After struggling to jump out of the old minivan, Mo Yan held the hem of her wedding dress as she carefully avoided the puddles on the ground.

Rain poured down, and the minivan quickly drove away, splashing a large amount of mud onto her wedding dress.

Mo Yan sighed and walked slowly toward the dilapidated brick house in front of her.

The brick house was not locked. As soon as Mo Yan pushed the door open, she could see everything in the house: an old wooden bed, a table with one leg missing, two wooden chairs, a dark red lacquered cabinet and a small cubicle.

Mo Yan accepted her fate and walked to one side of the bed to sit down. The bumpy journey had already exhausted her. She was also wearing a heavy wedding dress soaked in rainwater, which made her even more exhausted.

Since she was ordered by her stepmother to replace her stepsister in marrying a pauper, she was not surprised by the terrible environment here.

After she married him, her stepmother would give her a sum of money. With the money, she could pay for the treatment of her mother’s illness, and her younger brother would be able to continue his studies. Being able to take care of her family gave her life meaning.

She anxiously waited until the sky turned dark. Finally, after a burst of lightning and thunder, she saw a drenched man push open the door and enter. The dilapidated wooden door immediately let out an obscure creak.

Rain trickled down the man’s furrowed brows. Mo Yan did not expect her husband, who was extremely poor, to have furrowed brows, a straight nose, and a perfect and strong facial structure, it made her a little confused.

The man only glanced at Mo Yan, who was sitting by the bed in a wedding dress. Then, he entered the small cubicle and the sound of running water could be heard.

When the man finished showering and walked towards her while drying his hair with a towel, it finally sunk in Mo Yan’s heart that it was her wedding night, and that she was really going to spend it with the strange man in front of her.

“It’s getting late. Go to sleep.”

The man said in a deep and magnetic voice as he walked to the other side of the bed and sat down.

Mo Yan’s heart was beating very fast. When she felt the slight sway of the wooden bed when the man sat down, she could not help but shiver.

“I... I’m going to take a shower too.”

Mo Yan did not dare to look at him. She stood up in fear and quickly hid in the small cubicle at the side. Just as she was about to close the door, she realized that the dilapidated cubicle did not have a door at all. There was no place for her to hide.

Just as Mo Yan was panicking, the man outside seemed to understand what was going through her head. He said in a low voice, “I’m going out to smoke. Take your time to shower. There’s no rush.”

Then, the man strode out and closed the wooden door tightly.

Mo Yan’s eyes were red, and a wave of sadness welled up from the bottom of her heart. Although her life had never been easy, she was never as poor as she was right now. Looking at the shower and squatting pit in the cubicle, she could only hide in the corner. She then struggled and carefully took off the wedding dress on her body.

After showering, she realized that there was no change of clothes in the cubicle. Mo Yan then wrapped a towel around her body and walked out.

She looked at the dilapidated house and tidied up the room before the man came back. She took out a blanket from the wardrobe and carefully laid it on the bed.

After doing all this, Mo Yan let out a sigh of relief. She crossed her arms and sat by the bed, waiting for the man to return.

There was no hot water here. She had just taken a shower with cold water. The silence made her feel a chill all over her body. She could not help but tremble slightly.

“Hu... Hu...” Mo Yan breathed into her palms, trying to get some warmth.

Right as she was rubbing her hands together to warm up, the wooden door suddenly opened with a creak. Mo Yan subconsciously got up, and unexpectedly, the towel on her chest slipped down. She was shocked, and frantically tried to pull up the blanket to cover herself.

However, the lust on her chest had already leaked out. Her small face was stained with an alluring blush. The man’s eyes glazed over, and he lifted his feet to walk over.

After Mo Yan anxiously covered her private parts with the blanket, the man walked in front of her. A large shadow enveloped her. The tip of her nose could even smell the fragrance of the soap that the man used to shower.

“Let’s sleep.”

The man’s voice became a little hoarse. He stretched out his long arm and turned off the light with a click. Mo Yan’s vision instantly turned pitch black.

Immediately after, his large hand caressed her shoulder, and the man’s hot chest pressed against her. Mo Yan was pressed onto the bed by the man’s body. The moment her ***** body came into contact with the cold mattress, she subconsciously leaned against the man’s warm body.

“Do you know who I am?”

The man held the bed board with one hand and wrapped the other around Mo Yan’s shoulder. He pressed against her tightly.

Mo Yan felt her mind go blank. After feeling his hot breath on her face, she swallowed her saliva and answered timidly, “Yes, you are my husband... Luo Tao.”

She understood what he meant. He was reminding her that they were already married and that tonight was their wedding night. It was only right and proper for couples to do such things.

----- END -----

A/N: Never in a million years did I think I will release this novel which I wrote a year ago. I actually had released this novel old account but I lost the access so I am re-uploading it again here.

Well give it a try and comment down below about what you think of this work.

If you find it interesting then consider liking it and subscribing to the novel so that you don't miss out my future updates.

Se you all tomorrow. 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

He did not expect her to give him such a direct answer. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and his eyes flashed with interest.

She was not the Mo family’s eldest daughter, Mo Lian, and he was not the useless country bumpkin from the Xiang family, Luo Tao.

His real name was actually Huo Zhen.

As soon as he entered the house, he realized that Mo Yan was just a substitute. In all honesty, why would the Mo family’s noble and inviolable daughter, Mo Lian, be willing to marry a destitute local ruffian?

However, since they both were substitutes, It was fair and even.

Luo Tao thought for a moment as he turned over. He moved his wrist and was about to pull his arm out from under Mo Yan shoulder, when she called out softly, “Luo Tao...”

Luo Tao paused and looked down. He saw a pair of sparkling eyes looking at him timidly, which he found cute.

Then, her two soft hands climbed onto his neck, with her soft body trembling as she approached him.

Mo Yan mustered up her courage, nervously pursed her lips, and then said gently, “You are my husband. You can do whatever you want to me.”

Since she was married to Luo Tao, she had a duty to him.

Luo Tao’s throat tightened. Looking at Mo Yan’s clumsy and pure appearance, his heartbeat quickened.

Just as Mo Yan raised her head and fixed her gaze on him with a somewhat dazed look, out of a sudden, Luo Tao pulled out his arm and grabbed Mo Yan’s wrist with one hand. Then, he flipped himself over and lay down some distance away from her.

Mo Yan had yet to come back to her senses. Her small mouth was slightly open, and her face was still flushed with embarrassment. She blinked her eyes and said, “You...”

Luo Tao turned his body sideways to avoid eye contact with her. He said lightly, “Forget it. We’re both tired today. Let’s go to sleep.”

Mo Yan looked at the his back and was stunned for a moment. She moved her slightly stiff body and explained in embarrassment, “Luo Tao, I’m not...”

She was worried that Luo Tao would misunderstand and think that she despised him. Honestly, she did not mind how poor Luo Tao was. Now that she was in this situation, she just wanted to try her best to live a good life.

“I don’t want to make things difficult for you. I won’t do anything to you before you are comfortable.” Luo Tao said in a low voice.

Then, the man whose back was facing her went silent, as if he had already fallen asleep.

It was still raining and cold outside, but because of Luo Tao’s presence in the bed, Mo Yan was comfortable, and she felt warm. In the pitter-patter of the rain, her thoughts ran wild.

The Mo family and the Luo family had planned this engagement many years ago. However, something happened to the Luo family, causing their family fortunes to decline. As a result, they had to hide in a small mountain village. Luo Tao was dispirited and fought and stole all day. Not only was he penniless, he was also a well-known local hooligan from the countryside.

With that, Mo Lian naturally refused to marry him. However, in order to obtain a considerable amount of dowry, the Mo family forced Mo Yan, who was an illegitimate daughter of the Mo family, to marry in place of her.

Mo Yan could still remember her ‘noble’ elder sister, Mo Lian, looking down on her and saying, “Why would I marry such a hooligan? You are more suitable. Your mother is a **** anyway, and your younger brother is also a bastard from God knows where!”

“Yan Yan, as long as you marry Luo Tao, I will give you a sum of money. Then, you can afford the treatment for your mother’s illness, and pay for your younger brother’s education.” Her father said coldly, with his eyes full of condescension.

Her stepmother pointed at her and berated, “You *****! Being an illegitimate child of this family, you should be contented to be able to get married. Don’t be ungrateful!”

Mo Yan suddenly woke up. She sat up and realized that she had fallen asleep at some point last night. There was no one beside her, Luo Tao had already gotten up early and left.

She put on her clothes, washed up, and walked to the small kitchen that was built with wooden planks next to the brick house. She found two eggs, a few vegetable leaves, and a handful of noodles, and quickly made two bowls of noodles.

Just as she brought the two bowls of steaming hot noodles to the table, Luo Tao happened to jog into the courtyard. Mo Yan looked up and saw that Luo Tao was bare-chested. His entire body was full of strong muscles, and was dotted with large drops of sweat. He seemed to have just returned from his run. Under the sunlight, he looked particularly sexy and manly.

Mo Yan’s face was slightly hot. Seeing him come in, she took the initiative to greet him, “Have you eaten breakfast? I made noodles.”

Luo Tao did not refuse. He walked straight over and sat down at the table. He took a bowl of noodles and said, “Must have been hard work.”

“No, it’s okay.” Mo Yan stuttered. She secretly looked at the muscles on Luo Tao’s body, then looked at the sandbags, dumbbells, and other items in the yard. She swallowed her saliva.

She had heard that Luo Tao often went to the detention center for fighting. It seemed like it was not just a rumor. Would he hit her if he got angry?

“You eat too.” Luo Tao picked up a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks. He looked at Mo Yan who was looking around and frowned.

“Oh, okay.” Mo Yan quickly sat down, picked up her chopsticks, and started to eat in small bites.

----- END -----

The two of them sat opposite each other and ate their noodles in silence. Mo Yan would carefully peek at Luo Tao from time to time. She noticed that Luo Tao was eating his noodles in an extremely refined manner. He did not make any sound, and his actions were so elegant that he actually looked like a young noble. He did not seem like a local ruffian or hooligan who lived in the countryside.

“Luo Tao seems like a decent person.” Mo Yan thought to herself.

However, looking at her bleak surrounding, the house, and even rain leaking through a roof tile, Mo Yan shook her head as well as the absurd thoughts in her mind.

After Luo Tao finished eating his noodles, he quietly looked up at Mo Yan, who was eating like a little hamster, which put him in a better mood. He then waited for her to finish eating.

Mo Yan put down her bowl and found Luo Tao looking at her expressionlessly. She was a little nervous.

“Uh, is there something on my face?”

Mo Yan touched her face awkwardly. Facing Luo Tao’s eyes, she became more nervous.

She really wanted to know Luo Tao’s plans for their future. As a married couple, where would their living expenses come from? How were they going to live?

Seeing Luo Tao shake his head, Mo Yan bit her lips and asked tentatively, “Um... What are you going to do today?”

“Exercise. Why?” Luo Tao moved his chair away, stood up, and stretched his body.

His doctor had instructed him to exercise every day. This would help his body recover and reduce his sequelae. It was very helpful to his health.

“Oh, okay. I’ll go to the city to return the wedding dress later.”

Mo Yan’s eyes dimmed. Seeing Luo Tao looking over, she squeezed out a smile and reached out to pick up the two sets of cutlery.

Luo Tao didn’t care about anything regarding their wedding. However, he did not realize the trouble that Mo Yan had gone to. She had to rent her wedding dress from a shop.

He did not want to care, but when he saw Mo Yan’s defeated expression, Luo Tao frowned slightly. He stopped her, “Wait a moment.”

“What’s wrong?” Mo Yan looked confused.

Luo Tao walked to the broken mahogany lacquer cabinet, took out a small carved wooden box from the bottom drawer, and handed it to Mo Yan.

“What?” Mo Yan took it and weighed the wooden box. She was confused. She opened the lid and saw a crystal clear jade bracelet lying quietly in the box.

Even though Mo Yan did not know how to appraise jade, just by seeing the color and quality of the jade bracelet, she could tell that it was worth a lot.

Luo Tao glanced at the jade bracelet. His assistant had said that it was for a lucky draw. Giving it to Mo Yan now was a form of respect for her.

“This is all of our belongings. Since we are married, this bracelet will belong to you from now on.”

Wasn’t Luo Tao a pauper? How did he have such a valuable thing? Mo Yan held the wooden box in her hands in a daze. She opened her mouth and said, “Ah, such a valuable bracelet...”

“Take it.” Luo Tao did not look at her again and walked out of the house.

This must be the last valuable thing the Luo family has. She must take good care of it for Luo Tao!

Mo Yan exhaled and closed the wooden box. She put the bracelet back in its original position.

By the time Mo Yan washed, dried the wedding dress, and arrived at the city on the rickety country bus, it was already noon.

When she got married, her stepmother and father did not prepare anything for her. Moreover, she had spent all the money she had on her to pay for her mother’s treatment. She was really short of money, so she could only choose to rent a wedding dress to get married.

The shop where she rented the wedding dress was located inside a shopping mall. It was not considered too high-end, but since it was pretty and had a good price, Mo Yan rented it.

After Mo Yan laboriously carried a a large bag with the wedding dress into the shop, the female shop assistant who was sitting behind the counter and playing with her phone lazily raised her head. She looked Mo Yan up and down, then used two fingers to pinch the hem of the wedding dress. She said disdainfully, “Come on, you just got married. How did you ruin the wedding dress to this state? What’s this smell on it?”

Mo Yan wiped the sweat from her forehead and quickly explained, “I washed it with soap. It’s very clean. There’s no problem!”

“You’ve only been married for one day. Did you go to the countryside to farm and feed the pigs in it? Moreover, the wedding dress has to be dry-cleaned. Do you understand? Can you afford to pay to fix it?” The female employee rolled her eyes, then cursed in a low voice, “Where did this country bumpkin come from?”

----- END -----