It’s a Stepmother, Not a Sister [70s] - Chapter 6

It was Jiang Che.

Little Jiang Che, with his chubby face and energetic demeanor, ran up to Jiang Shuangling. She stood up and scooped him into her arms.

Holding the little fellow in her embrace, she secretly let out a sigh of relief.

No matter what, at least the awkward situation was broken.

However…

Could this little guy have been coaxed by someone outside to come in and check out the situation?

Jiang Shuangling looked down at Jiang Che in her arms. Jiang Che was clinging to her arm, sneakily glancing at Qi Heng.

The little fellow thought he was being very careful, not realizing that to the two adults, his actions were as obvious as a child covering his ears while stealing a bell.

Commander Qi also stood up. When standing face to face, his imposing height of six feet added an extra sense of pressure.

“Commander Qi, this is my younger brother, Jiang Che.” Jiang Shuangling finally spoke. If this marriage were to proceed, she would have to bring Jiang Che along with her.

Qi Heng’s gaze shifted to Jiang Che.

Jiang Che shrank back, trying to hide in Jiang Shuangling’s embrace.

Jiang Shuangling looked up at Commander Qi and noticed a peculiar expression in his eyes. It seemed like he was somewhat curious about Jiang Che, and the intensity of his demeanor had lessened slightly.

Could it be that he likes children?

“Do you want to hold him?” Jiang Shuangling blinked, testing the waters.

Jiang Che, like a little prop, stayed dumbfounded in his sister’s arms.

Qi Heng raised his hand slightly, indicating he wanted to hold him. Jiang Shuangling decisively placed the little “tool” into his arms.

Although four-year-old Jiang Che was small and thin, he was still quite heavy for her.

Qi Heng’s heroic eyebrows furrowed slightly. As he held the young child in his arms, he began to feel a tinge of regret.

This was the first time he had held a child this size.

With his small arms and legs, it felt like they could easily break with just a slight bend.

The honest little Jiang Che, clamped (hugged) in Qi Heng’s arms, didn’t dare to make a sound and looked to his sister for help.

Jiang Shuangling: “…”

Now the situation seemed even more awkward than before.

Watching the pair, Jiang Shuangling felt something was off and even found it a bit funny.

The imposing Commander Qi’s movements were stiffening up, almost robotic. He seemed clueless about how to hold a child, and his typically stern expression was beginning to falter.

Just then, his face started to change. As the cracks in his authoritative demeanor appeared, his naturally smiling, almond-shaped eyes began to stand out.

A hint of boyishness seeped through.

Reflecting on his profession, Jiang Shuangling thought to herself that his handsome appearance was a disadvantage in his line of work; without maintaining a stern face, he probably wouldn’t command respect from his subordinates.

No wonder King Lanling wore a mask; it made sense.

She found herself indulging in a bit of mischievous delight: I just love seeing handsome guys looking awkward.

“That’s not how you hold a child, Commander Qi. Your arms are too stiff. Relax a bit,” she instructed with a hint of amusement.

Qi Heng, with a stern face, handed the child back to the woman in front of him.

Jiang Shuangling took her brother and patted his bottom, sending him out. Then, out of curiosity, she asked, “Commander Qi, don’t you have a four-year-old child?”

It seemed as if he had never held a child before.

Qi Heng frowned and briefly explained his situation.

The Qi family had five brothers, and Qi Heng was the youngest, the fifth son. His four older brothers were all at least five years older than him. His father was a soldier, and all four brothers had joined the military as well.

In 1966, his third brother was killed at the border. By then, his father, eldest brother, and fourth brother had already…

Only he and his second brother remained. Both his second brother and sister-in-law were soldiers; his sister-in-law was a signal corps soldier who had been injured and was said to have difficulty conceiving. After receiving the news of his third brother’s death, his mother fainted and, upon waking, immediately called Qi Heng back from the military academy where he had just graduated and been selected for division headquarters training, to arrange his marriage.

At that time, Qi Heng was only eighteen. Because he was exceptionally intelligent and tall from a young age, his family had intentionally recorded his age as two years older. Thus, he was just at the official age of twenty when he got married.

The intended partner was Lin Xuehui, the only daughter of the Lin family. The situation with the Lin family was even more complicated. In that tumultuous year, the Lin parents foresaw the coming upheaval and decided to marry off their sickly only daughter to the Qi family, as they had an old connection with Qi Heng’s father. His mother agreed to the arrangement.

The following year, Lin’s parents committed suicide. Lin Xuehui, upon receiving the news, was deeply remorseful. She believed that if she had stayed at home, her parents wouldn’t have felt “reassured” enough to choose such a way to depart. She insisted on divorcing Qi Heng.

They had only met twice and had no feelings for each other, barely better than strangers. Therefore, the divorce was easily finalized.

However, this impulsive marriage, driven by their parents’ decisions, left behind a child named Qi Yue.

Shortly after the divorce, Lin Xuehui passed away due to her illness. The child had been raised by Qi Heng’s mother, who kept him near Qi Heng’s second brother and his wife.

At that time, Qi Heng was serving on the front lines. He understood his mother’s intentions and had stayed away from the child all these years.

Recently, his sister-in-law became pregnant. Amidst the ensuing chaos, the child threw a fit, demanding to be with his biological father.

In the midst of the commotion, his mother instructed him to take the child away, thereby forcing him to address his own marital situation.

Qi Heng, being extremely busy with his duties, had little time to deal with these matters.

However, he knew he owed the child, so he finally decided to marry a healthy, upright country girl with a strong family background and let the child stay with the military.

Jiang Shuangling nodded, “I see…”

Through his brief words, she had pieced together most of the truth. Understanding the situation, Jiang Shuangling felt more at ease.

There are no free lunches in the world; if the situation had been flawless, it wouldn’t have involved her.

Nevertheless, this was better than she had expected.

She could leverage the situation to take her younger brother away from the Jiang family, while Qi Heng could use her to take care of the child with the military.

They could fully cooperate and benefit each other.

Taking advantage of the moment, Jiang Shuangling expressed her own request, “I want to bring my brother with me. My parents are gone, and I only have this little brother left.”

Both had their own burdens to bear, so neither could complain about the other’s baggage.

Qi Heng nodded in agreement.

Jiang Shuangling admired his straightforward approach and the fact that he didn’t ask too many questions. It was great.

So, it was settled.

People from outside came rushing in, eager to know the outcome.

“So, how did it go? Did you come to an agreement or not?”

Li Erhua clutched her sleeves tightly, staring intently at Jiang Shuangling. She thought to herself, this marriage absolutely cannot happen.

She had just realized outside that if this marriage didn’t involve her daughter, it couldn’t go to Jiang Shuangling either.

How could she let Jiang Shuangling marry such a handsome officer, and a commander at that?

“Yes,” Qi Heng answered crisply and decisively.

Jiang Chuanfu turned his gaze to Jiang Shuangling, who nodded demurely.

People around them started to smile, indicating that both parties had agreed.

The only one not smiling was Li Erhua. Stealing her heart, she turned to Qi Heng and said, “Commander Qi, you are an honest man, so we can’t hide anything from you. Our Shuangling fell into a well a few days ago. She had a high fever and almost didn’t make it. A woman can’t withstand the cold, and her future fertility might be affected—”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!” Jiang Chuanfu interrupted her, glaring angrily. The expressions of the people around them also turned strange.

Qi Heng scrutinized Li Erhua for a few seconds before finally turning his gaze to Jiang Shuangling. “I will submit the marriage application.”

Jiang Shuangling nodded, casting a meaningful glance at Li Erhua.

She no longer wanted to play the role of a weak niece.

Jiang Chuanfu shoved Li Erhua, warning her to keep her mouth shut. Seeing the women’s federation director standing nearby, Li Erhua fell silent.

With an awkward smile, Jiang Chuanfu discussed the marriage arrangements with Qi Heng. Due to Li Erhua’s earlier comments, he felt uncomfortable making any demands.

When he asked Jiang Shuangling, she agreed to keep everything simple.

Qi Heng handed over two hundred yuan and a stack of ration tickets, including food and cloth coupons, for the wedding arrangements. Given his limited time and the special circumstances, combined with Jiang Shuangling’s background that qualified her as a candidate for worker-peasant-soldier university enrollment, his marriage application was approved quickly.

The next day, they went to the town to take a photo, which almost finalized the marriage.

“The earliest approval for accompanying the army will take about half a month. I will bring the child to pick you both up then.”

With that, Qi Heng boarded a train and left.

After Qi Heng left, Jiang Shuangling realized with hindsight that she had unexpectedly eloped. Compared to the tedious process of engagement, buying gold, wedding dresses, taking photos, buying a house, buying a car, organizing a wedding, and honeymooning, she found this easy boarding process quite pleasant.

It was like catching a cheap husband for free.

And he had a pretty handsome face, not bad at all.

A few days later, Jiang Shuangling received a package sent by Qi Heng, specifically for her.

Upon opening it, she found a silver ladies’ watch and, underneath it, five hundred yuan in cash, along with meat and cloth coupons.

Counting them, she found ten kilograms of meat coupons. Jiang Shuangling’s lips curved into a smile, thinking that this cheap husband was quite interesting.

Leaving aside everything else, at least he was sincere and generous, and quite clever.

Jiang Shuangling hid the money and coupons carefully. When others asked what was in the package, she simply said it was a watch.

She proudly wore the watch on her wrist.

The design of the watch was quite nice, more delicate than usual, suitable for a woman to wear.

In their village, there were few people who owned watches, let alone such exquisite and beautiful ones. Many girls of Jiang Shuangling’s age came over to admire it.

Among them was Xue Ningning, the one who took Jiang Shuangling’s spot in the university.

Since Jiang Shuangling’s accident, this was the first time Xue Ningning had seen her.

When she saw Jiang Shuangling, Xue Ningning looked guilty and handed her two packets of candy.

Jiang Shuangling looked at her. “You’ll be leaving in a few days, right?”

“Yeah, I’m getting ready to report to school,” Xue Ningning said, clenching her sleeves. She had only relaxed at home after confirming Jiang Shuangling’s marriage.

That university spot was definitely hers.

During this period, Xue Ningning had been uneasy, fearing that Jiang Shuangling might cause trouble and lose her university spot. Now that Jiang Shuangling had chosen to marry and accompany the army, everything had settled down, and she could finally relax.

“Congratulations,” Jiang Shuangling smiled and didn’t say much to her.

As Xue Ningning left, she exchanged a glance with Jiang Hongping standing nearby.

Jiang Hongping pretended not to see the exchanged glances between the two.

Did they really think she was a fool?

That night, under the cover of darkness, Jiang Hongping sneaked out of the Jiang family’s courtyard.

Jiang Shuangling followed her.

Under a large tree, Xue Ningning crouched at the roots, waiting for her.

“You…you scared me to death.”

“Shh, keep your voice down.”

“Don’t worry, it’s late at night, and no one’s around.”

“Red, keep it down.”

“What about what I asked for?”

“Here, this is… fifty yuan. I’ll give you thirty more…and let’s not see each other again.”

“Okay.” Jiang Hongping’s eyes gleamed with joy as she eagerly reached for the money.

Xue Ningning bit her lip, clutching the money tightly in her hand as she looked at Jiang Hongping’s face in the darkness, feeling a bit frightened.

Jiang Hongping tried to snatch the money from the other’s hand but found it difficult.

“…Jiang Hongping, why would you push your sister down for twenty yuan?”

Jiang Hongping’s eyes flickered. She thought that even if it weren’t for twenty yuan, she would still have pushed Jiang Shuangling in. She didn’t want her to have the chance to go to the worker-peasant-soldier university.

She wouldn’t give her that opportunity.

“You—” Why do you care about so much nonsense…

Before Jiang Hongping could finish her sentence, another voice came from behind the tree, “I also want to know why you pushed me in.”

Xue Ningning and Jiang Hongping both felt their blood run cold instantly.