Tang Rubao brought Anlai to Chen Xiaomin’s house.
Chen Xiaomin was watering the vegetables in the yard.
The midday sun shone on her, making her look as if she were bathed in a layer of golden light.
In Tang Rubao’s eyes, the petite Chen Xiaomin looked especially radiant and beautiful.
She gently knocked on the wooden gate.
Chen Xiaomin turned around, saw it was her, put down the bucket, and came over to open the door.
“What’s your name?” Chen Xiaomin asked, gently pinching Anlai’s little cheek.
Anlai obediently replied, “Tang Anlai.”
“Anlai is such a good child.” Chen Xiaomin led Tang Rubao and Anlai inside to sit.
As soon as she entered, Tang Rubao asked how long it would take to receive a reply from “Story Club” after a manuscript was selected.
Chen Xiaomin brought out melon seeds and peanuts to treat them and said, “It depends on the publisher’s schedule. If your manuscript is published quickly, you might get a reply within a month.”
“If it’s not selected, there’s no need for typesetting or printing, you’ll usually get a response in about two weeks. Um… are you planning to submit something?”
Tang Rubao smiled. “Sister Xiaomin, just call me Rubao. I’ll be divorcing Battalion Commander Zhou soon, so I won’t be his wife anymore.”
As expected of a storyteller, Chen Xiaomin was far more open-minded than most military wives.
After hearing this, she smiled and said, “Writing stories isn’t that difficult. As long as you can read and have ideas, you can try boldly.”
Tang Rubao smiled modestly. “After borrowing your book and reading it, my mind filled with stories. I looked up every word in the dictionary and wrote one, I’ve already submitted it.”
Chen Xiaomin was surprised. “You’ve already written it?”
Then she praised her, “You’re amazing, you dare to think and act. I really admire you.”
It was the first time she had met a woman who spoke so openly and bravely about divorce.
An unhappy marriage is like a tomb, yet many women would rather stay trapped inside it, living in pain and resentment, than take the first step out and face the sunlight.
Tang Rubao thought that in the near future, Chen Xiaomin would experience a major turning point in her career.
Looking at her with bright eyes, she said, “Sister Xiaomin is the one worthy of admiration. Your stories are very moving, you’ll definitely become someone great.”
Seeing the sincerity in Tang Rubao’s clear, dark eyes, Chen Xiaomin grew even fonder of her. She smiled. “I truly enjoy writing stories, and I’m happy with my life right now.”
“Rubao, I hope your manuscript gets selected so you can earn money and support yourself and your child after the divorce.”
Before Tang Rubao left, Chen Xiaomin gave her a fountain pen. “My uncle gave me two, now I’m giving one to you. I hope your writing flows beautifully.”
Tang Rubao looked at the pen, it was made of gold-colored metal and gleamed brightly.
The cap was engraved with a small character: “Shen.”
“Your uncle’s surname is Shen? But Aunt Liu…” Tang Rubao asked.
Chen Xiaomin smiled. “My mother was adopted by my grandparents.”
As she spoke, she reached out and gently rubbed Anlai’s head. “When my grandparents adopted my mother, she was already ten. But she was very filial to them. They spent many years in the army, and my uncle was born late, my mother raised him herself.”
Tang Rubao understood, Chen Xiaomin was reassuring her that an adopted child could be just as loving and devoted as a biological one.
She accepted the pen solemnly and said gratefully, “Thank you, Sister Xiaomin.”
As soon as she stepped out of Chen Xiaomin’s house, she saw Zhou’s mother leading a group of people, rushing toward her aggressively.
In rural areas, women married young. Although Zhou Jingran was nearly thirty, his mother was only around fifty.
Despite her thin, darkened appearance from years of labor, Zhou’s mother was strong and full of energy.
She rushed forward as if propelled by fire under her feet, reaching Tang Rubao in an instant.
Seeing them, Tang Rubao backed up to the doorway of Chen Xiaomin’s house and pushed Anlai into the yard.
“You wretch!” Zhou’s mother lunged forward and slapped Tang Rubao across the face without a word.
Tang Rubao could have dodged, but when she saw the group of people behind Zhou’s mother, she ultimately chose not to.
Smack!
Zhou’s mother’s slap landed squarely on her face.
The surroundings instantly fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
A burning pain spread across Tang Rubao’s cheek, and tears streamed down her face.
“Why are you hitting someone?” Chen Xiaomin asked as she came out holding Anlai.
“That’s right, Battalion Commander Zhou’s mother just arrived and already started beating her daughter-in-law. What a vicious mother-in-law!”
“Battalion Commander Zhou may be handsome, but his mother is like a tigress! She’s even harder to deal with than my own mother-in-law.”
Some of the military wives who had followed began pointing and whispering about Zhou’s mother.
But Zhou’s mother didn’t care at all.
She stepped forward, grabbed Tang Rubao’s hair, and raised her hand to slap her again.
Before her hand could come down, it was suddenly seized by a large hand.
A cold, indifferent voice, laced with icy authority, rang out: “Deliberately injuring someone is grounds for reporting you to the police.”
Tang Rubao looked up at the man, he was a full two heads taller than her.
He wore a military uniform and a cap.
Beneath the brim, his deep, dark eyes seemed like ancient glaciers, cold and unfathomable.
His sharp, handsome features looked as though they had been sculpted by a master, his jaw firm, his nose straight and striking.
Tang Rubao quickly looked away.
Her gaze shifted to Zhou Jingran, cold and distant.
He could have stopped his mother when she tried to hit her again.
But he didn’t.
A bitter, mocking glint flashed in her eyes.
‘This… is the man she loved for seven years…’
Zhou Jingran felt a chill run down his spine under her emotionless gaze.
“Who are you to stop me from disciplining my daughter-in-law?” Zhou’s mother snapped. Used to being domineering in the village, she couldn’t restrain herself even here.
She shook off the man’s hand and pointed at him, hurling insults: “You’re Tang Rubao’s lover, aren’t you? You’re the one who encouraged her to divorce my son, right? You shameless adulterers—”
Hearing this, Zhou Jingran’s expression changed drastically.
The man, standing tall like a pine tree, looked at Zhou Jingran with a cold, distant gaze.
Zhou Jingran quickly stepped forward, covered his mother’s mouth, and said angrily, “Mom, stop talking nonsense!”
Zhou’s mother shoved him aside and continued glaring fiercely at the man. “You dare do it but not take the blame? You look respectable, but you’re secretly working with Tang Rubao to cheat my son out of three hundred yuan! I’m going to report you to the police for fraud—”
“Mom!” Seeing the man’s expression grow colder by the second, Zhou Jingran raised his voice sharply. “Commander Shen doesn’t even know Tang Rubao, stop causing trouble here!”
At that moment, he deeply regretted not stopping his mother earlier from coming out to demand the money.
“Commander Shen?”
When Zhou’s mother heard that he was a regimental commander, she froze.
Then she looked up at Zhou Jingran and asked bluntly, “Which rank is higher, a battalion commander or a regimental commander?”
Zhou Jingran’s face flushed red with embarrassment, he wished he could disappear on the spot.