Is it okay to introduce myself in Chapter 4?
The county town at present was quite simple—mostly low, squat buildings, with hardly any tall structures. But Lin Qianyi knew it was still far better than the countryside. She looked at the street scene of the small county town, riding her bicycle aimlessly. She didn’t know where she was going—wherever the road led, she’d follow. Watching the bustling crowds, she let her mind go blank.
Suddenly, Lin Qianyi realized the bicycle wouldn’t move, yet it hadn’t fallen over either. She frowned—someone was holding onto the back of the bike. She stretched a foot to the ground. Luckily, she wasn’t short, and the bike wasn’t tall. When she turned around, she saw a face smiling in an extremely irritating way. The man wore a Zhongshan suit and had a neatly combed small side-part—Ma Zhenqiang from the original owner’s memories.
“Qianyi, where are you going?” Ma Zhenqiang asked with a grin, gripping the bicycle tightly.
“Let go.” Lin Qianyi frowned and snapped.
“Don’t be like that. Let’s go on a date together.” Ma Zhenqiang said lewdly, moving to the front and grabbing the handlebars.
The people with Ma Zhenqiang began to jeer from the side. Lin Qianyi pedaled hard and rammed the bike forward. Ma Zhenqiang hadn’t expected her to be so fierce and was knocked askew. Just as Lin Qianyi was about to ride off, someone behind her reacted quickly and grabbed the back of the bike. Ma Zhenqiang steadied himself and came back to hold the rear again, preventing her from moving.
“Feisty—I like it.” Seeing Lin Qianyi react so strongly for the first time, so different from the timid and quiet girl he remembered, Ma Zhenqiang felt a surge of excitement. And he realized she had become even more beautiful, carrying an indescribable allure she hadn’t had before. In short, she attracted him even more now.
The onlookers egged them on louder. Some pedestrians by the roadside wanted to step forward, but Ma Zhenqiang shot them a glare. “My woman.”
Many people recognized Ma Zhenqiang, and not a single one dared to step in. He moved again to block the bike.
Lin Qianyi was furious. She neither wanted to waste words on this scumbag nor spend time dealing with him. She lifted her leg and delivered a clean, sharp kick at Ma Zhenqiang.
With a loud thud, Ma Zhenqiang crashed to the ground, taking the people beside him down as well. He was all bark and no bite—weak as could be, with no real fighting ability. And since Lin Qianyi struck suddenly, he had no time to react at all. The people with him were also stunned, frozen in place.
“Trash.” Lin Qianyi snorted disdainfully, mounted her bike, and rode off at speed. She couldn’t hold it in anymore—whatever happened, happened. Better to beat him first and talk later. Her taekwondo and sanda training from her previous life hadn’t been for nothing.
If Ma Zhenqiang was determined to force a marriage, what was the difference between hiding in fear and beating him up? Would he really let go either way? At least beating him relieved some anger.
Lin Qianyi wasn’t worried about others suspecting anything. She had only kicked him—it wasn’t some technical move like a shoulder throw. Ordinary people wouldn’t see anything unusual. The original owner might have been quiet and timid, but even a rabbit bites when cornered.
At the street corner, a jeep turned in. The people inside happened to see Lin Qianyi kick someone and ride away.
“That girl’s pretty fierce,” said the handsome soldier sitting in the passenger seat with a grin.
The driver was even more strikingly handsome, with a cold, resolute face and an air of restrained nobility about him. He didn’t speak, but his eyes followed Lin Qianyi’s retreating figure.
After kicking someone, Lin Qianyi felt inexplicably better. She rode leisurely around the county town, quietly familiarizing herself with it while combining what she saw with the original owner’s memories. After a long while, seeing there wasn’t much left to explore, she started riding back.
“Clack.”
The bicycle made a sound and wouldn’t move. Lin Qianyi hurriedly got off. The chain had come off. She parked the bike and stared at it for a long time—she wasn’t very good at fixing this. Digging through the original owner’s memories, she vaguely recalled that she needed to open the cover, then use a small stick to hook the chain back onto the gear. She picked up a small twig and began fiddling with it.
“Junquan, look—that girl from earlier, her bike seems to be broken,” Zhao Xiangdong said, seeing Lin Qianyi squatting by the roadside through the car window.
Before he could finish speaking, the car had already stopped. Meng Junquan had seen her from afar.
“Get down and take a look,” Meng Junquan said as he opened the door and stepped out.
Zhao Xiangdong was stunned. Usually, in situations like this, he was the one who went down alone. To avoid trouble, Meng Junquan normally wouldn’t personally deal with matters involving women. There was no need for him this time—Zhao Xiangdong could handle it himself. Without time to think further, he quickly got out as well.
“Need some help?” A deep, magnetic voice sounded beside Lin Qianyi’s ear—cool yet sexy, irresistibly captivating.
Lin Qianyi turned her head. What a handsome face—so striking she didn’t even know how to describe it. Cool and dashing, yet carrying an unmistakable air of nobility. A true aristocrat in uniform. Judging by the uniform, his rank wasn’t low.
“The chain came off,” Lin Qianyi said, poking at it with the stick.
“I’ll do it.” The handsome man squatted down and took the twig from her hand.
“Thank you. I really don’t know how to fix it,” Lin Qianyi said quickly, stepping aside.
Even the way this handsome man fixed a bike was pleasing to the eye—long, strong fingers, confident, fluid movements. In just a few motions, he slipped the chain back on. He stood up, tested the bike, and found no problems. He even checked other parts of the bicycle along the way.
“All set. No problems now,” he said, parking the bike properly.
“Thank you so much. Sorry about getting your hands dirty,” Lin Qianyi said gratefully, then glanced apologetically at the dark smudge on his hand. She herself had poked at it for ages with a stick and hadn’t gotten dirty at all—no wonder she couldn’t fix it.
“It’s nothing,” the handsome man said, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
“Here’s water.” His companion came over with a military canteen and a towel, pouring out some water for him to wash his hands.
Watching the soldier casually wipe his hands with the towel, Lin Qianyi couldn’t help comparing. They were all young men—these two soldiers were so upright and righteous, warmly helping ordinary people. Unlike Ma Zhenqiang and his good-for-nothing lackeys, who only knew how to bully others.
Thinking of that, and then looking at the handsome man in his military uniform, Lin Qianyi asked on a whim, “Comrade, do you have a partner? Are you married?”
Both soldiers froze at the same time. The handsome man raised an eyebrow and looked at her with amusement. “No. Why—are you planning to introduce someone to me?”
“Can I introduce myself?” Lin Qianyi said seriously.
“Pfft—” Zhao Xiangdong couldn’t help laughing. Meng Junquan was actually being flirted with by a young girl. This girl was way too bold—and hilarious.
“Well, what a coincidence. I was just thinking of introducing myself to you too,” the handsome man said with a free and easy smile.