Guan Yingtang made the second rebellious decision of her life last night.
She wasn’t just going to rebel this time— she would do it silently, and shake the world.
Guan Yingtang knew very clearly that the outcome of her arranged marriage with Meng Qinghuai was almost set in stone.
Even if she rejected Meng Qinghuai, there would still be another young master from some prestigious family waiting for her.
She bore the responsibility of upholding her family’s social standing, so this was the road she was destined to walk.
The only difference was whether her partner was Meng Qinghuai or not.
So, since the ending was already clear, why not take control of the story from the very start?
Before coming to the airport, Guan Yingtang gathered all her documents, turned off her phone, and left only a letter for her parents.
She could already foresee the shock Guan Zhiheng and Ho Ling would feel when they found the letter a bit later.
But it didn’t matter anymore. She didn’t want to worry about it.
Before jumping into another grave, Guan Yingtang wanted to give herself three months of willfulness.
A whole lifetime, and just these three months to be reckless—surely that wasn’t too much to ask.
–
In the VIP Lounge, the attentive Aviation Service Staff brought two cups of coffee.
Guan Yingtang sat across from Meng Qinghuai.
The room was faintly filled with a pleasant feminine fragrance— not the kind that overwhelmed, but light, with a subtle, teasing allure.
It was like a rosebud about to bloom, innocence intertwined with sensuality, gradually unfurling with each breath, impossible to ignore.
In Meng Qinghuai’s world, it was rare for a woman’s scent to intrude so closely.
He lowered his head, picked up his coffee, took a sip, and asked lightly, “Why did you change your mind?”
Guan Yingtang looked at him. “What?”
Meng Qinghuai’s lips curved slightly. “Miss Guan, your reaction yesterday didn’t seem like someone who wanted to marry me.”
“Yesterday was yesterday. Today is today.” Guan Yingtang replied with a graceful smile. “Yesterday, I was still Guan Yingtang in everyone’s eyes, but today—” As she spoke, she picked up a copy of Entertainment Daily from the VIP Lounge bookshelf. “—I’m already your inseparable fiancée, Mr. Meng.”
Today, a certain tabloid, while reporting on the star-studded birthday banquet of Fu Shengyun, somehow got a scoop and devoted a huge section to Guan Yingtang and Meng Qinghuai.
“Shocking News of a Prestigious Alliance! Rumor has it the First Daughter of the Guan Family will marry the young master of the mainland Aowan Group. After the birthday banquet, the Eldest Son of the Meng Family personally escorted his fiancée back to the Kadoorie Hill mansion. The two seemed inseparable— looks like the wedding is just around the corner!”
The accompanying photo was just the back of a car, but paired with the Hong Kong Editor’s wild style, it almost looked convincing at first glance.
Attending such banquets, Meng Qinghuai had never worried about being exposed.
The Meng Family’s rules stated that before marriage, children were never allowed to have their photos leaked to the media.
Even if a reporter managed to snap something, and even if the newspaper was already printed, the Meng Family’s PR team would destroy every copy before it left the factory.
But if a Hong Kong reporter wanted to make a story out of a car photo, there was little he could do.
Meng Qinghuai looked away from the newspaper. “If Miss Guan minds, I can publish a clarification.”
“No need.”
Guan Yingtang saw things clearly. Sooner or later, she would have to walk the road of an arranged marriage.
In terms of family background, Meng Qinghuai was indeed the best choice.
“We can get the Marriage Certificate today, but I have two conditions.”
Meng Qinghuai’s thumb gently rubbed the handle of the white bone china coffee cup.
After a moment, he let out a soft laugh, his eyes showing a hint of intrigue. “Go ahead.”
“First, take me to Guangzhou, but you can’t tell my parents.”
Meng Qinghuai frowned slightly, pausing. “I’m not quite sure what you mean, Miss Guan.”
Guan Yingtang hadn’t built any trust with the man in front of her. If she told him directly that she wasn’t some prim and proper young lady, that she was running away from home to spend three months of freedom in Guangzhou, and that she planned to avoid blame by having already gotten the certificate…
Would he just send her straight home?
Who could say?
He seemed too principled, cold and reserved, impossible to read.
“It’s a surprise,” Guan Yingtang smiled, making things up as she went. “I told them I was going on a trip, but I’m actually planning to give them a surprise— to get used to married life in Guangzhou ahead of time.”
Meng Qinghuai stared at her without blinking, as if trying to discern the truth of her words or peer into her real motives. His gaze was calm, but so calm it became a kind of silent pressure.
Guan Yingtang swallowed, meeting his eyes calmly. “Actually, my father is very reluctant to let me marry into Guangzhou. He thinks I won’t get used to the climate or the food there. But he admires you, and hopes our families can unite through marriage.”
“I’m doing this so he’ll feel at ease when the time comes to marry off his daughter.”
Their gazes locked for a moment.
Meng Qinghuai leaned back into the leather seat, his expression unreadable. “Miss Guan is quite filial.”
His tone was hard to read. Guan Yingtang couldn’t tell if he believed her or not.
She steadied her heartbeat and flashed a demure smile. “My parents said they found me the best man. Since you’re the best, you should support my filial piety, right?”
—I’ve put such a tall hat on you. It would be rude to refuse now.
The quiet VIP Lounge fell silent as Meng Qinghuai said nothing, as if weighing whether to accept the “good man” card bestowed by the Guan heiress.
A good while passed with no response.
Under his scrutinizing gaze, Guan Yingtang grew uneasy, thinking her plan had failed and was about to find a way to back out, when the man suddenly lowered his head, gave a noncommittal smile, and made a call.
“Boarding in five minutes. I’ll be bringing one more person.”
–
Three and a half hours later, Meng Qinghuai’s private jet landed at Guangzhou International Airport.
The car picking them up took them straight to the Civil Affairs Bureau in a certain district.
Even while still on the plane, Meng Qinghuai had his assistant contact a trusted acquaintance.
The registration center specially opened a private window for him. Now, he and Guan Yingtang stood together, posing for their marriage registration photo.
Everything happened so fast it was unbelievable.
The photographer, specially invited, didn’t know who the couple was, but anyone given VIP treatment in such a place was never ordinary.
From their manner and bearing, it was clear— the man was wealthy or noble, the woman surely from a distinguished family.
“Could the couple move a little closer?” the photographer suggested from behind the lens.
Meng Qinghuai and Guan Yingtang were silent for half a second, then, as if in sync, each moved a little closer to the other.
“Give me a smile, bride.”
“Good, very nice.”
“Lean your heads a bit closer.”
The photographer praised them repeatedly, taking the photos with great enthusiasm.
Meng Qinghuai glanced down, catching the slight smile at the corner of Guan Yingtang’s lips. Their arms occasionally brushed, and that faint fragrance quietly filled his senses.
His eyes flickered, then he looked back ahead.
Once the photo was done, the rest of the process went smoothly. Before long, the staff handed them two stamped Marriage Certificates.
Meng Qinghuai’s lawyer was already present, having all participants sign confidentiality agreements to ensure no one would leak news of their registration.
Not even Meng Songnian and Zhuang Jiayi would know that the two young people, strangers just last night, now held fresh red Marriage Certificates in their hands.
All because of Guan Yingtang’s second condition—
“The fact that we’ve registered our marriage can only be known to the two of us, until the wedding date your father has set.”
Since the Guan and Meng families secretly set the wedding date behind her back, she would secretly get the certificate behind theirs.
It might seem childish, but to Guan Yingtang, at least it gave her a sliver of psychological balance— a way to resist being manipulated.
By the time they left the Civil Affairs Bureau, it was nearly noon.
Guan Yingtang sat in Meng Qinghuai’s car, the window half open. She gazed up at the bustling traffic and the red brick walls of Guangzhou.
Guangzhou and Hong Kong Island were two completely different cities. Both were international metropolises, but Guangzhou had a much deeper sense of history and culture.
Steel and concrete skyscrapers, ancient alleyways, the endless flow of Chang’an Avenue, and the solemn, time-worn grandeur beneath the imperial city— all unfamiliar.
But unfamiliarity was the start of excitement.
It meant Guan Yingtang could run wild in this strange land for the next few months.
“Xu Fu, book a restaurant,” Meng Qinghuai said to his assistant in the front seat.
Xu Fu had worked at Aowan Group for three years, serving as Meng Qinghuai’s personal assistant since he joined the company. They trusted each other completely.
“Alright.” Xu Fu nodded, picking up his phone, but then suddenly turned to ask Guan Yingtang, “Madam, is there anything special you’d like to eat?”
Guan Yingtang froze, her expression stiffening. “…Anything is fine.”
Xu Fu: “Huh?”
That one word— “Madam” —caught Guan Yingtang completely off guard, even scrambling her language system for a second. She switched to Mandarin: “I mean, anything is fine with me.”
Xu Fu: “Okay.”
Just a few words, and Guan Yingtang was snapped out of her excitement and back to reality—
Her bag held the freshly issued Marriage Certificate, still warm and red.
She was married.
The campus legend she and her friends used to gossip about was now her husband.
It all sounded surreal.
The Maybach glided quietly through the streets of Guangzhou. Despite her complicated feelings, Guan Yingtang sat upright and elegant.
This rebellious journey was her secret. In front of Meng Qinghuai, she still had to be the dignified, cultured heiress of the Guan Family.
It was lunchtime, the city crowded as a tide, cars inching along.
Guan Yingtang had barely slept last night, only dozing for a couple of hours before heading to the airport at dawn.
Stuck in traffic now, she watched the scene outside with patience at first, but as fatigue crept in, she unconsciously leaned back and fell asleep.
Today, she wore a pearl-colored embroidered qipao, with a thin cashmere shawl draped over her shoulders.
When Meng Qinghuai noticed she had fallen asleep, her shawl had slipped down, the soft cashmere brushing his hand.
He turned around to see Guan Yingtang with her eyes closed, long lashes casting deep shadows.
Even with her seatbelt fastened, her hands were crossed in her lap, as if she was subconsciously maintaining her poise.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in through the window, lifting the hair on her cheek.
She frowned and brushed it away with her hand.
At that moment, her phone rang in the quiet car.
It was a call from Zhuang Jiayi.
Meng Qinghuai glanced down, slid the phone to mute, then answered.
Zhuang Jiayi’s voice came through, tinged with regret:
“Qinghuai, you don’t have to fly to Hong Kong this weekend. The Guan Family just contacted us— they said Miss Guan went on a trip with friends.”
When the plane landed in Guangzhou, in the Kadoorie Hill villa, Guan Zhiheng and Ho Ling had finally discovered their daughter’s runaway.
Guan Yingtang had only left a letter, saying she went out with friends to relax, and promised to be back before the wedding, telling her parents not to look for her.
But Guan Zhiheng was furious. The scheduled magazine interview, the charity lecture— so many plans were suddenly canceled.
Most importantly, they had arranged with Meng Songnian and Zhuang Jiayi for the two young people to have tea this weekend to get to know each other better.
Caught off guard, Ho Ling could only comfort her husband while calling Zhuang Jiayi, saying that Guan Yingtang had suddenly decided to go on vacation with friends.
That was why Zhuang Jiayi was calling Meng Qinghuai now.
Yet Meng Qinghuai remained calm and replied mildly, “Alright.”
His son’s excessive calm made Zhuang Jiayi uneasy. “Do you think Miss Guan is deliberately avoiding you? Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence, going on vacation at this time?”
“…”
“You really aren’t worried at all. I heard several young masters in Hong Kong have their eyes on Miss Guan. I’m starting to worry this marriage might not go through.”
Meng Qinghuai listened patiently to his mother’s concerns.
After a pause, he glanced at the woman sleeping soundly beside him and said,
“Don’t worry. It will.”