Shen Yong flushed red to the neck after being rebuked. He let out two awkward chuckles before quickly changing his approach.
“That’s not what I meant! It’s mainly… the bride price! Since we’re discussing a marriage proposal, we should naturally discuss the bride price, shouldn’t we? Zhouzhou has eaten under my roof for eighteen years. Even if she hasn’t made any great contributions, she’s certainly put in her share of hard work. At the very least…”
He held up three fingers.
“This amount. Otherwise, where am I supposed to put my old face?”
“Three hundred yuan?”
Wang Xiulan nearly burst out laughing.
“Brother Shen, you’ve really got some nerve! Setting aside whether we even have that much money, that’s simply not how bride prices are given. Around here, the usual bride price is fifty yuan. You’re practically trying to skin him alive.”
“Sister, what are you saying?” Shen Yong replied with an indifferent shrug. “Paying a bride price is only natural. Our family won’t accept anything less than this amount.”
The dead girl had already distanced herself from the family anyway. Either they paid up, or the marriage was off. Why should such a good opportunity benefit her for nothing?
“If you can’t come up with that amount, then I won’t agree to this marriage.”
The moment Shen Zhouzhou heard the words “three hundred yuan,” it was as though she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. She suddenly let out a cold laugh, the icy sound making Shen Yong’s face alternately flush red and pale.
She stepped forward, her phoenix eyes narrowing slightly as her gaze sharpened into something as deadly as a poisoned blade aimed directly at Shen Yong.
“Shen Yong, your calculations are so loud they can probably be heard three streets away. We just signed the severance agreement moments ago, agreeing not to interfere in each other’s lives ever again. Who gave you the audacity to demand a bride price now? Do you think I’m easy to bully, or do you think it’s easy to swindle money from a People’s Liberation Army officer?”
Listening to Shen Zhouzhou’s words, Chu Yunli immediately understood exactly where she stood on the matter.
Looking at Shen Yong’s face, twisted beyond recognition by greed, a layer of frost settled over Chu Yunli’s stern features. He quietly stepped in front of Shen Zhouzhou, shielding her behind him. His military boots struck the stone floor with slow, steady steps, each one seeming to pound directly against Shen Yong’s heart.
“Comrade Shen,” he said, his voice low and cold, carrying the unquestionable authority unique to a military officer. “Zhouzhou is the woman I have chosen to marry. The military and the Public Security Bureau can both testify to her innocence. If you’re planning to use this severance to extort a bride price or damage her reputation, I suggest you abandon that idea immediately.”
Shen Yong’s face instantly turned deathly pale. His fingers clenched so tightly that the tablecloth wrinkled beneath his grip. He was unwilling to watch the money that had seemed within his reach slip away.
The moment Chu Yunli had entered the house, Shen Fangfang had caught sight of the stars on his shoulders from the corner of her eye. She immediately froze as though struck by lightning.
That face…
It was unmistakably the same cold-faced military officer who had testified against her mother that day.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Looking again at Chu Yunli’s tall figure, handsome features, and remembering the neighbors talking about his rank as a deputy regimental commander, poisonous jealousy instantly wrapped itself around her heart.
Why should that bitch Shen Zhouzhou get to marry someone so accomplished?
I’m no less attractive than Shen Zhouzhou.
Why should I end up marrying some ordinary worker from the Food Factory?
She quietly undid the top two buttons of her blouse, tugged the collar lower, and adjusted her hair so that several loose strands framed her swollen cheeks. Squeezing out a few tears, she deliberately stumbled toward Chu Yunli.
“Big Brother Soldier! So it was you!”
“My mother… she was only confused for a moment. She already knows she was wrong.”
She reached for Chu Yunli’s sleeve, intentionally brushing her fingertips across his wrist.
“Zhouzhou has such a fiery temper. She’ll definitely make you angry someday. I’m different. I’ve known how to take care of people ever since I was little. I can cook, wash clothes, and handle all the household chores…”
Shen Zhouzhou watched Chu Yunli with amused eyes.
His charm really was something else.
Shen Fangfang was actually throwing herself at him.
A man with no sense of boundaries isn’t worth keeping. Even if someone handed him to me for free, I wouldn’t want him.
Let’s see how he handles this.
The moment Chu Yunli noticed Shen Zhouzhou’s scrutinizing gaze, his heart skipped a beat.
My future wife isn’t misunderstanding me, is she?
With obvious disgust, Chu Yunli sidestepped her. His military boots scraped harshly against the stone floor.
Shen Fangfang lunged at the empty air. Losing her balance, she simply let herself fall toward his chest.
“Ah…”
Instead, she landed flat on her back with a heavy thud.
“Stop right there!”
Chu Yunli barked sharply, his gaze as cold as the Siberian wind.
“Comrade Shen, please conduct yourself with dignity. I am Zhouzhou’s fiancé, and military marriages are protected by law. If you lay another finger on me, I’ll contact the security department immediately.”
He raised his wrist to glance at his watch.
“You have three minutes to compose yourself. Otherwise, I’ll take you back to the military base on charges of interfering with military affairs.”
The murderous chill in his eyes frightened Shen Fangfang so badly that her soul nearly left her body. She froze on the ground, too terrified to move.
Wang Xiulan let out a cold laugh and stepped forward to stand in front of Chu Yunli.
“I say, Miss Shen, even causing a scene requires choosing the right target. You actually dare take advantage of a People’s Liberation Army officer? Is your mother not spending enough time in the labor camp already?”
“Shen Fangfang, you’ve truly opened my eyes,” Shen Zhouzhou said leisurely with her arms folded. “You’ve learned every shameless trick your mother knows. As the saying goes, like mother, like daughter. The moment you see a man, you can’t wait to throw yourself at him.”
She smiled faintly before adding,
“If you ask me, the two of you really are mother and daughter. Even your methods of seducing men have been passed down through the family.”
Walking closer to Shen Fangfang, she lowered her voice.
“What a pity. Brother Chu likes women with a ‘fiery temper’ like mine. Not someone whose skin is thicker than the city walls, someone shameless enough to steal her own sister’s man.”
Shen Fangfang trembled with rage but no longer dared step forward.
Chu Yunli took out his military identification card. The red-covered document reflected the cold morning light.
“I am a deputy regimental commander in the People’s Liberation Army. Military marriages are protected by law. If any of you continue making things difficult for Zhouzhou or attempt to damage her reputation, I can immediately contact the military district’s Political Department and prosecute you for interfering with a military marriage and making false accusations.”
“And if that’s still not enough,” Wang Xiulan added, “my husband, Wu Hao, is a director at the Revolutionary Committee. He knows military marriage regulations inside and out. If you dare make trouble for a People’s Liberation Army officer, do you believe your job at the Textile Factory will still be there tomorrow?”
Shen Yong collapsed onto the floor in terror.
His greatest weakness had been completely exposed.
He no longer had the courage to act tough.
“I… I…”
His voice shook like autumn leaves trembling in the wind. All the arrogance he had shown while trying to extort a bride price had vanished without a trace.
“It was all just a misunderstanding. We can discuss the bride price.”
Chu Yunli took a thick bundle wrapped in brown paper from his bag.
“Zhouzhou, there are eight hundred yuan here. This is my bride price to you. As for the Three Rounds and One Sound, we’ll buy the wristwatch later today, and we’ll purchase the remaining items after we return to the military base. Everything will be placed in your care.”
Shen Zhouzhou hesitated for just a moment as she accepted the money.
When she looked up, her eyes met Chu Yunli’s deep gaze.
His eyes clearly conveyed one message.
This is your security.
She gripped the bundle tightly. The sharp corners of the paper dug painfully into her palm, yet she had never felt more at ease.
So this…
This was what it felt like to be truly cherished.
At that moment, Shen Zhouzhou was incredibly grateful for her own judgment.
She had chosen an excellent man.