the inheritance’s non-disclosure agreement. Lawyer Lin told him then that Old Madam Chen had mentioned some requirements before she passed away. During the wedding, he would bring people to record and go through procedures for verification. As long as everything matched, the non-disclosure agreement would expire.
So all the preparations and invitations for this wedding were merely made to meet the requirements. Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping hadn’t even looked over many things.
Naturally, it appeared prosperous but was actually cold.
After some polite chat with Lawyer Lin, Zhao Rong let him lead his people to “work.”
He refused the approaches of those who had looked down on him before all the way. When he returned to the lounge, he clearly hadn’t done much, yet he suddenly felt a wave of fatigue.
Inside the lounge, Lu Xingping was sitting on one side, and Fang Zhuoqun, who should have been waiting elsewhere, was waiting for him on the other.
Seeing him arrive, Fang Zhuoqun said: “Finally, you’re here.”
“Why did you come to my place?”
“I don’t know any of those bridesmaids and groomsmen, it’s boring.”
“Fine, Dad will keep you company.”
“Get lost.”
With no others around, the smile on his face dropped. As he sat down, Lu Xingping, who was playing on his phone to one side, asked him: “Have the people arrived?”
“They’ve already started checking the specifications.”
Lu Xingping seemed to glance at his expression, his gaze shifting slightly, but he said no more.
The lounge fell into silence again.
In the vast quiet, the empty, inexplicably uneasy emotion that had existed for the past few days emerged again.
They were only holding a wedding, and many of the customary steps had been omitted, keeping only the wedding ceremony part.
Once the time arrived, they just needed to go through a process of swearing vows, blessings, and exchanging rings.
It was actually nothing.
He had already prepared everything for going to Zhuxi during this period—found a house, prepared a temporary nursing home for Zhao Ming, and prepared investment directions. If he wanted to, he could leave immediately at any time.
And after that day, he had originally thought about dealing with Qiao Nanqi’s madness, but although that man had said those words, he hadn’t actually done anything.
When he went out to receive Lawyer Lin just now, he specifically took a look at the current guest list. Qiao Nanqi hadn’t come, Xia Yuantu hadn’t come, and that girl to whom he sent the nameless invitation hadn’t come either.
Although he felt some regret that the girl hadn’t come, with Qiao Nanqi not coming, it seemed there wouldn’t be any other accidents for the wedding.
Everything was in order.
But occasionally he would wonder, if Qiao Nanqi really did something forceful, or really came to the wedding and pleaded with him like that day, would he compromise and turn back?
Perhaps…
Still not.
The words he said to Qiao Nanqi in the flying snow at the entrance to Lu Xingping’s house that day.
That was also his own questioning of himself.
He used to say categorically that he liked Qiao Nanqi, but now he couldn’t even think clearly whether the pursuit back then was pure like, or mixed with other things, containing some obsession that couldn’t be let go of.
He was moving forward, just like his current trajectory.
If he were to turn back, he would think, what if Qiao Nanqi’s obsession was satisfied? What if Qiao Nanqi’s heat over these few months was just a three-minute passion? What if…
What if he himself was already unable to love?
He was ultimately a person who didn’t like change.
There were no “what ifs.”
“Even though this is a fake marriage,” Fang Zhuoqun nudged Zhao Rong’s arm and whispered, “you don’t have to be this indifferent, right?”
“Am I indifferent?”
“So indifferent I almost forgot I’m here to be a groomsman.”
Zhao Rong was silent.
He didn’t deny it; he truly wasn’t particularly looking forward to the upcoming wedding.
Even though it was a fake wedding, it was still an oath under the watchful eyes of many, and it was the act of exchanging wedding rings that he once very much looked forward to.
Fang Zhuoqun asked him very quietly again: “You aren’t unhappy, are you?”
Zhao Rong smiled helplessly: “Not at all.”
He was approaching the life he wanted step by step; how could he be unhappy?
It was just that with this fake wedding about to begin, he was still somewhat melancholy.
After a while, he said: “I’m working up my emotions.”
Fang Zhuoqun: “…”
Fang Zhuoqun glanced at Lu Xingping, who was playing Lianliankan.
Lu Xingping handed him the phone: “Win a few rounds for me; I also need to work up my emotions.”
Fang Zhuoqun: “…”
Qiao Nanqi’s house.
Xia Yuantu sat on the sofa in the living room, glancing towards the stairs from time to time.
Qiao Nanqi was in the bedroom upstairs.
He was half-sitting against the pillows, wrapped in a quilt, holding that physical invitation in his hand.
The date on the invitation was today.
The names of Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping were printed boldly on it; every time he saw it, it stung him once. Yet as if self-harming, he still couldn’t stop looking.
He didn’t know how long he had looked at this invitation or how many times.
The edges of the invitation were already wrinkled from his grip, and he could recite every word on it if he closed his eyes.
Xia Yuantu advised him to look forward; there would always be a next person in the rest of his life.
There wouldn’t be. His heart could only hold Zhao Rong.
He also tried to force himself to let go.
He had copied “Happy Wedding” thirteen thousand four hundred times before he could finally force himself to send those four words to Zhao Rong.
But at this moment, he still couldn’t accept it, struggling in desperation upon desperation.
Just the thought of where Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping might be after the wedding tonight, doing the things he and Zhao Rong used to do, made him so sad and jealous he was on the verge of collapse.
It was as if thorns had grown in his heart, impossible to pull out, and they entwined him even more, tighter and tighter.
To watch Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping marry, to watch Zhao Rong marry someone who didn’t love Zhao Rong that much…
He couldn’t do it.
He really couldn’t do it.
—But he must.
Qiao Nanqi stared at that invitation for a while longer.
The mechanical clock hanging on the wall swayed stroke by stroke, slowly taking away time.
The sunlight outside the window poured in, its trajectory slowly slanting, slowly and slantingly piercing into Qiao Nanqi’s eyes.
He suddenly used force in his hand, crumpling the invitation into a ball.
The sound of the hard paper folding was muffled. The edge of the invitation brushed against his palm, bringing a dull sensation of pain.
It made him a bit clearer.
A moment later.
His gaze dimmed, his expression contained. Holding that crumpled invitation, he got up.
In the living room.
Xia Yuantu had made a decision today; he didn’t go directly to the wedding, nor did he go to be Lu Xingping’s groomsman. Instead, he chose to come to Qiao Nanqi’s.
After all, one side was a friend, and the other side was also a friend.
He knew Qiao Nanqi’s character all too well. Although this lifelong friend of his had his own principles and pride, he was too stubborn at his core. If something really happened, wouldn’t it be bad for both sides?
Although Xia Yuantu also didn’t understand how Zhao Rong and Lu Xingping had reached the point of discussing marriage in just a few months, Zhao Rong had gotten together with Lu Xingping after breaking up with Qiao Nanqi. By all rights, he had no reason to persuade Lu Xingping not to marry.
So he could only come here and keep an eye on Qiao Nanqi. If Qiao Nanqi didn’t go, he would watch to prevent trouble here. If Qiao Nanqi went to the wedding, he would accompany him, also taking precautions.
He had been sitting here all morning.
Xia Yuantu thought that it seemed Qiao Nanqi wouldn’t go to the wedding today, but then he heard footsteps from the stairs. Qiao Nanqi walked down slowly.
He had clearly tidied himself up; the slightly dejected stubble was gone, and his hair was smooth and neat even at the ends. He was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, with a white shirt underneath that was ironed so well not a single wrinkle could be found even at the collar.
As proper and normal as one should be when going to a wedding scene.
Those eyes that had been dim and lifeless for the past few days now actually held a bit of sharpness—deep and profound. For a moment, he was like the Young Master Qiao from a few months ago when Zhao Rong was still by his side.
He walked down, took the car keys, and said in a deep voice: “Going to the wedding.”
Afterward, he didn’t linger at all and walked straight out the door.
Xia Yuantu was caught off guard by this sudden decision, dazed for a moment, then walked forward quickly to catch up and sat in the passenger seat.
Qiao Nanqi only glanced at him before stepping on the gas, driving towards the wedding location written on the invitation.
The scenery on both sides moved backward rapidly. Xia Yuantu swallowed his saliva. Looking at Qiao Nanqi’s seemingly very normal appearance, he only felt it boded increasingly ill.
He said tentatively: “Old Qiao, once we arrive, you plan to…”
Qiao Nanqi’s expression didn’t change, but his gaze became increasingly heavy.
“You’re afraid I’ll cause trouble.”
Xia Yuantu choked.
“I am indeed going to cause trouble.”
Xia Yuantu completely forgot he was in a car and suddenly stood up. His head hit the roof of the car, almost stunning him.
The seatbelt pulled him back down. “Crap—”
Qiao Nanqi looked straight ahead, his voice steady, his tone firm as he said: “I’ve talked with Lu Xingping twice about his wedding with Zhao Rong.”
Qiao Nanqi clearly had something to say. Xia Yuantu, rubbing his head, was about to speak but immediately shut his mouth.
He listened quietly.
The sky was blue as if washed, with occasional white clouds passing.
Amidst the traffic, the sound of engines and honking intertwined continuously.
Qiao Nanqi said slowly, word by word: “The first time, he told me he was getting married but didn’t tell me to whom. The second time, I asked him if he really loved Zhao Rong, loved him more than I do, and he chose to remain silent, not daring to answer me a single word.”
“I’m going to ask him a third time, at their wedding.”
“If he dares to give me a positive answer, then I…”
Then no matter how unwilling he was to let go, no matter how sad—even sad enough to want to die—he would die somewhere Zhao Rong couldn’t see, find some cold snowy ground and quietly bury himself.
He didn’t say these words out loud.
He just paused and changed his tune: “But if he still doesn’t dare to promise, doesn’t dare to be certain even at this point…”
He had spoken those earlier words in an orderly manner, with every word firm, no different from how he handled official business in the past, with an attitude so resolute no one could refute.
But at this point, as if unable to suppress it, his voice trembled slightly.
“I won’t let them get married.”
“Even if it makes me despicably tell Zhao Rong all my past and background, even if it makes me kneel down before everyone at the wedding and beg him, making me lay down all my dignity and pride, even if it just makes him pity me slightly, have even a tiny bit of softening towards me…”
“If even that doesn’t work, I can force Lu Xingping to give up; he cannot be my opponent. If he is unwilling to give up, I will destroy the Lu family, I will make it so he no longer deserves Zhao Rong.”
“As long as Zhao Rong relents.”
As long as Zhao Rong doesn’t marry Lu Xingping today.
As long as Zhao Rong is willing to delay this wedding a bit, willing to find someone who loves Zhao Rong more than he does.
Zhao Rong had already endured over ten years of silence on his side.
For the rest of his life, the person together with Zhao Rong must love Zhao Rong more than Zhao Rong loves that person.
That person could even not be him—if Zhao Rong really never wanted to accept him again.
But that person must like and love Zhao Rong more than he does.