A Stand-in Bride

Chapter 4

Yibo

I tighten my grip on my phone and take a calming breath. "Xiaoxiao, you promised me we'd go together. This is the third time this month you're canceling on me at the very last minute. Couldn't you at least have given me some adequate notice?"

The phone rustles and Cheng Xiao sighs, "I'm sorry Yibo. I really wanted to be there tonight, you know that. I wanted to support Xiao Zhan and be there with you, but I just can't get away. I need to retake some scenes and it just hasn't been going too well."

"It's always the same excuses, Cheng Xiao. I'm trying to be as supportive as I can be but you're making it really difficult. I can't always be the one who makes compromises."

"I know," she says, her voice soft. "I'll make it up to you."

"Is this because you don't want to be seen or photographed with me? Cheng Xiao, we're getting married in a month. Don't forget about our agreement. The moment we're married, we're taking our relationship public, so what's the harm in us being captured together tonight?"

"Yibo, it isn't that. I promise, it isn't. I'm taking so much time off for the wedding that I just really want to work extra hard to make up for it. I don't want to be the reason we fall behind on schedule."

I run a hand through my hair and look up at the ceiling. "I get it," I tell her, defeated. I do understand it but I'm starting to lose hope that things will ever change. I used to think I was the luckiest one out of my cousins. Haikuan never speaks to his fiance and my other cousins don't even know who they'll be marrying yet. I was the only one that was lucky enough to fall in love with the girl my grandmother choses for me long before we even got married.

Yet lately, this doesn't feel like a love match anymore and I'm not feeling very lucky. Everything feels mechanical and forced and the excitement we should feel regarding our upcoming wedding is missing.

"She isn't coming, is she?"

I look up to find one of my younger cousins, Haoxuan, leaning in the doorway. His expression is carefully blank but his eyes betray his annoyance. My first instinct is to stand up for Cheng Xiao but I don't have it in me today.

"Nope."

"It's going to be annoying for you to go without a date. You know what the women are like at these types of events. You'll just get harrassed all night long. I wish I could've made it."

I shake my head. "It's fine. You have an early flight to catch, don't you? Besides, you hate the entertainment industry."

Xuan is in charge of Lan Motors and if I recall correctly, he'll be revealing our latest electric car soon. Each of us is in charge of a different part of the Lan empire. I handle our entertainment firms, Haoxuan does motor vehicles, Dilraba handles real estate, Jackson is in charge of our hotels, Dylan does asset management and Haikuan manages all of our foreign holdings. Between the six of us, we run all of Lan Corps, dominating far more of the market than people realize.

"I'll be fine," I tell my cousin. "It's just a fashion show. I've sponsored plenty of those. I'll just put in an appearance and leave."

Xuan smiles at me. "Xiao Zhan will be there, so you'll be fine. She's the star of the show tonight. I don't know how but she just keeps getting more and more beautiful. I really wish I could've made it."

I tense involuntarily and narrow my eyes at Haoxuan. Since when did he think Xiao Zhan beautiful? She's always been like a little sister to all of us. Has the way he sees her changed?

"How do you know she's going to be there tonight?"

Come to think of it, just recently they went to an art gallery together, just the two of them. Is something going on between them?