Shen Niantang raised her eyes to look at the man standing in the living room, the slight curve of her lips making her appear completely unconcerned.
In contrast, Shen Kuo stood at a height of one meter seven, yet radiated two meters of pure rage.
"How did I end up raising an ingrate like you? Tell me, where have you been running around acting wild, and what is that thing you're holding?"
Seeing Shen Kuo step forward to snatch the hair tie Shen Niantang had just bought, she deftly dodged and quickly walked over to a more open area.
"The only reason I still call you Dad is because you raised me after Mom passed away. But when it comes to the debt of gratitude for raising me, put your hand on your heart and tell me: after Mom died, did you ever pay a single ounce of attention to me?"
With that, Shen Niantang glanced at Chen Jinlan and Shen Rou, a murderous chill rising in her eyes. She knew it must be Shen Rou's doing that had caused Shen Kuo to fly into such an inexplicable rage at her.
Seeing the household thrown into utter chaos, Chen Jinlan hurriedly stepped forward to grab Shen Kuo's arm. After all, since her own daughter wanted to swap betrothals with Shen Niantang, she couldn't afford to tick Shen Niantang off. If Shen Niantang refused to swap, her own daughter wouldn't become the wife of the wealthiest man in Kyoto.
"Oh my goodness, why are you losing your temper like this? Rourou is the one who wants to marry that Xiao Liang, and I think the boy is quite decent—he's someone who can achieve great things. Besides, Shen Niantang agreed to the swap, so I consented."
"This really isn't a big deal, and besides..."
"You call this not a big deal?"
Shen Kuo finally understood. This seemingly quiet Shen Niantang was actually deeply calculating. In order to marry into the Gu Family, she must have used some method to brainwash Chen Jinlan and Shen Rou, tricking Shen Rou into swapping betrothals with her.
Moreover, when Shen Kuo had first learned about the arranged marriage between the Shen Residence and the Gu Family, he couldn't have been happier. With a wealthy and powerful in-law practically in his grasp, he'd thought his status would soon rise. Who would have expected that before he could even celebrate for a few days, his golden son-in-law would be replaced by some poor wretch?
Shen Kuo had been counting on extorting a hefty bride price when Shen Rou married into the Gu Family. The Gu Family was wealthy and powerful anyway, so they wouldn't care about a little loose change, and he might even use their connection to climb a step higher in the future.
"Dad, I'm the one who wants to marry Xiao Liang. I think Brother Xiao Liang is much better than Gu Tingchuan, and Brother Xiao Liang will definitely make something of himself!"
"My foot!"
"Short-sighted woman! I do not agree to you marrying Xiao Liang!"
"Dad!"
Looking at the noisy, chaotic household, Shen Niantang felt like her head was about to split open. To have so many fools in one family—each one more bizarre than the last.
Shen Niantang turned and walked back to her room, took her uncle's handwritten letter of introduction out of her bag, and tucked it away in a safe corner.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission. Please claim your limited-time reward: 2 yuan + one prussian blue fountain pen.]
After Shen Niantang clicked the screen to claim it, two yuan and a very pretty fountain pen appeared on her desk. The design was simple and elegant. Shen Niantang hadn't used a fountain pen in a long time, and she instantly fell in love with it, though the pen itself didn't seem to have anything particularly special about it.
[Ding! Plot prediction: Tomorrow afternoon, in order to marry Xiao Liang, Shen Rou will drug him and consummate the relationship. Warm reminder: If the host does not leave the Shen Residence before this, she will be framed. Please leave the Shen Residence in a timely manner and head to Qingyang District to begin your counter-attack life.]
Shen Niantang couldn't help but widen her eyes. This system was amazing—it could even predict the plot! Did that mean she now had the ability to foresee the future?
Too bad there wasn't a lottery ticket seller around right now, or she would have asked the system for the winning numbers.
Shen Niantang didn't want to stay in the Shen Residence a moment longer. She would go to sleep early tonight, slip away quietly at dawn tomorrow, and get far away from that troublemaker Shen Rou.
...
Early the next morning, while it was still faintly light, Shen Niantang got up and packed her luggage. It wasn't much—she grabbed the clothes she had snatched from Shen Rou, packed her letter of introduction, and took all her savings before preparing to set off.
After going downstairs, Shen Niantang took out the letter she had written to her aunt last night, dropped it in the mailbox, and headed for the railway station.
Not many people were taking the early morning transport. Shen Niantang bought her ticket and sat in the waiting room to wait in peace.
Shortly after she sat down, an elderly woman came and sat right next to her.
The woman glanced at Shen Niantang from time to time, speaking to her with a kind expression:
"Little girl, are you traveling alone? You look like you're still in school. Where are you off to?"
Shen Niantang couldn't help curving her lips into a smile. This era was crawling with human traffickers, and sure enough, she had run into one today. For now, she had no intention of alerting the enemy.
She simply raised her eyes and laboriously gestured with her hands. Her stunning appearance, paired with wild and chaotic sign language, looked rather comical.
If anyone who knew sign language had seen Shen Niantang just then, they would have been stunned, because Shen Niantang didn't know sign language at all.
Seeing that Shen Niantang couldn't speak, the elderly woman sitting beside her laughed from the bottom of her heart.
"So you can't talk, huh? Hehe..."
"Little girl, where are you headed? Let me see your ticket."
Dropping all pretense, the elderly woman reached out to snatch the ticket from Shen Niantang's hand.
Shen Niantang dodged, clutching the ticket tightly in her fist to signal her refusal.
Seeing how frail and gentle Shen Niantang was, the elderly woman simply grabbed her arm, gripping her forearm tightly as her eyes darted craftily.
"Daughter-in-law! Where are you running off to? Are you abandoning an old woman like me?"
As she spoke, a fierce-looking man strode over from a distance, walking straight up to them upon seeing Shen Niantang.
"Wife, there are still four kids at home! Where are you trying to run off to? Could it be you're going to see that little kept boy of yours?"
The man's words immediately drew a crowd of onlookers. Since it wasn't time to check tickets yet, everyone was just sitting around resting.
In this era, many educated youths were sent to the countryside, and naturally, quite a few tried to run away because they refused to stay in the rural villages.
Hearing that Shen Niantang was running off to find a city boy-toy, the onlookers chimed in with displeased remarks:
"You've already had children, yet you're still running off to find some man? She really needs to be disciplined properly."
"That's right. This girl from our family might be pretty, but she's just not honest."
Shen Niantang had actually spotted two soldiers in plainclothes not far away a while ago. Though they were dressed in casual clothes, their unmistakable, disciplined bearing gave them away at a glance.
With a sudden jerk, Shen Niantang shook off the grip and ran straight toward the two soldiers, hiding behind them.