When Gu Xiaoxi woke up, it was already noon.

She felt as though her entire body had fallen apart, aching and sore, with no desire to move at all.

After taking a moment to recover, she finally sat up and changed her clothes.

It was then that she noticed a purple jade pendant hanging around her neck.

The carving on the jade pendant was unique—a simple yet ancient-looking balance scale.

When had Lu Jiansen put it on her?

She took it off, intending to find a box to store it in, but just as she was about to move, her legs suddenly gave out, and she collapsed onto the floor.

Her palm scraped against the ground, and a few drops of blood seeped into the jade pendant.

In the next moment, Gu Xiaoxi noticed that the balance scale engraving on the pendant had vanished, and before her eyes, two strange rooms appeared.

One was dilapidated, with a sign that read: “Old Goods Storage.”

The other room, however, looked futuristic and high-tech, exuding a mysterious yet vibrant atmosphere.

This room also had a sign: “New Products Exhibition Hall.”

Gu Xiaoxi rubbed her eyes and muttered, “Am I seeing things?”

Just as she was feeling puzzled, she heard her mother talking to someone outside.

“Xiaoxi wasn’t feeling well yesterday. She probably came back from the hospital and went straight to sleep. Let me ask her first. Director Wang, please sit down and have some water.”

Gu Xiaoxi jolted, quickly got up from the floor, smoothed her hair and clothes, and prepared to open the door.

But as her hand touched the door, she remembered something and glanced back.

At that moment, she noticed that the two rooms had disappeared, while the vanished balance scale engraving on the pendant had mysteriously returned.

Though she didn’t understand what was happening, she no longer felt like storing the pendant. Instead, she carefully and securely put it back around her neck, tucking it inside her clothes.

Opening the door, she immediately saw her mother and Director Wang from the neighborhood committee sitting in the living room.

She was momentarily stunned but quickly greeted them, “Mom, Director Wang!”

Jiang Xiuqing looked at her daughter, gently touched her forehead to check for a fever, and then asked, “Xiaoxi, did you see Gu Xinli yesterday?”

Gu Xiaoxi was a bit confused but nodded, “Yes, she came over last night with Aunt Liu to borrow my bicycle. I lent it to her.”

This hadn’t happened in her previous two lives, and she wondered why her mother was suddenly asking about Gu Xinli.

Jiang Xiuqing glanced at Director Wang and tentatively asked, “Then, did you see a man last night? A soldier?”

Gu Xiaoxi’s heart skipped a beat, but she maintained her composure and shook her head, “No. Why?”

Director Wang, seeing Gu Xiaoxi’s bewildered expression, sighed and explained, “Your brother asked a comrade to deliver something to your house. Since no one was home during the day, the soldier took it to your grandparents’ house instead.”

Gu Xiaoxi blinked. There was such a thing?

Why hadn’t she known about this in her previous two lives?

Director Wang continued, “That soldier is very outstanding. He’s only twenty-five this year, but he’s considered an older bachelor. He wanted to use his leave to find a match, and his comrade’s sister was a good choice…”

By now, Gu Xiaoxi was stunned.

The soldier Director Wang was referring to must be Lu Jiansen, right?

And the comrade’s sister… was her?

Her brother, Gu Dachuan, was indeed serving in the northern military district, though he wasn’t a high-ranking officer, just a company commander.

But in her previous two lives, she had never heard her brother mention this!

No one in the family had known that her brother’s comrade had visited!

“It’s all that heartless, wicked Gu Xinli’s fault. She told the soldier that she was your brother Gu Dachuan’s sister, so they went on a blind date and had a meal together.” Director Wang’s voice was filled with anger.

“They even drugged the soldier, trying to force a marriage, which resulted in him spending the night in the hospital for emergency treatment…”

And it had also led to her, as the neighborhood director, being scolded by her superiors. She was both furious and frustrated.

Gu Xiaoxi’s mind was in turmoil!

Hadn’t Lu Jiansen spent the night in her bed? Was her house a hospital?

Emergency treatment?

Was she the doctor who saved him?

As her thoughts raced, she suddenly remembered something.

How did Director Wang know such detailed information?

Just as she was wondering, Director Wang’s next words answered her question.

“The soldier reported the incident to his superiors early this morning. The punishment for Gu Xinli has already been decided—she’s being sent to the countryside for labor reform…”

At this point, Director Wang paused and added, “The soldier also wants to meet you!”

Gu Xiaoxi’s mouth fell open. She felt both excited and secretly pleased.

Gu Xinli was being sent to the countryside for labor reform ahead of schedule, and she didn’t even have to lift a finger?

This was truly fantastic!

Seeing the happiness on Gu Xiaoxi’s face, Director Wang couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

She smiled at Jiang Xiuqing and said, “It seems the child is willing to meet the soldier. This is actually a rare and excellent match. Xiaoxi is a lucky girl. Otherwise, she might have had to go to the countryside too. After all, people’s hearts are hard to predict.”

Director Wang’s last words carried a hint of implication.

Jiang Xiuqing understood and fell into deep thought.

She was reluctant to marry off her daughter so soon. Xiaoxi had been frail since childhood and had been raised with great care.

But sending her daughter to the countryside was even more unthinkable.

She knew her daughter couldn’t endure such hardship!

With this in mind, she nodded, “Then please arrange a time for them to meet, Director Wang.”

Director Wang laughed, “Why wait for another day? How about today? The soldier is actually from Beijing, but his aunt married into our city. Let’s have both families sit down tonight and talk!”

Jiang Xiuqing was taken aback, “Today? Isn’t that too rushed?”

Director Wang smiled and advised, “It is a bit sudden, but such a good match shouldn’t be delayed. Delays can lead to complications!”

If the soldier hadn’t specifically asked for this girl, she would have tried to set him up with her own niece or cousin!

Jiang Xiuqing glanced at her daughter and, seeing no objection, agreed.

After Director Wang left, Jiang Xiuqing hurriedly went to her brother-in-law’s house across the street, took the bicycle Gu Xinli had borrowed but not returned, and left in a rush.

From start to finish, she didn’t say a word to her daughter.

Left at home, Gu Xiaoxi: “…”

She had planned to visit her grandfather at the hospital today too!

…

City Hospital.

After explaining the situation, Jiang Xiuqing sat down, feeling conflicted.

Gu Yimin was silent for a moment before saying, “Director Wang isn’t the type to meddle without reason. If she’s saying this, the soldier must be truly outstanding. What does Xiaoxi think?”

Jiang Xiuqing thought for a moment, “Xiaoxi seemed a bit surprised but didn’t show any signs of refusal.”

Gu Yimin nodded, “Then let’s meet him. I’ll go back with you to prepare. We’ll have the nurses look after Dad for now and come back later.”

Grandpa Jiang, lying in bed, suddenly propped himself up and said sternly, “Don’t worry about me. As long as Xiaoxi doesn’t dislike the soldier, you must make this marriage happen!”

Jiang Xiuqing looked at her father in surprise, “Dad…”

Grandpa Jiang lowered his voice, “The situation is tense now. Those people came to our house, smashed things, and injured me. It will only get worse. Dachuan’s position in the military is still too low to protect Xiaoxi. A military marriage is different…”

Grandpa Jiang analyzed several points for his daughter and son-in-law, urging them to do everything they could to make the meeting happen that evening.

Jiang Xiuqing nodded, “Dad, I understand.”

Her father had only served as a bank director in Huai City for three years during the Republican era. He had always been kind to others and had helped many people, but in recent years, his past goodwill had gradually lost its effect.

This time, he was hospitalized due to injuries caused by a group of people who, under various pretexts, repeatedly searched their home, convinced that a former bank director’s family must have hidden wealth.

These people only believed what they wanted to and paid no attention to the fact that the Jiang family’s house had shrunk over the years, was in poor condition, and that they were dressed modestly with no surplus food at home.

Gu Yimin helped the elderly man settle in, gave instructions to the nurse, and then left with his wife.