"You should know, I just saw your sister sneak off with your boyfriend into that small alley over there!"
A short-haired woman dressed in a navy blue quilted jacket addressed a young girl––garbed in a dark green patterned sweater and sported two french braids.
The girl was fair-skinned and possessed delicate features, her almond-shaped eyes sparkled. Her beauty was one to be acknowledged by everyone.
"Auntie, you must've seen wrong."
School was out, and Lin Yizhi hugged her school books, yet before she could enter the large courtyard door, she was intercepted by her next-door neighbor, Auntie Huang, tugging her arm, reporting the misdeed.
Lin Manying, her step-sister, Lin Yizhi knew full well that she was not enamored by her own fixed match—a man that had both children and a former spouse. Otherwise, Lin Yizhi wouldn't have been forced to meet him.
Lin Yizhi, while mulling over her response to Auntie Huang said: "My sister has a boyfriend..."
Before she could help her sister out of the misunderstanding, Lin Yizhi saw the smug face of Lin Manying tugging a man, who seemed about thirty, emerging from the narrow alley.
The bashful expression on her face was incriminating. To an outsider, it would seem like the two were engaged in indecent affairs within the alleyway.
Lin Yizhi closed her mouth quietly and looked on, unblinkingly at the approaching pair.
Her own match was actually tangled up with her step-sister. Lin Manying's actions had become shamelessly unhinged, just like those who had previously ridiculed her for becoming a stepmom weren't herself.
Auntie Huang, with a "See, I wasn't wrong" look on her face, stared at Lin Yizhi. "See? There's no way I could have mistaken that!"
"I've caught plenty of adulterous husbands and wives in our alley over the years. I have sharp eyes!"
If not for her age, she would become a police officer!
"Oh, what's going on here?"
This diverse compound doesn't just accommodate one family, not to mention that the alleyway at the entrance of the compound has always been a hotbed of gossip.
Lin Manying, holding onto Lin Yizhi’s boyfriend's arm in a casual and unreserved manner, walked out from the small alley. Her coyness and lack of any sign of avoidance startled all present, their jaws dropping in shock.
Did the eldest daughter of the old Lin family go mad? Daring to flirt with her future brother-in-law in public, wasn't she afraid of being caught and reproached for her behavior?
“Manying, is that young man you are embracing, Yizhi's beau?"
The four or five aunties sitting at the gate were glaring at Lin Manying with hostile intentions.
It was not only because Lin Manying, being the professor Lin's biological daughter, was always bullying Lin Yizhi brought up by her stepmother, but also because Yizhi and her mother Wang Yanxin, both being good physicians, often provide free medical consultations to the neighborhood.
Moreover, which elder sister would aim to steal her younger sister's partner in broad daylight? Looking at her, arrogant and imperious, she seemed to take a strange pride in her actions.
Lin Yizhi remained silent throughout, the smile on her face slowly fading away.
She wasn't upset because she was very fond of this suitor, who was over a decade older than her. After all, since their matchmaking session, it had only been two encounters so far.
Her displeasure was due to the special period they were living in, where being cautious in words and deeds and keeping a low profile is the only way to survive.
The decade-long Cultural Revolution has just begun, her stepfather, a university professor of foreign languages, has been implicated. Her biological mother, the director of a traditional Chinese medicine hospital, is also unable to remain unscathed. The future of the two is uncertain, and they can only try their best to arrange for the future of the children.
For the girls, the best option is to get married.
Lin Manying was twenty-two years old this year, and Lin Yizhi would be turning eighteen in October, both were of marriageable age.
Therefore, Lin Yushu and Wang Yanxin went around seeking connections, and after considerable trouble, they found two siblings serving in the army, and planned to marry their daughters as quickly as possible to avoid any complications.
And the man being embraced by Lin Manying right now was originally meant to be Lin Yizhi's husband-to-be, her elder brother Yan Zhengyang.
Lin Manying listened to the gossiping women at the door and loudly announced, "Who said this is Lin Yizhi's suitor!"
Leaning on her height advantage over Lin Yizhi, she provocatively stared at her, "This is my suitor, Yan Zhengyang."
The people surrounding them were surprised by Lin Manying's words and opened their mouths wide.
Lin Yizhi didn't look at Lin Manying, but instead focused her gaze on Yan Zhengyang, standing next to her, hoping for an explanation.
Yan Zhengyang looked pitifully at Lin Yizhi, who was much prettier than Lin Manying at his side.
The current situation was critical. Once, being a college student was a privilege. But now, it could potentially make one a ticking time bomb.
Lin Manying was right; he couldn't gamble with his future.
And not to mention, Lin Yizhi couldn't bear children.
“Didn't we remember this guy as Yizhi's lover?” a woman standing behind Auntie Huang gossiped, glancing questioningly at Lin Manying and her group.
“Auntie, you got it wrong. During the matchmaking session, it was indeed me paired with Comrade Lin Manying.”
Yan Zhengyang had an upright, square face and looked particularly honest and simple. However, when these words that distorted the truth left his mouth, the impression the women in the alley had of him plummeted.
Did he think they were fools?
Having witnessed so many events over the years, would they not be able to tell whom this pair of sisters was set up with in a matchmaking session?
Under the stares of the many older women at the door, Yan Zhengyang straightened his back.
If it weren't for the fact that his children back in his hometown were already on the train to the capital and urgently needed a stepmother's care, he wouldn't be so eager.
"But isn't this perfect!" exclaimed Lin Manying. She claimed that she would be bringing dowry and trousseau to their humble abode. Marrying a prized maiden from the capital without spending a penny, this was definitely his lucky day.
"Exactly! We're the ones who are indeed meant for each other!" Lin Manying declared proudly, "Don't forget to come and help with our wedding celebration the day after tomorrow, Aunties!"
Aunt Huang rolled her eyes at Lin Manying afore. But just after her eyes rolled, she spotted the man standing behind Lin Manying - the one originally slated to be her husband.
Heaven above, what kind of absurdity was this!
Standing behind Lin Manying and Yan Zhengyang was a man in a clean military uniform. He was tall and well built, with a cold and handsome face.
He was attractive, but his temperament was frosty. He gave off the vibe of a drawn sword stained with fresh blood, so sharp and chilling that people dared not look directly at him.
Hence, when Qi Weishan saw the clean and innocent young girl boldly locking gazes with himself and even giving him a friendly smile, he was surprised.
She was somehow not afraid of him.
"Well, look at this mate!" Aunt Huang said to Qi Weishan, slapping her own thigh, "Come clean, who's with whom here?"
Upon hearing Aunt Huang's words, Lin Manying turned around and frowned when she saw the man who would die in just three years.
She has reincarnated, and this time around, there's no way she would marry this short-lived ghost.
Indeed, Lin Manying has been reincarnated.
In her previous life, she had two prospects arranged by her dad and stepmother. She had instantly favored Qi Weishan. He was handsome and tall.
However, the Qi Weishan who seemed perfect to her died in September 1969. And Yan Zhengyang, the brother with a kid whom she initially disdained, had a tremendous rise up the ranks. Even Lin Yizhi, the little wretch, became someone she had to look up to.
Now that she had been given a second chance at life, she was determined not to repeat her past mistakes. She would ditch Qi, the doomed man, to Lin Yizhi, and firmly grasp Yan Zhengyang, her ladder to success.
In this life, she must lead a prosperous life!
Thinking as such, Lin Manying pointed at Qi Weishan and shouted, "He's the one meant for Lin Yizhi! They were at the lodge together last night - I saw it all!"
She even claimed they had spent the night together - so this marriage was bound to happen!