I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel-Chapter 192 - 189: It’s Getting Worse and Worse

With that attitude, Jiang Ming’an immediately lost patience. He couldn’t be bothered to gently guide him and directly threw out a string of lethal bombs: "Jiang Zhenzhu stole the life-saving money from her adoptive mother’s family to come to the city to find her biological parents, while also spreading rumors to slander the family she was raised by. Oh! By the way, let me tell you, Jiang Zhenzhu is married, and not long ago, she got into trouble and was sent to Jing County Farm for a year of reformation. But she’s adept at manipulating brainless men like you. She managed to climb her way out just after three months."

Any of this information alone was a bombshell, enough to halt a young man who hadn’t completely fallen in yet.

And as Jiang Ming’an dropped these stormy revelations, he acted as if he was merely saying how nice the weather was today. Without a care, he stepped forward to greet Fu Xia, taking a seat next to his sister.

But Jiang Mingyue’s attention wasn’t on him; it was on Xie Yunhai, who stood behind him.

"Hi! Sister, we meet again."

Jiang Ming’an glared at him displeased, thinking to himself just how thick-skinned he was. He had said not to come along, but in the end, he directly asked Zhuang Yunshan. The host agreed, so what could he do?

And now, this fool with no sense of propriety wanted to make his presence known again. Jiang Ming’an was indeed not in a good mood.

He didn’t even notice the gossip flames burning in his sister’s eyes.

How could she not be stirred up? She couldn’t help but recall that bite mark untimely and observe Zhuang Yunshan’s family’s reaction to them appearing as a pair. This wasn’t the first time! It seemed habitual for them to see the two as a unit. If only one person reacted habitually, she could understand, but the entire family doing so warranted deeper thought.

"Hey!" Sister-in-law... oh! No, it’s Brother Xie.

While cooking, Jiang Mingyue also went into the kitchen to help. Initially, Fu Xia wanted to drive her out, but Jiang Mingyue had already rolled up her sleeves to start picking vegetables. During this time, Fu Xia went to get oil. To her chagrin, all the men gathered were either joking around or discussing something she couldn’t join in on. Unable to pull one out to get oil, she had to go herself.

Once Fu Xia left, only Cheng Jun and Jiang Mingyue were left in the kitchen. Cheng Jun was easygoing, but like Jiang Mingyue, didn’t like to talk much.

Jiang Mingyue had no choice but to seize the opportunity to probe: "Sister-in-law and Zhuang are really close. Were you childhood sweethearts?"

Perhaps because it piqued her interest, Cheng Jun, for once, had much to say.

"Not exactly childhood sweethearts. I was thirteen when I met him. It was raining that day, and I saw him walking in the rain at school, not caring about getting wet. Feeling soft-hearted, I gave him my umbrella." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"What? And you?"

Cheng Jun laughed, "Your reaction is exactly the same as his back then."

Jiang Mingyue: "..."

"Of course, I shared an umbrella with a classmate! Seeing me walk off with my female classmate, he didn’t follow us. After that incident, we often saw each other on campus. I found out he was a grade ahead of me, an excellent student, while I was at the bottom of my class. After spending more time together, I was drawn to him and started to study hard."

It sounded like a beautiful love story.

"Later, he went on to high school and then college, while I stopped at middle school..."

Cheng Jun looked very regretful but not in pain.

Until the latter part.

"After middle school, my aunt in the city found me a job. Our whole family was grateful to her, but later I discovered there were conditions. She wanted me to get together with a man who had lost his wife, claiming the job was arranged by him. At that time, I regretted it immensely, wanting to leave immediately and return to the countryside. I’d rather farm for the rest of my life than marry someone I didn’t like.

But fate..."

Jiang Mingyue had a bad feeling; she didn’t dare to listen further.

But she couldn’t stop Cheng Jun from speaking either, as she seemed to be looking for a tree hole to vent, unable to hold it in any longer.

But why? Her relationship with Zhuang didn’t seem fake at all!

"But fate wasn’t kind. My dad fell ill, and we had no money. I wanted to sell my job, but that person had put in a word, and no one dared to take over. I had no choice but to compromise, not having enough with my salary. I borrowed money from coworkers and my employer, but it still wasn’t enough, so I borrowed from that person. He took the opportunity to propose marriage..."

Jiang Mingyue’s heart tensed.

How could fate torment those in love?

"Of course, we didn’t end up marrying."

Jiang Mingyue: "..." She felt like she was being played with, but Cheng Jun didn’t seem to do it on purpose. It was too strange!

This woman exuded strangeness everywhere... Or perhaps she was just sensitive.

Cheng Jun continued, void of sadness or joy: "How could I marry an older man I didn’t like? Or maybe heaven saw my struggles and showed mercy. That man got drunk one night, and walking home, he accidentally fell into the Lan River. The next day, his corpse was floating in the river. That’s when I escaped. My senior was worried I was having a hard life and sent me his prize money as a gift. My dad recovered, and our family crisis was alleviated. I sold my job immediately, gathered the money, and prepared to head to Yun Dian to find him, planning to look for a job there.

I didn’t expect to be entangled again; this time, not by my family, but by my kind aunt. It turned out that the deceased man had given her a job transfer opportunity, which is why she was cozying up to him. Now she had a taste of the benefits and wanted to sell me a second time, this time to a young heir who did whatever he pleased. They had already made a deal, and I was oblivious to it. So when I left the job and my aunt intended to send me over, she realized I’d sold my job and left.

My aunt didn’t give up, went all out to find someone. I don’t know where she got her information, but she brought that young heir’s people to intercept me at the train station. Later, they assaulted me against my will. I reported to the police, but they stuck to the story that it was consensual between an engaged couple. Others washed their hands of it entirely. I was indignant and wanted to appeal further, but they threatened my family. My aunt shamelessly told me to accept my fate.

Later, my grievances had no outlet for release, making myself neither human nor ghost, until a friend accidentally overheard a conversation and found out someone had instigated my aunt. The person had no personal grudge against me, their target on me was just to curry favor with that heir. But she ruined my life. When I confronted her face to face, I didn’t expect her to admit it easily, probably regarded me as an ant beneath her notice.

She even said she leaked the train station information and indeed urged my aunt to sell me. The reason was ridiculously laughable, thinking I was too beautiful, not using that to gain something was a waste. She laid out a tally, which indeed made sense. Everything I’d gotten until that point was given or exchanged by others."

Jiang Mingyue’s face turned very unsightly, as she increasingly sensed bad omens.

She now lacked even the courage to stop it.