“Shen Qingqing, can you show some decency?”
Shen Qingqing kicked the front seat in frustration.
Jiang Zhixun remained perfectly composed, gripping the steering wheel, ready to start the car.
The names on the marriage certificate were theirs—it wasn’t something that belonged to Shen Qingqing alone.
How was he being shameless?
He glanced back at Shen Qingqing. “If there’s a next time, I won’t come looking for you.”
“I never asked you to.”
Jiang Zhixun gritted his teeth. “Fine. I was just meddling.”
Shen Qingqing was about to say something else when the car suddenly lurched forward.
Thrown back by the force of inertia, she slammed into the back seat.
It happened so suddenly that Shen Qingqing’s face went pale with fright.
One hand gripped the window, the other braced against the seat.
“Jiang Zhixun, you bastard!”
Her voice was too soft, drowned out by the roar of the engine.
Only when the car slowed down did her tension begin to ease.
If Jiang Zhixun hadn’t come looking for trouble, she’d still be comfortably settled at the guesthouse right now.
At that thought, Shen Qingqing felt a surge of grievance, and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
She hugged her coat tighter, leaning into the shadows, no longer wanting to speak to Jiang Zhixun.
Hearing her heavy breathing, Jiang Zhixun thought she was crying again and checked the rearview mirror.
But she was leaning against the seat, head tilted to the side, long hair covering half her face—he couldn’t make out her expression.
His hand on the steering wheel rubbed against it absently.
In the end, he said nothing.
He also stopped deliberately speeding up to scare her.
The atmosphere was as cold as if it had frozen solid—nothing like how a normal married couple should be.
Jiang Zhixun inexplicably recalled the times they’d spent together in the capital.
Shen Qingqing wasn’t a talkative girl. Several times when he’d driven to pick her up from school, they hadn’t said much either, but the atmosphere back then was different from now.
Back then, he’d been relaxed. Not like now, with his mind in a mess.
Once they left the county town, Jiang Zhixun couldn’t help but glance at Shen Qingqing in the rearview mirror again.
There were no streetlights, and the car was pitch black. Shen Qingqing still hadn’t moved from her position, making it even harder to see her expression.
He couldn’t make anything out. Jiang Zhixun’s slender hand tightened on the steering wheel.
A few minutes later, he said awkwardly, “I don’t want to interfere with you either, but it’s not safe for a woman to stay out alone.”
Shen Qingqing still ignored him.
Jiang Zhixun had a cold temperament and never took the initiative to explain himself to anyone.
But he’d broken that rule several times for Shen Qingqing.
She didn’t appreciate it, so Jiang Zhixun stopped trying to please her.
He clicked his tongue against his cheek. The girl seemed soft-tempered and easygoing, but she actually had a rebellious streak!
They remained in this standoff until they reached their destination.
The moment the car stopped, Shen Qingqing’s eyes snapped open, perfectly calm.
Without hesitation, she pushed open the door, grabbed her things, and walked off.
From start to finish, she didn’t say a single word.
Jiang Zhixun stayed in the driver’s seat, his gaze heavy as he watched Shen Qingqing’s retreating figure.
She was wearing a black coat, as if she were about to melt into the thick darkness.
Alone and solitary, she looked somewhat pitiful.
At the same time, she gave him the illusion that he couldn’t hold onto her.
The irritation in Jiang Zhixun’s chest was impossible to suppress. In his line of sight, Shen Qingqing had already entered the guesthouse.
The man suddenly pushed open the car door.
If she insisted on having a child to stop making a fuss, then fine—they’d have one!
That would also satisfy the family, so the elders wouldn’t pressure her to the point where she didn’t even dare return to the compound.
A woman staying out alone was unsafe, after all.
Shen Qingqing had planned to go straight upstairs, but she spotted Lin Zhidong and Zhou Xiaomei in the first-floor lobby.
Seeing her, the couple both let out a sigh of relief.
Although Xiaomian had sworn to heaven that she hadn’t seen Shen Qingqing and that Shen Qingqing not returning to the guesthouse had nothing to do with her.
The couple didn’t fully believe her.
After all, Xiaomian had come back with Jiang Zhixun. Maybe Comrade Shen had misunderstood something and that’s why she didn’t want to return.
Knowing that Jiang Zhixun had gone back to the county to look for her, they’d thought it over and left the child with Lin Fengmian, then came to the guesthouse to wait.
Seeing Shen Qingqing come in with her things, Zhou Xiaomei quickly asked, “Comrade Shen, you didn’t run into any trouble today, did you?”
Shen Qingqing was surprised. “Did someone say something happened to me?”
Zhou Xiaomei said teasingly, “No one said anything happened to you, but Captain Jiang was frantic. He searched all over the county and couldn’t find you—he was about to report you missing to the police!”
Lin Zhidong nodded in agreement. “Good thing he found you, or he would’ve been crying from worry.”
He thought to himself, Old Jiang clearly cared a lot about Comrade Shen, so why was he still being so stubborn with her?
If he didn’t wise up soon, and Comrade Shen got so angry she left and never came back to the Northwest, he’d regret it too late.
He caught sight of Jiang Zhixun coming in from outside with a dark expression.
Lin Zhidong slung an arm around his shoulder. “Your wife rarely visits. Not going with her to the county is your fault. If you keep making that face, I’ll have to criticize you.”
Jiang Zhixun shook off his hand.
“Aren’t you leaving?”
Lin Zhidong’s mouth twitched. “Those who don’t listen to good advice will suffer for it. Keep being a blockhead, and don’t come crying to me later.”
Jiang Zhixun said nothing, but the expression on his face said it all.
He’d always shed blood, never tears.
Crying? Impossible!
It was clear that Jiang Zhixun and Shen Qingqing had things to say to each other, so Lin Zhidong and Zhou Xiaomei didn’t want to stay and be a third wheel.
Zhou Xiaomei said to Shen Qingqing, “Don’t forget to come over for dinner tomorrow.”
Shen Qingqing nodded in agreement.
Lin Zhidong pulled his wife along and left.
Once they were gone, Shen Qingqing turned and went upstairs. A conflicted expression appeared on Jiang Zhixun’s face.
Finally, a look of determination flashed in his eyes.
He followed Shen Qingqing up the stairs.
Just as she entered the room, Shen Qingqing extended her hand. “Hand it over.”
The marriage certificate was an important document—she’d still need it for the divorce—so she wanted to keep it in her own hands to feel at ease.
Jiang Zhixun glanced at her subtly. “Is it that important?”
Shen Qingqing’s tone was serious. “Yes, it is.”
The man let out a strange snort.
He took the marriage certificate out of his coat pocket and handed it to her.
Shen Qingqing immediately put it away safely.
She’d originally planned to keep it in her suitcase, but afraid she might forget and not be able to find it when needed, she simply stored it together with her introduction letter.
She did all of this with a very serious expression, clearly showing how afraid she was of losing the marriage certificate.
Seeing Shen Qingqing carry the marriage certificate on her person at all times, Jiang Zhixun became even more certain that she had come this time to have a child.
His fingers curled slightly.
He turned and walked toward the door.
Shen Qingqing assumed Jiang Zhixun was leaving, so she didn’t pay him any mind and continued organizing her things on her own.
After checking the door lock to make sure no one would suddenly come in.
Jiang Zhixun took a deep breath.
He quickly removed his military overcoat and walked toward the bed, his body so tense that the veins on his hands stood out prominently.
They wound up along his arms and finally disappeared into his sleeves.
Beneath the overcoat, he was only wearing a shirt.
The lines of his muscles were faintly visible, his robust physique fully on display.
He casually draped the coat over a chair.
He pondered what the first step should be.
Shen Qingqing, who was squatting to organize her luggage, turned her head to look at him. “Still not leaving?”
Her tone wasn’t exactly pleasant, and Jiang Zhixun felt that Shen Qingqing was still angry.
Though he didn’t know what exactly she was angry about.
His hands clenched and then relaxed as he said dryly, “I’m helping you apply the medicine patch. I’ll leave once it’s done.”