"We've just married and haven't yet savored our time alone together; children can wait," Long Yubei said, his brow knitting slightly. "Grandmother, please do not be so impatient."
"You may not be anxious, you little scamp, but your grandfather and I are well advanced in years—too old to cradle a child comfortably. If not now, then when? Do you intend to wait until I am gone before you start a family?"
Gu Lili spent nearly the entire morning with the Long family. While Long's mother and Long Tianjiao maintained a cold silence, the patriarch and matriarch welcomed her warmly.
Before she knew it, February 26 arrived—the day of the wedding.
At four in the morning, Gu Lili was roused from sleep.
Dressed in her wedding gown and adorned with exquisite makeup, she prepared through the dawn hours.
Without her own family home to return to, she was escorted from the bridal studio straight to the Long family's ancestral residence.
There were no helicopters or luxury cars to mark the occasion—those extravagances were omitted.
When Long Yubei carried her down from the helicopter dressed in pristine white, the assembled guests erupted into applause.
On this day, she was the radiant centerpiece in the eyes of all attending the banquet.
"Do you like it?" he inquired beside her.
"I do."
"There is someone you like even more—look to the southeast."
Following his gaze, Gu Lili spotted Gu Xichen staring back at her.
He sat there, his face a mixture of shock and unreadable emotions. His girlfriend, He Meiwei, was conspicuously absent.
A smile curved Gu Lili's lips, dazzling and vibrant.
Her eyes clearly posed the silent question: "Well, how do I look? Today, adorned in my finest gown, am I not resplendent?"
"Do I outshine the fashionable ladies on the street?"
These questions remained unanswered.
She would never voice them to Gu Xichen himself.
After all, his reply no longer held much significance.
Following the formal bows and the toasts, while Long Yubei entertained the guests, Gu Lili's aching feet drove her to retreat to the lounge to change shoes. Seizing the moment, Gu Xichen pursued her.
Closing the door behind them, Gu Lili slipped on flats and shot him a sharp glance. "If you're here to spout useless nonsense, just stop."
"How long have you known him?"
"Not long. I met him the day you stood me up at the bar."
"Why would he marry you?"
"Go ask him," she replied lazily. "I'm leaving."
Suddenly, her wrist was seized. Meeting his gaze, she said coldly, "Are you courting death? Let go."
"He must have some scheme to marry you, you fool."
"A scheme?" she scoffed. "What else do I have besides myself? Gu Xichen, haven't I told you to mind your own business? You have no right. Touch me again and I'll cripple you."
With that, she lifted her leg and kicked him. Stung by the blow, he released her wrist.
Watching her retreating figure, a fire burned fiercely in Gu Xichen's chest.
He had long been accustomed to her plain face, her simple ways—but seeing her today, he scarcely recognized her.
She was utterly captivating, a beauty he had only just come to appreciate.
He could not articulate the feeling—
As if a treasure once disregarded had been cast aside and claimed by another, while he stood powerless to reclaim it.
Gu Lili had no desire to entertain his emotions.
She was starving. From dawn till now, she had eaten nothing.
First and foremost, she needed to satiate her hunger.