Kissed and Seduced By the Most Rough Man in the Village-Chapter 299: Marrying a Swan Requires Tender Care

Earlier, Hua Shoucheng had arranged with Jiang Xinyue to have hotpot for dinner. It was convenient to eat at the scrap station and then head back home since the smell wouldn’t be too strong. However, with the addition of four more people, the amount of food, especially meat and vegetables, was insufficient.

Since Su Xiaoxiao particularly loved hotpot, they decided to keep the original dinner plan. Jiang Yexun planned to buy some meat and vegetables from Big Gao’s place, and Su Hongchen decided to go along with him.

"Brother, don’t go. Your identity doesn’t suit places like that. If people see you, it could be problematic," Su Xiaoxiao quickly advised.

Jiang Yexun also glanced at Su Hongchen and said, "They’re my old acquaintances. There won’t be any problems."

"Alright, then you go ahead," Su Hongchen agreed without insisting on going along.

After Jiang Yexun had left, Su Hongchen withdrew his gaze and told Su Xiaoxiao, "I’ll go buy the tickets now. It should take about twenty minutes. If I’m not back when he returns, you all can start eating."

"Okay," Su Xiaoxiao replied promptly.

After all, they had Jiang Xinyue, who was pregnant; anyone could go hungry, but Xinyue couldn’t.

Fortunately, her brother was always considerate and had thought of this.

After their conversation, Su Xiaoxiao moved a couple of steps closer to Su Hongchen and asked in a low voice, "Brother, during our time traveling around the city and while you’ve been here, have you felt that someone might be secretly following us?"

Su Hongchen’s expression remained neutral, but the seriousness in his eyes increased.

"Do you think someone is following us?"

"I haven’t felt anything, so I’m worried I might have missed something. That’s why I’m asking you to confirm," Su Xiaoxiao quickly explained.

In her previous life, the mastermind had put so much effort into harming her family, even managing to kill Jiang Yexun, who had become a national tycoon decades later. She couldn’t believe they’d let them off so easily this time.

"I’ve been very observant and can confirm that no one is following us or you," Su Hongchen assured her seriously.

Su Xiaoxiao was somewhat surprised but then remembered something and asked, "Brother, have they found out who the mastermind was that harmed you last time?"

She thought it might be because the military had tightened security, causing the mastermind to become more cautious.

Su Hongchen’s face darkened at the mention of this.

"No, the leads have gone cold, and no relevant clues have been found."

The investigation was thorough, including checking anything related to his previous work. As a result, while they didn’t find the mastermind, they did uncover some restless elements that were swiftly dealt with. The military joked that sacrificing one person had benefited many others.

"Alright, the mastermind probably guessed we’d be investigating and became more cautious," Su Xiaoxiao said with a mix of seriousness and helplessness.

"Don’t worry too much. Jiang Yexun and I will discuss this thoroughly. You only need to focus on being happy," Su Hongchen said, rubbing her head gently.

When Su Xiaoxiao pouted in protest, he finally withdrew his hand.

"Go inside and stay warm. If you catch a cold, you’ll need to rest longer before you can go home."

"Brother, make sure to get the five tickets. Don’t forget Xingzhi. His sister was sold by her stepmother years ago, and Yexun wants to take him to Shanghai to search for her," Su Xiaoxiao reminded him.

After getting his confirmation, she went back inside.

"They’re fast. Let’s wash the vegetables and cut the beef and lamb so we can eat as soon as they return," Aunt Guo instructed Hua Shoucheng, and the two of them went off with a basket and a vegetable-washing basin.

Su Xiaoxiao wanted to help but was stopped by Jiang Xinyue.

"Water’s freezing in the dead of winter," Jiang Xinyue chided, her tone firm but caring. "With your delicate hands, soaking them in cold water will give you frostbite for sure. Everyone here would be worried sick if anything happened to you."

After all, no family would take kindly to seeing their cherished daughter’s hands damaged from helping out at her fiancé’s home. Su Xiaoxiao glanced down at her fair, slender fingers and then chuckled sheepishly, "I just feel guilty lounging around all day while everyone waits on me hand and foot."

"And why should you feel guilty?" Jiang Xinyue replied without missing a beat. "With our family’s means and my brother’s rather infamous reputation—not to mention he’s practically a confirmed bachelor by age—he should be over the moon just to dream about you."

Watching Su Xiaoxiao’s reaction, eyes wide as saucers and mouth slightly agape, Jiang Xinyue couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Don’t look so shocked. I’m only speaking the truth. If you were like the village girls who’ve done hard work since childhood, we’d happily welcome you lending a hand here. Or, if my mother had forced a girl into this marriage to keep Yexun company, we might even expect her to pitch in with housework. But you’re different. You come from a good family, you’ve grown up pampered, and, more importantly, you’re the one girl my brother treasures above all else. Of course, we want to treat you well—ideally, so well that you’d feel a little extra affection toward him. At the very least, we don’t want you to grow disillusioned with him because of us."

Su Xiaoxiao nodded in agreement, deeply moved. She’d seen enough clips and dramas to know how complicated in-laws could be. She’d always wondered why some families seemed desperate to get their sons married, only to torment their daughters-in-law once they were finally part of the family. It was baffling to her, almost... pathological.