Huo Yan said marriage was a transaction.
Lan Su said marriage was a shackle.
It wasn’t until they met each other that they realized marriage was the dawn that broke through the dark night. And they were the roses that unfurled their petals in the morning light.
“Third Miss is back.”
When she pushed open the dark iron gate of the Lan family’s old house, the maid, Aunt Zhang, immediately came up to greet her.
“Perfect! It’s the Master’s birthday today, so the whole family is having a reunion dinner!”
The newcomer, dressed entirely in black, nodded to her while holding a briefcase in one hand, “Aunt Zhang.”
She raised a long, slender finger and quietly pulled out a delicate jewelry box from the outer pocket of her briefcase, slipping it into Aunt Zhang’s apron pocket.
The Lan family’s Third Miss, Lan Su.
“Oh, no, I can’t take this!” Aunt Zhang frantically tried to take it out, as if she had been burned. “You’ve been working so hard on this trip! No, absolutely not!”
Lan Su opened her palm, using one hand to restrain both of Aunt Zhang’s wrists. Her own bones were slender, yet she easily controlled the working woman’s hands as if she were capturing a rabbit.
“A small gift.”
She spoke concisely and glanced toward the back of the garden, signaling that someone was watching. Only then did Aunt Zhang put it away, her eyes reddening as she smiled and whispered:
“Thank you, Third Miss.”
The tall, slender figure paused briefly at the entrance before turning and stepping into the courtyard.
The Lan family’s old house was a mansion built during the Republican era. After several renovations, it was changed into the European style that Old Master Lan preferred.
Whether it was the two lampposts at the main entrance, the rose garden planted in geometric patterns, or even the brown gravel on the ground, everything was infused with French flair.
Into this romantic setting, Lan Su stepped.
Dressed in a black suit, carrying a black briefcase, with short, shoulder-length hair and no ornamentation, she was like a black cat breaking into a secret garden. Mysterious, elegant, powerful, and agile—she looked less like a pampered Third Miss and more like an assassin.
“I heard she was coming back today.”
Young maids were setting up the champagne tower for the evening, discussing as they placed the glasses.
“It must be today. It’s the old Master’s 60th birthday, so she definitely has to come back and show her face.”
“Parading around, I don’t know why she acts so high and mighty.”
“She’s always been like that, hasn’t she? Thinks she’s superior because she saved the Eldest Miss’s life before.”
“Tsk, when it comes to status, she’s no different from us. She’s just hired muscle, she really thinks she’s the Third Miss?”
As she walked into the main hall, hushed gossip drifted from the dining table area, sharp and fine like a needle rain. Lan Su’s steps paused, but only for a moment, making almost no sound on the carpet before she started up the spiral staircase.
Since stepping into the Lan family, these voices have never stopped, often becoming reckless and unrestrained.
Hired muscle, bodyguard, child bride, selling one’s body—all sorts of labels were stuck on her.
It didn’t matter.
Lan Su was good at self-soothing, imagining these voices as mere flies.
However, that didn’t mean anything could be said.
“—If you ask me, the Lan family gives her too much face. If we just pulled the oxygen tube from ‘that person,’ wouldn’t she have to obey obediently?”
“Exactly. It’s not even certain if that person exists. Maybe she’s already dead, and she’s just here to scam people and gain sympathy.”
Bang!
The words had just left their mouths when a colossal crash of shattering glassware erupted beside their ears.
The few maids flinched in fright. When they looked back, the champagne tower they had just built was a heap of ruins. In the middle of the wreckage lay the small knife Lan Su carried with her, barely half a palm in length.
“Ah, ah…”
One of the maids recognized the knife and looked up in stunned surprise toward the direction it had flown from.
At the top of the stairs, Lan Su stood sideways in her black clothes. Her lean frame was like a sheet of paper, her shoulder-length hair slightly messy. Her face was bare of makeup, with slender eyebrows and a narrow nose, her features soft.
Her appearance was clearly gentle, yet her eyes were like sharp hooks, fiercely aggressive.
“Next time, the knife won’t pierce a wine glass. It will pierce a neck.”
With that, she turned and walked upstairs, her expression returning to cold indifference.
“Ah!”
In front of the champagne tower, a maid slumped onto the floor in fear, staring terrified at the small knife among the shards of glass, her face ashen.
No one had expected the usually reserved and quiet Lan Su to suddenly resort to using a knife.
That night, for Lan Haotian’s 60th birthday, all his sons and daughters returned to offer congratulations.
The long marble dining table was filled with dishes. The head of the family, Lan Haotian, his wife Chu Meilian, the Eldest Miss, the Eldest Young Master, and all the main members of the Lan family were present.
Naturally, Lan Su was not included.
As the maids had said, Lan Su was an outsider to this family.
Lan Haotian sat in the center. His gray hair was neatly slicked back with pomade, and the silver vest over his shirt outlined his capable frame. He solemnly scanned the people at the table and began:
“Lan Su, you sit too.”
His wife, Chu Meilian, patted his hand, “Honey, what are you saying?”
Lan Haotian ignored the several shocked pairs of eyes and looked straight at the person standing at the side, his tone a command:
“Come and sit.”
He paused, then looked at the petite girl next to Lan Su: “Xiao Yu, you sit too.”
Although Lan Su was superficially the Third Miss, she normally was not allowed to dine at the main table. The Old Master’s insistence today baffled everyone, but no one dared to argue, and they obediently complied.
Lan Xiaoyu was overjoyed. She immediately picked up her chopsticks and began to eat, believing that the Lan family was sincerely accepting her and her sister.
However, Lan Su knew there was no free lunch in this world. She held her chopsticks, hesitant to move them. Finally, Lan Haotian spoke:
“Lan Su, how has the Lan family treated you?”
Lan Su put down her chopsticks, her slender fingers curled slightly and placed under the table. She answered respectfully:
“The Lan family’s kindness to us sisters is as heavy as a mountain. If it weren’t for you back then, Xiao Yu and I would have starved on the streets.”
“Hmm.”
Lan Haotian got the answer he wanted and nodded in satisfaction. He then asked:
“Then, if the Lan family is in trouble and needs you, what should you do?”
Lan Su lowered her head, looking at the grim-faced man at the end of the table: “I will do anything necessary.”
Lan Su answered incorrectly because she said “I” and not “we.” Lan Haotian had asked, “What should you do?”
Sure enough, Lan Haotian abandoned the patience for testing and laid out the facts:
“The Huo family wants to form a marriage alliance with us. I want to marry Xiao Yu off to them.”
The air suddenly became silent. An invisible tortoise shell landed, shattering the fortune-teller’s life.
Lan Su looked up through the fog at the dangerous lion and asked, “Which member of the Huo family?”
Lan Haotian said, “Huo Yan.”
Boom—
A thunderclap split the sky, carving a deep pit in the ground. Thick black smoke crawled out of the fissure, obscuring the sky and the sun.
At this, not only Lan Su but also the Eldest Miss, Lan Shan, could not remain silent:
“Dad, Huo Yan is too dangerous. She’s had three wives die in three years. Marrying Xiao Yu off to her is like throwing a lamb to the wolf, isn’t it?”
Lan Xiaoyu was so scared that tears streamed down her face. She put down her chopsticks:
“Father, please don’t make me marry her! I have someone I like, I don’t want to marry her!”
Lan Su frowned, her hand secretly clenching under the table. When she spoke again, her voice was steady yet pleaded:
“Father, if possible, I am willing to take Xiao Yu’s place.”
Lan Haotian was unimpressed, anger flickering in his eyes: “You are not a daughter of the Lan family; you are the Lan family’s blade. I told you that the first day I adopted you. Xiao Yu took acting lessons; you took martial arts. Xiao Yu played the piano; you practiced with a Swiss knife. Xiao Yu possesses the qualities of a wife, and you do not.”
Lan Su lowered her head, her nails digging into her palm.
Lan Haotian continued:
“Back then, you sisters were nearly starving on the streets. It was I who gave you food. That year in Vietnam, you barely survived the hail of bullets; it was Shan’er who saved you. The Lan family has two favors owed to us by you. Don’t cause trouble for me now.”
The dinner ended with Lan Xiaoyu’s crying.
Her tearful appeal failed to garner any sympathy; instead, she was locked in her room. After smashing everything in the bedroom, she cried herself to sleep, leaving Lan Su, who had to face the entire family alone, to be hit squarely with a vase, leaving blood flowing from her wound.
After being warned, Lan Su couldn’t do anything more. Yet, she truly did not want Lan Xiaoyu to marry Huo Yan.
Since they couldn’t refuse the marriage, then what about Huo Yan?
“Hello?”
A cold voice came from the other end of the phone, and as the name suggested, the timbre was slightly hoarse, low and carrying a hint of seduction, like a wisp of smoke in the dark night.
“Hello, Miss Huo. I would like to talk to you about your marriage alliance with the Lan family.”
Lan Su tried to make her voice sound calm, just as she would when facing mercenaries pursuing her overseas.
However, the person on the other side was not very patient: “Who are you?”
Lan Su gripped her pants, trying to calm her mind: “I am Lan Su.”
“Oh…”
A meaningful sound came from the opposite end. It wasn’t the sudden realization of understanding something, but rather the interest of an authority figure who had unexpectedly discovered an amusing small animal.
“The Second Miss Lan.”
Lan Su was startled, instinctively wanting to refute, but then she thought: Lan Haotian hadn’t told Huo Yan who the Second Miss was, so she might as well borrow the identity to glean some information.
“Yes, I am,” Lan Su said. “Could you possibly reconsider the marriage?”
Huo Yan asked coldly, “Do you want to move the wedding date forward?”
Lan Su choked. “I meant that marriage is a lifetime commitment and shouldn’t be rushed, especially since we haven’t even met.”
“Heh.”
Huo Yan let out a cold laugh, as if she had heard a preposterous fantasy. “I apologize, Miss Lan. Marriage is just a transaction.”
Transaction—this was something Lan Su was familiar with. For so many years, she had run countless errands for the Lan family. If she wasn’t afraid of bullets, why would she be afraid of a mere Huo Yan?
“Miss Huo, when you sign a contract, don’t you check the counterparty?”
The conversation between clever people only needs subtle hints. Facing the sudden invitation, Huo Yan naturally agreed.
“Tomorrow at two in the afternoon, at the Sudell Coffee Shop. Miss Lan, I look forward to meeting you.”
After hanging up the phone, Lan Su felt as if her bones had been removed. She sat hunched on the edge of the bed.
Huo Yan was strange and seemed in a great hurry to get married. But she didn’t seem as terrifying as the rumors suggested.
If anything, she herself was the more frightening one—
She had never worn makeup or a dress. In fact, she had a 12-centimeter scar on her arm and a bandaged forehead, looking completely like a gangster, not the Lan family’s Second Miss at all.
“Aunt Zhang.”
Late at night, she knocked on Aunt Zhang’s door and whispered, “Do you have the number for the Eldest Miss’s stylist?”
Perhaps she could dress up as a dignified young lady.