In the end, Gu Xiaomi agreed to marry a man she had never met before, Nangong Yu.
Apart from the coercion of her parents, the primary reason was her discovery that her boyfriend of three years, Luo Yunxiu, was in a relationship with her own sister.
She still remembers that day. The weather was bright and clear, but the air within the lavish villa was icy cold.
“Xiaomi, the Gu Group represents your father's life's work. Only the Nangong family can help the Gu Group through this difficult time. Their condition is that you must marry into their family before they are willing to extend a helping hand,” her father, Gu Mingchuan, lowered his pride before her.
"Xiaomi, for the sake of the hardship we've endured raising you, please save the Gu Group," her mother, Xia Xue, also pleaded earnestly.
Gu Xiaomi looked at her parents who raised her. At this moment, they wanted her to sacrifice her happiness for their glory and wealth, and this made her heart sink.
She didn't know why the Nangong family wanted her to marry into their family, as she could not recall any connection between them and her.
"Dad, Mum, you know that the man I love is Yunxiu. We're about to get married."
"Xiaomi, if you don't marry Nangong Yu, our Gu Group would be done."
"What about my happiness?"
With a thud, Gu Mingchuan kneeled before her.
"Xiaomi, the Nangong family is the most powerful family in Ling city and Nangong Yu is a talented and capable young man. Marrying him, you won't suffer."
Her heart broke as she looked at her father who was humbling himself to the dust, not the calm and steady man she remembered. All that was left was debasement and humiliation, even ruthlessness. She raised a corner of her mouth in a bitter, mocking smile.
They knew full well her feelings for Luo Yunxiu, yet they still made such demands of her.
"Dad, will you please get up?"
"If you promise me, I will stay kneeling here."
Gu Mingchuan was resolute in his stance.
"Xiaomi, your father raised you for over twenty years. Is this how you repay him?"
Her mother, Xia Xue, chastised her, with cold indifference and a touch of disgust in her eyes.
No matter what she said, Gu Mingchuan wouldn't budge.
It broke her heart to see her father, a man in his fifties, kneeling before her.
After half an hour of struggle, she relaxed slightly.
"Give me some time to think."
The expressions of Gu Mingchuan and Xia Xue softened considerably.
Still, fearing she wouldn't agree, Gu Mingchuan remained on his knees.
Clearly, her happiness was of less importance to him than his Gu Corporation.
She retreated to her room and dialed Luo Yunxiu's number.
After three consecutive calls, she finally got through.
The voice that came from the phone, however, was not that of Luo Yunxiu.
"Xiaomi, are you looking for Yunxiu?"
A very familiar voice reached her ears, and her mind went blank for a moment.
A thick sense of unease instantly spread to every corner of her body.
"Sis, why do you have Yunxiu's phone?"
There was a momentary silence on the other end of the line, born of guilt, perhaps, or something else.
"Xiaomi, Yunxiu is taking a shower."
"Xiaomi, now that you know, I don't want to hide it from you anymore. Actually, Yunxiu didn't go on a business trip. We came on a trip together. The person Yunxiu loves is me, and I love him too. We've only kept it from you because we didn't want to hurt you."
"I'm sorry."
Gu Xiaomi hung up the phone. She stood in front of the window, looking out on the picturesque scenery.
She told herself what she’d heard was surely not true.
How could her sister possibly be involved with her boyfriend?
But when she saw the few pictures that Gu Xiaofei sent over, she could no longer comfort herself.
In the picture, Gu Xiaofei and Luo Yunxiu were lying on the same bed, covered with a beige silk quilt, which she had personally picked for Luo Yunxiu.
She still remembered that after she had spread the quilt for him, wanting to give him her most precious first time, he had refused.
"He said he would leave the most beautiful things for their wedding night.
And now...
Stepping out of the room, descended the stairs, Gu Mingchuan is still kneeling there.
She finds it laughable.
Everyone in this family doesn't care about her, right?
If so, she should just go.
"I promise you, I'll marry Nangong Yu."
On the faces of Gu Mingchuan and Xia Xue, smiles of relief instantly bloom.
——
Nangong Yu did not give her a wedding, he only went with her to the civil affairs bureau to get a marriage certificate.
No wedding ring, no inviting relatives and friends from both sides. It seems, she is but an existence that cannot see the light.
Newlywed's night.
Gu Xiaomi sat alone by the bed, wearing a fine red cheongsam, making her already rose-like delicate face, even more captivating.
The room was filled with joy, but Gu Xiaomi's heart was like the ice in the Arctic, cold to the deepest part.
She really wanted to leave this room, she regretted, regretted marrying a stranger in just one week's time."
She longed to return to Luo Yunxiu, yet understood, Luo Yunxiu no longer wished to take her calls, she couldn't even reach him now.
Every day before this wedding, there had been countless times she yearned to get in touch with him, but Gu Xiaofei was always the one answering the calls.
The door was opened, and a tall and upright silhouette slowly approached her.
As he neared, her heart bit by bit, sank into deeper panic.
A shadow engulfed her; it was Nangong Yu stopping in front of her.
Nangong Yu extended his hand, cupping her chin, his expression indifferent upon seeing her strikingly beautiful face.
Gu Xiaomi looked up and saw a face capable of toppling countless hearts.
His eyes, which hid deep under the thick eyebrows, were like bottomless abysses, their icy glare capable of sending chills down anyone's spine.
He peered down at her with an air of superiority, a trace of cold smile traced on his rosy lips.
Denying it was futile, the man standing before her was flawless, an impeccable artwork meticulously crafted by God.
The only imperfection, was his frigid gaze upon her.
The thing she feared, no matter how she rejected it, inevitably happened.
That night, Nangong Yu tormented her relentlessly, as if he bore a grudge against her. He was retaliating against her.
Otherwise, why would a man treat his newlywed wife so brutally?
When she woke the next day, it was already late, Nangong Yu was nowhere to be found.
She pulled back the blanket, noticing the blues and purples on her body, along with the bold red color on the bedsheet - remnants of the previous night’s encounter.
Her heart felt clenched. It hurt, a wretched pain.
She gathered her thoughts, cleaned herself up, and changed clothes.
In the main hall on the first floor, the servants were busy coming in and out.
In a daze, she remembered, she needed to return home.
However, even after she had finished breakfast and was preparing to leave for the Gu family home, there was no sign of Nangong Yu.
Presumably, he too was dissatisfied with the marriage.
Helplessly, she could only go alone.
When the driver stopped the car at the entrance of the Gu family's home, she got out of the vehicle, only to see Luo Yunxiu, standing only a few meters away from her.
That familiar face seemed all too strange in this moment.
In a mere month, they had taken divergent paths.
She gave him a cold smirk.
Pretending she hadn’t seen him, she headed straight for the Gu family villa.
But her wrist was grabbed.
She turned her head to see Luo Yunxiu, his eyebrows knitted together, a picture of grief.
To the observer, it would appear as though he was saddened by her marriage to another.
Regardless of how she resisted, Luo Yunxiu forcibly dragged her into the nearby grove.
All the way to the ancient tree that had been their frequent date spot in better times.
