Volume One: Bloodstained Rebirth - Chapter Two: The Wedding Upheaval

When Zhang Xue returned with the water, Shen Qingxu was already seated back at the vanity. The cuts on her hand were cleverly concealed with foundation, and the tempest in her eyes had been completely reined in, leaving behind only a nearly indifferent calm.

"Qingxu, here's your water." Zhang Xue handed her the glass, studying her expression carefully. "Are you… alright? I thought I heard a noise."

"It's nothing," Shen Qingxu took the glass, her fingertips icy, her tone detached. "I just knocked something over." She took a sip of water, her gaze sweeping over Zhang Xue's inquisitive face in the mirror. "Is everything ready outside?"

"All set. The guests are all here." Zhang Xue suppressed the strange feeling in her heart, piling a fresh smile onto her face, laced with a hint of barely perceptible pride. "Beichen… oh, I mean, Yanxiu… he looks so devastatingly handsome today. Qingxu, you're so lucky to be marrying him."

Shen Qingxu laughed coldly inside. Lucky? In her previous life, this so-called 'luck' had drained the very life from her. She set down the water glass and stood up, the hem of her wedding gown sweeping out a decisive arc.

"Let's go. We shouldn't keep my 'good fortune' waiting."

The corridor leading to the banquet hall was carpeted in plush velvet, its walls adorned with expensive artwork. On Shen Jian'guo's arm, Shen Qingxu walked step by step towards the massive, ornately carved double doors of the banquet hall.

Shen Jian'guo's face was a picture of barely suppressed glee and excitement. "Qingxu, once you're in the Lu family, be sensible. Help the family, and your brother more," he murmured低声嘱咐. "Your brother's future depends on you."

Those words again.

In her past life, this phrase had been an invisible shackle, binding her for a lifetime. Shen Qingxu did not give her usual soft assent. She looked straight ahead, the corners of her lips curving into a cold, sharp smile.

The doors opened.

Instantly, all the light and noise of the celebration washed over them. The Wedding March swelled, solemn and melodious. The guests, resplendent in their finery, turned their gazes—a mix of envy and curiosity—upon her. Flowers, crystal, silk… an extravagance of luxury, like a beautifully crafted, gilded cage.

At the end of the red carpet stood Lu Yanxiu. His impeccably tailored black tuxedo accentuated his tall, straight figure, exuding an air of noble, detached coldness. His handsome face was expressionless, his deep eyes calm and unruffled. The way he looked at her was no different from looking at an insignificant object.

And standing beside him, wearing an exquisite bridesmaid's gown, was Zhang Xue, tilting her head slightly, stealing glances at him with what she thought was a secret, lovestruck look.

What a familiar scene. In her past life, she had been blinded by this false splendor and the hypocritical 'affection' of those around her, walking step by step into the tomb that would bury her.

Each step felt like treading on the pool of blood she had coughed up in her previous life. Pain, regret, and fury churned in her chest, finally tempered into a will of steel.

The arm linked with her father's tightened almost imperceptibly, her nails nearly digging into the fabric of his suit sleeve. Shen Jian'guo winced in surprise and looked at her, but only saw her taut jawline and overly calm profile.

Finally, she reached Lu Yanxiu.

Shen Jian'guo took her hand and passed it towards Lu Yanxiu as if handing over a piece of merchandise.

The officiant, with a professional,祝福的微笑, asked in a resonant, heartfelt voice: "Shen Qingxu, do you take Lu Yanxiu to be your husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death do you part?"

The hall fell silent. All eyes were fixed on Shen Qingxu, waiting for the sacred "I do."

Zhang Xue's smile was practically overflowing.

Wang Xiulian and Shen Qiang, seated below the platform, rubbed their hands together in激动.

Lu Yanxiu looked at her, his expression still unreadable, merely extending his hand faintly.

Right at this moment, when everyone's anticipation had reached its peak—

Shen Qingxu did not place her hand in Lu Yanxiu's palm.

Instead, she took a step forward and directly took the microphone from the officiant's hand.

The move stunned everyone.

She lifted her eyes, her gaze calmly sweeping over her hypocritical family below, her gleeful best friend, and finally, landing on the deep, icy eyes of the man before her.

Her red lips parted. A clear, cold voice, amplified by the microphone, spread to every corner of the hall:

"I do not."

"—I do not."

Those four words were like a thunderclap exploding over a silent, frozen plain, instantly freezing the entire wedding venue solid.

Time seemed to stand still for a second.

Then, a massive wave of astonished exclamations erupted like a tsunami! The guest tables exploded into an uproar. Whispers, gasps, and shocked inhalations merged into a chaotic din. After a brief moment of shock, the journalists descended into a frenzy, training their lenses wildly on the central platform. The sound of shutters clicking was incessant, the camera flashes nearly drowning her.

"What did she say?"

"She doesn't? Oh my god!"

"What's going on? Is she calling it off now?"

Lu Yanxiu's outstretched hand hung stiffly in the air. For the first time, clear cracks appeared in his deep-set composure—shock, disbelief, and a flicker of anger at being publicly humiliated flashed rapidly in his eyes. He stared intently at Shen Qingxu, as if truly seeing her for the first time.

"Qingxu! What nonsense are you talking!" Zhang Xue was the first to react, her sharp voice laced with unconcealed panic. She rushed forward, trying to snatch the microphone. "You're just too nervous, right? Tell everyone you're joking!"

Shen Qingxu easily sidestepped her, her gaze like an icy blade sweeping over Zhang Xue, freezing her in place instantly.

"Shen Qingxu! Have you lost your mind!" Wang Xiulian shot to her feet below the platform, her face deathly pale, her voice twisted with sheer fury and fear. "Apologize now! Continue with the wedding! Or you'll regret it!"

Shen Qiang also stood up, pointing at the platform and yelling, "Sis! You've humiliated us! Listen to Mom!"

Facing the two livid faces below, their plans in ruins, Shen Qingxu actually smiled. It was a cold, stunning smile, carrying a destructive kind of beauty.

She raised the microphone again, her voice filled with sarcasm, clearly reaching every corner of the room: "Look. This is my family. This is my best friend. In your eyes, am I a puppet to be manipulated at will, or a commodity to be traded for profit?"

"Qingxu, stop talking..." Zhang Xue's voice held a sob now, born of genuine fear.

"Shut up." Shen Qingxu coldly cut her off, her gaze returning to the ashen faces of Wang Xiulian and Shen Qiang. "Weren't you the ones constantly saying this was for my own good? That marrying Lu Yanxiu was the greatest fortune?"

She no longer looked at them. Instead, she faced all the guests and, with deliberate calm, retrieved her phone from a hidden pocket sewn into the waist of her wedding gown. A slender finger tapped lightly on the screen—

"Mom, my brother-in-law's family is so rich, my sports car..."

"Don't worry, once you're married, you'll be the young madam of the Lu family. Their money is your money! Helping your brother is only right!"

"Qingxu, your brother's girlfriend's family has given an ultimatum. The bride price needs another 500,000. You have to find a way..."

"Just whisper in Lu Yanxiu's ear, get him to arrange a manager position for your brother at headquarters..."

The voices of Wang Xiulian, Shen Qiang, and Shen Jian'guo pressuring her, scheming for the Lu family's wealth, were laid bare for all to hear, crystal clear through the sound system!

As the recording finished, the hall plunged into an even more eerie, dead silence.

The looks the guests directed at the Shen family had shifted from initial surprise to unconcealed disdain and disgust. Wang Xiulian's legs gave way, and she collapsed back into her seat. Shen Qiang's face was ghostly white, as if he wished the ground would swallow him. Zhang Xue also instinctively took a few steps back, as if trying to distance herself from the scandal.

Shen Qingxu straightened her spine, like a queen being crowned atop the ruins. Her gaze swept across the room, finally settling on Lu Yanxiu's eyes, which now held a complex, unreadable emotion.

"Lu Yanxiu. You all heard it." Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an iron-clad finality. "A marriage like this, a family like this… I, Shen Qingxu, want no part of it!"

With that, she raised her hands and deftly removed the diamond crown from her head—the symbol of the Lu family's acceptance. Without a shred of reluctance, she tossed it casually to the ground!

Clatter— The clear, sharp sound was like the shattering of two worlds.

She didn't look back at anyone. Turning decisively, she gathered the heavy train of her wedding gown and, under countless stares of shock, bewilderment, and intense scrutiny, walked step by step, firmly, towards the main doors from which she had entered.

Sunlight streamed in through the wide-open doors, gilding her solitary, proud figure in a dazzling, radiant outline.

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