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

Seeing the solemn expressions on their faces, Old Xing was still feeling uneasy. He couldn't help but ask another question, trying to ease the overly heavy atmosphere and also to try and excuse himself:

"Well... Political Commissar Fang, Regiment Commander Zhi, I was just guessing. It might not necessarily have been Shen Xing who took it! After all... she's just a young girl..."

Zhi Lin frowned, his tone resolute and brooking no argument: "Uncle Xing, all the clues now point to her; she's the prime suspect!"

Old Xing opened his mouth, but seeing Zhi Lin's unyielding expression, he only gave a dry, ambiguous "hehe" laugh and didn't say anything more. He knew in his heart how significant the clue he had provided was.

Fang Chu, on the other hand, was completely absorbed in his own thoughts.

He frowned, desperately searching his memory for any fragment of information about "Shen Xing"—her appearance, her voice, even just a blurry silhouette.

But the result was a blank. He truly had no recollection of this woman. This caused him a sense of unease and deeper confusion. Why would someone he had no memory of use such vicious methods to scheme against him?

Zhi Lin noticed his distress, patted him on the shoulder, and said calmly, "Don't think about it all by yourself. I'll go back and ask your sister-in-law. She knows a lot of people in the family compound, maybe she can find out something about Shen Xing."

Fang Chu nodded, he had also thought of someone: "Hmm. I'll ask Wang Chun about it tomorrow, she should know someone too."

"Okay," Zhilin agreed.

With things temporarily in a direction, the two prepared to leave.

Watching them get up, Old Xing felt a nagging unease about the question of "human life" swirling in his mind. He couldn't help but speak again, his voice filled with urgency and confusion:

"Um... Political Commissar Fang, Regiment Commander Zhi, you... you tell me, who... who is missing?"

Fang Chu stopped, turned around, and gave Old Xing a deep look. His tone was more distant and cold than ever before: "Uncle Xing, don't bother asking about this. Knowing too much won't do you any good."

After saying that, he opened the door and stepped into the cold night.

Zhi Lin nodded to Lao Xing, said nothing more, and followed him out.

Old Xing was left standing alone in the empty room, staring at the still-swaying door. He was filled with inexplicable confusion and a sense of impending doom, muttering to himself the unanswered question: "Who...died...?"

The cold wind of New Year's Eve seeped in through the crack in the door, making him shiver.

Fang Chu returned home from the cold night. He first soaked his hands carefully in hot water by the stove to dispel the chill from his body before carefully taking off his outer clothes and crawling into Zhi Xia's already warm bed.

He pressed himself against her, his body slightly damp and cool. Zhi Xia, still half-asleep, shivered from the cold and mumbled unconsciously as she tried to move away, "Cold..."

Fang Chu stretched out his long arm and pulled her back into his embrace, his chin rubbing against the top of her head. His voice was a little tired, but unusually gentle: "It'll get hot soon. Qingqing, warm me up."

Zhi Xia was half-asleep, and his slightly playful intimacy made her lose her temper. She mumbled a complaint: "You're so bad..."

"Mmm," Fang Chu readily agreed, tightening his arms around her as if trying to meld her into his very bones. "I'm bad."

He held the soft, fragrant body in his arms, feeling her steady breathing and the presence of two little lives inside her. A tremendous sense of relief, like surviving a disaster, swept over him like a tidal wave.

He lowered his head, his lips brushing against her earlobe, and whispered the most sincere words of love: "My darling, I love you."

Zhixia seemed to hear him, or perhaps she was just dreaming. She snuggled deeper into his arms and mumbled a reply, "Go to sleep..."

"Mmm, go to sleep," Fang Chu responded softly, but did not close her eyes immediately.

By the dim light filtering in from the window, he gazed at Zhixia's peaceful sleeping face. Her long eyelashes resembled two crescent moons, and her cheeks, plumper from pregnancy, made her appear even more gentle.

His heart was incredibly tender, yet at the same time, a chilling coldness crept up his spine.

He remembered the name he had just received from Lao Xing—Shen Xing.

A woman he had no recollection of, yet who schemed against him using the most despicable means.

He was incredibly grateful that Zhixia had come to the family compound.

Fortunately, on that afternoon of unexpected turn of events, it was Zhi Xia who entered his world, and not anyone else.

If it weren't for Zhixia, if he had really slept with that scheming Shen Xing under the influence of drugs...

Fang Chu almost dared not think any further.

Now, he is very likely to be firmly bound by Shen Xing and the forces that may exist behind her through marriage and children.

His future, his family, and even his life will be dragged into a meticulously designed quagmire, with no peace to be found.

It was Zhixia who, by a twist of fate, became the one who "saved" him from that terrible trap.

Although the process was filled with pain, misunderstanding, and hurt, in the end, he got her, their child, and a home full of warmth and hope.

He held the person in his arms even tighter, as if he were holding a priceless treasure that had been lost and found again. All the fear and relief he felt eventually transformed into a deeper and more profound love and protectiveness for Zhixia.

On this New Year's Eve, after experiencing the shock of the truth and the confirmation of her feelings, Fang Chu's heart had never been so clear and firm.

Meanwhile, Zhilin returned home late at night.

Zhang Meili had been busy all day and was already exhausted. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and couldn't stay up all night to celebrate the New Year.

Zhilin was preoccupied with something and couldn't fall asleep.

He took off his clothes, lay down, and nudged his sleeping wife beside him: "Meili, wake up."

Zhang Meili was fast asleep when she was abruptly woken up. Grumbling irritably, she said, "What are you doing... in the middle of the night, can't a person get any sleep...?"

Zhi Lin ignored her complaints and cut straight to the point, his voice low and serious: "Shen Xing, do you know her?"

"Shen Xing?" Zhang Meili repeated the name groggily, her mind still replaying. "It sounds... familiar..."

"She's the younger sister of Shen Shan, the second battalion commander of the first regiment," Zhi Lin added.

The name dispelled some of Zhang Meili's sleepiness. She rubbed her eyes, turned to face her husband, and asked suspiciously, "Why are you asking about her?"

Zhi Lin looked at her in the darkness and uttered the shocking information slowly and deliberately: "She is very likely... the one who drugged Fang Chu last year."

"What?!" Zhang Meili instantly sobered up, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head. She sat up abruptly, her voice trembling. "No way! Where would a young girl like her get that kind of medicine?!"