It had just rained in Beicheng in April.
When the evening wind blew, the air was filled with a damp chill.
Linyong Tower was well known in Beicheng—on the surface, it was a private club for listening to opera and drinking tea, but in reality, few of the people who could get in were simple characters.
Less than an hour after Xu Jingshuang’s plane landed, her car had already stopped outside Linyong Tower.
The street was much quieter than usual.
In front of the building was parked a black Hongqi Golden Sunflower state limousine, its sequential license plate especially eye-catching. Two rows of bodyguards in black stood at the entrance, and even passersby would subconsciously take a detour.
She did not rush to get out. She lowered her head and dialed Xu Jingwei’s number.
“Rong Anmin is really here tonight?”
The other end of the line was quiet for two seconds.
“Sis, are you really going to look for him?” Xu Jingwei’s voice carried some hesitation. “The Rong family isn’t someone we can afford to provoke.”
“I only asked you, is he there or not.”
Xu Jingwei paused.
“…He is. He goes there every Thursday.”
After saying that, she added another sentence: “The marriage was decided by both families. Sis, don’t be impulsive.”
Xu Jingshuang hung up directly.
Outside the car window, the shadows of the lights flickered past. She leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes for a moment.
Of course she knew what the Rong family meant.
No one had asked her opinion about this engagement from beginning to end.
She would only graduate with her master’s degree in June, yet her father, Xu Guoting, was already in a hurry to call her back from abroad. He said he missed her, but in reality, it was simply that the Rong family had finally loosened up about the marriage alliance, and he was eager to send his daughter out to climb into this connection.
As for who the marriage partner was and what he was like, she had not even met him.
There were quite a few rumors in their circle about Rong Anmin.
A womanizer, fond of playing around, never without women by his side.
She did not know whether they were true or false.
But she had no interest in a man like that. And this kind of marriage was even less possible for her to enter.
Rather than waiting for her family to arrange it, it was better to come and negotiate herself. As long as Rong Anmin took the initiative to call off the engagement, there would still be room for things to turn around.
As for Xu Jingwei—
She knew all too well what this younger sister, unrelated by blood, was thinking.
As long as she herself married out, the position of the eldest young lady of the Xu family would naturally and smoothly fall to the other girl.
Unfortunately, she just did not like letting others get what they wanted.
Thinking of this, she pushed the door open and got out of the car. Her high heels clicked against the ground, the sound crisp.
Just as she reached the entrance, she was stopped by two bodyguards: “The venue is booked tonight. No outside guests.”
Xu Jingshuang looked up. “Mr. Rong is inside, right? I’m looking for him. I’m his fiancée. My surname is Xu.”
The two bodyguards exchanged a glance.
One of them said something quietly into an earpiece, then stepped aside.
“Miss Xu, please wait a moment.”
Before long, the heavy wooden door opened from the inside.
A waiter hurried out to greet her, his attitude respectful: “Miss Xu, sorry to keep you waiting. Please come with me.”
As they passed through the long corridor, the sound of opera drifted faintly.
The two-story opera house was brightly lit. Onstage, the water sleeves fluttered, and the singing was melodious. But below the stage was astonishingly empty. There were no guests on the first floor, and the second-floor corridor was also filled with waiters and bodyguards in black.
As expected of someone from the Rong family—what a grand display.
No one spoke.
The farther in they went, the more oppressive it felt.
The waiter led her to the innermost private room and lowered his voice: “Mr. Rong does not like to be disturbed while listening to opera. I will wait outside the door.”
Xu Jingshuang nodded and reached out to push the door open.
Incense was burning in the private room, a faint scent of agarwood.
The man sat with his back to the door.
The first thing Xu Jingshuang noticed was his hand. Slender and coldly pale, with distinct knuckles, and on his thumb he wore a jade thumb ring, glowing with a warm luster under the light.
The sound of opera drifted in through the sheer curtain from the stage, but the room was quiet—almost too quiet.
She didn’t know why, but from the moment she stepped through the door, she felt an inexplicable sense of being suppressed. Nothing had happened, yet the air itself seemed to sink first.
She pushed aside that flicker of unease, walked over on her high heels, and stopped beside him.
“Hello, Mr. Rong. I’m Xu Jingshuang.”
The man didn’t respond.
As if he hadn’t heard.
His gaze remained fixed on the stage, his posture relaxed and idle, not even a shift in his shoulders or back.
Xu Jingshuang frowned slightly. She didn’t like being left hanging like this.
A few seconds of standoff passed, and he still showed no sign of speaking—fine, he was ignoring her.
She simply walked around the long table and came to stand in front of him.
Only then did she truly get a look at the man. A black Chinese tunic suit with silver dragon patterns woven into the fabric, sharp and crisp at the shoulders. His features were cold and severe, his brows deep, and when those dark eyes settled on her, it inexplicably felt like being examined.
He wasn’t the frivolous, playboy type she’d imagined. She vaguely sensed something was off, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
Just as she was thinking, the man suddenly spoke.
“Can you understand what’s being sung on stage?” His voice was low, unhurried.
Xu Jingshuang followed his gaze to the stage.
“The Romance of the Western Chamber.”
“What’s it about?”
“Nothing more than love.” Her tone was calm. “For two lovers to be together, someone has to break the rules first.”
The man let out a faint chuckle.
“Then Miss Xu, what do you consider true lovers?”
She lifted her eyes to him. “At the very least, it has to be mutual.” Then she countered, “What does Mr. Rong think?”
The private box fell quiet, the singing from the stage continuing on.
After a moment, he finally turned his face, lifting his eyelids to look at her.
The girl wore a lilac sleeveless dress with a matching short jacket over it. Her features were bright and striking, a pair of peach-blossom eyes clear as autumn water. Even though her fingers were clenched tight with nerves, her chin was still held high.
“Sit.”
Xu Jingshuang didn’t move.
“Mr. Rong,” she looked at him, “leaving someone hanging like this on a first meeting—that’s not very polite, is it?”
The man reached for the celadon teacup on the table, taking a slow, deliberate sip of the tea.
“Polite?” He raised an eyebrow, a faint hint of amusement curling at the corner of his lips.
“Is it not?” Her tone didn’t back down either.
The man let out a soft scoff.
“You’re quite interesting.” His gaze slid slowly across her face. “But if you want me to treat you with courtesy, it depends on whether the person is worth it.”
A spark of anger flared in Xu Jingshuang’s chest.
Meaning what—she wasn’t worthy?
So he really was the playboy type after all, arrogant and rude to the bone.
She couldn’t be bothered to dance around it anymore. Her father was stubborn as a mule, the Rong family was unyielding, and the only breakthrough left was this nominal fiancé standing before her.
As long as he was the one to propose calling off the engagement, no one else could interfere.
“Mr. Rong, I came today to discuss our marriage.” She composed her expression, adding a touch of firmness to her voice. “I’ll say what I need to say and leave, so as not to disturb your enjoyment.”
The man gave a soft “mm,” signaling her to continue.
She decided to make it even more direct.
“We’re both adults—there’s no need to force a marriage for the sake of family interests. Since the engagement hasn’t been made public yet, why not just cancel it now? It’d be more dignified for both of us.”
As her words fell, the room sank into silence once more.
The man remained in that same carefree, indifferent manner, impossible to read whether he was pleased or not.
Did he even hear a word she said?
Before she could think further, the words had already been spoken. There was no point in backing down now.
She took another step forward.
The distance between them suddenly closed.
“Did you hear me? I don’t agree to this marriage. Whether you agree or not is your business, but you need to know—I won’t obediently marry into your family. Don’t blame me when I make a scene that leaves both families embarrassed.”
Having said that, her chest rose and fell slightly as she waited for his reaction.
As expected, a spoiled rich kid like this would either fly into a rage or respond with snide sarcasm. Either way, she had her next line ready. Worst case, she’d make sure neither family could save face—her reputation was already tarnished anyway.
When people in their circle mentioned the eldest daughter of the Xu family, who didn’t shake their head and call her “spoiled” and “difficult”?
That was exactly the reputation she wanted.
Only when people feared you would they not push you around at will.
But the man before her merely twirled the jade thumb ring on his finger slowly, then spoke: “Are you done?”
Xu Jingshuang froze, all her prepared words stuck in her throat.
Rong Jingchen’s deep dark eyes rested on her face for two seconds: “What do you want me to say?”
“Agree to call off the engagement, or scold me—either is fine.”
“Why would I scold you?”
“I’m insisting on breaking off the engagement. Any normal man would be angry at this point.”
“Normal man?” He repeated those words, his tone lazy with a hint of something deeper. “How does Miss Xu determine that I am a normal man?”
That retort left her speechless for a moment.
No, seriously—is this guy actually not normal?
She steadied herself and continued persuading: “Mr. Rong, let’s lay our cards on the table. You don’t lack women—why hang yourself on my tree? Go home and tell your family you don’t think much of me, that you find me bad-tempered, hard to deal with, and you don’t want to marry me. I’ll handle things on my father’s side myself. Let’s just pretend we never met today and save ourselves the trouble.”
“Who said I don’t lack women?” he asked mildly.
What?
Xu Jingshuang was briefly stunned, then quickly recovered: “That’s your personal business, none of my concern. What I mean is, there’s no need for you to marry me.”
“Indeed there isn’t.”
Xu Jingshuang’s eyes lit up.
“Then you—”
The man leaned back against the chair, his posture growing even more relaxed, his gaze fixed firmly on her: “But I have a flaw—I don’t like being told what to do. Especially not by a woman I’ve never met, who barges into my territory and tells me how to conduct myself.”
Xu Jingshuang’s pupils constricted slightly.
Got it. He was talking about her.
“I was only expressing my stance, not telling you what to do.”
“Your stance—I’ve seen it.” Rong Jingchen looked up at her. “But has Miss Xu considered—what makes you think I would act according to your wishes?”
“I’m a party to this marriage, so naturally I have a say.”
“Everyone can preach reason.” He gave a light scoff, his tone cooling. “But the rules of this world were never decided by reason—they’re decided by whoever holds the power to speak.”
[Reading Notes]:
Female lead is 23, male lead is 30. Both are clean—no exes, no first loves for the male lead.
The male lead is a man of high status who willingly submits; the female lead is delicate but not pretentious.
The male and female leads are physically attracted to each other—both are drawn by looks.
The female lead is set as a pampered socialite, the most beautiful in the entire story, and super good at acting cute.
Pure sweet Mary Sue. If you don’t like it, please don’t click. Harsh words hurt people.