The Gu family might not have an impressive background, but Gu Chenzhou himself was an exceptional man.
At only twenty-eight years old, he was already a battalion-level officer. He had even been honored at an official commendation ceremony. His future was incredibly bright.
Only that little bastard Lin Yuqing was too blind to appreciate what she had.
But that worked out perfectly—it would benefit Su Jinjin instead.
Su Yong had already done his homework.
The Gu family had once done the Lin family a great favor. No matter what happened, the Lin family had to honor this marriage agreement.
That was exactly what he was counting on.
With a snort, Su Yong said,
“Lin Yinyin is dead. Nobody outside knows that Jinjin and that little bastard aren’t actually twins.”
“I’m willing to give both daughters to the Lin family. Commander Lin might even thank me for it.”
His rattled loudly in his head.
“Once Commander Lin adopts Jinjin as his goddaughter, and she becomes the Gu family’s daughter-in-law, getting promoted to factory director at the chemical plant will be easy.”
“It’s only five thousand yuan.”
Grinding his teeth, Su Yong made his decision.
“Give it to her!”
While the couple was having their explosive argument, Lin Yuqing was sleeping soundly.
Having read the original novel, she knew Su Yong would eventually agree to her demands.
Partly because he wanted the marriage swap.
But more importantly, the Su family wasn’t short on money at all.
When Lin Yinyin divorced him, she left with nothing.
Over the years, Su Yong had quietly swallowed up all the property her family had left behind.
Lin Yinyin only wanted back what belonged to her.
But Su Yong threatened her, telling her to report him anywhere she wanted.
If the matter became public, everyone at the factory would learn about Lin Yuqing’s true parentage.
The one who would lose face wouldn’t be him.
On the contrary, he could portray himself as a pitiful husband who had been cuckolded.
He’d come out looking like the victim.
His shamelessness truly knew no limits.
At the time, Lin Yinyin was desperate to get divorced.
She had no choice but to swallow her anger and leave empty-handed.
But Su Yong’s greed only grew.
Stealing the Lin family’s property wasn’t enough.
Using his position at the chemical factory, he had even begun secretly selling restricted raw materials from the factory for profit.
Knowing Su Yong’s personality, Lin Yuqing was certain there had to be evidence hidden in his study.
The previous night, she had already taken a careful tour of the house and memorized the layout.
Now all she needed was to retrieve her mother’s bracelet tomorrow.
Then she could unlock the space and begin her real plans.
That’s right.
The bracelet was a powerful cheat item.
In the original novel, Su Jinjin accidentally activated the space and used it to begin her meteoric rise.
Why should something that belonged to the original owner’s mother end up benefiting someone else?
Since she had inherited this body, Lin Yuqing felt obligated to reclaim everything that rightfully belonged to its original owner.
And Zhong Shuwen, that scumbag, too.
Not a single member of this family was getting away.
The night passed peacefully.
Lin Yuqing slept in and got up late.
When she opened the bedroom door, all three members of the Su family were already home.
To settle her marriage as quickly as possible, Su Yong and Yang Lan had even taken the day off work.
At the breakfast table, Su Yong pushed a wooden box toward her.
“The bracelet you wanted is inside. As for the money in the savings account, Aunt Yang will accompany you to the bank later.”
How proactive.
He was probably planning something.
Lin Yuqing didn’t even lift her head.
Whatever happened, she’d deal with it when it came.
“Fine.”
Beside her, Su Jinjin’s eyes were practically bloodshot.
Five thousand yuan!
She doubted her father would ever give her that much when she got married.
The more she looked at Lin Yuqing, the more she hated her.
Back then, when the divorce happened, Lin Yinyin had insisted on taking only Lin Yuqing with her.
She hadn’t even glanced at Su Jinjin.
At the time, Su Jinjin had felt deeply wronged.
Later, after Yang Lan married into the family, she finally learned the truth.
Yang Lan was her biological mother.
Why?
Why wasn’t she Lin Yinyin’s daughter?
Why had Lin Yuqing returned to take away money that should have belonged to her?
The sound of a spoon scraping against a bowl echoed around the table.
Only the person beside her remained unusually silent.
Lin Yuqing could practically feel Su Jinjin’s hatred.
Suppressing a smile, she deliberately looked over with innocent curiosity.
“Why are you frowning? Were you born unable to smile?”
“N-No…”
Su Jinjin forced an ugly smile onto her face.
“Oh.”
Lin Yuqing sighed dramatically.
“I thought my dear little sister was worrying about what gift to give me for my wedding.”
The sheer audacity left Su Jinjin speechless.
Yet staying silent didn’t help.
The inevitable still arrived.
Lin Yuqing set down her chopsticks.
“Xiao Jin, what exactly do you mean by this?”
“I’m getting married. You’re not seriously planning to give me nothing, are you?”
She narrowed her eyes.
The look was so threatening that Su Jinjin felt as though yesterday’s slaps might immediately happen again if she said no.
“I’ll give you something…”
Taking a deep breath, Su Jinjin forced herself to endure.
A small sacrifice was necessary for a larger goal.
“I’ll give you a gift.”
Lin Yuqing smiled in satisfaction.
“Good. Then when Aunt Yang goes to the bank with me later, bring your industrial coupons too.”
“Industrial coupons?”
Even though she’d expected Lin Yuqing to demand something expensive, the request still made her chest ache.
“What are you planning to buy?”
“We’ll see.”
Lin Yuqing deliberately kept her guessing.
Watching Su Jinjin grow increasingly anxious was simply too entertaining.
Spending money hurt only for a moment.
Making someone suffer from anticipation was much more enjoyable.
“Oh, and bring all your ration coupons too.”
She saw straight through Su Jinjin’s little scheme.
“If I can’t buy everything I want, I’ll just make you come back and get them.”
The reminder made everyone’s expression at the table darken.
Only Lin Yuqing finished breakfast in a good mood.
Back in the bedroom, Su Yong clutched his chest in frustration.
“Whatever she wants, buy it for her! Just get that little bastard out of this house!”
At the bank, the teller gave Lin Yuqing a second look.
It wasn’t every day someone withdrew five thousand yuan in cash at once.
“Thank you.”
She packed the money into a cloth bag.
Then she headed straight for the department store.
“Let’s buy a bag first.”
Su Jinjin secretly relaxed.
“So you don’t need industrial coupons after all?”
Lin Yuqing stopped and looked at her as though she were an idiot.
“Do you not see me carrying a giant bundle of cash?”
“If I don’t buy a bag, what am I supposed to put it in?”
“If I lose it, are you going to compensate me?”
In other words—
She wanted both the coupons and the bag.
Su Jinjin nearly had a heart attack.
Following behind, she watched Lin Yuqing buy five bags in one go.
A briefcase.
Several cloth bags.
Different styles.
Different colors.
Everything.
“I’ve always spent money like this at home.”
Then she would look at Su Jinjin with a sympathetic expression.
“Don’t tell me your father never bought you this many things?”
Of course not!
Su Jinjin nearly ground her teeth to powder.
Commander Lin’s salary and benefits were on an entirely different level.
How could Su Yong’s income compare?
Not to mention Lin Yuqing had three older brothers spoiling her.
Su Jinjin didn’t have that.
Before she could recover, Lin Yuqing had already arrived at the watch counter.
Pointing through the glass display case, she said,
“This one.”
“This one.”
“And that one in the corner.”
“Wrap all three for me.”
“All three?”
The saleswoman blinked in surprise.
This was the first time she’d seen someone shop like this.
Each watch cost 120 yuan.
Three watches totaled 360 yuan—roughly half a year’s salary for an average worker.
“Yes.”
Lin Yuqing smiled politely.
“Thank you, Sister. I’ll take all of them.”
Then she waved grandly.
“Su Jinjin! Come pay.”
Three hundred and sixty yuan.
Su Jinjin dug through every pocket she had.
She only had 380 yuan total.
It was five years’ worth of New Year money she had painstakingly saved.
If she spent it all, she wouldn’t have a single cent of private savings left.
After enduring all morning, she finally couldn’t take it anymore.
“You can’t even wear men’s watches. Do you really need three of them?”
Lin Yuqing turned around and gave her that same look of utter disdain.
“You really don’t understand, do you?”
“I demanded the Three Turns and One Ring as my bride price.”
“Am I supposed to marry into their family empty-handed?”
The implication was obvious.
These were wedding preparations.
After thinking for a moment, Su Jinjin finally gritted her teeth and paid.
Then she watched helplessly as Lin Yuqing carried the watch boxes straight to the cosmetics counter, then the household goods section, then the fabric department…
“I’ll take this one.”
“Wrap everything up, thank you.”
“One of each, please.”
Following behind her was like being a walking payment machine.
Before she could even ask what the next purchase was, she was already being dragged to another counter to pay.
Only after the final twenty yuan in her pocket disappeared did Lin Yuqing finally stop.
Stretching lazily, she smiled.
“I’m tired…”
Her lips curled upward in a wicked grin as she looked over at Su Jinjin—