At her words, Jiang Chen frowned. He looked at the sister he had watched grow up and said coldly, "Ye Zi, what nonsense are you talking about?"
When they first learned the Huo family wanted to honor the marriage contract, they couldn't persuade Ye Zi no matter what they did.
She had even said she'd rather run away from home than marry a man she'd never met, especially since it meant moving to the impoverished Northwest.
In the end, they had to go to great lengths to find their biological daughter to take her place.
But now, after the two had already left Beijing, Ye Zi was suddenly willing to marry Huo Jingyuan. Jiang Chen fought back his anger. "They've already left for the Northwest."
"What?" Ye Zi's face drained of color.
'Doesn't that mean Wen Ci and Huo Jingyuan have already registered their marriage?'
Ye Zi was beyond frustrated. 'Heaven clearly gave me a second chance, so why did it have to be now, after they've already left Beijing?'
Jiang Chen first helped their drunk father upstairs to rest.
When he came downstairs, he saw his sister still standing stunned in the living room. The corners of her eyes glistened with tears as she muttered through gritted teeth, "Huo Jingyuan is mine."
Hearing Jiang Chen coming downstairs, she looked up at him, her eyes welling with tears. She pouted pitifully and mumbled, "Brother, I'm not going to college anymore."
"Are you still talking nonsense?"
Ye Zi's grades weren't good enough for Qingbei, but they were high enough to get into other good universities. She was in her senior year of high school, and the college entrance exams were just around the corner.
'But now she's saying she won't go to college?'
"What on earth happened? You came back a completely different person." Jiang Chen's brows knitted tightly, his voice tinged with displeasure.
'Could she have found out what I said in the cafeteria?'
"Ye Zi, don't misunderstand. I only acknowledged Wen Ci as our sister in the cafeteria because we can't let anyone else know she's a substitute bride."
"Hm?" Ye Zi picked up on the key point.
'Jiang Chen publicly admitted in the military compound's cafeteria that Wen Ci was the Jiang Family's daughter who never showed her face. Did that happen in my past life?'
Ye Zi couldn't remember clearly.
Her priority now was to break up Wen Ci and Huo Jingyuan before their marriage had time to settle. She said urgently, "Brother, I want to go to the Northwest Military Region too!"
A wheedling tone crept into Ye Zi's urgent voice.
"Jiang Ye." Jiang Chen was seething. He stared at his wheedling sister and asked through gritted teeth, "What on earth are you thinking? The college entrance exams are almost here, and you want to go to the Northwest Military Region? On what grounds would you go to the Northwest Military Region?"
"I have a high school education. I can be an elementary school teacher in the Northwest Military Region."
"Life in the Northwest is tough. You're used to a comfortable life. Do you think you can handle it?"
Ye Zi fell silent for a moment.
The hardship in the Northwest would only last a few years. In two years, Huo Jingyuan would be promoted and transferred back to Beijing. Ye Zi's gaze was firm. "I can handle it."
With that, Ye Zi grabbed Jiang Chen's sleeve and shook it. She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes and pleaded, "Brother, I'm begging you, please help me..."
In the Jiang Family, Ye Zi was the most pampered one of all.
"Tell Mom and Dad yourself."
-
「The next morning.」
When Wen Ci woke up, Huo Jingyuan had already taken his luggage and left the guesthouse. They had agreed the previous night that Wen Ci would go to the department store to buy some things for his comrades.
The night before, Huo Jingyuan had learned a friend of his would be driving into the city, which meant he could rest easy knowing Wen Ci could safely go to the department store to do the shopping.
Wen Ci stretched lazily and went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.
The department store wasn't far from the guesthouse, only a seven or eight-minute walk. Wen Ci arrived and glanced at the list in her hand. Most of the requested items were snacks.