The moment the name “Wen Yan” was spoken, even the wind and snow seemed to slow.
Twelve telegrams, each bearing her signature.
Wen Yan had single-handedly fueled the gossip among the reclamation team throughout the entire winter.
The young soldier pointed at Wen Yan, stammering, “She… she… she…”
He wanted to ask how she dared to come, how she had the nerve to show her face!
Every divorce telegram had humiliated the esteemed Battalion Commander Jiang.
Whispers spread around them, and eyes fell on Wen Yan from all directions.
Wen Yan had never been particularly sensitive to others’ emotions.
She pulled down her scarf, revealing a fair and lovely face.
First, she looked at the young soldier and said, “Your sled leans to the left. It’s prone to tipping over. Be careful when you go out. If it needs repairs, you can come to me.”
The young soldier frowned angrily: Nonsense!
He didn’t believe a single word of it!
Wen Yan didn’t care whether he believed her or not. After speaking, she raised her hand and waved to the people around her. A clear, crisp female voice rang out:
“Hello, comrades. I am Wen Yan, Jiang Baizhou’s wife. I don’t have three heads and six arms, but I am rather good-looking. If you haven’t seen enough, you can look again tomorrow. I’m not leaving. It’s just too cold today, so I’ll take my leave first.”
After speaking, Wen Yan turned back to the astonished Jiang Baizhou and said, “Let’s find a place to talk.”
Jiang Baizhou adjusted his expression, polite yet distant. “Alright, this way.”
The two walked away, one after the other, leaving behind a burst of heated discussion.
“Is she here to divorce him?”
“Definitely. I’ve never seen a married couple so unfamiliar with each other.”
“It’s the first time I’ve heard someone introduce themselves like that. She really has the nerve.”
“But she is quite good-looking. She’s not wrong about that.”
In the crowd, Bai Shanshan bit her lip, trying to ignore the probing and curious glances from the educated youths who had come with her.
She repeated silently in her heart: They’ll divorce tomorrow, they definitely will!
No man could endure such humiliation from a woman!
After repeating it several times, the tension in her jaw gradually eased, as if her words had already come true.
Walking behind Wen Yan, Jiang Baizhou thought: He truly knew nothing about Wen Yan.
He had assumed she was delicate and proud, but the Wen Yan he had just seen overturned all his preconceptions.
And when she said she wasn’t leaving… did she mean she wasn’t leaving tomorrow, or that she wasn’t leaving at all?
How could she possibly stay forever?
So she must be here to divorce him, unwilling to wait three months.
Jiang Baizhou sighed softly. A face-to-face talk was for the best.
His gaze inadvertently fell on Wen Yan’s red knitted hat, where a small pom-pom swayed back and forth, making her look lively and adorable.
Yet the person walking ahead showed no expression at all, moving with the stride of a “leader on an inspection tour.”
Anyone who didn’t know better would think this was her “territory.”
Jiang Baizhou was amused and, at the same time, grew curious: Should he try his best to salvage this marriage?
Wen Yan had no idea what Jiang Baizhou was thinking. She was observing her surroundings, knowing she would live here for many years.
Rows of yellow mud-brick houses mixed with straw stretched dozens of meters long. Each roof had three or four chimneys, and the earthen walls were covered with woven straw mats. There were dozens of them, clustered in the north.
To the west were several larger earthen houses, one of which had a red cross painted on the outside. This area was likely the administrative zone.
Some standalone mud houses or dugouts were located to the east, where Jiang Baizhou was leading her.
“This is where the military dependents live. All these houses were built by us over the past year.”
When they first arrived, there had been nothing but a vast expanse of ice, snow, and wilderness.
They could only dig holes in the snow to live in as houses, and it wasn’t until spring arrived that they gradually built these homes bit by bit.
In the summer, everyone lived in branch huts, grass shelters, or slept directly on the ground, gazing at the stars at night.
He didn’t blame Wen Yan for not wanting to come. Both her parents were university professors, and her family was well-off.
Although he didn’t know why she had agreed to marry him, it was only natural that she wouldn’t want to come here and suffer.
When they exchanged photos for the arranged marriage, he hadn’t mentioned that he would be reclaiming wasteland in Heilongjiang Province.
“We’re here. This is the place assigned to me. You can stay here tonight. I’ll squeeze in with my comrades.”
Jiang Baizhou opened the door and let Wen Yan enter first. “I’ll start a fire first. The room needs to be warmed up, or it’ll be too cold tonight. You rest for a while. I’ll go check the canteen later.”
The small earthen hut, just over ten square meters, was immediately visible. On the right side of the room was an earthen kang bed, covered with a reed mat. The middle part of the mat was slightly scorched from the heat, and a neatly folded military-green quilt lay on top.
On the left was a rough wooden table with a notebook, a chipped but clean enamel mug, and an aluminum lunchbox.
A tree stump served as a stool, and there was only one. In the middle was a simple stove surrounded by stones, with ashes still smoldering inside.
The window was on the same side as the table, but it was covered by a straw curtain, leaving the room pitch dark.
The phrase “bare walls and empty rooms” was vividly realized.
Wen Yan sat down on the wooden stump. Just as she took off her hat and scarf, Jiang Baizhou asked, “Was the journey smooth?”
Wen Yan thought for a moment. Her father had pulled strings to buy her a sleeper ticket, and her mother had asked a friend who worked on the train to look after her along the way. She nodded and said, “Very smooth.”
Apart from eating, she had slept the entire time.
She didn’t say a word more.
Jiang Baizhou lowered his eyes, assuming Wen Yan didn’t want to talk to him much. He replied, “That’s good. I’ve already applied for leave and planned to go back to find you in a few days.”
Wen Yan looked at Jiang Baizhou, slightly surprised: Planning to go back?
He hadn’t returned for two years. Now, he must be so angry that he wants to go back and divorce her.
She could understand Jiang Baizhou’s anger, but divorce was out of the question. Should she try to coax him?
Wen Yan frowned slightly, thinking about how to coax him, but Jiang Baizhou misinterpreted it as disgust. However, giving up without trying wasn’t his style.
“Stay here tonight. We can talk about everything tomorrow.”
He needed to think carefully tonight about how to approach the conversation. Maybe he should ask someone to mediate?
“Are you leaving? If not, let’s talk now.”
She didn’t like leaving things unresolved. What if something changed after dragging it out? There were people outside waiting to pick up the pieces.
Wen Yan spoke with firm determination.
Jiang Baizhou opened his mouth but found no words. Was she really that eager to divorce? He couldn’t be that bad, could he?
Since childhood, people had always said he was quite good-looking.
A stifling feeling lodged in his chest, neither rising nor falling. Jiang Baizhou met Wen Yan’s resolute gaze and sighed inwardly.
Fine.
He spoke up, “I know you came to divorce me. I don’t want to make things difficult for you. If you insist on divorce, I won’t stubbornly hold you back.”
Wen Yan blinked. Come to divorce him?
No, no, no!
This melodramatic misunderstanding had to be cleared up.
She straightened up abruptly and immediately clarified her purpose, “I’m not here to divorce. I came to live with you.”
With a thud, the piece of wood in Jiang Baizhou’s hand fell to the ground.
Not divorcing? Living together?
Jiang Baizhou’s skeptical gaze swept over Wen Yan’s head.
“You… you didn’t hit your head on the way here, did you?”
Wen Yan shook her head.
“No, my mind is clear, and I’m perfectly healthy.”
“My parents support me, and I sent the telegram, but didn’t you write in your letter asking me to think carefully? I’ve seriously considered it and think you’re right. I’ve decided not to get a divorce.”
Jiang Baizhou was uncharacteristically bewildered. Could one of his letters really have such a powerful effect?
He lowered his head to add more firewood.
This was completely different from what he had expected.
But he had indeed wanted to persuade her to stay.
It’s just… wasn’t this going too smoothly?
Wen Yan was waiting for a reply. The System required Jiang Baizhou to say he wouldn’t divorce before it could mark the task as complete.
Jiang Baizhou’s silence was surely because his male pride was wounded and he needed a way out.
It shouldn’t be too difficult—she was quite good at coaxing the big orange cat she kept.
She even occasionally managed to placate her mentor, who called herself the “Ruthless Master.”
Wen Yan was a woman of action.
She crouched down, pressing close to Jiang Baizhou, and used both hands to turn his upper body toward her, forcing him to look at her.
“Don’t be angry anymore, okay? I like you the most.”
Jiang Baizhou’s mind went blank with heat, the veins on the back of his hands bulging as the piece of wood he was holding cracked slightly: What was she saying?!
Wen Yan frowned. Still not speaking?
That meant her coaxing wasn’t enough. She’d try again.
“I promise I’ll never make such a fuss again. Please, forgive me!”