Four Years Ago, Her Husband Cheated on Her Body - Chapter 21

“If the destination disappears, why not try starting over from the beginning?”

Qiao originally thought it was just a piece of useless nonsense, like those “life philosophies” found everywhere.

But after applying it to his specific situation and thinking seriously, he suddenly realized: if he couldn’t find the photo, he could trace it back to the source and find the person who took it!

Recalling the time of their marriage, because Qiao was incredibly lazy and “salty fish” by nature, he hadn’t been willing to dress up or wear a stiff, formal suit specifically for a photo shoot.

Therefore, his wedding photos with Zhu Nanyu had been taken during the wedding itself.

From the venue selection to the bouquet, every step of the wedding had been managed by Zhu Nanyu. Qiao had no idea which photographer had taken their pictures.

Fortunately, in order to plan a perfect wedding, Zhu Nanyu had chosen the most famous wedding company in the industry. With a bit of searching, Qiao found the contact information for the wedding team from that time.

The wedding team rarely encountered clients with absolutely no budget limit—let alone someone who bought out an entire diamond mine just for one wedding ring—so they had a very deep impression of Qiao.

“Mr. Qiao, are you looking for the photographer from back then?” An employee of the wedding team thought for a moment and told Qiao, “That master is a very famous portrait photographer in the industry. He usually works with A-list magazines and international supermodels; he rarely takes on private jobs. To be honest, we were shocked when we heard he accepted a wedding shoot back then.”

Hearing this, Qiao didn’t find it unexpected.

Because Zhu Nanyu was always like that—he wanted the best of everything.

“Can you contact that photographer now?”

“Of course! However, International Fashion Week is currently happening, and he’s responsible for the on-site shooting. He won’t be able to make it back for a while.”

“Alright, please give me his contact information. Thank you.”

Qiao got the contact info and dialed the photographer’s number.

As soon as he gave his name, the photographer chuckled and said, “Qiao, it’s you.”

“You still remember me?”

“I remember, I remember it so well! You are the most beautiful man I have ever photographed.” The photographer paused for a few seconds and quickly complained, “Also, your husband’s demands were way too much! He insisted on a 100% restoration of your beauty, and he wouldn’t let me give you any directions, saying things like ‘he’s tired’ or ‘he has no patience.’ For something as big as a wedding shoot, he only gave me thirty minutes of your time. Is that even a job for a human? I’ve been in this industry for years and I’ve never seen such a difficult employer. If he hadn’t paid so much, I definitely would have turned down the job!”

“I’m sorry.”

Thinking about it carefully, the reason Zhu Nanyu had made such outrageous demands was largely because Qiao had been so lazy and willful at the time.

“Uh, why are you apologizing? Actually, I should thank him; he let me capture some great material.” The photographer sounded a bit embarrassed. “To be honest, your wedding scene photo has always been displayed in my studio as an advertisement.”

Qiao took the opportunity to make his request. “That photo—would it be convenient to lend it to me?”

“It’s possible… but I’m abroad right now. I won’t be back for half a month.”

Half a month later.

The scheduled date for the funeral would have already passed.

Qiao lowered his eyelashes, casting a shadow.

“If you need it right now, I’ll send you the address of my studio. When you arrive, contact the manager; I’ll have him open the door for you.”

“Is that convenient?”

“What’s inconvenient about it?” The photographer laughed heartily. “Back when you two first got married, Zhu Nanyu used to harass me in the middle of the night to have the wedding photos reprinted. Thanks to him, I haven’t deleted a single bit of that material!”

Later, after Zhu Nanyu’s accident, the photographer lost contact with the couple.

Whenever he saw the photo displayed in the studio, he felt a genuine sense of luck that he had frozen a moment in time during their fleeting, short-lived time together.

No matter how loud the rumors became, photos did not lie.

The two people in the lens were, without a doubt, in love.

“I don’t know what you need the wedding photo for, but if it serves a purpose, then I guess Zhu Nanyu didn’t waste all that money on me.” Without waiting for Qiao to respond, the photographer’s speaking speed increased again. “I’ve sent the address to you. I have to get to work, talk to you next time!”

Qiao received the address and immediately confirmed his schedule, carving out time to take Lu Min to the photographer’s studio.

He hadn’t originally planned to bring Lu Min, but a certain “dutiful” butler had been unable to help Qiao find the wedding photo last time. He had been radiating an “I’m sorry for being born” emo vibe, spending several days with a lump in his throat, wallowing in self-pity and sighing.

Most seriously, he was now just writing words in his spiral notebook and wasn’t drawing rabbits anymore.

To resolve Lu Min’s “heart knot,” Qiao reluctantly brought the talkative butler along.

Lu Min had followed Qiao for four years, but he usually stayed at home.

Having a rare chance to go on a long trip with his master, he was as excited as an elementary student about to go on a spring outing.

He had dug out a backpack from somewhere and stuffed it with three new spiral notebooks of different sizes—large, medium, and small—along with several colorful pens.

“…” Looking at the setup, Qiao could already imagine how “talkative” this mute would be on the road.

Sure enough, as soon as they got into the car, Lu Min began asking questions non-stop, from their destination to the photographer, and then to the wedding details.

‘I’m so jealous of the photographer, getting the chance to attend your wedding. I really wanted to attend too QAQ…’

Qiao looked out the car window and answered perfunctorily, “You weren’t even around then.”

“…” Lu Min’s hand, which was writing and scribbling, paused for a few seconds. He turned the page, drew a few strokes, and held it up again: If I had met Master earlier and become your butler, that would have been great!

Qiao glanced at Lu Min and didn’t have the heart to tell him.

If it were any earlier, he wouldn’t have needed a butler at all.

—I had Zhu Nanyu.

The photographer’s studio was in City A, but Qiao lived so remotely that it took several hours to get there.

Arriving at the destination, the manager who had been waiting for a long time greeted Qiao and used a spare key to open the studio’s security door.

Lu Min followed behind Qiao with his backpack.

Entering the studio, the space of over a hundred square meters was quite crowded. Various models of cameras, lenses, reflectors… they were piled everywhere.

Struggling to find a place to stand, Lu Min looked around and found the walls covered in photos. Almost all were portraits: static, dynamic, men, women, elderly, children…

The photographer’s skill was incredible; the lighting and composition were textbook-perfect, as if he had captured the very souls of the subjects.

Among the many photos, Lu Min accurately captured Qiao.

His master back then still had fluffy short hair, and his features hadn’t yet lost their youthful boyishness.

Wearing a sharp suit, he stood there stiffly, with no pose to speak of, as if he had been dragged there and forced to work.

Standing next to him was a man also dressed in a suit and leather shoes, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, standing as straight as a pine tree.

While he appeared to be staring straight at the camera, Lu Min could sense that he must have been gazing at Qiao out of the corner of his eye.

Qiao also noticed that photo. He straightened his arms and made a frame with his thumbs and index fingers, circling Zhu Nanyu’s face.

“Yes, this one.”

Qiao’s gaze stayed on Zhu Nanyu’s face for 0.3 seconds, and he thought without much emotion: So that’s what he looked like.

No wonder he didn’t find anyone else handsome later on; it turned out his threshold for beauty had been raised by Zhu Nanyu long ago.

“Lu Min, take the photo.”

Lu Min jumped up and made an “OK” sign, then took down the large picture frame from the wall and lugged it out.

Just as Qiao was about to follow, the manager responsible for opening the door stopped him. “Mr. Qiao, it’s like this. There is a segment of behind-the-scenes footage from the wedding that was never made public. The photographer thought it was fun and recorded it secretly. Do you want to take it?”

“No need.” There was no video playback segment at the funeral.

The manager said awkwardly, “But the photographer specifically instructed me that I must play it for you to see.”

“What video?”

On the way here, Qiao had been forced to recall the wedding under Lu Min’s questioning.

It was all just a bunch of boring rituals, making promises that couldn’t be kept amidst hypocritical blessings. There were no memorable moments.

The manager took a video camera out of a drawer, turned it on, and pulled up a video that the photographer had cherished for years, reluctant to edit or delete.

At the wedding scene, Qiao and Zhu Nanyu were about to exchange vows.

Before going onto the stage, Zhu Nanyu suddenly pulled Qiao back, stared into his eyes, and asked, “Are you willing?”

“Zhu Nanyu, have you watched too many idol dramas?” Qiao was annoyed and complained crossly, “If I wasn’t willing, why would I have gotten up at five in the morning for a fitting and let you toss me around all day?”

After personally getting married, Qiao deeply felt that the wedding-interruption scenes in idol dramas were all lies.

No one who has gone through the full process of a wedding would have the energy left to elope.

Zhu Nanyu’s gaze was almost obsessive as he confirmed again, “Are you willing?”

“I’m willing, I do, okay?” Qiao glared at him. “What on earth is wrong with you!”

Zhu Nanyu’s lips curled up into a brilliant smile. He took Qiao’s hand, leaned down, and piously kissed his ring finger.

“I won the only grand prize in my life; of course I have to check the numbers a few more times.”