Initially, Jiang Sijie held a lot of resentment toward Xiao Xun—anyone who dared to harbor designs on his younger sister was bound to be on his bad side.
However, after giving it some careful thought, he realized that apart from being utterly dedicated to his work, Xiao Xun didn’t seem to have any other flaws.
Coupled with the fact that Xiao Xun had been calling him “Eldest Brother” in private at every opportunity lately, this steady effort gradually won over future brother-in-law Jiang Sijie.
Having already accepted Xiao Xun as his future brother-in-law, Jiang Sijie grew more and more pleased with him the longer he looked. Naturally, he couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else still eyeing his sister.
To make matters worse, the person eyeing his sister was none other than Song Chenchuan, whom he already detested.
Back in Yuancheng, Jiang Sijie had witnessed firsthand just how overly familiar Song Chenchuan and Su Yinyin were with each other.
Before even clearing up his relationship with Su Yinyin, Song Chenchuan had the nerve to come and pester his sister—wasn’t he just asking for a beating?
Not wanting things to blow up and create unnecessary trouble, and realizing that Song Chenchuan hadn’t reacted in time when Jiang Sijie threw that punch, but might not be caught off guard a second time, Xiao Xun stepped in and pulled Jiang Sijie back.
At all costs, Xiao Xun had to prevent his future eldest brother-in-law from getting into a physical altercation, lest Comrade Jiang Tang be distressed.
Rubbing his bruised face in a daze, Song Chenchuan spotted a trace of blood on his fingertips. Glaring at Xiao Xun, he furrowed his brows and demanded, “Aren’t you going to control him, Xiao Xun? As a subordinate, Jiang Sijie physically assaulting me as his superior is a severe violation of military discipline.”
Song Chenchuan was genuinely furious. He had never suffered such humiliation in all his life; how could anyone dare to physically attack him, and right here on the military post grounds?
At that moment, Song Chenchuan was solely fixated on making Jiang Sijie pay, completely forgetting the original purpose of his visit to the educated youth post.
Feigning an expression of blank innocence, Xiao Xun shrugged. “I have no idea what Deputy Battalion Commander Song is talking about. Who hit you?”
Determined not to let Jiang Sijie get into trouble, Xiao Xun had already formulated a countermeasure the exact moment his future brother-in-law threw the punch.
Still struggling to grasp the situation, Song Chenchuan pointed straight at Jiang Sijie. “It was him! He hit me! In broad daylight, it was definitely him!”
With an air of complete innocence, Jiang Tang chimed in, “How can Comrade Song throw dirty water on my brother like that? You clearly just took a tumble all by yourself—what does that have to do with my brother?”
Trembling with rage, Song Chenchuan looked around, hoping to find a witness to step forward, only to realize that there genuinely wasn’t a single soul in the educated youth post courtyard.
In other words, as long as Jiang Tang and Xiao Xun both firmly insisted that Jiang Sijie hadn’t hit him, there was nothing he could do to Jiang Sijie.
“You—you people—!” Furious to the core, yet still hoping to pursue Jiang Tang, Song Chenchuan had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill in silence. Glaring angrily, he turned around and stalked off.
Jiang Sijie glanced at his sister, then at his future brother-in-law, instantly spotting the striking similarities between the two.
No wonder these two had hit it off—it turned out they shared the exact same temperament.
Once Song Chenchuan was well out of earshot, Jiang Tang put on a stern face to lecture her brother.
“Brother, no matter how angry you get, you can’t just throw punches casually. Song Chenchuan is a superior officer, regardless of what else he is.”
Realizing he had been impulsive just moments ago, Jiang Sijie knew that hearing someone speak to his sister like that had made his blood boil, causing him to momentarily lose control of his emotions.
Always obedient to his younger sister, Jiang Sijie immediately drooped his head and admitted his fault: “Got it. I’ll definitely practice strict self-discipline from now on and never throw punches casually again.”
Jiang Tang coughed lightly. In truth, she felt quite touched by her brother’s protectiveness. Besides, Song Chenchuan truly deserved a beating, so her brother wasn’t entirely to blame.
Lowering her voice, Jiang Tang whispered, “Even if you’re going to strike, you should pick a place where no one can see, so that even after taking a beating, Song Chenchuan can only suffer in silence. Or better yet, let me do it. Song Chenchuan has ulterior motives; he certainly wouldn’t dare report me! Even if he tried, given his behavior of trying to poach Xiao Xun’s fiancée, it wouldn’t look good on him if word got out.”
Jiang Sijie’s eyes lit up brightly as he raised his head, thinking to himself that his sister’s idea was brilliant indeed.
He had long since found Song Chenchuan an eyesore—why hadn’t he thought of dragging him to an empty spot for a proper thrashing?
Sensing what was going on in her eldest brother’s head, Jiang Tang quickly advised, “Let’s leave it at that for today. Song Chenchuan’s already taken a beating and won’t dare to come pester me anytime soon, so Big Brother should spare him this once and not lower yourself to his level.”
She knew her brother all too well—he had been the local little tyrant of the textile factory residential compound since childhood, the kind of kid nobody could ever keep in check.
If he actually beat Song Chenchuan half to death, there was no guarantee her brother could walk away completely unscathed.
Knowing better than to argue with his sister, Jiang Sijie nodded in agreement. “Alright, as long as he stops coming around to harass you, I’ll let him off.”
Neither the brother nor the sister noticed the flash of strange emotion in the depths of Xiao Xun’s eyes.
While Xiao Xun could tell that Jiang Tang had zero romantic interest in Song Chenchuan, it still sparked a lingering sense of crisis within him.
Xiao Xun resolved to step up his efforts—with a fiancée as dazzling as his, he simply had to work harder.
With that thought in mind, Xiao Xun deliberately asked Jiang Tang what she felt like eating.
In truth, Xiao Xun had already fished out all of Jiang Tang’s culinary preferences from her future eldest brother long ago; asking now was merely to confirm it.
Prompted by the question, Jiang Tang thought about the cafeteria food at the school, which was actually quite decent all things considered.
Having lived through hard times in her past life, she felt immensely satisfied with her current standard of living.
However, if she had to name what she was truly craving, an image of her mother’s braised pork belly immediately surfaced in her mind.
The mere mention of braised pork belly made Jiang Sijie’s mouth water uncontrollably; the siblings resonated deeply on this particular craving.
Slapping Xiao Xun on the shoulder, Jiang Sijie sighed, “It’s a real shame you haven’t tasted my mom’s braised pork belly. That flavor beats even the state-run restaurant—it’s hands down the best braised pork belly I’ve ever eaten. Too bad it’s too far away, or else we could have some.”
A contemplative look crossed Xiao Xun’s face. If Comrade Jiang Tang wanted to eat it, he would figure out a way to make it happen.
After chatting a bit more about braised pork belly, Jiang Tang finally remembered to ask the purpose of her brother and Xiao Xun’s visit.
“What brings the two of you here looking for me?”
Wearing an expression of deep hurt, Jiang Sijie retorted, “It’s only been a few days since we last saw each other, and Xiaotang is already acting so distant with her big brother? Can’t I just come check up on you for no reason?”
Looking at the two of them suspiciously, Jiang Tang figured she wouldn’t have found it strange if either of them had come alone.
But for both of them to show up uninvited together meant something was definitely up.
Xiao Xun explained, “We heard about Zheng Jiahe poisoning the peach pastries. Comrade Jiang Sijie was worried about your safety, so he rushed over to check on you.”
Nodding slightly, Jiang Tang looked at her worried older brother: “I’m fine. Zheng Jiahe was trying to poison Cui Xiangyang; even if someone else wanted to eat it, she wouldn’t have handed it over. Besides, Zheng Jiahe has already been taken away, so she can’t harm anyone anymore.”
At the mention of Zheng Jiahe, Jiang Sijie lowered his voice. “Xiaotang, I don’t know if you’ve heard the real reason why Zheng Jiahe tried to poison Cui Xiangyang. Apparently, she had a crush on Regiment Commander Cui and convinced herself that the only reason Regiment Commander Cui and his wife were on such good terms was for the sake of the child. That’s why she plotted to eliminate Cui Xiangyang. Can you believe how twisted her thinking is? A moment’s inquiry would tell you that Regiment Commander Cui and his wife grew up together since childhood—they aren’t something she could ever hope to tear apart just by pulling some stunt.”