A Stand-in Bride

Chapter 54

Yibo

I smile at one of Xiao Zhan’s cousins as he tells me all about this supposedly brilliant idea he has for a TV show he thinks I should create. I don’t have the heart to tell him that I neither write nor direct them. I’m merely the investor behind it all.

“And then the spaceship explodes,” he says, mimicking the sounds loudly in the busy garden.

I nod, barely paying attention. “I think something like that already exists.” Pretty sure what he’s describing to me is the plot to Star Wars with some minor tweaks.

“Yeah but this is better.”

Cheng Xiao walks over to me and rolls her eyes at him. “Stop harassing Yibo,” she says as she holds up a beer for me. The circles underneath her eyes make me wonder if she heard us last night. Somehow, I doubt she’d be smiling at me this way if she had but then again, no one can put up an act like Cheng Xiao does.

“Just giving him some good ideas. You’ll thank me when Zhan and Yibo become filthy rich.”

Cheng Xiao winces and I take a swig of my beer. “My wife and I are already rich, buddy. I’ll take your ideas under consideration, though. Thank you.”

He nods and walks off, no doubt in search of another victim to subject to his boring stories. “Don’t mind him,” Cheng Xiao tells me, her arm brushing against mine.

I take a step away from her and nod, my eyes on Xiao Zhan. “It’s truly over between us, isn’t it?” she asks, following my gaze.

I nod. “It is.”

She sighs and runs a hand through her hair. “For so long, I was certain that you’d want to be with me in three years. I must’ve been insane to think you’d stay away from Xiao Zhan the entire time, that nothing would happen between you two. I trusted you both too much. I always knew she secretly had a thing for you, but you… I didn’t think you’d ever reciprocate those feelings. I didn’t think you’d ever see her as anything but my little sister.”

I glance at her. “She’s my wife,” I remind her. “You act like she and I betrayed you when you’re the one who walked away. You can’t begrudge us our happiness when you’re the one who pushed us together.”

“You’ve always wanted her, haven’t you?”

I look up at her in surprise. “What?”

She huffs and looks away. “Don’t even bother denying it. Do you know how many times I heard you moan her name in your sleep? Did you really think I didn’t realize you were dreaming about her?” She runs a hand through her hair. “If I’m truly honest, that’s one of the reasons I couldn’t go through with it. I always felt like I stole you from her, since she was always meant to be your fiance. I can see it, you know? I can see why your grandmother picked her and not me. The two of
you have always had a bond that made me jealous. It still does.”

Xiao Zhan’s eyes meet mine from across the garden but she looks away almost immediately.

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out between us,” I tell her. “But I’m not sorry for moving on and finding the happiness we never would’ve had together. I hope you find your own happiness too Cheng Xiao.”

“I won’t,” she tells me. “No one can make me as happy as you do, Yibo. Despite everything that happened, despite the fact that you’re married to my sister, I still want you.”

I watch as Xiao Zhan walks into the house, her shoulders slumped. What’s wrong? Why does she look so upset? Is it something I’ve done? Fuck. I shouldn’t have spoken to Cheng Xiao at all.