Chapter 3: A Chance Encounter with the Male Lead

Lu Hao was puzzled when suddenly he heard Song Jiajia sobbing.

Lu Hao hurriedly asked, "Comrade Song, what’s wrong?"

"Brother Lu, actually, it’s not me who’s betrothed to you. I... I’m sorry." Song Jiajia’s tears fell like raindrops, making her look utterly pitiful.

"Comrade Song, just tell me what’s going on. Don’t cry yet."

Lu Hao raised his hand and gently wiped the tears from her face.

Song Jiajia felt her cheeks flush and her heart race, but she didn’t stop crying.

"Ah Hao, what’s happening?" a voice of an elderly woman came from inside.

"Nothing, Grandma," Lu Hao called back.

"Comrade Song, why don’t we talk at my place?" Lu Hao suggested.

Song Jiajia nodded without refusal.

Seeing this, Lu Hao’s gaze darkened slightly.

...

The next day.

After breakfast, Sang Yu slung her small backpack over her shoulder and stepped out.

She had few friends here and wandered aimlessly along the street.

If this were ten years earlier, she might have gone to help develop the countryside, but now, that was no longer necessary.

How could she possibly escape from the Song family?

"Help! Help! Someone’s stealing my child! Please save my child!"

As Sang Yu walked, she suddenly heard cries for help.

Instinctively, she turned and saw a man running toward her, holding a child.

She hated human traffickers above all else. She glanced around for something to use as a weapon, grabbed a wooden stick nearby, and struck the man’s leg.

Caught off guard, the man fell to the ground.

The child tumbled out of his arms, crying loudly.

Sang Yu pressed her advantage, swinging the stick at the man again.

However, her strength was limited, and her slender frame couldn’t inflict much damage.

The man quickly grabbed the stick from her hands.

"You damn woman! You’re begging for death!" he shouted, swinging the stick toward her head.

Sang Yu hurriedly shielded her head. This was it—she thought her skull was about to crack.

But the anticipated pain never came; instead, she heard the man’s scream.

She cautiously opened one eye and met a pair of deep, piercing hawk-like eyes.

Her heart skipped a beat.

The man was already subdued by two other men.

---

Standing before her was a tall man, about six feet one inch.

His sharply defined face, chiseled profile, and broad physique exuded raw masculinity that could make anyone’s heart race at a glance.

His dark eyes held a mysterious, dangerous depth.

"Comrade, are you alright?" Jiang Jingming asked, looking at the young woman before him.

Her eyes were clear and pure, as if they could wash away the world’s dust. Her lashes fluttered gently like morning dew.

Her face resembled a freshly blooming flower, fresh and refined, with faint curiosity in her brows and pink, inviting lips.

"I—I’m fine."

"My son! My son!" the woman who had been robbed rushed over and scooped up the child, who now cried loudly in his mother’s arms.

She bowed repeatedly to Jiang Jingming and Sang Yu, thanking them profusely. "Thank you so much, thank you."

Sang Yu’s gaze shifted from the man to the woman. "It’s nothing. Check if the child is hurt."

"Alright, alright."

"Comrade, are you okay?" another man asked Sang Yu after tying up the trafficker.

Sang Yu shook her head. "I’m fine."

"Good. We’ll take this trafficker to the police station." The man said.

Sang Yu nodded. "Okay."

Unconsciously, her eyes glanced again at Jiang Jingming.

By coincidence, their gazes met once more.

Sang Yu quickly looked away, clutching her small bag tightly, and turned to leave.

Jiang Jingming watched her retreating figure, feeling a pang of regret.

He was already engaged—how could he be attracted to someone else?

He had no face to face his fiancée.

"Boss?" a man beside him waved a hand in front of Jiang Jingming.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Jiang Jingming turned to the man. "Take the trafficker back."

The man was speechless. That’s exactly what he had just said. What was the boss thinking about so deeply?

He lifted the trafficker and followed Jiang Jingming.

"Boss, don’t you think that girl just now was especially beautiful?" Lin Wen asked.

He had only just realized how pretty she was—like a little rabbit.

Images of the girl’s face flashed through Jiang Jingming’s mind—indeed beautiful, especially those eyes.

"I wonder if she has someone already. If I’d known, I would have left a message." Lin Wen said regretfully.

Jiang Jingming suddenly stopped and looked at Lin Wen, his tone stern: "Lin Wen!"

"Yes!" Lin Wen instinctively stood at attention.

"You cannot casually discuss female comrades outside!" Jiang Jingming said solemnly.

"Yes, Captain!" Lin Wen responded.

Only then was Jiang Jingming satisfied and resumed walking.

Lin Wen found the captain a bit strange but agreed it was inappropriate to discuss female comrades—such talk harmed their reputation.

He hadn’t expected the captain to care so much about female comrades.

...

After parting from Jiang Jingming and the others, Sang Yu continued walking through the streets.

These days, finding work was truly difficult.

Yes, Sang Yu wanted to find a job here; otherwise, how could she support herself?

Others were unreliable; she could only rely on herself.

Once she saved enough money, she would leave for the capital city.

She planned to buy a courtyard house and wait for its value to rise. Then she would be a small fortune owner.

But after wandering around, she still hadn’t found a place hiring.

Feeling tired, she sat down in a bookstore and noticed the newspaper office across the street.

Suddenly, she remembered that in this era, one could submit articles to newspapers and earn稿酬.

Although her writing wasn’t good, she could draw.

She could draw comics.

Her eyes lit up—yes, comics! She could draw comics to submit to the newspaper.

Her spirits lifted immediately. She went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought pencils and paper.

With limited means, she had to start with simple line drawings.

Even so, she spent almost all the money she had left.

But as long as she had materials, she wasn’t afraid of no income later.

After buying the supplies, she headed home, only to hear noise coming from inside.

She vaguely heard Chen Jinlan cursing.

Curious, Sang Yu slowly climbed the stairs.

They now lived in a three-story tenement building, and many people were gathered at the entrance steps, seemingly watching a spectacle.

Someone saw Sang Yu and called out, "Sang Yu, you’re back?"

Sang Yu nodded. "Auntie, what’s going on?"

The woman looked at her with a hint of schadenfreude and said, "What else? Looks like your cousin brought a man home, saying she’s going to marry him. Your aunt is nearly furious to death."

Why was there a touch of gloating in her tone?