Chapter 27

“Big sis, is it true there’s really a hundred yuan?”

Chen Meiling, who doted on her younger brother, smiled and said, “Of course. Once you marry that educated youth from our village, the hundred yuan will be yours.”

Chen Xiaoli grinned and followed her to the hospital. When he saw the educated youth lying on the bed, he swallowed hard.

Though she was a little thin, she was still much prettier than the girls he’d been matched with before.

The matches he’d seen were all from Chenjia Village, a place where sons were valued over daughters to the extreme. The women there had sallow, lifeless faces. So when he first laid eyes on this female educated youth, he was instantly smitten.

“Sis, I’ll marry her. She’s much prettier than the ones Mom set me up with, and she has money too.”

Chen Meiling had expected her brother to like her. “Good, then just get into the bed and sleep. Nowadays, once a woman’s been taken advantage of, she’ll obediently marry you.”

Chen Xiaoli nodded with a grin, took off his padded jacket, and slid under the quilt. Chen Meiling curled up in a corner to sleep.

The scent of the woman beside him was intoxicating, and Chen Xiaoli couldn’t resist. It was the first time he had smelled such a sweet fragrance.

Jiang Ying had always cherished herself, even bathing with soap, leaving her skin faintly fragrant.

Such a scent made a man restless. Hidden beneath the quilt, his hand began to roam, and he left marks on her body. Only later in the night did he finally fall asleep, satisfied.

When Jiang Ying woke up in the morning, something felt off. She remembered going to ask for money—so why was she here? And there seemed to be someone behind her… her chest didn’t feel right either.

Startled, she sat up quickly, and when she saw the strange man sleeping beside her, she screamed, “Who are you?”

At that very moment, Lin Jingguo, who had come early to check on her, entered the room and saw the scene.

Chen Meiling, awakened by the noise, stood up. “What happened?”

Lin Jingguo frowned. “Second Xie daughter-in-law, what’s going on? Why is your brother here?”

Chen Meiling had already prepared her excuse. “Actually, my brother and Jiang Zhiqing have been courting each other for a while. When he heard she was hurt, he rushed over to see her. I didn’t know they were seeing each other, or else I wouldn’t have treated her that way.”

Chen Xiaoli also chimed in, “Yingying and I have been together for a long time. We were supposed to marry before the New Year, but because of the bride price, I didn’t want to wrong her. She agreed to just ten yuan as a bride price, but then this accident happened. I was so worried about her that I came here last night.”

Lin Jingguo could see what was really going on, but looking at the marks on Jiang Zhiqing’s body, he sighed inwardly.

“Since you two already plan to marry, then you might as well take her home now.”

But Jiang Ying refused outright, “Village chief, I don’t even know him! They’re working together to trap me!”

Chen Xiaoli pulled her into his arms forcefully. “Wife, don’t be shy. After what happened last night, just come home with me.”

As he held her, he even stole a kiss from her lips.

Jiang Ying quickly broke free. “Village chief, no! I only just woke up this morning. Nothing happened between us!”

But Chen Xiaoli seized her wrist, refusing to let her go, and whispered a vicious threat in her ear: “Jiang Zhiqing, we did everything but the final step. Your body still bears my marks. If you don’t marry me, word will spread that you have a mole on your backside. Let’s see who else would take you then.”

At that time, a woman’s reputation was everything—and Chen Xiaoli and Chen Meiling were using exactly that to trap Jiang Ying.