Chapter 156 Aren't they afraid of getting cold while having an affair outside in this freezing weather?

Zhao Wenchang's muttered words, which sounded like he was being unreasonable, carried an inexplicable sense of grievance.

For a fleeting moment, Jiang Wanqiu's heart softened.

She even thought, whatever the mission or his physical strength, she'd just let him do whatever he wanted tonight.

But the thought only flashed through her mind before she forcibly suppressed it.

No, absolutely not! The mission is paramount!

She snuggled closer to him, stretched out her hands, and pressed them firmly against his restless chest: "No means no, you should go to sleep."

In the darkness, she could clearly feel the rise and fall of the man's chest and his increasingly heavy breathing.

"I can't sleep without giving you a little something in return." Zhao Wenchang's voice was terribly hoarse, with a strong nasal tone.

Jiang Wanqiu was stunned, wondering if this man was... being coquettish?

Jiang Wanqiu's cheeks were burning hot. She bit her lip, as if she had made a great decision, before leaning over and quickly kissing him on the chin.

"Wait...wait until you come back from this mission, I...I'll give you a reward."

"A reward?" A deep laugh echoed from Zhao Wenchang's chest, making her ears ring. "Why does this sound so familiar? You used to fool me like this when you were in the village."

When the old story was brought up again, Jiang Wanqiu's face turned bright red. She was both ashamed and angry, and punched him in the chest with a force that felt like a cat's claws scratching.

"Then... then double it! Double the reward! Is that alright?"

She spoke in a coquettish tone, her voice carrying a sweetness she herself was unaware of.

Hearing the soft yet anxious voice of the woman in his arms, Zhao Wenchang's heart softened a little.

“Okay,” he chuckled in agreement, pulling her closer into his arms and letting out a satisfied sigh. “You said it yourself, double. You can’t go back on your word.”

He stopped moving and just held her, gently patting her back.

"Go to sleep, sleep with me."

The man's embrace was firm and warm, and his heartbeat, steady and powerful, resonated in her ears.

But Jiang Wanqiu couldn't fall asleep. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts. One moment she saw Zhao Wenchang covered in blood, and the next she saw the sinister face of Liu Baoguo.

She lay there with her eyes open, listening to the man's steady breathing, for what seemed like an eternity before finally drifting off to sleep.

The next day, before dawn, Jiang Wanqiu was awakened by the rustling sound of clothes being put on beside her.

Zhao Wenchang was already dressed in a neat military uniform, which made his posture even more upright, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.

Seeing that she was awake, he leaned down and placed a cool kiss on her forehead: "Did I wake you? Sleep a little longer, it's still early."

"I'm not going to sleep anymore." Jiang Wanqiu suddenly sat up and began to fumble for her clothes on the kang (heated brick bed). "I'll take you there."

"Nonsense, it's so cold outside." Zhao Wenchang frowned and reached out to pull her back into bed.

"No!" Jiang Wanqiu stubbornly dodged away, quickly putting on her clothes and shoes. "I'm going to take you there, to the meeting point."

Looking into her eyes, which were filled with determination, Zhao Wenchang could only sigh helplessly and reach out to ruffle her hair.

The two went out the door one after the other.

The military compound was quiet and chilly at around four or five in the morning.

Jiang Wanqiu followed behind Zhao Wenchang, stepping on his tall figure, her heart aching and throbbing.

As we approached the assembly point, we could already see shadowy figures and military trucks.

Zhao Wenchang stopped and turned to look at her: "That's enough for now. Go back quickly, or Ping An will wake up and not be able to find you, so he'll disappear again."

Jiang Wanqiu nodded, but her eyes couldn't help but redden.

She said nothing, but suddenly lunged forward, stretched out her arms, and hugged the man's waist tightly. Her cheek pressed against his hard chest, feeling the rough texture of the military uniform fabric.

Zhao Wenchang stiffened for a moment, then gently stroked her back with his large hand.

"Okay, I'm leaving."

Just then, a burst of laughter and whistling came from not far away.

"Oh my! Look at our Captain Zhao, he's really showing off his affections!"

"Don't worry, sister-in-law! We promise to bring the captain back to you safe and sound!"

Several young soldiers who had already boarded the train were clinging to the railings and shouting jeers.

Jiang Wanqiu's face instantly turned bright red, like a startled rabbit. She abruptly let go of his hand, took a step back, and almost buried her head in her chest.

Zhao Wenchang turned around and glared at the group of soldiers, then looked back at his wife's embarrassed expression and couldn't help but laugh.

He reached out his rough fingertips and gently flicked her nose, lowering his voice to say, "Ignore them. My bunch of bastards have sharp eyes, they can't hide anything."

With the sound of the assembly whistle, Zhao Wenchang took one last look at her: "I'm leaving. Be good at home."

After saying that, he turned around and strode towards the truck.

Watching his nimble back as he climbed into the truck, and seeing the green military truck slowly drive away with a roar, finally disappearing into the morning mist, Jiang Wanqiu exhaled a puff of white breath, tucked her frozen face into her scarf, and stumbled back home.

It was just getting light, and there wasn't a soul on the road.

Jiang Wanqiu felt a little bloated in her lower abdomen and thought she should go to the public restroom first.

These days, toilets are all old-fashioned brick-built dry toilets, with a damp and unpleasant smell.

She had just stepped out of the stall and was about to walk away when she faintly heard a woman's voice, hushed and muffled, coming from behind the toilet. One word in particular made her abruptly stop in her tracks—

“...Jiang Wanqiu…”

That's her name!

Who would be talking about her behind the toilet so early in the morning?

Curious, Jiang Wanqiu tiptoed around to the other side of the toilet, pressed herself against the cool brick wall, and listened intently.

A familiar, high-pitched female voice, trembling with tears, complained, "...It's all that Jiang Wanqiu's fault for being so talkative! Ever since she told my man I was pregnant, the way he looks at me has been off these past few days, and he keeps interrogating me! I will never let that bitch get away with this! Besides, Wenxiu, when are we finally going to leave? I can't stand it for another day!"

It's He Xiaoman!

The other voice, which Jiang Wanqiu also recognized, was Du Wenxiu.

Du Wenxiu's voice carried a hint of impatience: "What's the rush? Didn't I tell you, you haven't given me enough money. How are we going to travel without money? What will we eat and drink on the way?"

"I... I only had a little bit of savings, and I gave it all to you!" He Xiaoman was so anxious she was almost crying.

"What can you do with that little bit of money?" Du Wenxiu sneered, then softened her tone, "Don't you still have the dowry your mother gave you? And those gold bracelets you're wearing now..."

"No way!" He Xiaoman's voice immediately hardened at the mention of the gold bracelet. "That's something passed down in our family, it's very precious! You can't touch it!"

“Okay, okay, no, no,” Du Wenxiu immediately changed her tune, coaxing, “I have an even better idea. I heard your man is in some research group, right? The higher-ups just allocated him a large sum of research funding, quite a lot of money! Go back and think of a way to get that money. As soon as we get the money, we’ll leave immediately, the sky’s the limit!”

"But the money we've saved is enough to go south."

“We’re going to a place even further than the South, to Taiwan. Xiaoman, think about it, if we don’t go far away, do you think we’ll make it? What does your man Zhou Jianjun do? Have you forgotten? He has soldiers under his command! If we stay on the mainland, he’ll drag us back in less than three days. Do you think we’ll be in a good place then?”

Seeing the hesitation and lingering fear on He Xiaoman's face, Du Wenxiu leaned closer: "I've already inquired about everything for us. There's a place on Taiwan, far from the capital, where nobody knows anyone. I've already found a house, and we're just waiting... just waiting for this last bit of money."

His hand slid restlessly to He Xiaoman's waist and gave it a light pinch.

"I...I understand." He Xiaoman was finally persuaded. "I'll think of a way."

"That's a good girl."

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Wanqiu on the other side of the wall heard a rustling sound of fabric rubbing together, followed by He Xiaoman's suppressed and unbearable gasp, as if her mouth had been gagged.

Then came the man's heavy breathing and the woman's intermittent sobs.

The noise was sticky and unpleasant, especially unbearable in the quiet morning.

Jiang Wanqiu frowned in disgust.

These two are really...aren't they cold?!

Doing this kind of thing so early in the morning behind this filthy and smelly outhouse, aren't they afraid of freezing their skin off?

She sneered inwardly. They wanted to cause her trouble? They'd better worry about themselves first!

Jiang Wanqiu originally wanted to go out right now and catch the two illicit lovers red-handed.

But then she thought again, Zhao Wenchang had just left, and she was alone at home with Ping An. If she really pushed those two too far, they might do something desperate, and she, as a woman, would suffer a great loss.

It's not safe to cause trouble rashly.

Thinking of this, she quietly slipped out, landing on her toes without making a sound.

She returned to the family compound and parked in front of Zhou Jianjun's house.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

She raised her hand and knocked hard on the green-painted wooden door.

After a while, the door was opened a crack from the inside. Zhou Jianjun was wearing an old white T-shirt, his hair was messy, and he had obviously just been woken up. His face was full of displeasure.

"Who is it...it's you?" He was taken aback when he saw that it was Jiang Wanqiu. "Sister-in-law Zhao, what brings you here so early in the morning?"

Jiang Wanqiu cut to the chase: "Brother Zhou, your Xiaoman is having an affair with Du Wenxiu behind the public toilet right now."

The drowsiness on Zhou Jianjun's face vanished instantly, and his brows furrowed tightly.

"You lead the way." He uttered those three words, then turned and went back into the house to grab a coat and put it on.

The two walked quickly, one in front of the other.

Just as I was about to reach the restroom, a figure hurriedly emerged from behind it, straightening the collar of his wrinkled cotton-padded jacket as he went.

It was He Xiaoman.

When she looked up, she saw Zhou Jianjun approaching menacingly and Jiang Wanqiu following behind. She turned pale with fright and stopped abruptly in her tracks.

"What...what are you two going to do?" Her voice was weak, and her eyes darted around.

Zhou Jianjun remained silent, his face dark, and walked past her toward the back of the toilet.

"Hey! Stop right there!" He Xiaoman was terrified when she saw this. She rushed forward and grabbed Zhou Jianjun's arm tightly, screaming, "Zhou Jianjun! What do you want to do!"