Ji Yanshu remained unaffected, going about her daily routine as usual.
Everyone she encountered felt compelled to offer words of comfort.
"I heard Zhou Heng and Xu Huifang really got their marriage certificate. They're in such a hurry—if people didn't know better, they'd think they'd done something shameful and needed the certificate to cover it up."
"It's obvious, isn't it? If they hadn't been carrying on behind the scenes, how could he go to get the certificate with Yanshu one moment and switch to someone else the next?"
"In all my years, this is the first time I've seen something like this. It's truly eye-opening."
"Yanshu, don't be sad. Your blessings are yet to come. You could have married a city dweller, but because he went for the grass right under his nose, you got delayed."
"That's right, Yanshu. When you marry into the city, don't forget about us. If you come across any good prospects, remember to introduce them to us. We country girls are strong—we can handle everything at home."
"Not only are we good at household chores, we're also great at bearing children…"
The conversation quickly veered off track.
Ji Yanshu's mouth twitched as she vaguely replied, "We'll see when the time comes."
In everyone's eyes, Ji Yanshu marrying into the city was a foregone conclusion.
After this incident, the Ji family would definitely be extra careful in their selection.
Her brothers were successful—wouldn't they pick only from city dwellers when introducing potential matches?
While it was difficult for other girls to marry into the city, for Ji Yanshu, it wasn't hard at all.
Some people were just born lucky.
Her brothers were successful.
She herself was beautiful.
She excelled in every aspect. City people weren't foolish—they wouldn't look down on her just because she was from the countryside.
After chatting for a while, everyone went to work as usual.
Zhou Heng was busy handling family matters and didn't appear before Ji Yanshu.
This gave her two peaceful days.
"Big brother sent a telegram back!"
Ji Xiangbei announced as soon as he entered the house.
Mother Ji hurried to meet him. "What did your eldest brother say? Did he scold Zhou Heng?"
Ji Yanshu was counting eggs, preparing to send them to the county town the next day.
There weren't many—only twenty—but enough for her second brother's family to enjoy several good meals.
She pricked up her ears to listen.
"With our big brother's temper, it'd be strange if he didn't scold him," Ji Xiangbei said.
He read the telegram's contents to Mother Ji. It started with curses for Zhou Heng, followed by comfort for Ji Yanshu.
He told her not to be sad—there were plenty of good men in the world.
It ended with just one question: "Little sister, would you like a soldier?"
Mother Ji and Ji Xiangbei simultaneously turned to look at Ji Yanshu, waiting for her response.
"Are you all in such a hurry to marry me off?"
They both shook their heads in unison.
"We're just concerned."
Ji Yanshu chided, "Once married, I'd have to become a housemaid, serving my in-laws. I want to stay home a few more years."
"Who would dare make you a housemaid?" Ji Xiangbei said proudly. "With your temper, you'd probably tear the roof off your in-laws' house!"
"Don't talk nonsense. Don't ruin Xiao Wu's reputation."
If this spread, people who didn't know better might think Xiao Wu had a terrible temper.
She just refused to be taken advantage of.
If no one tried to cheat her, her temper was just fine.
She was reasonable in speech and action—anyone who married her would have found a treasure.
Mother Ji asked, "So do you want to go on the blind date? I heard Hai Dao has beautiful scenery. You could go relax for a while and come back after some time."
Ji Yanshu didn't plan to remain single forever.
She still wanted to marry and have a few caring children.
But all this depended on one condition: her future partner had to be good enough.
He doesn't need to achieve great success, but he must be an upright, kind, responsible man with integrity.
Such men are hard to find, but Ji Yanshu wasn't in a hurry.
Just as she was about to speak, an unexpected visitor suddenly arrived at her home.
Ji Yanshu's eyes turned cold.
"Why did you do this?"
Zhou Heng questioned Ji Yanshu the moment he stepped through the door.
"Not marrying you was for the good of both of us. Even if you're angry, there's no need to report me, is there?"
Ji Xiangbei stepped forward, shielding his younger sister.
"Where did this mad dog come from, barking and biting at random!"
Zhou Heng looked disappointed as he gazed at Ji Yanshu. "I always thought that although you were somewhat spoiled, you had no ill intentions and were a good girl. I never expected you to do something like this."
What disappointed him most wasn't that Ji Yanshu had reported him.
It was that she pretended to be carefree on the surface while resorting to such underhanded tactics behind his back.
He would have preferred if Ji Yanshu had openly reported him, putting her grievances against him out in the open.
Rather than acting like… a petty person, sneaking around to cause trouble.
Ji Yanshu rolled her eyes. "Whether I'm good or not isn't for you to judge. Aren't you truly in love with Xu Huifang? If you're unwilling to pay such a small price, is your so-called true love that shallow?"
Leaving aside Xu Huifang's problematic background, with the current strict crackdown on male-female relationships, Zhou Heng had handled things so ostentatiously that news had spread even to the neighboring Production Team.
It was only natural that others would oppose him serving as a small team leader.
Ji Yanshu had thought Zhou Heng was mentally prepared for this.
That he was willing to give up everything for Xu Huifang.
She never expected him to want both.
Ji Yanshu looked at him with contempt. "Instead of jumping around at my house, you should reflect on your own flaws. Even if you were really reported, they didn't wrong you."
"When did you become so harsh?" Zhou Heng's expression grew even more disappointed.
Ji Xiangbei: "Who do you think you are? Does my sister need to be nice to you?"
Mother Ji: "What 'who'? He's not even human!"
Ji Yanshu silently nodded in agreement.
Zhou Heng smiled bitterly. "When Huifang suspected it was you, I didn't believe it. I never thought you hated me so much that you'd stab me in the back."
Zhou Heng felt terrible inside.
It was his fault for driving Ji Yanshu to become someone who would resort to any means.
Knowing Zhou Heng too well, Ji Yanshu could tell what he was thinking just from his expression.
Not wanting to be entangled with him any longer, she stated clearly: "First, I don't know who reported you, but I'll praise them here – well done."
"Second, I do hate you. I wish you didn't exist in this world. But don't overestimate yourself either. A man who can't make up his mind isn't worth my energy and time."
"Finally, I don't like you anymore. I hope you have some self-awareness and stop flattering yourself."
Zhou Heng still didn't believe it.
In their previous life, Ji Yanshu had been completely devoted to him.
In this life, she had shown up on their wedding registration day too.
Even if she had accepted reality, she couldn't have moved on from him so quickly.
Zhou Heng's eyes held disappointment, along with self-blame and guilt.
"I know I've wronged you…"
"Stop!"
Ji Yanshu didn't want to hear this nonsense. "My eldest brother has arranged several blind dates for me, all of them good comrades. It's not like I've gone mad, desperately clinging to a married man."
She emphasized the last four words heavily.
She was reminding Zhou Heng that he was already married.
"Yanshu, I…"
"Stop your blathering here. Don't bring up the past ever again—those are my dark days, just thinking about them makes me cringe."
Zhou Heng's expression shifted as he suddenly processed what Ji Yanshu had just said.
"You're going on a blind date?"
Ji Xiangbei lifted her chin. "What, is that not allowed?"
Watching Zhou Heng's stunned and pained expression, Ji Xiangbei felt a surge of triumphant satisfaction.
This man was truly greedy.
He'd gotten involved with another woman, yet still expected their little fifth sister to pine for him forever.
How shameless.
Did he even stop to consider whether he was worthy?