The Imperial Capital's Shangri-La Grand Hotel.
Crystal chandeliers dazzled blindingly, a red carpet stretched from the entrance all the way to the stage, flanked by imported flowers worth millions on either side.
Gu Qingran stood in the bride's lounge, staring at the exquisitely doll-like face in the mirror, her fingers clutching the hem of her wedding dress tightly.
White veil, diamonds, roses.
How ironic.
On this very day in her previous life, she had worn this exact gown, foolishly waiting for Lu Jingting to come pick her up.
What she ended up waiting for, though?
The groom, arm in arm with his white moonlight stand-in Su Wan'er, striding into the wedding venue. In front of five hundred guests, he announced, "Sorry, Qingran. The person I've always loved is Wan'er."
She had fainted from the humiliation on the spot.
When she woke up, the entire internet was mocking her as the "backup bride" and "failed lapdog climber."
Her parents, humiliated, cut ties with her outright.
Her sister, Gu Qingyin, kicked her while she was down, teaming up with the Lu family to boot her out of the Gu household, freezing all her cards, leaving her without even a place to live.
And in the end?
Three years later, Lu Jingting and Su Wan'er joined forces to kill her. As she lay dying, she was five months pregnant, her body dumped into a suburban drainage ditch.
"Heh."
Gu Qingran tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Thank goodness heaven had eyes and let her be reborn on the day of the wedding.
This lifetime—
Screw serving them!
"Bang!"
The lounge door was suddenly shoved open.
Makeup artist Xiao Chen burst in, flustered: "Miss Gu! Something's wrong! Mr. Lu... he's... he's walking in with Miss Su!"
It was here.
Gu Qingran sneered inwardly.
The script was playing out exactly the same.
"What did he say?" Her voice was terrifyingly calm.
Xiao Chen stammered, "He... he said the person he loves is Su Wan'er, and that today's wedding... was a mistake..."
"The guests outside are in an uproar! Your parents' faces are green with anger! Your sister told me to call you out to clean up the mess..."
Clean up the mess? Screw that.
Gu Qingran stood up, her ten-centimeter stilettos clicking crisply against the marble floor.
"Let's go. Time to watch the show."
"Huh?" Xiao Chen was dumbfounded. "Miss Gu, you..."
"Watch how my ex digs his own grave."
The wedding venue was already a chaotic mess.
Lu Jingting, in a sharp black suit, stood on the stage holding the hand of Su Wan'er, who was draped in a white gown.
Su Wan'er wept like a pear blossom in the rain, looking pitiful: "I'm sorry... It's all my fault... I shouldn't have come back to the country... Brother Jingting was clearly supposed to marry Sister Qingran..."
The guests below whispered among themselves:
"Isn't the Lu family heir just too scummy?"
"But that Su Wan'er really does look exactly like his first love..."
"Tsk tsk, the backup bride must be crying her eyes out."
"The Gu family just lost all face..."
Gu Qingran's parents sat in the front row, their faces ashen.
Father Gu, Gu Jianguo, trembled with rage: "Lu Jingting! What the hell do you mean by this!"
Lu Jingting's expression was stone-cold: "Uncle Gu, I'm sorry. But I can't lie to myself, or to Qingran. The person I've loved from beginning to end is Wan'er."
"You!" Mother Gu, Lin Wanyi, nearly fainted from fury.
At that moment.
"Click."
"Click."
"Click."
The sound of high heels approached from afar.
Everyone turned their heads in unison.
Gu Qingran, in her white wedding gown, strode in on sky-high heels, her face expressionless.
Her features were exquisitely painted, her skin glowing white. Those almond eyes were now as cold as ice.
The entire hall fell silent.
Lu Jingting saw her, a flicker of guilt crossing his face: "Qingran, I'm sorry..."
"Sorry?"
Gu Qingran stopped three meters from him.
Her red lips curled into a mocking smile.
"Lu Jingting, do you know what you look like right now?"
Lu Jingting frowned: "What?"
"Like a pile of shit just fished out of the sewer."
"!"
The whole room gasped.
Su Wan'er's face paled: "Sister Qingran..."
"And you." Gu Qingran's gaze swept toward her. "White lotus stand-in, huh? You act the part well, but I don't buy it."
"I..." Su Wan'er's tears plopped down one after another.
Lu Jingting immediately shielded her: "Qingran! You're going too far! Wan'er didn't do anything wrong!"
"Oh, she didn't? Then I must have."
Gu Qingran laughed.
She laughed until tears came.
"It must have been me who went blind and fell for trash like you."
"It must have been me who lost my mind, thinking three years by your side would make you love me."
"It must have been me who was the real idiot, treating you like a human being."
She stepped closer, one foot after another.
Lu Jingting retreated under the force of her presence.
"Lu Jingting, I'm not marrying you."
"Go live happily with your white moonlight stand-in."
"I wish you an early heir—and may all your descendants be greens."
With that.
In front of all five hundred guests.
"Riiip—"
She tore off the hem of her wedding dress!
Revealing the black bodycon gown she'd changed into underneath!
The room exploded!
"Holy shit!"
"She came prepared?!"
"This counterattack is badass as hell!"
Gu Qingran balled up the gown and hurled it straight at Lu Jingting's face.
"Here, this junk's for you."
"Perfect for mopping the floor."
Lu Jingting was stunned.
By the time he snapped out of it, Gu Qingran was already turning away gracefully on her heels.
At the door.
She glanced back at the dumbfounded crowd and waved.
"Ladies and gentlemen, sorry about this—the wedding's canceled."
"But no worries."
"In three days, I'll hold another one."
"As for the groom..."
She hooked her lips into a smile, her eyes dangerous and alluring.
"He'll be a hundred times better than this trash."
With that.
She strode away.
Leaving stunned silence in her wake.
Five seconds later.
"Aaaah, Gu Qingran is so badass!"
"Sis, I'm your fan!"
"Lu Jingting, you're garbage!"
"Check Weibo! It's already trending!"
Lu Jingting's face turned livid as he stared at his phone.
Trending #1: #LuHeirWeddingTurnsIntoBattlefield#
Trending #2: #GuQingranBoldlyCallsOffWedding#
Trending #3: #BackupBrideSlaysWhiteMoonlight#
It was over.
Completely over.
He looked at Su Wan'er, who was pale and tear-streaked.
"Brother Jingting... what do we do... it's all my fault..."
Lu Jingting's heart softened, and he pulled her into his arms: "It's okay, don't be scared. I'm here."
But he had no idea.
The woman he'd just discarded.
In three days' time.
Would become the most revered woman in the entire empire.
Gu Qingran stepped out of the hotel.
A cold wind hit her, making her shiver.
December in the Imperial Capital was freezing.
She'd been too impulsive and hadn't even grabbed a coat.
"Damn."
She was about to hail a cab.
When a black Rolls-Royce Phantom pulled up slowly in front of her.
The window rolled down.
Revealing a face so handsome it didn't seem human.
The man sat in a wheelchair, a smile playing on his lips, but his eyes were as cold as a frozen lake.
"Miss Gu, need a hand?"
Gu Qingran froze.
This face...
She knew it.
In her previous life, when she was down and out on the streets, it was this wheelchair-bound man who had taken her in.
But in that life, on her first day, he'd called her "the maid bought to tend to daily needs."
She'd been his nanny for three years.
Washing, cooking, emptying bedpans.
Finally, when his legs healed and he inherited the Gu family's trillions in assets, he tossed her a card with five million before leaving.
Said, "This is your pay for three years. We're square."
She'd cried and refused it.
Only to be thrown out by his assistant.
It wasn't until later that she learned.
This man's name was Gu Ting Shen.
He was the true powerholder of the Gu family.
And the undisputed #1 on the global dark web bounty list—"Asura."
But in her previous life, she'd been foolish enough to think he was just a cripple.
"Heh."
Gu Qingran smiled.
This lifetime.
She was going to rewrite the script.
She walked to the car, leaned down, and met the man's gaze with burning intensity.
"I could use the help."
"But I have a condition."
The man raised an eyebrow, intrigued: "Speak."
"Marry me."
"Right now. Immediately. No delays."
The air went still for three seconds.
The man suddenly laughed.
He laughed until his eyes teared up.
"Interesting."
"Miss Gu, do you even know who I am?"
"I do."
Gu Qingran stared straight into his eyes.
"You're Gu Ting Shen, the Gu family's exiled illegitimate son. Three years ago, a car accident left you paralyzed in both legs. Now you live in the family's abandoned old estate, scraping by on a monthly allowance of fifty thousand."
"Right?"
The man's gaze deepened.
"And you still want to marry me?"
"Yes."
Gu Qingran was resolute.
"Anyway, I'm the laughingstock of the entire Imperial Capital now. Marrying anyone is the same."
"Marrying you, at least..."
She paused, her lips curving into a smile.
"At least you're hot."
The man: "..."
Silence for a few seconds.
He suddenly burst out laughing.
"Fine."
"I agree."
He raised his hand, his long fingers tapping the air twice.
His assistant immediately handed over a document from behind.
"Prenup agreement. Take a look. If it's good, sign it, and we'll head to the civil bureau right now."
Gu Qingran took it and skimmed through.
Party A: Gu Ting Shen
Party B: Gu Qingran
Terms:
1. After marriage, neither party interferes in the other's private life.
2. Automatic divorce after one year.
3. Upon divorce, Party A compensates Party B with ten million.
Gu Qingran nearly laughed out loud.
Ten million?
In her previous life, on the day you inherited the family fortune, even a single watch of yours cost more than that.
Whatever. Fine.
Her goal this lifetime was to drag this fake-cripple bigshot into the light and spoil him rotten.
She picked up the pen.
Scribble scribble scribble—signed her name.
"Let's go. Civil bureau."
The man watched her decisive retreating figure, his eyes shadowed and inscrutable.
This woman...
Was nothing like the file said.
Interesting.