It was Jiang Guangzong!
Su Yun would never forget Jiang Guangzong's voice—not even in her dreams. He had been her nightmare for half her life.
In that instant, scenes from her previous life flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern: Jiang Guangzong beating and scolding her, and the savage, murderous expression on his face just before she died…
Her hands clenched unconsciously. Every hair on her body stood on end as hatred spread through her heart.
Almost at once, Jiang Guangzong rode up to her on his bicycle.
He parked it and stood before her. His short figure was not even as tall as Su Yun.
Frowning at her, he immediately demanded in a self-righteous tone, "Su Yun, what's wrong with you? Didn't I tell you to wait for me at home yesterday? Why didn't you wait?"
His words snapped Su Yun back to reality.
At that moment, seeing his young and detestable face, she felt an instinctive wave of disgust.
She quickly stepped back to create distance, frowned tightly, and said coldly, "Who are you?"
In this lifetime, she would have nothing to do with the Jiang family again. The scumbag could stay far away!
Jiang Guangzong stared at her in disbelief and raised his voice. "You don't know me? We just had a blind date two days ago, and you don't remember me?"
Su Yun rolled her eyes and turned to leave.
Staying away from scumbags meant staying safe.
But Jiang Guangzong clung to her like a piece of sticky plaster and hurried after her, speaking loudly as if talking to himself. "I get it. That day at the blind date, your brother caused trouble, and you felt embarrassed, so you're pretending not to remember me."
"It's fine—you can remember me now. I'm the eldest son of the deputy director of the steel factory, the one you had the blind date with. My name is Jiang Guangzong. I'm a truck driver at the steel factory. I earn 58 yuan a month. If you marry me, you definitely won't suffer!"
Hearing this, Su Yun, who had intended to ignore him, could not help but stop.
Suppressing the urge to slap him twice, she said coldly, "If you dare to spout any more nonsense, I won't be polite."
In this life, she owed no favors to the deputy factory director and had no reason to tolerate anyone from the Jiang family.
Jiang Guangzong was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered. "Su Yun, what's wrong with you? We're seeing each other. How can you speak to me like this?"
Su Yun ground her teeth and silently clenched her fists, forcing herself to stay rational.
She had just secured a job and avoided being sent to the countryside. She couldn't act impulsively because of this scumbag!
Without pausing, Jiang Guangzong continued in a matter-of-fact tone, "Su Yun, I came to see you today because I have something very important to discuss."
"You should know that after our blind date, my mother wasn't satisfied with you. She pressured me repeatedly to give you up, but I thought you deserved another chance. And now that chance has come."
"My mother sprained her back the day before yesterday and can't move around easily. I think you should take responsibility as a good future daughter-in-law—go to my house, take care of my mother, help with the chores, and look after my younger brother. That way, my mother will definitely change her opinion and accept you…"
"Hey, Su Yun, I haven't finished talking! Don't walk away!"
Jiang Guangzong shouted and rushed forward to block her.
But someone was faster than him.
Almost instantly, He Hua darted out from behind Jiang Guangzong. With a look of urgency, she grabbed Su Yun's arm and shouted, "Su Yun, don't go! I need to say a few words on behalf of Comrade Jiang. These past few days he asked me to—"
"Ah!"
Before she could finish, He Hua let out an exaggerated scream as if someone had pushed her. She staggered backward and just happened to crash into Jiang Guangzong's arms. The two of them stumbled and fell to the ground together.
Thud!
From the sound alone, it was clear the fall was painful.
Su Yun turned around and looked at the pair tangled together on the ground with amusement. She clicked her tongue twice, only regretting that Jiang Guangzong hadn't been hurt worse.
Jiang Guangzong landed on his back and grimaced in pain.
Furious, he shoved He Hua off him and glared at her.
He Hua's eyes darted, and she immediately shifted the blame to Su Yun. In a pitiful voice, she accused, "Su Yun, why did you push me? I was just trying to say a few good words for Comrade Jiang. Even if you didn't want to listen, you shouldn't have pushed so hard. You even caused Comrade Jiang to suffer with me. How could you do this? Boo-hoo!"
She covered her face and began to cry.
Hearing this, Jiang Guangzong also looked at Su Yun with apparent heartbreak. "Su Yun, you've disappointed me too much! No wonder my mother doesn't like you. If you don't change, I will never want a woman like you!"
As he spoke, he deliberately helped He Hua up in front of Su Yun.
He Hua seized the chance to shoot Su Yun a triumphant and provocative look.
Su Yun looked at them as if they were idiots and said solemnly, "Don't worry. I won't change—absolutely not, not even if I die. Let's never meet again."
She turned decisively and walked away.
Spending even one more second with them made her worry she might catch their stupidity.
By the time Jiang Guangzong looked up again, Su Yun was already gone.
He grumbled angrily, "This Su Yun is so ill-mannered. My mother was right about her!"
He Hua, secretly pleased, immediately added fuel to the fire. In a soft voice, she said, "Comrade Jiang, Su Yun has always been like this. She's spoiled at home and often bullies me. I'm used to it—it's fine."
"She's pretty, and boys have chased after her since she was young, giving her food, drinks, even clothes. That's normal for her. You just need to be patient and coax her more."
Jiang Guangzong snorted, his eyes dark. "She has no sense of propriety! I have to drive today, so I won't argue with her. Once she marries into my family, I'll settle the score slowly!"
Jealousy nearly solidified in He Hua's eyes at his words.
Meanwhile, Su Yun arrived at the recycling station and instantly pushed the unpleasant encounter from her mind. Rolling up her sleeves and bending down, she began digging through the pile of scrap in the yard like a gold miner.
Although her system balance had reached 6,606 yuan, who would ever complain about having too much money?
Before long, she touched a tattered strip of fabric, and the system's dry notification sounded—
"Ding! Song Dynasty brocade fragment detected. Severely damaged. Recycling price: 10 yuan. Would you like to sell?"
Without hesitation, Su Yun selected yes. Her balance immediately increased by 10 yuan.
Her mood lifted at once.
This wasn't a recycling station—it was her mountain of gold and silver!
Her morale soared. With sharp eyes and quick hands, she deliberately searched for more torn fabric like that.
"Ding! Song Dynasty brocade fragment detected. Severely damaged. Recycling price: 8 yuan. Would you like to sell?"
"Ding! Song Dynasty brocade fragment detected. Severely damaged. Recycling price: 5 yuan. Would you like to sell?"
"Ding! …"
After a series of dings, her balance had increased by another 72 yuan. She had nearly uncovered all the brocade scraps.
Just then, voices calling from outside drifted in—
"Comrade, is anyone here? We've come to sell scrap…"