Chapter 2: Entangled Love and Hate
At that time, Cheng Ying was already thirty-five years old and had reached the regimental level in the army. She had been married to Wei Muchen for ten years, only to have him cheat on her and have a child with another woman.
This made Cheng Ying feel that she had been deceived and cheated. The man who had once vowed to love her for a lifetime and promised to stand by her side no matter what happened, to share life and death with her, and never abandon her, was a complete joke in her marriage.
She didn't hesitate for a moment, found Wei Muchen, beat the unfaithful man to a pulp, and filed for divorce.
Wei Muchen let her beat him until he was bruised and battered, his body covered in injuries, until she was satisfied. Then he knelt in front of her, crying, and told her that he did not mean to cheat on her. He said that he was drunk and, in his confused state, mistook another woman for her, which is why he made this mistake.
He loved her from beginning to end. He was afraid that if she knew about this, she would leave him without hesitation, so he chose to keep it a secret. Who knew that the woman would get pregnant, give birth to a child, and then use it to blackmail him. He had no choice but to give the woman all the benefits she wanted and reluctantly brought the child back. He wanted to confess to her, but his mother beat him to it.
Wei Muchen looked extremely regretful and cried as he told Cheng Ying that the child was not important. He only wanted to spend his life with her. The child could be registered in her name, and she could raise the child as her own without having to give birth. If she didn't like the child, he could give it to his cousins to raise.
Wei Muchen's mother, holding the child, said to her, "Cheng Ying, don't be ungrateful. You've been married to Mucheng for ten years and haven't had a child. You're from a rural background. Back then, Mucheng insisted on marrying you. I initially disagreed, but he threatened to kill himself to marry you. I couldn't bear to see my son so heartbroken, so I agreed to let him marry you. Over the years, because of you, my daughter-in-law from the countryside, I've endured so much scorn and ridicule from the ladies of these big families in Beijing. Our Wei family is large and wealthy. You haven't had a child in ten years, yet Mucheng has had a child outside, which he wants you to raise and register under your name. He's already paid off that other woman with money. What more could you want?"
Cheng Ying felt a tightness in her chest, neither able to breathe nor able to breathe properly, which made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
Indeed, no matter how outstanding she was, as a country girl, she married into the Wei family, a prominent family in the capital. In the eyes of outsiders, it was a complete transformation from a pheasant to a phoenix, a life of unparalleled glory.
However, after marrying into a large family, only Cheng Ying herself knew the ins and outs, the difficulties caused by her mother-in-law, and the various ways the other members of the Wei family looked down on her and tried to trip her up.
Cheng Ying has always been a strong-willed person; otherwise, she wouldn't have achieved such a position in the military. Regarding Wei Muchen's affair and having a child, no matter how eloquently he and his mother described it, she insisted on getting a divorce.
But Wei Muchen was used to being humble and subservient, and he knew how to manipulate her thoughts. He would first soften his stance and coax her, and if that didn't work, he would threaten and entice her with the future of her relatives and friends. Finally, he would put on a sob story in an attempt to win back her heart.
At that time, she didn't know that Wei Muchen was a madman. She insisted on divorcing him and moved out of the Wei family home to live on her own.
Soon, her relatives and friends lost their jobs and various cooperation opportunities one after another. Her family members kept getting into trouble. Even her career was blocked. She had been nominated for a promotion long ago, but her position was suddenly revoked. She knew that Wei Muchen had made his move.
She wasn't the kind of person who would just sit and wait to die. She retaliated in her own way and deliberately started a new relationship. As a result, the man was tortured by Wei Muchen to the point of wishing he were dead and gave up on dating her. In her anger, she wanted to fight Wei Muchen to the death, but he imprisoned her in a remote old house and subjected her to his inhuman intimate torture every day.
Naturally unwilling to be imprisoned, she devised a way to escape and went directly to her father-in-law, Wei Muchen's father, Chief Wei, threatening that if Chief Wei did not take good care of his son, she would appeal to the central government and implicate the entire Wei family.
With Chief Wei's intervention, Wei Muchen finally restrained himself considerably, but he still refused to divorce Cheng Ying, dragging things out and unwilling to leave.
Cheng Ying didn't care whether she could divorce him or not. She focused on her career in the army and vowed to climb up the ranks to a high position of power, to bring down the Wei family that protected Wei Muchen, and to send this scumbag Wei Muchen to prison so that he could never rise again.
From then on, she and Wei Muchen began to torment each other until Wei Muchen reached middle age, gained weight, and started having an affair with a mistress. He had a child with that mistress and spent his days with her, exhausting himself and losing interest in her. Only then did she finally find an opportunity to bring him down and send him to prison.
After all this time, she reached middle age and was nearing retirement. The best years of her life had been wasted by Wei Muchen, and she sincerely regretted it and felt it was all for nothing.
She couldn't understand what Wei Muchen was thinking. They were clearly past their chances and had grown to hate each other, yet he had two other women and had two children with them, and still kept harassing her and doing disgusting and crazy things to her. This was just plain sick!
Thinking of this, Cheng Ying looked at the young Wei Muchen in front of her with disgust, but she knew in her heart what kind of crazy nature Wei Muchen, who appeared cheerful, gentle and humorous on the surface, had in private.
You can't argue with him directly.
Cheng Ying lowered her eyes, concealing the disgust within, and said with an extremely aggrieved expression, "Your mother just came to me the other day, saying that I'm from a poor country background, that I'm not worthy of dating you, not worthy of being a daughter-in-law of the Wei family, and warned me not to get close to you, and to find a way to break up with you, or else she and my family will be in trouble. Your mother also said that when you came back to Beijing this time, she arranged for you to go on blind dates with many young ladies from prominent families, and you took a liking to one of them, went on a date with her for a Western meal, and even took her home that night. You're only dating me for novelty, for fun, to play with me. I've been waiting for your explanation, but you haven't. I've thought about it for a long time, and I think what your mother said makes a lot of sense. I'm just a country girl, what have I done to deserve the attention of you, the young master Wei? You're only dating me to play with me. In that case, let's break up. It's better for you, for your mother, and for your entire Wei family."
"You're going to break up with me because of these things?" Wei Muchen frowned deeply. "I've already explained to you that I only dated Comrade Yu because of the relationship between the Yu family and our Wei family, and to give my mother an explanation. I was just going through the motions, not because I really wanted to date her. We've been dating for a year now. Don't you know what kind of person I am? If I looked down on your background, why did I even date you in the first place? You can't deny my sincerity just because of a few words from my mother."
Cheng Ying remained unmoved. "I don't deny your 'sincerity' towards me, but the problems between us aren't just your mother's disapproval, her constant criticism and dislike, and her opposition. There's also your frequent arguments, your passive-aggressive behavior—ignoring me for a week, even a month, and treating me with utter indifference. I can't stand this neglect. The lover I want should revolve around me, prioritize me in everything, never neglect or bully me, and always think of me. You are clearly not that kind of person. Therefore, we are not suitable, and breaking up is the best choice."
"Cheng Ying, stop it. I'll change what you said, okay?" Wei Muchen thought she was still angry and throwing a tantrum, so he reached out to take her hand. "I'll call my mom later and tell her not to talk nonsense to you. Our relationship is between the two of us. Even if she's my mom, she can't interfere in our affairs. I admit I can be a little short-tempered sometimes. When you don't listen to me, I can't help but get angry and argue with you. You're just as stubborn as me, unwilling to back down or coax me. I just want to give you the cold shoulder and toughen you up, but don't act impulsively and break up with me like that. Don't you have any feelings for me at all?"
"Don't touch me!" Cheng Ying slapped his hand away. "You're too dirty!"
She felt disgusted just by him getting close to her, and he even wanted to hold her hand. She really wanted to chop off his filthy hand to vent her anger.
"Okay, okay, I won't touch you." Wei Muchen took a step back, raised his hand and looked at the little bit of black ash on his hands, saying, "I just came back from training outside and didn't have time to wash my hands. They are indeed dirty. I'll go wash them now."
He was about to leave when he heard Cheng Ying behind him say, word by word, "Wei Muchen, this is the end for us. Don't come looking for me again. Let's go our separate ways and wish each other well."
Wei Muchen's eyelids twitched, and he turned to look at her. "What do you mean? Are you determined to break up with me?"
Cheng Ying ignored him completely, walked out of the communications room, went directly to the garrison office, found Political Commissar Wang, and asked to process her demobilization and transfer procedures.
"What's wrong? Did you and Mu Cheng have another fight? What's wrong this time that you're throwing a tantrum and need him to coax you?" Political Commissar Wang asked, pushing up his glasses as he sat down at his desk.
"Political Commissar, I'm not throwing a tantrum. I want to retire from the army and return to my hometown to continue my father's work as a postman." Cheng Ying sat in front of him, her expression serious. "My father was a rural postman for twenty years. He was a postman trusted by the villagers in several nearby villages. He valued this job very much and delivered letters, newspapers, and parcels to the villagers rain or shine for twenty years. His spirit of serving the people has always deeply moved the villagers and me. Now my father is seriously ill in bed, and his work has been delayed because of this. I want to return to my hometown to carry on his work and will and serve the people."
Political Commissar Wang was stunned. Seeing that she didn't seem to be joking, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Xiao Cheng, you are one of the most outstanding female soldiers in our military region. Whether it's training or missions, you are always the best. You are already a platoon leader at such a young age, and your future is even more promising. Are you really going to give up such a bright future for a job as a mail carrier? Have you really thought it through?"
Cheng Ying nodded without hesitation, "I've made up my mind. I can't disregard my father's wishes for my own sake. It has always been my father's wish for me to become a rural postman. I want to go home and fulfill his wish. I want to return to my hometown and live a different life."
Political Commissar Wang frowned. "Do Mu Cheng and Chief Wei know about this?"
“They know,” Cheng Ying lied expressionlessly.
If they knew she was going to retire and return to her hometown, they would definitely try to stop her in every way. Chief Wei was doing it out of love for talent, while Wei Muchen was doing it out of selfishness. No matter what they thought, she would not let them know about this before she went through the retirement process, so as not to stop her from returning home.
Political Commissar Wang then asked, "After you complete the discharge procedures, you will no longer be a soldier, you will not be able to return to the military, and you will not be able to enjoy various national welfare subsidies and allowances. Have you thought about it? Will you regret it?"
"I've thought it through, and I will never regret it," Cheng Ying said resolutely.
Political Commissar Wang remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a soft sigh. He then took out a discharge application form from the cabinet and handed it to her, saying, "Fill out the form according to the format."
A note from the author:
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Postmen who specialize in delivering letters and parcels between villages and towns are also known as rural postmen.
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