Starting as a Train Driver to Enter the Ministry
Chapter 5 - My Cat Can Do Backflips!

Chapter 5: My Cat Can Do Backflips!

Wang the Matchmaker said, “Ladies, if you have any questions, ask them now. Later, if you’re interested in someone’s family, you can go take a look!”

The thin, frail girl beside her raised her head, her clear black-and-white eyes darting a quick glance at Jia Dongxu and Chen Shi before lowering her gaze again.

Qin Huairu hesitated between Chen Shi and Jia Dongxu.

Jia Zhangshi wanted to blurt out that Chen Shi’s family had two sickly dependents and that Chen Shi himself was a loafer who’d even been linked to a murderer!

Yi Zhonghai noticed and quickly shot his wife a look. Auntie Yi immediately pulled Jia Zhangshi aside. “Sister Jia, the whole courtyard is watching this double blind date! If you say something to ruin Chen Shi’s chances, you’ll drag both our families’ reputations through the mud. As the saying goes, ‘Better to tear down a temple than break up a marriage!’”

After stopping Jia Zhangshi, Auntie Yi broke out in a cold sweat. The new nation was just established, rebuilding from the ruins, this was the time for capable people to rise. Yi Zhonghai had been carefully cultivating his reputation, hoping to make his mark in this new era.

If Jia Zhangshi ruined Chen Shi’s marriage prospects, the Jia family’s reputation would be destroyed. Jia Dongxu was Yi Zhonghai’s apprentice, their fates were intertwined. If Jia Dongxu’s name was tarnished, Yi Zhonghai would suffer too!

Jia Zhangshi clenched her teeth, seething with resentment but unable to act.

Yi Zhonghai gave Jia Dongxu a reassuring look. Since he’d taken Jia Dongxu as his apprentice, he had his best interests at heart.

At that moment, Liu Haizhong stretched lazily and stepped forward. “Ah, Lao Yi, perfect timing. I haven’t been feeling well lately, so my wife got me some medicine. Where’s the medicine pot?”

Yi Zhonghai smiled. “The courtyard shares one medicine pot. Whoever needs it keeps it at their place.”

“Then I’ll ask who’s using it.”

“No need, it’s definitely at Old Chen’s place. His wife and he are both in poor health. Just follow Chen Shi home later to get it.”

“Alright, I’ll send my eldest to fetch it.”

Chen Shi’s parents… sickly?

Qin Huairu’s eyes flickered. Her assessing gaze shifted from Chen Shi to Jia Dongxu.

Meanwhile, Chen Shi cursed Yi Zhonghai inwardly. That old fox had just exposed his family’s biggest weakness with a single phrase, sickly dependents.

Boom!

Before Chen Shi could think of a counter, a flood of memories surged into his mind.

As he processed them, he stared around in shock at the familiar-yet-unfamiliar faces.

He had crossed over, into a world fused from TV dramas like The Story of the Courtyard!

Unlike other transmigrators, he had died in his past life and been reborn naturally into this world. This was his own body, his own soul, except his pre-transmigration memories had only just awakened after twenty years!

He was in The Story of the Courtyard, and right off the bat, he’d been outmaneuvered by Yi Zhonghai, the so-called “Moral Heavenly Lord” and scheming old fox of the courtyard?

Well, wasn’t that a surprise!

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong’s little act hadn’t harmed their reputations but had still revealed Chen Shi’s family situation to Qin Huairu.

And the worst part? Chen Shi couldn’t even complain, because it was true. His parents were chronically ill. In a proper courtship, that should have been disclosed upfront.

[Congratulations, Host! Awakening past-life memories has granted you the Comparison System, rewards are earned through successful comparisons.] [First comparison target unlocked: Jia Dongxu.] [Comparison criteria:

Job: Chen Shi vs. Jia Dongxu → Jia Dongxu wins. No reward.] [Comparison criteria:

Reputation: Chen Shi vs. Jia Dongxu → Jia Dongxu wins. No reward.] [Comparison criteria:

Blind Date: Comparing potential matches…]

Chen Shi froze for a second. Now that his pre-transmigration memories were sorted, he wasn’t unfamiliar with the concept of a system.

A comparison system? Rewards for winning comparisons?

But what kind of rewards?

Comparing jobs, Jia Dongxu was a factory worker, while Chen Shi was a loafer. Naturally, Jia Dongxu won.

Comparing reputations, Jia Dongxu had Yi Zhonghai’s moral backing, praised as filial and dependable. Chen Shi? He’d just been tied to an executed criminal, Wu Er-ye.

Another loss.

The only chance was this blind date. If he won here, he’d get a reward.

But… win Qin Huairu?

Chen Shi hesitated. If he hadn’t awakened his past-life memories, his competitive streak might have pushed him to snatch Qin Huairu away.

But now? He knew the Courtyard plot inside out.

Who was Qin Huairu?

The original vampire, the matriarch of white-eyed wolves, ungrateful children!

In the famine years, when food was scarce, she’d still managed to bed Jia Dongxu and conceive his posthumous child, Huaizi.

Then she went on to drain the courtyard’s “God of War,” He Yuzhu, dry, sucking him for all he was worth.

Was this the kind of woman he wanted to marry?

At that thought, even the allure of a young “Thirteenth Aunt” paled.

Health is the foundation of revolution. Without it, what good was a pretty wife?

Chen Shi sighed. It looked like he wouldn’t win this comparison.

But so be it. Better than marrying a vampire like Qin Huairu and raising three little ungrateful brats!

Qin Huairu bit her lip. “Auntie Wang, I’d like to get to know Comrade Jia Dongxu better.”

Chen Shi had no job and two sick parents. If she married him, she’d just be a glorified maid.

That wasn’t the city life she’d dreamed of.

Chen Shi snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at the rail-thin girl beside her. At first glance, she seemed plain, malnourished, her features gaunt.

But her bone structure was delicate: clear, peach-blossom eyes like pools of spring water, a small, straight nose, and cherry lips. With proper care, she’d blossom into a beauty rivaling even the young “Thirteenth Aunt.”

More importantly, Chen Shi had always preferred the pure, fresh type.

Without hesitation, he leaned in and whispered:

“Hey, my cat can do backflips. Wanna come see?”

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