Chapter 3 — The Mighty, All-Powerful Genie

The wedding was held compactly in the grounds of the Duong family villa, with only a few dozen trusted guests, no media, no business people, just as Vĩnh Bảo wished. He wanted this marriage to start quietly, not under the cameras or the rumors of the financial press that always stalked every move of the Duong family.

Đường Nhã Kỳ stood in front of the mirror in the dressing room, her ivory white wedding dress hugging her slim figure, but her face did not have a single trace of happiness of a normal bride. Her eyes looked straight at her own reflection with an almost cruel coldness, as if reminding herself that this was just a contract, a condition that had to be accepted in order to retain the position of heir that she had spent her entire youth proving herself worthy of.

"You may not have to do that." Lâm Đắc Tường, the housekeeper who has been with the Duong family since Nhã Kỳ was young, stood behind her, his voice full of worry. "The boss will understand if you refuse."

"I don't refuse because of grandpa, can I refuse?" Nhã Kỳ replied, her voice was firm but there was a little trembling mixed in. "All my life I've lived the way others planned for the greater good. This time is no different."

She didn't know that the man she was about to call her husband was now standing in another corner of the villa's yard, wearing a neat black suit for the first time in her life, the sleeves were still a bit stiff because he was not used to the real feeling of fabric rubbing against human skin. Cảnh Bách Nguyên looked at his hand in the afternoon sunlight, still not used to the fact that sweat could bead on his palm when he was nervous, a completely strange feeling that he had never experienced in his thousand years as a genie.

"Are you worried?" Vĩnh Bảo asked, sitting in a wheelchair that was pushed next to him. His health had clearly weakened in just a few days since the night of using his last wish.

"I don't know if this is anxiety. This feels very strange," Bách Nguyên answered honestly. "For thousands of years, I've never had to worry about whether someone hates me or not, because it doesn't matter, I'm just a tool to make wishes. Now it's different."

"That's because you're human now." Vĩnh Bảo smiled, although his breathing became more labored. "People are always afraid of being hated, because people always want to be loved. That is a gift, not a burden, even though you may not feel it right now."

The ceremony took place briefly under the purple bougainvillea trellis behind the garden. Nhã Kỳ walked out to the sound of light music, her face remained coldly calm, her eyes glanced at the man waiting for her at the end of the aisle for just a short moment, enough to recognize that he was tall, his face was handsome in a strange way that was difficult to name, and his eyes looked at her without any pity or curiosity as she had imagined, but only a deep and incomprehensible calmness.

Several trusted guests sitting in the front row whispered softly to each other, unable to hide their surprise when they first saw the groom - a man no one had ever heard of before, without any known connections in the business world, appearing suddenly as if falling from the sky to become the husband of the only heiress of the Duong family. A few probing eyes, a few whispers guessing about his true identity, but all were hidden under the solemn atmosphere of the ceremony, and Bách Nguyên, standing there with an unusually calm look, seemed not to care at all about those curious eyes.

They exchanged vows in the presence of Vĩnh Bảo and a few close friends, the words were written according to protocol, without any real emotion on the part of the bride. When it was her turn to exchange the ring, Nhã Kỳ's hand shook a little, not because of emotion, but because she was trying to suppress the anger that had been smoldering in her heart for the past week since the day she heard the news.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this," Bách Nguyên spoke softly, loud enough for only her to hear, as he put the ring on her finger.

Nhã Kỳ looked up, a bit surprised by that statement. She was mentally prepared to face an opportunist, perhaps the son of some grandfather's partner who wanted to take this opportunity to get into the Tang family, or worse, a blatant fortune hunter. But what she said just now was unlike anything she had ever thought of.

"You don't need to apologize," she replied, her cold voice returning soon after. "Just don't expect anything from this marriage. This is a contract, not love."

"I get it," He just replied, without arguing, without trying to convince her to think differently.

The celebration was brief after that, only lasting until about nine o'clock in the evening before Vĩnh Bảo, with his health increasingly weakening, asked permission to retire early to his room. He privately called Bách Nguyên into his room before going to bed, his thin hand holding his hand with an attachment that both understood clearly the meaning.

"I don't have much time left," he said, his voice was already weak. "But I leave with peace of mind, because I know she will have you by her side, even though she doesn't know it."

"Don't say that." Bách Nguyên gently squeezed his hand, a feeling of anxiety rising in his chest in a completely new way that he had never experienced when he was a genie - the fear of losing someone he cherished.

"I only have one more thing to ask of you, in addition to the five-year promise." Vĩnh Bảo looked at him with earnest eyes. "Don't just protect her from the shadows forever. At some point, if you truly have feelings for her, let her know. Don't repeat my mistake, keep the most important things inside until it's too late."

That night, when the whole villa fell asleep after a long day, Đường Vĩnh Bảo passed away in his familiar bedroom, peacefully like a person who has completed everything he needs to do in the world. The butler Lâm Đắc Tường discovered him early the next morning, bringing tea as usual.

The bad news spread throughout the villa within minutes. Nhã Kỳ, still wearing her pajamas, ran down to her grandfather's room, knelt down beside the bed, her trembling hand holding the cold hand of the person who raised her since she was twelve years old, the only person in the world she had ever trusted absolutely. Her cries broke out, there was no longer any arrogance or coldness of a corporate heiress, only an orphan for the second time in her life.

Bách Nguyên stood silently in the doorway, not daring to step in, clearly feeling the pain tearing through his chest - not his own pain, but the strange feeling of witnessing the pain of others and feeling himself in pain too. For a thousand years, he had witnessed countless deaths, of kings, of commoners, of the very masters who imprisoned him, but never once had he felt such loss.

The funeral took place three days later, solemnly in keeping with the status of one of the founders of the largest corporations in the Southern transportation and logistics industry. Business, political, and media people flocked to the entire villa grounds to see him off. In the crowd of black shirts, no one noticed that the newlywed man stood quietly behind Nhã Kỳ throughout the entire ceremony, not saying a word, just quietly reaching out to support her every time her legs seemed to collapse from exhaustion and pain.

After the funeral, when everyone had left, Nhã Kỳ stood alone in front of her grandfather's altar in the large living room, looking blankly into space. She turned around and saw Bách Nguyên still standing there, waiting patiently without saying a word all afternoon.

"You don't have to stand here," she said, her voice hoarse from crying so much in the past few days.

"I don't mind," he replied.

"I don't need your pity." Nhã Kỳ turned away, her harsh voice returned, as if the pain just made her more determined to rebuild the defensive wall that had almost collapsed. "From today, you can live in this house, that's the condition of the will, I can't change it. But don't expect me to consider you my real husband. You're just a name on the papers so I can keep the inheritance that my grandfather left me. That's it."

She walked, her back straight, trying to maintain her pride even though her shoulders were shaking from repression. Bách Nguyên stood alone in the middle of the large living room, watching her figure disappear down the hallway, his heart filled with emotions that in a thousand years he had never had to learn to name: human loneliness, sadness that could not be shared, and a silent determination that no matter how far she pushed him away, he would keep his promise to the friend who gave him the opportunity to live a human life - to protect Đường Nhã Kỳ, whether she ever knew it or not.