Zhou Jianjun slammed into the wall, raising his hand to cover his nose.
“Brother, go ahead and hit me. I know you’re still angry...”
Seeing him still putting on an act, Zhou Chen grew even more furious. Each punch landed harder, carrying a vicious intent to beat the man to death.
Zhou Jianjun took a few punches before it suddenly dawned on him.
Zhou Chen really wanted to kill him.
His eyes changed abruptly, and he shoved Zhou Chen hard. “Zhou Chen, don’t go too far!”
Zhou Chen couldn’t hear anything anymore. The only way to vent the pent-up rage inside him seemed to be by pounding the man in front of him.
Zhou Jianjun took several more hits, shielding his face awkwardly with his arms.
Driven to the edge by the blows, Zhou Jianjun stopped holding back and swung a vicious punch in return.
“Good,” Zhou Chen said hoarsely, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. “You’ve finally dropped the act. Come on, let’s go again.”
The two grappled and tumbled, turning the dormitory into utter chaos.
The noise was too loud.
The soldiers next door, seeing that the fight was spiraling out of control, burst in and pulled them apart.
...
Commissar Zhuang was roused from his bed.
He fastened his buttons as he hurried to the regimental headquarters office.
On the way, he heard a brief summary of the situation, and his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
When he reached the office, he saw Zhou Jianjun’s face was covered in blood—his cheekbone was bruised purple, his lip split open, and his left eye was so swollen that it was nearly shut.
Zhou Chen was in slightly better shape, but not by much.
A gash ran across his forehead, and a big purple bruise marked the corner of his mouth.
Commissar Zhuang took a deep breath, barely managing to restrain himself from cursing out loud.
That night was absolute chaos.
The lights in Commissar Zhuang’s office blazed all night. Zhou Chen and Zhou Jianjun were taken to separate rooms to give their statements, and by the time it was over, dawn was nearly breaking.
Early the next morning, the matter was reported to the division, and from there to higher authorities.
The higher-ups arrived quickly.
After all, this involved a complex case concerning a deceased martyr and a past flood rescue accident, and everyone involved were active-duty soldiers, so it had to be handled with caution.
Zhou Chen and Zhou Jianjun were placed under guard.
On the third day after the investigation team arrived, the results were finally released.
Zhou Jianjun stared at the document stamped with the red seal, his eyes wild with fury, his hands trembling so badly he could barely hold the paper.
The organization’s stance was far harsher than he had anticipated.
Although Zhou Chen’s disappearance was not deliberately caused by Zhou Jianjun, he had intentionally concealed the truth of the major accident and interfered with the martyr recognition process.
After deliberation, Zhou Jianjun would not face legal charges, but he was deemed unfit for continued service and was forced to be discharged from the military.
Zhou Jianjun knew there was no room for negotiation.
He knew he was finished.
On the way back to the family quarters, Zhou Jianjun looked completely drained.
His face was still bruised, and he hadn’t changed his clothes in three days—they were both dirty and wrinkled—but he didn’t care.
People on the road greeted him, but Zhou Jianjun ignored them completely.
Zhou Jianjun hadn’t been home in three days. Song Fang and Cai Laifeng had assumed he was still staying in the dormitory.
The two women’s relationship had soured further since the last incident, each finding the other unbearable.
Song Fang was just waiting for Zhou Jianjun to cool down so she could persuade him to send his mother away.
Just as she was thinking this, Zhou Jianjun pushed the door open and walked in.
Song Fang immediately saw her husband’s face, mottled with black and blue bruises.
“Jianjun,” Song Fang said anxiously, stepping toward him. “What happened to your face? Even if it’s from training, they shouldn’t be hitting you in the face.”
Cai Laifeng had been loafing in her room but rushed out when she heard this.
“Oh, my son, how did you get hurt so badly? Come on, your mother will take you to file a complaint with the leaders!”
Zhou Jianjun ignored them both, walking straight through the middle of them.
Song Fang grew frantic and grabbed his sleeve. “I’m asking you a question! How did you get those injuries?”
Zhou Jianjun shook her off and said hoarsely, “Pack your things. We’re going back to the hometown.”
Song Fang stared at him, then turned her head away. “If your mother wants to go back, she can. I’m not going.”
Cai Laifeng’s eyes widened, and she immediately started cursing.
Song Fang shot back without backing down, and they began yelling at each other.
“Have you two had enough?!”
Zhou Jianjun walked to the table and swept everything off it with one motion.
The enamel cups clattered, and water spilled across the floor.
Both women fell silent at once.
“I’ve been discharged from the military. Whether you like it or not, you’re both going back.”
“What?” Cai Laifeng shrieked. “What do you mean, discharged? How old are you? You’ve earned merits, you’ve received awards—how can you be discharged? Is that guy Su behind this? You—”
“Zhou Chen isn’t dead.”
“What? What did you say?” Cai Laifeng and Song Fang were both stunned.
Song Fang’s throat tightened. “Zhou Chen? That man Lin Zhilan was with before? Wasn’t he sacrificed long ago?”
“He didn’t die. They found him.”
Song Fang involuntarily swallowed. Thoughts raced through her mind.
Even if Zhou Chen wasn’t dead, it still had nothing to do with Zhou Jianjun.
Unless...
Song Fang spoke cautiously. “So, what does it have to do with you that he’s back?”
Zhou Jianjun stared at her, his gaze dark and menacing.
Song Fang’s spine ran cold, and she instinctively stepped back.
“I lied about his martyrdom. Now they’ve found out. They’re saying I deliberately concealed the truth of the major accident and interfered with the martyr recognition process. Are you satisfied with that answer?”
Song Fang’s face turned deathly pale.
“Isn’t there any way to fix this? He’s your brother—you grew up together. Go and ask him to go easy on you. Tell him to explain to the higher-ups that it was all a misunderstanding. Go!”
Last night, Zhou Jianjun had actually considered that, but hearing it from Song Fang’s mouth immediately made him furious. “You want me to beg him? Why the hell should I beg him?!”
“Look at my face!” Zhou Jianjun pointed at himself. “Zhou Chen did this. Do you think he still cares about any family bond? Are you that eager to see me humiliated by him?”
“Then what else can we do?!” Song Fang was panicking and anxious.
She had married Zhou Jianjun because he held a minor officer’s position in the military.
Song Fang had always hoped he would get promoted so she could become an officer’s wife.
Now that he was being discharged, wasn’t everything lost?
Cai Laifeng was completely dumbfounded.
Her mind was a tangled mess, and it took her a long time to piece together any coherent thought.
Zhou Chen died, and her son got promoted.
Zhou Chen comes back alive, and her son gets discharged.
Cai Laifeng opened her mouth, then grabbed Zhou Jianjun’s sleeve. “Jianjun, you can’t be discharged. I’ll go talk to the leaders—I’ll go talk to Zhou Chen. He’s your brother; he can’t harm you like this. It’s heartless...”
Zhou Jianjun pulled her hand away and said, word by word, “Telling me all this is useless. The paperwork has already come down. I can’t stay in the military.”
Cai Laifeng’s lips quivered, and she burst into tears.
She sat on the floor, slapping her thighs and wailing, “What kind of karma have I brought on myself? I raised you, fed you, clothed you, sent you to the army. Before I could even enjoy a few good days, now you’re telling me you’re being discharged! I don’t want to live anymore, I don’t want to live!”
Song Fang shot her mother-in-law a look of disgust. Was this really the time to throw a tantrum?
