It would take two days to develop the photos.
After leaving the compound, Lin Xi no longer let Xiao Jingwen see her home.
She wanted to scout the area first and look for the reporting mailbox of the Revolutionary Committee.
Even though Lin Xi refused his offer, Xiao Jingwen did not insist. Before leaving, he simply slipped a piece of paper into her hand.
There was a phone number written on it.
Xiao Jingwen said, “Once the photos are developed, I’ll bring them to you.”
“If you run into anything you can’t handle on your own in the meantime, remember to call me.”
The handwriting on the note was bold and forceful, the strokes sharp and decisive, much like Xiao Jingwen himself.
Sitting in the car, Lin Xi tucked the note away.
She began thinking about what she had just agreed to do for Xiao Jingwen.
Setting aside what had happened at the guesthouse that day, Xiao Jingwen was actually quite comfortable to be around.
He came from a politically powerful background, but he never used his family status to intimidate others.
He had top-tier looks and an impressive physique. Although he suffered from that particular condition, his behavior was never frivolous.
Most importantly, he knew how to respect people.
She had deliberately turned down Xiao Jingwen’s invitations twice just now—first when he asked her to tour the compound, and then when he offered to take her home. Her purpose was to test whether this man was as domineering in his personality as he had been in bed.
The result was no.
He could actually listen when a woman said no.
Objectively speaking, a man like this, with such conditions, would be a rare gem in any era.
So she could indeed spend some time getting to know him and decide later whether she wanted to take things further.
Just like she had said at the restaurant.
If there was a shortcut, of course she was willing to take it.
Otherwise, given the original owner’s background—she had not even attended university—it would be extremely difficult to convince people that she was skilled in agricultural science and cultivation.
She needed Xiao Jingwen to vouch for her.
So she would get to know him first and see how things went. That was what Lin Xi had decided.
She did not want to go home and see that nauseating face of Lin Jianguo, so she stayed out until very late.
There was no one in the living room.
It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, so Lin Jianguo probably did not want to see her either.
Lin Xi returned to her room and went to sleep.
She needed to stay well-rested to deal with the battles that lay ahead.
During her graduate studies, she had become accustomed to sleeping outdoors, facing the earth beneath her and the sky above. Her sleep quality was excellent.
The next day, she did not come downstairs until noon.
Lin Jianguo had not gone to work either. He was sitting on the sofa.
“I have to say, for someone your age, you’re really unambitious. How did my mother ever fall for you?”
No looks.
No ability.
Lin Xi clicked her tongue, her expression practically dripping with disdain.
Lin Jianguo looked at her and nearly choked with anger.
It was only after Li Yufen tugged at his arm that he managed to calm down.
Taking a deep breath, he said, “I didn’t go to work today for your marriage!”
“My marriage?”
Lin Xi thought she had heard wrong. She laughed and asked, “What, did you come up with another ridiculous scheme to screw me over after thinking about it last night?”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
Lin Jianguo slammed his palm on the table.
“The marriage I’m arranging for you is an excellent one! The Yu Regiment Commander’s family.”
So this was a swap marriage?
Lin Xi had not paid much attention to the latter half of the original story, the chapters describing Lin Ran’s happy life.
But judging from Lin Ran’s reaction after her rebirth—throwing a fit and insisting on swapping marriages—the Yu family was definitely another trap.
Seeing that Lin Xi had remained silent for quite some time, Lin Jianguo thought there was hope. His tone softened.
“Your sister’s marriage was settled with Commander Xiao’s family yesterday. The wedding is in three days.”
“By then, all our relatives and neighbors will come to see her off.”
“I’m rushing to find you a husband because I’m afraid people will gossip. Your younger sister is getting married before you, and your reputation is already bad. It’ll be even harder for you to find a husband afterward.”
“Father and daughter, after all. Even if you’re heartless and unfilial enough to insist on cutting ties with us, as your father, I still have to think about your future.”
“The Yu family only has one child. If you marry into their family, you won’t have to deal with conflicts between sisters-in-law. And in the future, the Yu family’s assets will all be yours.”
“And Yu Zichen is a surgeon at the military hospital. He’s well educated, has a good job, is handsome, comes from a strict family, and has an upright character. Being able to arrange such a good marriage for you, you should know perfectly well that you’re marrying above your station.”
He was clearly plotting his own little scheme, yet sentence after sentence, he kept insisting that she was the one marrying above her station.
Lin Jianguo should be thankful they lived in an era without the internet.
Otherwise, decades later, he would absolutely be the kind of manipulative father who got dragged onto trending searches and torn apart online.
“So what do you think?” Lin Jianguo asked impatiently when he still received no response.
Lin Xi paused, then gave a cold laugh.
“What do I think? I think… Yu Zichen is so wonderful. Why don’t you marry him yourself?”
Lin Jianguo: “You ungrateful brat!”
Li Yufen immediately chimed in, “Xiaoxi…”
Just hearing her voice was irritating.
Lin Xi glanced at her.
“What are you getting anxious about? Do you want to marry him too?”
“This is outrageous!”
Lin Jianguo angrily smashed a cup.
He stood up and pointed at Lin Xi.
“Don’t be so ungrateful!”
“The Yu family’s marriage proposal is considered an excellent match no matter who you ask!”
“If you turn it down now, you’ll regret it later!”
It was summer, and every household had its doors and windows open. Lin Jianguo’s roar carried all the way to the few neighborhood aunties sitting at the end of the alley enjoying the cool air.
“Listen to that. The Lin family is at it again.”
The matter with the IOU from yesterday had been something Lin Xi had openly brought the neighborhood committee officials home to deal with.
There were no secrets among neighbors. The news had spread throughout the neighborhood overnight.
Someone asked, “What are they fighting about? Is it still the IOU?”
The others shook their heads.
They couldn’t make out the words.
The Lin house was still dozens of meters away. The sound of the cup smashing had been loud, but none of them could hear exactly what was being said.
Auntie Wang said, “I always say, marry a stepmother and you get a stepfather! Lin Ran’s dowry was paid for with the Bai family’s ancestral property. Lin Xi just asked Old Lin to sign an IOU. What does he have to be angry about?”
Lin Jianguo himself had married into his wife’s family. Yet now he wanted the children born to his second wife to continue sucking blood from his former wife’s family. Who could stand watching that?
“Exactly!”
This time, the aunties were unanimously on Lin Xi’s side.
“If you ask me, she shouldn’t have lent them anything.”
Just then, Auntie Sun came out carrying a quilt to hang outside. Passing by, she heard them and asked curiously, “Lent them what?”
Auntie Wang repeated everything she had just said to Auntie Sun.
Auntie Sun shook her head and explained, “Oh, no! That’s not it.”
“The father and daughter are arguing over a marriage proposal this time.”
Auntie Sun’s family lived right next door to the Lin family. She had been in her own courtyard just moments ago and had heard everything clearly.
Auntie Sun said, “From what Old Lin was saying, he’s arranged a good marriage for Lin Xi.”
“Apparently, it’s the only son of some Regiment Commander’s family.”
“Anyway, Lin Xi absolutely refuses to agree.”
“The son of a Regiment Commander?”
Someone in the crowd exclaimed, “Why would Lin Xi refuse such a good marriage?”
Auntie Sun shook her head.
“They didn’t say.”
She also thought it was a pity.
As the old saying went, when choosing a husband, first came a military officer, second a military worker, third a factory worker, and fourth a farmer.
The only son of a military officer was a match others would dream of marrying. Who knew why Lin Xi was being so unreasonable?
The group of women continued chatting among themselves.
None of them noticed that, beneath a tree not far away, a man in military uniform had been standing there, listening to the entire conversation.