When Xiao Xun saw Jiang Tang again, he was captivated all over again, his gaze practically glued to her.
Standing right beside them, Jiang Sijie watched with intense displeasure. Even if the man was a superior officer eyeing his younger sister, it still deeply irritated him.
Deliberately stepping right between them, Jiang Sijie blocked their line of sight.
Xiao Xun let his hands hang naturally at his sides, the veins on the back of his hands bulging as he somewhat awkwardly clenched his fists. “Comrade Jiang, you asked to meet me—have you given it careful thought?”
Seeing Xiao Xun’s nervous demeanor, Jiang Tang couldn’t help feeling a teasing urge. She intentionally put on a straight face and hesitated, keeping silent.
From Xiao Xun’s perspective, this practically spelled out a rejection.
Jiang Sijie was utterly baffled. Didn’t his sister say she wanted to agree? Could she have changed her mind at the last minute?
Changing her mind is great! His sister was still young; even if the guy was an outstanding officer, he felt that marrying right now was a bit of a raw deal for her.
Just as Jiang Sijie was feeling rather pleased, he heard Xiao Xun speak.
“Comrade Jiang doesn’t need to feel troubled. This engagement was set by our elders back then, and there was never any intention to force the younger generation into marriage. If you aren’t willing, we can just pretend the engagement never happened, and you don’t need to carry any mental burden.”
Though Xiao Xun felt a hollow ache and deep regret in his heart, he didn’t want to force her.
A vibrant and radiant comrade like her deserved an infinitely bright future and destiny.
Sensing the time was right—lest things drag on too long and backfire—Jiang Tang broke into a smile. “What is Comrade Xiao thinking? I never said I wasn’t agreeing.”
In an instant, Xiao Xun felt as though his parched heart had been nourished once again by warm spring water, bringing him back to life.
“Just now, Comrade Jiang clearly looked conflicted and hesitant—”
Jiang Tang nodded, rubbing her chin with a troubled expression. “Right, I was agonizing over whether to go to East Street or West Street to take photos. I heard the state-run photo studio on East Street takes better pictures, but it’s a bit far and I’ve never been there before. West Street is closer and won’t be a hassle, plus the photos turn out all right.”
Xiao Xun froze slightly, asking in surprise, “Take photos?”
“Since I’ve agreed to marry you, we should at least take a commemorative photo together first. We also need to mail a few prints back to your elders to let them know you’ve found me. Didn’t you say I look somewhat similar to my maternal grandfather? Well, let’s mail a photo over so seeing is believing!”
Overjoyed, Xiao Xun felt as sweet as honey inside. “Right, photos! If Comrade Jiang has the time, we can visit both photo studios and compare which one turns out better.”
While Xiao Xun and Jiang Tang wore hidden smiles in their eyes, Jiang Sijie couldn’t muster a smile at all.
Yet he remained glued to their side, walking right between the two of them all the way to the photo studio.
Watching his younger sister take a photo with another man right before his eyes, Jiang Sijie fixed Xiao Xun with the glare of an enemy—until Xiao Xun politely asked if he wanted to join in for a picture.
Although Xiao Xun’s attention was fully captivated by Jiang Tang, he hadn’t failed to notice the eldest brother’s deep dissatisfaction, prompting him to try and win the future brother-in-law over whenever possible.
Sure enough, upon hearing Xiao Xun’s invitation, the stern vigilance on Jiang Sijie’s face instantly vanished, replaced by a wide grin showing all his teeth.
Clad in his green military uniform, Jiang Sijie stepped over to Jiang Tang’s other side, his eyes shining with pure joy.
Yet Jiang Tang felt taking a photo like this was a bit odd. It wasn’t that she couldn’t take pictures with her big brother, but having a green-uniformed man on either side with her standing right in the middle felt somewhat wrong.
Thus, Jiang Tang casually swapped positions with her older brother.
Ah, that’s much better.
Having his spot swapped left Jiang Sijie momentarily dazed, but he quickly understood: his sister was showing that even if she got married, she would still be closer to him—they were the true family.
Jiang Sijie’s mood instantly soared even higher.
Xiao Xun didn’t think too much of it; after all, he was just a stranger who had only known Comrade Jiang for two days—how could he possibly compare to her brother?
Besides, Jiang Sijie was Jiang Tang’s flesh and blood. As her future husband, there was no need to compete with her brother over such things.
After finishing the portrait session, Xiao Xun proactively picked up the collection ticket and handed it to Jiang Tang.
“Comrade Jiang, the prints will be ready in three days. We can come pick them up together then.”
Taking the collection ticket, Jiang Tang tucked it into her pocket. Just as she was about to nod, she remembered from her past life’s memories that her eldest brother received a sudden temporary mission just a few days after returning home to visit relatives, forcing him to return to the military camp early.
With even her big brother having to head back early, Xiao Xun likely wouldn’t be able to stay long either.
It seemed she needed to get her errands done as soon as possible.
Following that, the trio visited the second photo studio, where another collection ticket was likewise handed over to Jiang Tang.
Once the photography was finished, the three of them went to the state-run movie theater to catch a film, parting ways with Xiao Xun right at the entrance.
Xiao Xun had originally planned to walk Jiang Tang home, but since she mentioned she still wanted to wander around outside a bit longer, they had no choice but to separate early.
Xiao Xun still needed to prepare the items required for their wedding; even though Jiang Tang would soon be accompanying the troops, the essentials couldn’t be skimped on.
As for Jiang Tang, she intended to prepare a gift for Xiao Xun.
Jiang Sijie had originally wanted to stick by his sister the entire way, but running into an old friend he hadn’t seen in years gave Jiang Tang the opening to tell her brother to chat with his friend while she went shopping on her own.
Being able to wander the streets alone actually brought Jiang Tang a slight sense of relief; otherwise, she worried her big brother would be displeased if he saw her buying a gift for Xiao Xun.
After all, her brother still hadn’t fully accepted Xiao Xun as his future brother-in-law yet.
Parting ways with her brother, Jiang Tang headed straight for the department store, finally finding the gift she wanted at the time-piece counter.
She selected two simple, unpretentious pocket watches—intending to gift one to Xiao Xun and the other to her brother.
After paying with cash and ration tickets, Jiang Tang tucked the pocket watches away, only to bump right into Su Yinyin the moment she turned around.
Chatting and laughing with her girlfriends, Su Yinyin froze the instant she caught sight of Jiang Tang.
“Older Sister?”
Jiang Tang had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with Su Yinyin and prepared to leave after a simple greeting, but to her surprise, Su Yinyin blocked her path.
“Older Sister came to wander the department store—are you looking to buy something? Does Sister not have the money to buy it? How about I buy it and gift it to you?”
Unable to stand Su Yinyin’s hypocritical act a second longer, Jiang Tang simply pointed directly at the most expensive watch in the display case.
“Since Yinyin is so sincerely offering to gift it, I’ll reluctantly accept that one.”
Following the direction of Jiang Tang’s finger, Su Yinyin laid eyes on a watch priced at a thousand yuan, her eyeballs practically popping out of her head in shock.
That was a full thousand yuan—several years’ worth of a normal worker’s salary! Even before her family’s wealth was stolen, she had never bought a watch that expensive for herself.
Before Su Yinyin could utter a word, the female companion beside her curled her lip in disdain.
“You must be the daughter Yinyin’s family just brought back, right? Even if you’re the older sister, you shouldn’t bully Yinyin. Your parents already favor you and gave you all the good things from the family—how do you even have the face to make Yinyin buy you a watch?”
Jiang Tang was so angry she almost laughed. Who knew what kind of nonsense Su Yinyin had been spreading outside to make others hold such misunderstandings?
Brushing aside hesitation, Jiang Tang stated bluntly: “All the good things given to me? Are you talking about the twenty yuan meant for me to give up my job and go down to the countryside in her place? If I recall correctly, I didn’t even accept that twenty yuan.”
At those words, both Su Yinyin and the female companion standing beside her froze in stunned silence.