Chapter 21: Eloping with a Wild Man

Wang Tiejiang truly wanted to cry but had no tears. He never imagined things would spiral into this mess. If he had known, even with ten times the courage, he wouldn’t have dared to stir up this kind of trouble.

Now, it was too late to say anything!

“You saw it yourself, Fang Zhiqing isn’t someone easy to deal with.”

“You mean I am easy to deal with?” Jiang Yunhe couldn’t understand what went on in his head. It looked like last night’s lesson still wasn’t enough.

“That’s not what I meant…” Wang Tiejiang thought to himself, Isn’t it just human nature to pick the softest persimmon to squeeze? If he had another choice, he wouldn’t be doing this either.

“Enough. Let’s set aside the engagement for now. But as for you marrying her—you better think that through again.” Jiang Yunhe hadn’t given up on her original plan. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

Fang Mianmian racked her brains to set her up, sending over one piece of garbage after another. If Jiang Yunhe didn’t retaliate, that would be far too easy on them.

Wang Tiejiang stayed silent, but recalling Fang Mianmian’s expression just now, he did start to feel a little tempted.

Jiang Yunhe wasn’t in a rush. No matter what decision he made, things would eventually play out the way she wanted. Worst case, she’d just tie him up and toss him onto the Kang bed in the Wang family’s house—then let nature take its course!

Widow Liu looked awkward and kept praying hard that Jiang Yunhe hadn’t noticed her, that she’d be ignored completely.

But things never go as wished!

Not only did Jiang Yunhe notice her, the look in her eyes grew increasingly cold.

Widow Liu shivered involuntarily and quickly begged for mercy. “Jiang Yunhe, I was wrong, please don’t… I didn’t think things through. I promise I won’t ever mess with you again.”

She finally understood—no matter what, her attitude had to be right. Otherwise, she’d be the next to suffer.

Thinking that, her face turned even paler.

Jiang Yunhe chuckled coldly before speaking: “Heh, you’re pretty clever, huh? Scared I’ll come after you? But no matter how clever you are, you can’t escape.”

Widow Liu shot back, “I haven’t even hurt you, what more do you want from me?!”

If Jiang Yunhe really did marry Wang Tiejiang, then maybe she could be considered as stealing someone’s man. But Jiang Yunhe hadn’t married him, and she clearly didn’t care about his life or death.

So why target her?

What Widow Liu didn’t know, Jiang Yunhe knew very well. In her past life, this woman schemed against her plenty. Almost every time Wang Tiejiang returned from her place, Jiang Yunhe would get beaten.

Now it was her turn.

“What do you think of Fang Mianmian?”

“I think…” Widow Liu’s mind flashed with countless thoughts in that moment. Did her opinion even matter? Jiang Yunhe was clearly aiming at one thing while speaking of another.

What if she gave the wrong answer?

“Be honest.”

“I don’t think she’s anything special. Looks, manners, glib tongue—none of it compares to you!” Widow Liu spat it out like her life depended on it.

And to be fair, she wasn’t lying.

In her opinion—in anyone with eyes—Fang Mianmian couldn’t compare to Jiang Yunhe in terms of beauty. Fang Mianmian was just more refined in dress and style.

Jiang Yunhe had always looked timid from the long-term abuse, which caused people to overlook her looks.

But now…

She was different.

Just watching them stand side by side earlier, it was clear Jiang Yunhe was not inferior—if anything, she had the upper hand in presence.

Jiang Yunhe twitched her lips slightly. She didn’t actually care to compete in beauty with Fang Mianmian—she just wanted to provoke her and spark some internal rivalry between women.

After all, Wang Tiejiang didn’t seem that committed.

If Widow Liu stirred the pot a bit, Fang Mianmian’s life would get much more interesting.

“Let me ask you another way—how likely do you think it is that Wang Tiejiang is falling for Fang Mianmian?”

“Well…”

“Think about it. You and him—your relationship is basically public knowledge now. If you think things can go back to how they were, that’s not happening. But what if he takes a wife?”

“…”

Jiang Yunhe left it at that.

Widow Liu couldn’t help following her logic. She wasn’t wrong—if Wang Tiejiang married someone, she’d be out of the picture.

But then again…

If Wang Tiejiang did fall for Fang Mianmian, what would be left for her?

She thought it over and had to admit—Jiang Yunhe was making sense. She needed to be more careful and maybe learn a thing or two.

Jiang Yunhe changed the subject: “I heard your brother on your mother’s side works in transport in the county?”

Widow Liu: “…”

She wasn’t even that familiar with Jiang Yunhe, really.

How did she know so much about her family? It didn’t sit right.

Jiang Yunhe reassured her, “Relax. I’m not trying to make things hard for you.”

Widow Liu: “I don’t believe you.”

If she did, she’d be a complete idiot.

Jiang Yunhe paused, touched her face, and wondered—Do I really look that untrustworthy?

That couldn’t be right!

She thought she looked quite sincere.

Widow Liu gritted her teeth. “The scheming—that was all Fang Mianmian and Sun Meilin. At most, we were accomplices. No, not even that! If you’ve got guts, go take it up with them! What’s the point of bullying the two of us?”

Jiang Yunhe replied, “You call this bullying?”

Widow Liu: “…”

Damn it. She was clearly the one suffering, so why did she feel so guilty when Jiang Yunhe questioned her? Like she had done something wrong.

Jiang Yunhe continued: “Help me get in touch with your brother.”

Widow Liu: “No!”

She might be morally lax, but she still had some respect for her brother. Even through all her tough times—well, not that tough—she’d never asked him for help.

Doing so now just because of Jiang Yunhe? No way.

Jiang Yunhe was genuinely surprised by her firmness. She looked like a pushover, but she clearly had some backbone.

That meant she couldn’t use her.

She had been hoping to connect with her brother to quietly move vegetables and fruits from her secret space and maybe make some good money. But given her refusal…

She figured she’d have to put that plan on hold for now.

Maybe she needed to explore other options—depending on someone else just wasn’t reliable.

Widow Liu noticed Jiang Yunhe seemed to back off and immediately felt relieved. She was really afraid Jiang Yunhe would just hit her without a word. Then she’d have really cried.

Meanwhile, Wang Tiejiang had a sudden realization and blurted out, “Jiang Yunhe, are you trying to find a transport team for something… Don’t tell me—you’re planning to run away? Or maybe elope with some wild man?!”