The first Wanning
4170 Words
Wanning stood beside the window with the photograph in her hand.
She read the sentence again.
The first Wanning was not the bride.
Her eyes moved to the little girl in the photograph.
The face was hers.
Not similar.
Not close.
The same.
The same eyes.
The same narrow nose.
The same small scar near her eyebrow.
Even the shape of her lips.
Wanning turned the photograph over.
Find out who she really was.
“Who are you?”
The question left her mouth before she realized she had spoken.
The little girl in the photograph obviously couldn’t answer.
Still, Wanning stared at her.
She had spent her entire childhood being told that she was simply Shen Wanning.
Her parents had never told her anything strange about her birth.
Her grandmother had never mentioned another girl.
Nobody had ever said there was a woman who looked exactly like her before she was born.
Yet there she was.
Standing beside Gu Mingyuan.
Beside the same man whose name had appeared in the records.
Beside the same man her grandmother had apparently known.
Wanning’s fingers tightened around the photograph.
Then she heard footsteps.
She turned.
Gu stood at the doorway.
His black shirt was slightly wet from the night air.
His expression was colder than before.
“You’re awake.”
Wanning held up the photograph.
“You knew?”
His eyes went to it.
He stopped.
“No.”
“You’re lying.”
“I am not.”
“Then why did you look like that?”
“Because I’ve never seen that photograph.”
Wanning walked toward him.
“Look at her.”
“I am.”
“That’s me.”
Gu said nothing.
“You know it’s me.”
“Yes.”
“And that’s your father.”
“Yes.”
“And that’s my grandmother.”
“Yes.”
Wanning lifted the photograph between them.
“So explain it.”
“I can’t.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Gu took the photograph carefully.
He studied the image.
“This was taken at the shrine.”
“Yes.”
“Do you recognize the girl?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“I would remember someone who looked exactly like my wife.”
Wanning immediately frowned.
“Don’t call me that right now.”
Gu’s eyes lifted.
“All right.”
She pointed at the photograph.
“Who is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“Your father knew her.”
“He may have.”
“You were outside looking for that man.”
“Yes.”
“Did you find him?”
“No.”
“Did you see anyone?”
“No.”
“Then why did you come back looking like you wanted to kill somebody?”
Gu looked at the photograph again.
“Because I found something.”
“What?”
He reached into his pocket and placed a small object on the table.
It was a silver ring.
Wanning recognized the symbol engraved on it.
The same symbol from the shrine.
“The man dropped it.”
She picked it up.
“Is this your family’s?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then whose is it?”
“I don’t know.”
Wanning stared at the ring.
“You don’t know anything.”
Gu gave her a look.
“You’ve said that several times.”
“Because it’s true.”
He sat down.
“Your grandmother hid something from my family.”
Wanning looked at him.
“And my family hid something from yours.”
“Probably.”
She sat opposite him.
“What happened to the first Wanning?”
“I don’t know.”
“What happened to your father?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why did your father come to this village?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why does someone keep leaving messages for me?”
“I don’t know.”
Wanning dropped her head into her hands.
“This is ridiculous.”
Gu remained quiet.
After a moment, she looked up.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“You said your father disappeared seventy-three years ago.”
“Yes.”
“And you said you’ve waited one hundred years.”
“Yes.”
Wanning frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
Gu’s expression remained unreadable.
“I didn’t say my father was the first person I waited for.”
She stared at him.
“Then who?”
He didn’t answer.
“Gu.”
“Sleep.”
“Absolutely not.”
“You need rest.”
“I need answers.”
“You won’t get them tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re missing the person who knows them.”
“Who?”
“My father’s servant.”
Wanning remembered.
“The one who disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“You think he’s still alive?”
“I think someone knows where he is.”
“Who?”
Gu looked toward the window.
“The people who don’t want us to find him.”
⸻
Morning came with rain.
Again.
Wanning was beginning to hate rain.
Every important thing in her life seemed to happen during a storm.
She sat at the table eating breakfast while Gu reviewed documents.
“You’re staring.”
“I am reading.”
“You’ve been looking at the same page for ten minutes.”
Gu looked up.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“About the photograph?”
“Yes.”
“Did you figure it out?”
“No.”
She sighed.
“At least you’re consistent.”
A knock sounded at the door.
Wanning looked up.
“Who is that?”
Gu stood.
“I’ll check.”
Before he could reach the door, an elderly woman entered.
Wanning recognized her.
It was the woman who had warned her outside Madam Xu’s house.
The woman looked frightened.
“Where is Madam Xu?”
The woman shook her head.
“She is gone.”
“What happened?”
“She left last night.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did someone take her?”
The woman lowered her voice.
“She went to the shrine.”
Wanning’s face changed.
“When?”
“After you left.”
“What was she doing there?”
“She wanted to burn the old papers.”
“What papers?”
The woman looked at Gu.
Then at Wanning.
“Your grandmother’s papers.”
Wanning stood.
“Why?”
“Because she was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
The woman whispered,
“The promise.”
Wanning’s patience snapped.
“What promise?”
The woman looked toward the window.
“The marriage promise.”
Gu’s expression hardened.
“What marriage?”
The woman shook her head.
“I shouldn’t have come.”
She turned.
Wanning grabbed her arm.
“Wait.”
The woman looked at her.
“Please.”
Wanning’s voice softened.
“My grandmother is dead. If she left something behind, I deserve to know.”
The woman looked at the half-heart around Wanning’s neck.
Her face went pale.
“You still have it.”
Wanning frowned.
“What?”
“The necklace.”
“What about it?”
“Your grandmother told me never to let you wear it.”
Wanning’s hand immediately went to the gemstone.
“She gave it to me.”
“I know.”
“Then why would she tell you not to let me wear it?”
The woman shook her head.
“She changed her mind.”
“When?”
“The night before she died.”
“Why?”
The woman whispered,
“She said she had no choice.”
Wanning felt a chill.
“No choice about what?”
The woman looked directly at Gu.
“About giving the bride back.”
Gu stood very still.
Wanning looked between them.
“Giving me back to whom?”
The woman didn’t answer.
Then she suddenly stepped away.
“You must leave this village.”
“Why?”
“Because the people who came before are coming again.”
She hurried out.
Wanning ran after her.
“Wait!”
But the woman was already gone.
Wanning returned to the house.
Gu was still standing there.
“What does she mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t start.”
“I genuinely don’t.”
Wanning crossed her arms.
“You’re not going to tell me you’re not scared.”
Gu looked at her.
“I don’t scare easily.”
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
He was silent.
Then he said,
“I am concerned.”
Wanning nodded.
“That sounds more honest.”
⸻
They went to the village records office.
The building was old.
Dusty.
The clerk was an elderly man who immediately became nervous when Gu introduced himself.
“Gu?”
“Yes.”
“You’re from the Gu family?”
“Yes.”
The man swallowed.
“What do you want?”
“Records from seventy to one hundred years ago.”
The clerk stared.
“Which records?”
“Marriage.”
The man looked at Wanning.
“Her family.”
The clerk’s eyes widened.
“Shen?”
“Yes.”
He stood.
“I’ll check.”
He disappeared into the back room.
Wanning leaned toward Gu.
“He’s afraid of you.”
“Most people are.”
“That’s not something to be proud of.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
A few minutes later, the clerk returned with a stack of books.
“I found something.”
He placed the first book on the table.
Wanning opened it.
Names filled the pages.
Births.
Deaths.
Marriages.
She searched.
Then she stopped.
“Here.”
There it was.
Shen Wanning.
Her name.
But the date was impossible.
One hundred years earlier.
She stared.
“That can’t be me.”
“No,” Gu said.
She turned the page.
There was another entry.
Gu Chenyuan.
The date was the same.
Wanning looked at Gu.
“You’re in this book.”
“Yes.”
“Your name.”
“Yes.”
“From one hundred years ago.”
“Yes.”
She looked at him suspiciously.
“Are you actually a ghost?”
The clerk nearly dropped the book.
Gu looked at her.
“No.”
“You’re one hundred and twenty-seven.”
“Yes.”
“You appeared in a marriage record from one hundred years ago.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re telling me you’re not a ghost?”
“Yes.”
Wanning leaned back.
“Wonderful.”
The clerk cleared his throat.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
He took out another record.
“This marriage was never completed.”
Wanning frowned.
“What?”
“There was a marriage arrangement.”
“Between them?”
“Yes.”
“Were they married?”
“No.”
“Why?”
The clerk looked uncomfortable.
“The bride disappeared.”
Wanning’s eyes narrowed.
“What was her name?”
The clerk looked down.
“Shen Wanning.”
Wanning slowly stood.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
The clerk nodded.
“I know.”
“Was there a death record?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three days after the ceremony.”
Wanning’s stomach dropped.
“But you said the marriage wasn’t completed.”
“It wasn’t.”
“Then why does Gu say she was his wife?”
The clerk looked at Gu.
Gu didn’t answer.
Wanning turned to him.
“Why?”
Gu’s voice was quiet.
“Because she was.”
“According to who?”
“According to the ceremony.”
“But the record says it wasn’t completed.”
“Publicly.”
Wanning stared.
“What does that mean?”
Gu closed the book.
“It means there are things the village recorded differently from what actually happened.”
The clerk immediately looked nervous.
“Mr. Gu…”
Gu looked at him.
“Tell us the rest.”
The clerk shook his head.
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“My grandfather told me never to speak about it.”
“Your grandfather?”
“He was the clerk before me.”
“Then what did he know?”
The old man looked at Wanning.
“He knew why the first bride died.”
Silence.
Wanning’s voice dropped.
“Why?”
The clerk’s lips trembled.
“She was killed.”
⸻
They left the records office without speaking.
The rain had stopped.
The village smelled of wet earth.
Wanning walked beside Gu.
“Who killed her?”
“We don’t know.”
“Someone must.”
“Yes.”
“Your family?”
“Possibly.”
“My family?”
“Possibly.”
“Both?”
“Possibly.”
She stopped.
“Can you stop saying possibly?”
Gu stopped too.
“What do you want me to say?”
“The truth.”
“I don’t have it.”
Wanning stared at him.
Then she laughed.
“This is insane.”
Gu said nothing.
“I was abandoned by my parents.”
He listened.
“I was sent away when I was ten.”
He remained silent.
“My grandmother raised me.”
“Yes.”
“She died.”
“Yes.”
“I came back to the city.”
“Yes.”
“My family tried to force me into someone else’s wedding.”
“Yes.”
“I ran away.”
“Yes.”
“I somehow ended up in a mansion that was three hours from the main road even though I thought I’d been walking for minutes.”
“Yes.”
“I found a contract with my name.”
“Yes.”
“I married a man who claims he’s been waiting one hundred years.”
“Yes.”
“And now I’m discovering there was another woman with my exact face who apparently died one hundred years ago.”
Gu looked at her.
“Yes.”
Wanning spread her arms.
“Do you understand why I’m having difficulty accepting this?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
She continued walking.
After several steps, she said,
“I’m not staying in your mansion forever.”
“I know.”
“I’m not becoming some obedient ghost bride.”
“I know.”
“And I’m not blindly trusting you.”
“I know.”
She stopped again.
“You don’t seem offended.”
“Why would I be?”
“Most men would.”
“I am not most men.”
She looked at him.
That answer sounded exactly like something he would say.
⸻
That afternoon, they returned to the shrine.
The place looked different in daylight.
Less frightening.
More abandoned.
Wanning walked toward the wall where their names were carved.
The names were still there.
She touched neither.
Instead, she searched the ground.
“What are you looking for?”
“Anything.”
Gu crouched near the wall.
“There.”
He pointed.
A loose stone.
Wanning pulled it free.
Behind it was a small hollow space.
Inside was an old bundle wrapped in cloth.
She pulled it out.
There was a notebook.
The leather cover had almost rotted away.
She opened it.
The first page contained a name.
Madam Shen Lian.
“My grandmother?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Gu looked at the writing.
“I don’t know.”
Wanning turned the page.
The diary described a woman named Shen Lian who lived in the village more than one hundred years ago.
She had a daughter.
The daughter’s name was Wanning.
Wanning stopped reading.
“Another Wanning.”
“Yes.”
The diary continued.
She was born beneath the heart moon.
Wanning frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Gu didn’t answer.
She continued.
The Gu family came for her.
Another page.
They said she belonged to them.
Another.
We refused.
Another.
The girl was hidden.
Then several pages were torn out.
Wanning flipped through the remaining pages.
The next surviving entry said:
The wedding was moved forward.
Then:
She must never meet him.
Then:
If he finds her, the promise will awaken.
Wanning’s breathing slowed.
“What promise?”
Gu looked over her shoulder.
The next line answered it.
The dead bride will return through her blood.
Wanning closed the diary.
“No.”
Gu looked at her.
“No what?”
“No.”
She stepped back.
“I’m done.”
“With the diary?”
“With all of this.”
She turned.
“We’re leaving.”
Gu didn’t move.
“Wanning.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“I don’t care what your family did one hundred years ago. I don’t care who this girl was. I don’t care about the promise.”
She pointed toward the village.
“I came here looking for information about my grandmother.”
Her voice cracked slightly.
“I wanted to understand why she was afraid.”
She looked down.
“Not this.”
Gu watched her.
“You deserve to know.”
“I know.”
“We’ll find out.”
“I said I’m done.”
She walked away.
Gu followed.
Neither spoke.
⸻
That evening, Wanning received a call.
She looked at the screen.
Liliana.
She almost ignored it.
Then she answered.
“What?”
Liliana’s voice was soft.
“Wanning?”
“What do you want?”
“I wanted to check on you.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re my sister.”
Wanning laughed.
“Since when?”
Liliana became quiet.
“I know we’ve had disagreements.”
“You’ve had disagreements. I’ve had consequences.”
“Wanning…”
“What?”
“I don’t want to fight.”
“Then don’t.”
“I heard you went back to the countryside.”
“Yes.”
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Is Gu with you?”
Wanning frowned.
“Why?”
“I was worried.”
“You don’t need to be.”
“I just…”
Liliana sighed.
“Gu seems like a very serious man.”
Wanning said nothing.
“I met him.”
“I know.”
“He was very kind.”
Wanning almost laughed.
“Gu?”
“Yes.”
“Kind?”
“He helped me when I got hurt.”
“He told someone to get a Doctor.”
Liliana paused.
“You know?”
“Yes.”
“That was kind.”
Wanning shook her head.
“Whatever.”
“Wanning?”
“What?”
“Do you love him?”
Silence.
Wanning’s expression hardened.
“No.”
Liliana’s voice became quieter.
“Good.”
Wanning’s eyes narrowed.
“What did you say?”
“I said… that’s good.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t even know him.”
Wanning leaned back.
“And you do?”
“I’ve met him.”
“Once.”
“That’s enough to know he’s not what people say.”
Wanning smiled coldly.
“Liliana.”
“Yes?”
“Stay away from my husband.”
The silence on the other end lasted several seconds.
Then Liliana laughed softly.
“You’re already calling him your husband.”
Wanning froze.
“I didn’t mean—”
“It’s okay.”
Liliana’s voice was sweet.
“I understand.”
The call ended.
Wanning stared at her phone.
She didn’t like the feeling in her stomach.
Not jealousy.
Not fear.
Something else.
A warning.
⸻
Liliana lowered her phone.
Her mother looked at her.
“What did she say?”
Liliana smiled.
“She told me to stay away from Gu.”
Her mother laughed.
“Why would she say that?”
“She’s afraid.”
“Of you?”
Liliana didn’t answer.
Her father entered.
“What’s going on?”
Liliana looked up.
“Nothing.”
Her father frowned.
“You look happy.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
Liliana’s smile became wider.
“Because Wanning thinks she has something that belongs to her.”
Her mother looked confused.
“What?”
Liliana touched her hair.
“Gu Chenyuan.”
Her mother immediately became serious.
“Liliana.”
“I know.”
“You’re supposed to marry Lu Cheng.”
“I know.”
“Then don’t cause trouble.”
“I won’t.”
Her father sighed.
“Promise?”
Liliana nodded.
“I promise.”
She smiled.
But inside her mind, she had already made a decision.
She wasn’t going to attack Wanning directly.
That would make her look jealous.
She wasn’t going to insult Gu.
That would make him dislike her.
She was going to become the perfect woman.
Gentle.
Polite.
Patient.
Helpful.
The kind of woman everyone trusted.
And when the time came, she would make Wanning look unreasonable for objecting.
⸻
That night, Wanning couldn’t sleep.
She sat beside the window.
The gemstone hung against her chest.
She touched it.
Nothing happened.
Then she remembered something.
Her grandmother had once told her never to remove it.
She had been six.
She had asked why.
Her grandmother had said:
“Because it knows where you belong.”
At the time, Wanning had thought it was a strange old-woman saying.
Now she wondered.
Did her grandmother know?
Did she know about Gu?
Did she know about the first Wanning?
Did she know Wanning would one day meet him?
A knock came.
She looked toward the door.
“Come in.”
Gu entered.
“You’re still awake.”
“Yes.”
He placed a cup of tea on the table.
“You should drink.”
She looked at it.
“What is it?”
“Tea.”
“I know what tea is.”
“Then why ask?”
“To make sure you didn’t poison me.”
Gu stared at her.
“You think I’d poison you?”
“I don’t know you.”
“You’ve made that clear.”
She took the cup.
“Thank you.”
He nodded.
She looked at him.
“Gu.”
“Yes?”
“Why are you really protecting me?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
“I don’t know.”
She frowned.
“You’ve waited one hundred years.”
“Yes.”
“You believe I’m the same woman.”
“Yes.”
“But I don’t remember you.”
“I know.”
“And you still protect me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He looked at her.
“Because whether you remember me or not, something is trying to hurt you.”
Wanning studied his face.
That answer was simple.
No romance.
No grand declaration.
Just certainty.
She looked down at the tea.
“I don’t trust you yet.”
“I know.”
“But…”
She hesitated.
“I don’t think you’re trying to hurt me.”
Gu said nothing.
“That’s all.”
He nodded.
“Good night.”
He turned to leave.
“Gu.”
He stopped.
“Thank you.”
He glanced back.
“For the tea.”
Then he left.
Wanning stared at the door.
She still didn’t trust him.
She still didn’t understand him.
And she certainly didn’t believe she was some dead bride returned from the past.
But for the first time since entering that impossible mansion, she didn’t feel completely alone.
⸻
Far away from the village, an old man sat inside a dark room.
A candle burned in front of him.
On the table lay the missing wooden box.
He opened it.
Inside were old photographs.
Letters.
A broken piece of the heart-shaped gemstone.
And one photograph of a young woman.
The woman looked exactly like Wanning.
The old man touched the photograph.
“She has returned.”
A second person stood behind him.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then the promise has awakened.”
The old man nodded.
“What about Gu Chenyuan?”
“He is with her.”
Silence.
The second person clenched his fists.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
The old man smiled.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Why?”
“Because he still doesn’t know the truth.”
“What truth?”
The old man lifted the photograph.
“The woman he has been waiting for…”
He turned the photograph over.
There was another name written on the back.
Not Shen Wanning.
Not the name everyone expected.
A different name.
A name that had been deliberately erased from history.
The old man whispered,
“She isn’t his bride.”
The candle flame suddenly went out.
And in the darkness, a woman’s voice whispered:
“He belongs to me.”
The old man looked up.
For the first time, fear crossed his face.
Because he knew that voice.
The voice of the bride who had died one hundred years ago.
The bride who had never truly left.
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