I’m Not Willing

The stately church bells rang, white doves flew, sunlight shone through the stained glass, and roses bloomed delicately.

Flowers came into blossom and guests filled the seats.

All eyes fell on the newcomer.

“Yes, I do.” Gu Zhichuan stared at the bride in front of him.

He was so focused that it was as if he was looking at the love of his life.

But Lin Gantang knew that this was not so.

She was beautifully made-up, adorning a stunning dress. She had on a haute couture wedding dress that had been in the making for several months. The groom in front of her was the pride of his parents. His wealth, appearance, and ability were all outstanding.

Everyone envied her for marrying into the Gu family.

“Then, bride, do you take this man to be your husband and enter into a marriage contract with him?” The priest smiled and continued, “To love him, cherish him, and be faithful to him until the end of your life, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health?”

Lin Gantang held the pink bouquet and looked quietly at Gu Zhichuan.

The bride did not answer the priest’s question for a long time. The guests looked at each other and exchanged words. For a moment, the church was abuzz with conversation.

Gu Zhichuan frowned.

Lin Mingzhuo didn’t know what his troublesome daughter was up to. He snorted. “Gantang!”

Lin Gantang smiled. Her glowing face had a desolate smile for some reason.

“No, I don’t.” She lifted her gaze.

The guests were in an uproar!

Lin Gantang tossed aside the bouquet, forcefully tore the veil from her hair, and threw it on the ground. “No, I don’t. Today’s wedding ends here.”

Gu Zhichuan grabbed her as she turned around to leave. His eyes were filled with reproach, his expression extremely cold. “Do you think you can throw a tantrum on such an occasion as today?”

Gu Zhichuan did not know why Lin Gantang, who had insisted on and demanded to marry him, had changed her mind. However, he knew that if the bride ran away, the Gu family would become the laughingstock of C City.

“Let go.”

Of course, Gu Zhichuan did not listen to her. Lin Gantang did not know whether she should find it funny or sad. She coolly looked at him and asked the question that she had wanted to ask in both her previous and current lives, “Gu Zhichuan, have you figured out who you love?”

Gu Zhichuan’s expression turned even uglier.

Lin Mingzhuo was enraged by the sudden change. He furiously stood and said, “Lin Gantang! Think carefully about what you’re doing!”

Lin Zhaonan and his father were seated right at the front. He clearly heard his sister Gantang’s question to Gu Zhichuan. He stood up and pulled his father back, frowning. “Dad, Gantang insisted on marrying Gu Zhichuan back then. Do you think she would go back on her word? Since she went back on her word, does she have a reason?”

“Reason?” Mrs. Gu stood up and spewed. “If she didn’t want to get married, she should have said so earlier. Why did she have to wait until the wedding started? Is she deliberately making a joke out of our Gu family?”

Mr. Gu also stood up. “That’s right. In-law, it’s unkind, what the Lin family is doing.”

Lin Mingzhuo’s face turned red. Lin Zhaonan took a step forward to block off the Gu family’s questioning. He glanced at Lin Gantang from the corner of his eye. She had already shaken Gu Zhichuan off and ran away.

She escaped her marriage.

Lin Gantang thought that it would be great if she could have come back earlier. At least, she would not viciously hurt Wen Yanqing again.

In her previous life, Gu Zhichuan had given her emotional manipulation, betrayal, and adultery.

And Wen Yanqing had given her a lifetime of deep affection.

Wen Yanqing had confessed to her many times and had always been waiting for her. However, she did not cherish him and even abandoned him and chased him away, pursuing the love she thought she had.

Later, when she married Gu Zhichuan, Wen Yanqing watched her walk into the hall. He was heartbroken and left the country, dying of severe alcoholism.

She remembered that, at a gathering, Shi Jun had gotten drunk and said that Wen Yanqing’s death was because of her.

Wen Yanqing boarded a flight to Country B on that very day.

Gantang walked briskly. She kicked off her high heels and started to run. The fresh rose petals on the red carpet were stirred up by the wedding dress. They drifted in a circle and slowly fell.

She ran out of the hall and looked around.

In the end, it was too late.

I’m Begging You

The moment she lost her focus, a red sports car braked and stopped right beside her.

Yin Zhen brushed her curly windswept hair and whistled at her playfully.

“What is this? A runaway bride?” Yin Zhen raised her eyebrows.

Mr. Yin was supposed to attend the wedding, but unfortunately, he fell ill and was hospitalized.

Ever since they were young, Yin Zhen and Gantang would always quarrel with each other after a few sentences. It was enough that they didn’t come to blows, but to ask her to attend the wedding?

Yin Zhen apologized — a wedding was impossible. If it was Lin Gantang’s funeral, she would definitely dress up and gladly make an appearance.

Mr. Yin was so upset that he almost had to be transferred to the ICU.

The two families were still working together, and Yin Zhen was forced to attend.

She did turn up, but she did not say that she would definitely come on time. She just happened to bump into the bride who had not gone through with the marriage.

Lin Gantang looked at her and then at the phone that Yin Zhen had casually placed on the passenger seat.

She had on a wedding dress and had no idea who was holding onto her phone.

Yin Zhen didn’t want to exchange pleasantries with her. It was obvious that the wedding had been interrupted, and she already had an explanation to provide when she got back. She couldn’t be bothered to speak, so she started the car that just had its engine turned off and prepared to leave.

In the end, the sports car almost hit someone.

Lin Gantang was recklessly blocking the right side of the front of the car.

“D*mn! You’re tired of living!” Yin Zhen cursed. “If you want to die, don’t let me take responsibility!”

“Do you have Wen Yanqing’s phone number? May I borrow your phone?” Lin Gantang asked.

“Do you have Wen Yanqing’s phone number? May I borrow your phone?” Lin Gantang asked.

When had she ever spoken to Yin Zhen nicely, and even in a negotiating tone? Yin Zhen was dumbfounded. Then, she thought of something and looked at Lin Gantang as if she had seen a ghost. Then, she looked at the church in disbelief. “Don’t tell me that you ran away from the wedding because of Wen Yanqing!”

“No.”

“No way! Madam! He pursued you for eight years! You only remembered him now?” Yin Zhen was so flabbergasted that her sunglasses almost fell off. She quickly removed them and held them in her hands. She imagined the chaotic scene in the church and laughed mockingly. “I have no relationship with Wen Yanqing, so of course I don’t have his number. Why? It’s been eight years, and you’re so heartless that you don’t even keep his phone number?”

Lin Gantang could not refute anything.

Yes, she did not. She did not even take Wen Yanqing to heart.

“Can you send me to the airport?” Lin Gantang said.

What was that? “You and I aren’t close enough to sit in the same car,” Yin Zhen said sarcastically as she put her sunglasses back on.

“Can you send me to the airport?” Lin Gantang sounded a little anxious.

Lin Gantang was anxious, but she wasn’t.

Yin Zhen looked at Lin Gantang, her sworn enemy since childhood, and smiled smugly. “Beg me, Lin Gantang. I’ll reluctantly agree if you beg me.”

Yin Zhen knew that Lin Gantang would not agree to it. It was worse than death for her to do so.

“I beg you.” Lin Gantang did not hesitate

Yin Zhen was speechless.

Lin Gantang had already opened the car door and gotten in.

“Lin Gantang, to hell with you!”

A businessman had to be honest. It was the Yin family’s rule. No matter how much she hated Lin Gantang, Yin Zhen had to keep her word. She stepped on the accelerator and the sports car sped off.

She glanced at Lin Gantang’s wedding dress and didn’t say anything, but the mockery on her face was obvious.

Lin Gantang pretended not to see it and said softly, “International airport, thank you.”

Yin Zhen shivered with goosebumps all over her body. She snorted in disdain. “Save it. I can’t afford your thanks.”

Lin Gantang knew that her chances of catching up to Wen Yanqing were slim.

But she still wanted to give it a try.

When she stood at the massive airport and looked at the strangers who were hurriedly coming and going, she realized how ridiculous she was.

She had come too late and had hurt the person who deeply loved her. She had not even apologized to him.

The passengers in the airport kept turning their heads to look at her. This wedding dress was too eye-catching.

“Is she filming a TV show?” someone whispered.

“It should be? Why don’t I see the camera?”

“Hidden? Who is this celebrity? She’s quite good-looking, but I’ve never seen her on television.”

Get Lost

She walked dejectedly out of the airport.

She soon realized that Yin Zhen, who had sent her there, was nowhere to be found.

Lin Gantang couldn’t help but sigh. It was indeed Lady Yin’s character. She had reluctantly sent her there, but hadn’t agreed to send her back.

She had neither a phone nor cash.

Lin Gantang hailed a taxi and planned to get her family to pay the fare when she reached home.

The taxi driver was a chatterbox. It was probably the first time he had met someone like her. He was full of interest. “Young lady, why are you wearing a wedding dress? I see that you’re not wearing shoes. Where are your shoes?”

“High heels; it’s not easy to walk in them.”

The driver’s eyes lit up. “Did you change your mind and run away from the wedding to chase after your sweetheart at the airport? Or did the groom break off the engagement and want to leave so you came to the airport to chase after him?”

“Master, watch fewer television dramas.”

The driver had a look of understanding on his face as he encouraged her, “Don’t feel embarrassed. You’re pursuing true love; it’s understandable.”

The driver chattered all the way. When Lin Gantang saw the familiar door of the villa, she felt a sense of relief. “Master, wait. I’ll get my family to give you the money.”

Lin Gantang got out of the car. The maid who opened the door happened to be Auntie Zhang. She got her to pay for it first and was going to go in to return the money to her.

Before Auntie Zhang went to pay, she thought about how she had taken care of Miss since she was young. After hesitating for a while, she braced herself and reminded her, “Mr. Lin is waiting for Miss in the living room. He’s livid.”

Lin Gantang nodded.

The driver took the money and looked at the slowly closing door of the villa. He exclaimed, “So it’s not just a sensational drama, but also a masterpiece of ethics of a wealthy family?”

Now he had seen everything.

Lin Mingzhuo sat in the middle of the sofa in the living room.

Lin Zhaonan and Jiang Tongtong sat on the other side.

The frozen atmosphere was very depressing. The maids stayed as far away as possible. No one dared to bump into the muzzle of a gun.

When Lin Gantang walked in, Lin Zhaonan looked up at her.

Mr. Lin took a puff of his cigarette and surprisingly did not curse.

Did he not scold her enough?

Ever since his wife had passed away, his daughter had become more and more difficult to discipline. Throughout her entire adolescence, she was hostile and rebellious, as if father and daughter were enemies.

She had finally gone through adolescence and became an adult, but she was extremely cold to her family.

It was as if he owed her.

She had fallen in love with Gu Zhichuan and wanted desperately to marry him. As a father, he could not help but relent. And that day, she had caused such a scene at the wedding.

Lin Mingzhuo pressed the cigarette but to the ashtray and said tiredly, “Get lost! Don’t come back!”

When Jiang Tongtong heard this, she anxiously pulled at Lin Zhaonan.

“Dad, why don’t you give her a chance to explain?” Lin Zhaonan rubbed his temples.

“Explain?” Lin Mingzhuo cursed angrily, filled with resentment. “When has she ever been reasonable? An adult has to take responsibility for their own actions.

“The friendship between the Lin and Gu families is over now. I don’t have time to care about her, and I no longer care about her!

“Didn’t she say that she hated this place the most? She can go wherever she wants; I don’t care anymore!

“Get lost!”

Lin Zhaonan looked at his furious father and didn’t speak up for Lin Gantang as her actions all these years had truly been disappointing.

Lin Gantang stood there without moving.

The wedding dress on her body was very heavy, and so was her heart.

She remembered that, in her previous life, she did not run away from the wedding, so there was no such scene.

It was only on the third day of their marriage that they had an argument. Her father had said something similar and told her to get lost.

In the end, she really never returned.

Even before she passed away, she had never apologized to her father for her willfulness all those years.

She did not know how heartbroken and disappointed a father must be to say such words to his biological daughter.

Seeing her father’s slightly white hair, Lin Gantang felt as if her throat was stuffed with cotton. She felt uncomfortable. “Dad.”

Lin Mingzhuo’s anger had yet to subside. He lit another cigarette, and his hands trembled when he heard this.

After the estrangement between father and daughter, his daughter had not called him ‘dad’ for several years.