"Yuu..."

At night, when it was time to sleep, I, who had been locked in Yu Xi's bedroom, finally saw her in person. She was wearing a silk nightgown, her snow-white thighs exposed in the air. Perhaps due to shyness, her fair skin turned crimson.

"I'm sorry for making you suffer. Due to certain considerations, I can only let you stay in this room," she said.

"..." I simply stared at her with indifference.

"Um..." Yu Xi suddenly found it difficult to speak. "Um... In the future, we'll be husband and wife, so... tonight we might have to sleep in the same bed."

Faced with my silent response, Yu Xi hurriedly explained, "Yu Xi also thinks it would be better to wait until after marriage, but since you will be mine anyway, it's better to adapt in advance."

"Do you really think this is a good idea? The two of us, who are still minors," I asked coldly.

"Yu Xi has never been in a relationship, but at school she sees some boys and girls dating... and they also have intimate actions," she replied.

"Do you think that's a good thing, Yu Xi?"

"Although it may be a bit shy, it's not a problem," Yu Xi's cheeks turned red as she fidgeted.

"Will two people who hastily marry without any emotional connection be happy?"

"Excellent...?" Yu Xi seemed surprised, but her surprise was probably because I completely diverged from what she was saying.

After regaining her senses, Yu Xi explained, "Yu Xi and you have an engagement."

Yes, after meeting her father, Yu Xi explained the whole process to me. But after listening, I felt no ripples in my heart, and instead felt that my mother's bad habits had already sprouted when I was young.

Yu Xi is also ambitious, so what should I say to my mother?

"At that time, we were still young, and it was the parents who made the decision."

"Yu Xi has always kept it in mind, and Yu Xi is also willing."

"But have you considered my feelings?" I couldn't help but say aloud.

"Yu Xi..." Yu Xi fell into distress. Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, I rushed to the door without hesitation, opened it, and ran out. I just wanted to leave this place.

Things went smoother than I expected. Yu Xi didn't chase after me or call out.

So I ran without care towards the exit. The maids in the corridor looked at me with puzzled gazes.

But I didn't stop. My goal was to leave this place.

I successfully reached the large iron gate. The butler seemed to be fastening it, but I didn't care. I pushed him aside, pulled open the latch, and walked out of the iron gate, looking at the outside world.

I didn't have time to catch my breath. I just kept running forward.

The streetlights on both sides, the empty alleyways. Although I didn't know where I was, the feeling of regaining my freedom still brought joy.

Just as I glanced at a streetlight, my body leaned forward and fell to the ground. I felt crushed, unable to move my arms.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lily Wu's figure emerged from the dark corner, and the guys who were pinning me down were the ones with her.

"Where do you think you're going!?"

"Let me go, let me go," I struggled desperately, but it was in vain. Lily Wu approached, and I was forcefully pulled up, only to find myself in a humiliating kneeling position.

"You bunch of bastards."

"Do you still have the right to say such things?"

A crisp slap resounded, and I felt a burning sensation on my face.

"In fact... if it weren't for how useful you are, you would have died many times over by now," Lily Wu said with a contemptuous tone. I just glared at her angrily. "From my perspective, I wish you would die immediately so that Xi would only have me. But from an objective standpoint, I don't want Xi to be married off to Japan, and Xi doesn't want that either. To prevent Xi from suffering, I let you live until now. Unfortunately, you have no gratitude and even thought of escaping through such despicable means."

"I won't let you succeed," I said firmly.

"Is that so? Too bad you have nothing to compete with me. You have no power or money, and are you willing to sacrifice the lives of your family?"

Lily Wu threw a few photos on the ground.

"This is the consequence of your unauthorized escape. Let me give you a warning."

The photos showed a girl who looked like Feiya being subjected to inhumane treatment.

"What do you think?"

"You bastard!" I gritted my teeth with hatred.

"Listen! If you don't cooperate, or if you continue to escape like now, then don't blame me for not warning you. Your sister Feiya will die a gruesome death."

Although I couldn't confirm if the girl in the photos was Feiya, considering Lily knew Feiya's name, I couldn't ignore his words.

"I'll cooperate... just don't harm my family," I said, realizing I had no power to fight back.

"Good."

And so, I was brought back to Xi's house again. Standing outside the iron gate, I saw Xi's figure.

"Xi..."

"Lily," Xi greeted Lily Wu with a naturally innocent smile.

"Xi... how could..." Xi seemed to have been crying, with red eyes.

"Xi, how could you let this guy slip away like that?"

"I'm sorry... it was my negligence."

"Well, everything is fine now. You can go home. By the way, this guy is now your responsibility."

The big man who was holding me pushed me forward, and I stumbled a few steps until I stood in front of Xi. But I still didn't have anything to say to her.

"Xi, no matter what, stay firm. You didn't want to marry that guy called Xiao Zechuan Yu in Japan, right?"

Xi nodded, and the gloom on her face seemed to dissipate.

"Pest, do you know what to do?"

Lily Wu said to me.

"Let's go home," I said expressionlessly.

"Okay."

And so, Xi took the initiative to hold my hand, and I entered the house once again. I felt like a walking corpse, devoid of soul.

The next day, the grand wedding took place in a church. The church was filled with people, and a long red carpet was laid out. The priest stood at the front holding a bible. I heard that Xi's father spent a fortune on this wedding and publicized it widely. The whole city knew that Xi and I were getting married, but I couldn't find any joy in it.

I wore a suit with a bow tie around my neck, and by my side was a beautiful girl in a wedding dress, holding a bouquet of flowers, smiling brightly. The cheers were loud.

It felt like a dream, but so real. As we walked towards the priest, Xi and I faced each other. Happiness radiated from her face, but I glanced at the audience.

Xi's father and mother had slightly serious and unpleasant expressions. Among them, there seemed to be Lily Wu and a few of her henchmen.

There were several empty seats on the side, supposedly for my parents who couldn't attend due to being out of town.

"Ms. Yu Xi, are you willing to love Mr. You Jie unconditionally, through thick and thin, in sickness and in health?"

"Xi... I am willing," blushed Yu Xi.

"And Mr. You Jie, are you willing to cherish the lady in front of you, through thick and thin, in sickness and in health?"

Is it my turn already?

"You Jie?"

"I..." snapped back to reality by the priest, I couldn't answer quickly.

"I..." my hesitation caused some commotion in the audience, and Yu Xi's expression grew uneasy. Lily Wu in the audience seemed to be watching me too.

"I..."

"Jie!" a sudden voice interrupted, and a person appeared at the entrance of the church.

"Jie... where have you been? I've been looking for you so hard," said Zhiye.

"Zhiye?" I was surprised by her appearance.

"Jie, are you going to marry her? How can you marry someone else behind my back?"

A suppressed energy emanated from Zhiye.

"Who are you? Why are you here at my daughter's wedding?" Yu Xi's father stood up and asked sternly.

"Jie... you can't love other girls, you can't..." Zhiye ignored Yu Xi's father's words and approached me step by step.

"Stop her, make her leave!" Yu Xi's father ordered, and a few men in suits rushed forward.

The first man tried to grab Zhiye's arm, but was hit on the neck with the back of her knife and collapsed. Another man rushed forward and was also knocked out. Looking at the scene of several thugs being taken down, chaos erupted among the crowd. Zhiye walked straight to me.

"Jie... you only love me, right?" Zhiye's eyes glowed like flames.

"..."

"Zhiye, this is Xi and You's wedding, please don't..."

Zhiye directly put the knife to Xi's neck, causing Xi to freeze in fear.

"Jie, you only love me, right?" Facing Zhiye's question again, I could only respond in silence.

Lily Wu's gaze in the audience seemed to say, if you don't do what you said earlier, you'll face the consequences.

Damn it!

"I don't love you... I've never loved you!" I blurted out without thinking. Zhiye's expression darkened.

"Jie... you're lying to me, right... Jie loves me..."

"Stop being delusional!"

"..." This one sentence deeply wounded Zhiye. She fell into silence for a while, then started smiling for some unknown reason.

"It's her, isn't it? She stole Jie who loved me, so she has to disappear..." Zhiye's pupils began to dilate, a dreamlike smile on her face. Zhiye was really prepared to kill Yu Xi, and Yu Xi's eyes widened in fear.

Just as Zhiye was about to strike, someone tackled her to the ground. The knife in Zhiye's hand fell to the ground, and Yu Xi collapsed on the spot. Zhiye resisted, and another person came over to help, both gripping one of Zhiye's arms.

Zhiye was completely restrained, but she was still resisting.

"Oh, who is this lunatic? Everyone, don't panic, let the wedding continue,"

Mr. Yu's father remained calm, and the wedding proceeded as planned.

The bridesmaid helped Father Yu Xi up, and he began reading the vows again. The guests in the audience regained their composure.

"Mr. Youjie... through sickness and health, through riches and poverty..."

"Give Jie back to me... give Jie back to me!" Zhiye yelled hysterically.

"Do you promise to love and cherish the woman standing before you for the rest of your life?"

What is love, anyway? What force enables a person to give so selflessly, regardless of the danger?

What am I right now? Am I just standing here, witnessing all of this?

Living a wretched existence, enduring humiliation and carrying heavy burdens!?

No... I don't want to be like this.

I rushed down from the stage, mustering up the courage and determination that I only experienced when taking a beating in fights.

"Let Zhiye go!" I kicked one of them down, then bumped into another with my arm.

"Zhiye..."

"Jie..."

"Let's get out of here quickly,"

I grasped Zhiye's hand tightly and ran, desperately. I didn't know what consequences my actions would bring, but I didn't want to think about it anymore. As long as Zhiye was safe, that was enough.