Chapter 1: The Bridal Chamber Betrothal

Xiao Xi’s wedding day was anything but quiet.

Of course, this clamor was confined strictly to the family. It was a bright, sunny morning, with people bustling in and out of Lihua City Central Hospital. In one particular ward, a recently awakened youth was trying to recall why he was lying there.

The boy on the hospital bed was named Shi Xi. He was fair-skinned, stood only 1.6 meters tall, and sported long, flowing silver hair. From a distance, one might easily mistake him for a girl. Was this how avant-garde students were these days? The young nurse watched the beautiful boy with keen interest.

However, Xiao Xi didn’t notice her gaze. He was still pondering the reason for his hospitalization, his memory a bit fragmented.

Oh, right. He had been struck by a speeding electric bike. Fortunately, his injuries weren’t severe; he had merely fainted from shock.

“Shi Xi, someone’s here to pick you up for discharge.”

The nurse called out to Xiao Xi. Hearing her, Xiao Xi turned his head, his eyes widening. At the doorway stood a woman, also with long silver hair, lightly made up, smiling as she looked at him.

This, this was…

Xiao Xi was moved to tears. Since childhood, his parents, who lived abroad, had entrusted him to the care of Aunt Shi, a close friend. Far from finding him a burden, Aunt Shi had always treated him as her own child! She showed no favoritism between him, who wasn’t even on her household register, and her two biological daughters. And now, when he was in trouble, she cared for him so deeply. ‘Aunt Shi… you’re so kind!’

With this thought, Xiao Xi couldn’t help but call out loudly to the silver-haired woman who eagerly approached him, “Auntie~”

****

The beautiful silver-haired young woman’s face instantly darkened.

Her expression turned ferocious, as if undergoing a sudden transformation, making Xiao Xi’s heart skip a beat.

‘Ah, this…’

Xiao Xi glanced at her long black dress.

“Uh… hahaha, I was just joking, Sister Yuan, just joking… Hey! Don’t hit me! Not the face!”

Shi Yuan grabbed her bag and gave Xiao Xi a thorough beating, forcing him to leap off the bed to escape. The two stood confronting each other across the bed. Shi Yuan’s anger had mostly dissipated, but she still raised her bag and asked Xiao Xi, displeased, “What did you call me?”

“Sis… Sister,” Shi Xi mumbled, wiping a bead of sweat. ‘Hiss—this person before me is Aunt Shi’s eldest daughter, Shi Yuan. Having grown up together as childhood sweethearts, Shi Xi had always called her Sister or Yuan-jie.’

“Do I look that old?”

“No, no, Sister is the youngest, hahaha—”

“Hmm, that’s better.” Shi Yuan seemed satisfied with his answer. “From now on, you don’t need to call me Sister. Your address is changing.”

“Huh?” Xiao Xi looked bewildered. ‘It can change?’

‘Shi Yuan isn’t my Sister Yuan… what else could she be?’

“From now on…” A blush crept onto the young woman’s cheeks. “Just call me husband, Xiao Xi.”

“Nani?”

“I’m serious, Xiao Xi. You are my fiancée. For all these years, my mother has been looking after you for your parents, all for this day! Resistance is futile. Just submit to me!”

Shi Yuan’s earnest declaration left Xiao Xi stunned for the entire year to come.

It was true that Xiao Xi had been cared for by Aunt Shi, but he had never imagined that the reason for her care wasn’t pity, nor was it merely a strong friendship with his parents. It was so he could… marry her daughter?

‘Wait a minute…’

‘Why ‘marry’? Does she mean I’m to be a live-in son-in-law?’

‘Oh, if that’s the case, Xiao Xi could somewhat understand it now. The Shi family had a large business, but no sons, so they wanted to bring in a son-in-law to prevent their assets from falling into outsiders’ hands. And if they found someone from society, they couldn’t trust them, so it was better to simply arrange a child betrothal with a close friend.’

‘Hiss—’

Although he now understood, Xiao Xi suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. All these years of affection, were they all leading up to this moment? Was dressing him up like a girl, raising him like a girl since childhood, also to cater to Sister Yuan’s preferences?

“I refuse!” Xiao Xi immediately shouted with conviction. But before he could finish, four burly men suddenly rushed into the ward. They appeared to be Shi family bodyguards. They lifted Xiao Xi, and despite his wails, carried him directly out.

He was delivered straight to the wedding venue!

“Deng deng deng deng~ Deng deng deng deng~”

‘Oh, this familiar music… He had heard it countless times when he used to crash banquets. He never expected it to be his own wedding day.’

“Let me go~ You all let me go~!” Xiao Xi was on the verge of tears. The burly men ignored him. Once they reached their destination, they set Xiao Xi down. Several young women immediately swarmed him, applying makeup and putting him in a wedding dress. The process was astonishingly fast, like an assembly line.

And so, a brand new, bridal Xiao Xi made his appearance, looking utterly bewildered.

Wearing the wedding dress, Xiao Xi couldn’t bring himself to look at his reflection in the mirror.

‘To think… he was only sixteen, and already getting married. And he was a boy, no less. This was truly…’ If word got out to his school, how would he ever face anyone? ‘Wuwu.’

“And now, let us welcome the bride!”

The emcee proudly announced the next part of the ceremony into a high-decibel microphone. As the wedding march began, Xiao Xi was swept along the red carpet by bridesmaids from who-knew-where.

Along the way, various dignitaries of Lihua City watched the bride with interest. ‘Ah, the bride is truly a beauty,’ people couldn’t help but nod and praise each other.

“This beautiful bride, do you take this groom before you? Do you promise to love him for a lifetime, whether in poverty or wealth?”

The emcee asked Xiao Xi.

Xiao Xi looked up, meeting the gaze of the young woman opposite him, dressed in a suit with her hair tied in a high ponytail. ‘Sister looked so handsome today…’

She was smiling back at him, their eyes meeting. Xiao Xi gathered his courage.

‘Oh no, if he said no, Sister would kill him, wouldn’t she?’

‘So many societal elites were watching below…’

‘But to make vows at a wedding… wouldn’t it be too embarrassing? After all, he was a boy!’

“I… I do… ?”

The emcee ignored the trailing question mark and turned to Shi Yuan, asking, “This groom, do you take this beautiful bride before you? Do you promise to take her as your wife and love her for a lifetime, whether in health or sickness?”

“I do!”

Shi Yuan suddenly stepped forward, embraced Xiao Xi, and kissed him. The crowd in the hall erupted in cheers. Another blessed couple; let’s wish them a happy life together.

****

That night…

Shi Yuan carried her foolish childhood sweetheart brother—no, now her wife—back to the bridal chamber.

Xiao Xi’s face was flushed. He had been toasted by too many friends and family earlier and was now quite drunk.

In a hazy stupor, he suddenly reached out, wrapped his arms around his sister’s neck, and grinned foolishly at her.

“Foolish Xiao Xi, were you happy today?”

“Hmm… a bit sudden.” Xiao Xi was quite dizzy from the alcohol, but he felt very happy in his sister’s arms. “But I’m still very happy.”

“Xiao Xi, Sister can make you even happier~”

Shi Yuan smiled, gently tossing the beauty in her arms onto the bed, then bounced onto the bed herself. In a dance of feigned resistance and willing surrender…

“Sister, don’t… can you be a little gentler…?” Xiao Xi asked timidly.

“That depends on how well-behaved you are, my wife.”

The gaze slowly pulled away from the bedroom door, closing it to grant the newlyweds a little private space.

*Cough, cough…*

****

The next morning, a disheveled Xiao Xi climbed out of bed and looked at his sleeping sister beside him.

‘Holy shit!’

‘He had drunk too much and actually gotten married!’

‘Something’s not right!’

‘Was he just going to submit to the fate of a child bride?’

‘No, absolutely not!’

Xiao Xi quietly slipped off the bed, then gently pushed open the door, slowly, escaping the bridal chamber.

He glanced around outside. ‘Phew—thank goodness, this was still his own home.’ It seemed the Shi family hadn’t been so insane as to prepare a separate bridal chamber for him and his sister. If they had, escaping would be a real problem.

‘Ah… it’s morning.’ Xiao Xi felt a slight ache in his thighs. ‘Sister must be very tired too,’ he thought. ‘He should make her something nice for breakfast this morning.’

Lost in thought, Xiao Xi walked to the kitchen and began chopping vegetables, wondering what to make for breakfast, while…

…while realizing something was seriously wrong!

Xiao Xi put down the kitchen knife. He suddenly understood! This wasn’t right! What was the difference between him now and a newlywed wife devoted to the kitchen? A boy who lost himself in the kitchen had no future!

‘He couldn’t be a house-husband!’

‘And he was a boy! How could he marry into a family? Whatever he became, he couldn’t be a child bride!’

Xiao Xi felt his breathing become erratic. ‘No, he had to find a way to escape!’

‘He hadn’t registered the marriage yet, and he wasn’t even at the legal age to marry. No fear!’

‘He would escape the Shi family, and a few years later, the Dragon King would return to his throne! Even if he were to marry Sister Yuan, he would have to formally and honorably marry her, not become her child bride in such a confused state!’

Hm…

Xiao Xi nodded, his mind made up.

“I’m back…”

The Shi family’s front door suddenly swung open. Xiao Xi turned his head to see a cute girl with short hair standing at the entrance, about to walk in. It was Shi Meng, Aunt Shi’s younger daughter, his childhood sweetheart, his little sister.

‘Phew… why wasn’t it Aunt Shi?’

Xiao Xi desperately wanted to confront her right now!

“Xiao Meng…” Tears streamed down Xiao Xi’s face. Shi Meng looked bewildered. ‘Ah, why is Brother Xi crying?’

Because in Shi Meng’s eyes, Xiao Xi was an adorable older brother, she was worried to see him crying like this. She rushed forward and wiped the tears from his face.

Looking at the terribly wronged Xiao Xi, Shi Meng was silent for a moment, then asked, “Brother Xi, what’s wrong?”

“Xiao Meng, save me, or I’m going to turn from a brother into a sister-in-law!”

“Huh?” Shi Meng’s face was a question mark. ‘How could he become a sister-in-law?’

“You don’t know yet?” Xiao Xi also noticed something was off. He felt Shi Meng was completely clueless.

“What’s going on? I just went to the next city for a few days, did Sister bully Brother Xi again?” Shi Meng asked.

“No, it’s not bullying, she already married me!” Xiao Xi angrily thumped the sofa with his head. “Xiao Meng, can you believe it? Auntie looked after me just so I could become Sister Yuan’s child bride!”

“What?!” Shi Meng was dumbfounded, utterly shocked. After a long moment, having listened to Xiao Xi’s account of the past few days, she finally understood his feelings.

“That’s too much!” Shi Meng frowned. ‘Why had Mom never mentioned this? Marrying off her childhood sweetheart, Brother Shi Xi, in such a muddled way, and calling it a child bride arrangement? That’s just too much!’

‘This was completely… a relic of the old era!’

Shi Meng indignantly declared, “Brother! I support you! You can choose the girl you want to marry; there’s no need to be arranged by my mom! I’ll take you to meet someone who will definitely help you!”

“Really?” Xiao Xi’s eyes welled up. Without a second thought, he prepared to leave with Shi Meng to find help.

“Where… are you two going?”

Just as they were about to leave, Shi Yuan’s voice suddenly echoed from behind them.

‘Ah, haha…’

‘To turn around?’

‘Or not to turn around?’

‘That is the question…’