Since her rebirth, Sang Zhi felt that everything was unfolding according to her plan, but even the slyest fox can stumble in the hands of an experienced hunter. What should she do now—find an excuse to explain how she learned sketching? That would only draw more suspicion.
Sang Yun finished cleaning and saw Sang Zhi at the stairs, hopping and pulling at her hair like she had epilepsy. She couldn’t hide her excitement.
“Sang Zhi, are you crazy?”
Being crazy was probably for the best—it meant she could finally have a peaceful life herself. Sang Zhi, not wanting to be laughed at, especially by Sang Yun, composed herself and straightened her hair elegantly.
“Even if I go crazy, I’ll go after you, sister. Not to criticize, but you dress so plainly every day—you should improve yourself. Make the meals a bit more creative, put effort into taste. It’s not about having many types of dishes; the elders care about your face but are too polite to say it, so I’ll do it for you.”
Most of the home’s ingredients came from the military logistics department. Master Cai had a share; the vegetables were seasonal but plentiful, and even the meat and oil were far more abundant than outside. But Sang Yun had never seen such things and her cooking skills were average: one-pot stews or soy-sauce boiled vegetables. It was enough to leave anyone speechless. Sang Yun thought of the braised meat earlier and, unusually, didn’t argue.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jiang Yan about to leave. Her eyes lit up and she shyly ran after him. Jiang Yan glanced at the two sisters with his usual cold expression.
“Something you need?”
Sang Yun’s heart raced.
“Comrade Jiang, wait a moment, I have something for you.” Without waiting for a response, she ran inside and returned holding a brown scarf. Her cheeks flushed, she offered it with both hands.
“The watch you gave me—I’ve received it. It’s beautiful, and I really like it.”
Jiang Yan looked down at her wrist. No wonder she had thanked him earlier; the past couple of days, Feng Xiangdong had mentioned that Sang Yun’s birthday was coming and asked Jiang Yan for a gesture. Jiang Yan never cared for such things, but since she was a lifesaver, he had to take responsibility. He had money, Feng Xiangdong had the vouchers—it was a trivial matter, not worth his concern.
“If you like it, that’s enough. If you have any difficulties, find Xiangdong; he’ll help.” Jiang Yan nodded politely and turned to leave.
“The scarf…?”
“I’m not used to wearing these. You can give it to the elder instead,” Sang Yun coquettishly replied, trying to throw a flirtatious glance. Jiang Yan ignored her and strode off.
Though he had left, Sang Yun was undeterred. She deliberately displayed her wrist, letting the small ladies’ watch glimmer in front of Sang Zhi. She recognized it immediately: the finest all-steel Shanghai brand watch. With the watch vouchers, it cost 120 yuan. There were other watches in a similar price range—Dongfeng or Tianjin—but among the youth, Shanghai brand was the most coveted. Even the cold, icy man had this thoughtful side.
After flaunting the watch, Sang Yun tauntingly said, “Ever since I rescued him at the station, our fates were connected. Later, by chance, we ended up living under the same roof—destiny, right?”
Sang Zhi initially ignored her words, but the keywords—station, rescue—triggered her memory. That was also the day she had just arrived in this world and rescued someone at risk of being captured. How could it be that only a few days later, the person she rescued became her responsibility? The system had rewarded her for that, it couldn’t be wrong—unless someone else was taking credit.
Wow—claiming both identity and the merit of saving someone, her cousin had really taken shamelessness to the extreme. Sang Zhi was angry but powerless; she couldn’t rush to Jiang Yan and shake him, saying he had the wrong person.
“Sis, the day you saved someone—wasn’t that the day they accused me of eloping with the drifter? What were you doing at the station? You weren’t with the drifter trying to sell me off, were you? I’d have to go to the police and sort this out.”
Sang Yun, overconfident, forgot about that detail. Seeing Sang Zhi glare at her, she waved her hands nervously.
“Of course not, I was just picking up a friend that day.”
Sang Zhi, with a hint of mischief, thought: her brother hasn’t even faced his sentence yet; soon he’ll be in prison and still have to pay fines. The family’s money had all been taken by that little brat Sang Zhi. Their mother had nearly cried herself blind. She couldn’t confront her head-on. Thinking this, she laughed it off and ran.
Sang Zhi’s gaze lingered with dissatisfaction. Some things she couldn’t take, but others couldn’t be stolen. She returned to her room to review the story in the book. As the female lead, opportunities naturally arose.
As early as five years after the founding of the country, the city’s Overseas Chinese Affairs Office was managed by the municipal office. Although many former agencies stopped functioning after the Revolutionary Committee was established, after the Second Representative Congress, much government work had been separated from the committee.
The municipal Overseas Chinese Office aimed to earn foreign exchange for the country and attract external investment, opening channels for some well-known overseas Chinese to return for visits. Proper reception could also facilitate trade negotiations, attracting investment and creating jobs—everyone cared about this.
But one overseas Chinese’s son had secretly followed them over.
Kids will be kids—they snuck out while their parents were attending meetings and tours. But because they weren’t used to the northern climate, the child fell seriously ill. At that time, Sang Yun happened to be there and rushed to help at the first sign of trouble. Although she didn’t manage to save the child on the spot, she did get him to the hospital in time. Unfortunately, the child didn’t survive, but the overseas Chinese couple was grateful to her.
This incident rendered all the preliminary preparations by the city’s Overseas Chinese Office useless. However, because of her “good deed,” Sang Yun gained the favor of the child’s parents, which provided significant support for her future wealth accumulation.
Now it got interesting. In her view, “You take from me, I take from you; back and forth, nobody loses.”
…Northern winters were dry, and with indoor heating, if one didn’t carefully take care of their skin, their face would flake in just a few days. The classic, well-known skincare products back then were brands like Pechoin, Youyi Cream, Clam Oil, and Yashuang. Without modern enhancements it was one thing, but now she could access better products. She emptied the iron box and filled it with affordable, mass-market skincare items.
When she opened the system control panel, Sang Zhi’s pupils suddenly jolted. She opened her eyes wide, closed them, then opened again—the progress value showed 220. That was impossible! Recently, she’d earned a little from hitting the “villains,” but buying items and searching for information had cost a lot. By her calculations, she should have had less than 100. Where did the extra 100+ come from?
The record only showed the dates received, without specifying the source of the merit points. Scrolling carefully, she found two extra entries: yesterday and today. Yesterday she went to do laundry for underwear, and today she just had a meal. She had seen only ordinary people, hadn’t saved anyone, and hadn’t hit any “villains.” So where did the merit points come from?
Wait a second… If the only unusual event in the past two routine days was Jiang Yan, could it be… him?