Chapter 15

Jiang Zhu finally let out all the resentment she’d bottled up against the Jiang family, and her emotions began to settle.

In her past life, to protect her engagement, she had asked her father—who adored her—for help. Her parents had quarreled for over half a month before finally securing her marriage to the Li family, forcing her younger sister to find another husband.

Now, she no longer wanted Li Yuan. Let Jiang Yun have him—fine.

She just hoped that Jiang Yun could survive for a few years in the marriage she was so desperate to steal.

Listening to Jiang Zhu’s string of accusations, Jiang Yao found it oddly familiar, like she had heard these exact words somewhere before.

But that shouldn’t be!

In her previous life, she had minimal contact with others. She’d spent her days confined in a small space, closely monitored by her grandmother. The people around her were all soft-spoken and gentle, afraid that loud noises might trigger her condition.

There was no way she could’ve heard such a messy, sister-against-sister argument.

“But Jiang Yun is still my biological sister, and I can’t be too harsh on her. If she truly wants to marry my fiancé, then fine.”

“But the Li family’s betrothal gift—half of it must go to me, for my own use, as compensation.”

Li Yuan wasn’t any good either. Judging by the timeline, he had already started fooling around with that dear little sister of hers, even making promises to marry Jiang Yun.

If Jiang Yun hadn’t seduced her man in the past life, she wouldn’t have ended up so miserable. This time around, she would make sure Jiang Yun experienced the same pain.

Taking half of her dowry and betrothal gift? That was just interest.

Upon hearing this, Second Uncle Jiang cleared his throat and said, “Zhu Zhu’s already backed down like this. Why not let Yun Yun marry over instead? Give half the dowry and betrothal gift to Zhu Zhu as an apology.”

“If we keep fighting, none of us will come out looking good. Father, Mother, Eldest Brother—what do you all think?”

“That won’t do!” Li Guihua, the grandmother, objected. “Switching brides like this—what do you take the Jiang family for? If word gets out, no one will respect our girls anymore.”

She was even more disappointed in her second son. The facts weren’t even clear yet, and he was already trying to swap daughters.

People might think the Jiang family was looking down on the Li family by substituting daughters at the last minute.

“Mother,” she continued, “since Zhu Zhu doesn’t want to get married, we can’t just send Yun Yun in her place and give her sister’s dowry to her.”

“If you ask me, it should be Zhu Zhu giving half her dowry to Yun Yun. After all, Yun Yun would be marrying into the Li family on her sister’s behalf.”

Jiang Yao’s second aunt, Kang Qing, quickly jumped in—trying to secure a better deal for her daughter, Jiang Yun. After all, that Li boy was clearly infatuated with her.

If Zhu Zhu was willing to back down, her Yun Yun could definitely marry into the Li family.

The Lis were one of the wealthier households in Forward Brigade. On holidays, the smell of their meat dishes could waft all the way to her home.

Seeing how well-fed the Li women looked, mouths glistening with oil, Kang Qing became even more convinced that the Li family was a great match for her daughter.

“Mother,” Jiang Zhu said bitterly, “weren’t you the one planning with my sister to knock me out on the day of the wedding and send her off in my place with the red veil?”

“If I don’t give in and let her marry my fiancé, you’ll hate me for the rest of your life.”

“Now all I’m asking for is a bit of compensation, but you’re not willing. You’d even take from me to give to my sister.”

“Am I even your real daughter?”

Jiang Yao happened to walk into the courtyard just in time to witness this dramatic scene. She felt like the world had gone mad.

A marriage that was already arranged could apparently be passed around like a parcel—without even informing the other party!

Jiang Yun, hearing Jiang Zhu’s words, cursed the original owner of her new body in her heart. What a mess to clean up.

Whoever wanted Li Yuan could have him. As far as she was concerned, there was no way she was marrying him.

Suddenly, Jiang Yun stepped up to Jiang Zhu—and slapped herself hard across the face.

Playing the victim? Two can play at that game.

“Sister, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have eyed the snow cream that Dad bought for you. I realize now how wrong I was. Please forgive me, just this once!”

“I have a reputation too! I haven’t even been proposed to, and you’re throwing dirt all over me, saying I was scheming after your fiancé!”

“It’s so unjust. I’ve barely even seen the man, and you claim I’ve been after him? That I even asked Mother to force you to step aside for me?”

“And now you want half the dowry and betrothal gift? Sister, maybe you don’t want to marry him, so you’re dragging my name through the mud to escape and marry someone you really like?”

Jiang Yao’s eyes widened as she listened—this entire argument between Jiang Zhu and Jiang Yun was word-for-word identical to the beginning of a novel she had read right before her transmigration.

She had finished the book on the very day she crossed over, so her memory of it was vivid.

This… this was the exact fight between sisters from the opening chapter.

Jiang Yao stood frozen like she had been struck by lightning.

She had transmigrated into the book.

And not just any book—one where a modern transmigrator defeats a native-born reborn girl.

Her second cousin Jiang Zhu was the reborn antagonist, who knew everyone’s future and tried to steal the male lead from the transmigrator heroine.

Her third cousin Jiang Yun was the heroine—a modern white-collar worker from the 21st century who had transmigrated to the 1960s with a magical space that contained an entire supermarket.

She cleaned up the original owner’s mess, rebuilt her reputation, and used her space to make a fortune on the black market—becoming a business queen.

She fell in love with the male lead at first sight. Even though he had three children from a previous marriage, she was willing to marry him and raise his kids as her own.

So much so that the children saw her as more important than their deceased birth mother. The youngest even declared he had only used his biological mother’s womb to be born so that he could grow up loving his new mom.

Jiang Yao felt like she’d swallowed something disgusting. She was the original wife of the male lead—the mother of those supposedly brilliant stepchildren.

And the man these sisters were fighting over? The one they’d go to such lengths for?

It was none other than Deng Hongda, the same man who had just made those slimy, arrogant remarks outside the state-owned restaurant.

Weird—was her memory really that bad?

She had just read the novel, and yet she hadn’t remembered a single character or plot point… until now?

But the moment Jiang Zhu and Jiang Yun started arguing, it had all come flooding back—as clearly as if the story had been carved into her brain.

A sudden chill ran down her spine. She walked up to her grandmother, Li Guihua, and took the older woman’s hand for comfort.

“Grandma, I’m back.”

“Yao Yao, you’re back?”

The two spoke in unison and exchanged a knowing smile.

Then Li Guihua asked with concern, “Why are you back so late? Have you eaten?”

“I have. Grandma, what’s going on at home?”

When she finished the handover paperwork at the co-op, Xu Shaojun had handed her five steaming meat buns.

She had eaten two of them.