Chapter 3: Wanting to Break Off the Arranged Marriage

After a flurry of rustling pages, a mechanical electronic voice replied

『According to the book, after the original owner was killed by a train, Jiang Dahai was consumed by grief. After kicking Li Hongying and her daughter Jiang Qing out of the house, his sorrow over losing his daughter led to alcoholism. During one drunken episode, a production accident resulted in him losing a hand, leading to his dismissal from the machinery factory. He survived by scavenging trash for half a year before dying alone in his bed from illness.』

Jiang Moli glanced at Jiang Peng, who was sitting beside her flipping through a comic book, picking his nose, and grinning like a creep. "What about him?"

Another flurry of rustling pages.

『After Jiang Dahai's death, Jiang Peng rushed home from the military to attend the funeral. Convinced that Zhang Jiaming was the reason his family had been destroyed, he stormed the Zhang household to cause a scene. In the process, he accidentally pushed over Zhang Jiaming's great-grandmother, causing her accidental death, and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.』

Jiang Moli: Makes perfect sense.

A family, after all, should be neatly arranged as cannon fodder together.

"I don't have to follow the book's plot, do I?"

She couldn't bring herself to do something brainless like running to intercept a train out of sheer frustration.

『Host, your task is to achieve the "Most Hated Person in the World" achievement within one year. You are free to improvise on everything else.』

Jiang Moli felt relieved.

Jiang Dahai was still talking about the arranged marriage with the Zhang family. "Tomorrow, I'll ask for leave from the factory and go back to the village to talk to your Uncle Zhang about your marriage. I'll have your Uncle Zhang call Jiaming back so you two can get your marriage certificate. We need to deal with the Youth Educated Office first."

Jiang Moli didn't want to go to the countryside either.

Why suffer when she was at an age meant for enjoying life?

But it was obvious that Zhang Jiaming intended to marry Jiang Qing, the "destined female lead," and not her, the "vicious female supporting character."

Of course, she had no interest in competing with the female lead for the male lead.

...

On the streets of Chengdu at night, a military jeep sat quietly parked.

Standing by the rear door, Zhang Jiaming pleaded in a low voice to the man inside: "Leader, please help me. If you can just help me break off this arranged marriage, you will be like a second father to me. I'll spend the rest of my life working like an ox or a horse for you."

The man's face inside the car was blurred by the darkness, but his black eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, accompanied by a deep voice

"If you don't want to marry her, can't you just speak plainly to the girl?"

Breaking off an engagement wasn't the hard part; after all, Jiang Moli had never looked down on him as a country boy. The difficulty was that after breaking it off, he intended to marry Jiang Qing.

If he could just wait a year or two, it would be easy.

But Jiang Qing couldn't wait; she had to marry immediately.

No matter how it was phrased, it wouldn't be decent. Given Jiang Moli's "spoiled young lady" temperament, there was no telling how much of a scene she would make, and Jiang Dahai likely wouldn't agree either.

Zhang Jiaming's idea was to ask Lu Cheng to use his status and authority as a leader to suppress Jiang Moli so she wouldn't dare act out. Simultaneously, he wanted Lu Cheng to go to the Jiang house to propose on his behalf. Seeing Lu Cheng's face, Jiang Dahai surely wouldn't make things difficult for him and Jiang Qing.

To put it bluntly, he wanted to use Lu Cheng's prestige as a shield.

Lu Cheng wasn't necessarily blind to Zhang Jiaming's little scheme.

Zhang Jiaming was a soldier under his command—hardworking and clever. Lu Cheng had intended to cultivate him. Moreover, he looked down on such feudal remnants as arranged marriages; if one were to marry, it should be someone they actually liked, otherwise, it was better not to marry at all.

In the end, he agreed to accompany Zhang Jiaming on this trip.

...

That night, Jiang Moli suffered from insomnia, as expected.

Having grown accustomed to comfortable, silent latex mattresses, she was truly unaccustomed to the hard straw mattresses of this era.

To make matters worse, the original owner was a lazy pig who hated cleanliness. She didn't know if the straw mat had been washed in eight hundred years, but it was sticky and emitted a fermented, sour stench that made her feel nauseous.

Unable to sleep, Jiang Moli simply decided to chat with the system.

『Can I use the 80,000 yuan in my account?』

『No. The cash reward is currently frozen. It can only be withdrawn all at once after the Host completes the task.』

『Then just stop reporting the income in the future. It's frustrating to see it but not be able to spend it.』

『The Host can at least enjoy the sound of it. Although the money cannot be spent for now, large sums are being deposited every day. Don't you find it very happy and exciting?』

A little, but not much.

They chatted until the middle of the night before Jiang Moli finally drifted into a daze.

She had thought that given her "lazy and gluttonous" persona, she could sleep in late the next morning without issue, but she was woken up early by Jiang Peng.

"Sis, Sis!"

"Jiang Peng, you'd better have a good reason, or I'll kill you!"

Jiang Moli glared at him with extreme morning irritability.

Jiang Peng wasn't intimidated. "Why are you glaring at me? It's Zhang Jiaming! He called looking for you!"

Pulling on her slippers, Jiang Moli swayed her slender white arms and legs, yawning as she slowly made her way toward the guardhouse of the residential area.

Jiang Peng followed closely behind her, gossiping about Zhang Jiaming's intentions in seeking her out.

In the kitchen, Jiang Qing watched the silhouettes of the siblings through the window, a hint of mockery appearing in her eyes.

"Hey, Xiao Qing."

Zhou Xiaoqing, her mouth full of toothpaste foam, leaned toward Jiang Qing and gossiped about Jiang Moli's retreating figure, which looked quite graceful despite her oversized pajamas.

"Zhang Jiaming is that arranged fiancé of Jiang Moli's, right? I heard he also joined the military? Calling at this time... he wouldn't be trying to marry Jiang Moli, would he?"

Jiang Qing pushed Zhou Xiaoqing away with a sour expression. "You sprayed toothpaste into my rice pot."

"Oh, then I'll tell you after I finish brushing."

Once finished, Zhou Xiaoqing hurried back to Jiang Qing's side to gossip about Jiang Moli again.

"She doesn't even like my cousin. My cousin is a regular employee at the steel mill, after all. If it weren't for his family being poor, she wouldn't even be in the running. Her reputation for being lazy and gluttonous is famous throughout the streets; only a country boy like Zhang Jiaming would be willing to marry her."

"What's wrong with being a country boy? Uncle Jiang was from the countryside too, and now he's a senior technician. Heroes come from all walks of life; those with real talent will eventually make it," Jiang Qing said indifferently.

"That's one thing, but if you could marry a city person, would you choose to marry a country boy? Would you?"

Zhou Xiaoqing spoke casually, but she unintentionally struck a nerve with Jiang Qing.

Because the person Jiang Qing was going to marry was indeed a country boy.

And it was the very person Zhou Xiaoqing looked down upon—Jiang Moli's fiancé, Zhang Jiaming.

However, Jiang Qing wasn't angry, because she knew that Zhang Jiaming would soon earn merits and be promoted, with a bright future ahead of him.

By then, Zhou Xiaoqing would have nothing left but envy.

A short while later, Jiang Moli returned after taking the call.

Jiang Qing also brought the cooked porridge back to the west room.

As soon as she entered, she heard Jiang Dahai questioning Jiang Moli: "What did Jiaming say to you? Did he mention your marriage?"

Jiang Moli sat with her legs crossed, waiting for Jiang Qing and Li Hongying to set the breakfast table.

She had no choice; her persona was that of a useless person who waited for others to serve her food and clothes.

"He asked to meet me at People's Park at 10 o'clock."

Jiang Dahai was both surprised and delighted. "Jiaming is back? That's wonderful! It's like finding a pillow when you're sleepy. Him returning at this time... it's like God sent him to save you! Moli, you must seize this opportunity, do you hear me?"

*Dad, you're celebrating too early.*

The person he's meant to save isn't me, but the female lead, Jiang Qing.

Jiang Peng said, "Dad, does that mean you need to start preparing a dowry for Sis?"

"Prepare it! Of course I'll prepare it, and it'll be a grand affair!" Jiang Dahai grinned from ear to ear.

Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, Li Hongying also prompted her daughter, "Xiao Qing, find some time to bring your partner home so Uncle Jiang can take a look at him."

Jiang Dahai was in a good mood, so he gave Jiang Qing a pleasant look as well. "I will also prepare a dowry for you."

The corners of Jiang Qing's mouth twitched. "No need, Uncle Jiang. We've agreed—no bride price and no dowry. Our future, good or bad, will depend on ourselves."

It wasn't that Jiang Qing was being noble or looking down on Jiang Dahai's dowry.

It was because she knew that once Jiang Dahai realized she had stolen Jiang Moli's man, let alone a dowry, he'd be lucky if he didn't give her a beating.

After breakfast, Jiang Dahai wasn't in a hurry to go to work. Instead, he rummaged through the house looking for clothes for Jiang Moli, wanting her to dress up beautifully to win over his future son-in-law in one fell swoop.

His daughter was lazy, gluttonous, and not very bright; the only thing she had going for her was her pretty face.

(End of Chapter)