Xiang Wan was being disingenuous.
"Stop being so narcissistic. Who's thinking that?"
"I just thought if you didn't come, I could work overtime. I don't want to fall behind on earning money."
"Oh, Boss Xiang is so dedicated to her work. It seems wealth is just around the corner. Don't forget me when you're rich."
Lu Mingzhe pecked her on the lips and pulled back.
"I'll see. I'll try my best to come."
"Who wants you to try? You'd better never come again!"
Xiang Wan lay back down.
Lu Mingzhe chuckled.
"Trying to ditch me? Not so easy. You promised me yesterday that you wouldn't break up anymore."
"Alright, I'm leaving. You get some more sleep."
There were few cars on the street in the early morning.
He rushed home at breakneck speed. Urged by his mother, he changed clothes, put on a little light makeup, and then, with Lu Qingxu and three younger cousins, they all cheerfully headed to the Peninsula International Hotel.
Chen Jiaojiao's family had traveled from afar. Besides a few relatives from the Chen family, she hadn't brought anyone else.
Naturally, there were no bridesmaids.
But for appearances, the wedding company still prepared a few for her.
Everyone went through the ritual of blocking the door for a while, making a fuss, and then let them in.
Chen Jiaojiao, wearing a pure white wedding dress and with exquisite makeup, sat on the bright red bed with a blank expression.
The groomsmen and bridesmaids played games together for a bit. Lu Mingzhe walked over and handed her the bouquet.
The wedding company's master of ceremonies handed him a groom's vow to read to Chen Jiaojiao.
It included promises like: all post-marital income would be handed over to the wife, household chores would be fully taken care of, he would come home on time, and he would be responsible for the children.
Lu Mingzhe took it, scanned it, and found it ridiculous.
He didn't read it.
He handed the item to Chen Jiaojiao.
"Do you want to hear it?"
Chen Jiaojiao glanced up at him from his hand.
It was indeed nothing worth reading. She didn't want to hear it at all.
"No need. Hurry up and go. If there's traffic on the way, don't waste all your time here."
Everyone burst into laughter.
They had never seen a bride so eager to get married.
The group cheerfully went downstairs.
The accompanying photographer was supposed to ride in the same car as the bride and groom to capture details of their wedding journey, but Chen Jiaojiao refused.
"No need. I don't like people pointing cameras at me. Film them instead."
The two people who should have been the happiest in the world sat in the car without touching each other.
Both had blank expressions.
In fact, with things having escalated to this point, they should have stopped it immediately. There was no point in continuing.
After driving for a while, they encountered a red light. Lu Mingzhe gently nudged Chen Jiaojiao's foot with his own.
"If you want to get out of the car now, I won't stop you."
Given his attitude yesterday, Lu Mingzhe thought she would be delighted to hear him say something like this.
Unexpectedly, Chen Jiaojiao shot him a sidelong glance.
"You can't handle it anymore?"
"..."
Good, very good.
She could handle it.
Then let them continue playing.
The wedding was a great success.
Because Chen Jiaojiao was beautiful and came from a good family, Lu Mingzhe brought great honor to his parents and drank a lot of alcohol.
They returned to the marital home from the hotel around three in the afternoon.
A groomsman lingered, insisting on staying to tease the newlyweds.
Chen Jiaojiao wasn't shy at all. She directly came out and chased them away.
"Can't you see your brother is already drunk? Let him rest quickly, don't tire him out."
"Our families are urging us to have children soon. If you delay something good, can you take responsibility?"
Well, since his sister-in-law said so, everyone could only scatter like birds and beasts.
Lu Mingzhe lay on the sofa in the living room. With no one to disturb him and under the influence of alcohol, he quickly fell asleep.
Chen Jiaojiao was alone in the room.
Looking at the festive attire, and then at herself in the mirror, all dolled up, she finally couldn't help but burst into tears.
It was over. Everything was over.
It was too late for anything. She and Hu Jiasheng were completely finished.
Her mother's parting words to her father were quite right.
There wasn't a good man in the world. She would never fall in love with anyone again.
Xiang Wan was out of sorts all day.
Although Lu Mingzhe had told her that he had merely entered into a meaningless marriage, he was, after all, a straight man.
The woman beside him was so beautiful, and they had entered into marriage openly under the witness of numerous friends and family.
Given his hot-blooded nature, she didn't believe he was unmoved.
Even though worrying about a scumbag was pathetic and contemptible, some things were beyond her control.
She even wanted to sneak to the wedding venue to take a look at his wife...
Lu Mingzhe slept until seven in the evening before waking up.
The windows were already lit up by the lamps outside. Seen from this height, half of the city's night view was visible, looking so beautiful.
But the house was cold and desolate.
No lights were on, no one was there, not a sound. It didn't feel like a newlywed home at all.
He sat up, rubbed his forehead, then stood by the window for a while before going into the bedroom.
The faint light from outside cast into the room, allowing him to see the scene.
Chen Jiaojiao hadn't changed clothes, removed her head ornaments, or covered herself with a blanket.
Perhaps she was too tired, she had just fallen asleep directly on the bed.
He looked at her at the doorway for a few seconds.
Then he decisively turned and left the house.
Half an hour later, he arrived at Xiang Wan's doorstep.
But to his surprise, no one was home.
He pressed the doorbell several times, but there was no response, nor any lights.
Xiang Wan must not have gotten off work yet.
He wasn't in a hurry. He pulled off the boutonnière he was wearing and threw it into the trash can by the elevator.
He leaned against the door and took out his phone to play games.
Xiang Wan didn't want to go home so early.
Her younger brother had something to do today and had told her he was staying over at a classmate's house tonight.
Fearing she would overthink things alone at home, she preferred to stay at the company and work overtime.
She didn't leave the company until ten o'clock, and it was already eleven when she got home.
Unexpectedly, a tall figure was standing at her door.
Lu Mingzhe had already arrived at her doorstep to wait for her.
She couldn't describe how she felt at the moment she saw him.
There was surprise, bitterness, resentment, and longing.
She suppressed the urge to run towards him and slowly walked over.
She poked Lu Mingzhe in the back.
"On your wedding night, you actually ran to my place?"
Lu Mingzhe was playing a game. Hearing the sound, he looked back, met her gaze, and put away his phone.
"I've been waiting for you. If you didn't come back soon, my phone would have died. Hurry up and open the door."
Waiting for her.
This sentence, which was like an explanation but not quite, made her feel truly comforted.
Xiang Wan quickly opened the door.
As she entered, Lu Mingzhe reached out to embrace her from behind.
Xiang Wan dropped her bag on the floor, turned around, and nestled into his arms.
Then, without even taking off her high heels, she stood on tiptoe and leaned in.
How many thoughts had swirled in her mind today, only she knew.
At this moment, it was finally released.
She was deeply moved.
Lu Mingzhe could clearly sense that she, who was usually never proactive in this regard, was not only proactive today but also so deeply emotional.
Soon, he was completely captivated.
The atmosphere in the house became very heated between them.
Just as Lu Mingzhe couldn't hold back any longer and wanted to take things further, he suddenly remembered.
"Will it disturb my brother?"