Marriage in the 1970s: The Political Commissar's Contract Wife

Suddenly, she raised her head and asked a question that sent Fang Chu plummeting into an icy abyss. Her tone was innocent, yet it was like the sharpest dagger:

"So... if we get a marriage certificate, will you divorce me later?"

divorce?

These two words exploded in Fang Chu's ears like a thunderclap!

All his eagerness and calculations were shattered at this moment, leaving only boundless panic and stinging pain.

He suddenly tightened his arms, holding Zhixia tightly in his embrace, as if she would disappear in the blink of an eye.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck, his voice muffled, with a barely perceptible tremor and pleading tone: "Don't get a divorce... please? We... we have children..."

He realized how pathetic he was; in this emotional saga, his only, most valuable asset was his child.

Zhi Xia felt a little pain from his tight grip and sensed his sudden and intense emotional fluctuations. Feeling somewhat helpless, she gently patted his back and whispered, "I... I was just saying that..."

Fang Chu thought of the word "divorce," and her heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by an icy hand, almost stopping its beating.

Could even a child not hold her back? This realization instantly panicked him, and an unprecedented fear swept over him.

He dared not press further, and could only transform his panic into a tighter embrace, his voice trembling without his own awareness, almost a humble plea:

"Xiaxia, let's go get our marriage certificate first, okay? Just for the sake of the children, so they can register their household registration smoothly..."

He repeated this seemingly high-sounding reason, as if getting those two pieces of paper would add a fragile lock to his sense of security.

Zhi Xia remained silent for a long time.

She could feel the man's tense body and uneasy heartbeat behind her, a heavy sense of compromise that had to be made for the sake of reality, making it hard for her to breathe.

She closed her eyes, and finally bowed her head before the words "for the child." Her voice was weak and feeble, carrying a sense of resignation and helplessness:

"……All right."

She even asked a question with little hope, a final, feeble struggle for self-control:

"Should I...go?"

"No need!" Fang Chu answered almost immediately, his tone urgent as if afraid she might change her mind. "I'll handle it! I'll take care of all the formalities. You just stay home and rest; you don't need to worry about anything!"

He breathed a sigh of relief, because this legal binding was finally about to be achieved. But before he could fully relax, he clearly felt the stiffness of the body in his arms and the silent disappointment.

She compromised once again for the sake of her child.

This realization made him feel more upset and panicked than any rejection.

He turned her around, forcing her to face him, searching her eyes in the dim light, and asked a more humble, even somewhat ridiculous question in a hoarse voice:

"Xiaxia... will you... abandon me and the child in the future?"

He placed himself and his child in the same position of being chosen and potentially abandoned.

Zhi Xia's gaze was somewhat vacant, unfocused as it fell on his anxious face.

Faced with this momentous question concerning the future, responsibility, and emotions, she had no answer. She could only follow her truest feelings at that moment and gently, cruelly, shake her head.

"……have no idea."

"have no idea……"

These three words completely shattered Fang Chu's psychological defenses.

What should I do?

What should he do?

The law couldn't bind her, and her child seemed unable to hold her heart.

A tremendous sense of powerlessness and panic gripped him, making him frantic. All he could do was hold her tighter and tighter in his arms, as if that would keep her by his side forever.

Fang Chu's arms were like iron hoops, tightly encircling Zhi Xia and the thick blanket in his embrace, as if afraid that if he let go, she would disappear.

Zhi Xia felt uncomfortable being held so tightly, and coupled with the fact that she was already feeling hot during her pregnancy, she couldn't help but push against his firm chest, her voice filled with annoyance: "Go sleep in your own blanket! Don't hug me, it's hot...it's uncomfortable..."

Her resistance only made Fang Chu, who was already flustered by the "Left Banner" incident, even more panicked. She tightened her arms around her, buried her face in the pillow behind her neck, and spoke in a muffled voice with a rare, almost pleading vulnerability:

"I don't want to... I just want to hold you... Xiaxia, my wife..." He seemed to have gone all out, blurting out those words hidden deep in his heart, words he would never normally dare to utter, mixed with his burning breath, clumsily and urgently reaching into her ear, "I like you so much... I love you so much... Please don't leave me..."

This straightforward and passionate confession made Zhixia stop struggling.

She was both annoyed by his sudden clinginess and touched by the undisguised fear and dependence in his words, which touched a hidden soft spot in her heart.

She sighed, her tone softening slightly, but she still insisted, "Fang Chu, stop bothering me... I didn't abandon you. Go to your own bed and get some sleep, okay? If you keep doing this... I'll really get angry."

Upon hearing the words "I'm really angry," Fang Chu finally loosened her grip.

He seemed to have been pricked by a needle, immediately raising his head with a hint of panic and ingratiation in his eyes, and hurriedly said, "Okay, okay, I'll go, I'll go right now. Don't be angry, please don't be angry..."

He awkwardly and slowly moved back to his cold bed, his eyes still fixed on her with longing.

Seeing how cautious and fearful he was, like a big dog, Zhixia's anger dissipated. Instead, she found it a bit funny, glared at him angrily, and turned her back to him.

Fang Chu watched her sullen back, feeling uneasy.

He hesitated for a moment, then leaned in and gave her a quick, light peck on the back of her neck, whispering, "Go to sleep, I won't bother you anymore."

Just as he was about to retreat dejectedly, Zhi Xia, with her back to him, spoke up in a muffled, slightly spoiled tone, as if it were perfectly natural:

"My back hurts... could you massage it for me?"

Fang Chu was stunned for a moment, and then, a huge burst of joy exploded in his heart like fireworks!

He practically scrambled to his feet, knelt beside her, and carefully, with boundless tenderness, placed his large hands on her aching waist, massaging it with just the right amount of pressure.

"Okay, okay, I'll massage it for you." His voice was filled with an unconcealed joy and tenderness at having regained what he had lost.

The moonlight streamed in quietly through the window, illuminating the bedside.

One person was enjoying a private massage with peace of mind, while the other was willingly serving them. The small disturbance caused by their earlier unease quietly dissipated into the night, transforming into a deeper bond.