This is my boss! My livelihood!
Before I even think about whether my colleagues know, how am I supposed to face her at the office? And what about my newlywed wife? How do I explain this to her? Just after our wedding night, and now someone else has taken her place?
With these thoughts racing through my mind, I hurriedly threw myself onto the bed, grabbed my phone, and dialed Yao Hui's number.
“Xiaohui, where are you? Please come and help me…” Yao Hui's voice was laced with tears.
My heart tightened suddenly, as if gripped by a hand. Could it be? Is she with another man…?
The people who caused the ruckus at the wedding yesterday were all childhood friends of mine. I considered them brothers, yet they wanted to put a green hat on me?
“Where are you? I'm coming to find you right now!” My teeth clenched together in anger.
“I... I don’t know either. Wait, I'll send you my location…”
Yao Hui sent me her location, and I recognized it immediately; it was the hotel run by Ma Mingyuan's family in Old Town.
I rushed out the door and hailed a cab, heading straight for the hotel. On the way, I called Ma Mingyuan, unleashing a torrent of curses.
“Ming Yuan, I’ll f*** your grandmother! What did you do to my wife yesterday?”
“Ah?” came Ming Yuan’s lazy and confused voice from the other end of the line.
“What did we do? It was all part of the normal process. Are you out of your mind?”
He continued nonchalantly, “Hey, let me ask you—did you sleep well last night?”
His casual tone only infuriated me further. Did Manager Yu collude with them to willingly steal my wedding night? If it was an accident, maybe there was a chance for reconciliation; but if it was all premeditated, then Yao Hui and I would never be able to clear this up.
“Get lost! I'm asking you something serious! What did you do to Yao Hui yesterday?” My anger boiled over.
"Cut it out, can't you check for yourself? She's at my hotel," Ming Yuan said before hanging up the phone.
When I burst into the hotel room, it was a complete mess. Food scraps were strewn across the floor, mixed with broken bottles and shards of glass. Yao Hui sat on the bed, curled up like a frightened kitten, staring blankly ahead. Her clothes showed clear signs of having been torn.
I kicked aside the debris on the floor and rushed over, pulling her into my arms. "Yao Hui! Yao Hui!" I called softly.
Finally, she trembled and hugged me tightly, bursting into tears that were laced with desperate questions. "Xiaohui, is what they said true? Did you and Manager Yu... yesterday..."
"What did they say? Don't listen to their nonsense!" I denied vehemently, though my voice betrayed a hint of panic at being discovered. "By the way, why didn't you call me sooner? What did they do to you?"
"They wouldn't let me call. They said it's a rule around here that on the wedding night, the couple has to sleep separately. It's a test of loyalty..."
I had heard of this ridiculous custom before, but most places had abolished it. I couldn't believe my hometown was still so backward and vulgar.
"You believed their nonsense?"
"I did. Before I left home, Mother told me the same thing," Yao Hui sniffled softly. "She said if we get through this test, we'll definitely have a happy marriage and grow old together. If we don't pass it, at least we'll feel indebted to each other; even if it's just psychological compensation, we might still be close for a few years after marriage."
"What kind of twisted logic is that? We're both working in the city..."
"What haven't you seen? You're not someone who just goes with the flow, are you? Why are you confused now?"
I began to blame her, but more than that, I was hiding the guilt I felt inside.
As for whether Yao Hui had submitted, I couldn't say for sure, but I knew that I had indeed overstepped with Yu Jiamin.
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