Chapter 12 upholds the promise that "now and in the future, she will always be my wife"...
12
I said it.
Meng Yao had never felt so exhilarated. She took a deep breath, her heart pounding wildly. She didn't care whether she had spoken out of self-defense or selfishness, but when she saw Lin Yue's face gradually contorting and turning red, she felt an unparalleled sense of joy.
After admiring the view, she turned around, opened the door, and walked out. However, after only a few steps outside, she unexpectedly bumped into a pair of deep, calm eyes.
Fang Huaixu had arrived sometime earlier and was standing sideways by the corridor window not far from the sink, an unlit cigarette between his fingers, seemingly waiting for her.
His posture remained upright, but his expression was obscured by the corridor lights.
But Meng Yao's heart sank, and she had a strong intuition that he must have heard everything they said in the restroom.
When this thought flashed through my mind, it first brought a sharp sting and embarrassment. If one could live with dignity, who would be willing to belittle themselves and say those vicious and harsh words?
But she was unusually calm at this moment, accompanied by a cold indifference of "what's the use of pretending anyway": So what if I heard it? I'll be unable to keep up the act sooner or later.
She's always been this kind of person—jealous and vengeful. He'll find out sooner or later, so exposing her now will save her the trouble of pretending to be gentle, kind, respectful, and frugal with him later.
She wanted to say something, but when she opened her mouth, her throat felt dry and she couldn't make a sound.
"Meng Yao!"
Just then, accompanied by a sharp sound, Lin Yue rushed out of the bathroom. Gone was her usual elegant and poised demeanor in front of the camera; her face was ashen, and her eyes were practically spitting fire.
However, when Lin Yue saw Meng Yao and Fang Huaixu not far away, she fell into a strange silence for a moment.
The atmosphere was eerily quiet. Lin Yue suddenly stopped, crossed her arms, and curled her lips into a mocking smile: "Oh, so that's why you didn't leave. So this beast is here too."
Following the sound, Fang Huaixu's indifferent gaze lingered on her face for a moment before shifting away, continuing to look out the window and exhaling a knowing breath, as if he hadn't heard her curses.
"Haven't you learned not to smoke in front of ladies yet? You fake gentleman."
Lin Yue ignored his reaction and continued, "After leaving me, your taste has become much worse, finding such a fake."
Meng Yao was startled and stared at the two of them with a wavering gaze.
What kind of past do they have?
"You seem to always misunderstand me. I have never claimed to be a gentleman."
Fang Huaixu seemed to have suddenly heard Meng Yao's thoughts. He sighed helplessly, stubbed out his cigarette, put his hands in his pockets, and slowly raised his eyes: "Your accusatory attitude makes me very uneasy. Don't bring your personal emotions here. I remember that the only possible relationship we had was during our four years of being classmates in college."
Lin Yue laughed angrily: "Are you afraid?"
Fang Huaixu's voice was calm and unwavering: "I am truly terrified."
Lin Yue seemed to be holding back a lot of anger, nodding repeatedly and raising an eyebrow: "Fine, you're so forgetful, I don't want to bring up the past. Now that you've chosen to marry her, shouldn't you call me 'sister'?"
Meng Yao listened to their conversation in a daze, not understanding the grudge between them, and stood frozen in place.
Fang Huaixu glanced at Lin Yue quietly, then walked naturally to Meng Yao's side, turned his gaze to her, and abruptly asked, "Do you call her 'sister'?"
Meng Yao paused for a moment, then instinctively answered honestly, "I won't call you that..."
"OK."
Fang Huaixu's voice was still not loud, but it carried an undeniable penetrating power, instantly interrupting all other sounds in the room: "I will follow her arrangements. If she doesn't acknowledge it, neither will I."
Lin Yue's expression turned completely sour. Meng Yao was pondering her next move when Fang Huaixu suddenly reached out his hand to her: "It's time to go toast. Let's go."
He spoke casually, as if nothing had just happened.
Lin Yue was so angry at his dismissive attitude that she was breathing heavily. Meng Yao saw this and, not wanting to cause any more trouble, silently took his hand and walked towards the banquet hall.
Meng Yao noticed out of the corner of her eye that Fang Huaixu hadn't glanced in Lin Yue's direction once more.
Meng Yao passively followed him forward, her mind blank: Lin Yue and Fang Huaixu seemed to be very familiar with each other. Had something happened between him and Lin Yue?
She had never seen Fang Huaixu so indifferent. What did their conversation refer to as friendship, fake gentleman, and imposter?
Or was it that... all the thoughtfulness and care I showed her before was just because of her face, which resembled Lin Yue's?
Meng Yao took a deep breath.
This possibility was so absurd that Meng Yao couldn't help but glance at Fang Huaixu's face, her heart filled with disbelief and mixed feelings.
The toasting ceremony continued, and the two maintained their proper demeanor throughout. Fang Huaixu remained calm and composed as he thanked the guests.
Meng Yao followed beside him, trying her best to play the role of a happy bride. The smile on her face had long since frozen. She kept observing the man beside her, trying to find the slightest flaw in his face.
However, his expression remained normal, and there was nothing unusual about him.
Finally, the toasting ceremony was held at the head table, at the table where the Lin family was seated.
Lin Tianhai's face was full of smiles as he stood up and offered his blessings. Lin Yue's mother, Chen Xiang, also slowly got up, her eyes showing the same arrogance as Lin Yue's, and coldly swept over Meng Yao.
Lin Yue herself didn't even bother to pretend, sitting there expressionless, fiddling with her wine glass, radiating an extremely low-pressure aura.
A stylishly dressed young woman next to Lin Yue was whispering something to her when she suddenly looked at Meng Yao and sneered. Her voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for people at the surrounding tables to vaguely hear: "President Fang, we were just talking about something interesting."
As she spoke, she picked up a glass of wine and covered her mouth with a malicious grin: "Madam, you look familiar, so I just searched you online. Turns out you're that internet celebrity who imitates our Yueyue every day in her live streams, Yang Yiyao."
As she spoke, she pulled out a video on her phone. In the video, Meng Yao was imitating Lin Yue's look at a previous concert with exaggerated expressions and movements.
The air seemed to stand still. Some quick-witted guests had already quietly pulled up the images on the girl's phone, which were incomparable to the gentle and serene bride she looked today.
The girl wore an innocent smile, but her eyes flashed with undisguised malice, clearly a counterattack instigated by Lin Yue.
The color drained from Meng Yao's face. Although she had been prepared to be ridiculed since she decided to enter this industry, it was still difficult for her to calm down immediately after being exposed to her most shameful side in front of so many people. Her fingers holding the wine glass slowly tightened.
"Xiaoyue, keep an eye on your people."
Lin Tianhai's low reprimand woke up everyone present. Upon hearing this, the person next to Lin Yue retreated behind Lin Yue in dissatisfaction.
Meng Yao also snapped out of her nervousness. She knew very well that these taunts were true and she couldn't pursue them. Moreover, the most important thing right now was to keep the situation under control, so she subconsciously looked at Fang Huaixu.
However, Fang Huaixu's brows furrowed visibly, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes, and he turned to look at her with a questioning gaze, as if confirming this information.
Could it be that... Fang Huaixu actually doesn't know about her actual job?
At this moment, Meng Yao's heart finally sank completely.
Lin Tianhai probably fabricated a fairly nice background for her, but he certainly didn't mention that it was such a disreputable job.
Upon reflection, Fang Huaixu only knew that she was doing live streaming part-time, but he didn't know what kind of ridiculous role she was playing on the internet.
A sense of despair overwhelmed her; she felt as if her last shred of modesty had been torn away, leaving her naked and discarded into the crowd.
She could no longer make any expressions, and even felt a sense of relief and wanted to laugh.
So what? She's not the one who wants to benefit from this marriage. She just took the money, sold someone, and got married.
Besides, they're already married now.
They've all sunk to the point of selling themselves, so what do they care about losing face?
Those lucky guys, on the other hand, should switch places and experience the same predicament as her.
Faced with Fang Huaixu's confusion, she simply stared back at him, anticipating the storm to come, and forced a smile that even she couldn't have imagined.
Fang Huaixu looked away, seemingly deep in thought.
Meng Yao was fully prepared to retort: She wasn't the one who caused this situation, so who can be blamed? Is it her fault that the product couldn't think for itself?
Blame him for not doing his due diligence before marriage, blame Lin Tianhai for not controlling his daughter, and blame Lin Yue for being so foul-mouthed and provoking her.
However, the expected argument did not occur. Instead, a warm and generous hand gently put its arm around her shoulder.
A flicker of surprise crossed Meng Yao's empty eyes. Fang Huaixu pulled her closer, his tall frame like a broad wall. After surveying the room, his voice, as imposing as his presence, said, "Some of the people here today have truly baffling comprehension abilities. Can't they see this is a wedding?"
His gaze settled on the Lin family, and every word he spoke was firm and resolute: "Thank you to some people for their well-intentioned but malicious intentions, but I don't need such reminders. I don't know about her past, but you all better know that she is, and will be, my wife, Fang Huaixu's wife. Her career, choices, and decisions also represent my attitude."
There was no fierce rebuttal, nor any attempt to defend oneself.
Fang Huaixu shifted the focus to himself and the Lin family in a more direct and forceful manner: "Just because she's easily swayed and agreeable doesn't mean I'll treat her leniently. On our joyous occasion, you deliberately brought up her controversial situation. Can I interpret your actions as a public provocation against us?"
These words were like a boulder thrown into water, creating even bigger ripples. The guests looked at each other, their eyes filled with disdain and curiosity.
Fang Huaixu's development in recent years has been remarkable, not to mention the Fang family behind him.
Seeing Fang Huaixu's clear and firm attitude, Lin Tianhai could no longer sit still and slammed his fist on the table: "Lin Yue, how many times have I told you, you just can't control your mouth!"
“…Dad?” Lin Yue’s eyes instantly welled up with tears; she had never been yelled at like that by her father before. Under Lin Tianhai’s almost murderous gaze, she couldn’t utter a word, and angrily grabbed her bag and left.
The girl next to her also lowered her head sheepishly and quickly followed after her.
The atmosphere had become so tense that even Chen Xiang, who was usually oblivious to such situations, realized that Lin Tianhai indeed needed to cooperate with the Fang family.
Everyone froze in place, so she had to step in to smooth things over, raising her glass to toast them: "Yes, Huai Xu is right! I've spoiled Lin Yue rotten, I'll teach her a lesson when I get back! The important thing is that you two live happily ever after! Come on, come on..."
Meng Yao was still being held by Fang Huaixu, and she stiffly completed the toast.
Even after leaving that table, she was still in a state of great shock and bewilderment, but the warmth and strength on her shoulder felt so real, and his words were still echoing in her ears.
She no longer knew what Fang Huaixu was thinking, and she couldn't understand whether he acted out of a sense of responsibility or to save face when he defended her.
Weren't we supposed to be cooperating with the Lin family? Why did we embarrass them in public?
"Go home."
When she heard Fang Huaixu's voice again and realized what was happening, the two of them were already standing in front of the car.
His profile was cold and hard, revealing no emotion whatsoever: "I have many questions to ask."
A note from the author:
Don't worry, the second female lead is in a one-sided love affair; there's absolutely no ambiguity—no flirting, no ambiguity in her body language, words, or emotions. There's no one else involved. The male lead is Jie Zhongjie.
The male protagonist smokes a little, but he's not addicted. He only wants to smoke when he encounters something he can't figure out.
The female lead currently tends to be a pessimist, always thinking of the worst possible outcome. Due to her circumstances, she needs to consider all the negative possibilities. However, many things won't actually turn out so badly, and things will only get better later on.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
