Chen Hu barely slept a wink that night.

At the slightest sound of wind or movement outside the cabin, he would tremble with fear, his mind racing as he pondered ways to atone for his sins.

The more I thought about it, the less I could think of anything, and the more desperate I became, it was like falling into an endless vicious cycle.

He finally drifted off to sleep against the wall just before dawn.

Early in the morning, Chen Hu was awakened by the sound of a door opening.

He looked up abruptly, thinking it was a soldier, but instead he saw Wang Lili.

She stood at the doorway holding a bowl of rice, with a soldier following behind her.

"I've come to see you off." Wang Lili placed the food on the broken chair, her voice calm. "No matter what, we were once husband and wife."

Chen Hu stared at her without saying a word.

Wang Lili lowered her eyes and continued, "There's something else I need to tell you. The military has agreed to annul our marriage. Zhang Qiang was the one who arranged this marriage, and he's already a criminal, so what he did doesn't count. More importantly, I only agreed to marry you because you forced me. In essence, I wasn't doing it voluntarily, so I'll remain unmarried, and no one will know we were ever married."

"What did you say?" Chen Hu stood up abruptly, his eyes wide with anger. "Answer the marriage? You want a divorce?"

He's already a prisoner. If he loses his wife, he won't be able to find a decent woman after he gets out, given his reputation.

He used to look down on Wang Lili because he felt he could find someone better.

But now, Wang Lili has become the only thing he can hold onto.

He caught a glimpse of the soldiers at the door and knew he couldn't force or threaten them, so he could only suppress his anger.

A few seconds later, Chen Hu suddenly knelt on the ground with a thud, his face contorted and terrifying from anger and the urge to laugh.

He grabbed Wang Lili's clothes with both hands and pleaded in a pitiful voice, "Lili, please don't divorce me, okay? I know I was wrong. I was wrong before. I shouldn't have bullied you and looked down on you. Please give me another chance. When I get out, I promise I'll live a good life with you and never make you angry again!"

Wang Lili was startled by his sudden action and quickly took a step back to avoid his hand.

Looking at his disheveled appearance, she felt no sympathy, only a sense of relief. "Chen Hu, don't be like this. It's impossible between us for a long time. I just came to tell you. Eat your food while it's hot. I'm leaving."

Wang Lili turned to leave, but Chen Hu refused to give up.

His knees shuffled forward two steps on the cold ground. Suddenly, he reached out and hugged Wang Lili's leg tightly, pressing his head against her trouser leg, pleading repeatedly, "Lili, don't go! I really know I was wrong. Can you give me another chance? I'll listen to you in everything from now on and I'll never bully you again!"

Wang Lili was held so tightly by him that she couldn't move. Her originally peaceful mood was instantly ruined, and she even felt a bit disgusted.

She tried to shake her legs off Chen Hu, but he held her too tightly and she couldn't break free.

"Chen Hu, let me go!" Wang Lili's voice turned cold, tinged with anger. "I've already said, there's no future for us, so stop bothering me!"

But Chen Hu seemed not to hear her, still clinging to her leg and pleading incessantly.

Wang Lili recalled how he had bullied her before, and how she had been looked down upon and humiliated after marriage. Her long-suppressed anger and grievances erupted instantly.

She raised her other foot and kicked Chen Hu hard in the shoulder, shouting, "Chen Hu! Haven't you hurt me once enough? You bullied me, humiliated me, looked down on me, and almost made me do something wrong. Now that I finally have a chance to get rid of you, you want to keep bothering me like this? Don't even think about it!"

Seeing that he still wouldn't let go, Wang Lili looked up and shouted towards the door, "Help! Chen Hu is trying to hurt me!"

Upon hearing the shouts, the soldiers guarding the door rushed in immediately.

He kicked Chen Hu to the ground, then grabbed his arm and pinned him to the ground, rendering him unable to move.

Chen Hu lay prone on the cold ground, his eyes fixed on Wang Lili, as if he wanted to devour her alive.

Wang Lili didn't even glance at him again, turned around and quickly walked out of the cabin, as if everything behind her had nothing to do with her.

Not far from where she walked, Wang Lili saw Zhao Xiaoyan standing under a tree not far away, waiting for her.

Seeing her approach, Zhao Xiaoyan quickly went to greet her and asked with concern, "Lili, how are you? Did he give you any trouble?"

Wang Lili stopped, took a deep breath, and smiled with relief. She shook her head. "It's okay, everything's been resolved. The military has agreed to annul my marriage with him, and I have nothing to do with him anymore."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Zhao Xiaoyan was genuinely happy for her, taking her hand. "Once we leave the forest farm and return to the city, no one will know about all the terrible things that happened to you before. You can then marry with a clean slate and live the life you want!"

Wang Lili nodded, tears welling up in her eyes, not from sadness, but from relief.

She looked up at the distant sky; the sun was shining brightly, and a gentle breeze was blowing.

She smiled slightly and suddenly said, "Xiaoyan, shall we go see Comrade Xu?"

Wang Lili knew that this time she was able to annul her marriage with Chen Hu not because of Zhang Qiang, but because of Xu Xinghe.

Only she would speak up for herself.

As a woman myself, I am far inferior to her.

Zhao Xiaoyan also missed Xu Xinghe, but hesitated, "Will we ever see her again?"

"I think it's a good idea. Otherwise, let's ask the soldiers at the military headquarters. What if Comrade Xu is still willing to see us?"

"Okay, let's give it a try!"

The two immediately headed towards the forest farm's office area.

There are often soldiers from the military there, and it seems there are also non-commissioned officers. Perhaps we can find out about Xu Xinghe there.

As I approached the office area entrance, I saw two soldiers standing on the steps, their posture upright.

Wang Lili took a deep breath, pulled Zhao Xiaoyan forward, and asked softly, "Comrades, do you know where Comrade Xu Xinghe is now? We are educated youth from the forest farm and would like to meet with her and say a few words."

The soldier looked down at the two men, his face serious. "Comrade Xu Xinghe is from the military. We cannot disclose her whereabouts."

Wang Lili was a little down, but she didn't give up. She added, "We didn't mean anything by it, we just wanted to thank her. I was able to annul my marriage with Chen Hu thanks to her speaking up for me, and we just wanted to express our gratitude in person."

Zhao Xiaoyan nodded in agreement, her eyes full of pleading, "Yes, we'll just meet once, say a few words, and then leave. It won't interfere with her work."

The soldier was silent for a moment. “I understand how you feel, but I can’t make that decision. Comrade Xu’s schedule is arranged by her superiors. If you really want to see her, you can ask Captain Li. He might know the situation and be able to pass on your message.”