Shen Qingqing hadn’t been embarrassed at first.
But the moment Jiang Zhixun said that, her small, palm-sized face flushed instantly.
Her ears turned so red they looked like they might drip blood.
The redness spread all the way down to her neck, hidden by her scarf.
Shen Qingqing quickly lowered her head and, using the scarf as cover, quietly let out a breath.
Trying to suppress her feelings of shame and embarrassment.
Seeing her ears turn completely red, Jiang Zhixun only then realized what he had said.
A flicker of chagrin passed through his eyes.
Mixed with a hint of irritation.
His hand, tucked in his pants pocket, clenched and then relaxed. In the end, he said nothing and went to get his meal with his lunchbox.
His comrades were also feeling awkward.
Each of them regretted coming to watch Jiang Zhixun’s spectacle in the first place.
At this moment, they didn’t know whether to leave or stay.
If they left, it would make the female comrade uncomfortable.
If they stayed… it seemed even more awkward!
Lin Zhidong nudged them.
Then, grinning without a care in the world, he said, “Comrade Shen, we’ll go get our food first and come back to chat with you later.”
Before Shen Qingqing could respond, he made a quick getaway, chasing after Jiang Zhixun.
That man really had no sense of loyalty.
He’d nearly made the female comrade cry, and yet he slipped away fast!
With no outsiders present, Shen Qingqing yanked her scarf open and took deep, ragged breaths.
Only then did the rising heat of embarrassment begin to dissipate.
She had imagined Jiang Zhixun would treat her coldly, but she hadn’t expected him to make her lose face in front of others.
Shen Qingqing had thought she could remain indifferent.
But the truth was, her eyes were stinging, her nose was burning, and she felt so wronged she wanted to cry.
She exhaled heavily several times.
Shen Qingqing told herself that once they got divorced, everything would be fine.
From now on, she would never see Jiang Zhixun again!
Seeing Shen Qingqing with her head lowered, pressing her fingers against the corners of her eyes, Lin Zhidong bumped Jiang Zhixun’s shoulder as he got his food.
“Is your sister about to cry?”
Jiang Zhixun glanced over casually.
His answer didn’t match the question. “She’s not my sister.”
Lin Zhidong’s gaze turned meaningful.
First she was, then she wasn’t—what exactly was he playing at?
“Even if she’s not your sister, you can’t bully a female comrade like that. You’ve never met a woman like my wife—if you dared talk to her like that, she’d make you kneel on a washboard all night.”
Jiang Zhixun’s eyes turned cold. “What nonsense are you spouting? Can’t food shut your mouth?”
Lin Zhidong didn’t stop there. Instead, he asked the question Jiang Zhixun had been avoiding all along.
“Did you and that female comrade ever date?”
Jiang Zhixun had been transferred to the Northwest three years ago.
He was handsome and flew fighter jets like a pro.
If all the female comrades who liked him held hands, they could form a line stretching from the Northwest all the way to the capital.
It was only natural that Comrade Shen liked him too.
Over the years, Lin Zhidong had witnessed how Jiang Zhixun rejected female comrades.
His intuition told him that Jiang Zhixun’s attitude toward this Comrade Shen was unusual.
It was as if he had deliberately raised his hackles to hurt her.
It didn’t seem like enmity—rather, it seemed like some kind of tangled affair of love and hate.
Meeting Lin Zhidong’s suspicious gaze, Jiang Zhixun’s thin lips moved slightly. “You have quite the imagination.”
He and Shen Qingqing had a marriage certificate, but it was an arranged marriage. They had indeed never dated.
Jiang Zhixun didn’t know why Shen Qingqing had come.
But thinking of the phone call he’d received not long ago, he already had a guess.
His mother had told him to have a child with Shen Qingqing.
Jiang Zhixun’s expression grew increasingly irritated.
Every decision he’d made in his life had followed the arrangements of his elders.
The only time he’d rebelled was when he applied for the transfer to the Northwest.
Three years had passed, and he still hadn’t figured out how to handle his marriage to Shen Qingqing.
He had thought they could just live apart, never interfering with each other, for the rest of their lives.
He hadn’t expected Shen Qingqing to come after him.
The calm had been shattered, and the rebellion buried deep in his heart had quietly resurfaced.
Jiang Zhixun thought to himself that he needed to find a way to get Shen Qingqing to return to the capital.
Each going their own way in peace was the best state for them.
“That’s not right.”
Lin Zhidong slapped his forehead. “If she weren’t your family member, how could she get in here?”
Jiang Zhixun gave him a cold look.
And it was that very look that confirmed the answer for Lin Zhidong. “Comrade Shen really is your family member?”
If she weren’t, why wouldn’t he deny it?
Sister…
A sweetheart sister was exactly that—a sister with no blood relation, from different parents!
Lin Zhidong stole a glance at Shen Qingqing while asking suspiciously.
“You couldn’t stand my rough-and-tumble biological sister, but you’re also ignoring a beautiful, gentle comrade like Shen. Old Jiang, is there something wrong with you?”
Jiang Zhixun shot him a frosty look, and Lin Zhidong stopped letting his gaze linger on Shen Qingqing.
He patted Jiang Zhixun’s shoulder. “Since she’s your family member, you should treat her well. Comrade Shen is a young woman who came all the way from the capital—who knows how much hardship she’s endured.”
Jiang Zhixun grew even more irritated.
“She brought it on herself. I never asked her to come.”
Lin Zhidong was momentarily speechless, then shook his head.
“Things are different now. If a female comrade doesn’t want to live with you, she might even file for divorce. My wife threatens it several times a year—I don’t dare make her angry. Look at you—you haven’t been home in ages, and Comrade Shen hasn’t even blamed you.”
“On the contrary, you’re the one who gave her a cold face the moment you met. No wonder Comrade Shen was crying.”
Lin Zhidong, having been through such situations himself, could tell that the female comrade was truly upset.
He spoke earnestly, “We won’t meddle in your marital affairs. Whatever issues you have with Comrade Shen, talk them through properly. Women are thin-skinned, so you should rein in your temper.”
With that, he picked up his lunchbox and left.
He even called the other comrades away, making sure none of them sat at Shen Qingqing’s table.
Many people had witnessed the commotion just now.
Jiang Zhixun had always been a prominent figure, drawing much attention.
At this moment, Shen Qingqing had also become the center of attention in the cafeteria.
Feeling scrutinized, Shen Qingqing sat on pins and needles, unable to eat.
She had originally planned to bring up the divorce in the cafeteria, but now the words wouldn’t come out.
She packed the leftover steamed bun into her lunchbox, intending to return to the guesthouse.
Jiang Zhixun sat down across from her.
That cold, handsome face, though it had shed some of its irritability, only exuded more distance.
“Eat. When you’re done, I’ll take you to the train station.”
With that, he began eating on his own.
Years of habit had made him a fast eater.
But it never came across as crude.
On the contrary, because of his striking looks and the air about him that clearly set him apart from ordinary people, even his hearty eating was a pleasing sight.
In her naive younger days, Shen Qingqing had secretly watched Jiang Zhixun eat.
Now, she didn’t let her gaze rest on him, her fingers unconsciously picking at the lid of her aluminum lunchbox.
“I have something important to discuss with you. Once you’re done eating, could you come with me to the guesthouse?”
Jiang Zhixun would need to return to the capital with her to obtain the divorce certificate.
His work was special; he couldn’t just leave at a moment’s notice.
If he wouldn’t return to the capital, she would stay here and wait him out.
This time, she was determined to get a divorce!