Chapter 46 Xie Zhongming: Yes, my wife's name is Pangya.
As dusk settled in, it bathed the cornfields and brick kilns in a somber gloom.
Just like Xie Zhongming's gloomy mood when he mentions Fatty right now.
His movements on the bicycle pedals slowed down. Just moments ago, a faint smile had graced his lips as the evening breeze blew, but now his lips were pursed into a straight line, and his forehead was slightly tense.
The wind blew from the rolling green cornfield, which had just been carrying the fresh scent of corn leaves, but now felt somewhat stuffy and heavy, making Xie Zhongming's chest tighten.
He tightened his grip on the bicycle handlebars, turned slightly, and asked, "How did Comrade Qiao know about Fatty?"
"..." Qiao Xingyue did not answer immediately.
At that moment, the old-fashioned bicycle rolled over a mud pit, causing the front and rear wheels to bounce twice.
Neither Qiao Xingyue nor Xie Zhongming, each preoccupied with their own thoughts, noticed the jolt in the car.
Qiao Xingyue didn't sleep well last night, her heart was racing with speculation about this possibility, and now all her doubts have finally been resolved.
Yes.
Commander Xie's wife is named Fatty, the same Fatty she was five and a half years ago, before she lost weight and changed her name back to her original name.
After swallowing that bowl of sweet potato porridge laced with veterinary drugs, Qiao Xingyue, who had just transmigrated, retained only fragments of her memories. She only remembered that her body was burning hot at the time, and all she wanted to do was hug a man and have sex with him to release her pent-up emotions. As it turned out, there really was a solid and powerful wall of flesh within her reach.
The man's chest and abdominal muscles were not soft at all; although he was thin, they were all firm lines, and every inch of them felt strong and taut when touched in the palm of your hand.
Even after five and a half years, Qiao Xingyue still remembers it very clearly.
Sitting on the back of Xie Zhongming's old bicycle, his broad shoulders and back were right in front of me, and his soapy, masculine scent wafted over me.
Qiao Xingyue, who is usually calm in the face of trouble, panicked at this moment.
She didn't notice the bumps in the wheels.
A cool evening breeze blew by, ruffling her hair and obscuring her vision, but she didn't notice.
Suddenly, two large yellow dogs darted out of the cornfield and ran past them, but she still didn't notice.
She felt all the blood rush to her head, and only one thought crossed her mind: it was him, the man she slept with five and a half years ago was indeed him, and An Anning's father was Xie Zhongming.
This scoundrel hasn't returned to Chadian Village once in five and a half years. He married her, but she was abandoned in the countryside like a burden to him. He never thought of having her come to join him in the army for five and a half years, and now he wants to divorce "Fat Girl".
Seeing that she did not answer, Xie Zhongming pressed the pedals harder and harder.
The atmosphere between the two suddenly became somewhat oppressive.
Just like the clouds hanging in the sky right now, they are suppressed by the darkening sky. Although there is light, it is gray and hazy, spreading out in a dull and heavy atmosphere.
The wind had died down, leaving only the sultry heat of a summer evening, so oppressive that it made one's chest feel tight.
Seeing that Qiao Xingyue remained silent, Xie Zhongming seemed to be clarifying something and added, "Comrade Qiao, Fatty and I have never had any feelings for each other. Our relationship was just a mistake at the beginning."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Xingyue tightened her grip on the metal frame of the chair.
Her face was tense, and a clear gloom was visible on her fair complexion. She said in a deep voice, "I only saw Comrade Xie's missing person notice in the newspaper."
Then, feeling a surge of anger, he asked again, "Comrade Xie, do you and your wife have children?"
She didn't know whether Xie Zhongming knew that she was pregnant with his child and had given birth to two children for him.
Most likely, they don't know either.
The old bicycle rolled over another pothole.
Xie Zhongming didn't notice the road conditions ahead at all.
He felt somewhat guilty towards Pangya. "I only found out last month that Pangya had given birth to two children for me. Pangya and the two children have fallen into the moat of Kuncheng and been swept away by the flood."
His voice gradually lowered.
In this way, Qiao Xingyue understood why Commander Xie had posted the missing person notice.
Commander Xie visited Chadian Village two months ago.
In other words, he only learned two months ago that "Fatty" had been missing for a long time.
Last month, when she went to Kuncheng Hospital with Uncle Xie, Commander Xie also went to Kuncheng and visited the state-run restaurant where she used to work as a waitress.
It was probably then that he learned, through the connection with the state-run restaurant, that she, nicknamed "Fat Girl," had given birth to two children for him. However, at the time, everyone at the state-run restaurant assumed that she had fallen into the river while carrying her two children and had been swept away by the flood.
That's how his missing person notice came about.
She risked her life to give birth to his two children, only to receive a missing person notice in return.
For the past five years, he has ignored her and their child's well-being; he has shown no sign of being a husband. Since he married her, he shouldn't have been so indifferent.
Otherwise, don't marry.
Even if she and Xie Zhongming had no feelings for each other, Qiao Xingyue wouldn't want such a scoundrel.
Xie Zhongming suddenly asked, "Comrade Qiao, you've raised two children alone all these years, enduring countless hardships and difficulties. Have you ever thought about remarrying and starting a new family so that someone can help you share the burden?"
As he asked the question, Xie Zhongming tightened his grip on the handlebars.
My palms are sweaty.
The movement of his feet also slowed down.
The wind whispered past his ear, but there was no reply from her. He gripped the handlebars of the bicycle even tighter.
Qiao Xingyue didn't answer, but asked in return, "Comrade Xie, have you ever thought that if you had brought your wife to the army to live with you, she and the child wouldn't have fallen into the river and drowned?"
The voice was icy cold, and to Xie Zhongming's ears, it even carried a kind of reproach and anger that he didn't quite understand.
Regardless, he felt guilty, saying, "The responsibility for this matter truly lies with me."
If it weren't for her and An'an Ningning's good fortune in surviving the fall of the river and the fact that a boat happened to be passing by and pulled them all ashore, she and An'an Ningning would probably have been eaten by fish long ago.
For the past five and a half years, from her pregnancy to the birth of An'an and Ningning, she has wandered around with them, enduring countless hardships and sufferings, which he has no idea about.
Ha! Just one sentence—"The responsibility does indeed lie with me."
It really is as light as a feather.
He's a real scoundrel.
She didn't respond to Xie Zhongming's words, but remained silent.
As the bicycle jingled in the fields, the sunset was completely swallowed by the night.
Xie Zhongming rode his bicycle for a while longer, from the country path to the main road paved with gravel, which led to the Jincheng Military Region General Hospital.
The wheels drove over it, and it became noticeably more stable.
But the two of them didn't speak again.
Xie Zhongming clearly sensed that Comrade Qiao had suddenly become somewhat cold and even hostile towards him.
When he arrived at the inpatient building of the military hospital, before his bicycle had even come to a complete stop, Qiao Xingyue had already jumped off the bike with her things in her hands and went to the ward without waiting for him.
Inside the ward, Huang Guilan and An'an started drinking millet porridge first.
The millet porridge was cooked by Wang Fenshu, who brought it to the hospital with her daughter Chen Jiahui. The side dishes served with the porridge were stir-fried carrots and pork and stir-fried pickled cabbage and pork, which were packed in aluminum lunch boxes.
Wang Shufen sat beside them, watching the old woman and the young girl enjoying their porridge with a decent appetite, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Guilan, when you two were brought into the emergency room today, my heart was pounding. Luckily, you and An'an are both alright, it really scared me to death. I specifically told Old Chen not to put a single peanut in it, but who knew there was peanut butter in the brown sugar buns."
"Don't blame yourself. An'an and I are both fine now. The doctor said we can be discharged in two or three days, so don't worry!" Huang Guilan replied with a smile.
An'an took a big gulp of porridge, raised her head, and comforted her, "Yes, Grandma Wang, we're alright now. Everything tastes good, don't worry."
Looking at the old woman and the young boy, Wang Shufen asked again, "Guilan, are you saying that Ningning's asthma is the same as your husband Lao Xie's?"
Huang Guilan picked up a slice of meat from the carrot and gave it to An'an: "Yes!"
"What a coincidence! An'an is allergic to peanuts, just like you and Zhongming. Ningning and Lao Xie both have asthma. If you didn't know better, you'd really think these two kids were your Xie family's granddaughters!" Wang Shufen laughed. "This is quite a connection between you and these two kids."
Huang Guilan took a sip of millet porridge and laughed, "If the Xie family really had such well-behaved granddaughters as An'an and Ningning, not only would I wake up laughing in my dreams, but my husband and my mother would also wake up laughing in their dreams."
Chen Jiahui chimed in from the side, "Aunt Lan, we all know your family likes girls, so just treat An'an and Ningning as your granddaughters."
Huang Guilan looked at An'an and patted her little head, "She's just like my own granddaughter."
Wang Shufen suddenly frowned. "Guilan, didn't your Zhongming place an ad in the newspaper looking for the missing Pangya? I heard that Pangya gave birth to two children for Zhongming, and both An'an and Ningning have the Xie family's hereditary disease. Could this Comrade Qiao be the missing Pangya?"
Wang Shufen asked casually, but Huang Guilan immediately retorted, "How could that be? Fatty weighs over 200 pounds, and she's never been to school in the village. She can't read a single character, can't even write her own name, and is always causing trouble in the village. My Xingyue is different. Xingyue is slim and beautiful, knows traditional Chinese medicine, can perform surgery, speaks English, knows acupuncture, can cook, and has a sweet tongue. How could that Fatty compare to our Xingyue? She's not even as good as a single hair on Xingyue's head."
Wang Shufen agreed, "That's true. If Zhongming hadn't disliked Fatty back then, he would have taken her to the army to live with him long ago."
Qiao Xingyue, who was standing at the door, did not go in immediately; she listened for a few moments.
When I first came to Aunt Lan's house to work, I never expected that Aunt Lan was An An Ning Ning's biological grandmother. No wonder the two children are so close to Aunt Lan.
Qiao Xingyue knew that Aunt Lan was incredibly kind; having a mother-in-law like that was a blessing from countless lifetimes.
But she was the chubby girl whom the Xie family despised.
"Why aren't you going in?" Xie Zhongming, who had followed her in, looked at her standing at the door of the ward.
She then entered the ward, greeted Huang Guilan, Wang Shufen, and Chen Jiahui, and sat down next to An'an. "An'an, did Grandma Wang and Aunt Jiahui bring the porridge?"
"Mmm, it smells delicious."
Did you say thank you?
"certainly!"
Qiao Xingyue looked at Wang Shufen and Chen Jiahui, "Aunt Wang, Comrade Chen, thank you for making porridge and bringing it over. You've worked hard."
Wang Shufen still feels incredibly guilty. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't insisted that your Uncle Chen bring the brown sugar buns to the table, An'an and your Aunt Lan wouldn't have had to suffer like this."
"Aunt Wang, don't feel guilty. You didn't know there was peanut butter in those brown sugar buns," Qiao Xingyue replied.
Chen Jiahui observed them from the side while they were talking.
Commander Xie would glance at Comrade Qiao from time to time, her gaze brief and flustered, her feigned calm masking her true feelings. Wasn't that the same look she used to give Commander Xie when she secretly and cautiously observed her?
Only Chen Jiahui, who secretly harbors feelings for someone, can understand Commander Xie's gaze.
But ever since entering the ward, Comrade Qiao didn't even glance at Commander Xie. When Aunt Lan and An'an finished their porridge and were about to clean up the dishes, Commander Xie came forward to help, but Comrade Qiao refused outright.
Chen Jiahui came to the conclusion that Comrade Qiao did not like Commander Xie at all.
Seeing that Comrade Qiao had gone to wash the dishes, she stopped Xie Zhongming, who was about to help, and said, "Commander Xie, let me go help Comrade Qiao."
...
Inpatient ward, water room.
Qiao Xingyue was rinsing an aluminum lunchbox at the tap.
She still hasn't realized what's happening.
How come Commander Xie is the man she slept with back then?
"Comrade Qiao, let me help you." Chen Jiahui walked up, picked up another aluminum lunchbox that she had placed in the sink, and started washing it under another tap.
Qiao Xingyue looked at Chen Jia Hui's hands, which were white, slender, and long, with smooth, shiny nails. It was clear that she had been pampered by the Chen family since childhood and had never lifted a finger. Moreover, Commander Chen and Aunt Wang were good people, and Chen Jia Hui's character was like her parents'. It was quite comfortable to be around Chen Jia Hui.
"Comrade Qiao, how old are you this year?"
"I'm almost 26."
"I'm a few months older than you, I'm already 26 years old, so I'll call you Xingyue from now on, okay?"
Qiao Xingyue readily agreed, "Okay, I'll call you Jia Hui from now on."
Chen Jiahui smiled slightly, revealing a pair of sweet dimples at the corners of her lips, "It's settled then."
As she spoke, Chen Jiahui washed the aluminum lunchbox in her hands and tentatively asked, "Xingyue, I've heard about your situation. It must have been very difficult for you to raise two children on your own all these years. Ningning has had congenital asthma since she was little and often has seizures. It must have been very hard for you to take care of them."
"It's alright, I'm used to it."
"Xingyue, have you ever thought about finding a new man, starting a family again, and having someone help you share the burden?"
Qiao Xingyue stopped washing the dishes and looked Chen Jiahui up and down.
Was Chen Jia-hui testing her?
She didn't answer, so Chen Jiahui continued, "I think you and Commander Xie are a perfect match."
"Jia Hui, Commander Xie is a married man. I didn't think about it that way. Besides, I don't plan to remarry." Qiao Xingyue finished washing the dishes and turned off the tap.
Chen Jiahui stopped washing the dishes and hurriedly explained, "Commander Xie does have a wife, but he and his wife have absolutely no feelings for each other. His wife fell into the river and was swept away by the flood; she's most likely dead. I think the living should live their lives well. Commander Xie is excellent in every way—filial to his elders, loyal, and a very good person. Xingyue, why don't you consider Commander Xie? Most importantly, the Xie family loves peace and tranquility. If you really marry into the Xie family, you'll definitely be very happy."
When Chen Jiahui talked about Commander Xie, her eyes lit up.
Commander Xie was the person who was with her throughout her youth. She knew the pain of unrequited love, so Chen Jiahui did not want Commander Xie to have any regrets in his life.
Since she can't have him, she will sincerely give him her blessings.
She blinked and looked at Qiao Xingyue earnestly. "Xingyue, based on my understanding of the Xie family, you will really be very happy if you marry into them."
Qiao Xingyue smiled and said, "Jia Hui, I think it's a pity you're not a matchmaker."
"How about I be your matchmaker?"
"You should get married first."
Why are you bringing me up?
Qiao Xingyue cleared away the dishes and headed towards the ward. Chen Jiahui quickly followed behind, saying, "Xingyue, consider Commander Xie. He's really outstanding."
Qiao Xingyue did not answer.
She was the chubby girl whom Xie Zhongming had always disliked. Over the years, he had married her but ignored her, leaving her in the countryside for five and a half years without ever going back to see her. How could he possibly remember her as his wife?
This matter won't be settled so easily.
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