1 – Wedding
In the extravagantly luxurious hall, the ostentatious carved silk velvet carpet and the dazzling crystal chandeliers complemented each other brilliantly.
Tang Qianluo stood quietly in a corner, wearing an ill-fitting haute couture wedding dress. Her thick, curly hair fell loosely and casually, while her delicate features remained completely expressionless.
Today was her wedding day.
The day she was marrying Ning Dai, the head of the Ning Family, in place of her sister!
Rumors said Ning Dai was inherently cruel, cold-blooded, and brutal.
Other rumors claimed he was terminally ill and would not live much longer!
There were too many rumors about this man, a mix of truth and falsehood that no one dared to verify.
“Tang Qianluo, who are you giving that sour face to on such a joyous day?” A woman’s sharp voice shattered the silence.
“Qianluo, Mother is speaking to you. Isn’t it rude not to answer?” Tang Wanning chimed in, coughing lightly a few times.
“Ning Ning, are you alright?” Wan Qing’s tone was frantic. The next moment, she pressed her fingertip against Tang Qianluo’s temples and cursed, “On such a happy day, you had to go up the mountain to burn paper offerings for a dead person, making your sister suffer along with you! Are you an idiot? Don’t you know today is your wedding day? I’m telling you, Tang Qianluo, if Ning Ning gets sick, I won’t let you off!”
They were both her mother’s children, born only two years apart, yet their treatment was worlds apart!
Tang Wanning and Tang Qianluo were two extremes on a scale—the elder sister forever high above, the younger sister forever low in the dust.
Insulted, despised, framed…
The Tang Qianluo who had always yearned for familial warmth finally saw reality in such an environment and fled the Tang family.
She would rather support herself through makeup livestreams in a shabby little apartment than witness the other three enjoying their perfect family life in the Tang family’s villa.
If not for Grandpa, she would never have wanted anything to do with the Tang family again in this lifetime!
The scene from the day Grandpa passed away was still vivid in her mind. The emaciated old man uttered his last words intermittently on his deathbed:
The marriage alliance between the Tang and Ning families must not be broken!
As agreed, Tang Wanning should have married Ning Dai.
But Tang Wanning refused.
She wept daily and went on hunger strikes in protest.
“Mother, that young master of the Ning family is moody, unpredictable, and excessively cruel—how could I let him be my husband! Besides, isn’t it said that he’s dying? Mother, I can’t marry him!”
Wan Qing wept, holding Tang Wanning as she soothed her through choked sobs, “Alright, alright, we won’t marry you off!”
The marriage could not be canceled, the elder daughter refused to marry, and the Tang family had only these two daughters. In such a situation, everyone remembered Tang Qianluo!
No one asked if she was willing—they only used Grandpa’s dying wish to coerce her!
That grandfather, the only one who had cherished her in her twenty years of life, was her Achilles’ heel.
Thinking of this, Tang Qianluo sighed softly, her heart heavy with sorrow.
Tang Qianluo’s silent demeanor only fueled Wan Qing’s anger further.
“Why can’t you learn from your sister? Let me tell you, having you marry the young master of the Ning Family in your sister’s place is a blessing for you! Don’t be ungrateful, you harbinger of doom!”
The thought that she had suffered a massive hemorrhage during childbirth because of this harbinger of doom, losing her ability to bear more children and failing to give the Tang family a son, made Wan Qing’s blood boil! She wished this harbinger of doom would drop dead outside this very second!
Tang Qianluo stared expressionlessly at her cursing mother and her pretentious, affected sister.
“Oh, then I thank you both?”The girl’s tone was neither hurried nor angry, yet it left Wan Qing nearly breathless with frustration!
Tang Wan Ning’s tears instantly streamed down her face.
“Qianluo, are you still blaming your sister? It’s my fault for not being born with a healthy body and unable to fulfill the marriage agreement. If you must blame someone, blame me! Don’t blame Mom!”
Tang Wan Ning sobbed uncontrollably, clutching her chest as if she might faint at any moment.
“Ning Ning, don’t cry, my darling.” Wan Qing supported Tang Wan Ning, her resentment toward her younger daughter growing stronger!
“Tang Qianluo, look how you’ve upset your sister! Apologize now!”
Apologize?
What had she done wrong?
Why should she apologize?
Since childhood, it had always been this way—no matter who was right or wrong, she was always the one at fault!
When Grandpa was alive, she endured it for his sake. But now, why should she continue to tolerate this?
“Mom, you’d better think carefully. If I’m unhappy now and refuse to marry, it won’t just be me who ends up embarrassed!”
“You…”
Wan Qing flushed with anger, never expecting to be threatened by this harbinger of doom!
Tang Qianluo, in high spirits, lifted the hem of her dress and strode toward the center of the hall.
The auspicious hour had arrived. Guests were seated, the bride was present, but the groom was nowhere to be seen.
As time dragged on without any sign of the groom, the crowd grew increasingly restless.
“She can’t even get the groom to show up on her wedding day. I don’t know how she has the nerve to stand here!”
“Exactly! She’s inferior to her sister in every way, yet she insisted on marrying into the Ning Family. Poor Miss Tang, innocent and dragged down by this sister of hers. How shameless!”
Hearing the guests’ mockery, Tang Wan Ning felt some of her earlier resentment toward Tang Qianluo’s arrogance fade.
Let her act tough for a few more days. Once that madman Ning Dai tortures her beyond recognition, she’ll be begging me on her knees!
Hiding her scornful smile, she said to the guests in a choked voice,
“Qianluo begged me for this marriage. I’m sure she’s the one suffering the most right now. Please, aunties, don’t blame her!”
“Miss Tang is truly gracious, unlike this second daughter, whose reputation in the capital is notorious. If I’d known she was the bride, I wouldn’t have even come. Disgraceful!” The woman spoke disdainfully, shooting a contemptuous glare at Tang Qianluo.
“Then why aren’t you leaving now?”
A man’s icy voice sounded from behind. Tang Qianluo whirled around to see a man approaching as if bathed in light.
The man before her possessed a rare handsomeness. Even though Tang Qianluo worked daily surrounded by attractive men, she felt they all paled in comparison—utterly insignificant!
He appeared to be in his twenties, standing over six feet tall, with striking, slender phoenix eyes and pale skin that held a sickly, cold pallor under the lights.
“N-Ning… President Ning.” The woman who had been so articulate moments before suddenly stammered.
“Get out!” His intimidating aura was like an invisible hand gripping the woman’s throat. She felt suffocated, as if she might die under his piercing gaze!
The woman nodded frantically, stumbling out of the hall in a panic.
Ning Dai let out a cold laugh, sweeping a scornful glance over the guests.
“When did the Ning Family’s standards drop so low? Since when do we allow trash to walk in?”
The insulted guests flushed with embarrassment but lowered their heads, not daring to retort.
The man’s presence was overwhelming—calling him ruthlessly cruel was no exaggeration.But Tang Qianluo didn’t feel afraid—instead, a trace of warmth bloomed in her heart. No matter why he had said those words, in the end, he had stood up for her.
“The ceremony will continue,” Ning Dai declared, his sharp gaze making the pastor’s heart tremble with unease.
The pastor hastily nodded, reciting the vows with a trembling voice.
“Mr. Ning Dai, do you take…”
“I do.” The pastor’s words were cut short by Ning Dai’s cold tone.
“Then, Miss Tang Qianluo, do you take…”
“She does, too.”
Tang Qianluo: “…”
Outwardly, she remained expressionless, but inwardly she was screaming: Hell no, I don’t!
Author’s Note:
Hello, dear readers! I’m a new author here, and I’d love your support. Feel free to leave comments—I welcome all your messages!