Chapter 1: Old Things

◎Prepare to get married.◎

Jiang Siyue checked the paper over and over again, and sent it to her supervisor Zhang Min'an after making sure it was correct. Then she turned off the computer, got up and walked to the living room.

I glanced at the food on the table and breathed a sigh of relief when I found that it was finally not black leftovers.

The amount of food served on New Year's Eve determines how many days of leftovers we'll have. This year, at Jiang Siyue's insistence, the leftovers were eaten in just five days, which was an improvement.

"Are you done?" Zhou Hong came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of beef. The beef was placed on the table, a little crooked. Jiang Siyue didn't like it and moved it a little straighter.

"Mom, when can I eat?" Jiang Siyue rubbed her stomach. She had discovered that doing brain-intensive work like writing a paper made her more likely to get hungry than doing physical work.

"Wait a little longer, your sister and the others are stuck in traffic, and it will take a while for them to arrive." After saying that, Zhou Hong went into the kitchen again. After a while, the sound of cooking smoke came from the kitchen.

I grabbed some corn candies from the New Year’s goods, tore off the wrapping paper, and put them into my mouth one by one. The aroma of corn immediately filled my entire mouth.

After chewing it for a few times, I felt sick of it again and my eyes moved back to the beef on the table. The coriander beef, fresh from the pot, was still smoking, and the aroma penetrated my nose and made my mouth water like crazy.

After some mental preparation, he stretched out his evil hand towards the plate of beef.

“Bang!”

Before she even touched it, her hand was slapped hard. Jiang Siyue looked at Zhou Hong dissatisfiedly, "Mom, I'm really hungry, I'll just eat one piece."

"Wait a little longer." Zhou Hong's tone brooked no room for argument. Jiang Siyue sighed, walked away from the dining table and went to the balcony, out of sight, out of mind.

It was the coldest time of the year in the south. Jiang Siyue shivered, buttoned her clothes, and opened the balcony window.

The fierce cold wind is neutralized by the gentle rain, blowing on the face, making people feel refreshed without feeling cold.

The phone tucked away in her bosom buzzed. It was a message from her supervisor, Zhang Min'an, saying he had received the paper and would review it when he had time. Jiang Siyue breathed a sigh of relief, yet still felt nervous.

I have been studying for a master's degree for more than a year, and this is my first time to publish in a core journal. I have been working on this paper for a long time. I was not idle even on New Year's Eve, and I was thinking about the paper in my dreams... I hope this paper will be successful in one go, so that I can be more competitive when I apply for a doctorate.

The rain outside the window was still falling continuously. My stomach had not been comforted for a long time and was starting to feel upset. After a few massages, the discomfort was slightly relieved.

About fifteen minutes later, the long-awaited sound of the door opening finally appeared. Jiang Siyue's eyes lit up and she strode towards the living room. Before she got close, she heard Zhou Hong's voice: "Why are you alone? Where's Lin Wen? Hey, baby, you're here too! I missed you so much. Do you miss grandma?"

Jiang Lingling threw the umbrella at the entrance. "Something happened at his company, so he went to work overtime. Don't worry about him. Where's my dad?"

"He's guarding the store. Send him a message." Zhou Hong put Lin Jun down and said, "Baby, you must be hungry. Let's eat right away!" Zhou Hong turned around and went back into the kitchen.

Jiang Siyue walked into the living room and greeted Jiang Lingling gently. The other party also smiled politely and was very distant.

Zhou Hong, who was in the kitchen, noticed the unfamiliarity between the two and hesitated to speak. Finally, she sighed and pretended not to see it.

It is normal that the two sisters are not close. Jiang Lingling is 7 years older than Jiang Siyue. They did not grow up together. Jiang Siyue lived with her grandparents in the countryside since she was a child, while Jiang Lingling has always lived in the city.

Jiang Siyue was sitting on the sofa playing with her phone. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lin Jun standing on a chair and eating meat with his hands. She frowned slightly and shouted at him, "Go get your chopsticks and eat."

"It's okay, it's okay." Zhou Hong brought out the dishes. "He's only six years old, how can he hold chopsticks? Just grab a few more with your hands."

Jiang Siyue took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, lowering her head to play with her phone, and didn't respond. It was a rare opportunity to have fresh food, and Jiang Siyue was very hungry again. She didn't take this little episode to heart. After eating and drinking, Jiang Siyue went back to her room to read.

Jiang Lingling and Zhou Hong looked at each other at the table and said slowly, "Have you told her? The Zhao family will be here tomorrow."

"No." Zhou Hong looked worried. "She's buried in front of the computer all day. I don't have a chance to talk to her."

"Then tell me!" Jiang Lingling raised her voice. "The school is already pressing for the necessary documents. Without the home purchase certificate, Junjun won't be able to attend No. 7 Primary School."

Zhou Hong's eyes flashed with worry, "Let's talk after dinner."

…

In the room, Jiang Siyue yawned deeply, turned around and saw Zhou Hong standing at the door. She was startled, closed the book, and looked at Zhou Hong in confusion.

"Siyue, I want to discuss something with you." Zhou Hong sat down beside the bed. "Junjun will be starting elementary school this September. According to the district zoning, he has to go to Wutong Elementary School. As you know, Wutong Elementary School is not very good. So your sister wants to buy a house near No. 7 Elementary School so that he can go to school there."

"Oh." Jiang Siyue didn't react. She actually thought it didn't matter where she went to elementary school, but she couldn't say that. If she did, Zhou Hong would definitely lecture her. It was always the same thing, and her ears were about to get callused.

"Your sister is still short of money, so—"

"Don't say that." Jiang Siyue interrupted, "I'm a student, and I don't have any money."

"Do you remember the Zhao family when you were a child? I've inquired about it. Both of their parents are the best. The father just retired, and the mother has her own career. The family is well-off..." Zhou Hong became more and more excited as she spoke, and did not notice Jiang Siyue's increasingly cold expression at all.

Jiang Siyue folded her arms across her chest and looked at Zhou Hong, "So?"

The Zhao family had a strong memory of this. Zhou Hong, accompanied by her grandmother, went to the county hospital for a prenatal checkup and happened to encounter a pregnant woman who was struggling to deliver the baby. Her grandmother, who had studied with an old Chinese doctor before she got married, saw this situation and decided to try her best. To her surprise, she actually saved the mother and child.

The other party was grateful, exchanged contact information, and bought a jade bracelet as a gift.

All these years later? Bringing this up again.

"They'll be here tomorrow, let's meet up." Zhou Hong opened her phone and found the agreed time: "Tomorrow at 3 pm, at the Water Village."

This is a blind date.

"I'm not going." Jiang Siyue refused bluntly, "This matter has nothing to do with me. If my sister wants to buy a house, she can find a way herself. It's none of my business if the Zhao family's son can't get married. Go out. I want to read a book."

"How could you not go? Would it be a loss to meet her?" Zhou Hong asked in confusion, "She's your sister, what's wrong with you helping her? Besides, marrying into the Zhao family is a loss for you. How could you find such a good family by yourself?"

Jiang Siyue remained silent, flipping through the book, pretending not to hear. This wasn't ancient times, and Zhou Hong couldn't possibly tie her up and take her over. She could do whatever she wanted.

"Are you still thinking about your ex-boyfriend?!" Zhou Hong snatched the book from her hand and asked harshly, "What's so good about that guy? He just left the country without saying a word!"

Jiang Siyue's body froze for a moment, but soon returned to normal. Zhou Hong held the professional book in her hand, and the paper was crumpled into a ball.

"Jiang Siyue, I'm telling you! Don't stay here as a widow to your ex-boyfriend!" Zhou Hong was so angry that her voice was distorted. Jiang Siyue's face was calm and she remained silent.

"You don't have to go. You can come up with 300,000 yuan now. But if you can't come up with it, you must go tomorrow!"

Before she finished speaking, the page Zhou Hong was holding couldn't withstand the pressure and separated neatly from the rest of the book. The heavy textbook fell to the floor with a loud thud that lingered for a long time.

Zhou Hong looked at Jiang Siyue, her face still expressionless. Zhou Hong had no way to vent her anger, so she threw down the page of the book, slammed the door and left.

Jiang Siyue sat in the room, looking at the pure white ceiling. She suddenly felt that they were not mother and daughter bound by family ties, but a transaction relationship in which money and goods were exchanged.

It's like a farmer raising pigs and slaughtering them when they are ready.

300,000.

Jiang Siyue smiled foolishly. Zhou Hong really had a grasp on her vital point.

With this money, my sister can buy a house, my nephew can go to school, and I can marry into a good family and have no worries about food and clothing. I don’t know how many people envy me...

It’s really a beautiful thing.

As I laughed, everything in front of me became blurry.

*

It rained all morning and finally stopped at one o'clock. Jiang Siyue and Zhou Hong went out together and headed for the floating village. From the moment they got in the car, Zhou Hong's words of praise for the Zhao family never stopped. Jiang Siyue wanted to ignore it at first, but finally got tired of it and said something back.

"His family is so well-off, why does his son still rely on matchmaking to get married?"

Zhou Hong calmed down as she wished.

Jiang Siyue leaned against the car window and closed her eyes. She really couldn't come up with 300,000 yuan, so the only option left was marriage. She would work and earn money in the future, return the money to the Zhao family, and then divorce.

As for Zhao Yan, even though he was useless, disabled, extremely ugly, less than 1.6 meters tall, bald and with a bald head, he could tolerate it.

The car stopped in front of a house on the water. Jiang Siyue followed behind Zhou Hong. The cold wind blew in through the collar of her clothes, making her heart tremble with cold. She zipped up her clothes to the top.

When they stepped into the house on the water, Jiang Siyue suddenly stopped Zhou Hong, who was going upstairs, and asked an irrelevant question: "Why did you give birth to me?"

Zhou Hong didn't hear and kept walking. Naturally, there was no answer to this question. Jiang Siyue sighed and regretted asking this question. It was really unnecessary.

The moment the door of the private room was pushed open, it was as if a switch was turned on, and greetings and laughter came in waves. Jiang Siyue was dazed for a moment, then smiled and walked in.

It was somewhat different from what she expected. Only Zhao's parents were in the private room, and Zhao Yan was nowhere to be seen.

Zhang Ying seemed to see Jiang Siyue's doubts and explained, "Zhao Yan was already here, but he had something urgent to do and had to leave first. We can just talk now."

"Okay, Aunt Zhang." Jiang Siyue was extremely well-behaved. After answering, she sat in her seat and acted like a good girl.

Zhou Hong was chatting with them very enthusiastically, and occasionally a few words popped into her ears, but Jiang Siyue chose to ignore them.

"Siyue, can I take a video for you?" Zhang Ying suddenly called her. Jiang Siyue was in a daze and nodded instinctively. When the phone was facing her, she suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

It really looks like a pork trading market.

Jiang Siyue turned to the camera, smiled slightly, and said, "Hello, I am Jiang Siyue."

Zhang Ying and Zhou Hong were both very pleased with this. Jiang Siyue picked up a cup of tea, and the moment it touched her lips, her smile disappeared. She also wanted to get a call from Zhang Min'an. Even if she got scolded, it didn't matter, as long as she had an excuse to leave this private room.

"By the way, Siyue, have you seen any photos of Zhao Yan? I should ask him to take a video for you, too."

What's so good about it that I have to waste time praising it after seeing it. Jiang Siyue complained in her heart, but kept a decent smile on her face and said, "Don't bother, Auntie."

As time passed, Jiang Siyue became more and more restless.

"Sister Zhang, let's pick a time for the two children to get their marriage certificate? I think the Lantern Festival would be a good time."

Zhang Ying's expression froze for a few moments after Zhou Hong said this. She said apologetically, "This... Zhao Yan is very busy every day. We'll have to see when he's free to get the marriage certificate."

"That's okay too."

Time seemed to flow differently in the box than outside. Another five minutes passed, and Jiang Siyue could no longer sit still. She grabbed her bag and stood up, revealing the nervous expression she had practiced in her mind for a long time. She said to the three people across the table, "Uncle and aunt, my advisor suddenly sent me a message asking me to revise my thesis, so I'll be leaving first. You can discuss the marriage, I'm fine with it."

"Then go ahead," Zhao Yunshan said, a rare interjection. Jiang Siyue nodded to the three of them, then stood up and left.

This moment is the most comfortable moment of the year. Jiang Siyue holds her bag and rushes to the door as fast as she can, unable to wait to open it.

The man was wearing a black coat with clear and sleek shoulders and metal buttons reflecting dim light. He stood at the door, blocking Jiang Siyue's way out.

Raising her head, Jiang Siyue met a pair of clear and elegant eyes, indifferent and distant. The man opened and closed his thin lips: "Sorry, I was delayed on the way."