A Stand-in Bride

Chapter 3

Zhan

"I'm not sure we can seat the Lis that close to Yibo's cousins," Mom says. "We definitely must invite them. Their family is on par with the Wangs, after all... but we cannot seat them that closely together. If I recall correctly, Li Bowen strongly dislikes Yibo's cousin, Haoxuan."

I frown and look up from the charts. "Bowen doesn't like Xuan?" I ask, surprised. How could that be? Haoxuan is one of my favorite people in the whole world and he attended Gusu University together with Jiyang. He's the one who introduced me to Jiyang and Bowen in the first place.

"Yes, that's what I heard. From what I understand, Bowen does not appreciate Haoxuan's playfulness."

Ah. I smirk knowingly. Xuan must've provoked Bowen by flirting with Jiyang. Yeah, I can see that. Bowen isn't very forgiving in the slightest and I have no doubt he'd bear a grudge.

"Fine, we'll just seat them further apart."

Mom nods and rearranges their name cards on the tiny replica model she had made of Cheng Xiao's wedding venue. "Everything has to be perfect," Mom mutters. "Cheng Xiao has waited so long for this day."

I just try to keep myself from rolling my eyes. "She's postponed the wedding three times, Mom. I don't think she's all that impatient."

Mom looks up sharply, anger flashing through her eyes. "That's because her work is demanding, Xiao Zhan. You would never understand what it's like to be an actress. All you need to do is stand still and look pretty all day. It isn't the same for Cheng Xiao. She doesn't get to go home after one measly photoshoot. She's away from home for weeks on end, working on sets that aren't even remotely comfortable. Do you really think she wanted to postpone the wedding? She did that because she had no choice. You might not get it, but the least you can do is keep silent if you have nothing good to say."

I bite down on my lip harshly to keep from talking back to her. She knows how demanding photographers can be and how hard I work. Just a few weeks ago, I suffered from hypothermia because I'd been forced to shoot a commercial in the snow. I know better than to compare myself to Cheng Xiao but I wish she wouldn't dismiss my work as merely standing still and looking pretty.

I suppose it doesn't matter what I do. All she cares about is that I didn't follow in her footsteps like Cheng Xiao did. My mother was a famous actress when she was my age and she despises that I never had an interest in acting. No matter how hard I work, nothing will ever be good enough.

My hands tremble as I go through our list of vendors. Why do I keep doing this to myself? Why do I keep coming home to help with a wedding I want no part of, just so I can spend time with a mother that'll always consider me second-best to her golden child? I'm not even asking her to treat me the way she treats Cheng Xiao. All I've ever wanted was an ounce of her love. Is it too much to ask?

"I'm sorry," Mom says, her voice strained. "The wedding has put so much pressure on me and I took it out on you. I'm sorry, Xiao Zhan. You understand, don't you? This wedding means a lot to both of our families. This merger has been years in the making and once this wedding is behind us, we can finalize the remaining paperwork and leave the merged company in Cheng Xiao and Yibo's hands. The Wangs refuse to proceed any further until the wedding is over and your father and I need their funding."

I nod, my head bowed. "I get it Mom."

She smiles at me then. "You've always been such a sweet girl, Zhan. Cheng Xiao and I are both lucky to have you. I definitely couldn't have done any of this without you."

I smile back at her, glad that the endless hours of work I've put into this haven't gone unnoticed. Cheng Xiao has barely been involved with the wedding preparations and though it hurts to be constantly reminded of her upcoming wedding, I'm glad I get to spend some time with Mom. It's rare for us to spend any quality time together.