Chapter 18 (2/2): Marry Me

After Xu Nanyin changed into her first dress and came out, she whispered, “I already scolded the Dai family. No more giving Zheng Yuze ideas.”

Xu Nanyin turned, eyes wide and beautiful.

“Marrying in was Dai Hongshu’s idea too?”

“Yes,” Liang Jiamin admitted awkwardly.

It was humiliating to admit her fiancé was wrong, but luckily it was Xu Nanyin, not Lin Zhijun, or she would have lost face.

Xu Nanyin kept her face pale and white.

“I’m beginning to agree with you. He’s not a good person.”

Liang Jiamin suddenly reached out to pinch her cheek.

“Zhuzhu, honestly, no men are good.”

It was fun teasing the well-behaved girl.

Xu Nanyin gently brushed her hand away and looked down at her phone.

Song Huaixu: [Fake.]

He had been working non-stop yesterday, then came to Port City again, plus an international conference, so he slept late and woke up later than usual.

As for the news about Zheng Yuze, he didn’t even need to ask.

He briefly skimmed how the media wrote it.

If Xu Nanyin accepted him, there would be no talk of marrying in.

Knowing one thing was one thing.

Unhappiness was another.

Song Huaixu’s expression was calm as his long fingers tapped the screen.

Xu Nanyin asked the makeup artist to wait a moment, unlocked her phone, and saw his message asking if she was home today.

Why ask that? It was strange.

He rarely sent messages like this; she didn’t know what he meant.

Xu Nanyin: [I’m going to try on Jiamin’s bridesmaid dress.]

Xu Nanyin: [Very busy.]

Song Huaixu: [Okay.]

It wasn’t a secret.

Hong Kong media kept following the Liang and Dai family marriage.

They even investigated the dress store where she was trying on dresses.

After all, Port City wasn’t that big.

There were reporters staking out outside now but couldn’t get much.

The girls usually had exquisite styling when attending banquets, so naturally, they had to match the dresses today, having only tried a few dresses that morning.

Lunch was at the upstairs restaurant.

They sat by the window, with delicate dishes on the table and refined, elegant conversation, including some surprising news.

“The Pullman downstairs is so expensive,” Zhuo Yier, whose family was in the luxury car business, suddenly said.

She had spotted a Maybach Pullman not far outside through the window.

For these wealthy girls, they might not know much about cars but could recognize brands and models.

Liang Jiamin glanced.

“The license plate is blocked. Doesn’t look familiar.”

Lin Zhijun also looked and felt it was familiar but couldn’t remember where she’d seen it, doubting her memory.

Chen Shi He guessed blindly, “Could it be Zheng Yuze waiting for Zhuzhu?”

“No way!”

Lin Zhijun, who disliked Zheng Yuze now, said, “He’s always flashy with sports cars, afraid people on the streets won’t recognize him!”

Just hearing Zheng Yuze’s name made Xu Nanyin lose all curiosity and not want to look anymore.

She clasped her hands softly and pleaded, “Please, can we not mention him today?”

“No talking.”

“No men mentioned today either.”

Xu Nanyin stayed quiet most of the day.

When she finally spoke in such a sweet and obedient way, everyone naturally went along with her.

***

The entire afternoon passed with trying on dresses.

By the last dress, Xu Nanyin was exhausted and nearly sleepy; she had poor sleep quality last night.

Luckily, no one rushed her.

Even one makeup adjustment took a lot of time.

She refused the makeup artist’s offer to redo her style, planning to rest while they continued styling others.

A Li wasn’t there today either.

After the makeup artist left, Xu Nanyin immediately regretted letting her go; this place wasn’t suitable for being alone.

There were few messages on her phone.

Her parents knew what she was doing; Zheng Yuze knew too, but he still sent messages asking what she wanted for dinner.

Indifferent.

Xu Nanyin didn’t want to reply. She hadn’t been this rude before.

She thought that if she was looking for a marriage alliance partner, she couldn’t pick someone like Zheng Yuze—persistent when pursuing, but cold and distant when not.

Many people were like this: intense love when in love, extreme disgust when not.

Her parents’ loving relationship was rare.

So Xu Nanyin always idealized things.

For her, if she couldn’t find someone to love, she would find someone who could help satisfy her Craving Skin Syndrome.

Like Liang Jiamin and Dai Hongshu—they could each get what they wanted.

Xu Nanyin leaned on the dressing table for a short nap, feeling even emptier.

A knock sounded.

“Come in.”

She didn’t even lift her head, not expecting anyone else to enter this store today.

Only when the visitor didn’t speak did Xu Nanyin slowly regain consciousness and look up, her gaze landing first on the mirror.

The man’s reflection there was unmistakable: a flawlessly handsome face, very familiar.

In this brightly lit, dazzling room, he stood out extraordinarily, wearing a black shirt without a tie, looking relaxed and casual.

The light was so bright it illuminated him like a perfect Greek sculpture—almost unreal.

Their eyes met in the mirror.

Xu Nanyin was stunned for several seconds before standing and turning around.

“Y-you’re here?”

Her knees accidentally bumped the chair.

She noticed his suit jacket was already draped over the chair back.

Song Huaixu pulled the chair out, resting his slender hand on it, tapping it repeatedly.

“I knocked.”

She had applied makeup today—light yet exquisite—looking more like a doll.

Her dress was a mint green one-shoulder strapless gown, elegant and refined, embroidered with beads that glittered as brightly as the highlight on her face.

“Not feeling well?” he asked.

“No,” Xu Nanyin didn’t want to say more, “Just a bit tired.”

“Not telling the truth.”

The man took a step closer.

Originally close, Xu Nanyin retreated until her back pressed against the dressing table, hands bracing on the surface, whispering, “You listen to other men?”

Last time when she asked about others, he didn’t seem happy; Zheng Yuze was a man too.

After that, Xu Nanyin thought this man might be so confident and strong that other men were useless in his presence.

Song Huaixu faintly curled his lips.

“I listen.”

Xu Nanyin didn’t pay close attention.

She felt aggrieved—no medicine left, no answers found, and people constantly bothering her. She had never felt this wronged before.

She didn’t realize it at first, but when he said what it was, the tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to fall.

The man’s tone softened, “Why are you crying?”

She had been holding back but hearing his low voice made the tears uncontrollable.

Xu Nanyin choked out, “It’s your fault.”

“My fault?”

He raised his hand, his warm fingertips gently stroking her face.

Xu Nanyin was stunned again, not understanding what he meant or even what she was saying.

“You messed up my makeup…”

Song Huaixu’s gaze enveloped her.

“You didn’t feel well last night?”

How did he know?

Xu Nanyin was puzzled.

The man seemed to hear her thoughts: “A Li told me. She went to the Xu family this morning.”

That girl named A Li was out in the yard drying herbs, muttering how Zheng Yuze was no good and made their Miss Zhuzhu suffer last night.

Why would A Li tell him that?

Xu Nanyin’s cheeks flushed, feeling as if her secrets were all exposed, especially after their recent closeness.

“Last night is last night,” she pressed her lips.

“I was here last night,” Song Huaixu followed her tone.

Her eyelashes trembled twice, momentarily lost in thought, then clearly understood his meaning but blushed and said, “I have my toys.”

Mm, no need for him.

The man chuckled lightly and stepped closer.

Xu Nanyin’s back was against the dressing table with no room to retreat.

Her knees were together under the skirt, trying to block him out but too slow—he slipped inside her skirt, turning the barrier into a blockade preventing him from leaving.

She knew he was tall but never realized her knees only reached his calves, unable to stop him.

The feeling of being wrapped tightly by his presence swept over her, heart pounding like a drum, unable to resist.

Still distracted, she was suddenly lifted, then found herself sitting on the dressing table, cushioned by his suit jacket.

She thought strangely how strong he was—able to hold her up with one hand and pull over a jacket with the other.

Just as Liang Jiamin said, he must work out.

This thought brought back all the strange feelings from before.

Song Huaixu’s gaze kept catching hers, watching her tilt her face up slightly, finally resting on his lips.

“Want here?”

“Hm?”

Xu Nanyin didn’t understand his meaning.

A shadow fell before her eyes.

She had no clue moments ago and never experienced this before.

The last time she slept at his place, she was fuzzy on memories, even breathing was irregular.

Song Huaixu moved back slightly, stopping at her lips, a faint smile playing. He hadn’t done much, yet she was already like this.

Xu Nanyin was speechless, but his teasing laugh tingled all over her.

“I won’t.”

“How did I feed you candy last time?” he asked.

“That was different,” she retorted, “That was hard candy.”

Song Huaixu’s eyes darkened, her innocent answer only stoking imagination.

He coaxed, “Same thing.”

Xu Nanyin suddenly remembered something and got nervous.

“The door…”

“Locked.”

He must have some way to enchant people, because she tried to mimic what he had done earlier—awkwardly, and did nothing else, behaving perfectly.

Yet precisely that made him unable to resist, quickly taking back control.

The air and people heated up.

When Xu Nanyin was released, her eyes misty, she leaned against the mirror behind her.

A few strands of hair fell beside her temple.

The embroidery on the dress rose and fell with her breath, as if about to bloom, accentuating her slender figure.

“I didn’t want this,” she suddenly regained clarity and weakly asked him, “Stay away from me, please. The skirt can’t…”

“Can’t what?”

He leaned in closer, his voice low and slow like wine, intoxicating.

Xu Nanyin took a long time before softly replying, “Can’t get wet.”

Silence suddenly fell.

The man stepped back.

Xu Nanyin thought he’d heard her because he said, “I won’t.”

Only when the train of her skirt, dragging on the floor like clouds, gathered did she vaguely understand why he wouldn’t.

The room was large, with a massive floor-to-ceiling mirror opposite the dressing table, almost covering an entire wall.

It was for anyone in the room to observe themselves in the dress.

Xu Nanyin had changed into over ten dresses today, checking her reflection many times, turning around repeatedly.

But what she saw now was different.

In the mirror, the man knelt on one knee under her skirt, his shoes red-soled, austere and calm, clad all in black.

Xu Nanyin felt confused and disbelieving.

The Song Huaixu she knew was always aloof.

His features were exquisite—high nose bridge, thin sexy lips, always speaking coldly.

Now, even his breath felt hot against her.

He was stronger than any of her little toys.

The suit jacket was pulled out with creases.

Xu Nanyin accidentally knocked over makeup bottles on the table, which crashed together.

The room echoed with continuous, overwhelming water sounds.

She didn’t feel like sitting on the dressing table anymore but on clouds.

After an unknown time, a makeup bottle fell and shattered with a “crack,” startling Xu Nanyin awake. She looked up at the man standing before her.

His nose and lips were wet…

If you didn’t know, you’d think someone had splashed water on his face—but he was still deeply alluring.

Wait, maybe she really had done it.

Xu Nanyin blinked and, recalling what happened, blushed deeply.

She pulled out some cleansing wipes from the table and handed them to him.

Song Huaixu took them casually and wiped himself.

“There’s… mouthwash in my bag,” Xu Nanyin said, her voice still shaky from crying.

She had the habit of carrying small sachets of mouthwash, usually sharing with female friends but never with a man.

She never thought she’d one day ask someone to rinse because of her own fault.

Song Huaixu opened her bag for the first time, looking at its palm-sized contents filled with many small, cute odds and ends.

His long fingers casually picked out a packet.

“Strawberry flavor.”

He raised his eyebrow and slowly read it aloud.

Xu Nanyin hadn’t thought much of it but watching his mouth open and close made her imagine all sorts of things.

“Do you like the taste?”

She didn’t know if he liked strawberry.

Song Huaixu gave her a sharp look, curling his lips.

“Which one are you asking about?”

Xu Nanyin turned red and was speechless.

She was very curious—especially how he could swallow those so calmly—but asking was too embarrassing.

She turned away without looking at him, seeing her makeup in the mirror.

She had cried so much but her makeup hadn’t smudged, only her eyes were red.

Her dress was tidily arranged. Xu Nanyin was held back onto the chair.

Aside from his suit jacket being damp, nothing else was wet.

He said he wouldn’t, and really wouldn’t.

“There was a makeup bottle that broke,” she suddenly remembered.

“I can pay for it, the clothes too.”

His voice overhead was as calm as ever.

“Why did you cry before?”

Xu Nanyin felt he was asking on purpose.

He knew exactly why she cried, but her eyes now, glaring back, had no real strength.

Instead, they were alluring.

Song Huaixu caught her meaning.

“I know the second time was enjoyable. I’m asking about the first time.”

He was too blunt. Xu Nanyin, usually well-behaved and only ever talking about these things with girls, was at a loss.

Their eyes met, and in those jet-black pupils, she lost immediately without a second thought.

Xu Nanyin muttered, “I don’t want to marry Zheng Yuze.”

The man behind her bent down, arms resting on the chair, as if embracing her in the mirror.

“Not him,” his voice deepened.

“Marry me.”

Xu Nanyin doubted she heard wrong. His breath brushed her ear, slowly spreading inside her.

“Who?”

Maybe it was the strawberry mouthwash she used, but Song Huaixu’s usually cold voice now seemed tinged with sweetness.

“Marry me.”

He repeated patiently.

“I won’t let you have any more heartbreak.”