A Stand-in Bride

Chapter 56

Yibo

I lean back on our new sofa, feeling at home in my own house for the first time in years. It took us a few months but we’ve made this our home, down to every last detail. Spending my weekends shopping for decoration has been far more fun that I ever thought it could be. Being with someone who actually values my opinion and doesn’t always want to get her way has been insanely refreshing.

I sigh as I stare at the clock in the living room. The only thing that’s missing tonight is Xiao Zhan. She’s been working late every night this week. If she isn’t shooting some campaign, she’s working on her fashion designs or accompanying Grandma and Dilraba to their countless charity functions. She’s the hardest working woman I’ve ever met and I’m proud of her… but I miss her too.

I grab my phone and scroll through her Instagram pictures, just to catch another glimpse of her and it only takes me three seconds to get pissed off at all the comments men are leaving under her photos. Fucking assholes. Don’t they know she’s married?

I grit my teeth and navigate to my own account. I don’t manage it myself and my team mostly posts about movie productions we’re funding, with the odd Wang family event thrown in to give me a more human touch. I’ve never had any interest in it. Even though I work in the media industry, I’ve always found social media toxic. Lately, though… I’ve definitely taken more of an interest in my social media accounts since I married Xiao Zhan and the press has had a field day with me because of it. Each time I post a photo of us, it ends up going viral.

I smirk and pull up my favorite photo of my wife. It’s one of the first ones I took of her, the one where she’s sleeping, her shoulders exposed. It’s an obvious post-sex photo but I don’t give a fuck. It’s my intention to lay my claim after all.

I smirk as I upload the photo and caption it with two words: my wife.

I’m still chuckling when I hear the front door open. Xiao Zhan smiles the moment she sees me and I meet her halfway, kissing her far rougher than I probably should have. I love how she always instantly wraps her arms around me, no matter where we are or who’s watching. The way she responds to me is never dictated by the people that surround us.

“Hey… why are you smiling like that?”

“Check your Instagram. I tagged you in a post.” Her eyes roam over my face and she tilts her head suspiciously.

Xiao Zhan frowns as she reaches into her bag and for a moment, I wonder if perhaps I overstepped by posting what I did. But then she smiles and blushes a deep crimson.

“Yibo,” she says, her voice husky. Fuck. She’s so fucking sexy. Even the way she says my name is fucking perfection. “You’re crazy, aren’t you?”

I shrug. “Maybe a little.”

Her smile fades, the way it does whenever she thinks of Cheng Xiao. Zhan has been carrying a lot more guilt than I have and her last argument with Cheng Xiao broke her heart. It was easier for me to draw a line with Cheng Xiao than it’ll ever be for Xiao Zhan.

“You’ve been working far too hard lately and you know it’s serious when it’s coming from me.”

She nods and rubs her shoulder. “I know,” she murmurs.

I cup her cheek gently and sigh. She’s overworking herself in an effort to forget about the pain Cheng Xiao has caused. It’s what I always used to do, so I get it, but it isn’t healthy. “I’ve got something for you,” I tell her. “Come to the kitchen with me.”

She nods. “I have to wash off all this stage makeup on my body,” she tells me. “Give me a minute and I’ll meet you in the kitchen, okay?”

I press a kiss to her forehead and she walks away, her entire posture betraying the sorrow that weighs her down. I can’t help but feel guilty for the role I played in their fall-out. How do I take away her worries, her pain? Should I have tried harder to keep Cheng Xiao in our lives? Should we have hidden the fact that our marriage isn’t just one of convenience, to give Cheng Xiao some more time to work through our separation? Would that have been better?

I glance at my phone and open up my inbox, my eyes pausing on the dozens of unopened messages from Cheng Xiao. Should I have tried harder to stay friends with her? I don’t want to be the reason Xiao Zhan loses her sister. She’s already given up so much for both Cheng Xiao and me, and I don’t understand how Cheng Xiao doesn’t see that. The fact that Xiao Zhan found a hint of happiness despite the choice Cheng Xiao made doesn’t invalidate her sacrifice.

I grab the cupcake I had flown in from Paris and place it on the counter with a smile on my face. Xiao Zhan walks in moments later, her hair wet and a silk robe loosely tied around her. I wonder if she’ll ever cease to mesmerize me. Will I ever be able to watch her walk into a room without my entire damn body reacting?

“Come here.” I hold my hand out and she takes it, her fingers curling around mine.

“You didn’t eat today, did you?”

She shakes her head.

“How much did you work out today?”

“About three hours in total.”

I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her on top of the kitchen counter. “Baby,” I whisper. “You can’t keep doing this. It isn’t healthy and I can’t stand seeing you this way. You’re starving and overworking yourself. What for?”

She shakes her head and cups my cheek, her eyes on mine. “I know,” she murmurs. “I have contracts I don’t want to walk away from Yibo because all of these companies are also my peers when it comes to running my own fashion line.”

I drop my forehead to her chest and sigh. If I beg her to stop, would she? Do I even have the right to ask something like that of her?

She wraps her arms around my neck and rests her chin on top of my head. “I’m going to quit modeling soon,” she says and I look up sharply. She smiles at me and buries a hand in my hair. “I worked as hard as I did because it’s all I had. I used it as an escape Yibo but I no longer need to. My life is no longer empty and I no longer crave the validation my career used to give me. I’m going to shift my focus and go all-in with my fashion line. I think I might also want to take an interest in Lan Media, if that’s okay?”

I grin at her. “I’d love nothing more. You and I would do amazing things together Zhan. We could bring your fashion line under the Wang umbrella too so we can push more funding into it.”

She nods, a sweet serene smile on her face. Xiao Zhan lifts her hand and leisurely trails a finger across my forehead, down my nose, and over my lips. “What’s wrong?” she asks. “You don’t seem happy. I don’t have to join you at Lan Media, you know? I’m happy to just do my own thing.”

I tighten my grip on her waist and shake my head. “No, that’s not it. Not at all. I’d love nothing more than partnering up with you Zhan.” I hesitate for a moment. “It’s just… do you remember that night you got drunk and I picked you up at the bar? You said something that night that I can’t get out of my mind. That night when I gave you your new tablet too, you mentioned working as an escape. You were clearly trying to get someone out of your system and I need to know… are you over him now?”

Her eyes widen and then she looks away. “No,” she says, her smile bittersweet. Her eyes find mine and she leans in, the back of her hand brushing over my cheek. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over you Yibo.”

“What?”

She chuckles and tilts her head, a vulnerable expression on her face. “It’s always been you. Maybe it’s wrong and fucked up but I wanted you long before you were mine. I loved you long before I said I do.”

I grab her chin and lean in, my touch desperate as I kiss her. I’ve never needed anyone to feel my love quite so badly. “Yibo,” she groans, her legs tightening around my waist.

I pull away and grin as I reach around her and grab the cupcake I bought her. “Eat this,” I tell her as I drop to my knees between her legs. “You have your cake,” I murmur as I part her robe, “and I’ll have mine.”

I kiss the inside of her thigh, pleased to find that she isn’t wearing anything underneath her robe. Xiao Zhan moans when I kiss her pussy and I smirk as I look up at her to find her staring at me with fire in her eyes.

“Finish every last bite of that and I’ll make you come. The longer you take to eat it, the longer I’ll torture you.”

I chuckle as she buries one hand in my hair while she brings her other hand to her face, taking a bite of her cupcake just as my tongue parts her folds, going straight for her clit. I’m fucking obsessed with her and each and every day, I’m going to ensure that everything we lost along the way was worth it.