"I am Wan Xinguo, who once took an oath before the leaders and comrades of the army, to be a revolutionary soldier striving alongside you," Wan Xinguo answered word by word, "I have always remembered that oath. Have you?"
Chen Chen’s eyes flashed with a hint of guilt. "Who says I don’t remember?"
Wan Xinguo smiled faintly, "Since you remember, then why do you refuse my family visits? Why do you look so unhappy when you see me? Why do you embarrass me in front of others? Your attitude makes me anxious and perplexed, feeling like my arrival is a joke. Comrade Chen Chen, give me a straight answer about the divorce."
"I don’t agree!" Chen Chen finally raised her voice, "Wan Xinguo, don’t think I am easy to bully. I, Chen Chen, am like a delicate flower, not someone you can marry or divorce as you wish!"
Divorce? Chen Chen had never even thought about this matter.
Being in the midst of a rising career, she understood all too well the implications a divorce would bring upon herself.
Her marriage to Wan Xinguo was her biggest security, and she couldn’t possibly give it up.
For the sake of her future, Commissioner Wang had no intention of divorcing, and she couldn’t divorce either. If she fell out with Commissioner Wang in the future, she would have to rely on her marriage to Wan Xinguo to get by smoothly.
Moreover, she now relied on Wan Xinguo’s monthly salary to buy imported goods. She certainly didn’t want to lose this substantial sum of money.
Chen Chen didn’t feel she was being unreasonable. She only thought that with Wan Xinguo being an older military officer, ugly and old, marrying him was his great fortune that he had cultivated over three lifetimes, something to laugh about in his dreams.
Wan Xinguo finally understood that he didn’t know Chen Chen at all.
"Comrade Chen Chen, I have been in the Capital for several days now, lingering around the military district. I have heard many insinuations. There are things I don’t want to say, not meaning I don’t know them. I’m concerned about our reputation and see no need for an open confrontation." Wan Xinguo’s mind was set on divorce. He was not going to continue wearing these horns of shame and stay ignobly at the border, subject to the ridicule of the public.
Chen Chen’s face finally changed, and in a shrill voice, she said, "Wan Xinguo, what do you mean? You would rather believe in rumors than trust me, wouldn’t you? Have you ever treated me as your wife?"
"If I hadn’t treated you as my wife, I wouldn’t have turned over my salary every month, wouldn’t have requested to visit you, and wouldn’t have tried to give you a surprise this year. Comrade Chen Chen, ask yourself, in this marriage, setting aside the fact of living apart, I, Wan Xinguo, have been true to you. Have you been true to me?"
Wan Xinguo’s tone remained calm, and no matter how Chen Chen behaved, she could not stir his anger.
When the heart grows cold, there is nothing left to say.
"In any case, I don’t agree to a divorce!" Chen Chen was hellbent on not giving in. She didn’t believe Wan Xinguo, a rough man who had just arrived from the border troops to the Capital, could have found out anything useful. Even if he did, she wouldn’t admit to it.
"You really don’t agree?" Wan Xinguo asked.
"I don’t agree, I just don’t agree!" Chen Chen was obstinate and unyielding.
Without another word, Wan Xinguo stood up from his chair, "Since you don’t agree, then I have no choice but to ask the army to decide. I believe the army will give me an answer to those rumors."
As a husband, visiting his wife’s workplace and hearing rumors about his wife’s behavior, it is perfectly normal to request an investigation by the military to clear his wife’s name. Considering his identity as a border soldier, the army won’t take it lightly. Instead, they will conduct a thorough investigation.
... Chapter Ten: Seeking Votes