Ye Qiaoqiao was even more astonished. She truly hadn't expected… Fu Juechuan would agree. Yes, he must be doing this for her father's sake, helping her out.
"Juechuan," both Political Commissar Su and Commander Ye instinctively frowned and called out.
Fu Juechuan released Zhou Cong and stood up, turning to pull Ye Qiaoqiao by her sleeve, leading her away from Zhou Cong's attack range.
This reaction made Zhou Cong's face darken repeatedly. Could it be that Fu Juechuan still thought he would hit Qiaoqiao?
Fu Juechuan looked at Commander Ye. "Commander, I am willing to marry Qiaoqiao, and I have seriously considered it."
After deep contemplation, Commander Ye suddenly stood up. "Good. Zhou Cong, your engagement with Qiaoqiao is canceled today. I will betroth Qiaoqiao to Juechuan."
"Zhou Cong, from today onward, Qiaoqiao has nothing to do with you. Return the engagement token my Ye family gave you, and I won't hold today's matter against you," Commander Ye thought to himself.
He only said he would let Zhou Cong leave today; he didn't say he wouldn't investigate him.
Supported by Jiang Yao, Zhou Cong stood up, his face ashen. "Uncle Ye, I only made one small mistake, and I didn't even have relations with Yao Yao. Why must you cancel my engagement with Qiaoqiao?"
"You've already hurt Qiaoqiao. I don't want to say more. If you're still a man, don't cling on," Commander Ye waved impatiently.
Zhou Cong still had his own pride.
He took the jade pendant for the engagement from his suit pocket, lowered his eyes to glance at it twice, burning with anger at being rejected by the Ye family and furious at Ye Qiaoqiao's cold indifference. When he threw it toward Ye Qiaoqiao, the direction and force clearly indicated it would hit her forehead.
Fu Juechuan reached out and caught it, then gently placed it in Ye Qiaoqiao's hand.
Because of this detail, Ye Qiaoqiao couldn't help but look up at him, her eyes meeting only his firm jaw with its faint stubble.
Commander Ye also saw this and became even more satisfied with Fu Juechuan.
He also returned the engagement token from the Zhou family to Zhou Cong.
Zhou Cong didn't take it.
But Jiang Yao eagerly accepted it.
Seeing Ye Qiaoqiao staring intently at Fu Juechuan, Zhou Cong felt a sense of betrayal and anger. His pride flared up, unwilling to stay and endure further humiliation, so he turned and strode away.
He didn't believe Ye Qiaoqiao wouldn't regret this!
Jiang Yao instinctively chased after him but was stopped by guard Xie Wu.
"Comrade Jiang, I'm afraid you'll have to come with us to the Investigation Bureau."
Hearing this, Jiang Yao's legs went weak, and she called out to Zhou Cong for help.
Zhou Cong looked at Ye Qiaoqiao. Seeing her truly so heartless, he sneered inwardly and deliberately protected Jiang Yao in front of her. "Yao Yao, don't worry. I'll get you out, no matter how much money it takes."
Jiang Yao was deeply moved, looking up at him with admiration. Zhou Cong's expression finally improved slightly.
He calmly raised his eyes, wanting to see Ye Qiaoqiao's regretful expression.
He was clearly going to be disappointed.
"Hurry up and take her away. We can't let a thief like this off easily," Ye Qiaoqiao lifted her chin and said with haughty pride.
Xie Wu escorted Jiang Yao out.
Zhou Cong was furious, flicking his sleeve as he followed them out. His footsteps crunched loudly, showing how heavily angered he was. Meanwhile, Xu Zhengqing and the others picked up the betrothal gifts and followed dejectedly, leaving in a flurry.
In the blink of an eye.
Zhou Cong's group had finally left. Jiang's mother also chased after them, perhaps realizing that Ye Qiaoqiao wouldn't spare her daughter and that begging Zhou Cong would be more useful.
Political Commissar Su sighed helplessly. "What a mess this is."
"Hmph, they've even dared to bully my daughter right under my nose—how outrageous! The higher-ups must investigate this thoroughly! I'll go write my self-criticism report right now!" Commander Ye said angrily.
He reacted quickly, after all, Jiang Yao was living in his own home, and he hadn't noticed anything amiss. He was indeed at fault in this matter.
Political Commissar Su nodded. "Alright, I'll accompany you."
In such matters, it was best to strike first to avoid giving political opponents an opportunity to criticize.
It probably wouldn'tt take more than half a day before Zhou Cong and Jiang Yao's affair spread throughout the entire military compound. Zhou Cong could also forget about relying on Commander Ye's influence to rise easily anymore.
The two elders were about to leave.
Ye Qiaoqiao waved her hand. "Dad, Uncle Su, you go ahead. I'll take good care of Brother Fu."
Fu Juechuan, who had been preparing to leave with them, stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her, as if waiting for her to speak.
Ye Qiaoqiao watched the elders leave and immediately felt his gaze.
She awkwardly looked up and, unsurprisingly, met Fu Juechuan's eyes, which had been waiting for her.
His gaze was calm and steady, clearly conveying that she should speak her mind directly. He didn't seem angry about her unilaterally keeping him behind.
Ye Qiaoqiao found his character all the more admirable.
Gradually, she became less nervous. Fidgeting with her fingers, she asked anxiously, "Um… Brother Fu, are you really willing to marry me?"
She had originally intended to thank him for his help earlier.
Somehow, her words shifted into this question.
As soon as she asked, she felt her scalp tingle and didn't dare to look at him.
Ye Qiaoqiao naturally knew that someone as capable as him marrying her would create a powerful alliance with her father.
This would make it difficult for outsiders to scheme against her father.
She was clearly the one benefiting from this arrangement, which was precisely why she wondered why Fu Juechuan would agree.
"Hmm, I don't joke about such matters," Fu Juechuan replied, glancing down at her before answering.
The atmosphere between them grew somewhat strange for a moment, as if a warmth had settled in.
"I wouldn't joke about such matters either," Ye Qiaoqiao said, influenced by his serious attitude. She quickly looked up to explain, not wanting Fu Juechuan to think she was a frivolous person.
Not to mention how Fu Juechuan had helped her father seek justice in her previous life and arranged for someone to rescue her—even though it hadn't worked out.
The debt of gratitude spanned two lifetimes.
She respected Fu Juechuan and naturally couldn't treat his marriage lightly.
"Hmm, I know," Fu Juechuan nodded.
Ye Qiaoqiao didn't notice that he had answered with "I know" rather than "I believe you." Clearly, Fu Juechuan understood far more about her than she realized.
Ye Qiaoqiao relaxed completely and couldn't help but look up at him with a bright, beautiful smile.
Fu Juechuan took in her smiling face. Upon closer observation, one could notice the corners of his mouth lifting uncontrollably, and his gaze was much softer than usual.
"Well… Brother Fu, let me see you out. I shouldn't keep you from your important matters."
Ye Qiaoqiao remembered that Fu Juechuan had come today to discuss important business with her father.
She felt a bit regretful for having delayed him for so long.
She hurriedly gave Fu Juechuan some beef jerky and personally watched him leave.
As Fu Juechuan stepped out of the house, his footsteps still felt somewhat unsteady. The events of the day had been so unexpected that they felt almost unreal, but Qiaoqiao was his now.
Ye Qiaoqiao had just seen Fu Juechuan off.
She was called out by a phone call from Zheng Yunshuang.
Ye Qiaoqiao stepped out of the house after getting dressed. Zheng Yunshuang… this elder she had devoted herself to wholeheartedly in her past life had unexpectedly teamed up with Zhou Cong to betray her and her father. Her father’s downfall had happened so quickly, and the other party had played a significant role in it.
Just as she walked out of the house and passed by the supply and marketing cooperative, people suddenly began pointing at her, with faint whispers and murmurs.
“Is that Comrade Ye Qiaoqiao? She actually rejected the marriage proposal?”
“Is there something wrong with her head? Why would she turn down such a good match?”
“Who knows? She probably thinks she’s a young lady from a wealthy family and looks down on outsiders.”
“What? She even looks down on that Zhou family boy? The Zhou family’s assets are nearly a million yuan—how rich is that? If Ye Qiaoqiao married into that family, she’d live a comfortable life. If she can’t even appreciate that, her eyes must be set too high.”
“Anyway, I think she’s definitely going to regret it. How could she turn down such a good match?”