Su Tian didn’t care where the thousand yuan that Su Lili bribed her and Chen Xiaojun with came from. Anyway, she had accepted the money and had no intention of exposing Su Lili’s secrets on the day of her wedding.
The eighth day of the third lunar month was an auspicious day for marriage. Su Lili’s family had been preparing for three days. By the eighth day, red “double happiness” characters were pasted on the windows and doors, making the house look festive.
Su Tian, being her second aunt, walked with confidence and had often shown off in the village. Today, she wore a new outfit, earning compliments from everyone. She even deliberately flaunted it in front of Huang Guihua, speaking nicely: “Once my Lili marries into the city, I’ll ask her husband to arrange a job for Su Tian too.”
Huang Guihua had originally planned to curry favor with her sister-in-law, but Su Tian persuaded her she didn’t need to. She could find a good husband on her own. As for the job, her future husband would arrange it. The pancakes were big and round, she ate them happily, and there was no need to curry favor with Li Xiaomei.
Huang Guihua retorted, “Arrange your daughter’s job first. My Tian Tian can find a job herself—she doesn’t need your son-in-law to arrange it.”
Li Xiaomei pouted. “Fine, if you won’t be grateful, whatever. Don’t blame me if Lili gets married and you don’t even help your cousin.”
“No need,” Huang Guihua replied firmly. She didn’t believe her daughter, who was prettier and more capable than Su Lili and could even sell salted duck eggs for five mao more than others, couldn’t find a good man. She gave Su Tian a meaningful look for her to understand.
Su Tian thought, “Mom, your competitiveness is a bit much! A woman’s success isn’t only measured by marriage—she can also make her own career.” She didn’t dare say this aloud for fear of getting beaten.
Once Su Lili was ready, the truck from the city arrived. In those days, there were no fancy wedding cars, but Guo Zhiwei, taking advantage of his father being a deputy factory director, borrowed the factory’s salt transport truck for the wedding. A red “double happiness” character was pasted on the front. Traveling on the rural dirt road, it was very conspicuous.
The village children, unused to such sights, couldn’t help but shout in excitement.
Su Lili raised her eyebrows in pride. Last life, she had watched enviously as the truck picked up the bride, with Su Tian stealing the spotlight and becoming the most admired girl in the village—a stark contrast to her own position. Today, she was finally the one on top.
She boasted, “Brother Zhiwei came to marry me. He said he was going to use a sedan, but I thought that was too fancy, so he decided on a truck instead. He really treats me well!”
Su Tian wasn’t going to give her face and shot back, “You’re so silly! You had a sedan but rode a truck instead, smelling all of salt—do you think you’re a salted duck egg?”
Su Lili’s face darkened. “Su Tian, are you jealous of me?”
Before Su Tian could roll her eyes, Su Lili smirked, “Don’t deny it. You’re jealous I married well. Too bad—Brother Zhiwei married me. I hope you find a good man in the future.”
Of course, marrying Chen Xiaojun would be best. Su Tian smirked: “Don’t worry, I’ll find a good man.” Not like her, marrying some brute. She thought, let her enjoy her current happiness—she’d cry later.
Su Tian watched Su Lili march toward a lifetime of hardship.
The wedding truck arrived at the doorstep, with a crowd gathered to watch. Su Tian also went out to watch the spectacle. She knew what she was seeing and wasn’t impressed by the bride price.
Looking at Su Lili’s outfit—a polyester shirt, black trousers, a flower on her chest, and a joyful smile on her face, even the mole on her nose seemed bigger—Su Tian compared her to Chen Xiaojun. Guo Zhiwei looked plain and was half a head shorter than Chen Xiaojun, with sparse hair slicked down with oil, giving a greasy, sleazy impression.
Seeing him again, Su Tian couldn’t bear to look. Ugly, and on top of that cruel and selfish—he was infertile, shirked responsibility, and poisoned her body in the past. Yet Su Lili had been eager to marry him. She must really be starving!
Someone tugged her clothes, and Su Lili’s warning sounded behind her: “See, the one with the flower—that’s your brother-in-law.”
Su Tian laughed: “Oh, the one with a mole, huh? You like that? Not as good as Chen Xiaojun. So you like ugly men after all!”
Su Lili’s face darkened. “You’re superficial! What use is a good-looking man?”
Chen Xiaojun’s face hadn’t fed anyone in the past. Last life, she had been deceived by that face, working like a slave for him and suffering domestic abuse. This life, she preferred someone plain like Guo Zhiwei.
Besides, Guo Zhiwei was ugly, and last life she had a good relationship with him. Now complaining about his looks—would she still have married last life? Double standard.
Su Lili knew Su Tian was probably trying to make her back off, thinking she would refuse Guo Zhiwei because he was ugly, leaving a chance for her. Dream on! Su Lili wouldn’t give Su Tian that opportunity.
Thinking of her arrangements, Su Lili unreasonably demanded, “You took my money, so you should help me. Guo Zhiwei arranged to meet me by the reeds—go tell him to give up. I have to marry today.”
Su Tian raised an eyebrow: “You can’t go yourself?”
“How am I supposed to get there if I’m getting married?” Su Lili begged humbly. “If anyone finds out that I secretly met Chen Xiaojun on my wedding day, what will they think? Please, I beg you, help me run this errand!”
Su Tian could see from Su Lili’s reaction that this was a trap. Apparently, Su Lili hadn’t given up and still wanted to shove that scumbag Chen Xiaojun onto her. Fine—she wanted to see how they were planning to play this.
Su Tian deliberately played along: “This is the last time I run an errand for you. Don’t think you can boss me around after this.”
“I knew my cousin was the best and wouldn’t refuse me,” Su Lili said, smiling as she watched Su Tian leave, her scheming succeeding. Su Lili eagerly anticipated her wedding while feeling a twinge of sympathy for Su Tian, who was walking into a trap.
Before Su Tian reached the agreed-upon reed marsh, she spotted a figure holding a stone in the reeds. She knew Su Lili and Chen Xiaojun were up to no good, so she decided to strike first, aiming the stone at Chen Xiaojun’s head.
Before the stone hit, the person turned around. By the time Su Tian recognized him, it was too late—the stone thudded against his forehead. Just hearing the impact was painful.
The next moment, her wrist was grabbed with such force that Su Tian couldn’t escape, no matter how hard she tried. She cursed her bad luck.
The man winced from the pain, his voice slightly cold, his handsome face stern, and his eyes deadly as he glared at Su Tian: “You hit someone and think you can just run?”
“Mi… mistake! I didn’t know it was you! I apologize, I’m sorry, I hit the wrong person—it’s my fault!” Su Tian said earnestly, staring at the man’s unexpected expression, frozen for three seconds.
It was him… she hadn’t expected to run into Qin Yan here. And he was still alive! Seeing his cold face, memories she had forgotten from her past life surfaced. Qin Yan was here to pick up the bride.
In her past life, she married Guo Zhiwei, and it was Qin Yan who drove the truck for the wedding. He was the head of the factory transport team, a skilled driver, and also Guo Zhiwei’s cousin. They lived in the same compound and had a good relationship.
After marrying, Su Tian didn’t interact much with Qin Yan, mainly to avoid awkwardness. Besides Guo Zhiwei, she rarely interacted with other men. Compared to Guo Zhiwei, Qin Yan was quiet, somewhat cold, but a decent person.
Unfortunately, his fate was tragic—he lost his father young and died prematurely. Su Tian remembered that Qin Yan had died about a year after she married Guo Zhiwei. What a pity!