Chapter 115 I'm determined to get a divorce.

Qiao Xingyue reached out and grabbed Xie Zhongming's pocket, then reached inside with her other hand, only to find a piece of paper that he had folded into a neat square.

Before she could even get a firm grip, Xie Zhongming dodged back, his arm tightly protecting his chest, and pulled Qiao Xingyue's hand to stop her from reaching further inside.

His face flushed instantly. "I didn't bring anything, just military documents."

"You're lying." Qiao Xingyue persisted, standing on tiptoe to pry his hand away. "It's clearly a divorce application report."

When the man promised her yesterday that he wouldn't divorce her, his eyes looked a little strange.

Sure enough, he was still thinking about divorcing her.

Why are you so stubborn?

Xie Zhongming wasn't born in the Year of the Ox either.

The two were pulling at each other in front of the stove.

The sweet potato porridge in the pot was boiling, the rice water with a strong rice aroma was bubbling and gurgling, and the rice was about to stick to the pot, but the two of them were still fighting over it.

At this moment, Xie Zhongming was afraid of hurting Qiao Xingyue, so the strength he had developed as a soldier was completely useless. He could only clutch his pocket tightly, looking like a child hiding a piece of candy, his face full of panic and embarrassment.

He didn't dare look Qiao Xingyue in the eye. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he couldn't utter a single word of explanation. He looked even more pathetic than a rookie who had been caught doing something wrong.

"Xie Zhongming!" Qiao Xingyue cried out anxiously, "Let go of me!"

She used force in her hand.

With a hissing sound.

Xie Zhongming's pocket was torn.

It's a huge gash.

The neatly folded piece of paper fell to the ground with a "thud".

The air fell silent instantly.

Qiao Xingyue looked down, picked up the neatly folded paper, unfolded it, and saw that it was indeed another divorce application report.

Xie Zhongming's ears instantly turned bright red. This man's ears turn red when he's shy, and also when he's done something wrong.

Seeing his appearance, Qiao Xingyue felt a surge of bitterness and anger.

Around 5 a.m., the man quietly got out of bed and furtively wrote something on the table in the main room. She knew then that he was still thinking about divorce.

She didn't cry or curse; she just gripped the paper tightly, her fingertips tightening, and with a "rip," the paper was torn open.

"Xingyue, I really can't bear to leave you and the two children to suffer with me in the countryside..."

"Sizzle... sizzle..."

Qiao Xingyue tore the shredded paper in her hand into pieces.

Xie Zhongming was met with Qiao Xingyue's sharp gaze and the sound of paper being violently torn to shreds.

The more jarring the sound, the more resolute Qiao Xingyue's attitude became.

He then raised his hand and threw the scraps of paper into the burning stove.

"Comrade Xie Zhongming, use your toes to think about it. Do An'an and Ningning need their father and grandparents' company more, or do they need to live a good life with Uncle Huang?"

Seeing the porridge bubbling violently in the pot, the rice steaming and sizzling, with a smell of almost burnt rice crust, she quickly went to the stove, picked up a spoon, and stirred it. "The porridge is ready. Turn off the firewood in the stove."

Xie Zhongming squatted down and silently pushed the firewood away from the stove.

The flames gradually died down, and the bubbling in the pot grew quieter, but his resolve only grew stronger.

Qiao Xingyue knew that this man was very stubborn. She glared at him and said, "Don't even think about filing for divorce behind my back. I will not get a divorce."

She scooped up the sweet potato porridge from the pot and put it into a bowl, saying, "Go see if An'an and Ningning are awake. If they are, wake them up for breakfast."

"Okay." Xie Zhongming put down the fire tongs and stood up with a solemn expression.

Just as I turned around to walk out of the kitchen, I saw two little heads peeking in from outside the kitchen door.

It was Ningning with her little eyebrows tightly furrowed into a knot, and her face looked even more sickly when she was angry.

And then there's An'an, pouting with a resentful look on her face, glaring at him.

“An’an, Ningning…”

Facing his two children, Xie Zhongming suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

The look in her eyes as she looked at the two children was naturally tinged with guilt and remorse.

An'an walked confidently in from behind the door, stood in front of Xie Zhongming, head held high, and asked indignantly, "Dad, are you going to divorce Mom? Are you going to abandon me, Mom, and my sister and not care about us anymore?"

Ningning didn't speak, but followed her sister to their father. She looked at her father, whose brow was furrowed with confusion, and waited for his answer.

In response to An'an and Ningning, Xie Zhongming gave a deep sigh and remained speechless, "..."

A wave of guilt washed over my chest.

“An An Ning Ning…” How was he supposed to explain this to his two children?

He promised his two children yesterday that he would never leave them again.

Qiao Xingyue looked at the fear and anxiety in the eyes of the two children, her throat tightened, and tears welled up in her eyes.

The two children haven't even had a few good days since they reunited with their father.

She wiped away her tears, cleared her choked voice, and forced a smile at her two children. "An'an and Ningning, Daddy and Mommy had a fight, just a little bickering. Daddy loves An'an and Ningning the most, and he loves Mommy the most too. He won't divorce Mommy."

"An'an, hurry up and take your little sister to brush her teeth and wash her face. After breakfast, Mom will take you to Grandpa and Grandma's to play with your brothers," Qiao Xingyue added.

If the two kids were to mention going to play with their older brothers a couple of days ago, they would definitely cheer with excitement.

Both kids had their heads drooping today.

An'an looked at Qiao Xingyue, who had placed a bowl of sweet potato porridge on the stove, her eyes filled with worry. "Mom, will Dad really not divorce you?"

"How could that be!" Qiao Xingyue walked around the stove, squatted down in front of An'an, and took An'an and Ningning's little hands. "Your dad and mom just had their wedding banquet yesterday, and your mom wore her wedding dress yesterday. How could your dad not want your mom anymore!"

At this point, Qiao Xingyue choked up a little.

She knew that the Xie family was facing difficulties and crises that couldn't be resolved in the short term, and that they would have to endure hardship for at least several more years. Xie Zhongming was doing all this for her own good.

She wanted to stay with Huang Guilan and Xie Jiang, take care of them, and also wanted to get through this difficult time with Xie Zhongming.

I don't know why this man is so stubborn.

In front of her two children, she tried her best to act as if nothing was wrong, raising the corners of her lips in a bright smile, "Mom and Dad just had a little argument, they'll be fine in no time, it's nothing."

"Honey, we just had a little argument, right?"

As she spoke, Qiao Xingyue nudged Xie Zhongming's leg with her elbow.

At this moment, Xie Zhongming also squatted down and patted An An and Ning Ning's heads, saying, "Dad was wrong; he shouldn't have argued with Mom."

The two children looked at their father with some skepticism, then at their mother.

It must be said that Qiao Xingyue and Xie Zhongming are very responsible parents, and they quickly pretended that nothing was wrong in front of their child.

The two of them took turns comforting the two children for a while before their doubts were dispelled.

...

Military compound.

As usual, Xie Jiang and Chen Shenghua stood under the locust tree in front of their two houses early in the morning, waiting for the guards.

In the morning light, the old locust tree outside the courtyard cast indistinct shadows, its branches intertwined like an open net. The morning breeze carried the fresh scent of dew on the leaves, but it couldn't dispel the subtle tension in Xie Jiang and Chen Shenghua's chests.

The two leaders, both in their early fifties, had some wrinkles on their foreheads, but their faded military uniforms made them look energetic.

Chen Shenghua stood motionless with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed, as if he had a heavy burden on his mind.

Xie Jiang didn't move either, his gaze like that of a hawk, firmly fixed on the dusty dirt road in front of him.

On any other day, the two would have had endless topics to talk about, but today they were each preoccupied with their own thoughts and remained silent.

The atmosphere was unusually heavy.

Although the two men were leaders—one the commander of the Sixth Division and the other the deputy commander—they never made their guards wait for them.

A military green 212 jeep stopped in front of the two of them.

The guard jogged over to the two men from the driver's seat, gave them a respectful salute, and said, "Greetings, Commander Chen! Greetings, Commander Xie!"

Every morning at 6:40, this guard would arrive at the locust tree in front of the two houses to pick up the two leaders and take them to work at the military base. Every morning, Xie and Chen would stand under the locust tree a few minutes early to wait, and they never put on airs as leaders.

Upon seeing the guards, Xie Jiang and Chen Shenghua exchanged a glance, and their furrowed brows immediately relaxed.

Xie Jiang's eyes, which were always as sharp as a hawk's, slowly lost their tense edge.

Fortunately, the people who came today weren't from the security department.

Otherwise, he and Chen Shenghua would have been suspended from their duties and placed under quarantine for investigation today.

However, this period of calm will not last more than a few days.

But the calm of the past few days has been enough for the Xie and Chen families to make preparations.

Xie and Chen arrived at the division headquarters bungalow and exchanged their application reports.

Chen Shenghua handed Xie Jiang the marriage application report of Xiao Songhua and Chen Jiahui. Xie Jiang raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why is it Songhua? Weren't you planning to have Jiahui marry the third son of the Li family?"

"This marriage certificate was given to me by Songhua." Chen Shenghua told Xie Jiang about Xiao Songhua's visit to the Chen family last night.

Xie Jiang quickly took out his pen and signed his name. "Song Hua is a really deep thinker. But he's also a decent man, worthy of Jia Hui's trust."

"You should also hurry up and sign Zhongming and Xingyue's divorce application." Xie Jiang handed Chen Shenghua the divorce report that Xie Zhongming had rewritten.

After signing the papers, Chen Shenghua gripped the pen in his hand and asked with a heavy expression, "Old Xie, has your Guilan agreed to a divorce?"

Xie Jiang sighed and shook his head.

Chen Shenghua also sighed heavily, "Don't be fooled by the fact that my Shufen usually listens to me. At times like this, she's as stubborn as a mule. No matter how I try to persuade her, she won't listen and insists on suffering with me."

Xie Jiang's brow furrowed like a small hill. "Our divorce papers won't be that easy."

After all, they were both division-level cadres.

With such a large-scale divorce process, and without the spouse's consent, it's extremely difficult to complete the divorce proceedings in just a few days.

Chen Shenghua thought for a moment, "Let's take care of the children's affairs first."

Chen Shenghua made an internal call to the regimental headquarters where Xie Zhongming and Xiao Songhua were located.

A short while later, Xiao Songhua and Xie Zhongming arrived at the division headquarters together, took their application reports, and went to the political department.

The director of the political department had just approved Xiao Songhua's marriage application when he saw Xie Zhongming's divorce application. He frowned and said, "Commander Xie, you just held your wedding banquet yesterday, and you just found your missing wife and two children. Why are you submitting a divorce application?"

The other party was completely puzzled!

When Xie Zhongming met with the people from the Political Department, their attitude towards him remained as friendly as ever, indicating that the matter of being suspected of being an enemy agent had not yet been leaked.

In other words, he has a few days to prepare and complete the divorce procedures.

Xie Zhongming had already prepared a reason that would convince the other party, "Director Zhao, to be honest, I've been sent on a very difficult mission, and even I'm not sure if I'll come back alive. I'm afraid that if something happens to me, my wife will have to be a widow. She's so young..."

As he spoke, he gently nudged Xiao Songhua beside him with his elbow.

Xiao Songhua immediately understood, "Director Zhao, Commander Xie is indeed going to carry out a very dangerous mission. He's doing it for his wife's sake, so please approve it."

Director Zhao was a refined and polite man who wore black-rimmed glasses.

He pushed up the glasses frame that were across his nose, frowned, and pondered for a moment.

Thinking back to the last time Xie Zhongming went on a very dangerous mission, he went missing at the border for half a month. When he was found, he was covered in injuries and had lost consciousness. Fortunately, he was rescued.

As for what kind of dangerous mission he was going to carry out this time, Director Zhao knew he shouldn't ask too much. He picked up his pen, firmly signed the divorce report, and stamped it with the official seal of the Political Department.

"Thank you!" Xie Zhongming took the divorce application signed by Director Zhao and turned to leave with Xiao Songhua.

The two had just stepped out of the threshold of the red brick bungalow of the Political Department when Qiao Xingyue blocked their way with a livid face, accompanied by Chen Jiahui.

She wasn't part of the military, so getting into the regimental headquarters was complicated. She had to register, be verified, and the guards at the gate even had to call Xie Zhongming to confirm her identity as the regimental commander's wife before letting her through.

Therefore, Qiao Xingyue specifically called Chen Jiahui, which allowed her to reach the political department of the regiment without any obstacles.

At this moment, Qiao Xingyue felt a surge of anger rising in her chest.

I really want to give Xie Zhongming a good beating.

He had just comforted An An and Ning Ning that morning, promising to stay with them forever, when he turned around and went to the Political Department to submit his divorce application.

When Xie Zhongming saw her, he clutched the divorce report tightly in his hand.

He knew that as long as he had this divorce report, even if the documents for the Xie and Chen families to be transferred to a lower-level reformation were issued, he could extricate Qiao Xingyue and her two children from the situation and prevent them from being implicated.

He quickly stuffed the divorce report into his pocket.

Before she could even put it in her pocket, Qiao Xingyue swiftly grabbed a corner of the divorce report and pulled it out tightly.

Xie Zhongming was afraid she would tear up the divorce papers, so he used some force to pry her hands open. "Xingyue, don't argue with me. I'm determined to get a divorce."

Qiao Xingyue's hand, which was gripping Xie Zhongming's arm, suddenly froze.

Hearing Xie Zhongming's unwavering words, she felt a sharp pang in her chest. Although she knew this man was doing it for her and their two children's sake, she still felt the taste of abandonment.

This feeling is awful!

She has always been invulnerable to bullets and blades since she transmigrated to this era. Apart from her two children, no one can make her shed tears.

But at this moment, Xie Zhongming was about to leave her and their two children again, and she felt extremely wronged. She couldn't hold back her tears any longer. "Xie Zhongming, what did you say to me when we got our marriage certificate renewed? Have you forgotten?"