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

That was a small red dot that my sister used to play with when she was little. My mother said it was "the cinnabar dot that the Bodhisattva had placed on her."

Date, time, location and shape of the birthmark... identical birthdays, identical birthmarks, plus that almost identical face...

Do such amazing, such... bizarre coincidences really exist in the world?

All the clues and all the "coincidences" connected at this moment into a chilling yet inexplicable thread.

Fang Zheng slowly raised his head, his face a pale color that was a mixture of immense shock, bewilderment, and even a hint of awe.

He looked at Zhi Xia, who was being protected in her son's arms, her face filled with terror and bewilderment. Then he looked at Chao Huaihua, who was equally dumbfounded and completely unable to comprehend what was happening before her. Finally, his gaze fell on a point in the void, and his voice, dry as if it had been ground from sandpaper, trembled with an almost fatalistic tone as he uttered the conclusion that even he himself found absurd, yet seemed to be the only explanation for everything:

"She...she is Xiaozhi."

He paused, as if using all his strength, before uttering the even more shocking words that followed:

"Xiao Zhi... reincarnation."

Fang Chu said firmly, "Dad, I don't care who she was in her past life, in this life she is just my wife."

Fang Chu's words were like a heavy hammer, waking Fang Zheng from his shock and sense of destiny.

He snapped out of his daze and looked at his son.

Fang Chu's eyes held shock and confusion, but even more so, an undeniable determination and protectiveness. He held Zhi Xia, who was still bewildered and frightened, tightly in his arms, his posture one of complete possession and protection.

yes……

Fang Zheng's chaotic mind was cleaved open by this sentence.

No matter how bizarre the "possibilities" those amazing coincidences point to, the girl in front of him is first and foremost his son's legal wife, his daughter-in-law who is carrying his family's child and is about to give birth to his grandchild.

She is "Zhi Xia," a living, breathing young girl with her own life and family, not a ghost or substitute for a younger sister who has been sacrificed for many years and can be "claimed" at will.

"Hmm...right." Fang Zheng slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, forcibly suppressing the turbulent emotions in his heart, and trying to make his voice sound calmer, although the fear still lingered. "Xiao Chu is right. I misunderstood."

He looked at Zhixia, whose face was pale and who was completely disoriented from the series of events. His gaze was complex, and he forced a gentle but still somewhat stiff smile. His tone was extremely gentle, filled with reassurance and apology: "Xiaxia, and in-laws, I'm sorry, just now... your grandfather and I were too excited. You... were you frightened? It's mainly because Xiaxia looks so much like my deceased sister, plus some... some coincidences, so we..."

He paused, seemingly finding the idea of ​​"reincarnation" difficult to broach, especially in this situation, and then glossed over it, saying instead, "No matter what, it's all our fault. Xiao Chu, help... help Xia Xia and your in-laws upstairs to rest for a while and calm down. They've had a long journey and have been frightened; they need to rest properly."

Fang Chu nodded. What he needed most right now was to take Zhixia away from this environment that filled her with fear and chaos.

He whispered to Zhixia, "Qingqing, let's go upstairs." He then gestured to Chao Huaihua, "Mom, you should come up and rest for a while too."

Zheng Qin quickly stepped forward, her face filled with guilt and lingering fear. She carefully helped support Zhi Xia's other arm, her voice gentle: "Xia Xia, don't be afraid, it's alright now. Okay? Go upstairs and lie down for a while. Mom... will get you some calming hot tea."

Zhi Xia nodded blankly, and with Fang Chu and Zheng Qin's support, she followed them upstairs with unsteady steps. Chao Huaihua followed behind with a worried expression, glancing back every few steps at the absent-minded Fang Zheng downstairs, her heart full of questions and unease, but she didn't know where to begin.

Once the upstairs door closed gently, cutting off the view and most of the sound, only Fang Zheng and Zheng Qin remained in the living room.

The composure I had just maintained crumbled instantly.

Zheng Qin's legs went weak, and she almost lost her balance. She steadied herself by holding onto the back of the sofa. Her face was still deathly pale, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief. Her voice was extremely low, yet trembling violently: "Old Fang...she really is Xiao Zhi...reincarnated? This...this is too..."

"What a coincidence." Fang Zheng picked up where she left off, his voice low and heavy with a deep weariness and disbelief. "It's such a coincidence... that you have to believe that there really are some things in this world that are beyond our comprehension." He walked to the window, his back to his wife, his gaze fixed on the distance, but unfocused.

"The exact same birth date and time, the exact location and shape of the birthmark, and that face..." Zheng Qin murmured to herself, as if trying to convince herself, "Besides reincarnation... what else can explain it? Could it really be Xiao Zhi... who has returned in the dark? Returned to our family?"

"Perhaps... Heaven took pity on our family, the pain of a parent outliving their child, and the scar in the old man's heart..." Fang Zheng's voice was a little hoarse, "So... in this way, Xiao Zhi was sent back?" He himself found the idea absurd, but apart from that, the series of coincidences were inexplicable.

Zheng Qin slowly walked to his side, also looking out the window, her eyes filled with complex emotions: "But...she's Xiao Chu's wife now! She's carrying our grandchildren! What...what's going on here?"

This question, like a sharp thorn, pierced the atmosphere that had just been enveloped by the shock of "reincarnation," revealing a more intractable and unsettling reality beneath.

Fang Zheng's body stiffened abruptly. He slowly turned around, looking at his wife with sharp, heavy eyes: "Yes... she and Xiao Chu..."

Zheng Qin immediately understood the terrifying subtext in her husband's unfinished words. Panicked, she blurted out, "You...you don't mean you want them to...divorce, do you?!"

The thought startled her; her voice suddenly rose, then she quickly suppressed it, shaking her head urgently: "No! Absolutely not! Lao Fang, think this through! They're a legally married couple, their marriage application is official and approved by the organization! They're about to have their baby! Xiaxia… regardless of whether she is… she's our daughter-in-law first and foremost! What are you going to do with Xiao Chu? What are you going to do with Xiaxia? And what about the two children in her belly!"

She became increasingly agitated as she spoke: "Besides, even if... even if she really is Xiao Zhi... reincarnated or something, so what? In this life, she is Zhi Xia, Xiao Chu's wife! You can't just take her back and raise her as a younger sister based on her past life's identity! Is that even possible? Is that even reasonable?!"

Fang Zheng was rendered speechless by his wife's barrage of questions, and the muscles on his face twitched slightly.