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

Qin Fangfang gritted her teeth, swallowing back her fear and rage that wanted to tear Qiao Xinxin apart.

She took two deep breaths, forced out a smile that was more distorted than crying, tidied her messy hair, and walked quickly to open the door with heavy steps.

The door creaked open.

There were two people standing outside the door.

The leader was a female makeup artist in her thirties, struggling to carry a large black aluminum alloy makeup case. Behind her followed a young girl who seemed to be her apprentice assistant, peeking around curiously.

The makeup artist's habitual cheerful smile froze on her lips the moment she saw the scene inside the room.

What... what's going on?!

The living room was completely empty. Apart from the old wooden sofa where Qiao Shouguo was sitting slumped over, the whole house was cleaner than if a dog had licked it clean!

The paint on the wall looks like it's been peeled off!

The group of people stood frozen at the doorway, staring at each other in disbelief, and an eerie silence fell over the air.

The makeup artist swallowed hard, gave a dry laugh, and tried to break the awkward silence: "W-what's going on? A big house cleaning, or are you planning to move?"

No one answered her. Qiao Shouguo was panting heavily with a gloomy face, Qiao Lijun stared at the floor tiles with bloodshot eyes, and Qin Fangfang looked away, as if she had swallowed a dead fly.

The makeup artist was a shrewd and experienced person. Seeing that the host's expression was not right, she didn't say anything more and risk offending him.

She deftly picked up her suitcase and headed straight for Qiao Mingzhu, who was huddled in the corner.

"Bride, come, sit down quickly. Let me put on your makeup tray first. The wedding procession is almost here, we mustn't be late for the auspicious hour!"

Unexpectedly, as soon as these words were spoken, Qiao Mingzhu screamed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on!

That face, which had always feigned gentleness, was now deathly pale, her lips trembling violently: "No... I won't wear makeup! I won't marry! Take it away! Take all these things away!"

The makeup artist's hand, holding the powder puff, froze in mid-air, completely stunned: "What? What... what's going on? What kind of bride doesn't wear makeup on her wedding day?"

Ignoring the astonishment of the outsiders, Qiao Mingzhu lunged forward, grabbed Qin Fangfang's arm tightly, and dragged her towards the first-floor restroom.

"Bang!"

The wooden door to the bathroom was slammed shut with a deafening bang.

In the cramped bathroom, Qiao Mingzhu could no longer hold back her tears, which streamed down her face. She gripped Qin Fangfang's wrist tightly, pleading desperately in a low voice:

"Mom! I can't marry him! I really can't marry that cripple Zhou Liguang!"

Qin Fangfang stamped her feet in frustration, her voice low and menacing: "What's wrong with you now! If you don't marry him, where will the Qiao family put their face today?!"

"Face? If you care about face, you'll lose your life!"

Qiao Mingzhu sobbed uncontrollably, her whole body trembling like a leaf from extreme fear: "Mom, think about it! Zhou Liguang may be lame, but what if... what if he's not impaired in that area? What if he can still have sex?! I'm already with my older brother... I'm not a virgin anymore! Mom! If I can't produce a virgin's blood on our wedding night, if he finds out I'm a virgin, our entire Qiao family, along with Dad and my older brother's future, will all be implicated, we'll all be finished!"

boom!

These words struck Qin Fangfang like a thunderbolt, leaving her completely stunned.

Yes! She was so focused on how to continue this substitute marriage drama and how to force Qiao Xinxin to marry him that she completely forgot about this most crucial part!

Mingzhu and Lijun... If she were to marry into the Zhou family, how could they possibly swallow such an insult of being cuckolded?!

Qin Fangfang's face instantly turned even more ashen than if she had eaten a bitter herb. She yanked open the bathroom door, pulled the weak-legged Qiao Mingzhu out, stumbled to Qiao Shouguo's side, and whispered in his ear, her lips trembling, repeating what she had just said.

Qiao Shouguo's already ashen face turned as black as the bottom of a pot in an instant, and the veins on his forehead looked like they were about to burst!

He turned his head sharply and glared fiercely at his eldest son, Qiao Lijun, wishing he could kill this unfilial son right now!

But now that things have come to this, there's no turning back!

Qiao Shouguo clenched his back teeth tightly, tasting a hint of blood in his mouth.

His gaze, like a poisoned knife, involuntarily drifted towards Qiao Xinxin, who stood in the center of the living room, her eyes still lowered.

Since Mingzhu is impotent and absolutely cannot marry, there is only one way to go down the dark path—we still have to let Xinxin, our own daughter, marry!

Qiao Shouguo gave his wife an urgent and fierce look.

Qin Fangfang instantly understood.

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the disgust and anger in her heart, put on a kind mother's face, and walked up to Qiao Xinxin.

She grabbed Qiao Xinxin's cold little hand, her voice extremely low, even carrying a hint of groveling and ingratiation:

"Xinxin, my dear child, I need to discuss something with you. Mingzhu... she's really not feeling well, she really can't get married. Even if you don't care about her, her stepsister, you have to think about the Qiao family, and about your father's and my reputation!"

Qin Fangfang gripped Qiao Xinxin's hand tightly, her tone full of coercion and enticement: "If this matter is messed up, and the Zhou family makes a scene, our whole family will be finished! You'll marry in her place; this is your original marriage! Your father and I promise you, we will absolutely not mistreat you!"

"Whatever you want, Mom will buy it for you! Besides these, Mom and Dad will also make you a solid gold bracelet and gold earrings! From now on, Mom will give you an extra fifty yuan every month! How about that? Isn't that generous enough?"

Hearing Qin Fangfang's seemingly generous but actually beggar-like act of charity, Qiao Xinxin slowly raised her head.

On that fair and sweet face, there was no joy of being tempted, only a bottomless calm.

Just when Qin Fangfang thought she was finally going to nod in agreement—

"Wow--!!!"

Suddenly, without warning, Qiao Xinxin burst into a heart-wrenching cry that almost lifted the roof off!

"Mom! Why are you doing this to me?! What did I do wrong?!"

The sudden burst of crying startled the makeup artist and her assistant, who were squatting on the ground searching for makeup tools. They trembled and dropped the powder compact with a "thud".

The two looked up in horror and saw the delicate-looking girl pointing at Qiao Mingzhu, crying her heart out, every word dripping with blood: "It's clearly Qiao Mingzhu's fault! She was the one who slept with my older brother last night, and you want me, your own daughter, to take her place and fill that hole just to cover up your family scandal?! I won't!!!"