An Accidental Military Marriage

Jiang Xiaoguang was under orders to deliver a verbal message to Lu Cheng.

But as soon as he got out of the car, he saw Lu Cheng hand Jiang Peng ten yuan.

While Lu Cheng wasn’t a complete skinflint, he wasn’t the type to let just anyone get the better of him either.

His intuition told him something was up, so when Jiang Peng walked over, he stopped him.

Seeing from Jiang Xiaoguang’s uniform that he was in the military, Jiang Peng was quite polite. "What can I do for you?"

Jiang Xiaoguang pulled out a cigarette. "Care for a smoke?"

Jiang Peng’s eyes instantly lit up.

Peony brand—these were cadre cigarettes!

Cigarettes were a rarity these days and hard for ordinary people to get. Peony, in particular, was a high-end brand, usually reserved for cadres and leaders, hence the nickname "cadre cigarettes."

Jiang Peng took the cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, and refused Jiang Xiaoguang’s kind offer to light it for him.

It wasn’t often he got such a good cigarette; he had to go back and show it off to his buddies.

"What’s your surname, young brother?"

"My surname is Jiang."

"What a coincidence. Mine’s Jiang, too."

"Brother Jiang, just tell me what’s on your mind. Not that I can promise I’ll be able to help."

Jiang Xiaoguang was amused by his smooth talk. "I just wanted to ask you something. Do you know our Third Brother?"

"Who?"

Seeing that Jiang Peng genuinely didn’t know Lu Cheng, Jiang Xiaoguang smoothly changed the subject. "Never mind, I must have been mistaken. Brother Xiao Jiang, you look like you’re of age to enlist. Have you signed up?"

At the mention of joining the army, Jiang Peng’s back straightened with pride.

In this day and age, what young man didn’t want to join the army? But not everyone who wanted to could get in.

But he had gotten in!

"I have! I enlist next month!"

"No wonder I felt a connection the moment I saw you. We’re kindred spirits..."

Just as they were hitting it off, Jiang Peng felt a couple of taps on his shoulder. He turned his head, saw who it was, and immediately wanted to bolt.

But with Jiang Xiaoguang in front of him and Lu Cheng behind him, there was absolutely no escape.

"Heh heh, Brother-in-law!"

"Ahem! Ahem!"

Jiang Xiaoguang choked on Jiang Peng’s "Brother-in-law."

After Lu Cheng shot him a glance, Jiang Xiaoguang silently took two steps back and pricked up his ears.

"Brother-in-law, with an aura like yours, I can tell you’re a leader. So, you can’t ask me to give back the money you already handed out, right?"

’They really are siblings. Both love money just the same.’

’Well, that makes things easier.’

"I’ve already arranged it with your sister. I’m coming to your house to formally propose in three days. There will be a big red envelope for you then. So, you know what to say in front of your sister, right?"

Jiang Peng shook his head like a rattle drum. "Nope."

"...Then don’t say anything at all. The less you say, the fewer mistakes you’ll make. If you say nothing, you can’t be wrong."

"Oh."

"Go on home."

"Okay."

Jiang Peng turned and took a few steps, but then came back, still uneasy. "Wait, who are you, exactly?"

"My surname is Lu. Lu Cheng. I’m Zhang Jia Ming’s superior."

Jiang Peng: !!!

"Sir, about Brother Jiaming and my sister..."

"I know all about it."

"Then what about Brother Jiaming...?"

"I’ll take care of it."

Jiang Peng left, his mind at ease.

After watching him walk away, Lu Cheng turned to Jiang Xiaoguang. "What are you doing here?"

"The Chief ordered you to return home immediately. It’s an urgent matter."

Lu Cheng let out a cold snort, his gaze landing on the jeep not far away.

"Good. I have something important to take care of as well. Take me to the Political Department first."

Jiang Xiaoguang stood at attention. "Yes, sir."

「...」

After leaving Lu Cheng’s line of sight, Jiang Moli glanced around. Seeing no sign of Jiang Peng, she headed for the bus stop alone, ready to go home.

She would have liked to wander around a bit longer, but her pockets were completely empty. She might as well go home and catch up on sleep.

"Jiang Moli!"

She hadn’t walked more than a few steps when someone called out to her from across the street.

Jiang Moli looked over and recognized the three young women who had called her: Lu Tingting, Wu Meixia, and Song Ke.

All three were rich girls from well-off families.

Lu Tingting’s family background was the most distinguished of the three, making her their leader.

’Don’t get me wrong, the original owner of this body could never have been actual friends with girls of such standing. She was just their lackey, eagerly fawning over them and happy to be at their beck and call.’

Jiang Moli unhurriedly crossed the street.

"Jiang Moli, are you deaf? I’ve been shouting for ages! My throat’s gone hoarse!"

’That’s an easy one.’

Jiang Moli pointed to the snack shop behind the three of them. "Come on, I’ll treat you to some soda."

The three of them stared at her as if they had seen a ghost.

Jiang Moli had always been shamelessly clinging to them, mooching food and drinks. And today she was generously offering to treat them?

Given their family backgrounds, they naturally looked down on something as common as soda.

But this was the first time Jiang Moli had ever offered to treat them. Thinking they might as well take the free drink, the three followed her into the snack shop.

"Boss, four bottles of soda, the cold ones!"

The shop owner fished four bottles of soda out of a bucket of ice water. Seeing that Jiang Moli wasn’t reaching for any money, he said, "Five cents a bottle, so that’s twenty cents for four. If you’re taking them to go, it’s another ten cents for the bottle deposit."

Jiang Moli patted her pockets. "I don’t have any money."

"No money? You have no money and you’re telling me to get you sodas?" The owner’s face darkened with anger.

Jiang Moli said, completely self-righteous, "Can’t I drink soda if I don’t have money?"

"Drink my ass! So young and already up to no good, trying to dine and dash! Scram, before I call the police!"

A chubby little boy standing nearby, clutching five cents to buy a popsicle, shot Jiang Moli a disdainful look.

『Disgust Value +2. Credited: 20,000 Yuan.』

Jiang Moli turned to the dumbfounded Lu Tingting and her friends. "This owner has no class. He won’t even give you a soda if you don’t have money. Let’s go somewhere else."

Did she think they could just get free food and drinks at another shop?

The three of them were rendered utterly speechless.

『Disgust Value +3. Credited: 30,000 Yuan.』

Seeing Jiang Moli talking with Lu Tingting and her friends, the owner and the chubby boy also cast disdainful glances at the trio.

They had clearly been lumped into the "broke freeloaders" category.

Lu Tingting had been pampered her whole life; how could she possibly stand this?

"Forget it, I’ll pay!"

She slapped a large 10-yuan bill onto the counter.

Seeing he had a big spender, the owner scrambled to retrieve the sodas he had just put back in the ice bucket. Not only did he help insert the straws, but he also took a rag and meticulously wiped the condensation off the bottles.

This attentive and thoughtful service finally allowed Lu Tingting to reclaim a bit of her sense of superiority.

Say what you will, but free soda really does taste the best.

It was cool, sweet, and had a rich orange flavor.

While Jiang Moli was sipping away happily, Lu Tingting was about to die of anger.

"Jiang Moli, I’m warning you! If you ever pull a stunt like this again, putting on a front and embarrassing me, I won’t let you off!"

Jiang Moli looked at the untouched soda bottles in their hands. "Why aren’t you drinking? Don’t you like it? If not, just give them to me. I’ll take them home for my dad and my little brother. They’ll like them."

Lu Tingting’s disgust was written all over her face. "Jiang Moli, in all my life, I have never met anyone with thicker skin than you. I don’t know what poor sap will end up marrying someone like you..."

Before she could finish, Lu Tingting saw a jeep driving by and her voice trailed off.

The next second, she panicked and hid behind Wu Meixia and Song Ke.

"What’s wrong?"

"It’s my third uncle!"

Jiang Moli turned her head and saw a jeep with a military license plate drive past.

’To be able to drive a military vehicle, he must be an important figure in the army, right?’

’Lu Tingting really does have something to be proud of.’