Qin Yuan froze on the spot.
She had been on high alert the entire time, yet never in her wildest imagination had she expected them to demand that she marry a missing man whose fate was unknown.
What kind of bizarre arrangement was this?
If Section Chief Li had enough influence to arrange someone’s identity and secure a guarantee from the neighborhood office, surely he could also suppress the procedure requiring the family to be notified.
He had even said himself that if they handled the matter properly, the man’s family would never find out.
In that case, this marriage was completely unnecessary!
When something was this unusual, there had to be something fishy going on.
But Qin Yuan couldn’t yet figure out exactly what they were plotting.
She needed to think.
Another deliberate cough came from the other end of the phone.
“Ahem. Look, we’ve already thought everything through for you. Why aren’t you saying anything? What, you don’t want to save your friend anymore?”
Hah.
It was that habitual fake cough that finally convinced Qin Yuan—
There was definitely something shady going on.
Her tone immediately turned serious as she confronted him directly.
“Section Chief Wang, I don’t have much time, and I don’t want to play guessing games with you. Since Section Chief Li can arrange a neighborhood office guarantee and even send an ambulance, why do I absolutely have to marry this Sun Yulin?
“I’m not an idiot. I can tell perfectly well that this marriage is an unnecessary step!
“What exactly are you people planning? Just tell me straight. Stop acting like we’re carrying out some secret-agent operation!”
This time, it was the man on the other end who fell silent.
Through the receiver came the rapid tapping of fingers against a desk.
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound betrayed his nervousness.
Qin Yuan immediately pressed her advantage.
“Section Chief Wang, I’ve already lowered my asking price by two hundred yuan. In exchange, I’m only asking you to do something that’s easy for people like you to arrange. That’s fair.
“If there’s anything else you’re unhappy with, just tell me. If I can cooperate, I will. But if you refuse to explain things clearly, I can’t feel secure about this deal, and it’ll be difficult for us to proceed.
“I hope you can be honest with me so neither of us wastes time.”
“Heh, heh, heh!”
Section Chief Wang chuckled, sounding somewhat relieved.
“You really are a clever little girl! Fine. Since you’re sharp enough to understand, I won’t beat around the bush.
“Everything we’re discussing today is something that can never be brought into the open.
“Privately buying and selling a Worker-Peasant-Soldier university recommendation slot, arranging an identity for someone of unknown origin, secretly transferring personal files, improperly using connections to make a hospital dispatch an ambulance…
“As long as nobody exposes these things, we’ll be fine. But the moment any of this gets reported, we’ll all lose our government jobs.
“So Section Chief Li’s point is simple. Since we’re all getting into the same boat, you need to get your hands dirty too.
“Otherwise, what happens after your friend recovers? What if you turn around and sell us all out?
“Especially you. If you claim to be the victim and say we forced you to sell your university recommendation slot, who are we supposed to explain ourselves to then?
“Don’t you agree?”
Section Chief Wang couldn’t have made it any clearer.
It wasn’t that these people were incapable of doing what Qin Yuan had asked.
They were afraid that after they helped her, she would turn against them and burn the bridge behind her.
So they wanted to drag her into the mess as well.
The marriage certificate was her pledge of allegiance.
Once there was an official record of the marriage, Qin Yuan would become a participant in their scheme.
She would also be implicated in the sale of the university recommendation slot and the fraudulent use of another person’s identity.
Naturally, she wouldn’t dare report them so easily.
Only then would they truly become grasshoppers tied to the same rope.
That was their most basic calculation.
But thinking one step further, there was an even more sinister layer to it.
If Qin Yuan ever wanted to genuinely marry someone in the future, she would have to beg these same people to help erase her existing marriage record.
That meant they could hold this over her head for the rest of her life.
Once Qin Yuan understood all of this, she gritted her teeth in fury at their scheming.
After being reborn, she had wanted nothing more than to quickly escape the Xia family’s schemes and never again allow herself to be trapped by marriage.
Yet not even a full day into her new life, someone was already forcing her into a fake marriage.
There was simply no justice in this!
But then the image of her savior’s battered and wounded face appeared in her mind.
Qin Yuan immediately made her decision.
So be it.
If a fake marriage was what it took, then she would do it.
Saving her benefactor’s life was the most important thing right now.
As for the leverage these people thought they would have over her…
Once her benefactor recovered, she would find a way to break free.
She would never allow these petty villains to control her forever.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the room.
The office workers were probably returning from lunch.
This kind of shady transaction could never be allowed to reach other people’s ears.
Qin Yuan took a deep breath.
Her fingers clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and an almost imperceptible tension crept into her voice.
Then she made her decision.
“Fine. I agree.
“I’ll marry this Sun Yulin. We’ll even get an official marriage certificate.
“But you have to tell Section Chief Li to dispatch the ambulance immediately. If the ambulance isn’t here within half an hour, I’ll have no choice but to sell the recommendation slot to someone else.
“I’m not trying to go back on my word. I’m trying to save a life, and every minute matters.”
“Hey! You little girl!”
Section Chief Wang sounded slightly annoyed.
But the important task entrusted to him was finally about to be completed, so he was still in a good mood, and his tone remained relatively gentle.
“Don’t set the deadline so tightly. We have to pull strings to arrange all of this. Half an hour is pushing it.
“I’ll tell them to do everything they can. Just get yourself ready. The ambulance will definitely arrive within an hour.
“And another thing—you absolutely must bring your household registration booklet. Section Chief Li will need it to arrange your marriage certificate later.
“Otherwise, he has plenty of ways to make sure your friend gets all the way to the hospital and still can’t be admitted.”
At this point, Qin Yuan no longer resisted.
After all, all she had to do was enter a fake marriage.
In exchange, her benefactor’s life could be saved.
So she cooperatively asked,
“What about the introduction letter required for the marriage registration? There’s no way my production brigade will issue one.”
Section Chief Wang’s casual tone immediately returned.
“We’ve already forged so many things. You think one fake introduction letter is going to make a difference?
“Just hurry up and get ready. The ambulance will be there soon.
“And don’t tell me you don’t have your household registration booklet either!”
“I know. But make one thing clear to Section Chief Li—the transfer agreement for the university recommendation slot will only be signed after every single one of my conditions has been fulfilled.”
Qin Yuan’s tone was firm.
Meanwhile, she was already calculating her next move.
They wanted leverage over her?
Fine.
Then she needed to keep some leverage of her own.
She absolutely could not allow herself to be manipulated at their mercy.
“All right, all right, I know! We’re people who get things done. We won’t play tricks with you. That’s it!”
The other party hung up decisively.
Strangely enough, that made Qin Yuan feel somewhat reassured.
These people hadn’t been reborn.
Just as she herself had in her previous life, they regarded a university recommendation slot as something extraordinarily precious.
They were no less desperate to obtain that slot than she was to save a life.
So they would definitely do everything possible to arrange the ambulance and the other matters properly.
Qin Yuan quickly hung up the phone as well.
At that exact moment, the office workers returned with Doctor Qiao.
Qin Yuan finally felt some of the weight lift from her heart.
A smile appeared on her face as she approached Doctor Qiao and lowered her voice.
“Doctor Qiao, I’ve arranged an ambulance. It’ll be here soon!”
Doctor Qiao abruptly stopped in his tracks.
Disbelief was written all over his face, and the way he looked at Qin Yuan immediately changed.
He had worked as a doctor at the forestry farm clinic for years.
He knew better than anyone how difficult it was to get the county to dispatch an ambulance!
The last time he’d attended a meeting in the county, he’d even heard people complaining that getting permission to use that ambulance was practically as difficult as summoning a deity.
Yet this young woman standing before him had merely made a few phone calls…
And somehow, she had actually managed to summon that “deity.”
“You… really managed to arrange one?
“If that’s true, I’ll call the people at the forestry farm entrance. When the ambulance arrives, I’ll have them direct it here.”
“Yes, it’s true. They’re already coordinating everything. It’ll be here within an hour at most. Please let the gate staff know.”
Qin Yuan nodded, her tone confident.
Doctor Qiao immediately went into the office and called the forestry farm’s front gate.
Qin Yuan was genuinely grateful to him.
During this first day after her rebirth, Doctor Qiao was by far the kindest person she had encountered.
She smiled and pointed toward the room next door.
“I need to check on my friend and pack his belongings. I can take his clothes with me, right?”
Doctor Qiao nodded, then shook his head.
“Actually, there isn’t much left of his clothing.
“When he was brought in, I had to perform emergency treatment. His clothes were soaking wet and couldn’t be removed normally, so I had no choice but to cut them off.
“Ah, but his trousers are still here! I’ll get them for you.
“And there’s a little money left over from the medical fees. I’ll return that to you as well.”