Qi Xiaoyuan had just finished visiting his comrade-in-arms when he boarded the train back to the Military Unit. Hearing the commotion from this direction, he walked over to take a look—unexpectedly, he ran into a scene of someone being injured.
And the person who had almost been injured was her—the girl he had mistaken for a thief that night.
The train attendant followed closely behind Qi Xiaoyuan and arrived, then asked Su Man about the situation and also heard statements from the other passengers.
The thief had now regained his senses. After thinking about how he had almost caused a major disaster, he was terrified. He kept begging for mercy and confessed everything truthfully.
After hearing the entire situation from the side—especially that Su Man had thrown the thief with a shoulder throw—Qi Xiaoyuan couldn’t help but look at Su Man in surprise.
That night’s contact had already told him this girl was bold, but he hadn’t expected her to be this courageous, this intelligent, and even skilled.
Su Man met those deep, dark eyes without avoiding them at all. That night, under dim moonlight, he had only caught a vague impression. Now seeing his face clearly, she was struck again—every single detail of his features was so perfectly formed.
The train attendant recognized that Qi Xiaoyuan was a soldier and also highly skilled, so he requested that Qi Xiaoyuan get off at the nearest stop with them and escort the thief to the Public Security Bureau.
The old man who had been stolen from was still shouting about getting his money back. He refused to believe the thief’s words and insisted on going to the Public Security Bureau as well, which would also allow him to act as a witness.
When it came to Su Man, she said she was in a hurry to catch the train and inconvenient to go along, so she refused.
Whether it was because of that military uniform, or because of that man whose name she still did not know, Su Man felt an inexplicably strong sense of trust. She believed the thief would definitely receive the punishment he deserved.
Qi Xiaoyuan slightly nodded toward Su Man, then led the group off the train.
Back at her seat, the aunt sitting next to her leaned over and said, “Girl, thanks to your quick thinking, my chickens are still here, and not a single egg is missing.”
Su Man looked down at the two chickens and two baskets of eggs, the corner of her mouth twitching.
Who would steal chickens on a train? And only two at that—it was far too obvious. And raw eggs… that was really unnecessary.
Aunt Xu, once she started talking, was very chatty. When she learned Su Man’s destination, she became even more excited.
“We’re going to the same Military Unit! My son-in-law is a soldier there, and my daughter is living there with her children. I used to help take care of the kids, but I went back home for a while this time.”
Su Man casually asked, “Then do you know a soldier named Qi Xiaoyuan?”
The Qi Family letter had said she was welcome to go to the Military Unit to get married. The attitude was warm enough, but there was no introduction of Qi Xiaoyuan’s background, and no photo either. She did not even know whether he matched her taste.
The book Su Man had transmigrated into told the story of a sterile male lead and a second-marriage female lead in a sweet romance. The Original Owner’s arranged marriage fiancé was exactly the male lead.
But Su Man had only read one extra side story of this book. That side story was about the male lead’s arranged marriage ex-wife—the Original Owner’s story.
According to that side story, after marrying Zhang Tianci, the Original Owner lived a miserable life. She accidentally learned the truth about the arranged marriage and the intercepted letters. Somehow, she went alone to the Qi Family. With the Qi Family’s help, she escaped from Factory Director Zhang’s family and the Su Ercheng family, and then forcibly married the male lead.
However, the male lead did not like the Original Owner at all. The two of them argued every day. Later, it was discovered that the male lead could not have children. In the end, the male lead insisted on divorcing, and the Original Owner actually chose to hang herself at the gate of the Qi Family.
Her death caused considerable trouble for the male lead and the Qi Family. They were pointed at and criticized, unable to lift their heads for a long time. The Qi Family’s opponents even used this incident to sabotage the male lead’s promotion.
When Su Man read that side story, she had sighed deeply at the Original Owner’s ending. Now that she had become this character, she decided she would marry the arranged fiancé male lead!
Although the male lead in the book did not love the Original Owner, he never lacked her material needs. His parents-in-law were kind and generous. It was only because the Original Owner insisted on forcing love that she trapped herself. In the book, when the male lead proposed divorce, he was even willing to leave with nothing.
The male lead had a high salary and a good family background, so money would certainly not be lacking. Moreover, he also had a low-profile but powerful uncle who had died young, leaving a large fortune to him.
As long as Su Man lived quietly after marriage and waited for the male lead to initiate divorce, she could instantly become a rich woman!
And this was still the 1980s. She could buy property and wait for it to appreciate, or start any kind of business—there were opportunities everywhere in the 80s and 90s.
Su Man felt like a beautiful life was waving at her.
But since she had not read the main text of the book, she did not know the male lead’s personality or character. For someone she would be living with for several years, she felt it was necessary to understand him in advance.
Aunt Xu clearly had lived in the family compound for a long time and was from the same Military Unit. Asking her would be useful.
Seeing Aunt Xu hesitate while clearly recognizing something, Su Man told her everything—how her father had died, how her uncle’s family had exploited her and taken her inheritance, and how she had been forced to go to the Military Unit to seek her arranged fiancé.
Aunt Xu’s eyes turned teary as she listened. She slapped her thigh and cursed Su Man’s uncle’s family for being heartless. Holding Su Man’s hand, she spoke without holding anything back.
“I haven’t met him, but I’ve heard from my son-in-law. Regiment Commander Qi is about 26 years old. He’s very handsome, and very capable too—but a bit fierce.”
“Fierce” was actually a mild way of putting it. What Aunt Xu really meant was “scary,” but she feared this pitiful girl might be frightened in advance, so she softened her words at the last moment.
Military Unit leaders had tried many times to introduce partners to Qi Xiaoyuan, but they were all scared off by his cold expression. Some timid ones even cried on the spot. Aunt Xu had heard from her son-in-law that Qi Xiaoyuan had killed enemies during missions and was known in the Military Unit as “King Yama Qi.” Even his own soldiers were afraid of him.
But Aunt Xu did not dare tell Su Man these things. However, seeing how brave Su Man had been when catching the thief earlier, she felt Su Man might not be afraid of Regiment Commander Qi after all.
Su Man raised her eyebrows, catching the implied meaning in Aunt Xu’s words. In this era, people preferred gentle men, and Qi Xiaoyuan seemed to be the opposite. At only 26, he was already a Regiment Commander—truly worthy of being the male lead.
The two chatted along the entire journey. Su Man was sweet-tongued and good at speaking, and by the time they got off the train, Aunt Xu was already affectionately calling her “Xiao Man.”
On the Su Family side.
Zhang Tianci drove a borrowed car and brought a group of people to formally propose marriage in a lively procession.
Su Ercheng and Xia Hongxia had been worried all night and finally realized they had been played by Su Man.
After recognizing this fact, they still could not figure out where Su Man could have gone, but they were unwilling to accept it. That damn girl had taken all their assets!
They agreed to go to the Street Office the next day. If there was no introduction letter, Su Man could not have gone far. If they could find out her location, they would go and take everything back with interest!
They were so angry they did not sleep all night. Only when dawn came did they finally close their eyes. But soon after, they were woken by noise outside.
Su Ercheng and Xia Hongxia hurried out—and saw Su Yuan lying in the courtyard, sound asleep, reeking of alcohol.
Su Ercheng kicked him hard in anger. “It’s your first day at work and you went out drinking last night! You little brat!”
Xia Hongxia quickly stopped him. “We still have important business.”
She then signaled to Su Yuan. Su Yuan yawned, slowly got up, and walked outside.
A string of firecrackers exploded in the alley.
Zhang Tianci’s car stopped in front of Su Ercheng’s house, and the atmosphere was full of festive excitement. Neighbors leaned out curiously to watch. After learning that Su Man was going to marry into Factory Director Zhang’s family, some felt envy, while others had subtle expressions.