After returning to her room, Jiang Li’s first move was to change clothes.
Although Beicheng was gradually entering spring, the temperature hadn’t risen much.
She pulled out a beige turtleneck sweater from her suitcase, then casually grabbed a goose-yellow cropped wool coat.
The room floor was damp and waterlogged, and because there was no ventilation, the entire place reeked of mildew.
Jiang Li couldn’t help waving a hand in front of her nose.
This room had originally been a storage room. After Jiang Xiaoxiao returned home, there were no spare bedrooms left in the house. After much discussion, the Jiang family decided that the original owner should give up her room to Jiang Xiaoxiao, while she herself moved into this tiny ten-square-meter storage room normally used for piling miscellaneous junk.
“A room this moldy… stay here long enough and you’ll probably get sick.”
Just as she was about to close the suitcase, Jiang Li suddenly paused. Hidden between layers of clothing was a blue diary notebook. She took it out before shutting the suitcase, sat by the bed, and opened it—only to discover food ration coupons and money tucked inside.
She was a little surprised. She hadn’t expected the original owner to have saved so much salary and so many ration tickets. After counting the cash, there was a full three hundred yuan.
The original owner had worked as a grain and oil quality inspector, a technical position. She had worked for three years—thirty-one months after excluding the first six-month probation period. Once officially employed, her monthly salary was forty-five yuan. In those days, an ordinary family could get by on twenty yuan a month if money was tight, so three hundred yuan was basically a whole year’s living expenses.
Because the Jiang family hadn’t split into separate households, everyone lived and ate together. Every month after receiving her salary and ration coupons, the original owner would hand over ten yuan for food expenses along with a certain amount of grain coupons, saving the rest.
However, the Grain Bureau only issued local ration coupons to employees, which could only be used in Beicheng. Since she had already decided to go to the island, the local coupons would need to be exchanged for national ration coupons.
Without overthinking it, Jiang Li put away the ration tickets.
Suddenly, a promissory note slipped out of the diary.
Jiang Li picked it up and read it carefully. After flipping through the diary entries, she gradually became speechless…
At that moment, the sound of the courtyard gate closing could be heard.
Ye Suqin came out of the kitchen, wiping her wet hands on her apron, and immediately spotted Jiang Li’s retreating figure leaving the courtyard.
She snorted coldly. “I knew that whole pesticide-drinking thing was probably fake. Look at her rushing out right around mealtime like she’s going to lick bottle caps.”
Otherwise, how could Jiang Li, who had supposedly just walked back from death’s door, already be in the mood to go out?
Thinking of something, Ye Suqin’s eyes darted around.
Who else could make Jiang Li so eager to leave except Doctor Xiang from the county hospital?
Yesterday afternoon, Doctor Xiang had specially ridden over on his bicycle to see Jiang Li. Ye Suqin had been mopping the living room at the time and only overheard Xiang Zhou saying they absolutely had to break up. Before she even had the chance to greet him, he hurriedly left. Then she heard Jiang Li crying in her room.
It was rare to see her usually proud sister-in-law take the initiative to reconcile. Long accustomed to being suppressed by her, Ye Suqin naturally didn’t want to miss the drama. Tossing off her apron, she quickly followed after.
The Grain Station family compound wasn’t far from the county hospital.
As soon as Jiang Li left home, she ran into several older women from the compound gathered together cracking sunflower seeds.
“Hey, you have no idea—if Jiang’s daughter-in-law hadn’t arrived just in time, Jiang Li would already be dead!”
“Really? I always wondered—Jiang Yumin and his wife aren’t especially good-looking, so how did they end up with a daughter as beautiful as Jiang Li? Ever since she was little, she’s looked like a movie star on a poster. Turns out she wasn’t even their biological child.”
“Exactly! The Jiang family’s family values are decent enough, but Jiang Li was spoiled too much. She doesn’t even greet elders properly. Xiaoxiao’s different though. She’s really one of the Jiangs—you can’t fake bloodlines.”
“Jiang Xiaoxiao is truly a model citizen like Lei Feng. I heard that while on the island, she studied medicine for two years under doctors sent from Beicheng. Yesterday I had a headache and went to see her. She gave me some medicine, and today I’m completely fine.”
“Same here! A few days ago my throat hurt, and she gave me something to reduce the inflammation. Hah! One dose and I was cured the next day. Compared to her, Jiang Li is inferior in every way. What’s the use of just being pretty?”
Auntie Li, who had been shouting loudly, was nudged in the arm by someone. She stopped mid-sentence and saw Jiang Li walking past.
Her expression stiffened. She had expected Jiang Li to come over and make trouble, but unexpectedly Jiang Li ignored them completely, treating them like air as she walked by.
Auntie Li rolled her eyes. “What’s there to be afraid of? I’d say all this right to Jiang Li’s face! Ever since Jiang Xiaoxiao came back, she’s been so warm and helpful. She didn’t even charge me for the medicine she gave me.”
Auntie Li genuinely liked Jiang Xiaoxiao. After all, one hospital visit could easily cost two or three yuan, and Jiang Xiaoxiao had saved her so much money.
Jiang Li took the public bus for two stops before reaching her destination.
After getting off, she looked at the somewhat worn three-story building before her. Bright red characters on the outside read:
— Beicheng County Hospital.
Though the exterior looked old, it was still one of the better hospitals in Beicheng.
The outpatient lobby bustled with people. Long lines formed before the wooden registration windows, and the sharp smell of disinfectant hit her the moment she entered. Jiang Li found the reception desk, said she was looking for Doctor Xiang Zhou, then sat down nearby.
Her striking appearance immediately attracted the nurses’ attention.
They secretly observed Jiang Li, amazement filling their eyes as they whispered among themselves.
“What’s going on? Is the girl looking for Doctor Xiang his girlfriend?” one nurse asked quietly, afraid others would hear.
Another nurse whispered back, “But didn’t a dark-skinned female comrade also come looking for Doctor Xiang this morning? They seemed pretty close. She’s visited him several times already—they’re probably the real couple.”
Since Jiang Li was sitting close to the reception desk, she naturally noticed the nurses repeatedly glancing her way.
Actually, the original owner hadn’t been dating Xiang Zhou for very long. They had only gone to a few movies together. But in the original owner’s heart, Xiang Zhou was not only handsome and cultured, he also cared deeply for her. Once, when she twisted her ankle in high heels during a movie date, Xiang Zhou immediately carried her home on his back.
Just like that, he had successfully won over her heart.
Knowing Xiang Zhou was only an intern doctor with low pay, every month after receiving her salary and ration tickets, she would buy him supplements because she worried he overworked his brain.
But that wasn’t even the main point.
Last month, Xiang Zhou claimed his mother needed surgery and he couldn’t afford it, so he borrowed five hundred yuan from the original owner.
One sentence summed it up:
Cheating was one thing. Seamlessly moving on was another. But the money absolutely had to be repaid!
A nearby nurse couldn’t resist asking, “Comrade, are you dating Doctor Xiang?”
Jiang Li had no intention of hiding it. Smiling, she nodded. “We dated for four months. But yesterday, for some reason, Comrade Xiang Zhou suddenly came to break up with me.”
Oh my god!
The nurse’s mouth dropped open in shock.
Was Doctor Xiang insane? He had such a beautiful girlfriend and still wanted to break up?
Wait… something wasn’t right.
The nurse suddenly sensed gossip.
If they had only broken up yesterday, then what exactly was the relationship between Xiang Zhou and Jiang Xiaoxiao, who had already been visiting him for half a month?
The nurses instantly became like squirrels who’d stumbled into a melon patch, chattering excitedly.
“Either Doctor Xiang is mentally ill or completely blind. The woman outside looks like a movie star on a poster. Even an idiot would know who to choose!”
“Doctor Xiang isn’t stupid at all—he’s smart.” The head nurse organized medical files while sneering. She gestured toward the vice director’s office with her chin. “Haven’t you heard? Jiang Xiaoxiao is the vice director’s long-lost niece who was finally found. The vice director only has a son, no daughter. Think about it—once he marries into that family, wouldn’t the vice director help his own people? I think Doctor Xiang just wants to live off a rich connection.”
“Then isn’t Doctor Xiang juggling two women at once and messing around romantically?” said a round-faced nurse, cheeks puffed up in anger.
The nurses all looked at Jiang Li sympathetically.
“We all thought Jiang was Doctor Xiang’s girlfriend before. Who knew she was the one being cheated on? Poor thing.”
Most of the nurses were already married. Just imagining themselves in this kind of situation made them furious.
This Xiang Zhou clearly had serious moral issues!
The only question was whether Jiang Xiaoxiao knew she was being deceived. If she didn’t, the nurses fully intended to tell her. The poor girl had finally reunited with her biological parents after suffering so much. Even if she was plain-looking, she shouldn’t be tricked by a scumbag doctor too!
Just as everyone was thinking this, a square-faced man in a white lab coat entered with a dark-skinned girl.
Who else could they be but Xiang Zhou and Jiang Xiaoxiao?
The moment Xiang Zhou entered the hospital, he spotted Jiang Li sitting there immediately.
There was no helping it—Jiang Li was simply too eye-catching. Her already small oval face was fair and delicate, her lips red, teeth white, willow-shaped eyes slightly upturned, and even the shadows cast by her eyelashes seemed to shimmer like pearls.
Xiang Zhou’s heart immediately began pounding.
Just as he was about to walk over, Jiang Xiaoxiao quickly tugged at his sleeve.
“Brother Xiang Zhou, did Jiang Li come here looking for you?” Jiang Xiaoxiao glanced at Jiang Li’s beautiful face, secretly gritting her teeth before looking up with an aggrieved expression.
Xiang Zhou snapped back to reality, his racing heart trembling again. Hearing Jiang Xiaoxiao’s words, he hurriedly denied it righteously.
“Jiang Li and I already broke up. Don’t worry—even if she came to get back together, I absolutely wouldn’t agree.”
From the very beginning, Xiang Zhou had pursued Jiang Li with ulterior motives. After accidentally learning about her connection to the vice director, he deliberately pretended not to know and enthusiastically courted her.
Jiang Li was beautiful, had a respectable job, and even had an uncle who was a vice director. If not for the switched-at-birth incident, she would’ve been Xiang Zhou’s dream marriage candidate.
Unfortunately…
After Jiang Xiaoxiao returned to the Jiang family, Xiang Zhou caught wind of the situation. He found an excuse to visit the vice director’s office and probe indirectly, eventually getting an answer from Vice Director Jiang himself:
Only those with Jiang family blood would truly be recognized as members of the Jiang family.
That alone was enough for Xiang Zhou to foresee Jiang Li’s future.
Between a promising future and a beautiful but otherwise useless face, he naturally knew which to choose.
With that thought, Xiang Zhou walked over coldly.
“Comrade Jiang, come outside with me. We need to talk.”
Following the voice, Jiang Li finally got a good look at Xiang Zhou’s appearance: a standard square face, around 175 centimeters tall, with glasses on his face.
Jiang Li: …
I really need to wash my eyes. o(╥﹏╥)o
She now seriously doubted the novel’s description of her ex-boyfriend as “upright and handsome.” Was this author writing for the first time or what?
Xiang Zhou was absolutely the greatest black mark of her life.
“There’s no need for that.” After looking Xiang Zhou up and down, Jiang Li shifted her gaze to Jiang Xiaoxiao following behind him and couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
She’s so dark…
Was the island sun really that harsh? Did sunscreen even exist in this era? She definitely didn’t want to get tanned like that.
Still, Jiang Li had no intention of clashing with Jiang Xiaoxiao.
A man was just a man. If someone wanted to take him, let them. Especially a “black history” like Xiang Zhou—even knowing the original owner had dated him made her emotionally collapse.
But although Jiang Li didn’t want trouble with Jiang Xiaoxiao, Jiang Xiaoxiao clearly had other plans.
Putting on a righteous expression, Jiang Xiaoxiao stepped in front of Xiang Zhou.
“Since I’ve returned to the Jiang family, and Mom and Dad raised you all these years, then I suppose we’re sisters too.”
Her words stunned the nurses collectively.
So… this beautiful woman was actually the mistakenly raised daughter?
“A sister saying a few words to you isn’t too much, right?”