“Fine. I’ll be waiting.”
Jiang Xingyao pulled her parents home. Her second older brother, Jiang Qingjun, couldn’t help asking, “Yaoyao, when did you learn martial arts? How did you suddenly become so good?”
“I learned it from Auntie Hua next door when I was little. It’s just that everyone always said girls should be gentle and virtuous. I was afraid people would find out I knew martial arts and make fun of me for being a tomboy, so I never dared to use it.”
Ten years ago, there really had been a woman named Li Xiaohua living in the neighboring courtyard. Her father had once been a traveling acrobat and had genuine martial arts skills, so she had naturally learned some from him as well.
Li Xiaohua had no daughter and had been especially fond of the original Jiang Xingyao. So when Jiang Xingyao told them this, the Jiang family believed her without question.
Besides, Li Xiaohua had passed away from illness a few years ago, and her husband had taken their child overseas. There was no one left who could expose the lie.
Jiang Jiandong said, “The feudal era has been gone for ages. How could my daughter possibly let herself be shackled by all those outdated rules?
“No matter where you are or when it is, if you run into danger or someone bullies you, you fight back.
“Don’t worry about what other people think. Your mother, your father, and your three brothers will always stand by your side.”
Jiang Xingyao nodded. “Mm. I understand, Dad. Hurry up and wash your hands and eat. I’ll bring you the dumplings.”
“Okay.”
……
The next day, with nothing else to do, Jiang Xingyao went to the department store.
She bought each of her parents a cashmere coat, and each of her three brothers a fashionable denim outfit.
For herself, she bought two trench coats, two pairs of jeans, and a pair of shoes.
When she passed a jewelry store, she remembered that middle-aged women generally liked wearing gold and silver.
She decided to buy her mother a gold necklace.
But the moment she walked in, she ran into Zhao Hewen.
He wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses and looked refined and scholarly.
But Jiang Xingyao knew exactly what kind of person he was. He was arrogant, hypocritical, and rotten to the core.
When Zhao Hewen saw Jiang Xingyao, he froze for a moment. Then his eyes filled with smugness.
“You dressed up this beautifully just to come looking for me? You heard that I’m going to propose to Lili, didn’t you?”
Zhao Hewen was also from Rongfu Alley. He had grown up alongside the original Jiang Xingyao and Shen Jiaoli.
If the original Jiang Xingyao had been Zhao Hewen’s little follower, then Zhao Hewen had been Shen Jiaoli’s devoted lapdog.
Jiang Xingyao gave him a disgusted look before turning to pick out some gold jewelry.
“Salesperson, could you please wrap up this peony necklace for me?”
“Of course, miss. Today’s gold price is 103 yuan per gram. This necklace weighs twelve grams, and including the craftsmanship fee, the total comes to 1,286 yuan.”
Jiang Xingyao was just taking out her money when Zhao Hewen snatched the necklace away.
He burst into laughter.
“Jiang Xingyao, I admit that you’re the woman who loves me most in this world. Even when I’m proposing, you’ve come to help me buy a gold necklace for my future wife.
“I was originally only planning to buy a two- or three-gram gold ring and call it a day. But now that we have this necklace worth more than a thousand yuan, Lili will definitely be so touched that she’ll marry me on the spot!”
Although he was a college graduate, he had only recently started working as an ordinary employee at the railway bureau. His monthly salary was just over seventy yuan. Even if he didn’t eat or drink for an entire year, he couldn’t afford a necklace like this.
Jiang Xingyao paid for the necklace, then snatched it back.
“You shameless bastard! This necklace is for my mother! What does your proposal have to do with me? Even if you were proposing to die, what would that have to do with me?”
She turned and walked away, but Zhao Hewen reached out and grabbed her arm.
“Jiang Xingyao, do you even know who you’re talking to? Give me the necklace, and then apologize to me three times. Otherwise, don’t expect me to ever speak to you again. Once I marry Lili, don’t even think about stepping through the Shen family’s door again!”
With a single burst of strength, Jiang Xingyao flung him to the ground, leaving him sprawled flat on his back with his arms and legs splayed out.
“I’ve already cut ties with the Shen family. And as for a disgusting fly like you, it would be best if you never showed your face in front of me again. You make me sick!”
Zhao Hewen had always been extremely concerned about his dignity. He hurriedly scrambled to his feet, his face flushed with rage.
He raised his hand and was about to hit Jiang Xingyao.
“You—”
Before his hand could come down, Jiang Xingyao slapped him twice across the face.
She even deliberately shouted loudly, “You dated me while secretly flirting with my younger sister! After she dumped you, you came crawling back to pester me! Shameless! Stop bothering me!”
“What are you—”
Zhao Hewen didn’t even get the chance to finish speaking. Jiang Xingyao once again slapped him from side to side, hitting him several times in quick succession.
“Lecher! Pervert! Scumbag!”
After cursing him out, she strode away, leaving Zhao Hewen surrounded by passersby pointing and whispering about him.
His face and neck turned bright red with fury as he shouted at Jiang Xingyao’s retreating back, “You filthy little brat! Don’t you dare regret this!”
On her way past the market, Jiang Xingyao bought several sesame flatbreads, two pounds of mutton, and three pounds of spare ribs.
When she returned home, Liu Zhilan was washing clothes in the courtyard with another woman, Zheng Qiuju.
Seeing Jiang Xingyao carrying so many things, Zheng Qiuju exclaimed, “Oh my, Yaoyao! Where did you strike it rich? How come you bought so many things?”
Before Jiang Xingyao could answer, Liu Zhilan snorted.
“Where else could she have gotten the money? From me, of course. Auntie Daxi, you didn’t know, did you? Jiang Xingyao got married. She registered the marriage yesterday. As her biological mother, I gave her a dowry of 2,000 yuan.
“As soon as she got her hands on the money, she started buying food and clothes for the Jiang family and spending it without restraint.”
Zheng Qiuju froze.
“She got married? Who did she marry? Hewen? How come there wasn’t even a word about it? They just went and registered their marriage?”