Chapter 3 – Just Transmigrated and Already Jumping Into a Fire Pit?

Wen Nian gave a cold snort.

“If the Zheng family is so great, then let Wen Xue have the blessing. I’ll go in her place to the Lu family instead.”

Wen Jianping and Chen Qiuwei exchanged a knowing glance and rejected her in unison.

“No way!”

Seeing this, Wen Nian felt a chill for the original supporting character.

Having such a heartless adoptive father was simply the worst kind of luck.

Letting his biological daughter take the supporting character’s place was already shameless enough, and yet he still wanted to push her into a pit of fire.

Wen Nian’s mind raced.

The current situation clearly wasn’t in her favor.

If she denied being the supporting character, then her identity would immediately become suspicious.

She was essentially undocumented here and couldn’t explain her background.

One wrong move and she might be treated as a spy and thrown in jail.

But if she accepted the supporting character’s identity, she’d be forced to marry that abusive man.

No way. She had to avoid this plotline.

Wen Jianping didn’t know she had figured out the truth about the original girl’s identity.

Better to bide her time and pretend she knew nothing.

Before the real daughter was born, she needed to find a way to get into the Lu family and expose the truth of the original’s birth.

Once the true identity was confirmed, even if Wen Jianping tried to pull a “switch the prince for the raccoon” trick, it’d be useless.

Since the couple was dead set on this path, she’d have to start with Wen Xue.

She turned her aim toward Wen Xue and lit the fuse.

“Wen Xue, you probably don’t know this, but Lu Hanzheng isn’t exactly a normal man. He has… a defect.”

Wen Xue was shocked by her blunt and explicit words.

“You… what nonsense are you spouting?”

Wen Nian started making things up.

“I’m not talking nonsense. If he’s fine, then why hasn’t he been with any women all these years? It’s because he’s not capable.”

Wen Xue didn’t believe it.

“That’s impossible!”

“Why not? If you don’t believe me, ask your mom.”

She turned to Chen Qiuwei.

“Aunt Chen, I heard everything you and my dad said yesterday. How could you keep something like that from her? If Wen Xue really marries him and it turns out to be true, aren’t you ruining her life?”

Chen Qiuwei’s heart skipped a beat. She exchanged a subtle glance with Wen Jianping, her eyes flickering.

They had been extremely cautious when scheming yesterday—how did this dead girl hear them?

And how much had she heard?

She quickly reviewed their conversation in her head. Thankfully, they hadn’t mentioned the original girl’s true parentage.

Wen Xue saw her mother’s silence and obvious guilt and couldn’t believe it.

“Mom, is it true? Does Lu Hanzheng really have some kind of… defect?”

Chen Qiuwei finally snapped out of it and quickly denied it.

“Nonsense! He’s fine. Don’t listen to Wen Nian’s rubbish.”

There had indeed been some rumors about his… issue in the military compound, but they were never confirmed.

Wen Nian put on an innocent face and said to Chen Qiuwei,

“I wasn’t making it up. Didn’t you say it yourself? That Lu Hanzheng is old and fierce, that his body’s defective and he’s not… functional. You also said it didn’t matter whether Wen Xue had a good life or not—as long as she married into the Lu family and clung to their power, it was worth it.”

Chen Qiuwei’s expression turned ugly. She pointed at Wen Nian and scolded her,

“What nonsense are you spewing! When did I ever say that? I just said I suspected he had health problems. You’re a young girl—how can you talk like this? Don’t you feel ashamed?”

But Wen Xue wasn’t having it.

“Mom, how could you do this? If he really has that kind of problem, aren’t you just pushing me into a fire pit?”

She whipped her braid and her face turned dark.

“I’m not going to the Lu family, and I’m definitely not marrying Lu Hanzheng. I’m only eighteen—he’s almost thirty! That old and with problems? Whoever wants him can have him!”

She was the Wen family’s little princess, the flower of the steel factory’s family compound.

Plenty of men wanted to marry her—the line stretched from the steel plant all the way to her front door.

She lived a pampered life, never lacking food or clothes, with plenty of pocket money each month.

Why on earth would she give all that up to take Wen Nian’s place and marry some old guy?

Wen Jianping had been angered by Wen Nian earlier, and the fire in his chest was still burning…

Hearing her daughter’s words, he flew into another rage.

He raised his hand, ready to slap her.
“I think it’s your mother who’s spoiled you rotten. You can’t even think straight! Do you know what kind of family the Lu family is? If you marry into it, you’ll have wealth and status for the rest of your life! Lu Hanzheng is the only son of the Lu family—eventually the entire family will be yours. So what if he’s older? He’ll know how to treat you right. What do you even understand?”

Chen Qiuwei saw that Wen Jiancheng was truly angry, his face full of fury, and quickly stepped in to stop him.
“Alright, alright, she’s still a child. Just talk to her properly—what are you raising your hand for?”

She held back her temper and tried to reason with Wen Xue.
“Xue’er, you’re not that young anymore—it’s about time you got married. With how good the Lu family’s conditions are, don’t be picky anymore. You should really take this opportunity.”

But Wen Xue wasn’t having it.
“I won’t! If you want to suck up to the Lu family, do it yourselves. Don’t push me into a fire pit!”

Chen Qiuwei jabbed a finger at her daughter.
“You damned girl, why are you so stubborn? I already told you there’s nothing wrong with his body—those are just rumors!”

Wen Xue lifted her chin defiantly.
“I don’t believe it. I just won’t go.”

Chen Qiuwei forced herself to stay calm and analyze the pros and cons for her.
“Even if he really did have a problem, the Lu family would be the ones at fault. They’d definitely feel guilty, and that would just make them treat you better and compensate you more.”

Wen Xue exploded.
“Mom, what are you saying?! If there is something wrong with him, wouldn’t that ruin my whole life? What use is their compensation then?”

“I’m just saying what if! It’s not like there really is a problem.”

“‘What if’ my foot! I get it now. You two just want to use me to climb up the Lu family’s ladder! I’m telling you again—I. Won’t. Go!”

Seeing how their difficult daughter just wouldn’t be reasoned with, Chen Qiuwei lost her temper.
Her tone turned harsh.
“You’ll go whether you want to or not!”

Wen Xue burst into tears.
“You’re so biased! She’s just a village girl, and yet she gets to marry Brother Jiahe. But me? I have to marry some old, mean guy who’s not even a real man? I want to switch with her!”

Wen Nian looked at her coldly.
“Sure.”

Idiot.

She’d lived in the military compound for so many years and still couldn’t see through Zheng Jiahe’s true colors.

If possible, Wen Nian didn’t want to choose either path.

But she was new here, unfamiliar with everything, and she had no identity documents.

If marrying into the Lu family could help her reclaim the female lead’s identity and avoid the “fire pit” storyline, then it might be worth it.

Wen Xue stopped crying and perked up.
“Dad, Mom, did you hear her? She agreed to switch with me!”

But Wen Jiancheng and Chen Qiuwei immediately rejected her without hesitation.
“No!”

“Dad, Mom, why not? She doesn’t want to marry Brother Jiahe—I do!”

Hearing that, Wen Jiancheng and Chen Qiuwei looked dumbfounded.

Chen Qiuwei snapped impatiently,
“Zheng Jiahe likes Wen Nian. What does that have to do with you?”

Wen Jiancheng looked stern as well.
“Xiaoxue, that marriage was arranged for your sister. Don’t interfere.”

Wen Xue looked indignant.
“They haven’t even met yet! How do you know he likes her? You’re both just being biased. The Zheng family has such good conditions, and Brother Jiahe is good-looking too. If she doesn’t want to marry him, why can’t I?”

Chen Qiuwei was so angry that she smacked Wen Xue hard.
“You damn girl! I’m doing this for your own good and you still don’t appreciate it!”

Wen Xue began wiping her tears in grievance again.
“How is this for my own good? If you weren’t biased, why would you give that amazing marriage to Wen Nian? Either way, I’m not marrying into the Lu family.”

Chen Qiuwei was so angry her liver hurt.

She couldn’t stop herself from smacking Wen Xue on the back.
“Lu Hanzheng is the only son of a high-ranking officer. Do you know how many people are dying to curry favor with them? And you still don’t know what’s good for you!”

Wen Xue let out a loud sob. She hadn’t expected her mom to actually hit her.

“Even if you beat me to death, I’m still not marrying that old man!”

Chen Qiuwei trembled with rage from her daughter’s words and couldn’t speak for a long while.