Qin Zheng · Conversa

After more than a decade, I was hastily brought back by the Shen family, all for a marriage alliance. Everyone in the Shen family is trying their utmost to flatter me. My biological parents wear polite, fawning smiles, carefully trying to please me at every turn, even insisting I stay at the Shen estate this month. Mother Shen slipped a card into my hand, her voice gentle to the point of hypocrisy, saying there was 200,000 inside as pocket money for my stay this month. There is only one month left before my wedding with Qin Zheng. They went to great lengths to find me, the true daughter who had been wandering outside, solely because they wanted me to take over Shen Susu's marriage. They wanted me to marry the supposedly beastly Qin Zheng in place of their pampered, precious little gem. Spoiled and indulged by her parents since childhood, Shen Susu is arrogant, overbearing, and narrow-minded, long accustomed to monopolizing all their affection. Seeing her parents accommodate me in every way, the resentment and imbalance in her heart boiled over. She deliberately blocked me in the living room, speaking to me with dripping sarcasm in front of our parents, her face full of triumphant pride. "Sister, you've really worked hard." She dragged out her words in a soft, affected tone, pretending to be understanding, but every word carried a sting of mockery: "I've been pampered by Mom and Dad since I was little, and they can't bear to see me marry so early, so we can only trouble you to marry in my stead. Just think of it as sharing your little sister's burden this once." I curled my lips, but my eyes remained completely untroubled. I only found it ridiculous and annoying. Having wandered outside for so many years, this green-tea act was the last thing that would work on me. Before she could utter another word of her facade, I raised my hand and slapped her across the face, clean and sharp. The crisp sound instantly shocked the living room into dead silence. "That's for you." My tone was flat, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, and my gaze was candidly cold. The Shen family is begging me; they need me to bail them out by being the stand-in bride, not the other way around. Since they dared to plot against and use me, I had no qualms about showing my displeasure. I would never let myself suffer even a shred of grievance or a silent loss. Ignoring Shen Susu's suddenly pale face and the stunned family behind me, I turned and walked straight out of the Shen villa, my steps calm and without a single regret. Pocketing the card the Shens had just given me, I found a quiet private restaurant, planning to enjoy a good meal and not bother dwelling on the Shen family's mess. Exquisite dishes were served one after another. I lowered my head to eat quietly. Just as I picked up my utensils, a tall, slender figure sat down opposite me. The man's voice was low and soft, his tone flat and restrained, with a touch of elegant, cool politeness: "Do you mind sharing a table? The restaurant is full." I looked up and scanned the room. Seeing that the place was indeed packed, I nodded slightly in tacit agreement. He ate in silence the entire time without initiating a conversation. His temperament was cold and reserved, with a faint air of detachment surrounding him. It wasn't until he finished his meal and stood up to leave that he looked down at me, his tone still indifferent: "Miss, don't share a table with strangers so easily. It's easy to run into bad people." I didn't take it to heart, dismissing it as a passerby's casual warning. Too lazy to respond, I kept eating. When I stood up to pay, the receptionist smiled and informed me that the gentleman who had shared the table with me had already settled my bill in advance. I was slightly taken aback. When I looked up again, his figure was already gone from the restaurant. In the blink of an eye, the month was up, and the wedding day arrived as scheduled. The grand and solemn wedding banquet hall was brilliantly lit, crowded with guests. Dressed in a satin mermaid wedding gown with my veil draped softly, I walked slowly toward Qin Zheng step by step. When my gaze landed on the tall, upright man at the end of the aisle, my entire body suddenly froze. It was him. It was the stranger who had shared a table with me and quietly warned me at the private restaurant that day. He wore a crisp military officer's uniform. His figure was tall and lean, his features cold and elegant, with a faint layer of indifference coating his eyes. The moment our eyes met, he stepped forward slowly, his well-defined hand gently taking mine. His thin lips curled slightly, releasing a very faint, meaningful smile. His low, lazy voice fell softly by my ear, carrying a hint of subtle playfulness and certainty. "I told you, don't share a table with strangers so easily." "Now look what happened. You have to share a marriage with a bad guy."