Chapter 17 – Not Sure, Better Take Another Look

She turned to look toward the door and saw that familiar face she’d encountered several times before. The moment her eyes met his, Jiang Niannian—who had been laughing just a second ago—immediately stopped smiling.

Wait, why though?

Why was this guy just staring at her like that? Was he… smiling?

Jiang Niannian told herself not to feel guilty—she had paid, after all. It wasn’t like she got anything for free.

She straightened her back and glared right back at him.

Xiao Jingyan turned and left, the corners of his lips involuntarily rising. But as he thought about the proposal to return home and his own current circumstances, his smile slowly faded.

After he walked out, Wang Lin saw him and couldn’t resist teasing.

“Bro, you rushed all the way here. The moment I told you something was happening in the village, you ran straight over. You wanted to see Jiang Comrade, didn’t you?

If you ask me, if you want to see her, that’s easy. Our pig farm is just outside the village—you just need to make a few more trips into town.

Oh! And don’t forget, you two are engaged. So why not—”

Before he could finish, Xiao Jingyan shut him up by pinching his upper and lower lips together.

“That’s enough. Not now. Those people might’ve found my location. Keep an eye out these days—watch for any strangers and stay alert.”

Wang Lin’s face immediately turned serious, and he lowered his voice.

“Those bastards actually found this place?”

Xiao Jingyan shook his head.

“Let’s just wait and see.”

“But Brother Yan, your transfer here shouldn’t be public knowledge. Everything’s been fine for a while—wasn’t this all top secret?”

Xiao Jingyan’s face darkened as he shook his head.

“Not sure.”

He had thought that after several months, the people from that foreign faction would finally give up on chasing him. Yet somehow, they still managed to infiltrate the upper ranks and obtain information about his current whereabouts.

Jiang Niannian let out a breath of relief once she saw him leave.

Still, she felt she needed to talk to him. Things couldn’t just be left like this. Nothing couldn’t be resolved through an open and honest conversation, right?

With that thought, she was about to chase after him—when her cousin Jiang Jiaxing suddenly woke up.

He pointed at her and shouted,

“It’s her! It was her—she’s the one who cracked my head open! Mom, we can’t let her get away with this!”

Jiang Niannian raised an eyebrow and walked over to his bedside. She gave him a sweet smile—then slapped him hard across the face.

“What about it? I did hit you.

I hit you because you deserved it! You knew full well Zhang Fang was dating my second brother, and you still messed around with her—who else was I supposed to hit?”

Third Aunt shrieked the moment she saw Jiang Niannian dare lay a hand on her son.

“You dare hit my son?! I’ll fight you!”

But the moment she let go of her grip, Widow Zhang seized the opportunity and landed two solid punches. Third Uncle Jiang quickly stepped in to separate them, stopping her from hitting again.

Jiang Niannian turned around and slapped Third Aunt across the face too.

“You’ve got time to fill my little brother’s head with nonsense and lead other people’s kids astray, but you can’t even raise your own son properly?”

Third Uncle rushed forward.

“You dare hit your elders?!”

SMACK!

Jiang Niannian slapped him too, sending him reeling.

“You call yourselves elders?

Stupid and wicked—don’t even know how to love your own wife, going off to mess with a widow instead. You can’t even tell your underwear apart! What else are you good for?”

The third branch of the Jiang family was thoroughly defeated.

Third Uncle, clutching his face, looked like he wanted to go another round, but Jiang Weiguo and his son immediately stood in front of Niannian to protect her.

Jiang Daguo sat on the hospital bed in awe.

His little sister was awesome!

“Niannian…”

Before he could finish, Jiang Niannian rolled her eyes at him.

“Look at you. Does your head still hurt?

If not, let’s get going. I’m starving.”

They still had to check on the fish pond—so many fish in there, how much money was that worth?

If someone really poisoned it, even she’d feel heartbroken.

Hearing that, Jiang Daguo immediately jumped off the bed and patted his own head.

“I’m fine now! Your second brother has a hard head!”

Jiang Niannian chuckled. Just as the second branch was preparing to leave, Zhang Fang suddenly called out to Jiang Daguo.

“Daguo, I’m sorry. It was him—he dragged me into it, he forced me. I still like you in my heart. Don’t be mad at me, okay?”

Earlier, Zhang Fang had gone over everything in her head and realized she never knew her own mother was involved with Jiang Laosan. Now it was clear Jiang Jiaxing couldn’t possibly marry her, so the only option left was to cling to Jiang Daguo.

Jiang Daguo froze and looked at her, clearly hesitating.

“Are you serious?”

Jiang Niannian and her mom exchanged a glance, both of them looking utterly speechless.

Jiang Niannian glanced at her mom, then pointed at her own head as if to ask: “Don’t tell me Second Brother is a love-brained fool?”

Wang Yingxiu shook her head. “Hard to say, but it’s possible. This kind of condition can lie dormant for years and only shows symptoms once they grow up.”

Luckily, their worry turned out to be unnecessary.

Just as Zhang Fang was about to give her full confession, Jiang Daguo smiled.

“Zhang Fang, if you had firmly chosen Jiang Jiaxing, I might’ve respected you a bit.

But since you’ve said it—let’s make it final. We’re done for good, no more connections between us.”

Zhang Fang tried to grab his arm again.

But Jiang Daguo yanked his arm away and shouted, “Get lost!

I never want to see you again!”

Jiang Niannian beamed and exchanged a happy glance with her mom. Thank goodness—Second Brother wasn’t love-brained!

As the group left the clinic, the village chief and his son came running after them.

“Let’s all ride back on the tractor!”

“Sure, thanks for the help, Chief.”

When Jiang Weiguo said that, the village chief patted his shoulder and shook his head.

“We’re all from the same village. No need to thank me.

Your niece here is quite something!”

He smiled and nodded at Jiang Niannian.

“Not bad—this girl’s got some spunk.”

Jiang Niannian laughed at the praise and walked with the others toward the tractor. As they approached, they saw two people already sitting on it.

It was Xiao Jingyan and Wang Lin.

Truly, fate works in mysterious ways—but hadn’t they been meeting a bit too often?

Wang Lin saw Jiang Niannian and immediately had a weird expression. He nudged Xiao Jingyan with his elbow.

Xiao Jingyan greeted the village chief and the Jiang family.

The village chief, seeing him, recalled the engagement between the Jiang family and the Xiao family. Now that the person had changed, he wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Jiang Daguo happily walked up and sat beside Xiao Jingyan, introducing him enthusiastically.

“Brother Xiao, this is my sister—my real sister! The previous one wasn’t real. She left without even saying goodbye, just left a note.

Brother Xiao, what do you think of my real sister? I’m telling you—she’s amazing!”

Cough cough cough! Jiang Weiguo quickly cut in. “Daguo, your head isn’t hurting anymore, huh?”

He had to shut him up—this wasn’t something to gossip about in public.

The tractor chugged along, jolting up and down.

Jiang Niannian bounced with every bump, reaching out to pat Da Huang on the head.

Da Huang stood on the tractor, facing the wind, barking twice as he chatted with her. But since Jiang Niannian ignored him, he got bored.

She patted his head again and gave him a look: There are too many people around, I can’t talk to you now.

Besides, she had the strange feeling that someone was watching her—seemed like it was Xiao Jingyan.
She wasn’t sure. Better take another look.