It wasn't that the Gu parents disliked Shen Yitang.
On the contrary, they genuinely adored this delicate, doll-like pretty girl whom they had watched grow up since childhood.
They sincerely felt that their youngest son was unworthy of Shen Yitang.
One was a soft, fragile little beauty whom they feared might melt if held too tightly in their palms; the other was a wild, untamable, uncouth ruffian. Just thinking about it felt like a fresh flower planted in a pile of cow dung!
Gu Huaizheng had been thrown into the military camp by his grandfather at the age of fourteen, growing up roughhousing among a bunch of stinking men.
By a young age, he had already participated in several important battles. He had seen blood, killed men, and crawled out of piles of corpses.
With all that murderous aura about him, what if he scared the poor little girl?
Even more infuriating, when the brat received the call from home, he flatly spat out: "I'm not marrying her. You're the ones who agreed to it—why should I be the one to marry? Whoever agreed should marry her themselves."
"Or better yet, have my brother divorce his wife and marry her. Either way, it's none of my business!"
Listen to that—was that even human speech?
These difficulties were not something the Gu family could easily explain to the Shen family.
If they did, the Shens would surely think they were looking down on the Shen family's questionable background and deliberately making excuses to back out of the marriage!
Gu's father had actually mentioned to Shen's father that his youngest son hadn't grown up by their side, having spent years in the military camps, wild and hard to tame.
Shen's father simply took it as modesty.
And Gu the elder was stubborn to a fault—if he couldn't fulfill what he had promised his lifesaver, he would die with his eyes open in regret.
Gu the elder forced his son, Gu Mingshu, to send a telegram to his grandson, Gu Huaizheng, claiming that Gu the elder was gravely ill and on the verge of death, urging him to come home to see his grandfather one last time.
When Gu Huaizheng received the telegram, he was somewhat skeptical, but he didn't dare delay and hurriedly rushed home.
When he arrived, the old man was as hale and hearty as could be—it turned out to be a trick to get him back for a blind date.
Furious, he immediately tried to leave but was locked up by Gu the elder, who brandished his cane and ordered the guards to confine him.
Then, under the pretext of celebrating the old man's birthday, they invited the Shen family over.
Gu Mingshu and his wife knew well that even if they could keep Gu Huaizheng's body there, they couldn't keep his heart, let alone control his words and actions.
They went into the meeting with the Shen family with a "what's done is done" mentality.
Let the Shens see for themselves—it wasn't that they were unwilling to form a marriage alliance, but that this son of theirs was simply too outrageous and unworthy of a match.
They had already planned that if it truly came to the worst, they would formally adopt Shen Yitang as their goddaughter, find her a family of comparable standing in the future, and marry her off with all the pomp and ceremony due to their own biological daughter.
They would protect her for life as her natal family.
Unexpectedly, a turn of events occurred.
Gu Huaizheng was confined to a room on the second floor of the house when his brother brought him a crisp new white shirt and a pair of military trousers with sharply pressed creases.
"The Shens will be arriving soon. Mother wants you to change into these and come downstairs to receive the guests."
Gu Huaizheng snorted in disdain, grabbing the clothes to toss them out the window—when he happened to catch sight of the Shen family entering through the gate.
He was instantly struck dumb.
A delicate, tender young girl in a light blue dress, her creamy skin dazzlingly white under the sunlight.
She suddenly looked up, her gaze turning in his direction, and that radiant look was enough to dim all the starlight in the world.
That single glance slammed heavily into Gu Huaizheng's heart.
Gu Huaizheng's mind was left with only one thought: Damn it, this woman is the one I want for the rest of my life.
"Who is that?" Gu Huaizheng asked.
Gu Huaijun let out a light scoff. "You're not planning on getting married anyway, so why bother asking who she is!"
"She's the youngest daughter of the Shen family? Why didn't anyone tell me she was this beautiful!"
"So what—if she's pretty you want her, and if she's not, you don't? What do you take the Shen girl for? Goods to be picked over at will?"
Gu Huaijun doted on Shen Yitang like a younger sister, and seeing his reckless younger brother behave this way, he felt a surge of anger.
But then he saw that Gu Huaizheng had already stripped himself bare and was changing into the clothes he had brought over.
Several shocking scars marked his body, one of them a fresh wound where the newly grown flesh was still pink.
Thinking of how his brother had spent all these years charging into battle, risking life and limb to protect the country, Gu Huaijun softened a little.
"The Shen girl is still young. Rein in some of that rough nature of yours—don't scare her off."
Downstairs, Gu's mother, Lin Wangshu, was holding Shen Yitang's hand and fussing over her with warm concern when she suddenly saw both of her sons coming down the stairs one after the other, each dressed in crisp, immaculate white shirts.
For a moment, she thought she was seeing double.
She quickly blinked and looked again.
No mistake—it really was her two sons, descending the stairs like jade trees in the wind.
In truth, the brothers didn't usually look alike.
Though they shared similar faces, their temperaments were worlds apart.
Gu Huaijun was quiet and reserved, refined and scholarly.
Gu Huaizheng was a bit taller, a bit more muscular, and much darker-skinned.
His temperament was utterly untamed—defiant and arrogant, as if heaven and earth were his to command!
But before coming home this time, Gu Huaizheng had suffered a severe injury—one that nearly cost him his life.
He had lain in bed recovering for three months, and the prolonged rest had paled his sun-darkened face.
He had also lost a great deal of weight.
Dressed in a white shirt, with that wildness reined in, he actually carried a hint of the graceful, gentle charm of a refined young gentleman.
And so, for the entire evening, Lin Wangshu watched her youngest son put on an act with an indescribable feeling in her heart.
He no longer wolfed down his food, no longer slurped his soup, and when he spoke, he was surprisingly polite and articulate, even with a touch of literary flair.
Had he been possessed by his older brother?!
No, seriously—what kind of spell had his brother cast on him to make him change into a completely different person?
But when she caught sight of the fiery gaze her youngest son was directing at the young Shen girl, Lin Wangshu understood.
This was what they meant by "even heroes can't resist a beautiful woman's charms!"
The Shen family was clearly very pleased with Gu Huaizheng.
Shen Yitang's father, Shen Zhixing, was especially full of praise for him—calling him accomplished at such a young age, a pillar of the nation, and so on!
Listening to this, Lin Wangshu and her husband wanted to cover their faces.
They didn't feel relieved at all—instead, they grew even more anxious.
What if, after the two families formed a marriage alliance, the Shens discovered Gu Huaizheng's true nature? Would they blame them for tricking them into the match?
Three months later, when Shen Yitang saw Gu Huaizheng again on the island, her vision went dark, and she truly felt the deep sting of deception.
This Gu Huaizheng in front of her had to be a fake—how was he completely different from the one she had met at the Gu residence before!
In truth, Shen Yitang hadn't originally planned to get married so soon.