I Will Never Love You

"Xiaoli, stop right there!" A fierce and commanding voice ordered.

Song Xiaoli twisted her face and turned towards her father, clenching her fists as she spat out, "Why should I have to marry that retard?!"

"Now, now. Xiaoli, listen to your father... Ye Jianyu isn't as bad as you make him out to be." Bai Meixiang, Song Xiaoli's step-mother, said. She was a woman in her thirties and was wearing a dress that complimented her figure, with light makeup applied to her face. Though she tried making herself seem like a kind and caring mother, Song Xiaoli knew what her true face was like.

She laughed mockingly and questioned, "Isn't it so that daughter of yours won't marry him instead? You want to push him to me so Bai Lin won't be burdened!"

"Song Xiaoli!" Song Guo finally had enough of his daughter and shouted.

"Whether you want it or not, you will marry Ye Jianyu! Do you think I'm willing to offend the Ye family for you?!"

At hearing these words, tears threatened to spill from Song Xiaoli's eyes and she smiled bitterly at Song Guo. Despite the fact that she was his biological daughter, he still chose Bai Lin in the end. Even an ounce of love wasn't spared for her.

"Fine, I'll marry him... but from this day on, you are no longer family to me! You wanted to sell me off to the Ye family so you could benefit from me, right? Well I, Song Xiaoli, vow that for as long as I'm alive, you won't get a single dime!" Song Xiaoli declared before storming out. She didn't even look back to see the anger on her father's face.

"I raised that ungrateful bitch for all these years and this is how she repays me?" Song Guo's blood pressure was rising.

"Darling, don't upset yourself too much. We already expected this, didn't we?" Bai Meixiang put her hands on Song Guo's shoulder and comforted him. When he wasn't looking, however, she was sneering. Now that Song Xiaoli wouldn't be in her way, the family fortune belonged to her!

Meanwhile, Song Xiaoli was currently walking in the streets alone. Her long black hair was flowing from the soft wind and a few teardrops were falling from her eyes. After a while of walking around, she dialed her boyfriend's phone number and began to cry when he wouldn't pick up. She finally stopped at a park and sat on the bench, dazing off.

It wasn't until her phone began to ring that she snapped out of her thoughts and looked down to see who was calling. She thought it was her boyfriend, but it was Bai Lin. Drunk from her tears, Song Xiaoli laughed bitterly and picked up the call.

"Older sister, where are you? Please come home..." Bai Lin's white lotus voice sounded muffled and if Song Xiaoli didn't know any better, she would have thought this younger sister of hers truly cared for her.

"Stop the act. Who are you trying to fool? Bai Lin, are you happy now? To see me get sold off to a mentally disabled man? Hehe..." Song Xiaoli overwhelmed the other side with questions.

"No, of course not... sister, what's wrong with you? How could you suddenly blame me? I know you don't wish to get married, but this has nothing to do with me..." Bai Lin strained her voice to act as though she was hurt by Song Xiaoli's words.

Song Xiaoli sneered before saying, "I said stop with the act! You must be so happy now, knowing you'll finally have the inheritance from father. Let me clarify now, Bai Lin, you are just an illegitimate child your tramp mother brought from outside!"

"That's enough."

Song Xiaoli's heart dropped when she heard that familiar voice.

"Luo Zixin...? What are you doing with Bai Lin?" Her voice trembled.

"Don't bother asking. I won't be wasting anymore time with you now that I know what you're really like." Luo Zixin's voice was full of disdain as he continued, "Song Xiaoli, you've disappointed me."

"Zixin, wait! Let me explain, I-"

But before she could finish her sentence, the phone had been hung up.

No matter how many times she tried to call him back, he already blacklisted her number. She had originally wanted him to be supportive of her and take her away from the Song household, but now she could only sob as she realized the only choice was to return home and proceed with the wedding. Song Xiaoli sat on the park bench for a very long time before she made the decision to walk home.

The sky was already dark now, and it was late at night when Song Xiaoli arrived at the Song residence. She pushed the door open only to see her entire 'family' sitting in the living room waiting for her.

"Sister, you're home!" Bai Lin was the first to speak and rushed over to her. Song Xiaoli didn't feel like dealing with her at this moment so she just silently walked upstairs without even a single glance at Song Guo and Bai Meixiang. When she was at the last step, Song Guo's cold voice echoed through the room.

"You will go with Ye Jianyu tomorrow to register for marriage. Your mother was considerate of you and wanted you to save face, so she begged the Ye family not to hold a wedding. Whether you want to live with the Ye's or not is up to you."

Song Xiaoli quietly listened and said nothing before walking to her room. She knew her father didn't care for her, but to think he was so eager to see her gone that he even rushed her marriage? She didn't know if what she felt was pain or disappointment. She slipped into her bed and closed her eyes, letting sleep take over.

In the morning, Song Xiaoli packed her belongings and was prepared to leave. If her own family didn't want her, then she didn't want to stay with them either. She trotted downstairs and didn't even stop for breakfast as she allowed the driver to lead her into the car. Bai Lin and Bai Meixiang cried and bid her goodbye but Song Guo stayed inside, not even batting an eye.

When Song Xiaoli arrived at the Civil Affairs Bureau, Ye Jianyu was already there. He was standing next to someone and was dressed neatly in a black suit and had his hair styled back. He was quite handsome and attracted the attention of many women nearby. If it wasn't for his constant moving and fidgeting, passerby's would have assumed he was very composed.

"Xiaoli, hello." Upon seeing her, the woman next to him waved in her direction and waited for Song Xiaoli to walk up to them. Ye Jianyu immediately became stiff at seeing Song Xiaoli and the woman besides him chuckled.

"I'm Ye Wen, Yuyu's mother. Xiaoli can call me Mrs. Ye or mom." Mrs. Ye had a bright and beautiful smile on her face as she greeted Song Xiaoli. She was a very gorgeous lady, and was wearing a beautifully embroidered qipao. Song Xiaoli looked down at her own outfit, a casual dress, and felt guilty for not dressing up for the occasion.

"Hello." Song Xiaoli said. Although she wasn't happy about the marriage, she knew Mrs. Ye's identity and wouldn't dare disrespect Ye Jianyu in front of his mother.

"Our Yuyu is a special case, I hope you won't mind it." Mrs. Ye patted her son's back and smiled sadly.

"Not at all. I went to the same high school as him." Song Xiaoli glanced at Ye Jianyu, who was staring at her with curious eyes. When he noticed she was watching, he quickly retracted his gaze and pretended to look around.

This single action stirred many emotions within Song Xiaoli's heart.

"Let's hurry and get our marriage license." Before his mother could ask anymore questions, she quickly switched the topic and started heading inside the building. Ye Wen naturally knew what she was doing, but pretended not to know as she followed, leading her son inside as well.

She didn't know what Song Xiaoli's character was like, but she only hoped her son could find happiness.

After signing their names and being officially married on paper, Song Xiaoli returned to the Ye manor with Ye Jianyu and his mother. Ye Jianyu was very quiet the entire procedure but she often caught him looking at her. When they arrived at the Ye household, Mrs. Ye led her inside and Ye Jianyu followed them.

"I'm sorry that I'm the only one who welcomed you. Yuyu's father and brothers are out on a business trip, and our Ah-Ying is at school." Mrs. Ye seemed embarrassed to say this but Song Xiaoli didn't mind and told her it was alright.

She wasn't expecting to be accepted in the first place.

"You can pick any room you'd like. Yuyu, could you give Xiaoli a tour of the bedrooms?" Mrs. Ye turned to Ye Jianyu and asked.

Ye Jianyu's face contorted into a strange expression and he suddenly shook his head.

"Yuyu, don't be like this..." Mrs. Ye tried to reason.

"X, Xiaoli. Sleep with me." Ye Jianyu finally spoke. His words caught both Ye Wen and Song Xiaoli off guard.

"Sleep with me?" Song Xiaoli repeated what he said.

"N- No! Xiaoli, you s- sleep with me." Ye Jianyu corrected.

Song Xiaoli saw Mrs. Ye's face turn pale as she hurried to shush her son.

"Yuyu, Xiaoli can't sleep with you." Ye Wen knew Song Xiaoli was unwilling to marry her son, but her selfishness for her son's sake had caused her to force Song Xiaoli to concede. She thought that if Ye Jianyu made her uncomfortable, Song Xiaoli would never want to get close to her son.

"No! Xiaoli, sleep with me!" Being rejected like this, Ye Jianyu was growing frustrated. Ye Wen panicked, why was his condition suddenly acting up?

"Yuyu, please listen to me." Ye Wen attempted to convince him.

"It's okay, I think he means I should sleep in the same room as him. I can do that." Song Xiaoli saw the commotion and stepped up. At hearing the answer he wanted, Ye Jianyu calmed down and returned to staring blankly at her. Mrs. Ye breathed a sigh of relief and mouthed an apology to Song Xiaoli.

Ye Jianyu finally lead Song Xiaoli to the second floor and showed her his room. It was very spacious but empty, with only a few necessary things inside. Everything was neat and orderly too. Song Xiaoli set down her luggage and asked Ye Jianyu where to put her clothing. He pointed at the closet on one side.

After putting aside her things, Song Xiaoli sat on the sofa in Ye Jianyu's room and began to think.

Judging by the way Ye Jianyu acted, it seemed as though he treasured the idea of marriage. She wondered if he knew she was forced into this.

Song Xiaoli suddenly laughed, gathering Ye Jianyu's attention.

"Ye Jianyu, there's something we need to clarify between us." She suddenly announced. Ye Jianyu stared at her again.

"I don't love you."

Though faint, the ripples in his eyes changed and his eyes widened slightly. He asked, "Why?"

Song Xiaoli grit her teeth and replied, "I love somebody else."

Ye Jianyu asked again, "Why?"

Song Xiaoli was growing impatient. She figured that regardless of what she said, he would only respond with the same question over and over again. In the end, she just stated, "Don't expect anything out of this marriage. In this life, I will never love you."

This time, Ye Jianyu said nothing. Song Xiaoli thought he ha finally understood what her words meant and felt relieved. This way, she didn't have to feel guilty towards him. Their marriage was nothing but a farce anyways.

"If you get it, don't try to do things that a normal married couple does. You and I... we live in different worlds."

Both mentally and physically.