The bright red wedding quilt embroidered with peonies, the scarlet thermos printed with the character for “double happiness,” the white enamel washbasin decorated with red flowers, and the red double-happiness paper cuttings pasted everywhere—all these distinctly old-fashioned objects told Jiang Lianyue, even without anyone saying a word, that this was a bridal chamber.
But why was she in a bridal chamber like this?
Jiang Lianyue lowered her head and tried to prop up her weak, limp body. Just as she was about to sit up, her gaze landed on the enormous red silk flower pinned to her chest, startling her.
Wait—was she the one getting married?
Hadn’t she merely seen a child about to fall while she was getting off an escalator, bent down to grab him, then lost her own balance and tumbled down the escalator?
How had she ended up here?
Before Jiang Lianyue could figure out what was happening, a burst of loud chatter came clearly from outside the door.
“The bride must be getting impatient waiting inside. Hurry up and go in, groom!”
“I heard the bride is exceptionally beautiful. The groom sure is lucky!”
…
The more Jiang Lianyue listened, the paler her face became. It was not their words that shocked her, but the flood of information suddenly surging into her mind, leaving her unable to process it all at once.
She had transmigrated into a novel!
This was a period novel, and she was the male lead’s ex-wife—a cannon-fodder character described in only a few lines, and a particularly detestable one at that.
In the novel, the male lead, Zhou Jiajing, rescued the original Jiang Lianyue after she accidentally fell into a reservoir. However, she clung to him on the grounds that her chastity had been ruined. She declared that unless he married her, she would report him.
Zhou Jiajing happened to be at a critical point in his promotion, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and marry her.
After their marriage, Zhou Jiajing ignored the original Jiang Lianyue and treated her with extreme coldness. Of course, a woman capable of repaying kindness with malice was hardly easy to deal with. She cried, made scenes, threatened to hang herself, and constantly pulled all sorts of outrageous stunts.
Zhou Jiajing grew increasingly disgusted with her until he finally devised a plan to divorce her.
Only after their divorce did the novel’s main story officially begin. The male lead met the female lead and eventually achieved success in both his career and love life.
As for the male lead’s ex-wife, she was only mentioned one more time after the hero and heroine had married and were living happily together. A busybody casually remarked:
“That first wife of his? I heard she was in a traffic accident some time ago and died!”
Jiang Lianyue: “!!!”
So what exactly had she transmigrated here for?
Jiang Lianyue wondered blankly. Was this supposed to be a short sightseeing trip through a novel?
Just then, a sudden roar of laughter erupted outside. The voices and footsteps gradually receded, and everything slowly became quiet.
After another moment, the door was pushed open.
A tall, upright young man with sharp brows and bright eyes walked in. He stared coldly at Jiang Lianyue, who was sitting on the bed.
The woman before him had a delicate, oval face. Unlike the bronze complexion commonly seen among southerners, her skin was as luminous and pale as a freshly peeled egg. Her large, watery eyes seemed capable of speaking whenever she looked at someone.
Yet beneath such a pure and innocent appearance lay an unbearably ugly heart.
He had saved her, only for her to force him into marrying her.
If heaven gave him another opportunity to relive that day, when he passed by the reservoir…
At that thought, Zhou Jiajing immediately stopped himself from continuing.
He could not allow another person’s wickedness to change the kindness in his own heart. It was a matter of principle.
While the man was scrutinising Jiang Lianyue, she was also studying him.
As expected of the male lead in a novel. That face… Good grief, he was even more handsome than those later celebrities who became famous purely for their looks!
How could she describe him?
His brows were like swords, and his eyes shone like stars. And his skin… Goodness, why was it so fair? There was not a single blemish!
Perhaps sensing the appreciation in Jiang Lianyue’s eyes, the young man gave a cold snort. His expression became even frostier, and a chilly aura seemed to radiate from his entire body.
Jiang Lianyue calmly withdrew her gaze.
She removed the large red flower from her chest, looked around, then got up and placed it on a nearby wooden table.
Afterwards, she casually picked up the thermos and poured herself a cup of water.
She needed a drink to calm her nerves first!
Zhou Jiajing watched her silently, his expression so indifferent that it was as though he were looking at an inanimate object.
After finishing the water, Jiang Lianyue felt somewhat tired. She returned to the bed and lay down.
Zhou Jiajing: “!”
When he first entered, she had looked at him as though she wanted to devour him. Now she was pretending to be indifferent!
Zhou Jiajing waited quietly for a while. When Jiang Lianyue continued to ignore him, his sharp brows drew together slightly.
He wore a white shirt and black trousers. The enormous red silk flower pinned to his chest only made the coldness on his face appear even more striking.
Colder still were the words he spoke.
“You wanted to get married, so I married you. But I will never touch you.”
Jiang Lianyue had only intended to sleep for a while and recover from the shock, but his words made her thoughts stir.
He would not touch her. Did that mean he wanted them to live as roommates?
What an enormous blessing falling straight from the heavens!
In the original novel, the male lead did not meet the female lead until four years after his marriage. Therefore, as long as Jiang Lianyue divorced him within those four years, she could avoid the original plot entirely.
Jiang Lianyue abruptly sat up. Her large, watery eyes stared directly at his handsome face.
After confirming that he was not joking, she immediately nodded repeatedly.
“Good, good, good! Why don’t we establish three rules?”
Zhou Jiajing: “?”
What sort of trick was she planning now?
Seeing that he remained silent, Jiang Lianyue took it as tacit agreement and continued, “First, we’ll pretend to be husband and wife in front of others, but in private, we’ll treat each other as roommates sharing a home. Second, once the policies become more relaxed, we’ll get divorced. Third, from now on, you take your winding mountain road, and I’ll cross my single-plank bridge.”
Truthfully, they could divorce immediately.
However, if they divorced right away, there would be several problems.
First, she currently had no money. After the divorce, she would have no choice but to return to her hometown. The original Jiang Lianyue came from the countryside. In this era, a divorced and penniless woman would struggle even in the city, let alone in a rural village. The villagers’ gossip alone would be enough to drown her.
Furthermore, the original Jiang Lianyue’s family doted on her and would never stand by while others criticised her. Who knew how much trouble that would cause?
There was no need for Jiang Lianyue, who had only just arrived in this unfamiliar place, to create unnecessary difficulties for herself.
Second, the original Jiang Lianyue had only just threatened to die in order to force the male lead to marry her. If she suddenly demanded a divorce immediately afterwards, the collapse of her established character would be far too abrupt and might attract all sorts of unnecessary trouble.
Third, there were far more opportunities in the city than in the countryside. It was currently 1979, and the policies would soon open up. The cities would practically be paved with gold, with countless opportunities to make money.
Most importantly, the male lead would not meet the female lead for another four years. He would not become completely unable to tolerate his current wife until three years from now. In another two or three years, society’s attitude towards divorce would also become more open and accepting.
Therefore, there was no rush.
Thinking about how they would have to live together for at least some time, Jiang Lianyue considered her words and added, “You can consider it as me renting a room from you. I’ll pay rent and utility bills according to the market rate. What do you think?”
Zhou Jiajing’s sharp brows furrowed. He narrowed his eyes and studied the woman before him.
The current Jiang Lianyue, whose expression and eyes were filled with distance, seemed entirely different from the Jiang Lianyue who had looked at him shyly only two hours earlier.
Zhou Jiajing’s expression became unreadable.
Jiang Lianyue hesitated before explaining, “We’ll simply live under the same roof. We’ll each wash our own clothes and take care of our own meals. We’ll both keep the shared areas clean. Except for necessary occasions, such as visiting your family or mine during festivals, we can otherwise pretend the other person doesn’t exist. What do you think?”
Jiang Lianyue waited, but Zhou Jiajing still did not respond.
Oh, right. The male lead had always treated his ex-wife coldly and indifferently.
Jiang Lianyue had no intention of indulging him. With a thud, she collapsed back onto the bed.
Take your time thinking about it. I’m tired, so I’ll wait while lying down!
“Fine. It’s a deal.”
Just as Jiang Lianyue was about to fall asleep, Zhou Jiajing gave a derisive chuckle and agreed.
Her sleepiness instantly disappeared. She scrambled upright.
“Verbal promises aren’t reliable. We need to put it down in black and white, sign it, and each keep a copy. Whoever goes back on the agreement will have to compensate the other person.”
Zhou Jiajing scoffed lightly. “As you please.”
Only an idiot would regret this!
“Go and get some paper and a pen,” Jiang Lianyue ordered. “I’ll dictate, and you write!”
Her self-righteous and commanding manner was exactly the same as when she had forced him into marriage. Zhou Jiajing’s suspicions instantly faded.
Perhaps this was merely another strategy of retreating in order to advance.
He pulled a Hero-brand fountain pen from the pocket of his white shirt beneath the red silk flower. Then he took a white exercise book with red lines from the desk drawer and lowered his head to begin drafting the agreement.
Jiang Lianyue walked over to the desk and stood beside him.
“You’ve written contracts before, haven’t you? Follow that format.”
According to the novel, Zhou Jiajing was an excellent writer and had been a top student during his school days. After he began working, his skilful writing earned the appreciation of his superiors. At a young age, he became the head of the publicity department at a machinery factory.
Oh, considering the current timeline, he probably had not been promoted to department head yet.
He was presently at the crucial stage of being assessed by the organisation, which was precisely why he had been forced to grit his teeth and marry the original Jiang Lianyue.
Zhou Jiajing’s hand paused just as he was about to begin writing. The doubts that had only just disappeared rose in his mind once again.
As far as he knew, Jiang Lianyue had only completed junior secondary school. Afterwards, she had worked on a farm in the countryside.
How did she know the word “contract”? More importantly, how did she know that a contract followed a different format from an ordinary written agreement?
“Write ‘Marriage Agreement’ at the top. Then put Party A: Jiang Lianyue and Party B: Zhou Jiajing…”
While Zhou Jiajing remained frozen in thought, Jiang Lianyue parted her red lips and rapidly recited the terms of the agreement.
After saying a couple of sentences, she noticed that Zhou Jiajing had not moved. She tapped the desk and frowned.
“Hurry up and write. You’ve been busy all day—aren’t you tired? Once we finish writing it, we can go to sleep.”
The tapping sound dragged Zhou Jiajing back from his thoughts.
He collected himself and lowered his gaze. When his eyes fell on the fair, slender hand resting on the desk, he could not help praising it inwardly.
What a beautiful and delicate hand!
What a pity that it belonged to such a vicious woman!
When they reached the section concerning their living arrangements, Jiang Lianyue paused and asked, “How many rooms are there here?”
According to what she knew about this era, housing was limited. If his home had only one bedroom and one sitting room, then… he would simply have to suffer and sleep in the sitting room.
“Two,” Zhou Jiajing replied. “This is the bedroom. The other room is the study.”
Jiang Lianyue gave an acknowledging hum, then continued, “Party A will occupy the bedroom, while Party B will occupy the study…”
Zhou Jiajing: “!”
“Why aren’t you the one staying in the study?” Zhou Jiajing stopped writing and turned to look at her. “This is my room…”
He had always lived here and was accustomed to it.
Jiang Lianyue replied as though it were only natural, “Suppose a guest comes over and enters the bedroom. If they discover that none of my belongings are here, they might become suspicious of our relationship. That could affect your career.”
Zhou Jiajing thought about it and realised that she was right.
Besides, she was still a woman. There was no harm in yielding the room to her.
He did not argue any further and lowered his head to continue writing.
By the time Jiang Lianyue finished dictating, Zhou Jiajing had finished writing.
She picked up the exercise book and checked the agreement for omissions or mistakes.
Zhou Jiajing’s handwriting was forceful and vigorous, which did not quite match his refined and upright appearance. Judging solely from his handwriting, one might assume he was some domineering, overpowered male protagonist.
Jiang Lianyue could not help turning her head to look at the young man seated before the desk. Coincidentally, she met his upward gaze.
Their eyes met.
Jiang Lianyue silently returned her attention to the exercise book and cleared her throat.
“We need two identical copies. Copy it out once more, and after we sign them, it’ll be settled.”
After speaking, she discreetly shifted her body a little farther away from Zhou Jiajing.
The way he looked at her was so cold. Naturally, she had no intention of offering warmth to someone who clearly wanted nothing to do with her.
Zhou Jiajing copied the agreement and signed his name.
Jiang Lianyue snatched the pen and signed her own name in the appropriate place.
She left one copy on the desk. She carefully folded the other, cautiously tore out a sheet of paper to wrap around it, and hid it beneath the sleeping mat.
Only then did she release a slight breath of relief.
Good. At least she would no longer have to endure some ridiculous marriage between two complete strangers.
Once everything was finished, a powerful wave of exhaustion swept over her.
Jiang Lianyue waved at Zhou Jiajing.
“Goodbye. Please close the door behind you when you leave.”
Then she collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Zhou Jiajing stared at the young woman who had fallen asleep almost instantly. A complicated expression flashed across his pale, handsome face.
Even if she regarded him merely as a roommate, wasn’t she being a little too trusting?
He was still a vigorous young man, after all!
Leave a Reply