chapter 2

With so much evidence against him, the man who had assaulted my sister was arrested in no time.

The police called and asked her to come to the station.

Thrilled, she tried on several outfits and changed her lipstick just as many times before finally leaving, satisfied with how she looked.

At the station, she sat across from the man and could not stop gazing at him like a lovestruck fool.

He looked at her with disgust. He insisted he had never forced her and said she had been the one to initiate everything.

The investigating officer was dumbfounded. He turned to my sister and asked whether the man was telling the truth.

She nodded. “Yes, he didn’t force me. I gave him the condom, and I was the one who started it.”

“Do you understand that you filed a false report?” the officer exploded.

She lowered her head apologetically. “I’m sorry. But he disappeared afterward, and I had no way to find him. This was the only thing I could think of.”

There was nothing the officer could do except release the man and give my sister a stern verbal warning.

The moment they stepped out of the station, the man strode away as fast as he could. My sister caught hold of him.

“Hey, handsome, what’s the hurry? I told you, didn’t I? I like you. I want to marry you and be your wife.”

He stared at her as though she were deranged.

He had just opened his mouth to refuse when my sister covered it with her hand.

“Don’t be so hasty. If you say no, I’ll walk straight back inside and change my statement. You’ll still go to prison. But if you marry me, you get a gorgeous wife for free.”

The man’s gaze traveled down her body. Apparently remembering the pleasure of that night, he swallowed.

Seeing him waver, my sister pressed on. “Besides, you’re unemployed, aren’t you? If you marry me, I’ll support you. I can even transfer all my parents’ money to you behind their backs.”

The temptation was too great.

He gave in at once, and his manner toward her turned tender. Sliding a large arm around her, he pulled her into his embrace.

“Baby, I’ve always thought you were beautiful and sweet. I’ve been savoring the memory of that night ever since. But with a man like me, will your parents really let us marry?”

My sister gave his chest two bashful little thumps. In a gentle voice, she explained that our parents had been nagging her to marry for years. She would register the marriage with him in secret and tell them the truth afterward. By then, even if they objected, there would be nothing they could do.

The man broke into a huge grin and urged her to go register the marriage immediately.

My sister took the identity card she had been carrying from her purse. “I came prepared. We can go straight to the Civil Affairs Bureau.”

He flicked her forehead affectionately, then took her back to his rented room to collect his own ID. Together, they went to register their marriage.

The moment they had their marriage certificate, my sister brought him home to meet our parents.

“Mom, Dad, Ah Zheng and I are married. He doesn’t have a job or any income, so he’ll be living with us from now on.”

Our parents were speechless.

My new brother-in-law was handsome, certainly. But if he was an unemployed drifter my sister would have to support, they would rather she remain single.

They slammed the table and objected on the spot, ordering her to divorce him.

My sister clung to his arm. “No. Ah Zheng and I have already consummated our marriage. He’s the only man I’ll ever marry.”

Mom and Dad clutched their chests and toppled stiffly onto the sofa.

Only then did my sister panic. She grabbed her phone and called an ambulance.