Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“I won’t give you another chance, Lu Jingchuan.” My voice grew clearer and firmer, a surge of power I had never felt before swelling within my heart. Seeing his expression shift from anger to shock, I felt a flicker of satisfaction. Our friends and family were all watching, their whispers rising like a swarm of wild bees, urgent and panicked.

“What do you think you can do?” Lu Jingchuan sneered, the arrogance and mockery in his eyes making me want to laugh. He maintained that facade of gentle warmth, like a camouflaged leopard ready to pounce on unsuspecting prey. “No one is going to believe you.”

“It doesn’t matter whether they believe me or not,” I retorted, my mind already made up. “But I must make sure everyone sees the truth. I won’t let you continue to manipulate this situation!”

Just then, Cheng Xubai slowly walked into the crowd, his gaze shifting back and forth between Lu Jingchuan and me. His brow furrowed slightly, as if he had caught a subtle change in my expression. “If I could rescue you from his clutches, would it make you reconsider all of this?” His voice was low but steady, like a promise carried on the wind.

“You really think I’d believe you?” Lu Jingchuan cut in immediately, a hint of unease crossing his features. He clearly hadn’t expected Cheng Xubai to step forward at a moment like this. “You just don’t want to see my wedding completed.”

“Oh, I very much hope your wedding reaches its conclusion,” Cheng Xubai said, his tone turning icy. “But I hope even more to strip away your disguise and sweep aside all this falsehood.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Lu Jingchuan roared, his voice like thunder. “Who dares to disrupt my rhythm at this wedding!”

“I am the one who dares,” I said firmly. I met Lu Jingchuan’s gaze without fear, though my heart was filled with anticipation and nerves for what came next. In that moment, time seemed to stand still, and the entire scene was thick with confrontation.

“You’re all playing a game, but I am no longer that ‘omnipotent’ pawn of yours,” I said loudly, feeling my voice rise like a sharp blade, cutting through the veil of pretense.

A flash of panic crossed Lu Jingchuan’s face before it turned into rage. His gaze was no longer dismissive; he saw me as a true opponent. “Even if you want to expose me, I’ll fight back.” He pressed closer coldly, forcing me back a few steps until my back hit the wedding stage. The surrounding guests fell silent, their eyes fixed on us, tense and expectant.

“You thought you could build momentum and control everything at this wedding, but you won’t be able to escape the past,” Cheng Xubai spoke again, his voice carrying an unquestionable, unwavering authority.

At that moment, my phone vibrated. It was a text from an unknown number that left me stunned: “He is not easy to deal with; you need to strike hard.” The sender was undoubtedly my father, and his warning made me even more nervous.

“What are you looking at?” Doubt flashed in Lu Jingchuan’s eyes, followed by a flicker of fear. His pressure seemed to focus entirely on my phone in an instant.

“I’m looking at my salvation,” I responded bluntly, secretly emboldening myself. Then, I decisively pressed the recording function on my phone. The entire wedding hall fell silent instantly, every eye drawn to me.

“If things go south today, I’ll make sure there’s no way for you to escape,” I said, my voice low yet clear enough for everyone to hear. I had steered the atmosphere of the scene onto a completely new track, where anticipation and tension intertwined into a complex web.

In his anger, Lu Jingchuan seemed flustered. He waved his hands in the air, constantly trying to find room for a verbal counterattack. “This is just wishful thinking! Do you think I don’t know your weaknesses?”

“I’m not afraid of you,” I shot back, my inner fear instead sparking a deeper courage. Right now, what I had to do was shatter all the falsehoods of this wedding and expose all his lies.

“How dare you!” He approached step by step, his expression twisted. I resolved that I could not back down from this confrontation. Watching him perform lie after lie, humiliating the hollow dreams I once held-the taste of it only made me angrier.

Cheng Xubai’s brow was tightly knit. Sensing the urgency of the situation, he quickly broadcast the key information from the recording to the top of the event’s group chat for everyone to see, then spoke softly, “Of course, one should never underestimate a woman’s intuition and courage.”

Everyone focused on us once more. Lu Jingchuan’s face darkened abruptly, but I had already made up my mind: no matter what, I would stir up this storm for myself. Standing on the edge of life and death, the only thing that kept me from retreating was my self-belief and strength.

“I can tell everyone that today, in my name, the true face and reality of this wedding will be revealed.” I paused for a moment, knowing that no matter how difficult the road ahead might be, there was no turning back.

At that moment, a crisis approached like a whirlwind, finally letting me feel the other side of the suspense. My father’s words pierced my heart like a blade, and I realized this would be the final struggle, a sense of belonging I could not let go of-for my own future and for a freedom no longer bound by chains.

But in that split second, Lu Jingchuan suddenly erupted in fury from the shadows, insisting I had betrayed him. “You’re actively blackening your own name, Nianhe!” That invisible threat lunged at me again, as if trying to drown me in the lies he had fabricated.

However, this time I was fearless-I was prepared for everything. I tilted my chin up slightly. “If you move again, I will make this wedding not just your humiliation, but a price you cannot afford to pay!” In that moment, the messages from my father and Cheng Xubai’s potential support flashed through my mind, and I felt an unprecedented power gathering within me.

“Fine, let’s see what you’re capable of.” Lu Jingchuan’s expression darkened with rage, the murderous intent in his eyes growing more vicious as the tension reached its peak. I knew that every choice I made next would rewrite our future.