Chapter 63: The Wedding
For the rest of the time, Jian Tang’s soul seemed to have wandered off, and he sat on pins and needles.
He was incredibly panicked internally, yet he didn’t dare let Feng Xun see his fluster. He could only pretend to be very busy—one moment going to the restroom, the next fetching some appetizers from the buffet area, and then squeezing into a crowd to watch the commotion and listen to gossip. He spun around as busily as a top.
During this time, he would also steal a few glances at Feng Xun. As luck would have it, every single time he looked over, he met Feng Xun’s gaze. It was as if the man had been constantly tracking his movements, his line of sight following him like a shadow.
So scary QAQ!!
Soon after, the lights in the venue dimmed. The wedding ceremony was about to begin.
The guests took their seats one after another. Having no more excuses to run all over the place, Jian Tang was forced to return to his seat.
He had barely sat down next to Feng Xun when his hand was grasped by the other party.
The man’s palm was broad and warm, his fingertips covered with a thin layer of calluses. Jian Tang felt like his hand was a soft, squishy little rice cake being gently kneaded by the other party. No matter how the man squished or flattened it, he didn’t dare to resist.
“You seem to like this kind of occasion?”
The other party leaned in close to his ear and whispered. The breath blowing against him made Jian Tang’s ear tickle, and he shrank his neck to dodge.
“Y-yeah, there are so many people here, it’s very lively.”
In the dim light, Jian Tang could feel that the man’s gaze was fixed entirely on his face. Perhaps it was out of inquiry, perhaps out of some suspicion, or perhaps he was merely gazing at him calmly and gently just like normal, exactly as any lover would.
But Jian Tang didn’t dare to look. He simply pretended to be highly interested in the wedding stage, staring straight ahead.
“Respected guests, family and friends, good afternoon! Today we gather here to witness the happy moment of a newlywed couple…”
Following the emcee’s opening remarks, the wedding ceremony officially commenced.
The bride, arm-in-arm with her father, appeared at the entrance. Amidst the enthusiastic applause of the guests, the bride’s father handed her over to the groom. The newlyweds exchanged a smile and, guided by the melody of the Wedding March, walked step-by-step toward the stage.
The ceremony proceeded according to the standard steps. Under the witness of countless guests, the emcee asked the most important question of all wedding ceremonies.
“Mr. XX, from this day forward, do you take Ms. XX to be your wife? To love her, cherish her, and be her lifelong reliance in both good times and bad, in sickness and in health?”
Jian Tang watched without blinking—Is this the important vow in a human wedding ceremony?
I wonder if it possesses a binding force similar to a system contract.
The groom looked at his bride, his voice clear and resolute. “I do.”
The emcee turned to the bride and repeated the same question. The bride smiled and nodded. “I do.”
I do…
Jian Tang suddenly remembered that Feng Xun seemed to have said something like this as well.
[No matter what you say, my answer is—I do.]
Jian Tang instinctively looked toward the person beside him. The other party was looking back at him.
His silent, burning gaze was exactly the same as the way he had looked at him that day by the riverbank in the Riverside Park.
Jian Tang’s heart trembled, and he abruptly lowered his head.
He seemed to understand a little bit why Feng Xun had brought him here today.
He also faintly sensed what kind of message the other party wished to convey through that gaze.
To be honest, watching the groom and bride solemnly exchange their vows, swap rings, and share a sweet kiss on stage, for a fleeting moment, Jian Tang had also thought about his and Feng Xun’s future—
In the future, they would undergo the same ceremony, forging a human marriage contract under the witness of many people. At that time, his wife would become a true “wife” recognized even by human society.
Just the thought of that image made Jian Tang’s heartbeat race uncontrollably. It felt as if something joyous was about to happily bound out of his chest. That sense of longing and anticipation was exactly the same as when he had first rushed to his small apartment, getting ready to sign for his new wife.
However, after that brief moment of anticipation and joy, what fully occupied his mind were the two lines from the practical guide thread—
[…matching three basically confirms they are undeniably a task taker. Please block them and sever ties as soon as possible…]
[…They are highly adept at disguising themselves… usually harboring an ulterior motive. Everyone must remain vigilant and not rely on wishful thinking…]
Feng Xun, was he really a task taker?
If he was a task taker, could he still be his wife?
No, he should say—if Feng Xun was a task taker, would he still dare to let him be his wife?
Jian Tang’s mind was in total chaos. Before he knew it, two hours had passed, and the lively wedding banquet drew to a close.
The guests, having eaten and drunk their fill, left the venue one after another. Many of the other colleagues sharing the table with Jian Tang and Feng Xun had also left.
Jian Tang finished the last small bean bun on his plate and said to Feng Xun, “Let’s go too.”
The man nodded, and the two rose to leave.
Stepping out of the hotel doors, Feng Xun prepared to head to the parking lot, but Jian Tang stopped at the entrance.
“Feng Xun, you go back first,” the youth said, his eyes fixed on the ground. “I… I have something to do, so I won’t go back with you.”
“What is it?”
“I’m going to hang out with a friend. We haven’t seen each other in a long time, so I want to catch up with him alone.”
Feng Xun stared at him, remaining silent for a long while.
Jian Tang hung his head, his little face tense as he silently made up his mind: If he dares to stop me, I’ll pick a massive fight with him! Then I’ll pretend to be utterly grief-stricken and swiftly flee the scene.
If he reveals the true nature of a task taker afterward, viciously trying to catch me or pervertedly stalking me, I’ll run away from home, hide back in the underground monster town, and never come out again.
If he acts completely normal, then I’ll… uh, then what will I do… He hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.
Feng Xun looked at him for a moment. “Which friend? Have I met him?”
“You don’t know him, and you haven’t met him. He’s shy around strangers and doesn’t want to meet people he doesn’t know.”
“Where are you guys meeting? I’ll drive you there.”
“No need, the place is pretty far. I’ll just take the subway there myself.”
The man fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
“Alright, then I’ll drop you off at the subway station.”
Jian Tang raised his head in surprise. The other party had already turned around and was walking toward the parking lot.
Apprehensively, Jian Tang followed him, apprehensively got into the car, and apprehensively was dropped off at the entrance of the subway station.
During this time, he had been secretly observing Feng Xun. The man behaved entirely normally throughout the entire trip, nor did he ask any superfluous questions. He was a thoroughly qualified and considerate human boyfriend, trusting and respecting his lover.
He didn’t look at all like the perverted task takers described in the forum—insidious and twisted, or brutal and dictatorial.
“When are you coming home?” As Jian Tang was getting out of the car, he heard the other party ask.
“I… I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“Will you be home for dinner tonight?”
“I think so.”
“Okay,” the man nodded, waving to him with a very gentle tone.
“Have fun. Call me if anything comes up.”
Jian Tang gave a wooden “Mm,” watched the other party drive away, and then turned to enter the subway station.
Blending into the bustling crowd, he felt like a little leaf floating in the water, entirely at the mercy of the current, and was sweepingly carried into a subway car by the tide of people in a total daze.
Jian Tang didn’t know where this subway was headed, nor did he actually intend to go find some friend—he absolutely couldn’t share his distress with his monster friends.
If they found out, they would definitely urge him to break up without hesitation, because Xiaoyu was a living example—
Xiaoyu and Yuan Cheng’s relationship had the foundation of years of accumulated history. But task takers were simply too fickle. They belonged to a high-risk group easily blinded by their desires. A once beautiful and pure bond was utterly fragile in the face of a task taker’s twisted desires and greedy demands.
Rationally, Jian Tang knew very well that cutting his losses in time was the correct choice. But emotionally, he truly didn’t want to face reality, even involuntarily wanting to grasp at the last, fleeting wisp of wishful thinking.
Maybe… Feng Xun actually isn’t a task taker?
Although all signs pointed to the high probability that Feng Xun was a task taker, and might even be CEO Feng himself, no matter how Jian Tang recalled the details of their interactions or his observations over the past few days, he simply couldn’t reconcile Feng Xun with the “insidious, cunning, and dangerous element” the Realm Lords spoke of.
Would it be a good choice to simply pretend I don’t know anything?
Jian Tang couldn’t help but think this way.
After all, neither side had pierced the paper window yet. They could still maintain a superficial peace and tranquility. If Feng Xun wanted to pretend to be an ordinary human and intended to keep up the disguise—just like himself—as long as he didn’t expose him or flip the table, this kind of life could still be sustained.
But… can I really do it? Can I spend my days and nights, bound in love, living my entire life with a task taker whose true bottom line I don’t know, all while living in a muddled daze?
Can I? Am I capable of it? Do I… dare to?
Jian Tang leaned against the window of the subway car, watching the stream of people coming and going, his heart filled with hesitation and confusion.
At that moment, the connecting door of the carriage opened, and an elderly beggar in tattered clothes limped in.
His white hair was sparse, his back hunched, and he held a chipped porcelain bowl containing a few sparse coins.
“Have some pity, please give a little… just a little is enough…”
He limped up to two passengers standing near the doors and tremblingly extended the broken bowl toward them.
The two passengers scrunched their brows at the sour stench coming from the beggar, covering their noses and turning their heads away, clearly unwilling to engage.
The old beggar waited for a moment. Seeing that the other party was unwilling to offer charity, he limped off toward someone else.
The passengers turned their heads away one after another. Someone even muttered under their breath, “Isn’t begging prohibited on the trains? How did this old guy sneak in?”
Soon, the old beggar arrived in front of Jian Tang.
Seeing the broken bowl extended toward him, Jian Tang paused slightly.
He remembered that when the other party had just entered the carriage, there were only a few coins in the bowl. Now, looking at it again, there were actually quite a lot of coins inside.
But after he entered the carriage, clearly no one had put any coins in his bowl? Did I see it wrong earlier?
“Have some pity, young man.” The old beggar’s voice was hoarse, begging with a subservient posture. “Give me a coin, just one is enough…”
“I don’t have any coins on me, can I give you something to eat instead?”
Jian Tang fished out a bag of small pastries he had taken from the wedding banquet earlier, intending to drop it into the broken bowl.
However, the old beggar yanked his hand back like lightning, as if the bag of pastries was poison. He shot Jian Tang a peculiar look, grumbling irritably.
“Poor bastard,” he said, bypassing Jian Tang to seek out others.
Jian Tang: ??
Since the old beggar refused food and only wanted cash and coins, the other passengers in the carriage concluded he was a professional beggar scamming for money, giving him even worse looks.
“Hurry up and leave,” someone scolded. “If you don’t go, we’ll get the transit police to kick you out!”
Having begged an entire round and gained nothing, the old beggar seemed to finally give up, slowly shuffling toward the connecting door on the other side.
Jian Tang instinctively took a few extra looks at the other party, suddenly freezing in shock.
The subway was currently traveling through an underground tunnel. There were no illuminated billboards outside the windows, leaving the field of vision pitch black. Under the illumination of the white fluorescent lights inside the carriage, everyone’s shadow was distinctly clear.
At the old beggar’s feet, his shadow was just like his shuffling footsteps—trembling, slow-moving, holding that chipped, broken bowl.
But from the black shadow within the bowl, countless slender, dark silhouettes had begun to spread out at some point. Like tentacles, they coiled around the shadows of the other people in the carriage.
Just as Jian Tang stared in astonishment, a slender shadow tentacle also extended right in front of him. Like a venomous snake striking, it lunged violently toward his shadow!
Whoosh—
Jian Tang’s body jolted violently. He watched as that sinister, bizarre black tentacle collapsed and vanished instantly under the strike of a golden light.
The golden light that suddenly appeared came from his own body.
More specifically, it came from the golden rabbit pendant Feng Xun had given him earlier.
It was actually a system item.
—A high-grade item that only task takers could obtain and use to combat anomalies.
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