Rehearsing a Marriage Before It Even Begins

Would Jiang Jibai come after her for asking a junior boy for his WeChat?

Ever since she saw Jiang Jibai’s message, that thought had been looping in Wen Xi’s mind.

Not long after, the bell rang for the end of class.

Cheng Cheng was in the same major as her.

She hadn’t understood a single word of the lecture and had slept through the entire session.

As soon as the bell rang, she stretched lazily and yawned.

“Let’s go, Xixi, cafeteria time.”

Wen Xi stood up, clutching her phone and backpack.

She had planned to leave through the back door, but Cheng Cheng grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the front exit of the lecture hall.

“Before we go, I need to pay my respects to the Great God up close so I don’t fail finals,” Cheng Cheng said.

“……”

Wen Xi looked toward the podium.

The man hadn’t left yet.

Several male students holding laptops were gathered around him, seemingly asking questions.

Cheng Cheng stuffed her phone into Wen Xi’s hand.

“Baby, when we pass by the podium, help me take a photo with the Great God. Make me look pretty.”

“……”

Wen Xi glanced toward the front aisle.

Sure enough, there were already girls asking their friends to snap photos of them and Jiang Jibai together.

More and more followed.

It was as if Jiang Jibai were some trending tourist attraction.

Holding Cheng Cheng’s phone, Wen Xi said instinctively, “If you want a photo, why not just ask him directly? Standing this far away with a bunch of heads in between—what’s the point?”

“Does he look approachable to you?” Cheng Cheng pinched Wen Xi’s cheek.

“And he’s just subbing for his advisor, not even a proper professor. Once class ends, he’s got nothing to do with us students. Why would he bother? Last time, a pretty girl got brave and asked for his WeChat. He didn’t even give her a glance. She walked off red-faced and embarrassed.”

Wen Xi thought about it.

Jiang Jibai didn’t get close to women and was notoriously cold.

There was no way he’d agree to take photos with random girls.

“So yeah,” Cheng Cheng continued, “we just stand far away and snap one together. When he graduates and becomes a distinguished alumnus, I can show it off. It’s like when you fangirls see your idol at the airport entrance and take a photo from outside the barrier.”

Only then did Wen Xi understand.

Seeing Cheng Cheng so excited, she had no choice but to line up in the aisle.

Most of the girls who’d come to audit the class were hoping for a long-distance photo with Jiang Jibai.

Half a minute per person.

Ten people meant seven or eight minutes.

The aisle was clogged like holiday train traffic, inching forward painfully slow.

While “queuing,” Wen Xi was mentally rehearsing how Jiang Jibai might interrogate her about asking for the junior’s WeChat.

Suddenly, she heard Cheng Cheng let out a small wail.

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her.

“What’s wrong?”

Cheng Cheng beat her chest dramatically.

“He left! My photo with the Great God is gone!”

Wen Xi looked toward the podium.

The male students had finished asking questions and were closing their laptops, returning to their seats.

Jiang Jibai held his laptop and textbook in one hand and stepped down briskly.

His aura was strong.

The girls had clearly been waiting for him, yet none dared to stop him.

They even instinctively parted to make way.

Once the main cause of the “traffic jam” left, the girls dispersed in a rush.

The aisle cleared instantly.

Wen Xi patted Cheng Cheng’s hand.

“There’ll be another chance.”

She didn’t tell Cheng Cheng about her relationship with Jiang Jibai.

After all, they weren’t close.

Yes, they’d registered their marriage.

But they’d only known each other for a day.

There was no way Jiang Jibai would take a photo with her roommate just because of her.

Cheng Cheng sighed heavily.

“Today’s luck is trash. The junior I like already has a girlfriend, and now I missed the Great God photo.”

Wen Xi scrunched her face.

“Yeah… today’s luck is pretty bad.”

On the first day of marriage, her brand-new husband saw her asking another guy for his WeChat.

Their one-day-old marriage was currently on life support.

Most people had left the lecture hall by now.

Wen Xi and Cheng Cheng finally exited through the front door.

Cheng Cheng headed toward the stairs.

Wen Xi tugged her arm lightly and coughed.

“Cheng Cheng, you head back to the dorm first. I’ve got something to do.”

“Okay.”

Cheng Cheng didn’t ask what.

She assumed Wen Xi was either going to ask the French professor for course materials or doing something idol-related.

“Are you eating dinner with us?”

“You guys go ahead.”

“Alright, Lin Shu and I won’t wait for you then.”

“Okay.”

After Cheng Cheng went downstairs, Wen Xi turned and walked toward an empty classroom nearby.

She had barely taken two steps when she saw Jiang Jibai.

He stood about ten meters away, chatting with a gray-haired old professor.

His laptop and textbook were still in his hands.

She glanced once, then withdrew her gaze and planned to wait for him in the empty classroom.

Her phone vibrated in her palm.

She lowered her head.

Jiang Jibai: [Come here.]

She looked up again.

The old professor had left, books tucked under his arm.

Only Jiang Jibai remained.

She didn’t move.

Instead, she typed.

Niangaogao: [Isn’t it bad to talk here?]

She saw him glance at his phone.

Then he started walking toward her.

Startled, Wen Xi darted into the empty classroom.

Clinging to the doorframe, she stuck her head out and quickly initiated a voice call.

Jiang Jibai looked at her peeking head and answered.

She spoke rapidly.

“Don’t come over! Haven’t you noticed all the girls around you? If they see me talking to you, I’ll get death-stared. I might even get posted on the forum and cyberbullied!”

Jiang Jibai stopped.

After scanning the area, his gaze locked onto the head peeking from the doorframe.

With the phone to his ear, he said, “I’ll wait at the north gate parking lot. I’ll send you the plate number.”

Wen Xi exhaled in relief.

“Okay.”

He hung up and left.

She waited a few minutes before coming out.

It really hadn’t been safe earlier.

Even while he was talking to the professor, several girls had lingered nearby, unwilling to leave.

If they’d seen him enter the empty classroom and discovered her inside with him, her photo would probably be trending on the campus gossip forum tonight.

Only after he disappeared from sight did she leave the building and head toward the north gate parking lot.

“16161…” she muttered the plate number from WeChat, scanning the cars.

It didn’t take long before a pure black AMG GT63 flashed its hazard lights in the distance.

She focused on the plate.

It was his car.

Without hesitation, she jogged over.

This time, she didn’t ask.

She opened the passenger door directly.

“Jiang Jibai.”

After sitting down, she glanced at the cold man beside her.

“I just found out you study at Ning University too. What a coincidence.”

“Mm.”

His tone was flat.

“……”

She knew he was always like this.

Still, she felt nervous.

Asking for the junior’s WeChat was definitely a black mark in his book.

She blinked and coughed softly.

“Do you… want to ask me something?”

She decided to take the initiative.

Jiang Jibai glanced at her but said nothing.

He simply started the car.

“……”

Was he taking her to the Civil Affairs Bureau?

It was only five.

They weren’t closed yet!

Panic hit instantly.

She lunged forward and grabbed the gear lever.

Jiang Jibai reached to shift gears but instead grabbed a soft little hand.

He paused and looked down.

She was holding the gear lever with both hands.

His hand had covered hers.

He lifted his gaze toward the girl beside him.

“You have to hear me out first!”

Her palm-sized face scrunched like a steamed bun.

“Don’t go to the Civil Affairs Bureau. I don’t want to get divorced right after getting married.”
She hadn’t even met her idol yet.

“I didn’t cheat behind your back. My roommate asked me to help her get the junior’s WeChat. Your head isn’t green, I swear!”

Jiang Jibai withdrew his hand calmly.

“Let go.”

She didn’t.

Before she could continue, he said, “I’m taking you to dinner.”

She froze.

“I don’t want a breakup dinner.”

After two seconds of silence, he replied, “Not going to the Civil Affairs Bureau. Not a breakup dinner. Just dinner. Can you let go now?”

“…Oh.”

Not the Civil Affairs Bureau.

She’d nearly died of fright.

She finally released the gear lever and fastened her seatbelt.

“So you believe me, right? You’re smart. You don’t even need to think about it. With a husband as handsome as you, how could I fall for an average junior?”

She watched his expression carefully from the corner of her eye.

He must hear the blatant flattery.

Jiang Jibai showed no reaction.

She didn’t give up.

If he beamed from a few compliments, that would be absurd.

“Did you come to see me just for dinner?” she asked, already plotting how to steer the topic toward visiting his company.

“I have something to discuss. We’ll talk while eating.”

“…Oh.”

She swallowed her follow-up.

He chose a private restaurant not far from school and requested a private room.

The owner personally led them in.

“Mr. Jiang, the usual?”

Jiang Jibai glanced at the girl behind him.

“Bring a menu.”

The owner understood and had a waiter deliver it.

After sitting down, the menu was pushed toward her by a pair of long, elegant hands.

“I don’t know your tastes. Order yourself.”

“Okay.”

She ordered several sweet dishes she liked, then pushed the menu back.

Once the waiter left, only the two of them remained.

As she sipped tea, Jiang Jibai spoke.

“Does your father know about the marriage?”

“Not yet.”

She hadn’t figured out how to tell Wen Junru.

She planned to hide it for a while.

“If you don’t mind, our parents should meet tomorrow.”

“Cough—!”

She choked on her water and stared at him wide-eyed.

“So soon?”

“We married to deal with family pressure. Since it’s done, telling them early spares us from further nagging.”

“……”

She hadn’t been pressured at all.

“That’s true, but I have class tomorrow—”

“I’ll pick you up after.”

“I’m not mentally prepared—”

“My mother wants to meet you.”

“……”

Sooner or later, she had to meet them.

She wasn’t against meeting his parents.

She just dreaded telling her father.

She hadn’t even gotten any benefits from this marriage yet.

But if she met her idol first, she could announce her marriage right now.

Unfortunately, the company staff would be off work soon.

No chance of seeing Qiao Zhinian today.

A small spark lit in her eyes.

“Okay. But after meeting the parents, I want to visit your company.”

He looked at her.

“Fine.”

Her motive was obvious.

He could indulge it.

“And one more thing.”

He looked at her again.

“Our marriage was too sudden. Our families will question it. Should we… make up a love story?”

He took a sip of tea.

“That’s exactly why I asked you here.”

“Then let’s say it was love at first sight and we impulsively got married the same day!”

“No.”

He rejected it calmly.

Love at first sight plus same-day marriage would make his mother suspect a contract marriage immediately.

“Why not? Do you have a better idea?”

“We fell in love at first sight at school, secretly dated for a month, and in the heat of passionate romance, impulsively registered yesterday.”

His tone was flat as still water.

“……”

That sounded even more absurd.

“What if they ask for proof? Photos? Chat records? Should I Photoshop something? I’m very good at editing.”

“Would your father demand that?”

She thought about it and shook her head.

“If I sound sincere, he won’t suspect. He’ll just be angry.”

“No need for fake evidence. We just need to act in front of your father. I’ll handle my mother.”

“Okay.”

If he was that confident, she’d trust him.

“What do we act?”

“A couple in passionate love.”

She blinked.

“How?”

After a few seconds of looking at her, he said, “Do I need to recommend some romance dramas?”

“……”

Was that a joke?

It felt cold.

She knew how couples acted.

Kissing.

Touching.

Hugging.

Maybe even lifting.

But imagining that with Jiang Jibai—

“Do you reject physical intimacy?” he asked.

She widened her eyes.

If anything, he was the one known for avoiding women.

“Not really.”

He shifted slightly in his seat and extended a hand toward her.

“Come here.”

Her gaze landed on his forearm beneath the rolled sleeve.

Lean.

Defined.

A sports wristband circled his wrist.

Her lashes fluttered faster.

“What are you doing?”

“So you don’t mess up tomorrow. We’ll rehearse tonight.”