Shen Mingzhi was embarrassed and almost instinctively wanted to protect the child next to her.

Her undulating movements revealed the wooden plaque tied with a red rope around her neck, and Jiang Shao Chen's eyes darkened.

"We haven't decided on a name yet. We'll talk about it after we've chosen one," Jiang Shaozhen replied to the doctor.

Shen Mingzhi glanced at Jiang Shaozhen subconsciously, pursed her lips, and lowered her head to comfort the child in her arms.

This behavior is tantamount to tacitly acknowledging that the two are husband and wife.

Jiang Yinyin was furious when she saw this scene. Her eldest brother had been saved by Zhang Ping, but what was wrong with her second brother?

Jiang Yinyin pulled him out of the room and only let go of him when they were far away from the ward. She stared intently at Jiang Shaozhen and asked, "Did you and Sister Wanyin have a fight?"

Song Wanyin was Jiang Shaochen's childhood sweetheart. They lived in the same compound since they were little. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also talented. After graduation, she joined the art troupe and became a well-known "little oriole".

Song's parents were cadres in the military-industrial group where Jiang Shaozhen worked, which greatly helped his future career.

The two families were well-matched, and the two were the only couple in the entire compound. Song Wanyin was also the only sister-in-law that Jiang Yinyin acknowledged. They were just waiting for the wedding to take place. So why did Jiang Shaochen's words imply that he really wanted to marry that widow?

What about Sister Wanyin?

“It’s normal for young couples to have disagreements; they’ll be fine once they talk it out.” The deep voice came from afar; it was their father, Jiang Guofu.

Jiang Guofu originally wanted to come to the hospital with him, but he had some things to take care of at the military base, so he rushed over as soon as he finished dealing with them.

Regardless, Shen Mingzhi was entrusted to him by his eldest son, so he came to visit her. Just then, he overheard Jiang Yinyin's words.

Jiang Shao Chen frowned. "I've told you so many times, there's nothing between me and Wan Yin, and there won't be. I only see her as a younger sister. Don't say such things again."

But nobody believed it.

Jiang Shaozhen didn't bother to explain, "Last year I was on business in Lishan. Something happened, and a woman saved me. I offended her."

"Second brother, you're not going to say that the child in her belly is yours, are you?" Jiang Yinyin's mouth widened in disbelief. "You really are something! You'll make up any excuse to protect her!"

She knew that her second brother had stayed in Kuriyama for nearly three months.

His parents urged him to come home, but he said he needed to find someone, and even used his father's connections.

At the time, she thought her second brother had something else on his mind, but she never expected it was because of this relationship!

Jiang Guofu was also stunned, and cautiously looked around.

To outsiders, Jiang Shaozhen was outstanding, but only he and his wife knew that Jiang Shaozhen had been poisoned during a mission. Although he was cured, he was left with a chronic illness. Every six months, he would "go crazy" once, becoming mentally unstable, violent, and even having a strong sexual desire.

The onset of the illness was at a fixed time. Jiang Shaochen was afraid of harming others and implicating his family, so he would lock himself in the basement a few days in advance to get through it. Who knew that he would be delayed by a mission last time? He thought he had gotten through it safely, but he didn't expect it to be like this.

Jiang Shaozhen only said he was looking for someone, without explaining why, but now the timing makes perfect sense...

"Why didn't you think of saying that when you were at home?" Jiang Guofu's face turned ugly. He originally thought he was helping others, but now he had given them leverage over him.

Jiang Shaozhen pursed his lips and said in a low voice, "I don't know what her attitude is, and besides, speaking rashly would ruin a woman's reputation. I can only marry her if she's willing to. Now that we have a child, I will take responsibility for myself, and I will bear all the consequences."

When they first met at the Jiang family home, he was already certain it was her.

Seeing the wooden sign now, Jiang Shaozhen was even more certain that she was the woman from that night.

He was in a daze at the time, only remembering that it was raining heavily, the woman's voice was drowned out by the rain, and her faint fragrance still lingered in his nose. Realizing that it was her first time, with his remaining consciousness, he hung the wooden tag he always carried around her neck.

When he regained consciousness, the woman was already gone. He searched the neighborhood for three months but found no trace of her.

He never expected to meet her like this; he will definitely make it up to her.

Jiang Yinyin was devastated when she heard that it had to be made public. "Second brother! You...you just had an accident! We've been very kind to her. Besides, so much time has passed, how could the child in her belly possibly be yours?"

With her eldest brother gone, she only has her second brother left. If people find out that he had a child with his comrade's wife, where would she put her face?

“While she was unconscious, the doctor already provided the baby’s blood type. Both are type B.” Jiang Shao Chen’s words shattered Jiang Yin Yin’s hopes, his tone utterly resolute: “I’m going to marry her.”

What could Jiang Guofu say? He was already in the wrong, and now Shen Mingzhi had come to his door, they had a child, and Jiang Shaochen was so sure he wanted to marry Shen Mingzhi.

He knows his son too well; when he gets stubborn, he won't listen to anyone. If he disagrees, things might get out of hand.

He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Does she know the child is yours?"

Jiang Shaozhen thought of Shen Mingzhi's reaction when she saw him, realizing she didn't recognize him at all, and shook his head, "I don't know, I'll tell her later."

Jiang Guofu became anxious, "Now is not the time to talk about these things. Zhang Ping is gone, and the child she gave birth to wasn't from the Zhang family. What will outsiders think of her? You, as a man, may not care, but what about her, a woman? Does she still care about her reputation? She just gave birth and had a severe hemorrhage, barely surviving. How can she bear such a huge thing? What if she can't think straight?"

Jiang Shaozhen thought of the fat woman's suspicious and gossipy look earlier.

He was a man, so of course he didn't care about these things, but he couldn't guarantee that Shen Mingzhi didn't care either.

She was already in poor health; if she heard these rumors, she might not be able to handle it...

He hesitated briefly before saying, "Then let's not talk about it for now. But I will definitely explain this to her later, and I will also reveal the child's identity and all questions..."

"Alright, alright, your mom's off to a performance. She'll be home tonight. You can talk to her when she gets there."

Jiang Guofu waved his hand, "Here are some brown sugar and biscuits I bought. Soak them in water and give them to her. If you don't know how to take care of her, you should ask Aunt Wang from home to come and watch over her."

Jiang Guofu handed the things he had bought to Jiang Shaozhen, still not giving up, "Can I go see the child?"

Jiang Shaozhen knew what he was thinking, and his eyes darkened. "I'll go ask her what she thinks."

...