“Mother…”
Jiang Ci glanced at Father Jiang, then turned around and feigned a helpless sigh. “Mother, I’m a doctor in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department. It’s not that I don’t want to help my sister—I really don’t know how to perform surgery! You’ll end up killing her like this.”
“Shut up! I don’t care. Wanwan is still waiting for you in the operating room. Hurry up and go.”
“What’s wrong with Wanwan? What surgery does she need?”
Hearing Mother Jiang’s words, Father Jiang stepped forward from the blind spot around the corner, frowning as he stared at her.
Mother Jiang instantly fell silent.
Panic flashed across her face. “N-nothing… Wanwan, she didn’t…”
Stammering, her eyes darting around, she changed her tune upon seeing Jiang Ci. “…It’s Jiang Ci. She said the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department is becoming less and less popular, and the hospital might shut it down.
So, so she wanted to transfer to the Western Medicine Department and use Wanwan for practice… Yes, that’s exactly what happened.”
The more she spoke, the more confident she sounded, as if it were all true.
Jiang Ci’s pupils trembled, genuinely amused by Mother Jiang’s lies.
Speechless, she looked up at Father Jiang’s face, which was as dark as the bottom of a pot.
“Wanwan is letting Xiao Ci practice surgery on her?”
“Y-yes, that’s right!” Mother Jiang grew even more nervous.
Father Jiang’s eyes, simmering with anger, were truly intimidating.
Father Jiang was furious.
The consequences would be severe.
Mother Jiang trembled under Father Jiang’s murderous glare.
But her mouth remained stubbornly defiant. “Old Jiang, h-how can you still not believe me? When have I ever lied to you…”
“Fine, fine, you didn’t lie to me, right? Xiao Ci, you tell me.”
Huh?
She wanted her to speak?
Jiang Ci looked at Mother Jiang, who was frantically winking and gesturing at her, then silently lowered her head.
Seeing this, Father Jiang snapped, “Why are you looking at your mother? Tell the truth. If you dare lie to me like your mother, you’ll write a ten-thousand-word Self-Criticism Report when you get home.”
What?
Jiang Ci gave Mother Jiang a helpless look, cleared her throat, and said, “Dad, my sister was harassed by a scoundrel and… and got pregnant. Mom is forcing me to perform an abortion surgery on her.
You know I’m in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department—I really don’t know how to perform surgery!”
What?
Pregnant?
Harassed by a scoundrel?
Father Jiang was so shocked he staggered back two steps before steadying himself.
“Dad…”
Jiang Ci rushed over to support him with concern. “Dad, you can’t blame my sister. Blame that filthy scoundrel.”
Yes, it was all that scoundrel male lead’s fault. If Father Jiang could just eliminate him…
Hehehe!
“Jiang Ci, you jinx! What nonsense are you spouting? I’ll tear your mouth apart!”
Mother Jiang’s eyes reddened with panic as she lunged at Jiang Ci, trying to claw at her.
Jiang Ci smoothly sidestepped and slipped behind Father Jiang.
Father Jiang, his face grim, grabbed Mother Jiang’s wrist and flung her aside forcefully. Mother Jiang stumbled and fell to the ground.
She let out a shrill scream. “Old Jiang, don’t listen to that ungrateful wretch Jiang Ci! She wants to tear our family apart!
How could Wanwan possibly be pregnant? It’s clearly her…”
“Shut up!” Father Jiang roared, hearing Mother Jiang still trying to defend herself.
He trembled with rage, his hands and feet shaking.
“You… you… report this to the public security bureau immediately. Have that scoundrel arrested.”
“No, we can’t report it to the public security bureau! Old Jiang, if we do, how will our Wanwan ever marry Commander Pei?
Old Jiang, the most important thing now is to get rid of the bastard in Wanwan’s belly and proceed with the marriage arrangement with Commander Pei. No one will ever know.”
“The child in my belly is not a bastard, and Jianguo is not a filthy scoundrel. You can’t call the police to arrest him.”
Jiang Wanwan had arrived.
As soon as she opened her mouth, she was defending the male lead.
Father Jiang was already furious, and hearing her defend a scoundrel only fueled his anger further.
Slap!
A resounding slap landed on Jiang Wanwan’s face, and her fair, delicate cheek visibly swelled.
“Wahhh! Just kill me! I knew it—you’ve never treated me as your daughter. You’ve always favored Jiang Ci since we were little. I bet Jiang Ci is your real daughter!”
Jiang Wanwan cried and shouted, scrambling to her feet. She pushed Mother Jiang aside and ran outside.
“Wanwan, Wanwan…”
Mother Jiang anxiously stood up to chase after her.
Left behind, Jiang Ci watched Father Jiang, who was seething with anger. She wanted to comfort him but didn’t know how to begin.
“Xiao Ci, who is that man?”
“I—I don’t know!”
Jiang Ci shook her head innocently. Even if she knew, she couldn’t say it outright. Otherwise, Father Jiang might think she was in cahoots with Mother Jiang and Jiang Wanwan.
“Yesterday, I only learned from Mom that Wanwan was pregnant, and she asked me to secretly bring her to the hospital to get rid of it.”
Father Jiang sighed. “You’ve been wronged, Xiao Ci.”
“It’s fine. We’re all family, after all! Dad, what do you plan to do?”
Jiang Ci probed cautiously.
Father Jiang’s eyes darkened, as if he had made a firm decision. “Report it to the police. Once that scoundrel is caught, he’ll be executed.”
Huh?
Execute the male lead?
Indeed, during this era, the hooliganism crime was punishable by death.
Later that day, Jiang Ci returned to the military dependents’ compound.
Jiang Wanwan was throwing a tantrum inside the house, with things scattered all over the floor.
Jiang Ci peeked inside and happened to see a jade earring fall out of the jewelry box Jiang Wanwan had knocked over.
Her eyes suddenly lit up. Wasn’t this the Space described in the book, belonging to the female lead?
It was also the earring that had been hung around the original body’s neck as a necklace when she was adopted by Father and Mother Jiang.
There was only this one earring. Later in the story, because of it, the female lead would recognize a scientific researcher as her godmother, who would personally train her to become a top figure in scientific research.
A legend in the scientific community.
Thinking about it now, aside from being a cheat item, this earring was also proof of the original body’s biological mother recognizing her.
With this in mind,
Jiang Ci walked in and reached for the earring.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Wanwan was faster, picking it up first and eyeing Jiang Ci warily. “Jiang Ci, what are you doing?
Trying to steal my things, aren’t you? You ungrateful wretch got me beaten by Father. Are you satisfied now?”
Wahhh!
“Don’t you deserve it? You’re already engaged, yet you fool around outside. You brought this on yourself by not valuing your own dignity.”
In this era, premarital pregnancy was scorned. And to carry on with the male lead while engaged—she had only herself to blame.
“What do you know? I love Jianguo. If Mom and Dad didn’t look down on him for being poor, we’d already be together.
They’re just snobs, caring about their own vanity instead of my happiness.”
“Then go tell your parents that! Why are you telling me?”
Jiang Ci stared at the earring in her hand and suddenly stepped forward, flicking her finger against Jiang Wanwan’s Quchi acupoint.
Jiang Wanwan’s arm went numb, instantly losing strength. The earring in her palm clinked as it fell to the ground.
This time, Jiang Ci was quicker than Jiang Wanwan. She swiftly picked it up, turned around, and walked away.
Jiang Wanwan belatedly realized what had happened and chased after her, shouting, “Jiang Ci, what are you doing? That’s mine! Give it back!”
“When did my things become yours? Don’t think I don’t know—these earrings were taken from me by your mother.”
“You’re lying! These are mine. I’ve had them since I was born. Jiang Ci, give them back to me now…”
Jiang Wanwan chased after her, trying to snatch them.
Bang!
Jiang Ci lifted her leg and kicked Jiang Wanwan to the ground.
She controlled her strength, not using too much force, worried that kicking her might cause a miscarriage.
If she got framed for it, what would be the point?
Ugh!
Jiang Wanwan clutched her chest, her eyes fixed on the pendant in Jiang Ci’s hand, her heart pounding. A feeling told her:
These earrings must not be lost. She had to get them back.
“Give them back…”
Jiang Wanwan scrambled to her feet and lunged at Jiang Ci, reaching straight for the earrings in her hand.