Chapter 1. "Get ready, I'm marrying Bai Xiao next month."

Sunset.

Song Huai was engrossed in composing music in his studio when his father, Song Chengping, called him back.

It took Song Huai nearly an hour to get back to the old house. Seeing his son arrive so late, Song Chengping frowned in annoyance, but did not scold him as usual.

Something was definitely amiss, and Song Huai had a bad feeling. Sure enough, the next second Song Chengping said something shocking: "You'd better get ready, you're getting married to Bai Xiao next month."

The words caused a huge uproar. Song Huai's head buzzed. He stared blankly at Song Chengping, unable to believe what he had just heard. After a long while, he finally managed to whisper, "What did you say?" His back tensed unconsciously. "Father, Bai Xiao is my brother's boyfriend. How could you..."

Song Chengping interrupted Song Huai: "Song Huai," he looked directly into Song Huai's shocked eyes, "Song Boyu is dead. When will you realize that?"

His tone softened again: "Bai Jingzhong came to see me today. He hopes you can marry Bai Xiao, and he has promised the Song family many benefits." His eyes gleamed with greed, which he couldn't hide even if he tried. "The Song family will receive support from the Bai family. This is a golden opportunity. Song Huai, you are now the only child of the Song family. You will think of the Song family, right?"

Song Huai opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he said nothing.

Seeing Song Huai remain silent, Song Chengping lost his patience. He stood up to leave, saying to Song Huai before he left, "Think it over carefully."

After Song Chengping left, Song Huai collapsed onto the sofa, staring motionlessly at the photo of himself and Song Boyu on the bookshelf, as if trying to etch the image of the two into his mind.

In the photo, Song Boyu's arm is tightly around Song Huai's shoulder. He grins at the camera, showing off his white teeth, and his eyes crinkle with laughter. His smile is so vivid that it seems as if he has always been by Song Huai's side and has never left.

Bai Xiao was the person Song Huai had secretly loved for ten years. When he first heard the news from his father, a surge of joy overwhelmed him, and he almost blurted out his agreement. But when his reason returned, he realized that Bai Xiao was his younger brother's boyfriend, and he couldn't marry him, even though Bai Xiao was the man he had loved for so long.

For a moment, a thousand thoughts tangled in Song Huai's mind, impossible to unravel. He frowned and clutched his head in anguish, as if that would somehow sort things out.

Song Huai's birth mother died in childbirth, and his father remarried a year later. The following year, Song Boyu was born. His father and stepmother were always busy running the company and rarely cared about Song Huai. In addition, Song Huai had been a loner since childhood. If you think about it carefully, Song Boyu was the closest person to him in his life so far.

Song Boyu died in a car accident. No one knows what happened in the car at the time. Surveillance footage showed the car erratically zigzagging along the mountain road before crashing through a roadside fence and plunging down a cliff. It exploded upon impact. Rescue teams arrived immediately, but it was too late; the car and its occupants were unrecognizable. Investigators later discovered a significant concentration of alcohol in Song Boyu's blood, leading to the tragedy being unsurprisingly classified as a drunk driving accident.

Song Boyu and Bai Xiao were a perfect couple – they met and fell in love in college, were incredibly affectionate, and were the envy of everyone. Song Boyu's unexpected death left everyone deeply saddened, lamenting the cruel twist of fate that separated such a beautiful couple.

It has been three years since that car accident, and Song Huai has been tormented by the pain of losing his beloved brother for three years. During these three years, he often recalls the many times he spent with his younger brother, and he also imagines what his brother would be like if he were still in the world. Sometimes he even has the illusion that his brother has not left, but is accompanying him in another way.

Song Huai clearly understood that he could not marry Bai Xiao. The reason he was still hesitating was only because of his despicable selfishness. Before today, even if it was just a fantasy, he would never have imagined that he and Bai Xiao would get married one day. But when this unattainable dream was placed in front of him, his heart felt like it was torn in two. One half was the unfulfilled desire of many years, and the other half was his flesh and blood relatives who had been with him for many years.

Song Huai stared at the photo in front of him, sat quietly for a long time, sighed deeply, and gave a bitter smile—he could not marry Bai Xiao.

The next day, Song Huai planned to send a message to Song Chengping to tell him that he disagreed with marrying Bai Xiao. Just then, his phone rang; it was an unfamiliar number.

Song Huai answered the phone with a puzzled look on his face, only to find an unexpected person on the other end.

"Song Huai, this is Bai Xiao. Can we talk?"

--

Inside the coffee shop, Song Huai picked up his black coffee and took a small sip. If you looked closely, you could see that his hand holding the coffee was trembling slightly, and the liquid in the cup was almost spilling.

At this moment, Song Huai stared at the man he hadn't seen in a long time. His gaze seemed to be glued to Bai Xiao. Only he knew that he could clearly hear the "thump-thump" of his own heartbeat. He slowed his breathing, trying to calm his heart, but it was no use.

Song Huai last saw Bai Xiao about three years ago at Song Boyu's funeral. Little did he know that their reunion would be like this. Bai Xiao was wearing a suit, which made his figure even more upright. His features were exquisite, as if God himself had sculpted them. Although he was very different from the naive boy by the lake back then, Song Huai was still just as captivated by him at first glance.

Bai Xiao was also sizing up Song Huai. Looking at the face that bore a slight resemblance to Song Boyu, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. Then, the surprise turned into sorrow. As if realizing that he had lost his composure, Bai Xiao quickly composed himself and broke the strange atmosphere between the two: "Song Huai, long time no see."

Song Huai wondered why Bai Xiao wanted to see him, but quickly forced a smile and said, "Long time no see."

"I asked you to come here today to discuss our marriage."

Song Huai asked in surprise, "Marriage?"

Bai Xiao felt a little uncomfortable. He rubbed his hands together in secret. "I'm sorry, I know this is presumptuous. Our relationship... is quite special." He paused for a moment. "It's like this, my father hasn't been feeling well lately. He really wants us to get married, so... I hope you can play along with me in this charade."

Song Huai had heard that Bai Xiao's father, Bai Jingzhong, had recently suffered a relapse of his old illness, and there were rumors that he probably didn't have much time left. Now it seemed that the rumors were true—otherwise, Bai Xiao wouldn't have been so desperate as to seek help from him and ask him to play along.

Seeing Song Huai's stunned expression, Bai Xiao quickly added, "After marriage, I won't interfere with your private life. You just need to move in with me and pretend to be someone else in front of others. And... at the right time, I will also divorce you."

The exact timeframe for this "appropriate time" is self-evident.

Bai Xiao handed Song Huai a document: "Don't worry, I won't let you play along for nothing. This agreement details the division of our property after the divorce. Take a look, and if you're not satisfied, we can negotiate."

Song Huai opened the prenuptial agreement in front of him and glanced at it casually.

He was shocked to find out that the Bai family's assets he could get after the divorce were almost enough for him to work for most of his life—if Song Chengping knew this, he would laugh his head off.

Song Huai glanced at the agreement, then at Bai Xiao, a deep bitterness welling up inside him—but he didn't know what he was worried about.

Bai Xiao had already put it this way, so it would be ungrateful of him to disagree. Song Huai comforted himself: Just consider it helping Bai Xiao out. His father is seriously ill in bed, so consider it helping him fulfill his father's dying wish. Besides, the two of them will be divorced soon, so it shouldn't be a big deal. His younger brother should... not be angry with him.

As if afraid of changing his mind, Song Huai didn't want to think about it anymore. He simply signed his name at the end of the agreement and then smiled politely at Bai Xiao: "Bai Xiao, it's a pleasure to cooperate with you."

Watching Bai Xiao's departing figure, Song Huai could no longer maintain his smile. After a long while, he picked up the cup in front of him and took a large gulp of black coffee. The bitterness instantly spread in his mouth—even such bitter coffee couldn't mask the bitterness in Song Huai's heart. Song Huai kept staring at the spot where Bai Xiao had left. After an unknown amount of time, he revealed a faint, bitter smile. Song Huai, oh Song Huai, what exactly are you disappointed about?