Chapter 129 Playing the Bride With every step she took, the light and shadow beneath her feet solidified...
A few minutes ago, Wen Yi climbed over the railing of the neighboring balcony, her toes tapping as she landed on the blue brick. She moved cautiously, sticking close to the wall, her heartbeat audible in the silence.
The French windows of the bridal preparation room were ajar, the light from inside reflecting off the gauze curtains, casting a vague outline. Wen Yi didn't dare push the door open, fearing she might startle the "herself" inside—the one in her wedding dress, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
She held her breath, her fingertips lightly touching the crack of the door, and slowly pushed it open a little. Before she could take a closer look at what was happening inside, the French window was suddenly flung open.
She suddenly felt a tightness on her wrist and was dragged into the house. She stumbled a few steps before an arm came from behind and hugged her tightly, while another arm grabbed the back of her head and pressed her into his arms eagerly.
Before Wen Yi could recover, she was enveloped by the familiar scent of wood. She felt Gu Yifeng's hands tremble slightly, his breathing heavy and hot. He leaned in close, pressing his lips against hers, licking and kissing them over and over without any rhyme or reason. His fingers burrowed into her hair, their tips scorching, a heat so intense it made her lose her mind.
They were so engrossed in the long kiss that they ignored even the fading shadows of their memories.
"You're here..." He finally stepped back a little, his voice hoarse, his fingers tightly clasped her shoulders, and every breath trembled slightly, as if he was trying hard to restrain something.
Wen Yi's head was buzzing, and she was breathless from the kiss. She leaned against his chest and asked, "Wait...what happened? What's the situation now?"
He didn't answer immediately, but hugged her tighter, resting his chin on the top of her head, and whispered, "Don't worry, it's done."
Wen Yi breathed a sigh of relief, her tense nerves relaxing a little, but a feeling of grievance suddenly surged into her heart.
"Do you know what I just went through?" She grabbed his collar. "The groom has been targeting me! He's such a pervert! I was so far away from him, but he spotted me at a glance. He chased me all the way, like the Grim Reaper demanding my life. I hid in the rockery, climbed through the back window of the kitchen... To get rid of him, I ran around the manor three times! I wanted to jump into the artificial lake! I didn't get away until I fled to the Little White Building..."
Before she finished speaking, her eyes happened to pass over his shoulder——
Blood was dripping on the ground.
The bride fell face down on the sofa, her wedding dress scattered like a withered flower. The veil that should have been on her head was now roughly torn off and covered her face.
Damn, this looks like a crime scene.
Wen Yi's voice stopped abruptly and her pupils shrank suddenly.
"You!" she asked in disbelief, "You... killed her?"
Gu Yifeng suddenly let go of her, took a half step back, and his eyes regained clarity: "I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense."
Wen Yi took a step forward and suddenly stopped. She turned back to stare at Gu Yifeng and asked in a low voice, "What's going on? What happened to her?"
Before he could answer, Wen Yi's mother's voice came from outside the door: "Yi Yi? Why don't you open the door? Are you ready?"
Wen Yi's breath hitched. She exchanged a quick glance with Gu Yifeng; they couldn't afford to cause any more trouble at this point.
"Mom, wait a minute!" she replied vaguely, "It's almost done!!"
Gu Yifeng raised his hand and showed the blood collection device, and explained softly: "The blood sample was obtained. But she fainted."
"So what are you waiting for? Let's go!"
"We can't leave." He shook his head, his voice low. "I've already contacted the lab. If the wedding is interrupted, the afterimage of the memory will collapse immediately. The Time Anchor can only be activated when the closed loop is complete. The wedding must be completed, otherwise we can't leave."
Outside the door, the bride's mother's voice approached again: "Yi Yi? What are you dawdling about?"
"I'm coming!" Wen Yi gritted her teeth and glared at him, "But how can the wedding continue with her like this?"
Gu Yifeng lowered his eyes: "There is only one way now - you take her place."
Wen Yi's heart was shocked: "You mean, let me... walk the red carpet with that pervert?"
"Indeed, your presence at the wedding is necessary for the entire memory loop to be complete. Once the ceremony is over, the bride's 'exit' won't cause a logical breakdown."
"No, no, no." She shook her head violently, "You have no idea how terrifying this Gu Yifeng is! If I stand next to him, I'll be exposed in three seconds! Besides, I get scared the moment I see him. No, absolutely not!"
Gu Yifeng frowned slightly: "But there is no other way now. The afterimage of memories has begun to become unstable. When the time comes, you can put on the veil. As long as you don't speak, he won't easily find out that there is something wrong with you. Get through the ceremony, and we can leave as soon as the memories are over."
"But what if..."
"Nothing." He interrupted her.
Outside the door, the urging voice sounded again.
Wen Yi had no time to think about it at all.
The next moment, they both pounced on the sofa. Gu Yifeng lifted the bride's shoulders. Wen Yi gritted her teeth, fumbling with the delicate buttons at the back, and with one hand, she slid off her wedding gown. The gown was incredibly heavy, so she squatted down and grabbed the hem. With a rustling sound, several pearl buttons broke off and rolled into the depths of the carpet. She had no time to care, only to remove the wedding gown layer by layer as quickly as possible.
"Put it on quickly." Gu Yifeng carried the bride and hid in the hidden inner room of the suite.
Wen Yi had just put on her wedding gown, with the pearl buttons on the back still undone, when the door opened with a click. Her mother and makeup artist walked in, and the moment they saw her, they stopped dead in their tracks.
"Yiyi?" Her mother's voice cracked with shock. "We were only gone for a few minutes, how come you..." Before she could finish, the makeup artist gasped, "We spent two hours putting on your makeup, and now it's all gone?!"
Wen Yi lowered her head in embarrassment, one hand tightly grasping the hem of her tube top that was sliding down her chest. This wedding dress was originally tailored for the bride, but she was even thinner, and the tube top was empty and couldn't hold it at all.
The mother wanted to ask more, but Wen Yi interrupted her: "Do you have a spare wedding dress?"
The makeup artist was stunned for a moment, then immediately said, "Yes! I have a spare!"
In front of the full-length mirror, Wen Yi saw herself, both familiar and unfamiliar. She had changed into a different wedding dress, a completely different person. The long-sleeved, lace mermaid dress now perfectly shaped her figure, its hem flaring like a tidal wave as she walked, graceful and captivating.
"...I didn't expect a mermaid wedding dress would suit you so well." The makeup artist adjusted the hem of her dress, her eyes twinkling with amazement. "This is a private collection from world-renowned bridal designer Elaine Stuart, which was never released last year. It's the only one of its kind in the world. The lace used in this wedding dress is sourced from France, and it was entirely handcrafted by a dozen experienced tailors over 500 hours."
Wen Yi gently stroked the lace pattern covering her collarbone to her fingertips. Roses and honeysuckle vines were tightly intertwined, and every petal and vein was lifelike.
The makeup artist had altered her look, her hair loosely tied into a cloud, a few strands cascading down her neck. Roses, woven through her hair, their hue as if freshly plucked from a branch, encapsulated the tenderness of the moment. Tiny crystals adorned the corners of her eyes, shimmering with light when she blinked, making her appear incredibly lively, like an elf straying into the woods, stunning the world.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her gaze had become calm.
Outside the door, the wedding steward knocked twice: "Time has come, please ask the bride to go to the hall."
Wen Yi walked slowly down the corridor leading to the auditorium, the train of her wedding dress brushing against the marble tiles. With each step, the light and shadow beneath her feet solidified. The distorted columns gradually straightened, and the hazy world began to clear. The cracks in her memory stopped spreading, and time unfolded as it had before beneath her feet.
"Wen Yi."
Suddenly, a voice came from behind her, calling her name gently.
She paused and slowly turned her head.
From the depths of the shadows, a man walked out slowly. He was wearing a dark haute couture suit with a slightly loose tie, still looking cynical. He stood at the junction of light and darkness with a faint smile on his face.
"Guo Qingyu?"
Wen Yi's breathing was slightly stagnant.
This glance back seems like a lifetime ago.
Her originally nervous mood due to the ceremony surprisingly calmed down, and a smile finally appeared on her lips.
The wedding steward turned around and urged in a low voice: "Bride, don't stop, the time is almost up."
But she had already turned her toes and walked towards him step by step. There was only one step between them.
Guo Qingyu lowered his eyes and stared at her, then slowly spoke: "At this point, I still want to ask you one question - do you regret your choice back then?"
She was stunned.
Memories flooded her like a tide. Even after so much time had passed, the feeling of suffocation was still so clear.
Wen Yi lowered her head and curled her knuckles slightly: "There's no use regretting." She heard her heartbeat inexplicably quicken, thump, thump, thump... Those scenes that she didn't want to remember surged in her mind. She wanted to forget, but she couldn't do it in the end.
"Why is it useless? If you regret it, you can leave with me now."
She looked up at him for a long moment, then shook her head gently, "I won't run away." She turned around and was about to leave when Guo Qingyu's voice rang out from behind her, "Will we never have the chance to meet again?"
Wen Yi suddenly opened her eyes wide. In the quiet corridor, only his voice echoed.
In this memory, every step she took was a step further away from him. When she left the memory, he was no longer in her world.
There will be no reunion, this is the last time we see each other.
She held back the tears from her eyes and turned her head - the place where time intersected was deserted, as if the farewell just now was just an illusion she had created.
The wedding officially began at six o'clock in the afternoon.
The setting sun filtered through the church's glass dome, casting a shimmering, shimmering light and shadows like a divine oracle. Accompanied by the melodious sound of a violin, Wen Yi, draped in a holy white veil and holding her father's arm, stepped onto the red carpet. With her eyes lowered and a proper, dignified smile on her lips, she walked step by step towards the groom standing at the end.
The end of this afterimage was so dreamy and yet so real. She couldn't tell whether all this was Gu Yifeng's memory or her own real experience.
The groom was dressed in a black tuxedo, with an upright posture and handsome face. However, his eyes, with a calm and scrutinizing look, made her feel unfamiliar, and a chill ran through her heart.
When her toes touched the last inch of the red carpet, her father gently placed her hand in his palm.
The warm big palm closed and held her tightly in its palm.
Wen Yi slowly raised her head, finally mustering the courage to look him in the eye. Recalling Gu Yifeng's instructions: "As long as you keep quiet, don't look up, and don't panic, nothing will happen." She figured this shouldn't be difficult. After all, she and the bride were technically the same person. Exposing them... shouldn't be that easy, right?
The man exerted a little force with his hand and took her a step forward. She moved closer, and when she looked up, their reflections were reflected in her pupils, like a silent confrontation.
He stared at her with deep eyes, and finally curled his lips slightly.
Wen Yi lowered her head shyly, her heartbeat slowing down slightly.
Very good, he seemed in a good mood. Apparently, she had passed. She breathed a sigh of relief, waiting for the ceremony to end, then leave work and evacuate with Gu Yifeng.
Suddenly, there was a very light touch on the wrist.
Wen Yi's gaze shifted downwards—the frosted pine bracelet rested quietly on her wrist. And at that moment, the groom's fingers were gently caressing it, as if playing with it, but more like a gentle warning.
Her pupils dilated. Damn, that was something that shouldn't have appeared on the "bride", and she actually forgot to take it off!
My breathing stopped instantly.
Time seemed to be stretched into a string that was stretched to the extreme.
He didn't say anything, but the smile on his lips deepened.
Wen Yi's ears buzzed, and she could barely maintain the smile she was trying to maintain. She subconsciously tried to pull her hand back, but just as her fingertips moved, his five fingers suddenly tightened around her wrist, not with much force but preventing her from breaking free.
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The author has something to say: Writing is not easy, thank you for your support! [Keep it up]
Next round, let's see Wen Yi vs. Gu Ju [sunglasses], which timeline's CP is better. [shy]
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