There are still five minutes until the hero escapes from marriage.

Having discerned a certain secret, Gu Ruoxian found it nearly impossible to control her emotions.

She answered Su Mengyao’s call. Her voice was still gentle, “Sister, have you found Xianting?”

“Xianting…” Gu Ruoxian’s gaze fell on the surveillance footage. She smiled brightly, “I found him, Mengyao. You’re overthinking it. He’s with Wen Zhao, honeymooning at Erhai. I just saw them.”

“Impossible!” Su Mengyao didn’t believe it. The system had told her that he was locked in the hotel suite at the time; there was no way he could be on a honeymoon with Wen Zhao!

“Mengyao, I know it’s hard to accept,” Gu Ruoxian thought for a moment, then decided to placate her. “In fact, when you went to the hotel to find him that day, he was indeed there.”

“See, I wasn’t lying. Xianting must have been trapped; otherwise, he would never have watched me being taken away!” She was confident about this.

“I asked him about it,” Gu Ruoxian said. “He said he didn’t want to see you because he decided to live well with Wen Zhao. After all, they’re married now, and he didn’t want to upset her, so he didn’t come out to see you.”

“Impossible! You’re lying!” Su Mengyao’s voice was sharp over the phone.

Friendships based on interests naturally dissolve when those interests disappear.

“Mengyao, you’re a good girl. Good girls don’t persist when the other party is already married,” Gu Ruoxian’s tone became serious. “Are you the kind of woman who has no moral bottom line and insists on being a third party?”

Su Mengyao’s breathing became rapid, indicating her anger. “Sister, you didn’t say this before. You said I was the sister-in-law you recognized, that you were on my and Xianting’s side!”

“Wrong. I have no relation to you, so naturally, I’ll stand by whoever my brother likes. Mengyao, give it up. There’s no possibility between you and Xianting,” her tone became deliberately cold. “That’s it. Goodbye.”

She hung up the phone, completely ignoring Su Mengyao’s fate.

Because now, ensuring Su Mengyao’s exit and preventing her from causing trouble, and revealing that Gu Xianting had been kidnapped by Wen Zhao, was the right solution!

With this thought, she didn’t want to waste any time and booked the quickest flight back to Licheng. She needed to act now; it was the perfect time. She also needed to increase her manpower to keep an eye on Su Mengyao.

Su Mengyao had no idea that her ally had completely betrayed her and even stabbed her in the back.

Of course, Wen Zhao, quietly enjoying a candlelight dinner on the island, also didn’t know that Gu Ruoxian and Su Mengyao were turning against each other.

It didn’t matter.

The seaside breeze was just right, neither too hot nor too cold. The beach had been meticulously developed, with not a single impurity in the sand. Small, exquisite lights were scattered around, making the sea under the moonlight look like it was covered in a mysterious veil. 

The candlelight, blooming flowers, and the dining table set up with a sand canopy, all added to the carefully prepared feast.

Wen Zhao glanced at Gu Xianting sitting opposite her.

His face no longer had the unnatural flush from a high fever. As the saying goes, ‘Beauty under the lamp, gentleman under the moon.’

With both the lamp and moon present, his already outstanding face looked almost unreal.

She took a sip of wine, gazing at that face.

Gu Xianting felt uncomfortable under her predatory gaze, unable to meet her eyes, fearing he might get flustered.

In the presence of flowers and the moon, lights and the sea, her naturally beautiful appearance seemed even more enchanting, like a sea nymph whose gaze could drag someone into an abyss of desire.

“Try this. I hired this chef at a high price,” she said gently. “I want our honeymoon to be perfect.”

He smiled at her and raised his glass in response.

Since realizing he had wronged her on the plane, he had felt a sense of guilt towards her. He felt he needed to compensate her, to atone for his mistakes, hoping she would forgive him someday.

When he learned that she had sent Su Mengyao to the police, he suppressed his anger and temper. When Wen Zhao proposed that he cooperate with her lie to calm the outside world in exchange for releasing Su Mengyao, he agreed.

She was pleased with his cooperation. He could sense that her destructive and vengeful aura, as if she wanted to take the whole world down with her, was slowly subsiding.

“Gu Xianting, I’ve been looking forward to this honeymoon for a long time and planned it meticulously. I hope you don’t make me angry or do anything to disappoint me,” she said, smiling warmly at him.

He thought, a perfect honeymoon to make her happy and joyful would be his compensation for her, if that’s what she wanted.

“This wine is good, right? I personally selected it from over a hundred types,” she motioned for the butler to pour him another glass.

She had no idea what the man opposite her was thinking, and she didn’t care. From the moment she stood at the wedding scene after her rebirth, Gu Xianting’s thoughts and feelings no longer mattered.

As long as he kept that face, even if he had to pretend, he had to show the expressions she wanted to see.

In her previous life, she was the only one who held onto feelings. But what did she get in the end? Nothing. She was buried in the sea, her body never found.

In this life, by abandoning feelings, she could gain everything. This calculation was clear to everyone.

Watching him drink one glass of wine after another, her smile grew brighter.

Gu Xianting lost track of how much he drank and wasn’t sure if he was already drunk. His gaze stopped flickering. He looked at Wen Zhao’s smiling face, staring as if a mortal coveted a celestial maiden.

She loved that expression and gaze. “Xianting, who is the person sitting opposite you now?”

“It’s Wen Zhao,” his voice was slow and drawn out due to the alcohol, each word lingering ambiguously. “It’s Zhao Zhao.”

“Who’s more beautiful, me or Su Mengyao?” She asked casually, mentioning her as if talking about an irrelevant passerby.

Indeed, even Gu Xianting, whom she had loved deeply, no longer mattered. What was Su Mengyao, who was inferior to her in every way?

“Of course, Zhao Zhao is more beautiful,” he answered without hesitation.

Her beauty was well-known. Several times, candid photos of her were posted online, with many people pleading for her to enter the entertainment industry.

Gu Xianting had only lost his senses after meeting Su Mengyao; his aesthetic judgment remained intact. Comparing the two women’s looks was an insult to Wen Zhao.

Many thought he was blind, but he believed that a person’s inner soul, which was more important than physical appearance, should be high and pure.

He had always convinced himself of this.

But now, at this moment, looking at Wen Zhao smiling like a sea nymph under the moon, his heart began to waver. The principles he had steadfastly upheld seemed to crumble.

How could anyone not love Wen Zhao?

Had he really never loved her?

His heart trembled. He stared at her, murmuring, “Zhao Zhao…”

“Xianting, are you drunk?” She set her glass down, her smile brightening as she saw his dazed state. “If you’re drunk, let’s go back and rest, okay?”

“Okay,” he responded obediently.

She wiped her hands and stood up. The butler, understanding her intent, stepped forward to help support Gu Xianting.

Strictly speaking, Gu Xianting shouldn’t drink due to his head injury, but what did that matter?

Her candlelight dinner had to include the wine she meticulously selected. His injury was of no concern to her.

She only needed to ensure her own happiness.

She and the butler assisted him back to the master bedroom of the villa.

The maid had already filled the bathtub with water. Wen Zhao instructed the butler, “Clean him up.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the butler responded politely.

She went to the adjacent bathroom. Standing under the showerhead, she looked up at the water droplets. The light seemed to distort.

She took a long breath. Although only two days had passed since her rebirth, it felt like two years.

Standing under the shower, she let the hot water warm her body. Only such heat could drive away the bone-chilling cold of the seawater embedded in her bones.

When she returned to the master bedroom with wet hair and a blow dryer, Gu Xianting had already finished his bath. The crisp scent of cedar mixed with the lingering smell of alcohol made one drowsy.

She handed the blow dryer to him, demanding, “Dry my hair.”

“Okay,” the drunken Gu Xianting was unexpectedly compliant, though everything he did was a bit slow.

His hands moved through her wet hair. Her hair was fine and soft but had a lot of volume, becoming tangled if not combed through after washing.

“You’re hurting me!” She frowned in displeasure.

“Sorry, I’ll be gentler,” he softened his voice and adjusted his actions accordingly.

The blow dryer’s wind gradually removed the moisture from her hair, the scent of her shampoo mixing with the mist, making it unexpectedly clingy.

At some point, she turned to face him, her gaze steady. Gu Xianting’s blow dryer had slipped aside, his hand gently resting on her cheek.

She knew he was quite drunk.

Otherwise, how could he look at her with such apparent affection and desire?

“Do you want to kiss me?” She asked, noting the scab on his lip, the result of her bite the previous night.

He didn’t answer. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and she chuckled softly, leaning in to bite his Adam’s apple.

Gu Xianting’s body tensed as if electrified, his breathing becoming labored.

Wen Zhao’s lips traced a path from his Adam’s apple upward, finally landing on his lips.

The air was silent, only the sound of a dragonfly skimming the water. She leaned back on the sofa, and he followed, still seeking her lips.

The atmosphere grew increasingly intimate, the alcohol clouding their minds, and beauty causing confusion. In such a night, anything seemed possible.

“Yao Yao…” An unconscious murmur slipped out, echoing in her ear.