For Wen Yining, divorce meant a new beginning. But for some, it was a nightmare.
Wen Yining looked forward to her new life and had already planned for the future.
Cheng Yifeng, on the other hand, was thrown into anxiety and unease by her sudden appearance. He lay in his dorm bed, unable to sleep all night.
Especially after being slapped by Wen Yining, he felt a mix of shame and anger, his teeth itching from the hatred he felt toward her.
He never had any real feelings for Wen Yining. The only reason he agreed to marry her was to have a free caregiver for his parents. Wen Yining happened to be the most suitable candidate at the time. His parents liked her, so he agreed.
After Wen Yining’s mother died following the marriage, she essentially had no home of her own. She had no choice but to stay obediently in the Cheng household, caring for his parents.
He didn’t have to spend much time with her; just giving her occasional small rewards would keep her dutifully working for the family for life.
But he never expected that everything would unfold according to his plan, only for the previously meek Wen Yining to suddenly transform into someone unrecognizable—someone who could fly into a rage at any disagreement.
A few days ago, she had swung a kitchen knife wildly, injuring him and Gu Yuxuan. Today, she had the audacity to slap him at the military base.
Thinking of Wen Yining’s threats—that if he didn’t agree to the divorce, she would go berserk every time they met, making a fool of him—Cheng Yifeng’s brow furrowed so tightly it could pinch a fly.
Divorce was out of the question. If they divorced, who would care for his parents?
Gu Yuxuan?
She wouldn’t care for anyone.
Besides, he never intended for Gu Yuxuan to care for his parents—her hands were not meant for servitude.
Moreover, he knew his mother, Wang Xue’s, temper. Gu Yuxuan could never get along with her.
Cheng Yifeng had originally planned to make Gu Yuxuan impersonate “Wen Yining.” This was also why he disliked Wen Yining and married her.
By registering the marriage with the military, Wen Yining’s identity as his wife would be on record. The military personnel wouldn’t know the real Wen Yining. As long as he claimed that Gu Yuxuan was Wen Yining, it would be legitimate for them to be together.
That way, he could apply to have Gu Yuxuan live in the family housing, far from external interference.
As for his parents, it wasn’t yet time for them to enjoy life. He planned to bring them over only after he and Gu Yuxuan had a child.
But at the very moment he was advancing his plan, Wen Yining suddenly appeared at the base with a child, demanding a divorce. This completely disrupted his plans of switching Gu Yuxuan’s identity and bringing her in.
The thought of Gu Yuxuan hiding in a dilapidated hut in a small village, waiting for him to come fetch her, made his chest tighten painfully—more than the cuts on his arm from Wen Yining’s knife or the sting of her slap.
His Yuxuan was the purest, most beautiful person. Even before the Gu family officially recognized her, her foster parents had done their best to raise her excellently.
In their area, Gu Yuxuan was the epitome of the “other people’s child”: beautiful, articulate, and capable. She wasn’t just the unattainable first love in the hearts of young men of her age, but also the ideal daughter-in-law in the eyes of local women.
After she was recognized by the Gu family, she became an untouchable white moonlight for young men like him.
Had it not been for the Gu family’s later troubles and her coming to seek his help, he would have only been able to care for her quietly from afar, never having the chance to be with her.
Cheng Yifeng turned over, his eyes unusually determined in the dark. He absolutely would not let anyone ruin his hard-earned chance to be with Gu Yuxuan.
And if the person interfering was Wen Yining? That was out of the question!
At first, he couldn’t sleep because of Wen Yining’s sudden appearance. Later, it became worry over Gu Yuxuan in the village, making him restless.
Finally, he dozed off in the later hours of the night, only to be awakened by the reveille. Even though his mind begged him to rest a little longer, years of training had built muscle memory. He rose and carried out his morning routine flawlessly.
Five minutes later, Cheng Yifeng appeared on the training field for the first step of basic drills: running.
But because he hadn’t slept well and was preoccupied, he fell behind slightly, causing the rear of the formation to become disorganized.
Later, during training, he was distracted and ignored the deputy regiment leader’s commands, resulting in a public scolding from the regimental commander.
As a battalion commander, he failed to set an example, and his entire company was punished with extra drills.
By noon, after a morning of training, Cheng Yifeng hadn’t eaten and rushed to the communications room to call his parents about Wen Yining.
She had likely slipped out while his parents weren’t paying attention; otherwise, they would have stopped her.
He estimated that his parents were now anxious about two people suddenly missing from the house. He needed them to come and fetch her.
Of course, his parents weren’t just coming to pick her up; he also needed them to explain to the commissar that this Wen Yining wasn’t actually his wife Wen Yining, but a distant relative’s child.
He even had a story ready for them: that Wen Yining’s husband had died, leaving her mentally unstable, and that she mistakenly believed he was her husband. Her sudden visit to demand a divorce was due to the recent emotional shock when he had brought her home on leave.
But when Cheng Yifeng dialed, no one answered.
His family had installed a telephone, which was rare at the time; most lines were public, and few households had one.
His parents had gone through connections to install the line for easier contact with him, and he had helped a lot with it.
Being the first in the neighborhood to have a phone, his parents had proudly shown it off for a long time.
Yet the one unique line that had always worked today went unanswered.
It should have been a day off; they should have been home.
Could it be that Wen Yining had run off with the child, and his parents were out looking for them?
Cheng Yifeng had no idea—the phone line his family had specially installed would never work again.
Wen Yining had already indiscriminately taken that unique phone as scrap into her space, waiting for the right moment to trade it for cash.