An Accidental Military Marriage

When Lu Cheng heard Lu Deyao refuse to approve the marriage, his expression turned even colder and sterner than his father’s. "On what grounds do you disagree?"

"On the grounds that I’m your damn father!"

"Even if you are my father, my marriage is not for you to decide!"

"Son of a bitch, are you trying to rebel?"

Seeing Lu Deyao flushed with anger, Lu Cheng realized that arguing like this wouldn’t solve anything.

He calmed down. "Tell me, why do you disagree? What is it about Moli that dissatisfies you?"

Seeing his son soften his stance, Lu Deyao’s anger also subsided considerably.

"Her reputation is terrible! Look at this yourself, her misdeeds are too numerous to count. Have all the women in the world died out? Why did you have to fall for a piece of work like her?"

"Even though you’re my father, she’s the future mother of my children. You will show her some respect."

Lu Deyao: "..."

Lu Cheng picked up the background check report that Lu Deyao had thrown in front of him, getting angrier the more he read.

"What is this bullshit? It’s all just a bunch of gossips running their mouths. If they have the guts, let them say it to my face. I’ll rip their mouths right off."

"Don’t you give me that nonsense. A woman with so many disgusting habits—even if I agreed, the organization would never approve it. You’d better give up on this idea right now! The way I see it, Meng Wei is a great catch and a good match for you. You should just marry her."

"If you want to marry her, you marry her. I’m not doing it. Besides, Mom likes her too, so why don’t the three of you just live happily ever after?"

Lu Deyao flew into a rage. "What kind of bullshit is that?! Lu the Third, don’t you dare push me into whipping your ass right here in my office!"

Lu Cheng also realized he had crossed a line and quickly steered the conversation back on topic.

"They say she’s gluttonous and lazy. Who doesn’t like to eat? People are iron, rice is steel; miss one meal and you’ll starve. Who dares claim they don’t eat? And they say she’s lazy? Well, I don’t like doing chores or cleaning the house either, so how come no one calls me lazy? Is it because I have my own mother to take care of me, that I’m not lazy? But because Moli’s mother is gone, they call her lazy? That’s not fair. It’s discrimination!"

Lu Deyao slammed his hand on the desk in anger. "Don’t you feed me that twisted logic! She’s been out of high school for three or four years, she doesn’t have a job, she doesn’t contribute to the development of society, and she just aimlessly wanders around all day! Isn’t that just a street loafer?"

Lu Cheng argued his case, "There are plenty of people without jobs. How many people fight tooth and nail for a single position? Moli is quietly being a freeloader, eating and using what the family provides. She’s not causing any trouble for the government. What’s so bad about that?"

"So being gluttonous and lazy isn’t a bad habit? Then what about being a gold digger? What kind of spell has she put on you? There are so many good girls out there, why do you have to go for her?"

"What’s wrong with loving money? Everyone has their own interests. You don’t have to understand it, but you have to respect it."

Just as Lu Deyao was about to explode, he heard Lu Cheng say, "I’m actually quite glad she loves money, because I can earn it. If she loved something else, I really wouldn’t know what to do."

Seeing this rare display of genuine emotion from his son, Lu Deyao was momentarily speechless.

"I admit, her reputation isn’t the best. But if she were this beautiful *and* had a good reputation, it wouldn’t be my turn. She would have been married off long ago, and her kids would be walking by now!"

"It’s also a good thing she doesn’t like to work. She’s leaving the position open for someone who does. She can just stay home, safe and sound, give me children, and raise our kids. That’s what you call putting people’s talents to good use."

Lu Deyao laughed.

Sometimes, when you’re truly speechless, you just laugh.

"You son of a gun, you really are something else! You could talk a dead man back to life. You should just go work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and be a diplomat!"

Seeing Lu Deyao’s tone soften, Lu Cheng seized the opportunity to hand him the household registration book.

Lu Deyao took the book and flipped through it. "She herself agreed to this marriage, right?"

Lu Cheng lied without batting an eye. "Of course she agreed. Otherwise, how would I have gotten my hands on this household registration book?"

’As long as she agrees.’

Lu Deyao closed the household registration book and put it, along with the marriage application, into a file folder.

"Alright, you can get lost now. I’ll bring the marriage certificate back for you when it’s issued."

"Please hurry."

"I know, stop nagging!"

Leaving Lu Deyao’s office, Lu Cheng walked with a spring in his step, feeling absolutely fantastic.

’Finally got my wife.’

As for whether Jiang Moli would be angry that he was getting their marriage certificate without telling her, Lu Cheng wasn’t too worried.

’If she is, I’ll just have to coax her a bit more.’

’My wife loves money anyway. I’ll just give it all to her!’

’If that’s not enough, my old man has saved up quite a bit for his coffin over the years. I’ll just borrow it for now.’

’I refuse to believe I can’t win my wife over.’

’Hee hee.’

...

Outside the Agricultural College gates.

Seeing Lu Tingting, Wu Meixia, and Song Ke come out of the school gates, Jiang Moli went up to greet them.

"Three great beauties, I’ve been waiting for you for a while."

The three of them, used to Jiang Moli’s fawning, were unimpressed.

"Jiang Moli, you dare to show your face? I haven’t settled the score with you for yesterday!" Lu Tingting snapped.

Jiang Moli smiled sweetly. "Tingting, my great beauty, don’t be angry. I forgot to bring money when I went out yesterday, so I’m here today specifically to apologize. Look, I brought money today. See? Five yuan!"

Seeing that Jiang Moli had money, Lu Tingting and the other two followed her into a sweet soup shop.

Besides sodas and other drinks, the shop also sold desserts and snacks like sesame paste, mung bean soup, and sponge cakes.

Lu Tingting and her friends showed no courtesy, ordering a table full of food and drinks.

Wu Meixia teased, "We ordered so much. You’re not going to regret this, are you?"

’This is nothing,’ Jiang Moli thought. ’Once I complete my mission and get the 100-million-yuan bonus, I could bury the three of you alive with the cash.’

"Eat as much as you want. If it’s not enough, we’ll order more."

Lu Tingting and her friends weren’t idiots.

When someone’s being this nice for no reason, they’re up to no good.

"So, spill it. What do you need from us?"

Jiang Moli gave Lu Tingting a thumbs-up. "As expected of a lady from a prestigious family. You’ve got eagle eyes."

"Cut the crap. If you have something to say, spit it out!"

"Alright, I’ll get straight to the point. Tingting, with your family background, I’m sure arranging a job for me would be a piece of cake. In return, I’ll divide my monthly salary into four equal parts. We’ll each get a share. How about it?"

Lu Tingting looked at Wu Meixia and Song Ke, then said irritably, "I’m the one getting the job. On what grounds do they get a cut?"

Jiang Moli was unruffled. "First of all, I’m the beast of burden doing the work, so I need to eat. It’s perfectly reasonable for me to take a share, right? And if word of this gets out, both you and I will be in trouble. So, paying them off to keep our secret is also very reasonable, isn’t it?"

Wu Meixia and Song Ke both nodded emphatically.

Only a fool would turn down free money.

Lu Tingting said angrily, "Are you a pig-brain? Didn’t you know to talk to me about this in private?"

The implication was that if Wu Meixia and Song Ke didn’t know, there would be no need to buy their silence.

"Oh, right! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that!"

Jiang Moli laughed it off and took the opportunity to say to Wu Meixia and Song Ke, "Taking money without doing any work wouldn’t sit right with anyone. So you two have to help out as well. We can’t let Tingting do all the work by herself."

Wu Meixia and Song Ke both agreed.

Jiang Moli grinned like the cat that got the canary.

’Earning money isn’t my goal. All I want is a job.’

’With a job, I won’t have to be sent down to the countryside.’

’As for the peanuts I’ll earn from the job, they’re nothing compared to a 100-million-yuan bonus.’

’Having three people helping is better than just relying on Lu Tingting alone.’

After eating and drinking their fill, Lu Tingting and the other two went their separate ways, heading home to ask around about a job for Jiang Moli.

Jiang Moli didn’t hurry home. Instead, she leisurely made her way to the Educated Youth Office.