"Niannian, I was so exaggerated just now, won't he suspect us now?" Mu Qingqing asked with a worried expression.

"If he's going to suspect anyone, it'll be me. What are you afraid of?" Xu Nian's composure infected Mu Qingqing, who shrugged and relaxed.

"Shall we still go on the lotus lake boat trip?" Mu Qingqing had never been out to play before and was very interested in going on a lake trip.

"Of course I'll go. Qingqing, can you cook?" Xu Nian's mouth watered just thinking about all the delicious food in modern times. She hadn't eaten it in so long.

"What does Niannian want to eat? I'll try to see if I can copy it." Mu Qingqing's words were like a ray of hope.

"I want hot pot, barbecue, spicy blood curd, milk tea, shaved ice, and Qingqing, can you make all of these?" Xu Nian's pleading look amused Mu Qingqing.

"You wait, I'll go back and do some research right now, and you'll be able to eat it in a few days," Mu Qingqing assured, patting her chest.

"Qingqing, then I'll just sit and wait for the food." Xu Nian saw Mu Qingqing off at the gate of the courtyard, and the two waved goodbye.

As soon as I closed the courtyard gate and turned around, I saw Wang Pu'an standing silently behind me. "Wang Pu'an, when did you arrive?"

"Niannian, did you and Mu Qingqing know each other before?" Wang Pu'an didn't want to doubt Xu Nian, but he couldn't control his thoughts.

"I don't know her. I met her after you brought me here." Xu Nian was telling the truth, but Wang Pu'an frowned. The way the two chatted intimately suggested that they had known each other for a long time.

Seeing him frown in thought, Xu Nian knew that his sensitive and suspicious nature had resurfaced.

So he said, "Wang Pu'an, there's a saying that goes, 'It's like meeting an old friend at first sight.' That's how it is with her. We can talk about anything. Sometimes you don't have to spend a lot of time together."

“But Niannian has never been completely open with me,” Wang Puan said with a somber expression.

"How do you want to talk?" Xu Nian pulled Wang Puan to a chair and asked him to sit down.

"Niannian, I want to get married to you. Should we invite your parents over?" Wang Pu'an was very uneasy. He had taken it upon himself to get the marriage certificate from the matchmaker, so the two of them had never had a wedding ceremony.

"Wang Pu'an, I've been sold out by them, and now you're going to bring them over to annoy me?" Xu Nian will not acknowledge the original owner's parents.

Even in this era where filial piety is considered paramount, she refuses to accept it.

She doesn't think people who sell their children for money deserve any forgiveness.

“Niannian, if you don’t want them to come, how about the two of us have a meal and hand out some wedding candy to the neighbors?” Wang Pu asked nervously.

"Okay." Xu Nian had essentially agreed.

Wang Pu'an was very happy to hear just one simple word.

That's great! Niannian has personally agreed to marry him.

“Niannian, I’ve checked the auspicious dates, and the fifteenth of next month is a good day. How about we set that day for our wedding?” Wang Pu’an spoke enthusiastically about the wedding arrangements, and Xu Nian nodded in agreement.

...

A few days later, Mu Qingqing brought the food she had prepared to Xu Nian, and the two chatted while eating.

There was no milk tea or shaved ice, but the other three items were available, and they all tasted good.

When Mu Qingqing heard that she was going to marry Wang Pu'an, she was very surprised. She thought the two had already gone through the wedding ceremony. "You're going to marry Wang Pu'an? Didn't you two have a wedding ceremony before?"

"No?" Xu Nian shook her head.

"Damn it, that Wang Puan is definitely no good. He got on the boat first and bought the ticket later!" Mu Qingqing spat out angrily.

"Speaking of which, I've always been curious, Niannian, how did you fall for him?" Mu Qingqing couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she tried. Wang Pu'an was a rough man, and Xu Nian was a delicate woman. How did these two get together?

“My parents sold me to someone to bring good luck in marriage. The man died right after the wedding ceremony, and then that family sold me again. It was Wang Pu’an who bought me.” Xu Nian’s emotionless words made Mu Qingqing feel very uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you had been through these things."

Mu Qingqing felt guilty. Asking Xu Nian that question today was just reopening her wounds!

"It's alright, it's all in the past."

"So, Niannian, do you like him?"

"Not really, he's a good person."

"Niannian, is he...!" Mu Qingqing couldn't continue asking. If it was really what she thought, she would undoubtedly be rubbing salt into Xu Nian's wounds again.

They all came from modern times, yet they were now being oppressed by the feudal system, suffering both physical and mental torment. She didn't know what Xu Nian was feeling as she faced all of this.

"Qingqing, what are you thinking? He's been so good to me, he's practically turned me into a useless bum." Xu Nian smiled faintly. She didn't plan to tell Mu Qingqing those things; some things weren't suitable to be discussed.

Moreover, according to the original plot, the female lead is Mu Qingqing, and Wang Pu'an is her partner.

Now that things have turned out this way, she feels like she's stolen something.

"I wasn't thinking about anything! Niannian, is there anything else you want to eat? I'll do some research, maybe I can make it all." Mu Qingqing took the initiative to change the subject, and Xu Nian followed her lead.

Xu Nian was so spicy from eating hot pot, barbecue, and spicy blood curd that day that she cried.

Her eyes and nose were red and swollen, as if she had been bullied terribly.

After Mu Qingqing left, Wang Puan came over and cleaned up the trash. He was both annoyed and amused by Xu Nian's appearance.

"Wang Puan, I want water, cold water." Xu Nian said imperiously.

Wang Pu'an was delighted. "Niannian, wait a moment, I'll go pour you some."

Watching Wang Pu'an take care of her like a mother hen, Xu Nian said to Yuanbao, "Yuanbao, he's actually quite good, isn't he? If this were modern times, where would I find a husband like him?"

"It's good that the host has come to terms with it." Yuanbao was really worried that Xu Nian would hold a grudge, after all, she was going to spend her whole life with the male lead.

"Yuanbao, does this count as stealing the female lead's man?" Xu Nian frowned, her stomach upset from eating too much chili.

"Host, the plot setting is one thing, and the male lead's own actions are another. You were stolen by the male lead, not the other way around." Yuanbao's words contained a lot of information.

"Yuanbao, what do you mean?" Xu Nian understood each word, but she couldn't understand how they were put together!

"The original plot was the pre-set plot. Our task was to assist the plot to proceed according to the pre-set plan. But now the male lead is unwilling, and he chose you himself." Xu Nian was the first to know Yuan Bao's explanation.

"So all my plot points were wrong because the male lead wasn't willing?" Xu Nian was dumbfounded.

Her task was to maintain the storyline; so that's how she maintained it.

But that's even stranger!

The male lead rejected the female lead and chose her instead, and then the transmigration world allowed the male lead to make his choice!

So, whoever gets the male lead's attention becomes the female lead?