If there was one family in China’s military circles whose name was known far and wide, a name that thundered in everyone’s ears, it was undoubtedly the Huo family.
Old Master Huo was one of the founding heroes of the nation and held tremendous prestige in both military and political circles.
Over the decades, the Huo family’s influence had spread throughout the country.
And yet, Old Master Huo had personally come to this modest city and gone straight to the Jiang family.
Before the stunned eyes of the Jiang family, the vigorous old man threw his arms around Huo Lin and burst into tears.
Huo Lin was actually the Huo family’s eldest grandson, who had been missing for many years.
The news shocked the entire country.
What was even more surprising was that Huo Lin refused to return to the capital with Old Master Huo. Instead, he chose to remain in this relatively underdeveloped city and join the military there.
Old Master Huo agreed.
From then on, Huo Lin never returned to the Jiang family—a place that had brought him so many years of pain. Within just a few years, he rose several ranks in rapid succession and became the youngest commander in the country.
Not long after he left, on a rainy night, Liu Rouyue appeared at the Jiang family’s doorstep, her body covered in injuries.
Facing the stunned Jiang parents, she produced a jade pendant that proved her identity.
The truth was that nineteen years earlier, in the hospital nursery, Liu Rouyue’s parents had secretly switched their daughter with the Jiang family’s child so that their own daughter could grow up enjoying a better life.
The Jiang family’s biological daughter who had been taken away was none other than Liu Rouyue.
After learning the truth, the Jiang parents were overwhelmed with guilt. They welcomed Liu Rouyue into their home and began doing everything they could to make up for the years she had lost.
The original Jiang Zhinian had grown up being cherished and pampered by everyone. Then, all of a sudden, she learned that her biological parents were poor farmers from a remote village—and that they had done something so despicable.
How could she possibly accept such a drastic change?
And when it came to scheming, she was no match for Liu Rouyue, who had grown up enduring hardship at the hands of the Liu family.
After several incidents in which Liu Rouyue framed and set her up, the Jiang parents became completely disappointed in the original Jiang Zhinian and eventually drove her out of the house.
On that lonely night, with no one to rely on, the original Jiang Zhinian was beaten to death in the wilderness with a single blow from a club by thugs Liu Rouyue had hired.
Perhaps it was also karma for the way she had mistreated Huo Lin.
And it was at that very moment that Jiang Zhinian’s soul entered this body.
Coincidentally, this body looked exactly like her body from the twenty-first century, right down to the smallest detail, so she adapted to it with remarkable ease.
Simply put, she had only one main mission:
To thoroughly break the male lead, Huo Lin’s heart and make him realize that the only person truly worthy of his love was the kind, understanding female lead.
There was just one problem.
Before the male lead came to that realization, Jiang Zhinian’s life force could only be maintained by kissing him!
The system had initially given her one month of life.
But now, only three and a half days remained!
[Host Niannian, aren’t you worried at all?]
The little system spirit, which had no physical form and existed only in her mind, asked timidly.
“Why should I worry? I have a plan.”
Jiang Zhinian remained perfectly calm.
If worse came to worst, she would just force another kiss on him.
It wasn’t as though she hadn’t done it before.
While bickering with the little system spirit, Jiang Zhinian unknowingly arrived at the entrance to the military compound.
The two young soldiers standing guard were ramrod straight, though both looked at her with undisguised shock in their eyes.
One of them was named Cheng Yue, Huo Lin’s orderly.
A few days earlier, he had failed to stop Jiang Zhinian from barging into Huo Lin’s office.
As a result, Huo Lin had sent him to stand guard at the entrance for an entire week—with no breaks—wearing a face as black as thunder.
Cheng Yue was so wronged that he could hardly put it into words.
Because even now, he had no idea how Miss Jiang had managed to get inside.
He had clearly done everything he could to stop her!
Yet today, after standing guard the entire day, not even a mosquito had escaped his watchful eyes.
But this Miss Jiang…
She had just casually walked out from inside.
Walked right out!
How on earth had she gotten in?!
Seeing the handsome young soldier standing there with a completely baffled expression, Jiang Zhinian couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
She casually stuffed the food box Liu Rouyue had brought into Cheng Yue’s hands, making good use of someone else’s gift.
“You’ve both worked hard standing guard. Have something to eat and take a little break.”
“N-No… there’s no need!”
Cheng Yue had never expected her to pull something like this. As he hurriedly tried to refuse, his eyes accidentally met hers.
In an instant, his face felt as if it were on fire.
It was even hotter than a roasted sweet potato!
Miss Jiang was simply too beautiful!
Her skin was as fair as snow, her long hair was black as ink, and her eyes were captivating.
She was the kind of beauty capable of bringing a kingdom to ruin.
Although her reputation for being arrogant, spoiled, and vicious was well known, her beauty truly was unparalleled.
“Make sure you protect your commander well,” Jiang Zhinian said, giving him a mischievous wink. “Don’t let any of those random women get near him.”
With that, she turned and walked away.
The only random woman around here is you, Cheng Yue grumbled inwardly.
Even after Jiang Zhinian had disappeared into the distance, he was still standing there awkwardly, holding the food box and wondering what to do with it.
“What are you doing?”
A deep, familiar voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Cheng Yue shuddered and immediately snapped to attention, holding out the food box with both hands.
“Reporting, Commander! Miss Jiang gave this to me!”
Huo Lin’s indifferent gaze lingered briefly on Cheng Yue’s still noticeably flushed face.
His expression grew even colder.
No one knew what he was thinking.
On the outskirts of the city, hidden inside an inconspicuous little alley, several scattered stalls had been set up along a muddy dirt road.
An outsider would never have guessed that this was the city’s black market.
All kinds of illegal, under-the-table transactions took place here.
From scarce necessities such as grain and cooking oil to valuable antiques and cultural relics, anything could be bought or sold.
Jiang Zhinian had wrapped a scarf around her face, revealing only her eyes.
This was the only way to keep people from recognizing her.
After all, as the Jiang family’s infamous “fake daughter,” she was still a popular topic of gossip throughout the city.
She had come here to sell several rare imported items that she had conveniently taken with her when leaving the Jiang family.
These things couldn’t be sold openly, so the black market was her only option.
In front of an unremarkable stall sat a burly man with a fierce-looking face.
The moment he saw Jiang Zhinian, his eyes lit up.
Although her face was covered, the graceful curves of her figure and her striking aura were impossible to conceal.
“Hey, pretty lady. What are you looking for? Your big brother here has everything.”
The burly man stood and crossed a few steps, deliberately blocking Jiang Zhinian’s path.
He was obviously looking for trouble.
But Jiang Zhinian wasn’t afraid in the slightest.
No matter how intimidating this man tried to appear, he was nothing more than a small-time thug.
With a cold smile, she raised her eyes and stared at him.
“I have a few good foreign items to sell. Do you dare buy them?”
The man hadn’t expected her to remain so calm. He froze for a second before bursting into laughter.
“In this black market, there’s nothing I, Brother Biao, don’t dare to buy. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Jiang Zhinian took out a cloth bundle from inside her clothes and lifted one corner to show him what was inside.
A calculating gleam immediately appeared in Brother Biao’s eyes.
“Pretty lady, I’ll give you one hundred yuan for all of it.”
Jiang Zhinian scoffed.
Did he really think she was that easy to fool?
Those watches and pieces of jewelry were worth at least five hundred yuan.
“Five hundred. Take it or leave it.”
The lewd smile on Brother Biao’s face vanished.
“What a joke. One hundred yuan. You’ll sell it whether you want to or not. Otherwise, don’t even think about leaving this street!”
At some point, several lackeys carrying clubs had appeared behind her, each of them looking at her with malicious intent.
Jiang Zhinian twitched the corner of her mouth.
She was someone with a system, after all.
For just half a day’s worth of life force, she could exchange it for an incredible Swift Feet ability and run faster than the wind.
[Host Niannian, a friendly reminder: you’d better not run right now.]
The little system spirit gave her a soft warning.
Jiang Zhinian was just about to ask why when, in the next second, a clear male voice suddenly rang out.