Everything she'd endured would finally be worth it.
She rose, smoothing out the red silk robe that shimmered under the light, and walked to the window.
Outside, the courtyard glowed with paper lanterns, servants busy setting up decorations for the morning ceremony.
It looked beautiful, like the beginning of a beautiful dream.
A soft knock echoed from the door, pulling her out of her thoughts. Her assistant, Qiao, walked in with a tablet in hand, her face glowing with excitement.
"Miss Lin, I have double-checked everything," she said quickly and you could feel how excited she was from her tone, "Hair and makeup team arrives at 5 AM. The Photographer at 6. Your dress fitting is also confirmed, and the Riverside Hotel has your bridal suite ready. All two hundred guests have RSVP'd, and...." Qiao's eyes sparkled, "....the drone light show is programmed with your initials. It's going to be so romantic!"
Shuyin smiled at her, seeing how excited she was, the expression on her face feeling fragile. "Thank you, Qiao. You've been nothing but incredible."
"Are you kidding?" Qiao clasped her digital tablet to her chest, her eyes shining with genuine excitement. "This is a real-life fairy tale! Six years together, and he still looks at you like you're the only person in the room. That's the dream, Miss Lin. That's the ultimate goal."
Six years.
The words echoed in the suddenly quiet room. It had been six years since a nervous seventeen-year-old Shuyin was dragged by her father to a high-profile tech summit, a transparent attempt to mingle with the powerful Lu family.
While other guests her age were distracted by their phones, her attention was captured by the young man on stage.
Lu Zeyan, barely older than her, was confidently pitching his first big idea, a new platform for eco-friendly city planning. His passion was magnetic.
Then, amidst the crowd, their eyes met. And he warmly smiled, a warm, genuine smile that seemed meant only for her, and she was immediately captivated.
He later found her after his speech, standing alone by a bubbling fountain. "You looked like you were the only one actually listening in there," he said, his voice a quiet contrast to his stage presence.
She had laughed, a soft, surprised sound. "Because it was actually interesting. Everyone else is just here to be seen."
"Want to get out of here?" he'd asked. "I know a quiet tea shop that's still open."
" Yeah, sure! Why not?"
And they immediately slipped away from the glittering party and talked for hours. He spoke of his ambitions to change the world with technology; she confessed her love for art and design, a passion often dismissed by her pragmatic family. They bonded over a shared understanding of the gilded cages they were raised in.
That night, he posted a single picture of the two of them together. The caption read: *Met someone real tonight... Finally...* And that simple photo had garnered them fans that were royal and supportive. Fans who weren't afraid of spending on them since they were their ideal couple.
The world took notice. Their relationship was a public spectacle from the very beginning as they all came from prominent families. Every romantic date, every tropical vacation, every anniversary was documented and shared.
Their names became a brand, a hashtag, a modern love story that millions of people online followed and adored. They had created the perfect couple image.
For six years, she had lived inside that story. Six years of perfectly staged photos. Six years of crafting a flawless image for the world to admire. Six years of reading comments that called them "perfect couple" and "couple goals."
Nobody actually knew how much she had sacrificed, nobody knew what it took her to get to that stage. Nobody knew the kind of effort she had to put in.
She was his secret project manager, and going back to the Lu mansion, she had to play the role of a good daughter-in-law. If she ain't cooking something, she is doing some paperwork, or research to ease Lu Zeyan's burden.
The Lu family was huge and unfriendly, and she had to do everything possible to be accepted into that family, even though they were just a branch in the Lu Family hierarchy.
From compromising, getting abused, to even dealing with publicity, no one knew how much she had invested in this relationship, and everyone thought she had gotten everything on a silver platter and was lucky to have a man like Lu Zeyan.
Even if she was gonna tell anyone, they would still blame her for not appreciating her luck of marrying into the Lu family, who didn't want to?
Tomorrow would be the final, beautiful proof that it had all been real and worth it..
Tomorrow was the promised happy ending. And tomorrow was a new beginning for a new journey where she would become his wife officially and give birth to the beautiful babies they had been planning to have and have a happy ever after.