Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I didn’t expect Shen Heguang to come along on the day we went to pick out wedding dresses.

He and Shen Chen were trailing behind us, carrying bags of all sizes.

The two brothers were both handsome. Shen Chen, in his button-down shirt, looked mature with a hint of a rogue’s charm, while Shen Heguang, in his sportswear, was sunny and vibrant. They certainly turned heads.

Su Yue affectionately linked her arm with mine. She had put on her makeup with meticulous care.

This bridal shop only handled custom orders. In the display window, I saw a Xiuhe bridal set. The phoenix embroidered on it shimmered with radiant colors; every tiny seed bead on its tail sparkled, and the feathers looked as if they had been woven with pounds of gold thread.

In a place like this, the spotlights left poverty with nowhere to hide. I felt incredibly out of place. The numbers on the price tags were figures I wouldn’t dare dream of, even if I worked hard for another five years.

“Weiwei, which one do you think looks better?” Su Yue blinked at me playfully.

Su Yue was nestled into a European-style sofa. Her long, curly hair shone like cat’s eye gemstones, thick and fluffy like seaweed, making her look tiny and delicate, like a porcelain doll. The staff warmly brought her snacks and lemonade. She pointed casually at a few designs with her freshly manicured iridescent nails, and the staff scurried over to prepare them with eager service.

Later, many times, I would intentionally or unintentionally ask Shen Chen what he liked about Su Yue.

He said Su Yue’s natural curls felt like a little lamb to the touch.

So I remembered it: Shen Chen liked long, curly hair. That was why I had kept my hair long until now.

Later, the school took photos of the scholarship recipients to post on the school’s official social media account for promotion.

“Shen Chen, look, the photos have been updated,” I said, handing him my phone.

“You look like a dork when you smile.”

Shen Chen only spared it a glance, failing to notice the little bit of effort I had put into my photo.

I didn’t have a curling iron, so I had tied my hair up before going to sleep and let it down just before the photo was taken, creating wavy curls just like Su Yue’s.

But he didn’t notice.

Shen Chen never paid attention to the changes in me.

Poverty and a cough are two things that cannot be hidden. Looking closely, the hair I had permed for three hundred yuan at the shop downstairs from my rental apartment was indeed worlds apart from the one she had done at a private salon.

“Weiwei?” Su Yue noticed I was spacing out and called my name tentatively.

“Yueyue, you’re more on the cute side, so you could try a sweet style. Or, if you want to focus on accessories, the dress itself could be more minimalist…”

“Weiwei, why don’t you try one on too? Even though you don’t have a boyfriend yet, you never know how fast things might move in a relationship.”

I didn’t want to try.

The shop assistant clearly didn’t want to let go of a potential business opportunity. If she’s a friend of a rich heiress, she’s probably one too, right? She also chimed in, urging me to give it a try.

I instinctively looked toward Shen Chen for help, then suddenly realized something and lowered my eyes.

Whatever, I’ll just try it.

“Can’t you see she doesn’t want to?”

Shen Heguang, who was sitting on the sofa next to me reading a magazine, suddenly spoke up.

“Heguang, I didn’t mean it like that…” Su Yue tried to smooth things over, looking a bit sheepish.

I gently tugged on the hem of Shen Heguang’s shirt and gave a small smile.

“It’s okay, Heguang. I actually want to try it out too.”

Perhaps disappointed by my people-pleasing nature, Shen Heguang shot me a look and said nothing more.

Shen Chen was right about one thing: I was a coward.

I was always afraid of making others unhappy, constantly striving to please everyone.

Even when I didn’t like something, I would force a smile.

The wedding dress’s large skirt was adorned with tiny diamonds that sparkled under the lights.

Su Yue and I stepped out of the fitting rooms at the same time, looking back at the two brothers.

Maybe I was mistaken, but Shen Chen’s first instinct seemed to be to look at me.

The next second, Su Yue asked Shen Chen with a bright smile:

“Shen Chen, who do you think looks better, me or Weiwei?”

Shen Chen hurriedly said a bunch of things about how Yueyue looked beautiful. Su Yue pouted playfully, saying she was talking about the dresses and asking why he was making it about the two of us.

Watching the display of affection before me, I stood there awkwardly. I could only turn to Shen Heguang to make small talk:

“Hahaha… Does it look weird?”

I thought Shen Heguang wouldn’t want to talk to me, but to my surprise, he looked up from his book and scanned me carefully from head to toe.

This was the first time I had ever made eye contact with Shen Heguang.

At that moment, sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, illuminating golden dust motes in the air. It was quiet and peaceful.

The lower half of Shen Heguang’s face was hidden by the book, but his eyes looked exactly like Shen Chen’s back in high school. For a moment, I felt a sense of daze.

It was as if time had wound back to my university days. I once dreamed that I married Shen Chen, but dreams are always nonsensical and funny. In the dream, we were getting married in our school uniforms. Our Advanced Mathematics professor insisted we solve problems, saying he wouldn’t issue our marriage certificate until we got enough of them right. So, I spent the whole night in my dream doing calculus.

Seeing me dazed, Shen Heguang lowered the magazine, revealing a hint of a canine tooth and a shallow dimple. He looked soft and obedient, nothing like his brother at all.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke softly:

“No. You look beautiful.”