Yan Yan - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Choice

Xie Yu and his team arrived at Su’s house at 10:30 a.m. on the wedding day.

As Su Zhan said earlier, he eagerly helped four beautiful bridesmaids block the door to keep Xie Yu and the four best men out of his sister’s bedroom. So Xie Yu had to stuff red envelopes into the room through the crack of the door. Su Zhan always said, “Please, brother,” but he was reluctant to open the door, even when Xie Yu handed him a red envelope.

He didn’t deliberately make things difficult for Xie Yu, but he refused to let him enter the door because once he was allowed to enter this room, his sister would leave with him. As long as she walked out of this door today, she would become a member of someone else’s family. After some time, although he was reluctant, Su Zhan finally opened the door and let Xie Yu and his lackeys in.

After they had done the wedding rituals, the bride was taken away by the bridegroom.

Before going to the reception at the hotel, the bride had to follow the groom home.

Although Xie Yu’s mother, Shen Rong, didn’t like Su Yan, it was her own son’s wedding, so she didn’t cause any trouble.

As the Xie family was a rich and upper-class family, twenty Rolls Royce cars were prepared as wedding cars. In addition, Xie Yu’s many friends drove their luxury cars to help.

On the way to Xie’s house, all kinds of expensive vehicles lined the entire street, causing many passersby to look sideways, and many even took out their mobile phones to record small videos.

Su Yan and Xie Yu sat side by side in the Rolls-Royce Phantom at the front of the team.

Su Yan was very excited along the way; her heart was beating fast, and she was a little embarrassed to look at Xie Yu, so since she got in the car, she kept her head down and stared at the bouquet in her hand.

It was very quiet in the car, and Su Yan wanted to talk with Xie Yu, but she became hesitant because she was shy. After waiting for a while, she raised her head and looked at the man beside her quietly. She was stunned.

Xie Yu’s eyes were not on her, but he was looking out the car window. He was frowning, his thin jawline was tight, and his expression looked a little tired and depressed.

Actually, Xie Yu was fighting a battle inside his heart. In the morning, because of the wedding atmosphere, he didn’t have time to think about yesterday’s incident. But now, the feeling of unease that lingered in his heart came back again in the silent car.

–Flashback–

“If you cancel the wedding, I will reward you with a heart that matches your father; otherwise, you will be punished, and your Xie’s family will be ruined.”

That was the first sentence of the strange call he received last night. The man’s voice that called him was low, calm, and without any emotion, but the words were full of threats and oppression. He didn’t say much, but they accurately caught his death points: the wedding or the heart.

The first reaction that popped into his mind at the time was a prank. So he roared and asked, “Who the hell are you?”

However, the other party didn’t speak or hang up the phone. That man just kept silent and listened to his rapid and frightened gasps, as if he were torturing him. He was still admiring his terrified expression, like abusing a powerless goat. In the end, he couldn’t hold his breath and asked again, “Who are you?”

His ears were filled with the sound of the other person’s fingers drumming on the table, which was like the sound of a butcher’s knife rubbing on the ground in the pitch-black night, suffocating him.

The knocking sound eventually stopped, but before Xie Yu could exhale a sigh of relief, the other party said softly and playfully, “I don’t like to force others, Mr. Xie; you choose for yourself. Do you like to bear the infamy of ‘thin lover’ or the infamy of ‘father-killing’?”

‘His love or his father’s life?’ Xie Yu was torn between loyalty and filial piety.

Suddenly, Xie Yu felt as though he was being firmly squeezed by an iron arm. “Why? Why should I believe you? Is it interesting to make a joke like this?”

“Mr. Xie, you don’t have much time.” The other person hung up the phone.

Xie Yu became very confused and dialed that number, but the phone was already turned off.

It was like having a brief nightmare, it was chaotic, and there was no distinction between true and false. Only the sound of his erratic breathing lingered in the pitch-black bedroom as the night passed by, like a drowning person who had just been pulled from the water.

— End of flashback–

He was no longer sure it was a mean prank, but he wasn’t sure it wasn’t either.

His father was a heart patient, and he needed to have a heart transplant. They had been waiting for a long time. Even if there was just a one in 10,000 chance that he could succeed, he would attempt it because if he did not conduct the procedure, his father would undoubtedly pass away.

‘But who can be sure that that person was telling the truth? What if he fabricated a heart out of thin air?’ Am I going to give up the girl I love because of some empty words from a stranger?’

Besides, the wedding was about to start in a few hours, and now that all the relatives and friends of the two families had gathered in Dongfu, how could he cancel the wedding suddenly?

Reasonably, he couldn’t do what he said.

He dismissed that person’s threats and just treated the phone call as a prank, moving forward with the wedding step by step. He would rather act on the established facts than pay attention to the threats of a stranger he didn’t know.

However, there was always a slight unease in his heart—that man’s heartless voice would occasionally appear in his mind, hovering over him like a sword and preventing him from fully devoting himself to the joy of marrying his beloved girl.

“What’s the matter with you?”

Xie Yu abruptly regained consciousness after hearing Su Yan’s words, which brought him back to reality. “No, it is nothing.”

She scowled slightly and remarked, “You seem to have something to be concerned about.” She didn’t believe what he had said.

Xie Yu subconsciously avoided her gaze. “Don’t worry, nothing is wrong.”

Su Yan was hesitant and slightly pursed her red lips, and she gave him a worried glance.

When Xie Yu saw Su Yan’s worried expression, he suddenly felt a little guilty. Today was a day of great joy, but he couldn’t make her happy. What kind of man is he? He quickly adjusted his mood, held her hand, interlocked their fingers, and assured her. “It’s really fine, I’m just a little nervous.”

Su Yan was startled, with a surprised expression on her face. “Are you still nervous? “

In her impression, Xie Yu was a fearless young man who was not afraid of anything. She had never seen him nervous and even wondered if this person couldn’t even write the word “nervous.”

Su Yan suddenly remembered what happened in her second year of high school. Six high schools in Dongfu City held a basketball tournament. Their school was unlucky, and they had to face the most powerful basketball team in Dongfu, the No. 2 Middle School basketball team, in the first round. At that time, everyone in their school was not optimistic, and they were 100% sure that they would not even pass the preliminary round. Although everyone was not optimistic, Xie Yu, the captain of their school basketball team, didn’t have any negative thoughts about the match. Half an hour before the start of the game, their school reporter interviewed Xie Yu: “In the first game, our team has to face the powerful No. 2 Middle School. As the captain, are you nervous?”     

At that time, Xie Yu patted the basketball casually, facing the camera, and replied with a chuckle, “It’s just a mob, so why be nervous?”

The reporter’s camera was connected to the big live screen in the stadium. So the sentence “a mob” made Xie Yu get scolded by six other schools in just 20 minutes. However, Xie Yu didn’t care. With contempt in his eyes, he entered the basketball court calmly.

Other schools that participated in the tournament were sure that Xie Yu would lose, so they were all waiting to see his jokes, but he didn’t let those people get what they wanted. He tossed and turned on the field like a fish in water and finally led the whole team to win the much-anticipated game.

It was he who stood proudly and rebelliously at a time like that, so Su Yan didn’t believe that Xie Yu would be nervous because of such a matter as marriage.

Xie Yu also saw suspicion in her eyes, raised his brows, and said confidently, “It’s my first time getting married. Can’t I be nervous?”

Su Yan rolled her eyes. “Hmmm…”

Xie Yu suddenly thought of something, brought his thin lips to her ear, and said something softly.

Su Yan blushed instantly, stared at him angrily and shyly, and said softly, “Rogue!”

Seeing Su Yan’s blood-red ears, Xie Yu suddenly felt itchy, wishing he could go straight into the bridal chamber and take possession of her for the first time.

Taking a deep breath, he suppressed the restlessness, raised his hand, and wanted to pinch her round and full ears, but Su Yan suddenly turned her face away, not letting him touch them, and kept a straight face, whispering, “Anyway, it’s not the first time for you.”

Everyone knew that his first time was with Jiang Qi, his ex-girlfriend.

There had been many, many times between them.

Even though she understood in her heart that worrying about this sort of thing right now was nothing more than trouble-seeking and degrading to herself, she still felt uneasy.

If it were any other woman, she would just forget that, but Jiang Qi was the one she hated the most. Since she was a student, she hated Jiang Qi the most, just as Jiang Qi also hated her.

Xie Yu was taken aback by Su Yan’s words and immediately admitted his error. “My fault, I don’t keep the morality of men, darling, I will kneel on the washboard tonight.”

Su Yan looked at him, saying, “You have no contact with her now, right?”

Xie Yu: “Absolutely not; I almost forgot what she looks like.”

Su Yan: “Hey, I don’t believe it!”

Xie Yu: “If I lied to you, then I’m a puppy.”

Su Yan: “You were originally a puppy. ”     

Xie Yu replied with a smile, “Marry a chicken and follow a chicken, marry a dog and follow a dog.”

Su Yan couldn’t help laughing. “You… I won’t be a puppy with you!”

…………………….

A pilgrimage ceremony was held under the crowd of onlookers, and surrounded by them, they symbolically entered a bridal house and then went to the five-star hotel where the wedding banquet was held.

After arriving at the hotel, Su Yan had to change her wedding dress and do makeup first, while Xie Yu was waiting for her in the backstage area of the banquet hall.

At that time, the phone vibrated suddenly, and Xie Yu took it out of his trouser pocket and looked at it, frowning instantly. It was the same unfamiliar number from last night.

‘What is this person trying to do? Why?’ Xie Yu held his breath subconsciously and opened the message. The moment he opened the text message, his face became bloodless.

In the message, there was a picture of a heart in a medical refrigerator, and it was rosy and fresh, symbolising strong vitality and strong temptation.

His hands began to tremble, and he called back immediately.

The other party, on the other hand, did not answer the phone right away, as if torturing him, making him suffer for a long time in the extended waiting tone.

“What on earth are you trying to do?” Xie Yu gritted his teeth when the person from the other side was connected to the call.

“This is the heart of a brain-dead patient, and he is very young, having just turned twenty-two years old, and his parents signed the organ donation consent form last night.” This man’s voice was lighter than that of the man last night. Obviously not the same one. “This heart has just been removed from his chest. If Mr. Xie doesn’t need it, they will donate it to those in need.”

‘Twenty-two years old, very young, and only recently removed…’ those words began to echo in Xie Yu’s mind repeatedly. For Xie Yu, every item was a great temptation, and it was his father’s life.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and spoke hoarsely. “What does he want?” 

The other party replied politely, “Young Master Xie, you know what he wanted. Cancel the wedding.”

‘He wants me to break off the marriage. He wants me to be a heartless man in front of everyone.’

Xie Yu almost roared, “Impossible!” 

The other party’s voice was still calm, and he kindly reminded Xie Yu. “Master Xie, this is the last chance he gives you, don’t be ignorant.”

Xie Yu: “Then let him come and talk to me!” 

The other party said, “He doesn’t want to.”

Xie Yu gritted his teeth and was silent for a long time. “Why should I trust you? I don’t even know who you are!” 

The other party replied, “Do you want to know?” 

Xie Yu: “Of course I want to!” 

The other party replied, “Then you have to bear the consequences.”

Xie Yu: “…” 

The other party: “Do you still dare to ask about him?”

Xie Yu: “I don’t dare. Ha… Since he dares to do such a thing, is he afraid of letting others know?”

The other person ignored his taunts. “The most luxurious entertainment in Dongfu was your mother’s line of work before being married. She hosted 48 guests at the Wutong Water Pavilion in the city, including your father. I can also provide you with the exact guest information if you’d like to see it.”

Xie Yu: “…” ‘What is he talking about?’

“Not only that, your father had a wife and a son before he married your mother. Later, the mother and son died in a suspicious car accident abroad, so you successfully became the grandson of Xie.”

 “…”

“Ten years ago, your uncle raped and forced a young girl to kill herself. He then found someone to take responsibility for and escaped from prison.”

Xie Yu:  “….”

Xie Yu had never heard of these things, but the other party kept talking about them, and every word he said was like a knife, cruelly lingering and tarnishing his world and soul.

“…”

“Are you still there?” the other party asked. 

Xie Yu was suddenly furious, and the veins on his forehead burst out. “You f*cking shut up! Shut up!”

‘Fake! All fake! Totally impossible!’ His heart was on the verge of collapse.

“Actually, the Xie family has many wonderful stories, but considering that you are still an immature child, he won’t tell you,” the other party said. “But if you insist on knowing his identity, or if you can’t control your own mouth and reveal this matter, then the Xie family’s scandal will be made public.”

Xie Yu: “…” 

The other party: “It’s up to you whether to save my father or go ahead with the wedding.  He doesn’t compel you, it’s your decision. However, I should point out to you that if your mother and grandfather learn that you killed your father in order to wed a woman, they might revoke your inheritance rights, and I fear that the family will become restless.”

Xie Yu: “…”

Before he could speak again, Xie Yu hung up the phone.

A long time passed after the call ended, but Xie Yu still couldn’t think clearly about what to do. His mind was also blank. ‘Father, heart, face, wedding, inheritance, grandfather, uncle, mother…’ These things almost crushed him.

He was overwhelmed and just wanted to escape from reality.

The wedding emcee came to him at an unknown time and called him several times before tapping his shoulder.

“Why is the groom in a daze?” The master of ceremonies urged cheerfully, “The bride and the bride’s father are ready, and now they are waiting for you to take the stage.”

End of Chapter 5

Have a nice day!