Li Zhengting’s tall, imposing figure exuded an overwhelming sense of intimidation in the dimly lit inner room.
He lowered his head slightly, his deep, dark eyes fixed firmly on Yu Qinghuan.
His voice was low, carrying a hint of amusement that was difficult to put into words.
“Weren’t you unconscious?”
Faced with Li Zhengting’s blunt exposure of her act, Yu Qinghuan’s fair little face showed not the slightest embarrassment at being caught.
On the contrary, she casually brushed the dirt off her hands, then reached up to straighten her slightly disheveled black hair.
She even patted the stove ash off the hem of her clothes with a look of distaste.
“Commander Li, you really don’t understand, do you?”
Yu Qinghuan shot him a sidelong glance and answered with complete confidence.
“That was a tactical faint. Understand?”
“If I hadn’t fainted, would those neighbors outside have drowned Miao Cuihua in their saliva so quickly?”
“If I hadn’t fainted, could I have so smoothly exposed how they starved me for three days and how Li Chunhua tried to steal my job?”
“In military strategy, that’s called using your opponent’s strength against them. I used psychological warfare and public opinion to completely destroy the enemy’s defenses.”
As she spoke, Yu Qinghuan raised an eyebrow at Li Zhengting.
Her eyes sparkled with unmistakable pride.
Li Zhengting stood rooted to the spot.
For the first time in his life, a momentary look of bewilderment appeared on his usually stern, battle-hardened face.
He had spent years in the army.
He had commanded the most troublesome soldiers and fought the toughest battles.
But he had never encountered anyone like this before.
A young woman of just eighteen could make faking a faint and putting on an act sound so grand and dignified.
And she was actually talking about military strategy?
Psychological warfare?
“So…”
Li Zhengting’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke in a hoarse voice.
“When you pinched my waist outside just now, was that also part of your so-called ‘tactics’?”
Yu Qinghuan nodded generously.
“Of course. That was a signal to you.”
“I was reminding you to catch me quickly and play along with my act.”
“You’re a soldier. You can’t just stand there like a wooden post, can you?”
“What if I actually fell to the ground? Then I really would have been injured.”
Li Zhengting stared at his little wife, who was talking so confidently, her entire body bristling with thorns.
For a moment, he was utterly speechless.
Since Yu Qinghuan had secretly stored all the chairs in the house inside her dimensional space the previous night, the room was now completely bare.
With nowhere else to sit, Li Zhengting took a long stride and casually sat down on the edge of the hard earthen kang.
He rested both hands on his knees, his expression gradually turning serious.
The atmosphere in the room fell completely silent.
“Yu Qinghuan.”
Li Zhengting looked at her, his deep eyes filled with earnestness.
“Now that it’s just the two of us, let’s speak frankly.”
“Yesterday, my mother locked you up. Today, you smashed up the house.”
“What exactly are you thinking?”
He paused, and his tone grew heavier.
“Are you really planning to divorce me and go our separate ways?”
Li Zhengting hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“If you are, I won’t force you to stay.”
“I’ll prepare the divorce application, and I won’t let anyone touch your official teaching position at the county primary school.”
“I’ll also leave you enough money to live on. I won’t let this marriage ruin your future.”
“But if you want to continue this marriage…”
Li Zhengting gave a self-deprecating tug at the corner of his mouth and glanced out the window.
“You’ve seen what this family is like.”
“With my mother and eldest sister around, I’m afraid there’ll be no end to the chaos in the days ahead.”
Listening to Li Zhengting’s almost confessional words, Yu Qinghuan slowly let the teasing expression fade from her face.
She looked at the resolute, stern, and composed soldier standing before her.
Suddenly, her vision began to blur.
Scenes from her previous life involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
In her previous life, Li Zhengting had been just the same.
Although their marriage had begun in an absurd and hurried manner, he had always treated her with the utmost respect.
Whenever he returned from the army, he brought her the most fashionable dacron fabric and white sugar from the city.
He had handed over all his military allowances to his family, believing they would treat her well.
But he had never known that every last cent had ultimately ended up in the pockets of Li Chunhua and Old Man Li.
Then, in the summer of the second year after their marriage, a catastrophic flood struck southern China.
Li Zhengting had gone to rescue several villagers swept away by the raging waters.
During a devastating mudslide, he disappeared without a trace.
Not even an intact body was left behind.
When his comrades brought back his ashes and his battered military uniform, Yu Qinghuan had cried until her eyes bled. She had nearly followed him to her death right then and there.
Yet Miao Cuihua and Old Man Li had cared about nothing except fighting over Li Zhengting’s substantial death compensation.
Even the last few old military uniforms he had left behind were taken by Li Chunhua and cut up to make shoe insoles.
Those horrifying memories flashed through Yu Qinghuan’s mind, making her fingertips tremble with pain.
This man…
In his previous life, he had defended his country and died young, without ever getting to enjoy a single day of peace and happiness.
But in this life…
Now that she had been reborn, she would never allow that tragedy to happen again!
She would take him away.
Away from this filthy, miserable pit full of bloodsucking parasites!
Yu Qinghuan raised her head.
Her clear, expressive eyes were now filled with a determination and resolve she had never shown before.
“I’m not getting a divorce.”
Yu Qinghuan’s voice was not loud, but every word rang with conviction.
“Li Zhengting, I want to stay with you and build a life together.”
“But I refuse to remain trapped in this mountain village, serving as the Li family’s free ornament of virtue and unpaid servant.”
“I want to join you at your military posting.”
“We’ll leave this filthy, chaotic place behind, go to your army base, and live our own lives.”
Join him at his military posting.
Those words struck Li Zhengting squarely in the heart in the empty inner room.
He looked at Yu Qinghuan’s beautiful, determined face, still smudged with dust.
Something stirred violently in his deep, dark eyes.
He had originally thought she would seize the opportunity to leave him.
After all, any woman in her position would want to stay as far away as possible from the Li family’s disastrous mess.
But he had never expected that this seemingly crazy, unreasonable little wife of his would so firmly choose to go with him.
An intense warmth surged uncontrollably through Li Zhengting’s chest.
He stood up.
His tall, imposing figure cast a shadow over Yu Qinghuan.
He nodded, his voice low and hoarse, but with a newfound warmth.
“Good.”
“Once tomorrow’s wedding ceremony is over, I’ll go to the production brigade headquarters to get the necessary travel documents and take you with me to my military posting.”
“However, before we leave…”
Li Zhengting glanced out the window at the courtyard, which had been left in complete disarray and stripped of everything.
“We have to settle this family’s mess once and for all.”
“Otherwise, my mother and eldest sister will never let us leave so easily.”
Hearing this, Yu Qinghuan’s delicate little face slowly blossomed into an exceptionally radiant smile.
A smile that was, in its own way, positively terrifying.
“Settle the mess?”
She rolled her wrists, a fierce glint of excitement flashing in her eyes.
“Commander Li, that happens to be my specialty.”
“Just what I wanted.”