Chapter 229: True Lies!

Chapter 229: True Lies!

The sterile fluorescent lights of the Tokyo Life statistics office hummed overhead, casting a clinical glow over our small, bizarre gathering two hours later.

Ning Qian stood stiffly beside me, looking incredibly fragile yet regal while wearing one of Mei's pristine white kimonos, its silk catching the sharp illumination. I shifted slightly in my own black yukata, feeling the cool fabric brush against my legs as I looked down at her. The air between us remained heavy and thick with tension, both of us bearing highly complicated expressions since we had barely spoken a single word after she had let the full force of her frustration out on me earlier.

To our side, Mei and Hinata stood perfectly still like twin statues in their matching red kimonos, their expressions carefully masked in complete neutrality. However, as I glanced over, the subtle, amused glint in Mei's eyes told me everything I needed to know about her true thoughts. Her rigorous training as a shadow elite had prepared her to handle almost any bizarre or dangerous situation, but this absurd shotgun wedding was clearly testing even her professional boundaries.

Hinata, freshly released from the intensity of her high-stakes duel from the previous night, watched the scene unfold with a quiet, intense curiosity. She observed me preparing to legally bind myself to this completely unknown woman, a girl who was undeniably beautiful but frankly lacked the mature allure of the women I usually pursued. Yet my loyal Precious, fully remembering how I had risked myself to help her last night, simply kept her lips sealed and asked absolutely no questions about the arrangement.

The entire event was officially conducted by the clerical staff of Japan, forcing all of us to speak the local language as we stood before the desk. The weary-looking government employee adjusted her glasses, sliding a document forward as she prompted Ning Qian to speak.

"Young lady, this is the appropriate part of the ceremony to give your vows."

Standing so close to her, I recalled the birthdate I had discovered on her paperwork just moments ago, revealing she had only turned eighteen on the first of August, the exact day my ship had set sail. She was incredibly young, a full four years younger than me, which normally would not feel like a massive age gap at all in the grand scheme of things. But because I had never actually dated a girl who had just barely crossed the threshold of legal adulthood, looking at her made me feel as if I had somehow picked up a nervous middle-schooler. Granted, she possessed an exceptionally nice, well-developed body, but it was the profound lack of emotional maturity that I typically looked for in a partner.

"I... Um..." Ning Qian stammered, her fingers clutching the fabric of her white kimono as her face went completely red under our gazes. She swallowed hard, her voice dropping to a panicked, awkward whisper. "Marry me..."

I mentally face-palmed at the absolute disaster of her vow, completely exasperated by her lack of composure. The officiating clerk looked utterly speechless, blinking in disbelief before quickly shifting her eyes to me, silently begging me to do something better than my trembling bride. I reached out and took hold of Ning Qian's hands, finding them incredibly cold and shaking like a leaf, and looked directly into her wide eyes.

"Sure, I will take care of you then."

Dammit, I really wanted to utilize my best acting skills in that moment and say something incredibly sappy, like an actor delivering a grand speech on a movie set, just to completely show her up. But as I felt her trembling warmth against my palms, my mouth betrayed my pride and simply blurted out my genuine, protective feelings.

The clerk quickly moved the ceremony along, raising a small lens toward us with an expectant nod. "Okay, now the kiss for the camera, please."

While the staff member held the camera steady and waited for the shot, Ning Qian instantly froze up like a deer trapped in oncoming headlights. I stared at her rigid posture, mentally betting myself that this woman was easily the absolute worst undercover shadow agent in the entire history of the world. The only reason I refrained from openly harping on her incompetence was the undeniable fact that she was the Emperor's biological daughter. I let out a heavy sigh, shifting my weight forward to initiate the kiss since she clearly lacked even a single shred of actual romantic experience.

Refusing to let her turn her head or escape the moment, I wrapped a firm arm around her waist and pulled her flush against my chest. Her small hands instantly pressed against my yukata in an instinctive, panicked protest, but I ignored the resistance as my lips firmly covered hers. I pressed my mouth squarely against her soft lips, applying just enough pressure to render her completely motionless and captive in my embrace. The camera clicked loudly in the quiet office, capturing the exact second our lips sealed, and I immediately released her from my grip.

The overwhelming look of utter confusion and shock on her face only served to make this sudden marriage feel incredibly heavy on my own emotions. I could easily tell just how deeply reluctant she was about the entire ordeal, but my father's warnings echoed clearly in my mind. She and I were simply using one another for political leverage in the end, causing a bitter sigh to escape my throat.

The clerk quickly finalized the official documents, stamping the seals before handing the completed certificates to the two of us with a polite bow. "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Tang. Have a wonderful marriage."

Ning Tang was now officially my eleventh wife. I stood there holding the paper, having absolutely no idea at that exact moment that the grand future era of China would eventually come to be known across history as the legendary Tang dynasty.

Ning Qian bit her lower lip gently, her deep blue eyes glaring up at me with a mixture of anger and hurt, looking as though I had just brutally stolen her first kiss without a single shred of permission. I looked down at her defensive posture, letting out another weary breath as I addressed her directly.

"Sigh, Ning, I know exactly how you feel about me, and I totally get it. But from this moment onward, you and I are officially husband and wife, so let us try to get along at the very least. I was forced to kiss you for the registration, and you clearly did not seem to be ready, so please forgive me, alright? I will even gladly slap my Father around for you later if that makes you feel any better."

Hearing my blunt apology, she visibly stiffened, consciously straightening her posture back into the rigid, flawless bearing of a highborn noblewoman.

She looked away, her voice carrying a forced sense of calm dignity. "This Ning understands the situation perfectly, so I shall forgive this action. You are now my legal husband, and it is entirely unavoidable for such contact to occur, so let us speak no more of it. Now, may we finally leave this place?"

I looked at her flustered expression, entirely amused. "Where to?"

Her eyes snapped back to mine, instantly filled with that familiar, angry, and deeply shame-filled glare. "Idiot, to the place where you are currently staying, of course! Should your legal wife be forced to sleep outside on the streets?"

Damn, her incredibly sharp tongue really had a way of making me seem like a total idiot, especially when I was only trying to accommodate her and make her happy.

"Then just follow close behind me. Mei, Hinata, let us go home, sigh..."

Okay, now this situation is getting awkward as absolute hell.

The moment we walked back into our grand suite at the Hilton, Ning Qian's eyes swept across the room, instantly spotting Hinata, Mei, and even Ling'er lounging together.

She stopped dead in her tracks, her face tightening as she turned to me with an uncompromising glare. "This is supposed to be our official wedding night, and yet you expect me to share the space? You and I will go directly to my private room, as this current arrangement will absolutely not work."

So that is exactly how I ended up here, sitting uncomfortably on the edge of a plush couch while she sat rigidly in the armchair directly across from me...

The suffocating silence in the bedroom grew completely unbearable, prompting me to reach over and pour myself a stiff drink. I knew the alcohol would not actually affect my enhanced system, but the physical act of holding the glass and drinking was at least somewhat calming to my frayed nerves.

She watched me, biting her lower lip in sheer, mounting frustration before finally breaking the silence. "Why are you not performing your marital responsibility of consummation? Am I truly not good enough to entice you? If we do not actively consummate this union tonight, then we are not truly married in the eyes of the law."

I blinked, nearly choking on my drink as I stared at her in utter bewilderment. "Huh? But you looked like you didn't even want to share a simple kiss earlier, let alone go all the way and have sex. I honestly thought you wanted to preserve your purity for as long as possible, or..."

"Did you honestly think this noble woman desired a shameful divorce?" Ning Qian interrupted, her voice rising slightly as her knuckles turned white against the chair. "No, I was strictly raised to never accept a divorce. We are bound in this marriage until the day we both die. As for my reaction to the kiss, it was solely because I have never once had my lips touch another person in my entire life."

I stared at her, the realization slowly sinking in that this proud Princess was vastly more sheltered than I had ever initially estimated. I set my glass down on the table, looking at her flushed face.

"Then, do you actually want to consummate this right now?"

Her face instantly flushed a brilliant crimson, her jaw clenching tightly as she gave a single, rigid nod of confirmation.

"Alright, then go ahead and take a shower first and wait for me in the bed. I will take my shower right after you finish and join you."

Without uttering another single word, she bolted out of the chair, rushing into the bathroom and slamming the door shut before clicking the lock into place.

I stared at the wood, letting out a defeated groan... "Dad, you really suck..."

It took her a full hour to finish, and I purposefully spent fifteen minutes taking my own shower just to give her ample time to settle her nerves, but eventually, the moment arrived where I had to face the music.

I was entirely certain that any ordinary man would be absolutely ecstatic to be in this position, but the prospect of making love to a woman who possessed absolutely no genuine feelings for you felt incredibly hollow and off. Of course, I fully intended to do my absolute best to foster some sort of real affection between us over time, as she could not possibly be all bad underneath that defensive shell. I just sincerely hoped that we could at least manage to become decent friends after tonight.

When I stepped into the bedroom, the space was entirely pitch black, but my eyesight was vastly superior to that of normal humans, allowing me to see every detail perfectly. I could clearly see her lying in the center of the mattress, the heavy sheets pulled all the way up to her neck to completely hide her naked body while her eyes darted around in pure nervousness. Seeing her like that, I could genuinely understand exactly what she was going through.

"Ning, I am joining you under the sheets now."

I caught nothing but a tiny, nervous grunt in response, so I carefully slid into the bed, moving slowly and deliberately so I would not startle her any further. Once beneath the covers, I slowly made my way above her form, using my hands to gently pry her tightly locked legs apart. Virgins who are incredibly nervous always have a much harder time spreading their legs due to overwhelming shame, but I simply did what was necessary to guide her through it.

Positioned securely between her thighs, I looked down to see her head tilted sharply to the side, her eyelids pressed tightly shut while her fingers gripped the bedsheets with absolute desperation. A small, genuine smile touched my lips at her dramatic actions, prompting me to speak softly to soothe her fears. "First, I give you my word that I promise to be as gentle as I possibly can with you. Secondly, if it matters to you at all, I do truly think you are an incredibly beautiful woman."

Even though she clearly assumed I could not see her facial expressions in the dark, I watched as her tense muscles visibly relaxed upon hearing my reassuring words. But then, I deemed it necessary to give her a fair warning. "I cannot simply start the main act without providing some proper stimulation for you first. So please do not be surprised by my actions, as I intend to use oral pleasure to get your body fully ready for me. Just relax your body completely and entrust it entirely to me..."

Utilizing my many years of extensive experience with oral pleasure, I vanished beneath the heavy sheets, moving down between her thighs to her moist slit to begin my work.

Within seconds in the deep darkness, Ning Qian's tightly shut eyes snapped wide open in absolute shock.

Surprisingly, her body was incredibly sensitive, causing her to climax after only thirty seconds during the very first round of oral pleasure, so I stayed down there until she was right on the verge of a second release. I then pulled myself back up and mounted her once again, slowly running my hand along her bare skin to feel the perfectly toned, firm curves of her body.

After she had climaxed that first time, the sheer embarrassment had driven her to cover her entire face with a pillow to block out her shame. As I began to rub the crown of my throbbing erection against her slick entrance, I took full advantage of her self-imposed pillow blinders, leaning down to take one of her perked nipples directly into my mouth. The sudden sensation startled her entirely, causing her body to freeze up instantly, but I simply ignored her rigidity, chalking it up entirely to her complete lack of experience.

"Ning'er, I am starting."

I completely threw her brain off balance by calling her by that affectionate pet name, and the psychological trick worked perfectly as her tightly shut eyes instantly snapped open in pure surprise. Before she could even process the sudden shift, she felt the rigid length of my body push firmly and deeply inside her pristine warmth. Her jaw dropped instantly as her mouth opened wide to let out an instinctive sound of mixed pain and sudden surprise at the intrusion.

Anticipating the cry, I leaned down heavily and completely blocked the sound by inserting my tongue deep into her mouth, surprising her yet again with an even more shocking layer of sensory stimulation. I swirled my tongue against hers with deliberate force, driving her senses into a chaotic spiral as the dual sensations overwhelmed her completely. She appeared entirely frozen, utterly unsure of whether she should focus her panicked thoughts on the thick member currently penetrating her core, the invading tongue dominating her mouth, or my hands roaming over her naked, silky skin without a single care.

Soon, the sheer intensity of the pleasure and pain broke through her paralysis, and her small hands reached up blindly to grasp at my bare back in a primal, desperate need to do something. Her fingers dug hard against my skin as she futilely tried sinking her sharp nails into my back, which was thankfully fully protected from any actual injury due to my advanced cultivation base. The frantic scratching motion betrayed her sheer desperation, but then she began to clumsily move her own tongue against mine, clearly growing tired of only being on the receiving end of my aggressive affection.

This small, endearing act of her trying to scratch my back while actively trying to return my deep kiss made me feel far less complicated about our forced marital sex. I oddly found that having sex with a much younger woman brought me an entirely alien sensation, feeling almost as if I were tenderly guiding a young, fragile fawn into the wide world of lovemaking. Unlike my far more mature and seasoned lovers, even Linda and Kate were vastly more active and eager in the bedroom than poor, trembling Ning Qian was right now.

As I rhythmically drove myself deeper into her tightening core, a sudden realization washed over me that I truly did not hate making love to her at all.

The initial reluctance completely melted away, replaced by a deep, protective instinct as I accepted this troublesome, high-maintenance younger woman into the depths of my heart. Right at that moment, I felt the intense heat of my impending climax surging rapidly toward the surface, though a minor pang of guilt hit me as I wondered just how many years it would actually take to get her successfully pregnant given my enhanced physiology.

I gave one final, powerful thrust to completely fill her belly with my hot seed, slowing my frantic pace to a gentle halt before finally releasing her swollen lips from the deep kiss.

She panted softly in the pitch-black room, the sound of her rapid breathing echoing in the quiet space as she slowly blinked up at me. "Rick, is it over?"

I looked down at her flushed face, shifting my weight slightly to alleviate the pressure on her small frame. "Yes, and it was as painless as I could possibly make it for you. I finished with you, Ning."

"I... I see..." Ning Qian murmured, her voice trembling slightly as she let out a long, ragged breath beneath me. "It was truly not nearly as bad as I initially thought it would be... But, can you please keep calling me Ning'er from now on? The absolute last time I ever heard that name was from my own mother..."

Through my night vision, I could clearly see the sudden glitter of fresh tears welling up in her eyes, her expression turning deeply sad at the painful memory of her mother, who must not have passed away too many years ago. I kept my gaze gentle as I slowly pulled my length completely out of her slick core, reaching out to draw her trembling body flush against my chest.

"Then Ning'er, I will hold you close to me while we sleep tonight. Our marriage might have started as a sudden, chaotic event, but we can definitely work on building it over time. Now, good night, my wife."

True Lies. I would simply keep telling these beautiful lies to her and to myself, convincing both of our minds that our sudden marriage would turn out to be a truly great one, maintaining the illusion until it eventually became our reality. After all, the absolute best kind of lie is the exact one that ultimately ends in absolute truth.

"Then... Goodnight... Husband..."

She whispered the words softly, her voice carrying a fragile hint of acceptance as she also sought to convince herself of the True Lie. As her eyes drifted shut, I could easily tell that her small hand had gently come to rest over her belly in deep, silent thought.