The smell coming off him was unbearable. Xiao’s mother wanted to ask what had happened, but she had no choice but to wait until Zhao Mingze finished showering.
“Second Son, can you tell what happened?”
When Xiao Jingwen had walked through the door earlier, his face had been dark. Xiao’s mother had sensed something unusual and felt that something was wrong.
“Don’t hide anything from me.”
“Nothing, Mom. Just prepare Zhao Mingze’s wedding as usual.”
She felt that something about her second son’s expression was strange, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what.
Xiao’s mother glanced at him, then sighed.
“All right, I’ll prepare Mingze’s wedding. But let me ask you something. Mingze is getting married already. How much longer are you planning to stay single?”
Her second son was good in every way, except that he showed absolutely no interest in women.
Ever since he turned twenty-two, the family had introduced him to at least thirty women, if not fifty.
Female soldiers, women from the military arts troupe, office workers, doctors, teachers, tall ones, plump ones, quiet ones, lively ones…
Xiao’s mother asked, “With so many good girls, you haven’t found a single one you like?”
Xiao Jingwen said nothing.
Every time this topic came up, he turned into a complete mute, which made Xiao’s mother furious.
“What exactly do you want? Tell me, and I’ll find one for you.”
“Younger?”
“Two years older than you?”
Xiao’s mother kept testing the waters.
Eventually, Xiao Jingwen became annoyed. He frowned and said, “Mom, don’t trouble yourself.”
There he went again, telling her not to trouble herself!
Xiao’s mother’s temper flared.
“How can I not trouble myself? You’re almost thirty! Look at the children of all your childhood friends in this compound. Which one of them hasn’t started elementary school yet?”
“Do you know what people are saying about you behind your back?”
“They’re saying that you were injured while stationed at the border and can’t perform as a man, which is why you haven’t gotten married!”
That rumor had been circulating for several years.
At first, only a few big-mouthed people whispered about it behind his back, and nobody believed them.
But as Xiao Jingwen grew older without taking a wife, the rumor had recently become more and more widespread.
Hearing people say such things about her perfectly good son, Xiao’s mother felt deeply wronged. As she spoke, her eyes even turned red.
And once her eyes turned red, that was a serious matter.
If Commander Xiao found out about it when he came home that evening, he would definitely lose his temper.
Xiao Jingwen sighed helplessly and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“All right, Mom. Stop acting.”
She used this trick every time.
Xiao Jingwen said, “I have someone I like. I’m pursuing her.”
Xiao’s mother’s lips moved.
Knowing his mother better than anyone, Xiao Jingwen guessed what she was about to ask and stopped her first.
“That’s all I’m telling you for now. As for the details, I’ll tell you after the girl agrees to be with me.”
Xiao’s mother looked at her son twice.
Once she was certain he wasn’t lying, she beamed.
“All right! Then keep at it. I’ll be waiting for good news!”
As mother and son chatted, Zhao Mingze finished his shower and came downstairs.
The laughter and cheerful conversation in the living room stopped the moment he appeared on the staircase.
Zhao Mingze sneered inwardly.
Xiao’s mother sat up straight and gestured for him to come over.
“Mingze, come here. I have something to ask you.”
She was a loving mother when it came to her own son.
But when it came to him, she wore a stern expression every day.
Zhao Mingze lowered his eyes and walked over.
“Director Jin.”
Xiao’s mother glanced at him and lifted her chin.
“Sit down first.”
Zhao Mingze obediently sat.
He remained silent for a long while without saying anything.
He always had to wait for someone else to question him whenever something happened. His habit of avoiding trouble made it difficult to like him.
Xiao’s mother sighed.
“Didn’t I tell you to go to the Lin family this morning? Where did you get all that filth on you?”
He had thought of countless explanations while showering.
But so many people had witnessed what happened. Even if he wanted to hide it, he couldn’t.
Zhao Mingze pursed his lips. With no other choice, he told the truth.
“It happened outside the Lin family home.”
He described what had happened that morning to Xiao’s mother, deliberately glossing over the important details.
He did not mention that he had been harassing Lin Xi.
He only said that Lin Xi had been angry with him because she had regretted the marriage proposal, so she deliberately incited the neighbors to throw the wastewater at him.
She was angry, so instead of doing it herself, she had gotten the neighbors to vent her anger for her.
The logic simply didn’t hold together.
Xiao’s mother silently stared at Zhao Mingze without commenting.
Xiao Jingwen, however, gave a quiet snort from the side and looked over.
“Is that so?”
The rising inflection in his voice and the look in his eyes, as if he had already seen through everything, made Zhao Mingze’s heart tighten.
He said nothing.
Xiao Jingwen did not question him any further.
He stood up, undid the buttons at his cuffs with one hand, and walked into the courtyard.
“Come outside with me.”
In a family of soldiers, everyone knew what undoing the cuffs meant.
It meant sparring.
“Second Son.” Xiao’s mother stopped him.
“You’re getting married the day after tomorrow. If you want to train, wait until you’re back at the unit.”
“Now.”
For once, Xiao Jingwen displayed an unmistakably forceful side of himself at home.
His eyes swept over Zhao Mingze’s face.
“What are you standing there for?”
“You’re an active-duty soldier, yet you couldn’t even dodge a young woman’s punch. Don’t you think you need some extra training?”
Xiao Jingwen rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, revealing the lean, well-defined muscles of his forearms.
Xiao Jingwen was a sniper.
Snipers were among the most well-rounded and capable soldiers in the military.
They needed not only exceptional reflexes and dynamic vision, but also physical fitness far beyond that of ordinary people.
How could Zhao Mingze possibly withstand Xiao Jingwen’s punches?
“Uncle…”
Zhao Mingze hesitated, reluctant to fight.
The next second—
A fierce gust of wind tore straight toward his face.
Xiao Jingwen was forcing him to fight through sheer action.
The difference in strength, combined with the instinctive fear Zhao Mingze felt toward him…
Zhao Mingze managed to dodge only three attacks before a punch sent him crashing to the ground.
This was completely different from Lin Xi’s punch.
Xiao Jingwen’s punch carried real force.
Zhao Mingze lay sprawled on the floor, feeling as though his jaw had shattered. The metallic taste of blood spread through his mouth.
It wasn’t just his mouth.
His nose was bleeding too.
Xiao’s mother cried out, “Oh my! Second Son, what are you doing?!”
She hurried off to find a towel.
Only the two men remained in the living room.
Xiao Jingwen rubbed his wrist and slowly walked toward Zhao Mingze.
The toe of his shoe stopped less than ten centimeters from Zhao Mingze’s fingertips.
Because of the pain in his face, Zhao Mingze instinctively shrank backward, retreating half a step.
A short, contemptuous laugh came from above.
Looking down at Zhao Mingze from his superior position, Xiao Jingwen regarded him with the same expression one might use to look at a piece of trash.
“Useless.”
After tossing out those two words, he turned and walked away.
Blood dripped onto the floor, one drop after another.
Zhao Mingze angrily slammed his fist against the ground.
Lin Xi was conflicted.
Should she kick Lin Jianguo out of the house today?
Her dilemma was this.
According to her original plan, she had intended to wait until Lin Ran’s wedding day and have the people from the Revolutionary Committee arrest Lin Jianguo in front of everyone.
That would have made the whole thing much more satisfying.
Wasn’t Lin Jianguo obsessed with saving face?
Then she would destroy the last shred of his dignity.
Lin Xi understood the mentality of men who had built their lives by living off their wives better than anyone.
They had already grown accustomed to the humiliation and misery they endured behind closed doors.
For someone like Lin Jianguo, the disdain of others in public and the way people looked down on him were the most devastating blows.
Just two days.
Should she wait?
Or should she throw them out today?
The former meant making herself suffer for two more days.
The latter meant the revenge wouldn’t be satisfying enough.
Lin Xi was beginning to worry over it.
“What are you worried about?”
Just as she was caught up in her dilemma, Xiao Jingwen had somehow appeared silently behind her without her noticing.