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

"Mom, I'm perfectly clear-headed. I know what I'm doing." Qiao Lijun straightened his back and said, word by word, "I'm willing."

"You knew? You were willing?!" Qin Fangfang's tears flowed even more fiercely upon hearing this, as if the sky had fallen. "You and Mingzhu are siblings! The two of you have done such a scandalous thing, how are people in the compound going to talk about you? You're willing to let people gossip about you behind your back every day, saying that you and your sister are having an affair..."

"But we're not blood siblings! Mom, Mingzhu and I aren't related by blood at all!"

Qiao Lijun suddenly raised his voice, interrupting his mother, his tone firm and resolute: "She's not our Qiao family's biological daughter at all, and I'm not her biological brother! What's wrong with us being together?! I'm willing to marry her! I'm saying it right here today, I want to marry her!"

"You...you..."

Qin Fangfang stomped her feet in anger, pointing her finger at his nose, wanting to yell at him, but seeing her son's stubborn and unyielding appearance, her hand fell limply to her side.

"What kind of bewitching potion has this vixen given you?! Can liking her put food on the table? What great benefits can she bring you?!"

Qin Fangfang took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and began to patiently analyze the pros and cons: "Son, haven't you always had lofty ambitions? Haven't you often complained that you don't want to spend your life subordinate to others? With your current rank of company commander, you can absolutely marry a wife who can give you a boost in your career! Even if your parents have to swallow their pride, they will ask someone to find you a suitable match from a high-ranking official's family!"

At this point, Qin Fangfang felt a deep resentment towards Qiao Mingzhu for the first time. She pointed at Qiao Mingzhu on the ground without any mercy, her eyes filled with malice:

"And her? What could she possibly have? She has nothing! Her biological parents are just peasants from the countryside! Her family is dirt poor, and only her older brother is somewhat successful. But Bai Zhengyuan, that country bumpkin, is at best a battalion commander! With such a poor family background, he has no connections in the army. He can only get promoted on his own. What connections could he possibly have to help you?"

Qin Fangfang grabbed her son's hands tightly and earnestly advised, "Son, listen to my advice. If you marry her, you'll get nothing! She and her parents, who are still digging in the countryside, can't give you any support! These days in the army, without a good family background, no matter how outstanding you are or how hard you work, you won't climb very high!"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Lijun, who had been relatively calm, instantly turned extremely gloomy, his eyes becoming deep and cold.

He used all his strength to pry open his mother's fingers, one by one.

"Mom, in your eyes, I'm just a good-for-nothing who can only climb the social ladder by relying on women and nepotism, right?! You look down on me that much?!"

Qiao Lijun bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, "It's Bai Zhengyuan again! Why do you all have to bring up Bai Zhengyuan!"

This name was like a poisonous thorn stuck in Qiao Lijun's heart!

Both were twenty-five or twenty-six years old, so why did Bai Zhengyuan, that poor kid from the countryside, have a military rank one rank higher than him?!

Qiao Lijun has been struggling in the compound for so many years, and he is still just a small company commander. But that poor boy who couldn't even afford a pair of leather shoes actually became a battalion commander based on his military merits, and even became a close brother with Lu Baizhou, the living devil of the Lu family!

He was not convinced! He just couldn't swallow this insult!

This is the root cause of his persistent resentment and insane jealousy towards Bai Zhengyuan!

Qiao Lijun gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, and roared at his mother, each word dripping with fury: "I, Qiao Lijun, don't need any damn nepotism! I can climb up step by step on my own! I refuse to believe that Bai Zhengyuan, a poor country bumpkin, could become a battalion commander on his own, and I, Qiao Lijun, can't?!"

"I've poured my heart out to you, and you haven't listened to a single word, have you?!" Qin Fangfang shouted in despair.

"Mom! You don't need to say anymore!"

Qiao Lijun abruptly interrupted her, his tone as hard as a rock in a latrine: "I will absolutely not change my mind! In this life, I will marry Mingzhu, and only her! Even if the King of Heaven himself came to persuade me today, it wouldn't work! I, Qiao Lijun, don't need to rely on my father-in-law's family to get ahead!"

Seeing her son's stubborn and unrepentant attitude, Qin Fangfang trembled with anger. Her lips opened and closed, and she stammered, "You...you..." for a long time, but then her eyes rolled back and she could no longer utter a complete sentence.

Qiao Lijun stopped looking at his despairing mother, turned around and strode back to Qiao Mingzhu's side, once again hugging her tightly in his arms like a protective mother.

His hands, calloused from years of holding guns, moved with surprising gentleness.

He tenderly stroked Qiao Mingzhu's swollen cheek and coaxed her softly, "Mingzhu, don't be afraid. Your older brother said he would marry you, and he will definitely marry you in a grand and glorious way. Believe me, no matter who tries to stop me, even if it means breaking ties with the whole family, it won't affect my decision."

Qiao Mingzhu obediently lay on Qiao Lijun's broad chest, tears streaming silently down her face. With her red, swollen, and miserable face, she looked like a pitiful little white flower trembling in a storm.

But no one saw that Qiao Mingzhu, whose face was mostly obscured by Qiao Lijun, showed no emotion whatsoever in her eyes.

On the contrary, her lowered eyes revealed a chilling coldness.

She silently swept her gaze over everyone present with an almost indifferent and calculating look.

In a corner not far away, Qiao Xinxin, who had been watching everything with a cold eye, was leaning against the smashed door frame with her arms crossed.

Watching this dramatic and melodramatic soap opera, Qiao Xinxin only felt regret—if only a handful of fragrant roasted sunflower seeds could magically appear out of nowhere amidst this mess, it would be perfect, and the gossip would be so much more exciting!

Don't be fooled by Qiao Mingzhu's tearful, lovestruck appearance, as if she can't live without Qiao Lijun. In the original book, Qiao Mingzhu was a complete egoist! Her heart was entirely focused on climbing the social ladder, and she was a ruthless character who would never let emotions hold her back!

Are you really going to let Qiao Mingzhu marry Qiao Lijun?

Qiao Xinxin sneered inwardly.

Qiao Mingzhu is such a "high-minded" and "proud" fake heiress! She has been used to the favoritism of her parents in the Qiao family, and her ambition has long been higher than the sky.

Although Qiao Lijun was a company commander, in Qiao Mingzhu's eyes, that rank was nothing! She was not willing to be the wife of a lowly company commander for the rest of her life, and she even had to carefully budget when buying an expensive Lenin suit.