The Wedding Day
The bright red peony-patterned wedding quilt, the scarlet thermos printed with the character for “double happiness,” the white enamel washbasin decorated with red flowers, and the red paper-cut double-happiness symbols pasted everywhere—all these distinctly old-fashioned objects made it obvious, even without anyone saying so, that this was a bridal chamber.
Why was she in a bridal chamber like this?
Jiang Lianyue lowered her head and tried to push her weak, limp body upright. When her gaze landed on the large red silk flower pinned to her chest, she jumped in fright.
Wait—was she the one getting married?
Hadn’t she simply seen a child about to fall while getting off an escalator, bent down to grab him, then lost her own balance and tumbled down the escalator?
How had she ended up here?
Before Jiang Lianyue could make sense of the situation, a burst of lively chatter sounded clearly from outside the door.
“The bride must be getting impatient waiting inside. Hurry up and go in, groom!”
“I heard the bride is extremely beautiful. The groom sure is lucky!”
…
The more Jiang Lianyue listened, the paler her face became. It was not their words that shocked her, but the flood of information surging into her mind like a tidal wave, leaving her unable to process it all at once.
She had transmigrated into a novel!
This was a period novel, and she was the male lead’s ex-wife—a cannon-fodder character described in only a few brief lines. Worse still, she was a thoroughly detestable cannon fodder.
In the novel, the male lead, Zhou Jiajing, rescued the original Jiang Lianyue after she accidentally fell into a reservoir. However, she clung to him on the grounds that her reputation had been ruined and claimed that, unless he married her, she would report him.
Zhou Jiajing happened to be at a crucial stage in his promotion, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and marry her.
After their marriage, Zhou Jiajing ignored her completely and treated her with extreme coldness. Naturally, someone capable of repaying kindness with hostility was no easy person to deal with. The original Jiang Lianyue cried, caused scenes, threatened suicide, and repeatedly pulled all sorts of outrageous stunts.
Zhou Jiajing grew increasingly disgusted with her and eventually devised a way to divorce her.
Only after the divorce did the novel’s main story officially begin. The male lead met the female lead and ultimately achieved success in both his career and love life.
As for the male lead’s ex-wife, she only appeared once more, mentioned by some gossip after the male and female leads had married and were living happily together.
“That former wife of his—I heard she got into a car accident recently and died!”
Jiang Lianyue: “!!!”
So what exactly had she transmigrated here for?
Jiang Lianyue stared blankly ahead.
Was this supposed to be a short sightseeing trip through a novel?
At that moment, a sudden roar of laughter erupted outside. Then the voices and footsteps gradually moved away, and everything slowly became quiet.
After another moment, the door was pushed open.
A tall, upright young man with sword-like brows and bright, starry eyes walked in. He looked coldly at Jiang Lianyue, who was sitting on the bed.
The woman before him had a delicate oval face. Unlike the bronze-toned complexions commonly seen among southerners, her skin was as luminous and pale as a freshly peeled egg. Her large, watery eyes seemed capable of speaking whenever she looked at someone.
Yet beneath such a pure and innocent appearance was an unbearably ugly heart.
He had saved her, but she had forced him into marrying her.
If Heaven gave him another chance to start over, then on the day he passed by the reservoir…
At that thought, Zhou Jiajing stopped himself from continuing.
He could not allow another person’s wickedness to change his own kindness. That was a matter of principle.
While the man studied Jiang Lianyue, she was also sizing him up.
As expected of a novel’s male lead. That face… Tsk, tsk. He was even more handsome than those future celebrities who relied entirely on their looks to become famous!
How should she describe him?
His brows were like swords, his eyes like stars, and his skin… Tsk. Why was it so pale? There was not a single blemish!
Perhaps sensing the admiration in Jiang Lianyue’s eyes, the young man gave a cold snort. His expression became even frostier, and his entire body seemed to radiate cold air.
Jiang Lianyue calmly withdrew her gaze. She removed the large red flower from her chest, looked around, then got up and placed it on the nearby wooden table.
Afterward, she casually picked up the thermos and poured herself a cup of water.
She needed a drink to calm her nerves first!
Zhou Jiajing watched her in silence, his expression so indifferent that it was as though he were looking at an object.
After finishing the cup of water, Jiang Lianyue felt tired again. She returned to the bed and lay down.
Zhou Jiajing: “!”
When he first came in, she had looked at him as though she wanted to devour him. Now she had suddenly started pretending to be indifferent!
Zhou Jiajing waited quietly for a while. When Jiang Lianyue continued to ignore him, his sword-like brows drew together slightly.
He wore a white shirt and black trousers. The large red silk flower pinned to his chest made his expression appear especially cold.
Even colder than his expression were his words.
“You wanted to get married, so I married you. But I will never touch you.”
Jiang Lianyue had only intended to sleep for a while and recover from the shock, but his words immediately stirred her thoughts.
He would not touch her.
Did that mean he wanted them to live together as roommates?
A huge pie had just fallen from the sky!
In the original novel, the male lead did not meet the female lead until four years after his marriage. Therefore, as long as Jiang Lianyue divorced him within those four years, she could avoid the original plot.
Jiang Lianyue abruptly sat upright. Her large, watery eyes stared fixedly at his handsome face.
After confirming that he was not joking, she immediately nodded several times.
“Good, good, good! Why don’t we establish three rules?”
Zhou Jiajing: “?”
What kind of scheme was she planning now?
When he remained silent, Jiang Lianyue treated it as tacit agreement and continued.
“First, in front of others, we’ll pretend to be husband and wife. In private, we’ll just be roommates sharing a home.
“Second, once the policies become more relaxed, we’ll divorce.
“Third, from now on, you take your winding mountain road, and I’ll cross my single-plank bridge.”
Divorcing immediately would also have been possible, but there were several problems with that.
First, she had no money right now. After the divorce, she would have no choice but to return to her hometown.
This ex-wife came from the countryside. In this era, a divorced woman without money would already struggle to survive in the city, let alone in a village. The villagers’ gossip alone could drown her.
Furthermore, the original Jiang Lianyue’s family doted on her. They would never stand by while others spoke badly about her, and who knew how much trouble that would cause?
There was no reason for Jiang Lianyue, who had only just arrived in this unfamiliar world, to create unnecessary difficulties for herself.
Second, the original Jiang Lianyue had only just threatened and made a scene until the male lead married her. If she suddenly demanded a divorce immediately afterward, her personality would change far too abruptly and might attract unnecessary suspicion.
Third, the city offered far more opportunities than the countryside. It was currently 1979, and the policies would soon loosen. The cities would become filled with opportunities, and there would be many chances to make money.
Most importantly, the male lead would not meet the female lead until four years later. It would take another three years before he became completely unable to tolerate his ex-wife. By then, society’s attitude toward divorce would also be more open and accepting.
Therefore, there was no need to rush.
Thinking about how they would have to live together for at least some time, Jiang Lianyue continued thoughtfully, “You can consider it as me renting a room from you. I’ll pay rent, water, and electricity according to the market rate. What do you think?”
Zhou Jiajing’s sword-like brows furrowed slightly as he narrowed his eyes and studied the woman before him.
The current Jiang Lianyue, whose brows and eyes were filled with detachment, seemed like a completely different person from the Jiang Lianyue who had gazed shyly at him only two hours earlier.
Zhou Jiajing’s expression became unreadable.
Jiang Lianyue hesitated before explaining, “We’ll only be living beneath the same roof. We’ll each wash our own clothes and handle our own meals. We’ll both keep the shared areas clean.
“Apart from necessary occasions—such as visiting your family or mine during festivals—we can completely pretend the other person doesn’t exist. What do you think?”
Jiang Lianyue waited, but Zhou Jiajing still said nothing.
Oh, right. The male lead had always treated his ex-wife coldly and indifferently.
Jiang Lianyue had no intention of indulging him. With a thump, she collapsed back onto the bed.
Take your time thinking. I’m tired, so I’ll wait while lying down!
“Fine. It’s a deal.”
Just as Jiang Lianyue was about to fall asleep, Zhou Jiajing let out a mocking laugh and agreed.
Her sleepiness instantly vanished. She scrambled upright.
“Words alone aren’t enough. We’ll write it down in black and white, sign it, and each keep a copy. Whoever goes back on the agreement will have to compensate the other person.”
Zhou Jiajing scoffed lightly. “Whatever you want.”
Only a fool would regret it!
“Go and get paper and a pen,” Jiang Lianyue ordered. “I’ll dictate, and you write.”
Her self-righteous, commanding manner was exactly the same as when she had forced him to marry her. Zhou Jiajing’s suspicions immediately faded.
Perhaps this was merely another one of her schemes—retreating in order to advance.
He pulled a Hero-brand fountain pen from the shirt pocket beneath the large red flower. Then he took a white exercise book with red lines from the table drawer and lowered his head, preparing to write the agreement.
Jiang Lianyue walked over to the table and stood beside him.
“You’ve written contracts before, haven’t you? Just follow that format.”
According to the novel, Zhou Jiajing was an excellent writer. He had been a top student while studying, and after he began working, his superiors admired him for his well-written articles.
At a young age, he became the head of the publicity department at a machinery factory.
Oh—judging by the timing, he should not have become department head yet. He was currently undergoing an important organisational assessment for the promotion.
That was why he had been forced to grit his teeth and marry the original Jiang Lianyue.
Zhou Jiajing’s hand paused just as he was about to put pen to paper.
The suspicion that had only just disappeared returned to his mind.
As far as he knew, Jiang Lianyue had only graduated from junior secondary school before remaining in the countryside to farm.
How did she know the word “contract”? How did she know that a contract’s format differed from an ordinary written pledge?
“Write ‘Marriage Agreement’ at the top. Then underneath, Party A: Jiang Lianyue. Party B: Zhou Jiajing…”
While Zhou Jiajing sat there in a daze, Jiang Lianyue parted her red lips and rapidly dictated the contents of the agreement.
After speaking a few sentences, she realised that Zhou Jiajing had not moved.
Jiang Lianyue tapped the table and frowned.
“Hurry up and write. We’ve been busy all day—aren’t you tired? Once you finish, we can go to sleep.”
The tapping sound pulled Zhou Jiajing back from his thoughts.
He composed himself and lowered his gaze. When his eyes landed on the slender, luminous-white hand resting on the tabletop, he could not help silently admiring it.
What a beautiful, delicate hand!
What a pity it belonged to such a vicious woman!
When they reached the section concerning their living arrangements, Jiang Lianyue paused.
“How many rooms do you have here?”
Based on what she knew about this era, housing was not spacious. If the place only had one bedroom and one living room, then…
He would simply have to endure sleeping in the living room.
“Two rooms,” Zhou Jiajing answered. “This is the bedroom. The other is the study.”
Jiang Lianyue gave an acknowledging hum and continued.
“Party A will live in the bedroom, while Party B will live in the study…”
Zhou Jiajing: “!”
“Why aren’t you the one living in the study?” Zhou Jiajing stopped writing and turned to look at Jiang Lianyue. “This is my room…”
He had always lived there and was already accustomed to it.
Jiang Lianyue replied with complete confidence, “If guests come and enter the bedroom, they’ll become suspicious of our relationship if they don’t find any of my belongings here. That could then affect your future prospects.”
Zhou Jiajing thought about it and realised she was right.
Besides, she was a woman, after all. There was no harm in yielding the room to her.
He said nothing more and lowered his head to continue writing.
By the time Jiang Lianyue finished dictating, Zhou Jiajing had also finished writing.
Jiang Lianyue picked up the exercise book and checked the agreement for any errors or omissions.
Zhou Jiajing’s handwriting was strong and forceful, which did not quite match his elegant and upright appearance. Judging solely from his handwriting, one might have mistaken him for some domineering, heaven-defying protagonist.
Jiang Lianyue could not help turning to look at the young man sitting before the desk.
She happened to meet his upward gaze.
Their eyes met.
Jiang Lianyue silently turned her attention back to the exercise book and cleared her throat.
“We need two identical copies. Copy it out once more, and once we’ve both signed them, it’ll be settled.”
After speaking, she discreetly shifted her body slightly farther away from Zhou Jiajing.
The way Zhou Jiajing looked at her was cold enough to make her uncomfortable. Naturally, she would not press her warm face against his cold backside.
Zhou Jiajing copied out another version and signed it.
Jiang Lianyue snatched the pen and signed her own name in the designated place.
She placed one copy on the table, carefully folded the other, then cautiously tore out another sheet of paper and wrapped it around the agreement.
She tucked it beneath the sleeping mat and released a small sigh of relief.
Good. At least she would no longer have to deal with some blindly arranged marriage.
Once everything had been settled, an overwhelming wave of exhaustion washed over her.
Jiang Lianyue waved at Zhou Jiajing.
“Goodbye. Please close the door behind you when you leave.”
Then she fell back onto the bed and immediately sank into a deep sleep.
As Zhou Jiajing watched the young woman fall asleep in an instant, a complicated expression flashed across his handsome, pale face.
Even if she truly regarded him only as a roommate, wasn’t she being far too trusting?
He was still a healthy, hot-blooded young man, after all!
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