Hello, Comrade. I'm Here to Marry You!

Su Zhaozhao didn’t know how to tell Xu Jiaxin that her brother was a dark, manipulative creep.

His character in the novel had already shown that side of him in excruciating detail.

And her own interactions with him had been even more terrifying.

’But now that I’m married to Xie Huaizheng, he’s probably let go of his obsession, right?’

"Promise me, okay? I think your brother might have a little crush on me, but I’m already married, so we need to keep a respectful distance."

But the words were barely out of her mouth when Xu Jiaxin shrieked, "What? You’re already married?!"

They were still on the bus, and her shout drew stares from all the other passengers.

Su Zhaozhao quickly clamped a hand over Xu Jiaxin’s mouth. "Yes, I’m married. We just registered it a little while ago."

Xu Jiaxin had been thinking that if her brother liked Su Zhaozhao, maybe she could get Su Zhaozhao as a sister-in-law.

She really liked Su Zhaozhao and had been desperately hoping she would become her sister-in-law.

She never imagined that after just one summer break, Su Zhaozhao would go and get married!

"Why so fast? Zhaozhao, you’re so young! How long have you even known this guy? Is he really that wonderful? Why would you get married already?"

Xu Jiaxin had never met Xie Huaizheng; all she knew from Su Zhaozhao was that he was a soldier. She was also completely unaware that her own brother, Xu Jiaming, had secretly gone to find Su Zhaozhao.

Seeing her friend’s innocent expression, Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but think of Xu Jiaming again.

’How can they be siblings? Their personalities are polar opposites.’

’Xu Jiaxin is so sweet, but Xu Jiaming is so calculating and creepy.’

’The two of them are complete opposites!’

"You have to trust my judgment," Su Zhaozhao told Xu Jiaxin.

Just then, the bus reached their stop. Su Zhaozhao immediately pulled Xu Jiaxin off. "Enough talk! Let’s go home and eat!"

There was a fresh food market right next to the bus stop. After they bought some groceries, Su Zhaozhao and Xu Jiaxin both rushed to pay.

In the end, Xu Jiaxin won out. She simply handed the vendor a five-yuan bill and told them to keep the change.

The vendor took the money and gave them a huge pile of meat and vegetables in return.

"Don’t be so formal with me," Xu Jiaxin said to Su Zhaozhao. "I’m here to freeload a meal, after all. I’d have to spend money eating out anyway, so I’d much rather eat your cooking. Your grandma’s food must be delicious, right? But I can’t cook to save my life, so let me at least pay for the ingredients. I hope you don’t mind!"

"Of course not! Dear, you’re Zhaozhao’s friend, which makes you our guest. There’s no need to be so formal," Li Chunhong said with a slight frown.

"Hehe, it’s fine. I’m just happy thinking about all the delicious food I’m going to eat soon."

Su Zhaozhao knew that this amount of money was nothing to Xu Jiaxin; she was just paying so she could enjoy the meal with a clear conscience.

When they returned and pushed open the gate, they saw Xu Ziyang sitting in the courtyard.

He was about to ask what had taken them so long, but then he saw that Su Zhaozhao had brought an unfamiliar young woman back with her.

’This girl...’

’She’s gorgeous!’

She was dressed flamboyantly in a red dress, with large, exaggerated white earrings and a matching red headband.

She had healthy, wheat-colored skin, bold eyebrows, and large eyes. Her features were so deep-set that she almost looked like she was of mixed heritage.

’So beautiful—a completely different kind of beauty from the girls here in Jiang City.’

"Hey there," Xu Jiaxin said, greeting him before Xu Ziyang even had a chance to speak.

She sized up Xu Ziyang in return. ’Not bad, a cute guy.’

’He seems like a total sunshine boy!’

Xu Jiaxin really liked his type—so much better than her brother, Xu Jiaming, who was pale and quiet but always gave you the feeling he was secretly manipulating you from the shadows.

She was all about bright, cheerful, cute guys like this.

Xu Ziyang froze for a moment before standing up and nodding at Xu Jiaxin. "Hello."

"This is my friend, Xu Jiaxin," Su Zhaozhao told Xu Ziyang.

Then she turned to Xu Jiaxin. "This is my cousin, Xu Ziyang."

"It must be fate that I met your family! We even have the same surname. We must have been the same family five hundred years ago!" Xu Jiaxin exclaimed.

Su Zhaozhao led Xu Jiaxin into the living room, poured her a cup of tea, and said, "Why don’t you rest here for a bit? You can watch some TV. I’m going to go help my grandma with dinner."

"Alrighty, you go ahead." Xu Jiaxin didn’t make a polite, empty offer to help.

She couldn’t cook to begin with, and her family had maids. Whenever she wanted to eat something, she just had to tell them what to make.

It was never her turn to cook, and she wouldn’t go and get in their way by trying.

Su Zhaozhao went to help in the kitchen. Xu Ziyang also came in from the courtyard, sat on the sofa, and turned on the TV.

He asked Xu Jiaxin, "Watch some TV?"

"Sure!" Xu Jiaxin agreed readily.

It was the first time Xu Ziyang had met such a confident and easygoing girl. He couldn’t help but ask, "So, how did you and Zhaozhao meet?"

"We met in West State. At the time, Zhaozhao was running a stall selling things right outside my university gate."

Xu Ziyang froze, a sudden pang of sympathy hitting him.

He never imagined his cousin’s life had been so hard—that even while traveling so far to find her fiancé, she still had to make money on the side.

She was younger than him, yet she had stopped her education after middle school.

Meanwhile, he and his other cousins were all attending university.

"Which university do you go to?" Xu Ziyang asked Xu Jiaxin.

"I go to West State University. What about you? Are you in school too?"

Xu Ziyang nodded. "I’m at Jiang City University."

"Wow, I’m so jealous. Your university is right here in town, so you don’t have to deal with the exhausting travel."

Xu Jiaxin hadn’t been able to get into a local school. To attend a prestigious university, her only option was to go all the way to West State.

She had endured a lot of hardship over the years because of it.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Xu Ziyang said with a slight cough. "Why did you decide to go to a university so far away?"

They fell into a casual conversation.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Su Zhaozhao was helping Li Chunhong prep the ingredients.

Although Li Chunhong insisted she didn’t need help and that she and Xu Yingmin could handle it...

...Su Zhaozhao insisted on staying. "It’s fine, Grandma. I’m really fast at chopping vegetables and slicing meat."

As she spoke, Su Zhaozhao had already shredded a potato into fine strips.

Seeing how insistent Su Zhaozhao was, Li Chunhong sighed and didn’t try to stop her.

She couldn’t help but think the girl was far too sensible for her age. ’She must have suffered so much over the years. She handles these household chores so effortlessly.’

’She was probably the one who did all the cooking and cleaning back home.’

’That’s what it’s like for a child without a mother.’

Li Chunhong’s only regret was not insisting on taking the girl with her back then, which had allowed her to suffer so much.

"Zhaozhao," Li Chunhong began, "now that your household registration has been transferred back here and you’re free, have you thought about what you want to do? Maybe attend night school? Then you could take the college entrance exams and get into a university."

She and her husband were both college graduates, and Su Zhaozhao’s mother had attended high school.

But when it came to Su Zhaozhao, she had only finished middle school. It just wasn’t right.

’Especially with her cousins all being university students. A smart girl like Zhaozhao can’t be allowed to fall behind!’