At the Xiao Family's main house, lanterns and festoons decorated every corner, as they were celebrating a happy event.
Gu Xaozheng sat nervously on the wedding bed, her head covered with a bridal veil. She was fretting, her palms sweating at the thought of what was about to transpire. After all, she was supposed to be stepping into the shoes of her cousin who was the actual bride. Since this wasn't her cousin's first time, she had been arranged to take her cousin's place during the wedding night. The plan was for her to quietly slip away once the act was completed—an act of person substitution.
This family does not hold grand banquets when they marry, thus she was directly brought here after changing into the bridal qipao.
She wasn't sure what the groom was up to. It should have been time for the consummation as soon as she 'got married', but he had delayed the event by full two hours.
She had heard that the groom was nearly thirty this year. In her mind, anyone at that age was considered an 'old man'. For example, her university mentor was a balding middle-aged man in his thirties.
The thought of giving her virginity to a strange man she had never met before made her break out in goosebumps. Her hands clenched tightly as she revised herself quietly over and over again: "Remember, tonight, you are Gu Linlin. Don't give yourself away, don't give yourself away..."
Even after repeating the mantra, she discovered her hand was still trembling. She closed her eyes and, with the groom still absent, she lifted her veil a little to sneak a peek at the doorway. Overwhelmed by anxiety, she went over to the middle of the room and poured a glass of water in an attempt to calm down.
Much to her surprise, she took a big gulp, only to realize that it was not water but Baijiu—a Chinese liquor!
"Cough... Cough..."
Caught off guard, she choked on the liquor. The strong drink spilled over her lips. She hurriedly wiped it off with the back of her hand, but the coughing fit seemed endless, and her throat burned terribly.
Just then, the door squeaked open.
Damn it!
The room was only dimly illuminated by a bedside lamp.
As the man entered the room, a pungent smell of Baijiu hit him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a well-posed figure. Without changing his expression, he glanced at the Baijiu on the table, then without saying a word, he began to take off his jacket.
Although tonight is their wedding night, he has canceled the grand banquet, actively reducing the intensity of the wedding atmosphere and even continuing to work as usual.
In his heart, tonight isn’t anything special, it's just that there's an additional woman beside him, named Gu Linlin, who was arranged for a marriage alliance by his eldest uncle.
With eagle-like eyes, Xiao Hanzhou glanced at his new wife after putting down his clothing — This woman appears quite petite, like a lady from the south of the Yangtze river; while her posture looked proper, the red cheongsam she wore was noticeably disheveled. Combined with an alcohol scent, he guessed she'd been fiddling with something in the room before he entered.
With a mocking smirk, he was indifferent to her existence. However, he still had to do what needed to be done. He poured himself a drink, thinking of it as a mood enhancer, before removing the veil from her head.
The woman under the veil was hanging low, and Xiao Hanzhou couldn’t entirely make out her face, but he didn’t really care about her looks.
However, Gu Xiaozheng's heart was pounding uncontrollably, feeling intense pressure. The unfamiliarity of a male body and scent put her in a state of nervous tension. She was clutching onto the bedsheets, not daring to breathe.
Was... was it going to happen just like that?
