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Sheng Hao couldn’t understand it—how the girl who used to cling to him every day, always trailing behind and saying she wanted to be his bride, could suddenly speak to him with such a cold tone.
“It must be because I didn’t want to marry her. She was heartbroken and married some old man just to get my attention,” Sheng Hao muttered to himself. “Hmph, that has to be it.”
But just now, even from a distance, why did the man speaking with Jiang Zhi Ning look kind of familiar?
Seeing that he was still thinking about Jiang Zhi Ning, Shen An’an grew increasingly unhappy. She stepped forward and tried to link her arm with his. “Brother Sheng Hao, let’s go.”
Sheng Hao shook off her hand in irritation. “Don’t touch me.”
Shen An’an looked hurt. “We’re already engaged. Once the military approves our marriage next month, we’ll be husband and wife. How can you treat me like this?”
“Why do you think I’m marrying you? Don’t you know?” Sheng Hao said impatiently.
Of course Shen An’an knew.
When the Sheng family refused to honor the engagement, she was scolded by neighbors and gossiped about. She decided to take matters into her own hands.
She bribed Sheng Hao’s driver to find out when he went out drinking and drugged his alcohol. Then she staged a “coincidental” meeting and, once the drug took effect, slept with him.
Afterward, she arranged for her parents to walk in on them, forcing Sheng Hao to take responsibility.
Otherwise, they’d report him to the military for sexual misconduct.
Sheng Hao had no choice but to get engaged to her.
“I know you don’t love me,” Shen An’an said softly, “but I believe, given time, you’ll come to care for me.”
Sheng Hao was about to be promoted to company commander—once she became the commander’s wife, no one would dare gossip about her anymore.
No matter what, she was never going to let this man go.
“Just behave yourself. If I catch you flirting with other men, I’ll beat you to death,” Sheng Hao warned.
“Don’t believe anything Jiang Zhi Ning says. She’s just jealous that I got to marry you. That night we spent together—you know whether or not I was still a virgin,” Shen An’an said coyly.
Thinking maybe Jiang Zhi Ning’s words were just out of jealousy, Sheng Hao finally calmed down.
But when he looked at Shen An’an’s face—so different from Jiang Zhi Ning’s—he felt nothing. He couldn’t even understand how he managed to sleep with her that night.
Irritated, he turned around and walked off.
Watching him go, Shen An’an’s eyes filled with resentment. “Damn you, Jiang Zhi Ning. You nearly turned Sheng Hao against me. Just wait—once I become the commander’s wife, I’ll make you pay.”
Meanwhile, on the way back, Song Yuzhou couldn’t stop looking at the marriage certificate. He still couldn’t quite believe it—he was actually married.
After adopting his older brother’s child, he had planned to remain single for the rest of his life.
“Comrade Yuzhou, are you still in disbelief that you got such a beautiful wife?” Jiang Zhi Ning teased with a smile.
Snapping out of it, Song Yuzhou replied, a bit awkwardly, “I honestly thought I’d be single forever.”
“If it weren’t for me, you would be single forever,” Jiang Zhi Ning said matter-of-factly.
Her appearance had, in truth, changed Song Yuzhou’s life.
Hearing that, he held her hand and looked at her quietly.
With her chin resting on her hand, Jiang Zhi Ning smiled teasingly. “Why are you staring like that, Comrade Yuzhou? Planning to eat me alive?”
His ears turned red, and he quickly looked away.
Jiang Zhi Ning tried hard not to laugh at his reaction.
After a bumpy ride, they finally arrived at the village entrance.
When villagers saw Jiang Zhi Ning getting out of a military vehicle, they looked at her with envy.
Jiang Zhi Ning remained calm and composed.
She walked ahead empty-handed, while Song Yuzhou followed behind, carrying several large bags and a huge backpack.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help—he just didn’t give her a chance.
Walking through the village, maybe because of the Shen family, she suddenly felt more warmth toward this place—even though she didn’t like the people much.
As they neared home, they ran into the village woman who had mocked her before.
Aunt Lin was about to walk past when Jiang Zhi Ning stopped her. “Auntie Lin.”
“What do you want?” she snapped.
Jiang Zhi Ning slowly pulled out the marriage certificate from her bag, smiling proudly. “I have good news! Comrade Yuzhou and I are officially married. Here’s our marriage certificate. Looks like your family missed their chance.”
Aunt Lin glanced at the certificate and scoffed. “My Chunhua wouldn’t want him anyway.”
But her gaze drifted to the items in Song Yuzhou’s hands—her eyes lit up with greed.
“That’s great then. Comrade Yuzhou, heavy stuff, isn’t it? Let’s go home,” Jiang Zhi Ning said cheerfully, walking off with a spring in her step.
Aunt Lin stood there, seething with envy.
When they got home, Lin Chunmei was shocked to see Song Yuzhou carrying so many things.
“Mom, Dad, these are some gifts for you,” Song Yuzhou said sincerely.
They opened the bags—there were fifty jin of pork and lamb, two bottles of malted milk powder, and several packs of cigarettes.
Shen Guochao quickly waved his hands. “No need, no need. These are far too generous.”
Since Jiang Zhi Ning was mistakenly switched at birth and they hadn’t raised her, they had refused the traditional bride price when Song Yuzhou offered it.
They were already grateful she was willing to stay in the village for a few days—there was no way they’d accept any betrothal gifts.
So Song Yuzhou had given up the idea of buying the “Three Golds” (a traditional dowry) and instead chose this approach.
“This is only right,” he said, taking out a thick wad of cash from his pocket. “Since you won’t accept a formal bride price, here’s 800 yuan. Think of it as my offering for marrying Zhi Ning.”
The Shen family was stunned.
Lin Chunmei panicked. “We can’t take this! Even though Zhi Ning is our biological daughter, we didn’t raise her. We absolutely won’t accept this money.”
Jiang Zhi Ning was also surprised that Song Yuzhou gave so much. Though his salary was good for this era, 800 yuan was still a large sum.
“I want Zhi Ning to have a family—someone she can always rely on,” Song Yuzhou said earnestly.
He actually had his own selfish reason.
As a soldier, he could be sent on dangerous missions at any time. If something ever happened to him, Jiang Zhi Ning would still have her family to fall back on.
Her heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t expected him to be so thoughtful.
Shen Guochao looked at the man in front of him with admiration in his eyes.
“Yes. Even though we didn’t raise you, we did bring you into this world,” Jiang Zhi Ning said with a smile.
Shen Guochao thought for a moment, then accepted the money. “All right. As Zhi Ning’s father, I’ll accept this bride price.”
“Dear—” Lin Chunmei started to protest.
Shen Guochao pulled out 100 yuan and placed the rest of the money into Jiang Zhi Ning’s hands.
“Child, one hundred is enough for giving you life. We didn’t raise you—take the rest. Once you’re in the army compound, having money will help life go a little easier,” he said gently.
Looking at her parents, Jiang Zhi Ning’s eyes turned misty.
Maybe transmigrating into this novel was fate’s way of giving her a chance to make up for the loneliness of her past life.