Those words hit like a bolt from the blue. Wang Dani froze and turned around, her face drained of all color.
"You... you drugged me?"
Zhang Chenghui's face was ashen. His lips twitched, but in the end he said nothing.
"Zhang Chenghui, all these years after I gave birth to Yanyan, I never got pregnant again. I thought it was my own body that was the problem... I thought every time you came home in person to drop off money, it was because you wanted to have another child with me. I thought that when it came to having kids, I was the one who failed you... I never imagined it was you all along. How could you be so cruel?" Tears burst forth from Wang Dani's eyes instantly, her voice thick with sobs.
She had thought everything was under her control. She had been so afraid that Qi Yuqing would get pregnant that she drugged Qi Yuqing, never realizing she herself was the one being played for a fool. She slumped to the ground, crying until she started laughing, her sobs laced with utter desolation.
Zhang Chenghui glanced at Wang Dani with contempt. "Was I the one who insisted on coming back? You threatened me that if I didn't show up, you'd come to the city and make a scene."
"Every time I went back, it felt like I was being tortured. Back in the countryside, you'd pester me to have another child. Every moment I spent with you was pure agony, and I still had to answer all those ridiculous questions of yours."
"I had to put Qi Yuqing down, make her sound worthless, like she wasn't even half as good as you, just to get you to leave me alone."
"What else was I supposed to do? If you got pregnant again, do you really think Qi Yuqing would have forgiven me? On top of that, your entire Wang family is so greedy. You keep pestering me for money over every little thing. How could I ever risk letting you have another child? If you had a son, your whole family would be riding roughshod over me for the rest of my life."
Zhang Chenghui felt completely worn out. All these years, he had truly suffered at Dani's hands, and he'd had to keep forking out money to support her family nonstop, otherwise any of them would threaten him.
Qi Yuqing was actually a kind, virtuous woman. She never made a fuss over anything, she was very generous, and she often bought clothes and snacks for Yanyan.
He had no idea how he had let his good life turn into such a mess. His gaze fell on Dani.
It was all this woman's fault. If she hadn't drugged Qi Yuqing, Qi Yuqing would have gotten pregnant long ago. If they had their own child, he never would have gone to find Shao Tingting, and none of this mess would have ever happened.
This woman was far too greedy, wanting to have everything her own way. Then he let out a bitter laugh. Was this karma coming back to get him?
Just then, Qi Yuqing walked slowly over to Zhang Chenghui, looking down at him where he was crumpled on the ground.
Zhang Chenghui looked up and met her eyes. He was already kicking himself, he had just been so overcome with rage that he had acted recklessly. He tried to coax Qi Yuqing, hoping she would forgive him.
"Slap." A resounding slap landed hard across his face.
The crowd went dead silent. Zhang Chenghui held his stinging cheek, staring at her in utter shock.
"Ugh, you're disgusting." With that, Qi Yuqing turned and walked away. This man was so revolting that even one more glance at him made her want to gouge her own eyes out!
Just then, someone shouted, "The police are here!"
"Hurry, officers, arrest these two beasts!"
The crowd immediately scattered to make a path for the police.
Three police officers hurried into the circle of people. The leading officer glanced at Zhang Chenghui lying on the ground, then looked at the blood on Director Qi's face.
"Who made the report?"
"I did." Director Qi held his nose, his voice sounding muffled. "This man is guilty of marriage fraud, bigamy, drugging people, intentional harm, and there are these photos. You can see for yourselves."
The police officer took the stack of photos someone handed over, flipped through two of them, and his expression darkened.
"Take all of them back to the station."
Zhang Chenghui was hauled to his feet. He struggled to say something, but the moment he opened his mouth, he spit out a mouthful of blood.
The police officer frowned. "Send him to the hospital first."
Wang Dani gave Zhang Chenghui a cold glance, then climbed straight into the police jeep. This man had no conscience at all. Why would she ever care about him again?
Qi Yuqing didn't even spare him a second look. She was about to help Director Qi, go to the hospital first and get his injuries treated.
Right then, a group of people came storming over from the distance, carrying sticks and shovels, charging towards them with menacing looks.
There were only three police officers, and seeing the crowd, they immediately drew their guns from their waists.
"Yuqing," a middle-aged woman at the back of the group hurried forward. "We heard something bad happened to you. Are you alright? What on earth is going on?"
"Uncles, auntie, how did you all get here? It's alright now. Dad's hurt, let's get to the hospital first, and I'll tell you everything slowly."
Qi Yuqing turned to look for Xiao Mandong to say a quick hello, and found herself locking eyes with a pair of deep, dark eyes.
She froze. It was the man who had just kicked Zhang Chenghui to the ground, the one who had saved her earlier.
Under the dim yellow streetlight, he stood tall and straight in his crisp military uniform, looking right at her. Qi Yuqing walked up to him. "Thank you for what you did just now."
The man gave a slight nod, but said nothing.
Qi Yuqing thought for a moment, then asked again, "Comrade, may I know your name and where you work? I'd like to come by later to properly thank you."
The man pressed his thin lips together, just as he was about to answer, a childish voice piped up.
"Little uncle, grandma says it's time for dinner." A teenage boy ran over, grabbed the man's hand, and started pulling him towards the back of the family compound.
"No need. Goodbye." With that, the man turned and left without looking back, walking away with the little boy.
Xiao Mandong had originally planned to follow them to the hospital, but seeing that Qi Yuqing's relatives had all arrived, she figured there was no need for her to tag along. She said goodbye to Qi Yuqing and went back to her place.
She felt completely worn out from the whole day. She went into her personal space, didn't even have the energy to wash up, and flopped onto the bed and fell asleep right away.
The next day, she woke up and saw the clock—she was already ten minutes late. She rushed through washing up and ran straight to the hospital. As soon as she got there, Nurse Sister Li came up to her.
"What's going on?" Xiao Mandong linked her arm through Sister Li's and walked inside.
"Director Qi's nose is badly injured. He's been yelling that he wants to retire. He even got into an argument with the dean about the retirement issue, saying that even if they won't process it for him, he's not going to see any patients from now on. He just left the hospital with Qi Yuqing, said he's going home to rest and won't be coming in to work." Sister Li's face was full of gossip, dying to find out what had happened the day before.
Xiao Mandong smacked her lips and said nothing. She didn't like talking about people behind their backs. She knew exactly what Director Qi was thinking. He just didn't want to treat Wang Dani's child anymore. If he ignored it, his conscience would bother him, but if he got involved, he'd feel even worse. So he decided to step back, stay away, and avoid seeing all that mess.
Just then, Sister Liu hurried into the hospital holding a lunch box.
"Mandong, perfect, you're here. Can you help me look after Jialiang for a bit? There's an emergency at the factory, I have to go back right now." She stuffed the lunch box into Xiao Mandong's hands, and before Xiao Mandong could say a word, she had already run off.
Xiao Mandong had no choice. She held the lunch box Sister Liu gave her and headed for Jialiang's hospital room. When she turned the corner of the hallway, she caught a glimpse of a military man's back—tall, straight, with steady, firm steps.
She froze. That back looked just like Shen Linzhou.
By the time she snapped out of her daze, the man was already gone. She shook her head and pushed open the door to the hospital room.
Meanwhile, in the military district office, the Political Commissar looked at Shen Linzhou's worn-out state, and he could barely contain his anger.
"Shen Linzhou, lift your head up right now."
Shen Linzhou lifted his head, his face bright red.
"Look at how cowardly you are!" The Political Commissar smacked the table. "Xiao Ding told me yesterday that you've been wiping your bicycle nonstop these two days, practically eight hundred times a day. You're almost rubbing the paint right off it. What's the deal, is that bike made of gold?"
Shen Linzhou's lips twitched, but he said nothing.
"I'm talking to you. Have you got a crush on that Doctor Xiao?" The Political Commissar never expected that this legendary top soldier would be such a total coward when it came to romance!
Shen Linzhou's face instantly burned even redder.
The Political Commissar saw his reaction and knew exactly what was going on.
"That girl is a great one. Brave, careful, and sharp. She was a huge help for you to get promoted to regiment commander this time. If you like her, why aren't you chasing her? Are you bothered by the fact that she's divorced?"
"I don't mind that at all. I'm just worried... that she... she won't like me back," Shen Linzhou hurried to object.
He truly had never minded that detail. He had originally planned to make a move on her while they were working on the mission, but the mission wrapped up far sooner than he expected. What's more, he still remembered perfectly that day in Qingshigou Village, Xiao Mandong had said in front of a whole crowd of people that even if she got divorced eight hundred times over, she would never step foot into the Shen family's house.
"Bullshit!" The Political Commissar was so angry he shot to his feet. "What part of you is lacking, Shen Linzhou? You're not bad looking at all, and you just got promoted to full regiment commander. As for that messy business with your family? Every family has their own skeletons in the closet. She hasn't even said a word about it, and here you are putting yourself down like this. Some big shot you are."
Shen Linzhou kept his head hanging, not saying a word.
The Political Commissar walked around to stand right in front of him, and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Let me tell you something. When it comes to this kind of thing, men have to take the initiative. If you keep waiting around, and someone else makes a move first, you'll have nowhere to go to cry your eyes out. Haven't you ever heard that saying? Even the most steadfast woman will fall for a persistent suitor."
"Shen Linzhou!" The Political Commissar suddenly raised his voice sharply.
"Here!" Shen Linzhou snapped to his feet and stood at attention immediately.
The Political Commissar looked completely serious. "I'm giving you one week of leave. Go win Doctor Xiao over."
Shen Linzhou was left completely stunned.
