An Accidental Military Marriage

After the sound of rustling pages, a mechanical, electronic voice replied:

『According to the book, after the original owner was killed by a train, Jiang Dahai was devastated. He kicked Li Hongying and her daughter Jiang Qing out, and drowning in the grief of losing his daughter, he became an alcoholic. A production accident after a night of heavy drinking cost him a hand, and he was fired from the machinery factory. He survived by collecting scraps, and half a year later, he died alone in his bed from illness.』

Jiang Moli glanced at Jiang Peng, who was flipping through a comic book while picking his nose with a creepy grin. "What about him?"

Another rustle of flipping pages.

『After Jiang Dahai’s death, Jiang Peng rushed home from the army for the funeral. Convinced that Zhang Jia Ming was responsible for ruining his family, he went to the Zhang Family’s home to cause a scene. He accidentally pushed over Zhang Jia Ming’s great-grandmother, causing her accidental death, and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.』

Jiang Moli: ’Makes sense.’

’A family should stick together, after all. All cannon fodder, side-by-side.’

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

She wasn’t about to do something as idiotic as running to block a train in a fit of anger.

『Host, your mission is to achieve the "Loathed by Ten Thousand" achievement within one year. You are free to improvise on everything else.』

Jiang Moli was relieved.

Jiang Dahai was still talking about the arranged marriage with the Zhang Family. "Tomorrow, I’ll ask for a day off from the factory and go back to our hometown to talk to your Uncle Zhang about your marriage. I’ll have him call Jia Ming back so you two can get your marriage certificate. We’ll deal with the Educated Youth Office first, then figure out the rest."

Jiang Moli didn’t want to be sent to the countryside either.

’Why suffer when you’re at an age to enjoy life?’

But Zhang Jia Ming was clearly determined to marry Jiang Qing, the story’s heaven-blessed heroine. He wouldn’t want an evil side character like her.

Of course, she herself had no interest in fighting the heroine for the male lead.

...

On a street in Rongcheng at night, a military jeep was parked quietly.

Zhang Jia Ming stood by the rear door, pleading in a low voice to the man inside the car, "Sir, please help me. As long as you can help me break off this arranged marriage, you’ll be my savior. I’ll spend the rest of my life working like a horse for you."

The man’s face inside the car was obscured by the darkness, but his dark eyes were as sharp as a hawk’s, accompanied by a deep voice:

"If you don’t want to marry her, why not just tell her directly?"

Breaking the engagement wasn’t the hard part; after all, Jiang Moli had always looked down on him for being from the countryside. The hard part was marrying Jiang Qing after breaking the engagement.

If he could wait a year or two, it would be much easier to handle.

But Jiang Qing couldn’t wait; they had to get married immediately.

No matter how you spun it, the situation was unseemly. With Jiang Moli’s "young miss" temper, there was no telling what kind of scene she would make, and Jiang Dahai probably wouldn’t agree either.

Zhang Jia Ming’s idea was to ask Lu Cheng to use his status and presence as a superior officer to intimidate Jiang Moli, keeping her from acting recklessly. He also hoped Lu Cheng would help propose marriage to the Jiang family on his behalf. Surely, out of respect for Lu Cheng, Jiang Dahai wouldn’t make things difficult for him and Jiang Qing.

To put it bluntly, he wanted to use Lu Cheng’s name to bolster his own position.

It wasn’t as if Lu Cheng couldn’t see through Zhang Jia Ming’s little scheme.

Zhang Jia Ming was one of his soldiers—a hard worker and quick-witted. Lu Cheng intended to mentor him. Besides, he also disdained feudal dregs like arranged marriages. A man should marry someone he likes; otherwise, it’s better not to marry at all.

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

...

That night, Jiang Moli, as expected, couldn’t sleep.

Having gotten used to a comfortable, silent latex mattress, she really couldn’t adjust to the hard coir-mat bed of this era.

On top of that, the original owner was a slob who didn’t care for cleanliness. The straw mat felt like it hadn’t been washed in eight hundred years; it was sticky and gave off a sour, fermented stench that was making her sick.

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

"The 80,000 yuan in the account, can I take it out to use?"

『No. The cash reward is currently frozen. It can only be withdrawn in one lump sum after the host completes the mission.』

"Then just don’t report the deposits anymore. It’s torture seeing money I can’t spend."

『The host can enjoy the sound. Even though the money can’t be spent yet, aren’t you happy and excited to know that large sums are being deposited every day?』

’A little, but not much.’

They chatted until the latter half of the night before Jiang Moli finally drifted off to sleep.

She had figured that with her gluttonous and lazy persona, sleeping in late would be no problem, but she was woken up at the crack of dawn by Jiang Peng.

"Sis, Sis!"

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

Jiang Moli, who was extremely grumpy when woken up, glared at him.

Jiang Peng wasn’t intimidated. "Why are you glaring at me? It’s Zhang Jia Ming! He’s on the phone for you!"

Jiang Moli slipped on her slippers and shuffled toward the security office of the family residential area, her thin, pale arms and calves swaying as she yawned.

Jiang Peng followed close behind her, gossiping about why Zhang Jia Ming would be calling Jiang Moli.

In the kitchen, Jiang Qing watched the siblings’ backs, one behind the other, through the window, a hint of mockery in her eyes.

"Hey, Xiao Qing."

Zhou Xiaoqing, her mouth full of toothpaste foam, sidled up to Jiang Qing and started gossiping while staring at Jiang Moli’s back, which, despite the baggy pajamas, swayed gracefully.

"Zhang Jia Ming is Jiang Moli’s fiancé from that arranged marriage, right? I heard he joined the army too? Calling at a time like this... don’t tell me he wants to marry her?"

Jiang Qing’s expression soured as she pushed Zhou Xiaoqing away. "You spat toothpaste into my rice pot."

"Oh, I’ll tell you after I finish brushing."

After brushing her teeth, Zhou Xiaoqing hurried back to Jiang Qing’s side to whisper about Jiang Moli.

"And to think she looks down on my cousin. My cousin is a full-time worker at the steel rolling mill, for goodness’ sake. If it weren’t for his family being poor, it wouldn’t even be her turn. Her reputation for being a lazy glutton stinks up the whole street. Only a country boy like Zhang Jia Ming would be willing to marry her."

"What’s wrong with being from the countryside? Uncle Jiang was from the countryside too, and now he’s a senior technician. A hero’s origins don’t matter. A person with real ability will eventually make a name for themselves," Jiang Qing said lightly.

"That’s true, but if you could marry a city person, who would want to marry someone from the countryside? Would you?"

Zhou Xiaoqing said it casually, but she had unintentionally hit a sore spot for Jiang Qing.

Because the man Jiang Qing was going to marry was, in fact, from the countryside.

And it was none other than the man Zhou Xiaoqing looked down upon: Jiang Moli’s fiancé, Zhang Jia Ming.

But Jiang Qing wasn’t angry. She knew that Zhang Jia Ming would soon earn merits and be promoted. His future was bright.

By then, Zhou Xiaoqing would have nothing but envy for her.

Before long, Jiang Moli returned after finishing her phone call.

Jiang Qing also returned to the west room, carrying the cooked congee.

As soon as she entered, she heard Jiang Dahai interrogating Jiang Moli. "What did Jia Ming say to you? Did he mention your engagement?"

Jiang Moli sat with one leg crossed over the other, waiting for Jiang Qing and Li Hongying to set out breakfast.

It couldn’t be helped. Her persona was that of a useless person who had to be clothed and fed.

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

Jiang Dahai was both surprised and overjoyed. "Jia Ming is back? Wonderful! This is like finding a pillow just when you’re getting sleepy! For him to come back at this time, it’s like heaven sent him to save you! Moli, you have to seize this opportunity, you hear?"

’Dad, you’re celebrating too soon.’

’The person he’s here to save isn’t me, but the heroine, Jiang Qing.’

Jiang Peng said, "Dad, does this mean you have to prepare a dowry for Sis?"

"Prepare it? Of course, we’ll prepare it! And we’ll make it a grand one!" Jiang Dahai grinned from ear to ear.

Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, Li Hongying gave her own daughter a nudge. "Xiao Qing, you should find some time to bring your boyfriend home for your Uncle Jiang to take a look at."

Feeling happy, Jiang Dahai also looked at Jiang Qing more kindly. "I’ll prepare a dowry for you too."

Jiang Qing gave a slight smile. "There’s no need, Uncle Jiang. We’ve already agreed—no betrothal gift and no dowry. Whether our future is good or bad will depend on us."

It wasn’t that Jiang Qing was too noble to accept the dowry from Jiang Dahai.

Rather, she knew that once Jiang Dahai found out she had stolen Jiang Moli’s man, she’d be lucky if he didn’t give her a beating, let alone a dowry.

After breakfast, Jiang Dahai wasn’t in a hurry to leave for work. Instead, he rummaged through chests and cabinets, looking for clothes for Jiang Moli. He wanted her to dress up nicely to capture her future son-in-law’s heart in one fell swoop.

His daughter was lazy and gluttonous, and not too bright either. The only thing she had going for her was a pretty face.