Chapter 196: Marriage Scam

Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Marriage Scam

Jiang Moli looked up and recognized Fan Qiuyun, who was with two unfamiliar women.

She flashed Fan Qiuyun a grin. "I’m here for a meal. I heard the braised pork knuckles here are famous, and I happen to love pork knuckle."

Fan Qiuyun fumed, "Are you nuts? This is the Military Region Art Troupe, not a restaurant!"

"There you go. What else would I be doing at the art troupe? Stop asking such pointless questions."

With that said, Jiang Moli stopped paying Fan Qiuyun any mind and went back to her form.

Fan Qiuyun shot her a couple of glares, then furiously beckoned her two companions to leave with her.

Once they were a good distance away, the two companions curiously asked about Jiang Moli’s identity.

Fan Qiuyun fiercely vented to her two companions, listing all the things about Jiang Moli that she couldn’t stand.

The two companions were very close to Fan Qiuyun, so after hearing her out, they too grew to dislike and resent Jiang Moli.

’Disdain Value +2. 20,000 yuan credited to your account.’

Jiang Moli couldn’t help but laugh to herself when she heard the Disdain Value being credited.

’I’ll have to properly "cultivate" Fan Qiuyun,’ she decided. ’Get her to earn me some more Disdain Value.’

...

Upon entering the rehearsal hall, Fan Qiuyun saw Yang Lijiong coaching the troupe members. She hurried over and quietly reported to Yang Lijiong that Jiang Moli was at the art troupe.

After listening, Yang Lijiong gave a slight nod. "I already know. Go get changed for rehearsal."

"What is she here for?"

Seeing her insistent curiosity, Yang Lijiong explained, "She’s here to audition for the troupe."

"Audition?" Fan Qiuyun was shocked. "But haven’t the new member auditions for this year already passed?"

Yang Lijiong said, "It’s a special exception. She was recommended by the military region command."

A look of contempt crossed Fan Qiuyun’s face. "So she pulled some strings. No wonder."

"Getting the military region’s leadership to pull strings for her is a skill in its own right."

Sensing Yang Lijiong’s displeasure, Fan Qiuyun was smart enough to drop the subject.

However, as soon as Yang Lijiong left, she immediately shared the news about Jiang Moli "pulling strings" with the troupe members she was friendly with.

The news spread like wildfire, and soon, many members of the song and dance troupe had heard.

Jiang Moli hadn’t even joined the art troupe, but she’d already earned the labels of "string-puller" and "nepotism case."

’Disdain Value +10. 100,000 yuan credited to your account.’

Listening to the steady stream of Disdain Value deposits, Jiang Moli had to think of every sad thing that had happened in her two lifetimes just to keep from laughing out loud.

"Ms. Jiang Moli, I’ve read your script. It’s quite good. Could you tell us what inspired you to write it?"

Jiang Moli composed herself and answered, "It’s undeniable that our heroic martyrs are the backbone of our times and the pride of our nation. But our ability to achieve victory and establish a new, strong, and prosperous society was also achieved through the self-sacrifice of countless ordinary people. The cowherd in my script is ordinary and small, but he possesses extraordinary courage and wisdom. Little people like him are as innumerable as the stars, and they all deserve to be celebrated and remembered."

Her speech made the leaders conducting the interview nod in approval.

"Ms. Jiang."

Jiang Moli looked at Yang Lijiong.

Yang Lijiong was also one of today’s interviewers.

Yang Lijiong clasped her hands on the table, her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes sharp and penetrating. "Why do you want to join the art troupe?"

Jiang Moli smiled. "I love theater, and the art troupe can offer me a stage to perform on."

Yang Lijiong nodded. "I have no more questions."

"Ms. Jiang, we’ve reviewed your application. The troupe will need to hold a meeting to discuss whether to make an exception and admit you. We will notify you of the result within two weeks."

"Okay."

After leaving the conference room, Jiang Moli didn’t leave in a hurry. Instead, she found an out-of-the-way spot to stand and wait.

Before long, the leaders, headed by the art troupe’s director, began to file out of the conference room.

"Vice Yang."

Yang Lijiong turned. She wasn’t surprised to see Jiang Moli. "Is there something you need?"

"Can we talk for a minute?"

Yang Lijiong glanced at her watch. "I’m very busy. You have five minutes."

"That’s enough."

Jiang Moli said with a wide smile, "I just wanted to ask, Vice Yang, are you going to vote against me just because you don’t like me, to keep me out of the art troupe?"

Yang Lijiong crossed her arms, her expression haughty. "Ms. Jiang, I admit Camp Commander Lu is an outstanding man, but it’s not as if there aren’t other men who are even better. I have plenty of options. There’s no need for me to waste my time and energy on a married man."

Watching Yang Lijiong’s tall, aloof figure retreat, Jiang Moli felt a sense of admiration.

’If she had the chance, she’d actually like to be friends with the woman.’

...

When Jiang Moli returned home, she saw a few other military family members gathered at the Chen Family’s front door, deep in a heated discussion.

Guessing it was probably about Chen Xue’s wedding, Jiang Moli didn’t go over to eavesdrop.

She went inside and found the house empty; Ma Hongmei and An Hui were both out.

She changed her clothes, washed a tomato, and started munching on it as she headed out toward the Chen family’s home.

"What were you all talking about? It sounded so lively, let me hear too."

Upon seeing her, the women all fell silent in a tacit understanding and went their separate ways.

Jiang Moli called out, "Why leave as soon as I show up? You weren’t talking smack about me, were you?"

No one answered her, but then An Hui’s voice came from behind.

"Who’s been talking bad about you now?"

Jiang Moli turned and grumbled to An Hui, "They seemed really into their conversation, but when I asked what it was about, they all clammed up. If they weren’t gossiping about me, what else would be such a secret?"

An Hui rebuked her good-naturedly, "Who has the time to gossip about you? Come on, let’s go home."

"Oh."

Ma Hongmei, for her part, was very interested in how Jiang Moli’s audition went.

Upon learning that the results would be announced within two weeks, she immediately declared she was taking Jiang Moli to a temple to pray to the Bodhisattvas.

Jiang Moli took a bite of her sweet and sour tomato. "Let’s not. Burning twenty cents worth of incense for such a huge wish? That’s putting the Bodhisattva in a tough spot."

Ma Hongmei: "..."

Back home, while Ma Hongmei was busy cooking, Jiang Moli finally got the juicy gossip she was hoping for from An Hui.

Chen Xue was the victim of a marriage scam.

For the past few days, the Chen family had been discussing the wedding with the Liang family. The groom’s side had been incredibly agreeable about the betrothal gifts and the banquet, but there was one condition that the Chen family couldn’t accept: the groom himself would not be able to attend the wedding feast.

The Liang family even used Lu Cheng as an example to justify it.

But the Liang family’s situation was different from Lu Cheng’s.

Although Lu Cheng had missed his own wedding, he had personally handled the matchmaking meeting and the formal proposal. At the very least, Jiang Moli knew what Lu Cheng looked like.

In the Liang family’s case, however, Liang Fei hadn’t shown his face once from start to finish. Not even attending his own wedding banquet was just going too far.

The Chen family was eager to marry off their daughter, but not so desperate as to be completely foolish. They proposed postponing the wedding until after the groom’s supposed mission was completed.

Seeing that they couldn’t keep up the pretense any longer, the Liang family finally told the truth.

The reason the groom hadn’t shown up for the matchmaking meeting wasn’t because he was on a mission. It was because he had broken the rules and been thrown into solitary confinement!

For the Chen family, this was a bolt from the blue.

More than the details of the Liang family’s deception, Jiang Moli was interested in the fallout. "So, is the Chen family going to call off the wedding?"