Chapter 11

Chapter 11

At the center of the stage, the bride's face was deathly pale, her hands shaking like leaves as she clung to her parents' arms.

She’d always thought it was weird—why did her husband’s personality differ so drastically between day and night, as if he were a completely different person?

Now it all clicked!

The crowd buzzed louder with whispers, exchanging hushed discussions.

"The elder brother by day, the younger by night—is it what I think it means?"

"Maybe they mixed up the twins since they look identical?"

"No matter how alike they are, the younger brother can’t just steal the elder’s girlfriend!"

"No wonder something felt off. Look, today is clearly the elder brother's wedding, yet the younger brother is dressed like a groom too."

Wait, what?

Lin Tingyue lifted her head, puzzled by the sudden commotion. Had everyone else noticed something too?

She looked around, then went back to shoveling food into her mouth.

"Turns out there’s one tell—the elder has a mole on his nose, while the younger doesn’t. But every time the younger brother met the bride, he’d draw one on. Ugh, he did it on purpose! What a piece of trash!!!"

On stage, the bride swayed unsteadily, biting her lip hard to keep from fainting. These… these disgusting creeps.

No, she couldn’t let them off so easily. With that thought, the bride released her parents’ hands, lifted her gown, and rushed toward the groom, slapping him hard across the face.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, "Nian Zhi, you lying snake!!!"

The slap left the whole room dead silent. Even the wedding march came to an abrupt halt.

"Huh? Did the bride just figure it out?"

The slap was so hard that Nian Zhi’s face snapped to the side.

Yet, despite the blow, Nian Zhi still reached out to steady the unsteady bride, asking with concern, "A-Tong, what’s going on? Are you alright?"

How dare he still ask her that?

Fang Tong recoiled at his touch, sickened. She tried to speak, but all that came out was vomit.

Nian Zhi flinched at her reaction, but without hesitation, he wiped her mouth and addressed the guests, "Sorry, the bride’s not feeling well. We’ll need to pause the ceremony."

Who ever heard of stopping a wedding halfway for a break? If not for what had just happened, everyone might have thought Nian Zhi was just being a considerate husband.

But now…

People shot the bride pitying looks as Nian Zhi swept Fang Tong into his arms and hurried toward the hotel’s lounge, with Wen Jie and her husband, Nian Bang, following closely behind.

Huh? They’re just gonna leave like that?

Nian Bang missed his wife’s stumble as they hurried off.

Watching the Nian family disappear from view, Lin Tingyue gaped, heart sinking in horror.

"The tea! The tea!"

Lin Tingyue immediately said to Bai Yaxin, "Mom, I need to go to the restroom."

"No way I’m missing this hot gossip."

Lin Tingyue stormed to her feet.

Lin Xiawan stood up with her. Lin Tingyue looked at her, and she said, "Perfect, I need to go too."

The two held hands and left. From behind, they didn’t look like they were heading for drama—though they were being kinda shady.

Bai Yaxin wanted to follow, but Lin Rusong stopped her.

Bai Yaxin complained, "They’ve switched spots. What am I supposed to watch here?"

Lin Rusong pointed to his ear and said, "You forgot, we can hear Tingyue’s thoughts. It’s the same here."

So it’s basically a live podcast?

Bai Yaxin still thought watching live was more exciting, but coincidentally, Lin Rusong’s business buddy showed up with drinks, and the two couldn’t leave immediately, so they had to stay.

It wasn’t just Bai Yaxin—the same whispers were spreading all over the banquet hall. After all, they were all businesspeople. Gossip’s great, but networking never stops.

Still, some people followed and ran off.

A waiter wondered, "Restroom party today or what?"

There were two lounges, both located in front of the restrooms. Lin Tingyue pretended to head to the bathroom and passed by the lounge where the Nian family was staying. Coincidentally, the lounge door wasn’t fully closed. As soon as Lin Tingyue got close, she heard two loud slaps ring out.

Wen Jie slapped both Nian Zhi and Nian Yuan. Her palm stung, and her whole body shook like a volcano about to blow. Who pulls this crap at a wedding?! She pointed at Nian Zhi and Nian Yuan and said, "You two, get on your knees and beg for forgiveness!!!"

"Yeah, an apology’ll totally fix this. *Not.*"

Wen Jie froze. Where did that voice come from? She looked at her husband and those disgraceful sons, but their expressions were normal. Was it another one of those voices only she could hear?

Just like earlier in the banquet hall?

Nian Zhi and Nian Yuan exchanged glances. Nian Zhi said, "Mom, chill—Tongtong’s just sick. Don’t blame her."

Her?! Wen Jie snapped, "I’m blaming *you* idiots! Go apologize to Tongtong right now, and then cancel the wedding."

Damn, this mom’s *on it.*

Nian Zhi shook his head firmly. "Mom, I won’t cancel the wedding. I love Tongtong. She’s my *one and only*! I won’t agree to any arranged marriage. Just give up on that idea."

Wen Jie’s eyes widened.

"Excuse me? Hold up—Mr. ‘True Love’ is into some brother-swapping kink with his own sibling?!"

"Do you think the real world is some porn plot? I’m *done.*"

Nian Bang quickly stepped forward to support his furious wife. He helped Wen Jie sit down and poured her a glass of water. "It was *fine* a minute ago. Why cancel the wedding all of a sudden?"

Ugh, cue the peacemaker.

Lin Tingyue rolled her eyes. She hated mediators the most.

Wen Jie took a sip of water, pressing a hand to her chest like she might explode. "Ask your *precious* boys what *they* did."

Anyway, she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.

Nian Bang tried to persuade Wen Jie, "We all know how crazy Ah-Zhi is for Tongtong. No matter what, let’s at least finish the wedding first."

"You old fool, how can you say that? Your family has already scammed the bride, and you still expect her to marry into your family?"

Nian Bang didn’t notice Wen Jie’s grim expression and continued, "So many guests are here today, and I’ve invited quite a few reporters. If we cancel the wedding, our company’s stock might take a hit."

"Hope you crash and burn."

Lin Tingyue couldn’t take it anymore. Just as she was about to step in to help, a dark figure rushed past her. The person kicked the door open, tackled Nian Zhi to the ground, and started punching and kicking him while yelling, "You heartless bastard! I handed my girl over to you, and you do something like this?!"

"A fight? Oh, it’s the bride’s father! Good, good, beat him up!"

"These two had it coming!"

The bride’s mother arrived late, supporting the bride. She stood at the door, coldly watching. When she noticed *Nian Yuan* standing aside, she icily reminded, "Old *Fang*, don’t forget—there’s another one."

*Nian Yuan*, who had just tried to retreat, was grabbed by Fang Liang, who immediately threw a punch.

Nian Bang stood frozen like a deer in headlights on the sidelines. He wanted to intervene but was too afraid, hesitating weakly and muttering, "Stop this, in-laws!"

"Is he ‘mediating’ or stirring the pot?"

"Cut it out~ Take it to the dance studio if you wanna brawl~"

Back in the banquet hall, Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong burst out laughing at this line. They joked about sending Lin Tingyue to acting school—she sounded like a natural performer!

"Ugh!" The bride’s mother, Qin Lian, spat on the ground. "In-laws? Don’t make me laugh! What do you take my daughter for—some plaything?"

Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Wen Jie pasted on a smile and stepped forward. "Tongtong’s mother, we only—"

"I don’t want to talk to you. We’ve already called the police!"

At the mention of the police, Nian Bang dropped all pretense and growled, "The cops? Prove it."

"Wait, why is this geezer asking that?"

"Did he already know?"

"He knew and didn’t stop it? This geezer’s shady too!"

Shady?

"Yikes, no wonder Nian Zhi and Yuan are such trash—it’s hereditary."

Hereditary?

Qin Lian tugged at Fang Liang, who was still wrestling with Nian Zhi and Yuan on the ground.

"Nian Bang loved fooling around when he was young. He only married Wen Jie when he couldn’t keep it up anymore. Even after marriage, he kept screwing around. He may seem to have only two sons, but there’s a whole litter of bastards out there."

"Ew, no wonder... A whole litter of bastards? Now that illegitimate children can inherit, will Nian Zhi and Yuan even get scraps?"

"Looks like they’re not just losing the bride—they’re about to lose everything, down to their last penny! Good riddance! Hah!"

"NIAN BANG!!!"

Wen Jie nearly screamed herself hoarse. She went for Nian Bang’s hair—and came away with his wig!

Nian Bang frantically reached up to cover his head, snapping, "Wen Jie, have you gone crazy?!"

"Have I gone crazy? I'll fucking kill you!"

Despite Nian Bang's attempts to shield himself, Wen Jie gouged scratches across his face. His eyes rolled back, and he actually looked like he was about to pass out.

"Don't faint! Don't faint! What if he croaks?"

Seeing this, Wen Jie pinched Nian Bang's upper lip hard, forcing him back to consciousness.

Nian Bang couldn't die yet—not until he was divorced and stripped of all assets. She wouldn’t leave a single cent for those illegitimate children!

In the end, Nian Bang was taken away in an ambulance, while Nian Zhi and Nian Yuan were hauled off in a police car.

"Nian Bang might croak, and Nian Zhi and Nian Yuan are definitely going to be doing time. They all have a world of hurt coming their way."

"See, you can’t do bad things—they always get what's coming to them."

Hearing this, the Lin family turned to look at Lin Tingyue—as if she was the one catching them all.

The wedding reception fell apart before it even properly began, all in complete chaos. The four of them found a Western restaurant across from the hotel for dinner, where soft violin music played in the background.

"Good music, good steak!"

Bai Yaxin couldn't help it and quickly lowered her head to hide her laughter from Lin Tingyue.

Midway through the meal, Lin Tingyue suddenly pointed at someone outside the window. "Hey, isn't that Second Brother?"