The younger sister mistakenly identified her brother when visiting relatives and was kissed by the c

"boom--"

Qiao Lijun felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his whole body frozen in place, his heart pounding like a deafening drum.

He was held tightly by the woman he loved, listening to her desperate confession, looking into her eyes brimming with tears, the word "rejection" stuck in his throat, he just couldn't say it.

But what could he do?!

"Mingzhu, I...I have no way..." Qiao Lijun clutched his hair in anguish, hating his own powerlessness.

He, a company commander, couldn't even protect the woman he loved; he could only watch helplessly as her parents forced her to marry a disabled man!

But his parents were adamant, and he couldn't just back out of the engagement with the Zhou family. He didn't dare to disobey his father!

He could only hold the girl in his arms tightly and desperately, his heart aching so much that his insides were clenching: "Mingzhu, I'm sorry, I..."

"Brother, don't say sorry!"

Before he could finish his depressing words, Qiao Mingzhu suddenly reached out her soft little hand and covered his mouth tightly.

She raised her head, a glint of madness flashing in her once gentle eyes: "Brother, I have a way to avoid marrying Zhou Liguang and silence Mom and Dad. As long as... as long as you cooperate with me!"

"What method?" Qiao Lijun was stunned.

Qiao Mingzhu tiptoed, leaned close to his burning ear, and whispered her vicious and audacious plan to steal the world from her mind, word by word.

As she finished speaking, Qiao Lijun's pupils gradually dilated, and his breathing completely stopped.

He took a half-step back in shock, staring incredulously at his frail younger sister: "W-can this really work?!"

"Brother, I'm begging you!"

Seeing his hesitation, Qiao Mingzhu immediately knelt down on the carpet with a "plop," tightly hugging his leg, and pleading with tearful eyes, "I really don't want to marry Zhou Liguang, I just want to be with you! We're not even blood siblings, it was impossible before because of our social status, but now God has given us a chance!"

Her tears fell one after another onto Qiao Lijun's hand, as if they were burning his heart.

"Please help me, brother... To make up for the injustice my sister suffered by marrying in my place, I'm willing to give her half of my dowry! With money and the title of Zhou Liguang's fiancée, my sister won't have lost out!"

Looking at that beautiful face, tear-streaked with tears, whom he had longed for day and night, and listening to her outline of a future where "the two of them could be together legitimately," the beast in Qiao Lijun's heart, which had been bound by social norms, finally broke free from its cage.

Reason has been completely extinguished.

Qiao Lijun took a deep breath, abruptly closed his eyes, concealing the last trace of guilt he felt towards his biological sister, and gritted his teeth as he uttered a promise: "Fine! For you, I promise!"

"You're right. For a girl from the countryside like her, marrying Zhou Liguang is like climbing a ladder to heaven!"

The more Qiao Lijun thought about it, the more perfect the plan to steal the day seemed, as if it had found the most legitimate cover for his shady thoughts.

He held the delicate woman in his arms tightly, vowing solemnly, "I promise you, Mingzhu, I will never let you marry that cripple!"

Qiao Mingzhu obediently buried herself in his broad chest. Upon hearing his affirmative answer, a triumphant and sinister sneer finally appeared on her pitiful face.

……

Two days later, in the early morning, the thin mist in the courtyard had not completely dissipated.

A line of people stood at the gate of the Qiao family home. Except for Qiao Xinxin, who was locked inside sleeping, the whole family was at the gate to see Qiao Lijun off.

Qin Fangfang carried several cloth bags, large and small, stuffed with various decent and scarce foods and changes of clothes. As she stuffed them into Qiao Lijun's hands, she wiped away tears and murmured, "Lijun, don't be stingy with this money while you're away! If you run out, just telegraph Mom and Dad. We're not short of money. Buy whatever you want to eat. Training in the army is so tough. You're a company commander, managing so many people. Don't neglect your health..."

Standing to the side, Qiao Shouguo had a stern and serious face, still behaving like a strict father, and didn't say a word, but his hands were moving without hesitation.

He silently took out several brand-new ten-yuan bills from the inside pocket of his Zhongshan suit and stuffed them into Qiao Lijun's jacket pocket.

This is his only biological son, the future pillar of the Qiao family. How could he, as the father, not feel sorry for him?

Qiao Mingzhu's eyes were red, and her two delicate white hands tightly gripped Qiao Lijun's military uniform sleeve. Her face was full of reluctance, as if they were about to part ways forever: "Brother, you must take good care of yourself when you get to the army. Remember... remember to write to me."

Their eyes met, and a thousand words and their unspoken plans were all hidden in the tug-of-war between them.

Just as Qiao Mingzhu was about to say a few more sentimental words in a sweet and coquettish tone, a clear and crisp female voice suddenly came from behind them, completely ruining the mood.

"Hey! Make way! Move aside! Don't block the door!"

The originally affectionate and filial atmosphere was instantly shattered.

Everyone turned around in surprise and saw Qiao Xinxin, with a faded green canvas bag slung across her shoulder, squeezing through the gap between Qiao Shouguo and Qin Fangfang like an eel.

"Excuse me, excuse me! I'm going to be late for work!" she shouted as she rushed out without looking back.

Qiao Lijun's tender expression vanished instantly when his farewell to his sweetheart was interrupted, replaced by a dark and disgusted look. He snapped, "Qiao Xinxin! What do you mean?! Are you deliberately trying to make me unhappy first thing in the morning?"

He grabbed Qiao Xinxin's arm and launched into a tirade, adopting the airs of an older brother: "I, as your own brother, am about to go back to the army, and I won't see you for a month! What, you, as my own sister, not only don't get up early to cook me a farewell meal, but you don't even offer a word of concern? Do you even have the behavior of a sister?!"

Qiao Lijun grew increasingly angry as he spoke, his gaze sweeping contemptuously over Qiao Xinxin's simple shirt and crossbody bag. He sneered, "You're so proud of yourself for finding a job selling medicine at a state-run pharmacy? Is your family starving or depriving you of anything? You value those meager earnings more than your own brother! I really don't know how our Qiao family could have produced such a shallow-minded, vain brat!"

If it were the original owner of this body, hearing her own brother humiliate her like this in public would probably have made her want to die of shame and anger, unable to defend herself.

But who is Qiao Xinxin?

How could she put up with this kind of humiliation at the Qiao family's house?

Tears can come on any time!

In an instant, Qiao Xinxin's big eyes filled with tears. She abruptly shook off Qiao Lijun's hand, shrinking back to the doorframe like a startled rabbit. With tears in her eyes, she cried out in a soft, aggrieved voice, "I'll get my salary docked for being late! Brother, you don't even like me, why should I bother trying to get close to you and invite your scolding?"

It was around seven or eight in the morning, and the compound was bustling with people going to work, going out to buy groceries, and taking their children to school. It was the liveliest time of day.

Qiao Xinxin's voice was clear and loud, instantly piercing through the streets in the early morning.

Wiping away her tears, she sobbed as she continued her accusations: "Even breathing in this house is wrong! No matter what I do, you just love Mingzhu more! Since you all despise me, your own daughter who grew up in the countryside and suffered hardships, and despise my poverty, then I'll just leave! Waaah..."