“Of course not!”
He had just promised Wen Yan inside.
Jiang Baizhou didn’t think Wen Yan was the worrying type.
She had been nothing but direct since they’d met.
‘Then she must have been asking for someone else’s benefit.’
Jiang Baizhou lowered his head slightly, his palm landing on the fuzzy pom-pom of Wen Yan’s hat.
His voice was gentle yet clear.
“You’re my wife.
I will never divorce you in this lifetime.
Let’s live a good life together.”
“Okay!”
The two of them, one tall and one short, walked side by side.
Amidst the CRUNCH CRUNCH of their footsteps in the snow, a choked sob could be heard.
Bai Shanshan ran off, crying.
Wen Yan glanced back furtively and explained in a low voice, and only then did Jiang Baizhou understand.
“I don’t know the comrade you’re talking about, and I’ve never asked anyone to set me up on a blind date.”
Wen Yan said with the utmost sincerity, “Don’t worry, I believe you.”
Jiang Baizhou was momentarily at a loss for words.
‘Is this damned sense of trust a little…
off?’
*
In the office of the Reclamation Team’s political commissar.
There were two men.
One was lightly tanned, the other was very dark.
The lighter-skinned man, Lin Zhengwei, asked, “What did you think of my speech just now?
Think it’ll convince Jiang Baizhou’s wife not to divorce him?”
The darker-skinned man, Li Hanjun, glared with wide, tiger-like eyes, his aura intimidating.
“I’m telling you, it was a waste of breath!
A dozen damn telegrams have already come through.
She’s dead set on leaving.
Why should one of my soldiers be humiliated like this?!
If she wants a divorce, fine!
I’ll find Jiang Baizhou someone better right away!”
“What are you shouting for?
Just to show off how loud you are?
‘Divorce, divorce, divorce!’ All this talk of leaving, you sound like a broken record!”
After his outburst, Lin Zhengwei sighed.
“I figured we couldn’t change her mind anyway.
We’re just going through the motions.”
“Reporting!
Jiang Yingzhang and Comrade Wen have arrived.”
Lin Zhengwei cleared his throat and called out, “Let them in.”
Wen Yan and Jiang Baizhou entered one after the other and stood side by side.
Lin Zhengwei stood up, a broad smile on his face, and politely shook Wen Yan’s hand.
‘The young lady is fair-skinned, with regular, pretty features, and looks full of spirit.’
‘No wonder Jiang Baizhou married her.
That brat has always been a sucker for a pretty face!’
‘And now it’s come to this.
This whole mess could affect Jiang Baizhou’s future promotions.’
He shot a subtle glare at Jiang Baizhou.
‘This is what you get for only caring about looks!’
Jiang Baizhou thought, ‘What did I do?’
“Hello, Comrade Wen.
I’m the political commissar of the 513 Reclamation Group.
My surname is Lin, and this is our Li Group Leader.”
Wen Yan returned the greeting.
As she furrowed her brow, thinking about how to explain the situation, Lin Zhengwei saw it as a sign of sorrow beyond despair.
‘Actually, he also thought a divorce would be for the best.
An unhappy couple is unfair to both parties.’
“Since you two were able to get together…”
“Reporting!”
Jiang Baizhou interrupted Lin Zhengwei, but Lin Zhengwei wasn’t angry.
“Go ahead.”
Jiang Baizhou flashed a grin, revealing his white teeth.
With a familiar smile, he said, “Reporting.
I have already apologized to Comrade Wen and admitted my mistakes.
Comrade Wen has forgiven me, and we have decided not to get a divorce.”
Lin Zhengwei and Li Hanyan were both left speechless.
‘They’re not getting a divorce?’
‘Had the two of them spent the last hour drafting speeches and planning their strategy just to demonstrate the definition of ‘superfluous’?’
Jiang Baizhou knew his two leaders were on his side.
They had been the ones to proactively approve the divorce application.
But since they’d decided not to divorce, he couldn’t let Wen Yan’s reputation be damaged.
He sighed, his voice laced with a hint of “guilt.” “Actually, Comrade Wen never really wanted to divorce me.
We only met for the first time at our wedding, and then I ran off halfway through the ceremony.
Who wouldn’t be angry if that happened to them?”
Lin Zhengwei and Li Hanyan exchanged a glance, both feeling the same pang of guilt.
‘She really does have a right to be angry.’
Jiang Baizhou continued to lay the guilt on thick.
“I was away on a mission for a year, and after I got back, I spent another year reclaiming land here in Black Province.
Communication was difficult.
It’s perfectly normal for Comrade Wen to be upset.”
The anger Lin Zhengwei and Li Hanyan had been holding onto subsided a little.
‘It really isn’t easy being a military wife.’
“Comrade Wen traveled a thousand miles to be with me.
When she arrived and saw how hard my life was, her heart ached for me.
She even made me some roasted flour tea to help me regain my strength.
Here, have a sniff.
Can’t you still smell it on my breath?”
Jiang Baizhou actually stepped forward and opened his mouth, only to be kicked away by Li Hanyan.
Still, it seemed like they really could smell the roasted flour tea.
‘Is this comrade really that good?
Did we misunderstand her?’
Standing to the side, Wen Yan pursed her lips, her expression blank.
If it weren’t for the lingering taste in her mouth, she might have believed him herself.
Li Hanyan’s gaze fell on Wen Yan, who hadn’t said a word.
His face was naturally imposing, and his voice was stern.
“If that’s the case, why did Comrade Wen send twelve telegrams demanding a divorce?”
Wen Yan met Li Hanyan’s gaze without flinching.
Her tone was as steady as if she were giving a debriefing report.
“They weren’t divorce telegrams.
They were twelve love letters I sent to Jiang Baizhou.”
Li Hanyan was perplexed.
So was Lin Zhengwei.
They were rendered utterly speechless.
Jiang Baizhou’s jaw tensed as he suppressed a laugh.
He was dying to hear how she would spin this.
Wen Yan began her fabrication with a perfectly straight face.
“They really were love letters.
The name ‘Jiang Baizhou’ represented my longing for him.
The two words ‘divorce me’ were a rhetorical question and a form of hyperbole.
Repeating it twelve times was a literary device used for emphasis…”
Lin Zhengwei immediately raised a hand.
“Alright, alright, I get your meaning.”
‘Please, don’t keep making things up!
Your language arts teacher would weep through the night if they heard this.’
Jiang Baizhou’s story had a shred of credibility, but Wen Yan’s was just a brazen fabrication.
And yet, she delivered it with such sincerity.
‘That’s a skill in itself.’
His gaze shifted back and forth between Jiang Baizhou and Wen Yan, understanding now that the two of them did not want to divorce.
“The organization respects your personal wishes.
Since neither of you wants a divorce, go back and get your lives in order.
You can’t cause this kind of trouble again.
The impact has been extremely negative.
Do you understand?”
Jiang Baizhou and Wen Yan immediately and obediently promised they would.
Next, Lin Zhengwei spoke of the harsh environment and the need to be prepared for hardship.
He also took the opportunity to process the paperwork for Wen Yan to officially accompany the group.
Wen Yan tucked away her letter of introduction and said, “I know mechanics, carpentry, and map-making.
Can you assign me a job?”
Lin Zhengwei and Li Hanyan gave Wen Yan a strange look, their disbelief written plainly on their faces.
Jiang Baizhou was also watching her.
For some reason, he felt that Wen Yan wasn’t lying.
Except when she was ‘coaxing’ people, of course.
Lin Zhengwei asked, “You didn’t go to university, did you?”
It wasn’t mentioned on the letter of introduction just now.
She didn’t even have a listed occupation.
Wen Yan shook her head honestly.
“I didn’t, but my family lives in the university’s faculty housing.
My dad teaches mechanics, my mom is a geography teacher, and my grandfather is an old carpenter.
Our neighbors are pretty amazing too.
There’s Uncle Zhu next door…”
Lin Zhengwei nodded seriously.
‘So it runs in the family…
hmm?
What does having amazing neighbors have to do with anything?’
Wen Yan continued, “I learned through osmosis.
I’m smart and a fast learner.”
‘Whether they believe me or not isn’t important.
I’m just laying the groundwork so that in the future, I’ll just ‘happen’ to know these things.’
For a moment, Lin Zhengwei didn’t know how to respond.
‘Although one shouldn’t speak without investigating, this sounds like nothing but empty boasting, right?’
His already poor impression of Wen Yan soured even further.
Li Hanyan felt the same way.
‘How did my best soldier end up with a wife who’s such a troublemaker and a liar?’
The two men exchanged a look, but in the end, they held their tongues for Jiang Baizhou’s sake.
Lin Zhengwei said perfunctorily, “Well, that’s quite impressive.
Why don’t you have a look around tomorrow, Comrade Wen, and see where you can help out.”
In other words: ‘Do whatever you want!’
Wen Yan chose to ignore their displeasure and disbelief, focusing only on the fact that they’d told her to do as she pleased.
She immediately seized the opportunity, thanking them, “Thank you for your support, Leaders.
I’ll get myself settled in.”
Jiang Baizhou, who had been watching Wen Yan the whole time, suddenly felt his heart flutter with unease.
He had a feeling something was about to happen.
Lin Zhengwei and Li Hanyan thought, ‘Did we support her?’
‘Jiang Baizhou’s wife seems a bit…
dim-witted.’
With their business concluded, Wen Yan went out first, while Jiang Baizhou stayed behind to talk.
A moment later, from the doorway, she heard Li Hanyan scolding, “You brat!
Look at you, so eager to please.
Pathetic!”
CLICK.
Jiang Baizhou came out, cupping three biscuits in his hands.
“These are soft.
You can eat them when we get back.
You can also soak them in water if you like.”
“I also got a bundle of dried noodles.
We’ll cook them when we get back.”
Wen Yan agreed, and the two of them walked out of the building one after the other.
It was completely dark outside.
The cold air made the inside of her nose feel frigid and damp.
Their shoes went CRUNCH, CRUNCH in the snow.
Suddenly, Jiang Baizhou asked, “So, about those ‘love letters’?”
“You believed that?”
In the darkness, Wen Yan couldn’t quite see Jiang Baizhou’s smile, but she could hear the aggrieved tone in his clear voice.
“Of course I did.
Didn’t you say you liked me the most?
Or…
were you lying to me?”