The Qiao Family was quite happy about Qiao Hui having a boyfriend in the county town.
After all, from Qiao Hui’s description, that guy named Huo Qinming was a smart, ambitious, and responsible young man.
Although he was three years younger than Qiao Hui, there was a saying: a woman three years older was like hugging a golden brick.
The Qiao Family did not care much about Huo Qinming’s age. What they cared about more was his family background.
“Daughter, when are you going to bring your boyfriend home for us to meet?”
Qiao Hui’s mother, Xu Cui, said somewhat eagerly.
After all, this was her own daughter. Hearing that her daughter suddenly had a boyfriend in the county town, how could Xu Cui sit still?
She was anxious inside and wanted to quickly see this future son-in-law whom her daughter had praised to the skies.
“Mom, why are you in such a hurry? We’re not at the stage of meeting parents yet. Besides, our most important task right now is studying. We don’t have that much free time to meet parents.”
Qiao Hui refused seriously, but for some reason, Qiao Shu inexplicably felt that Qiao Hui’s refusal seemed a bit guilty…?
Could it be… that she hadn’t won him over yet???
Qiao Shu thought carefully about Qiao Hui’s flamboyant personality and felt that she had probably guessed right.
With Qiao Hui’s character, if she had really confirmed a relationship with that Huo Qinming, she would definitely bring him back to show off.
Suddenly, Qiao Shu thought of her own beautiful face, and she felt that her guess might not be entirely accurate.
It was also possible that Qiao Hui did not want her so-called boyfriend to see her.
But no matter which situation it was, Qiao Shu did not care much.
Anyway, she had already decided to marry into some old man’s family with better conditions and a more powerful background, to be a stay-at-home otaku lying flat like a salted fish.
She hoped that Feng Xiao was really as busy as Qiao Hui had said, busy to the point of only seeing each other two or three times a year!
That way, it was like having a husband or not having one, yet she could still enjoy the high-standard life of a chief’s daughter-in-law and a regiment commander’s wife!
If her husband really sacrificed for the country, she could even have the title of martyr’s family member as a shield, and live even more freely and happily lying flat in the Feng Family…
This was simply the most perfect post-marriage life for her as an otaku!
…
A certain ‘old man’ who was fighting on the frontline suddenly learned that he had a wife and was about to get married. His eyelid twitched hard.
“Feng Xiao, you kid are something! You quietly got yourself a little wife without a word. And my wife was even thinking of introducing her little sister to you!”
Hearing his superior, Brigade Commander Ding’s words, Feng Xiao’s brows furrowed slightly. He was just about to say he had no little wife, but after hearing the next sentence, he immediately understood what was going on.
“Qiao Shu, what a nice name for a little sister-in-law. But this age… she’s way too young, only 19, a full 11 years younger than you. You’re really an old cow eating tender grass!”
As soon as he heard that his ‘future wife’ had the surname Qiao, Feng Xiao immediately understood what his ‘little wife’ was about.
It seemed that because he had no intention of getting married, his parents and grandfather had reached a consensus to make him fulfill the childhood betrothal long set between the Feng and Qiao Families.
But… wasn’t this age gap too big? Only 19 years old…
Feng Xiao’s brows furrowed slightly, and his dark eyes grew even deeper.
Leaving aside all the ways they were unsuitable, just the child of his deceased comrade whom he had adopted was already 12 years old, only seven years younger than the girl from the Qiao Family.
The other party was still just a newly adult child, so how could she possibly become the mother of two children…
Thinking of this, Feng Xiao suddenly felt a headache.
He felt that this was not marrying a wife at all, but clearly ‘adopting’ another child.
But now the marriage report had been submitted, and without a doubt, his grandfather had already sent someone to pick her up from the Qiao Family.
Now, it was too late to pretend nothing had happened and stop this.
Fine, he would wait until he met the little girl from the Qiao Family and explain it clearly to her.
If the little girl was also forced and unwilling, he would cancel this marriage and give her other compensation…
Brigade Commander Ding watched Feng Xiao furrow his brows in deep thought and, having seen Qiao Shu’s file, thought that Feng Xiao was probably not satisfied with this marriage.
Actually, when he saw Qiao Shu’s file, he also felt that this marriage was really a grievance for Feng Xiao.
After all, leaving aside Feng Xiao’s family background, his own personal abilities made him an extremely outstanding soldier.
From his repeated performances on the frontline, he had earned countless large and small honors. Even without his grandfather the commander, his future would be bright based on his own merits.
Yet such a capable and knowledgeable outstanding soldier now had to marry a rural girl he did not know because of a childhood betrothal arranged by the elders.
It was indeed a bit of a grievance…
Brigade Commander Ding patted Feng Xiao’s shoulder sympathetically and sighed lightly.
“Feng Xiao, we don’t do childhood betrothals anymore these days. If you’re unwilling about this marriage, no one can force you. Not even the Old Chief…”
Hearing Brigade Commander Ding say this, Feng Xiao said nothing.
After all, no matter what he thought, Qiao Shu was now his nailed-down ‘little wife’.
If he told others now that he rejected this marriage, and it spread, it would probably have a bad impact on the little girl’s reputation.
That was something he did not want to see. Even if this marriage was really invalid, it had to be the little girl rejecting him…
“No one is forcing me.”
Feng Xiao said calmly and firmly, as if he did not reject this marriage at all.
“I’m just worried I won’t have time to go back and get married.”
Hearing Feng Xiao say this, Brigade Commander Ding awkwardly withdrew his hand and chuckled dryly a few times.
“So you’re worried about that. You don’t need to worry at all. Rest assured, when the time comes, I’ll definitely approve leave for you to go back and marry your little wife.”
After saying that, he added somewhat helplessly, “But once you get married, my wife at home will nag me to death. You don’t know how much she wanted to match you with my little sister-in-law.
But every time I mentioned introducing someone, you kept pushing it off and refusing…”
Seeing Brigade Commander Ding start talking endlessly about his wife nagging again, Feng Xiao decisively left.
But as soon as he left Brigade Commander Ding’s office, he saw his comrades who had been eavesdropping outside.
“Childhood betrothal? Who would’ve thought, Feng Xiao, you kept rejecting meetings and kept absolute distance from women because your family arranged a little wife for you.”
“Hahaha, didn’t expect childhood betrothals still exist. Feng Xiao, you’re more traditional than I thought.”
“But sister-in-law is only 19, Brother Xiao, you’ve got some nerve!”
“Just don’t know what our little sister-in-law looks like or what kind of person she is.”
“Anyway, no matter what she’s like, she’s probably going to become the public enemy of those girls in the Military District Compound who like Brother Xiao.”
…
However, the childhood friend who said Qiao Shu would become the public enemy of the girls in the Military District Compound who liked Feng Xiao was wrong.
Not only did the little sister-in-law he mentioned not become the public enemy of the girls in the Military District Compound, on the contrary, a certain old man became the ‘public enemy’ of all the girls…
Feng Xiao turned a deaf ear to his comrades’ teasing. The only thing on his mind now was—
That little girl who had just turned adult must have been forced by her family to marry him.
For something like this to happen, she was truly too wronged…
When he returned from the frontline, he would definitely compensate the little girl well, dissolve the engagement according to her wishes, and not let her suffer any harm.
However, at this moment, Feng Xiao never imagined that a certain little girl was not forced at all; she really wanted to marry him.
And he never imagined that one day in the future, the thing he feared most would be his little wife wanting to dissolve the marriage and leave him…
…
—Capital Feng Family—
“Mom, Dad, I think… the little girl is only 19, and A Xiao is still on the frontline right now; he won’t be back for a while. How about we pick her up to our house first?”
He Yingzi knew that the people sent to pick up Qiao Shu were almost at Qiao Village. Thinking that the girl who was about to become her sister-in-law was only 19, she worried in her heart that if the little girl was directly taken to her brother’s troop’s stationed island, she would face a group of strangers alone, plus two stepchildren.
Especially since the stepson was already a half-grown boy only seven years younger than her; it might make her unadapted. And on an island full of military families, there might be some long-tongued women gossiping, making the little girl suffer grievances.
So He Yingzi, as the eldest sister-in-law, thought that they should first bring her home, take good care of her, and let her adapt to life in the Military District Compound.
When her brother got leave and returned from the frontline, he could take her directly to the island to get married. This would also show that the Feng Family and Feng Xiao valued her, preventing some people from talking nonsense and wronging the little girl…
Feng Father and Feng Mother, who originally planned to send her directly to their son’s troop training base island, understood their eldest daughter’s concerns after hearing her words and changed their minds.
“Yes, Yingzi, you’re right. It was our oversight; we almost let the little girl from the Qiao Family suffer grievances.”
Thinking of their future daughter-in-law’s age, He Hong finally realized belatedly that they could not send her directly to the island.
After all, such a young girl going alone would have to face two such big stepchildren, and if she did anything slightly wrong, she might be gossiped about by some loose-tongued military wives. In such a complex and unfamiliar environment, she really might suffer grievances.
“Then let’s have her stay at home first. When A Xiao comes back, they can go to the island as a couple.”
Feng Shengli also nodded in agreement.
Thus, the life where she was originally supposed to be sent directly by the Feng Family to the island to become a prospective military wife in the Military Family Courtyard, living with stepchildren and being gossiped about by other military families, was changed just like that.
This disappointed a certain little nanny who had already planned to deal with Qiao Shu and was waiting for her to arrive quickly; all the pits she prepared for Qiao Shu were dug in vain.
It also doomed Qiao Hui, who wanted Qiao Shu to properly experience the upsetting things she had suffered in her previous life, to be disappointed~!
On this sunny day, Qiao Shu was leisurely lying in her room eating red pomegranates grown in her Spirit Spring Space when suddenly she heard a burst of lively commotion outside.
Qiao Shu did not pay it much attention at first, but as the commotion got closer to her home and she vaguely made out what they were saying, she sat up from the bed all at once.
Had the people from the Feng Family come to pick her up???
Qiao Shu thought subconsciously.
Soon, Qiao Hui’s urgent knocking on the door confirmed her guess.
“Shushu! Come out quick! The Feng Family is here to pick you up!”
But she did not know if it was her illusion, Qiao Shu always felt that Qiao Hui’s voice carried a bit of gritted teeth. This must be her illusion, right?
However, soon after Qiao Shu opened the door and walked out of the room, seeing the people arranged by the Feng Family to pick her up and the grandeur of the Feng Family’s betrothal gifts, she understood that her earlier feeling was not an illusion—Qiao Hui was indeed gnashing her teeth in jealousy toward her!
Because the betrothal gifts brought by the Feng Family were simply too… generous!
She just did not understand why Qiao Hui had such an attitude. Could it be that in her previous life, when Qiao Hui married Feng Xiao, it was not this kind of treatment?