Chapter 11 The Wedding
"The hand wearing the ring gently wiped away her tears"...
11
The wedding day arrived as scheduled, and the venue was chosen to be a manor hotel.
Before dawn, Meng Yao was taken back to the Lin family villa. In the huge walk-in closet, she calmly let someone do her makeup while she wore that expensive custom-made wedding dress.
Lin Tianhai pushed open the door, and the father and daughter's eyes briefly met. He was dressed exceptionally formally today, his face full of confidence: "Is everything ready?"
"Hmm," Meng Yao responded faintly, without saying anything more.
Lin Tianhai didn't leave immediately. He waved for the others to leave, and the stylist went to prepare accessories. He walked behind her, placed his hands on the back of the chair behind her, and carefully examined the girl dressed up in the mirror with a complicated look in his eyes.
"It's such a beautiful age."
His voice wasn't loud, more like he was talking to himself, before he regained his usual seriousness: "Yaoyao, today is a big day, it concerns the reputation of both families and our future cooperation. Act more convincingly, you know what to do."
The coldness in his eyes implied that he would not allow her to make any mistakes. Meng Yao's fingers curled slightly, her nails pressing against her palms, and she nodded: "Understood."
A knock came at the door, and the stylist came back in with her equipment. Lin Tianhai immediately put on a loving father's face and patted her on the shoulder: "Dad won't bother you anymore, don't be nervous."
The stylist, unaware of the situation, chimed in with praise: "It's understandable to be a little nervous on such a happy day, but Miss is definitely the most beautiful princess today."
Meng Yao forced a smile, feeling as if her internal organs were churning inside her stomach.
She wasn't a princess at all; she was just a Cinderella who wore glass slippers and knew perfectly well that the clock would strike twelve.
She didn't know how she arrived at the wedding venue in a daze, or how she ended up standing in front of the door holding flowers.
The two heavy doors of the banquet hall were slowly pushed open, and the solemn wedding march began to play.
All eyes were on her, and people murmured in dismay.
Her veil fell, obscuring most of her face, yet a cool and handsome young face could still be vaguely seen. Meng Yao held a bouquet of pure white flowers in front of her, as gentle as she herself. Under the tranquil light, she seemed to have truly become a princess in a fairy tale.
Meng Yao felt the lights were too bright. She walked up and took Lin Tianhai's arm. They walked step by step down the corridor covered with flower petals. Lin Tianhai had a perfectly timed smile on his face and whispered in her ear, "Smile, lift your head, don't look so down."
Meng Yao closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly raised her head, her gaze passing through the crowd and landing on Fang Huaixu, who was standing at the end of the line waiting.
Today, he had combed all his hair back, revealing his smooth forehead and handsome features. He was dressed in a classic suit, with an upright posture and outstanding temperament. He was so handsome that it took people's breath away, and his gaze was calm and focused as he looked at her.
She subconsciously avoided eye contact, but her peripheral vision inadvertently caught sight of a woman in a champagne-colored gown on one side of the main seating area.
At a glance, Meng Yao recognized her: Lin Yue.
Her older sister.
She was suddenly stunned. Her previous understanding of Lin Yue came only from the heavily edited pictures and videos on the Internet, or from the spoiled troublemaker her father described. This was the first time she had seen this beautiful and dazzling person in front of her.
They did indeed look six or seven parts alike, but Lin Yue's features were noticeably more delicate and captivating, her skin was radiant and translucent, and the arrogance and confidence she exuded, nurtured by being showered with love, made her like an exquisitely blooming red rose, intensely beautiful.
Meng Yao's heart felt as if something had suddenly clenched it.
In an instant, complex emotions surged like an out-of-control tide, instantly overwhelming her defenses.
She had imagined meeting her countless times, hoping that she could be more calm and composed in accepting her sister, who lived in her opposite mirror image and was born with everything she never had.
But those deeply suppressed base emotions still grew rapidly the moment they saw her.
She had devoted all the jealousy and resentment she had ever felt in her life to this older sister she had just met, and now it was being stirred up like sediment.
Why is it that even though they share similar blood, one is surrounded by admirers while the other struggles in the mire, their lives are so different?
Why should she have to copy others, imitate their appearance, and take over their mistakes to gain attention just to survive? Why should she only be able to get a breather by taking over the life and fiancé that she missed, and still have to live at the mercy of their moods?
Fang Huaixu was indeed a very good person, so good that she momentarily forgot that she was a pawn sold off at will, and that the glamour of this grand wedding was actually built on a humiliating transaction.
In fact, even the marriage she didn't want was seen by others as a blessing she had always dreamed of.
But who cares? Even if she really gets married, she can only invite her friends, have her beloved grandmother standing beside her, and then hand her over to the person she loves, and listen to the heartfelt blessings from the audience.
But what about now?
Grandma lay in the cold hospital, her future uncertain, unaware of the path she had embarked on. The person who seemed most important to outsiders was now her father, who was using her as a bargaining chip, about to hand her over to a man he had only known for a month.
She had to keep this a secret from everyone she loved, to complete what should have been the most radiant and blissful moment of her life.
The immense sense of absurdity and resentment reached its peak at this moment.
She thought about Lin Tianhai's warning, about all the injustices of the past, and clearly realized her own situation.
But the irresistible torrent gradually eroded her composure.
The music continued, and Lin Tianhai placed her hand in Fang Huaixu's palm, while the host read out a solemn vow.
"...Whether in poverty or wealth, in health or sickness, are you willing to love him, comfort him, respect him, protect him, and remain faithful to him until the end of your life?"
All eyes turned to her. Meng Yao opened her mouth, but the "I do" that she had rehearsed countless times got stuck in her throat. She raised her head, her eyes surging with a thousand emotions, which finally turned into an uncontrollable soreness that rushed to her eyes.
A tear slid down the corner of her eye without warning.
For the first time, Fang Huaixu, who was usually calm and composed, showed a clear sense of helplessness. He froze on the spot as he looked at the clear tear stain left on his carefully made-up face.
The emcee quickly intervened, saying, "The bride is very touched, but our ceremony must continue..."
Meng Yao suddenly snapped out of her daze, quickly pulling herself back from the edge of losing control of her emotions. She forcibly suppressed the tears welling up in her eyes, replacing them with a hasty but appropriate shy smile, and said clearly in a soft voice, "I do."
You must not lose your composure, absolutely not.
"Now it's the bride and groom's turn!"
When it came time to exchange rings, cheers erupted from the audience.
However, as the two gleaming silver rings were placed on her ring fingers, Fang Huaixu clearly saw the emptiness that had flashed across her eyes just moments before. His astonished gaze gradually returned to composure the moment she put on the rings.
Instead of kissing her as agreed, he raised his ringed hand and gently brushed his fingertips across her cheek, wiping away the tears that had not yet dried.
The warm, slightly calloused touch of my fingertips lingered briefly on my skin, like a faint electric current.
Meng Yao trembled almost imperceptibly. When she looked up, she met his knowing gaze. He smiled gently and offered an explanation for her: "The bride is shy. Let's move on to the next step."
A subtle, knowing sigh rippled through the audience. In their eyes, Fang Huaixu's perfectly natural gesture was nothing short of the tender affection between lovers.
She lowered her eyelashes, her heart taut with tension, unsure if she had managed to smooth things over.
The ceremony proceeded as planned, and Meng Yao did her best to play the role of a wife until she changed into her toasting dress in the middle of the ceremony, when she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fang Huaixu accompanied her to the temporary rest room. The corridor was quiet, and he asked, "Just now... were you alright?"
"It's nothing." Meng Yao replied quickly, not daring to look him in the eye, and forced a perfunctory smile to brush it off: "I was just too nervous. Since it's acting, of course I have to act as realistically as possible."
Her tone was nonchalant, as if what she had just said was a story she had written.
Fang Huaixu looked at her silently for a few seconds, his deep eyes seeming to hold a lot he wanted to say, but in the end he just nodded: "Okay, go change your clothes."
Meng Yao felt as if she had been granted a pardon and practically fled into the changing room to change into her toasting attire.
The nausea churning in her stomach hadn't stopped since morning. She wanted to go to the bathroom to calm down, but before she could even catch her breath for a second, a mocking voice rang out from behind her.
"You cried so emotionally, anyone who didn't know better would think you two were having an affair."
Meng Yao froze, turned around, and saw Lin Yue slowly walking in from the doorway, leisurely closing the makeup mirror in her hand, and giving Meng Yao a flippant once-over, before sneering, "Isn't it ironic? Even in a dragon robe, you don't look like a crown prince."
Meng Yao's breathing quickened; she clearly hadn't expected Lin Yue to provoke her.
Today is a very important day for both the Fang and Lin families. The incident at the wedding already made her feel a little guilty. Meng Yao didn't want to cause any trouble at all. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out whether she should end this meaningless fight in a dignified way, but Lin Yue saw it as weakness.
Lin Yue snorted even more disdainfully, her red lips curving into a mocking smile: "You can only make a living by imitating me, you have to get your dad to pay for your sickly grandma's treatment, and now you've picked up the man I didn't want, just to barely stand in front of me... You'd better have some self-awareness and obediently be a groveling dog for our family, and pray that your glorious days last longer."
Mentioning her grandmother suddenly ignited all the negative emotions that had been building up throughout the day, thanks to Lin Yue's harsh words.
It was as if a tightly strung string in Meng Yao's mind had been snapped with a loud crack.
The arrogant person in front of her would never know how someone like her could live so desperately and tenaciously just to survive, let alone that her hatred and jealousy towards her had been accumulating for nearly decades.
The self-esteem Lin Yue maintained with cold words was utterly insignificant compared to the effort she had put in.
She calmly raised her head, her gaze sharp, and sneered, "Miss Lin, you seem to have misunderstood two things."
She took a step forward, her aura suddenly overwhelming the other person, and leaned against the washbasin, casually raising a finger: "First, it was your father who took the initiative to spend money and effort to make me register as a member of the Lin family and beg me to marry Fang Huaixu... The man you didn't want? You're the one who was rejected by the Fang family."
"you!"
Lin Yue's face changed drastically from anger at her sudden counterattack and merciless words.
Before she could retort, Meng Yao gave her no chance, quickly raising a second finger and stabbing her in the heart with every word: "Secondly, you're right, I did use your Lin family's money to treat my grandmother's illness. Even your father had to go around trying to find doctors for my grandmother so that I could live a good life with Fang Huaixu... You know all this, don't you? Why isn't your father indulging you this time? I bet you couldn't convince your father, and you had no choice but to come here specifically to vent your frustrations to me."
Lin Yue made no attempt to hide her emotions, her expression one of having her secret exposed, her eyes filled with visible hatred as she glared at her through gritted teeth: "Meng Yao, do you even know what it means to be a dog relying on its master's power?"
Meng Yao didn't take it seriously. She paused deliberately, looked at Lin Yue's extremely ugly face, and a smile of satisfaction appeared on her lips. She threw out each word clearly and distinctly: "So what are you going to do? I'm now using your Lin family's money and connections to sleep with the man that you, Miss Lin, can never have. What are you going to do about it, Miss Lin?"
A note from the author:
Never mind, I'll add more chapters.
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