Chapter 12

Human hearts are driven by greed.

Tian Mi is no exception.

Growing up, she rarely felt love from her relatives.

After unexpectedly arriving in this world, although life brought various hardships, she inherited the memories and emotions of her predecessor. She inevitably developed a sense of dependence on the Tian family.

This dependence stemmed from parental love and the bonds between blood relatives.

Regardless of its nature, Tian Mi viewed both as fresh and worthy of cherishing.

But… the faint sprouts of this dependence seemed on the verge of being snapped off…

Just as Tian Mi braced herself with sharp vigilance and considered a way out, she was suddenly pulled away by a strong force.

Caught off guard, she stumbled along for several steps before recognizing that it was her fourth sister, Pan Di, who was dragging her.

The villagers were all captivated by the Tian family’s commotion and did not notice this scene.

With a cold glint in her eyes, Tian Mi maintained a tense expression as she followed Pan Di, taking a left turn and quickly hiding in a dilapidated mud-brick house about two hundred meters from the Tian family home.

The owner of the house was a lonely old man who had passed away a few years ago. Because the house was so rundown and small, it had remained empty for years, with no one willing to live there.

However, although it was uninhabited, neighbors had piled up some wheat straw inside, providing at least some shelter from the wind and rain.

Once inside, Tian Mi discovered that the filthy room, filled with straw, also concealed her third sister, Lai Di, and younger brother, Xiang Yang.

Both were watching her anxiously.

Looking at them, Tian Mi opened her mouth but found herself at a loss for words.

Clearly, Pan Di didn’t need her to say anything. She tightened her small face, pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket, and stuffed it into Tian Mi’s palm.

Without waiting for her reaction, she turned and snatched a small package from Lai Di, shoving it over while urgently saying, “Er Jie, you need to leave quickly.”

At those words, Tian Mi felt a warmth rise in her chest and suddenly turned to the little girl, almost whispering in a shaky voice, “Leave… where?”

“To find your high school classmates? Or to look for the eldest sister? Or maybe to find Third Aunt? … Ah, it doesn’t matter, just get away. I’ve got the introduction letter ready for you… Er Jie, don’t delay any longer; if the grandparents see you, you won’t be able to leave.”

The little girl seemed to possess some kind of magic; otherwise, how could her rapid-fire speech gradually warm Tian Mi’s icy body?

Tian Mi didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she lowered her gaze and opened her palm to reveal the introduction letter.

It was a document stamped with the village’s red seal. With this, she could escape this place and avoid the damn fate of the original book’s female protagonist.

But… could she really leave without a care in the world?

Just a few minutes ago, Tian Mi might have been able to disregard everything.

But now… after her younger siblings offered their heartfelt sincerity, she felt like a hedgehog that had lost its protective shell, left with only its soft interior, unable to take another step forward.

“Er… Er Jie, don’t worry about us. We all share the Tian surname. Even if the grandparents favor the eldest brother, they won’t do anything to us. Besides… there are still Mom and Dad, so you go ahead,” Lai Di said. She had always been honest and timid, but her pale face couldn’t hide the fear that showed through her sickly yellow complexion.

But even though she was scared, she still held her younger brother’s hand, determined to help her sister leave.

Upon hearing her third sister’s words, Pan Di instinctively rolled her eyes, wanting to say that Dad was okay, but Mom was better left alone; she always became unreasonable whenever it came to the eldest brother.

However, just as the words were on the tip of her tongue, she swallowed them back, not wanting to worry her second sister.

—

Tian Mi’s gaze roamed over her younger siblings’ faces; in their eyes, there was the purest and cleanest emotion…

After a moment, she suddenly raised her head without warning and took a deep breath…

“Er Jie…” Tian Xiang Yang, only 10 years old, was smart for his age but still too young to understand many things. Seeing his second sister about to cry, he pouted, ready to burst into tears himself.

Tian Mi immediately lowered her head and patted the little guy on the head, giving a short smile to reassure him, “Jie is fine; don’t worry.”

After saying this, she took another deep breath.

As the last bit of anxiety was exhaled from her lungs, her brows and eyes became resolute.

Tian Mi set down the lobster she was carrying, hugged the package, and walked over to a pile of straw in the corner. After inviting her younger siblings to sit down, she took out a few pieces of candy from her pocket that she hadn’t been able to eat and shared them with them. Then she turned to her fourth sister and asked, “Pan Di, tell me exactly what happened. The more details, the better. Also, where did this introduction letter come from?”

“Jie, this isn’t urgent; you should leave first. Once you’re settled, I’ll write to let you know,” Pan Di said. Despite her young age, she was very clear-headed and understood what was most important in this moment.

Tian Mi shook her head; she couldn’t leave just yet.

Although she hadn’t fully grasped what had happened, she instinctively felt it was connected to that scoundrel Liu Xiangdong.

That bastard was cruel and ruthless. If she left alone, she was certain he would retaliate against the entire Tian family.

She didn’t care about the old man Tian Xixin, the old lady Cao Dahong, or that fool Tian Chang Qing.

But she couldn’t ignore Tian Hongxing and couldn’t bear to see her devoted younger siblings harmed.

So even if she did leave, she had to understand what was going on and ensure it wouldn’t bring trouble to the Tian family: “You need to tell me clearly where the introduction letter came from.”

Pan Di turned her head away, refusing to answer.

At this moment, Tian Mi felt revitalized. Seeing the little girl act this way made her chuckle instead of pressing for answers, so she turned to her third sister.

Lai Di was so intimidated by her second sister’s gaze that she stammered for a while without making sense: “I… I…”

“Alright! I bought two packs of cigarettes and asked an accountant for help,” Pan Di blurted out. Seeing her third sister’s honest demeanor, Pan Di, feeling exasperated, glared fiercely at her second sister and lifted her chin slightly, “What? Is that a problem?”

Was this even a problem?

Tian Mi was genuinely surprised. The little girl could only be around 13 years old… “How did you think to bribe an accountant for help?”

Perhaps influenced by her sister’s calm demeanor, Pan Di felt less anxious. She leisurely leaned back against the straw stack behind her and said casually, “Do we even need to think about this? Accountant Zhang’s little son gets along well with Xiang Yang and tells him everything. Although he’s greedy, he’ll do favors if you give him gifts. Two packs of cigarettes are still within my budget.”

Very good… full marks for logic.

Tian Mi once again felt a sense of intellectual defeat when it came to her fourth sister.

In this era, without any adult guidance, this girl could think of giving gifts to get things done.

It had to be said that little Pan Di was impressive; she truly broadened Tian Mi’s horizons.

She even suspected that Accountant Zhang was probably dumbfounded as well. Who would have thought that an elementary school student would be so savvy…

—

“So… what’s going on at home? What does it have to do with me?”

“… I’m not sure about the specifics, but not long after lunch this afternoon, some people from the Revolutionary Committee went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house and took our big brother away, saying he was being a rogue…” As she spoke, Tian Pan Di curled her lips; she didn’t believe the claims of him being a rogue.

It wasn’t that she trusted her big brother’s character; it was just that Tian Chang Qing was a coward who only acted tough at home.

Tian Mi frowned, “Who’s the woman involved?”

Upon hearing this, Tian Pan Di perked up. She pressed down her third sister, who wanted to interrupt, and sat up straight, quickly chattering away, “It’s that girl from Shengli Village, Wang Hongyan. Do you remember her, Er Jie? She’s the one who accused Dage of being a rogue. Their family has no shame; they even sent word to Grandma and Grandpa that if they wanted her not to accuse our big brother, they had to marry you off to her foolish younger brother and swap brides with their family.”

“It’s her?!” Tian Mi instinctively frowned.

Wang Hongyan had quite a reputation in several nearby villages, but most of it was bad.

She was the village beauty of Shengli Village, different from the original’s delicate sweetness. That girl was tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, the kind of beauty that was round and well-proportioned.

Although her family’s conditions were quite ordinary—one could even say impoverished—she was beautiful, and for several years she had been focused on marrying into the city.

This was nothing unusual; Tian Mi didn’t think there was anything wrong with aspiring for a better life.

However, she had been criticized for not wanting to marry the men in the village but not refusing their advances, even accepting gifts without hesitation.

Such behavior would be talked about in modern times, let alone in such a conservative era.

In rural areas, where every family struggled to make ends meet, young men pursuing their crushes would bring an egg one day and two mantou the next…

While their own parents could barely feed themselves, they were essentially feeding an outsider plump and round—wasn’t that just asking for trouble?

After several rounds of arguments, Wang Hongyan’s reputation in the nearby villages could be described as foul.

But she was indeed one of the prettiest girls in those villages, aside from Tian Mi.

Half a year ago, Tian Chang Qing had somehow become infatuated with her and desperately wanted to marry her.

It was unclear whether he genuinely liked her or if Wang Hongyan, at 23 years old and unable to marry into the city all these years, had suddenly taken a step back and was now willing to marry into the countryside.

Of course, there were conditions.

For instance, if Tian Chang Qing wanted to marry her, he had to have a formal job; being a temporary worker wouldn’t suffice.

In fact, Wang Hongyan would prefer the Tian family to help her find a formal job.

But she also knew that without marrying into the family, it was impossible. So she kept quiet, planning to leverage the situation once she had given the Tian family a grandchild, using the child to pressure them into getting her a job.

Naturally, the Tian family had no idea about Wang Hongyan’s little schemes and were not interested in knowing, because this time, several elders in the family had surprisingly united. No matter how much Tian Chang Qing caused a fuss, they did not agree to let Wang Hongyan into the family.

From the perspective of the old man and woman, their precious grandson, who was outstanding in every way, absolutely could not marry a country girl.

This turmoil had dragged on for half a year.

No one expected that Wang Hongyan would sue Tian Hongxing for being a rogue at this time. After all, the era was conservative, and as a woman, she would undoubtedly face odd glances and scorn.

Tian Mi didn’t believe such a shrewd woman would be unaware of her situation.

Unless… she had enough confidence to guarantee that she could marry into the Tian family with her head held high afterward.

For example… this might just be the play she was acting out with Tian Chang Qing.

Or perhaps… Liu Xiangdong was backing them up.

Having untangled these convolutions, Tian Mi was already ninety percent sure that this incident was a trap set by Liu Xiangdong.

Wang Hongyan was definitely not innocent; confirming that her foolish big brother was involved was still necessary.

No wonder…

No wonder he hadn’t been bouncing around her lately.

She had thought her words that day had made him wary.

Little did she know that his quietness these days was just to lay out a big net.

The dirty thoughts behind it were not hard to guess; he just wanted her to cast aside her dignity and come crawling back to him for mercy, right?

Marrying Wang Hongyan’s foolish younger brother was a ruse; the real goal was to force her to come to him, begging to marry her.

Fck! He wanted to eat shit!

Tian Mi cursed inwardly a few times, irritated as she shifted her sitting position, and asked, “What’s Mom and Dad’s attitude?”

Hearing this, Pan Di sighed like a little adult. “Don’t even think about Mom; the five of us siblings together aren’t worth one Tian Chang Qing. As for Dad…”

“What about Dad?”

“Dad hasn’t agreed yet, which is why Grandma and Grandpa came over crying and wailing. But he can’t go against them; you know this, right? Over the years, whenever Grandma and Grandpa really caused a scene, it was Dad who ended up giving in.” This was also why Pan Di wanted to find a way to get her sister out; she couldn’t bear for her second sister to marry a fool, especially one who would hit people.

Tian Mi pursed her lips. She had the memories of her original self, and in this era, Tian Hongxing could indeed be considered a good father. But… when it came to his parents, he was overly foolishly filial and muddled.

However, she wasn’t completely without hope; at least in dealing with crime, Tian Hongxing couldn’t tolerate any wrongdoing.

Right now, she needed allies, so her father had to be on her side.

As long as she found the right angle, there was still room for maneuver.

Moreover, Liu Xiangdong’s elaborate scheme also indirectly revealed a piece of information.

Her previous threat had indeed been effective; there were entities in the county or city that the Liu family was wary of.

Thinking of this, Tian Mi looked at her youngest brother: “Xiang Yang, go help Jie bring Dad over… and do it quietly.”