Chapter 13: No physical contact between men and women

Halfway through the ride, Jiang Qingrang suddenly felt like something was missing around his waist. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Rourou, why aren’t you holding my waist? Be careful not to fall. Come on, hold on tight.”

Jiang Qingrou refused without hesitation. “Second Brother, I’m an adult now. Don’t you know men and women shouldn’t have physical contact?”

Worried he might feel hurt, Jiang Qingrou added gently, “This seat bar is really stable. I won’t fall, I promise.”

When she transmigrated, she had inherited the original body’s memories and feelings for her family. But she quickly realized that something was off—the Jiang siblings had way too little sense of personal boundaries.

Granted, it had something to do with the original owner being spoiled and mentally immature. The older brothers were overly protective and doting. Still, that kind of closeness just wasn’t appropriate—especially in this era.

Back then, the Jiang family had been well-off, and their eldest brother was a bureau chief, so no one dared say anything to their faces. But once the Jiang family fell from grace, the rumors became a fatal blow.

People started claiming there was an incestuous relationship between the siblings, citing all kinds of “evidence” and “witnesses.” In this conservative society, such accusations became a sword that ultimately destroyed them. Jiang Qingrou and her two brothers met tragic ends.

So Jiang Qingrou decided to draw clear boundaries from now on—which was how it should be anyway.

Jiang Qingrang felt a little disappointed, but not wanting her to get cold, he pedaled faster. When they reached the factory’s residential area, Jiang Qingrou quickly hopped off the bike in one smooth motion.

“Rourou, slow down!” Jiang Qingrang called out from behind.

“Got it! Hurry up and come in, Second Brother—it’s freezing!” Jiang Qingrou called back without even turning around.

Jiang Qingrang watched her disappear into the house before crouching down to lock the bicycle and follow her inside.

As soon as the door opened, a rich, savory scent of chicken soup hit her nose.

Jiang Qingrou’s mouth watered instantly. She kicked off her shoes and dashed inside. “Mom! Can we eat now?!”

She hadn’t eaten all day in order to fit perfectly into her dance costume for the performance. The only exception had been that green bean cake she couldn’t resist when Bai Zhenzhu offered it. Now, smelling that chicken soup, she felt like she might faint from hunger.

Her mother, Qi Fang, lit up when she saw her daughter. She took the bags from Jiang Qingrou’s hands and tapped her nose teasingly. “You little foodie, go take a bath first. Your big brother already heated water for you.”

Jiang Qingrou nodded, thanked her eldest brother, and went off to bathe.

Once she was in the bathroom, Qi Fang quietly asked Jiang Qingrang, “How did it go?”

Jiang Qingrou had always been carefree, so Qi Fang couldn’t tell much from her behavior. After asking, the Jiang family patriarch Jiang Yuan and eldest brother Jiang Qingzhi also leaned in, waiting for an answer.

Qi Fang rolled her eyes at the two men, then looked back at Jiang Qingrang. She knew her daughter’s strengths and weaknesses, but still needed to hear it out loud to be at ease. And if the result was bad, she didn’t dare ask her daughter directly, afraid it would hurt her feelings.

Jiang Qingrang recalled the disappointed look on his sister’s face when she exited the theater and, heart aching, shook his head with pursed lips. He whispered, “Not great.”

He knew his sister well. If things had gone well, her tail would’ve been wagging with joy, and she would’ve talked nonstop from the moment she saw him.

Jiang Yuan still held onto a sliver of hope and asked cautiously, “What about her ranking? Was she far off?”

If the gap wasn’t too big, maybe they could pull some strings.

Jiang Qingrang shook his head again. “Getting into the top fifty would be like winning the lottery for her. If she’d been even close, she’d have come back bragging. But from the looks of it… not good.”

Qi Fang’s face instantly filled with worry. “Then what do we do? Are we really going to let your sister go to the countryside? She’s so delicate—how would she survive?”

She wiped her eyes dramatically while stealing glances at her eldest son, the bureau chief.

Jiang Qingzhi was just about to comfort her and say that going to the countryside didn’t mean she couldn’t come back, when he noticed that both his father and second brother were now staring at him with hopeful eyes.

Feeling awkward, he swallowed hard and asked, pretending not to understand, “Why are you all looking at me? Should we try training Rourou for it? I think she’s pretty adaptable.”

“Adaptable, my foot!” Qi Fang didn’t hesitate to smack her son on the head. “Don’t you know your sister? Her skin turns red with just a little sun—how’s she supposed to farm?”

Jiang Yuan also gave him a look. “Son, I didn’t think you were that kind of person.”

Jiang Qingrang looked furious. “Big Brother, what are you saying? You’d really let Rourou go suffer like that?”

Suddenly, Jiang Qingzhi had become everyone’s target. He opened his mouth to defend himself but couldn’t get a word out. After a long pause, he finally sighed, “I can’t bear to see it.”

Not to mention seeing her suffer—just seeing her eyes turn red made his heart ache.

“Exactly! So big brother, you can fix this, right?” Jiang Qingrang patted his brother’s shoulder.

It wasn’t like he himself was in a position to help—his military career had been undistinguished, and after being discharged, he only managed to land a supply office job. Jiang Qingzhi, on the other hand, had earned his merits through blood and grit. That’s how he had returned as a bureau chief.

Jiang Qingzhi was still torn.

There were only two ways to avoid Jiang Qingrou being sent to the countryside: either get her into a dance troupe, or secure her a job.

Neither option was easy. But for his sister, Jiang Qingzhi was willing to go all in. “I’ll ask around tomorrow and see if they’re hiring voice actors in addition to dancers. Rourou has a great voice—if she can’t dance, voice acting would be a good fit too,” he finally said with a note of determination.

Jiang Yuan and Jiang Qingrang were satisfied with that answer, but Qi Fang still looked a little concerned for her eldest son. “It won’t affect you, will it?” she asked. She was worried, yes—but even more than that, she genuinely didn’t want Jiang Qingrou to be sent to the countryside.

Qi Fang and Jiang Yuan had had two sons before finally having a daughter, and they had spoiled her rotten since birth. Their daughter was so delicate and beautiful—Qi Fang only wanted to protect her in the palm of her hand for life. Even if she were to get married, it had to be to someone she truly approved of—anything less wouldn’t do.

Jiang Qingzhi replied, “It’s fine. No matter what, I have to do this for Rourou. Besides, they still owe me a favor.”

Only then was Qi Fang satisfied, and she went off again to prepare some chicken soup for her daughter.

“Mom! Wait a second!” Jiang Qingrang suddenly called her back.

Qi Fang shot her second son an annoyed look for interrupting her mission to feed her daughter. “What now?”

Jiang Qingrang didn’t mind. After all, Jiang Qingrou was the treasure, and the two sons were just the grass—they’d long gotten used to it. And honestly, Rourou was everyone’s treasure.

Facing his parents and older brother, Jiang Qingrang spoke seriously: “Dad, Mom, Big Brother—no one’s allowed to ask Rourou any questions later, got it? If she brings it up herself, just comfort her.”

“Like we need you to tell us that,” Qi Fang muttered, rolling her eyes so hard they nearly flipped to the ceiling. She turned and went into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Jiang Qingrou was thoroughly enjoying her bath—completely unaware that her parents and two brothers had already mapped out her entire backup plan.