chapter 3
chapter 3
My cousin was marrying into a wealthy family and invited me to the wedding.
The ceremony would be held in City A. The moment I learned the location, I declined.
Then the groom’s family screened the guest list from my cousin’s side and circled only my name. Apparently, I was the only relative they considered fit to appear.
In other words, my cousin’s own parents were not allowed to attend her wedding. Among all her friends and family, only I and a few bridesmaids received permission to witness the ceremony.
My aunt came to my home in person and begged me to go. As my cousin’s only relative present, she wanted me to lend the bride some dignity.
I was forced to accept the absurd responsibility.
We were placed in a luxury hotel, from which my cousin would depart as a bride the next morning.
On the eve of the wedding, a young woman added my cousin on WeChat and sent more than a dozen intimate photos with the groom-to-be, along with a video.
Thirty kilometers from the hotel, a bachelor party was in full swing at a villa. Beautiful, scantily dressed men and women were partying without restraint. In the video, a glamorous young woman kissed the groom-to-be full on the mouth.
My cousin calmly turned off her phone and called to me and her six bridesmaids. “Come on. Let’s go to the party too.”
I had never imagined I would see Meng Fanyu again.
City A was enormous. Surely it could not be such a coincidence that on my first visit in four years, I would run directly into him.
But heaven apparently loved a joke.
My cousin had gone there to put the other woman in her place. Without hesitation, she slapped her across the face.
The woman tried to seek protection from the groom, only to find him watching with an amused smile and no intention of defending her.
The groom’s name was Wu Tianhao.
What the other woman did not know was that before agreeing to marry him, my cousin had laid down rules of her own. She would ignore however many women Wu Tianhao entertained outside their marriage. But if one of them dared provoke her to her face, he was forbidden to interfere when she taught that woman a lesson.
The woman had badly misjudged her importance to Wu Tianhao.
My cousin grabbed her by the hair and threw her out. Wu Tianhao casually shut the door behind her, then wrapped an arm around my cousin’s waist with a cheerful grin.
“Don’t be rude,” he said. “Since you’re here, go greet Third Brother.”
Fresh from the fight, my cousin’s collar had been tugged open and her hair resembled a bird’s nest. She calmly tidied herself. “All right. I’ll go as soon as I’m presentable.”
Wu Tianhao left her and went ahead.
A group of polished, beautiful people sat around a table on the far side of the villa. I could not tell whether they were playing a game or simply talking, but compared with the commotion around the pool, their corner was quiet.
My cousin glanced their way, then conspiratorially waved the bridesmaids closer and lowered her voice. “See that table? Everyone except the man in the middle is a promising target.”
Curious about the one man she had excluded, I looked over.
The moment I saw him, I froze. It took me a long while to tear my gaze away.
I had seen him. He had not seen me.
Meng Fanyu.
Four years older, he no longer looked quite as I remembered. The last traces of youth had vanished, leaving his features deeper, steadier, and possessed of a striking maturity.
The most beautiful bridesmaid fixed her eyes on him and asked resentfully, “Why not him?”
My cousin tugged her arm, uncharacteristically serious. “He’s beyond us. Don’t even dream about it unless you want trouble.”
The young woman’s name was Yin Bing, and she had an aloof temperament. She answered with a cool “Oh,” seeming to heed the warning.