The moment those words were spoken, even a fool could tell that the Qi family had taken an interest in Meng Ying.
Both families understood perfectly well what the other side was planning, but neither could openly expose it.
Li Yuqin nervously rubbed her fingers together, looking flustered.
When Meng Ying returned, she had never clearly explained the child’s background. She had only stammered that the man was an orphan and that they had not even had time to register their marriage before he drowned.
It was clearly too late to invent another story on the spot.
Seeing the guilty and evasive expressions of the Meng family, the Qi couple were not fools. The child’s father was probably truly unknown.
That made sense. Had Meng Ying genuinely married someone, she would not have remained at her parents’ home with the child.
The room fell briefly silent.
After careful consideration, Qi Shuai seemed to make a firm decision and declared,
“This marriage is settled. However, the daughter our Qi family will marry is Meng Ying.”
“What?!”
Meng Liangcai and Li Yuqin nearly fell out of their chairs.
It felt as though the sky had collapsed.
According to their original plan, Meng Yao was supposed to be the one married off. Now it had suddenly become Meng Ying.
Meng Liangcai had already investigated the Qi family thoroughly. If Meng Ying truly married into that household, she would suffer terribly.
Had the factory not been in crisis, he would never have committed such a heartless act that everyone else avoided.
Seeing the troubled expressions on the couple’s faces and their refusal to agree, Qi Shuai became furious.
“We came here today with complete sincerity to discuss a marriage, yet your family tried to deceive us into marrying an adopted daughter with no proper standing.
“If this matter spreads, not only will your Meng family be in the wrong, but I’m afraid your little factory will also be affected.”
His dissatisfaction carried an unmistakable threat.
Meng Liangcai understood perfectly well. His dark expression immediately eased.
Qi Shuai’s words were reasonable.
If news spread that Meng Ying had become pregnant before marriage, the entire family would drown beneath public condemnation. Even their business would suffer.
Meng Liangcai was a businessman, after all. He would never agree to a deal that caused him to lose everything.
Ignoring Li Yuqin’s frantic shaking of her head, he gritted his teeth and accepted the marriage arrangement.
Meanwhile, in the corridor on the second floor, Meng Yao stood facing Meng Ying, who glared at her furiously.
“You were the one attending the marriage meeting. Why did you bring me into it?”
“Did you do it deliberately?”
Faced with Meng Ying’s aggressive questioning, Meng Yao remembered how, in her previous life, Meng Ying had leaned close to her ear and revealed the truth about her biological parents’ deaths.
She wanted nothing more than to tear that ugly face apart.
“Haven’t you always hated me for taking away eighteen years of your life?”
“Now that everything has been returned to its rightful owner—including this excellent marriage arrangement—why are you angry instead?”
Meng Yao folded her arms across her chest, a mocking smile curling on her lips.
“He is the son of the steel factory director. Once you secure this marriage, you, your son, and the entire Meng family will rise to wealth and success. You must be overjoyed.”
“You… you…”
Meng Ying angrily pointed at her nose but was temporarily rendered speechless.
Why did Meng Yao, who had always been submissive, timid, cowardly, and blindly obedient to her parents, seem so different today?
She had suddenly become sharp-tongued and eloquent.
“I… I only recently returned to the Meng family. Of course, I need more time to grow closer to Mom and Dad. There’s no hurry for me to marry.”
Meng Ying did not dare reveal the truth, so she forced herself to explain,
“Besides, I never blamed you for taking away my life. What belongs to you should still be yours.”
“You should keep this marriage.”
Meng Yao laughed in disbelief.
She had never blamed her?
Then who had constantly caused trouble and mocked her ever since returning to the Meng family?
Who had repeatedly spat into her food and deliberately made noises at night to frighten her?
Who had constantly stirred up conflict in front of Meng Liangcai and Li Yuqin until they stopped giving her pocket money?
And who had now incited the whole family to sell her in exchange for investment?
Were these things even humanly possible?
Heaven had given Meng Yao another chance at life, not so she could continue acting like a saint.
In this life, the Meng family would not gain a single benefit from her.
“I’m afraid it’s already too late. Unless something unexpected happened, the marriage should already be settled.”
Meng Yao slowly moved beside her and sneered.
“If I’m not mistaken, the person marrying into the Qi family…”
“Is you.”
“Impossible! You’re lying…”
“Mom and Dad would never push me into that fire—”
Realizing that she had said too much, Meng Ying immediately shut her mouth.
She stopped arguing, glared viciously at Meng Yao, and hurried downstairs.
At that moment, all she wanted was to learn the outcome of the marriage meeting.
Downstairs, Qi Shuai and his wife had just left.
Li Yuqin collapsed into a chair, covered her face, and sobbed.
“What terrible sin have we committed? Yingzi only just returned to us, and now she has to marry away again—into that kind of family.”
Meng Liangcai was equally irritated. He paced back and forth.
“Cry, cry, cry! The marriage is already settled. What use is crying now?”
“The marriage is settled?”
“Who is marrying him?”
“It’s Meng Yao, right?”
Meng Ying ran downstairs, anxious and out of breath.
“It’s settled, but the bride isn’t Yaoyao.”
“It’s… you.”
“What?!”
“You agreed?”
Meng Ying was completely stunned.
Such an enormous pit of fire—
and she was the one expected to jump into it.
“No! I won’t marry him!”
“I’m your biological daughter. How can you bear to watch me marry into that family and live like a widow while my husband is still alive?”
“And didn’t we agree that Meng Yao would be the one married off? How did it suddenly become me?”
That was right.
How had they ended up sacrificing their biological daughter?
Li Yuqin jolted in realization and slapped her thigh furiously.
“It’s all that wretched girl’s fault! She spouted all that nonsense in front of the Qi family…”
As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves and prepared to confront Meng Yao. She was determined to teach her a severe lesson today.
Meanwhile, Meng Yao was rummaging through boxes and cabinets in her room.
In her previous life, shortly after Meng Yao married, Meng Ying had stolen the jade bracelet that their grandmother had left specifically for her before passing away.
After obtaining that bracelet, Meng Ying’s life had changed dramatically.
She had originally been obsessed with love, yet she suddenly changed and began seriously pursuing a career.
No one knew where she obtained a large sum of money, but she invested it in the factory just as it recovered from the brink of collapse.
Taking advantage of the economic reforms, the business expanded rapidly.
Her career proceeded smoothly, and she became immensely successful.
Later, after receiving praise and publicity from the media, she became famous overnight and rose to become one of the leading female entrepreneurs of the late 1980s.
Therefore, Meng Yao was certain that Meng Ying’s success had something to do with that bracelet.
However, after searching the entire room, she still could not remember where she had hidden it.
Meng Yao felt frustrated.
Had she been reborn without bringing her brain back with her?
Stupid brain, think.
Think quickly…
Suddenly, she snapped her fingers excitedly.
“Found it!”
Meng Yao carefully peeled away the poster on the wall, revealing a hole about the size of a fist.
Inside was a small wooden box.
Within the box lay a glittering jade gourd bracelet.
She lifted it, weighed it in her hand, and immediately hung it around her neck.
Then she reached out and touched the small dark-green gourd attached to the bracelet.
The gourd’s color suddenly changed, magically fading from dark to light.
A flash of white light followed.
When Meng Yao opened her eyes again, she discovered that she was standing in an unfamiliar world.
Above her stretched a blue sky filled with white clouds. Beneath her feet lay an endless grassland.
A vast lake spread out before her, and not far away stood a beautiful wooden cottage resembling a countryside guesthouse.
The clear lake reflected Meng Yao’s shocked and beautiful face.
It was incredible!
Could this be a paradise-like magical space?
Meng Yao bent down and washed her face with the lake water. It felt extraordinarily refreshing.
She instinctively licked the droplets from her lips and tasted a lingering sweetness.
She immediately drank a large mouthful of lake water.
Then she stood and stretched her body.
It felt as though every meridian in her body had suddenly opened. She became exceptionally energetic and powerful.
Meng Yao was secretly delighted.
Could this lake water be the legendary spiritual spring capable of curing every illness?
With this question in mind, she firmly walked toward the wooden cottage.
The moment she pushed open the door and planted both feet inside, a line of words appeared across the yellow wooden wall.
“Greetings, Host. The System Marketplace will now be activated for you…”