What an Ungrateful Brat!
Lu Cai lay on the ground, clutching his stomach, cold sweat pouring down his face. He stared at Lu Zetian, who exuded an intimidating aura in his military uniform. His expression was twisted, whether from fear or pain.
He wanted to say something, but couldn’t. He could only look at Lu Zetian and Qin Shi, who was now hiding behind him.
Seeing that Lu Zetian had returned, Qin Shi felt reassured, knowing that the situation had been settled. She walked over, hooked her arm through Lu Zetian’s, and looked down at Lu Cai, warning him, “This is my husband. If you harass me again, you’ll regret it.”
Lu Cai’s face grew even darker. He noticed the three-star rank on Lu Zetian’s shoulders and couldn’t muster the courage to retort. Seeing Qin Shi clinging to Lu Zetian’s arm, he finally understood why she had been so adamant about not marrying him—she had found someone powerful.
But Lu Cai wasn’t willing to give up on Qin Shi so easily after all his scheming. Even though he felt defeated, he wasn’t ready to let go.
Initially, Lu Zetian had felt stiff when Qin Shi clung to him, but he quickly adapted, understanding she was doing it for show. He said nothing about it.
“Do you want to report him for harassment?” Lu Zetian asked Qin Shi seriously, turning his head slightly to look at her.
Lu Cai’s pupils shrank. The crackdown on crimes had just ended, and harassment was no minor offense. Seeing that Lu Zetian was of regimental rank, Lu Cai knew that if he were caught, his family wouldn’t be able to get him out.
At this moment, Lu Cai was genuinely afraid. All thoughts of revenge and schemes vanished from his mind. He quickly begged, “Please let me go. I didn’t do anything!”
Lu Cai, realizing the gravity of the situation, immediately turned to Qin Shi and said, “Qin Shi, I promise I’ll never bother you again. I’ll go back and tell my mother. We’ll move to the county, and I won’t come back. Please let me go!”
Qin Shi sneered and pulled a notebook from her bag. She wrote down, “Today, Lu Cai harassed Qin Shi at such and such a place and attempted to molest her.” She detailed the incident and handed the notebook to Lu Cai, asking him to sign it.
“Today, someone came to my rescue, so it was only an attempted crime. If you harass me again or if I find out you’ve done this to someone else, I’ll report you to the police!”
Gritting his teeth, Lu Cai looked at Lu Zetian’s stern face. Reluctantly, he took the notebook and signed his name.
Qin Shi glared at Lu Cai, “Put your fingerprint on it!”
Lu Cai’s face darkened as he muttered, “I don’t have any ink.”
Qin Shi responded, “You can bite your finger to draw blood. Or should I get someone to help you?”
Fuming with anger, Lu Cai’s teeth chattered. After a few seconds of silence, he bit his finger hard, imagining it was Qin Shi and Lu Zetian he was biting.
Blood gushed out, making Qin Shi frown slightly. Was it really necessary to bite that hard just for a fingerprint? What a lunatic.
After Lu Cai pressed his bloody fingerprint onto the paper, Qin Shi took the notebook, inspected it, and nodded in satisfaction. “You can go now. I’ll have my grandma return the bride price.”
Struggling to his feet, Lu Cai said nothing and staggered away.
Lu Zetian watched as Qin Shi put the notebook away, wondering why she liked getting people to sign such things. But on second thought, knowing and using legal means to protect herself was indeed a good thing.
“Oh my goodness, my dear!” Grandma Qin, who had been hiding in the courtyard and watching the entire scene, finally came to her senses. Seeing the two still holding hands, she couldn’t help but scream, “Er Ni! Let go of his hand… now.”
Luckily, it was still working hours, and everyone was in the fields. Otherwise, if someone had seen this, she would have been humiliated. How could they be so shameless, holding hands in public!
Her anger was sky-high, but when Lu Zetian turned to look at her, her voice immediately dropped, like a chicken with its neck wrung, completely deflated.
Qin Shi released Lu Zetian’s hand, a cold smile playing on her lips. “Grandma, you’ve been watching for so long, and now you finally decided to show yourself?”
Grandma Qin wanted to speak, but she was intimidated by Lu Zetian. The way he had kicked Lu Cai away and stood there with such a strong presence had left a psychological shadow on her.
Grandma Qin, already on edge for her previous misdeeds, didn’t dare to act arrogantly. Hearing Qin Shi’s cold sarcasm, she remained silent.
Qin Shi led Lu Zetian into the house, with Grandma Qin trailing behind them, her mouth opening and closing as if wanting to ask something but not daring to.
Once inside, Qin Shi invited Lu Zetian to sit and poured him some water. Only then did she introduce him to Grandma Qin, “This is Lu Zetian, my fiancé.”
Grandma Qin’s eyes widened in shock. “What!? Your fiancé? How come I didn’t know about this?”
Qin Shi thought to herself that there were many things Grandma Qin didn’t know. Ignoring Grandma Qin’s exaggerated reaction, she turned to Lu Zetian, silently asking him with her eyes.
Lu Zetian, surprisingly understanding her unspoken question, took out the approved marriage report from his pocket and handed it to her. “The procedures for you to accompany me have been completed.”
Qin Shi, satisfied after reviewing the report, smiled and said to Grandma Qin, “His marriage report has been approved. I can go with him now. Grandma, you should prepare and return all the things the Lu family brought.”
“Ugh—” Grandma Qin collapsed into a chair, her hand trembling as she pointed at Qin Shi. “How dare you! How could you make such a big decision on your own! Ah!”
Qin Shi smiled, “Didn’t you arrange my marriage with Lu Cai without telling me?”
Hearing this, Grandma Qin nearly lost her mind. She forgot her fear of Lu Zetian and slammed the table, ready to explode.
“You…”
“Do you know? Military marriages are protected by law and cannot be dissolved without special circumstances,” Qin Shi said, smiling warmly at Grandma Qin. “Grandma, it’s not easy to get married in the military. They investigate the family background thoroughly.”
Qin Shi turned to Lu Zetian and asked, “Don’t they investigate three generations back and even check my school records from when I was a child?”
Lu Zetian nodded, “Yes, that’s correct.”
Grandma Qin, not being foolish, understood immediately. Her anger dissipated, replaced by a chilling fear.
If the military had thoroughly investigated three generations, then the matter of selling the university slot…
She looked at Qin Shi, panic-stricken, “Er Ni, I…”
Qin Shi interrupted her again, “Grandma, I already explained to Zetian that you didn’t understand the law and didn’t know it was illegal. I told him you returned the money and asked him to plead for leniency with the military.”
Grandma Qin breathed a sigh of relief but felt a sharp pang of heartache thinking about the money. It was indeed Qin Shi who had instructed Lu Zetian to do this. The military had indeed discovered the issue and had already contacted the local police and education bureau. The family who bought Qin Shi’s university spot was in chaos.
Grandma Qin, being ignorant of the law and misled by others, might receive a lighter punishment, but the family who knowingly broke the law would face severe consequences.
Regardless, some legal repercussions and law education sessions in the village were inevitable. Grandma Qin, who cherished her reputation, was bound to be devastated. But Qin Shi didn’t care about that.
Lu Zetian explained the situation, leaving Grandma Qin relieved that she wouldn’t go to jail but distressed over the impending loss of face.
Just as they were discussing this, the Qin family returned from their work. They were puzzled by the lack of smoke from the chimney and entered the house to find a man in a military uniform, which startled them.
After Qin Shi introduced Lu Zetian, they were even more shocked and wide-eyed with astonishment.
Before the Qin family could start gossiping or questioning, Qin Shi dropped a bombshell by revealing Grandma Qin’s actions. Their attention quickly shifted to Grandma Qin.
Growing impatient with the drama, Qin Shi announced that she and Lu Zetian were already married and would be leaving for X City in a few days to join the military.
“What!” The whole family was once again stunned.
“This is too fast!”
“How could this be so sudden? Er Ni, you really managed to marry yourself off.”
“But, what about the bride price?” Qin Shi’s stepmother asked, showing her primary concern.
Lu Zetian took out 400 yuan and some tickets from his pocket and placed them on the table. “This is the bride price.”
Qin Shi quickly interjected, “X City is far from here. Once I join him in the military, it will be hard for me to come back. This money is our filial piety to the family.”
“I’ll write letters to keep in touch, so don’t worry about me. If there’s anything you need help with, I won’t be able to assist.” The underlying message was clear: don’t come looking for me.
This statement left her stepmother feeling both aggrieved and angry. The others, too, looked ready to call Qin Shi ungrateful. They were not concerned about Qin Shi’s well-being; they were more interested in the potential benefits she could bring to the family. This new son-in-law was clearly not ordinary, and they wanted to hold onto him tightly.
“Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention, Lu Zetian has three children at home, all left by his fallen comrades. The family might be struggling,” Qin Shi said, looking expectantly at the others. “What will the family give me as a dowry?”
“What? Three children?”
“Are you crazy?”
Her aunt and stepmother looked at her in disbelief, as if she were a fool. Why not marry a wealthy family in the county instead of going to a remote place to be a stepmother?
Qin Shi didn’t bother to explain. She had no intention of staying in touch with her family in the future. Of course, when her father was old and needed care, she would fulfil her duty of support. As for the rest, the 400 yuan was more than enough to repay the debt of raising the original owner. The original owner had lived a life of neglect, barely surviving.
After her words, the Qin family understood Qin Shi’s stance. They wanted to scold her but didn’t dare. No one spoke up, only thinking bitterly that a married daughter was like water spilled away.
Grandpa Qin took a puff from his pipe, deciding in his heart that from now on, he would pretend Er Ni didn’t exist. She was a real ingrate!
However, the original owner’s father suddenly showed some backbone. He took the bride price from the table and handed Qin Shi a hundred yuan. “The family doesn’t have much to give you as a dowry. Take this.”
“!” The stepmother’s eyes widened, and she pinched his waist hard, but he didn’t react.
Qin Shi was somewhat surprised by her father’s gesture. Seeing the genuine reluctance in his eyes, she smiled and accepted the money.
“Thank you, Dad.”
If it were the original owner, she might have been moved to tears. However, Qin Shi felt no emotional stirrings.
She knew that this man was only feeling a sudden pang of guilt upon realizing that he might never see his daughter again.
If he truly cared about his daughter, where was he when she was being coldly neglected? And where was he when she nearly died from a fever?
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