Jiang Ning tried to sit up, only to be hit by a wave of dizziness so strong she couldn’t hold herself up.
Luckily, He Zheng’s hand was there, supporting her back and keeping her from falling.
After a few sips of water, the dryness in her throat finally eased. As she moved to hand the glass back to He Zheng, her gaze dropped, and she caught sight of the prominent swell of her stomach.
What kind of nightmare is this? she thought.
One moment, she was a single woman with no husband and no kids; the next, she’d transmigrated directly into motherhood, skipping all the romance and good parts her best friend always bragged about. She had never even experienced the thrill of a date, and now she had to endure the pain of childbirth.
Jiang Ning felt utterly defeated.
Her luck had always been terrible. Abandoned by her parents at a young age and left in an orphanage, she’d fought tooth and nail to earn enough for a down payment on her own apartment. But before she could even start enjoying her new life, she was thrown into this mess.
All her money—her precious apartment—gone.
As Jiang Ning froze, clutching the glass, He Zheng noticed her staring at her stomach. His expression tightened with obvious worry.
“Sister-in-law,” he asked, his voice low and strained, “is something wrong? Is the baby okay?”
Jiang Ning snapped back to reality, her voice weak. “I’m fine.”
As she started to hand the glass back to He Zheng, she caught a glimpse of the water’s surface reflecting a face she knew all too well.
She froze.
The original owner of this body looked exactly like her.
Great. Just great, she thought bitterly. Not only do we share a name, but we even have the same face!
If she didn’t know any better, she’d swear the author of this story held a personal grudge against her, deliberately casting her as a tragic figure in a novel to get revenge.
Jiang Ning handed the glass to He Zheng and sank back into the pillows. Her head was still spinning, and she closed her eyes, hoping a few moments of rest would clear the fog.
He Zheng set the glass aside and pulled a folding chair close to the bed. His gaze drifted to Jiang Ning’s swollen belly. Once they reached the military region, he would take her to the hospital for a thorough examination.
Gradually, the evening sun began to slant through the window, casting a warm, orange glow into the sparse room. The ward was small, furnished only with two iron-frame beds. Despite the sweltering summer heat, it offered little relief. Jiang Ning dozed for about half an hour before she finally opened her eyes, the dizziness having subsided.
Jiang Ning turned her head and saw He Zheng sitting by the bed. His military uniform was buttoned perfectly, his back as straight as a board. With his hands resting on his apart thighs, he gazed out the window. The warm, yellow light washed over his sharp features, blending handsome with steely determination.
Sensing her gaze, he turned, his deep eyes locking onto hers.
“Would you like some water, Sister-in-law?” he asked.
“No, thank you,” Jiang Ning replied.
She paused, wondering if she should ask He Zheng about Zhou Du. After all, she was Zhou Du’s wife. It seemed strange that his comrade had come to find her without any explanation. But before she could speak, the brigade leader and his wife arrived, carrying dinner for the two of them.
“Jiang Ning, how are you feeling?” the brigade leader’s wife asked as she entered.
Jiang Ning managed a small smile. “Much better.”
The woman gently helped her sit up. “Here, eat some hot food first.”
Jiang Ning looked down at the bowl. It was a steaming soup of what looked like sweet potato noodles, not white flour. The broth was thin and clear, containing only a few pieces of sweet potato leaves and a single fried egg. To someone accustomed to gourmet meals, the sight was utterly unappetizing.
Yet for the people of this era, a single fried egg was a rare luxury. Some families wouldn’t even see a handful of eggs in a year. Food shortages were the norm, and those with large families often went hungry.
The brigade leader was showing extraordinary generosity by sharing his own family’s rations with her and He Zheng.
Perhaps it was her pregnancy-induced appetite, or perhaps she was genuinely starving, but Jiang Ning managed to finish the entire bowl.
After the meal, the brigade leader’s wife sat beside Jiang Ning on the bed, while the brigade leader himself perched on the neighboring one, his brow furrowed so deeply he could have caught flies in the creases.
He glanced from Jiang Ning to his wife. Seeing her silent urging, he scratched the back of his head. He was just about to deliver the news of Zhou Du’s death when the soldier spoke first.
“Sister-in-law.”
He Zheng approached the bed, his heavy dark eyes framed by a prominent brow. He bowed deeply to Jiang Ning.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice thick with grief. “Brother Zhou was killed in action. Our unit was ambushed, and he took a bullet meant for me. We rushed him to the hospital, but the wound pierced his lung. There was nothing the doctors could do.”
“Brother Zhou asked me to look after you before he died,” He Zheng said, his eyes rimmed with red.
“I swear to you, Sister-in-law, as long as I have a mouthful of food, you and the baby will never go hungry. And as long as I am here, no one will ever bully you or your child.”
He clamped his lips shut, watching Jiang Ning with worry as she sat motionless on the hospital bed.
The brigade leader’s wife, fearful that the shock might cause Jiang Ning to collapse, hurried to comfort her.
“Zhou Du died for his country,” she said urgently. “The army will never abandon his family. You’re still pregnant—you can’t get too worked up. It would be bad for your health and the baby’s. Just think, the child in your womb is the Zhou family’s only heir. If anything happens to you, Zhou Du wouldn’t be able to rest in peace.”
The brigade leader chimed in, offering his own words of comfort.
But Jiang Ning remained staring blankly, looking for all the world like someone who hadn’t yet processed that her sky had fallen.
In truth, she had processed it just fine.
She was merely performing, feigning a shock she didn’t feel, and trying to figure out how to make her grief look authentic.
After all, she had absolutely no feelings for the original Jiang Ning’s husband.
It wasn’t just her—the original Jiang Ning had felt absolutely nothing for the man. She’d searched her memories but couldn’t even recall Zhou Du’s face; they had only spent ten days together, in all.
The marriage had been forced. Her biological father was a man who had married into her mother’s family, and it was her mother who had held all the power.
As their only child, the original Jiang Ning had been her mother’s apple. But after her mother died in a fall from a mountain last winter, her father quickly remarried a widow from the next village who had two sons. When the eldest son reached marriageable age and the family’s funds ran low, her father decided to sell her off to pay for it.
The original Jiang Ning was a high school graduate and quite beautiful. Her father had declared that no one would marry his daughter for less than four hundred yuan.
Zhou Du, who was home on leave, had taken one look at her, paid the bride price, and married her with a lavish ceremony. Only on the second day did he discover that she already had a lover—a fellow soldier from his own unit. They had even agreed to marry when he returned home for leave at the end of the year, but then this whole mess had happened.
The original Jiang Ning had refused to follow Zhou Du to the military base, and he hadn’t forced her to.
Later, Zhou Du received a call from the original Jiang Ning, telling him she was pregnant.
Worried about her, Zhou Du wanted to bring her to the military base, but she refused. He had been planning to retire after his current assignment to be with her, unable to bear the thought of leaving his wife and child at home where they might be mistreated.
He never imagined he would die on that very mission.
Jiang Ning couldn’t recall Zhou Du’s face, but she had a vivid memory of another man. Did he know the original Jiang Ning had married someone else? If he did and hadn’t sent word, he was nothing but a heartless bastard.
Unable to fake a sobbing breakdown, Jiang Ning simply turned over on the hospital bed, curling into a ball with her head buried under her arm. Her voice came out muffled and strained. “Auntie, please leave. I want to be alone for a while.”
The brigade leader and his wife exchanged a worried glance, neither willing to leave her side.
He Zheng glanced at Jiang Ning’s fragile, thin back. “Let’s step out.”
The couple waited outside for a moment before finally departing. He Zheng, however, remained by the window, watching her quietly through the glass. He couldn’t bear the thought of leaving his sister-in-law alone; he feared her grief might drive her to do something desperate.
The sun dipped behind the mountains, plunging the room into shadow.
Jiang Ning remained motionless, curled in the same position. Outside, the muffled voices of the clinic staff drifted in, but she couldn’t get up yet. She had to commit to the act.
Only when darkness fully descended did the doctor enter and light the kerosene lamp. He asked how her wound was feeling. Jiang Ning rubbed her eyes until they were red and raw before finally sitting up. Her voice was low and raspy. “Better.”
He Zheng lifted the curtain and stepped inside, his gaze falling on his sister-in-law as she sat on the edge of the bed, her head bowed.
She wore a dull yellow tank top and black trousers, her hair braided and draped over her shoulder. As the doctor removed the gauze to change her dressing, Jiang Ning clenched her fingers, her teeth biting hard into her lower lip. Her thin shoulders flinched occasionally, and sharp, broken hisses of pain escaped her lips.
He Zheng noticed her reddened eyes, which looked even more pitiful in the dim, yellow light of the lamp.
A heavy ache settled in his chest. He felt an overwhelming sense of guilt toward his sister-in-law and the unborn child.
After the doctor finished and left with a few final instructions, He Zheng pulled a chair close and sat opposite her. She still kept her head down, silent. He knew she hadn’t yet processed the news of her husband’s death.
“Sister-in-law,” he called softly.
Jiang Ning kept her head down. “Hmm?”
“Big Brother Zhou asked me to take you to the regiment before he passed,” He Zheng said. “Would you be able to come with me?” He paused before adding, “He died a hero’s death. The military gives special benefits to the families of martyrs. Once we’re back, I’ll apply to the Party for you to have your own courtyard in the Family Compound. Until then, you can stay with me. I’m at the regiment most of the time anyway, so you and my grandmother could keep each other company.”
Jiang Ning’s heart leaped.
Go! Why wouldn’t I go?
She was now a martyr’s family member. Living in the regiment was infinitely better than scraping a living from the dirt in the countryside. Besides, she had the male lead of the novel, a future powerhouse, to protect her. His rank would only rise with time, and she’d share in his success.
Jiang Ning finally looked up, her reddened eyes meeting He Zheng’s.
The man’s hand, resting on his thigh, stiffened as she spoke. “I’ll go with you. Thank you.”
He Zheng’s chest tightened. “You don’t need to thank me, Sister-in-law. It’s the least I can do.”
Jiang Ning suddenly needed to use the restroom. She’d been eating and drinking since she woke up that afternoon, but hadn’t gone once.
Jiang Ning glanced at the kerosene lamp. The warm glow emanating from its glass shade did little to light the room. Outside the window, night had fallen. The glass reflected only the dim interior of the sickroom, the rest of the world a black void.
She shuddered. Back then, all toilets were pit latrines. Going into the pitch-black night, she’d be terrified of falling in.
Still, she had to go. She couldn’t just hold it.
Jiang Ning pushed herself up from the table. He Zheng immediately rose. “Where are you going, Sister-in-law?”
Jiang Ning froze.
I need to use the restroom.
She pointed outside. “The toilet.”
He Zheng paused, then moved toward her. “I’ll help you.”
No, that’s really not necessary. How could she possibly use the restroom with him waiting outside in the dead of night?
But He Zheng gave her no chance to refuse. He closed in, his tall shadow looming over her as he grasped her forearm. The heat from his palm seeped through her thin sleeve.
With his other hand, he lifted the kerosene lamp. “I’ll light the way for you.”
***
Author’s Note:
Jiang Ning: Buddy, you’re overdoing it with the care.
He Zheng: Am I?