Chapter 4: The First Meeting
Wang Gege’s eyes once again traveled up and down, openly sizing up the tall man standing outside the bridal sedan.
Unfortunately, the red wedding veil hanging in front of her face blocked most of her view.
’Ah, this veil...’
She tilted her head slightly, trying her best to peek past the layers of red fabric.
’I can’t see his face clearly.’
The complaint remained trapped inside her head as her gaze continued drifting toward the blindfolded man.
The more she looked, the more curious she became. After all, this was the infamous Xie Rong.
The man whom Shen Yurou had refused to marry.
And most importantly... The man she was supposed to marry today.
Wang Gege narrowed her eyes. From where she sat, she could only make out his general outline.
Tall—definitely.
"Miss Shen..."
Xie Rong suddenly spoke.
Wang Gege flinched.
Partly because she had been so busy scrutinizing his face that she hadn’t expected him to speak.
But mostly because his voice was unfair.
Deep and low. Smooth enough to send a shiver down her spine.
Wang Gege immediately sat up a little straighter.
"Wait a minute..." Her expression turned serious, "Nobody mentioned this in the rumors."
"Rumors?" Xie Rong asked, sounding genuinely puzzled.
Wang Gege froze. Then she slowly blinked, "Oh."
A beat passed, "Oh no."
Had she just said that out loud?
Judging from the silence around her, the answer was yes.
Wang Gege immediately looked toward the top of the bridal sedan. Unfortunately, the wedding veil blocked her view.
"Nothing," she said with complete confidence. "I was talking to myself."
The black-clothed guard glanced at the sword still sticking out of the bridal sedan. For some reason, his expression became complicated.
Xie Rong remained silent for a moment before asking, "And what rumors has Miss Shen heard about me?"
Wang Gege’s heart skipped a beat. That was a dangerous question.
She immediately shook her head. Considering the sword that was still embedded in the side of the bridal sedan, she felt that remaining silent was the safest option for the time being.
Fortunately, Xie Rong did not continue pursuing the matter.
Instead, he said calmly, "I will be straightforward. I do not wish to proceed with this marriage."
Wang Gege stared at him blankly. For a moment, she wondered if she had misheard him.
According to everything she had overheard in the Shen residence, Shen Yurou had been the one desperately trying to avoid this marriage. She had even convinced her mother to send Shen Taotao in her place.
Yet now, the groom himself was saying that he did not wish to continue with the wedding either.
Wang Gege felt as though something had suddenly gone off script.
’What is going on?’
She blinked her eyes and hurriedly searched through the countless historical short dramas she had watched in her previous life.
’Wait... Is this one of those stories where the male lead refuses to get married because he already has a white moonlight in his heart?’
The more she thought about it, the more reasonable the theory seemed.
After all, this was an ancient setting.
Ancient noble young masters always seemed to have complicated emotional histories.
Either they had a white moonlight they could never forget, a childhood sweetheart they could never marry, or a tragic love story that left them heartbroken for years.
Surely Xie Rong could not be an exception.
Wang Gege secretly nodded to herself.
Yes. That had to be it.
Otherwise, why would a man stop his own wedding procession just to tell his bride that he did not want to get married?
She took a deep breath, ready to reply to whatever arrangement he was proposing, when Xie Rong suddenly spoke again.
"Are you listening, Miss Shen?"
"Ah—yes." Wang Gege straightened instinctively.
"But Young Master Xie, may I know why?"
The moment the words left her mouth, she froze.
Realisation slowly registered inside her brain and she immediately raised her hand and covered her lips.
Her eyes widened. ’Why did I ask that?’
Had she not just decided that knowing less was safer?
Had she not spent the last few moments convincing herself that silence was the key to survival?
Then why had her mouth betrayed her so quickly?
Wang Gege felt a headache coming on.
’Damn curiosity. And damn this mouth. Could the two of you cooperate with my survival for once?’
Unfortunately, neither her curiosity nor her mouth seemed interested in listening.
Outside the sedan, Xie Rong remained silent for a moment before answering calmly.
"Because I have no intention of taking a wife."
Wang Gege stared at him. Her mind immediately began working at full speed.
Unfortunately, the speed was not particularly impressive.
If Xie Rong refused the marriage, she could simply return to the Shen residence.
At least, that was the obvious answer. Yet the more she thought about it, the less appealing it sounded.
Someone had poisoned Shen Taotao before the wedding.
Someone had wanted her dead.
Whether that person had been targeting Shen Taotao specifically or merely trying to disrupt the marriage hardly mattered at the moment.
The important thing was that the Shen residence was not nearly as safe as it appeared.
Meanwhile, standing outside her bridal sedan was a man whose guards casually carried swords and whose reputation alone was enough to make people tremble.
Compared to returning to a household where somebody might poison her again, the choice suddenly seemed quite simple.
After thinking for a moment, Wang Gege cautiously spoke.
"If Young Master Xie does not wish to take a wife, could we perhaps pretend that this marriage has taken place?"
Silence.
Even the surrounding guards seemed to stop breathing.
"Excuse me?" Xie Rong asked.
Genuine bafflement appeared in his voice again.
Wang Gege immediately tried to explain herself.
"I mean, everyone already knows that the Shen family sent a bride to marry into the Xie family. If I return now, there will inevitably be gossip."
That part was true. Mostly true.
"Besides..." She hesitated before continuing. "The marriage procession has already left the Shen residence. Returning now may not be convenient for either family."
She waited for his response, because what she had just said sounded far more reasonable than saying...
’Young Master Xie, I think somebody poisoned me, and your terrifying household currently feels safer than my own home.’
So she wisely kept that part to herself.