After speaking to He Teng on the phone that day, He Zhilan hadn’t heard from him for several days. When she tried to call again, she was informed by the hotel staff that he had checked out early in the morning.
Before waiting for a call from He Teng announcing the end of his mission, Chen Zheng and his wife came to Capital University to talk to He Zhilan.
"Ah, to be young. I haven’t been to a school in a long time. Being here, I feel rejuvenated." Chen Zheng walked two steps ahead of the two women. When they reached a relatively deserted area on campus, he stopped, turned towards He Zhilan and asked, "Do you know why we’re here to see you?"
He Zhilan laughed, "Is it about the divorce with He Teng?"
As far as He Zhilan could guess, it all pointed to that issue.
"Yes," Chen Zheng nodded, then asked, "What are both your thoughts on this matter?"
"Yes, Zhilan, when you and He Teng celebrated New Year together, you two seemed very much in love. Why such a sudden decision to divorce? That day, He Teng suddenly rushed to take leave from the unit, returned in the middle of the night alone, then directly submitted the divorce application. We were all worried sick, but no matter how we asked He Teng, he wouldn’t say a word but insisted that the unit approve it."
The political commissar’s wife was genuinely worried. "Divorce is not a joke. If He Teng has done something wrong, scold him, hit him. He wouldn’t fight back, right? Is there really a need to go as far as divorce?"
"Did He Teng screw around outside?" Chen Zheng asked abruptly.
He Zhilan was taken aback and shook her head quickly. "No, he didn’t. He’s not that kind of person."
He Zhilan understood that in the military, matters of marriage and divorce were taken very seriously. The couple was genuinely concerned for her and He Teng, which was why they had come to her university to understand the situation.
After some thought, He Zhilan told them the truth, "Actually, before I went to visit the camp, a bunch of people in the unit had heard about me, and well, none of it was good."
"It’s those noisy old men!" Chen Zheng cursed under his breath, "Those bastards, I’ll sort them out once I’m back."
"Chen Zheng, the thing is, what they said was not wrong. I used to be very ignorant and behaved very bad, so much so that it was almost beyond your imagination." He Zhilan shook her head with a smile. "I was He Teng’s childhood betrothed bride, you must know that. Actually, I was kidnapped by traffickers who brought me to the He family as a child. At the time, I didn’t understand much and always thought that the He family was in cahoots with the traffickers. So, I was full of hate towards them. I was just like a porcupine, and if I wasn’t happy, I would prick everyone else in the He family until they were all miserable. Back then, I did whatever felt good and caused trouble in the He family. I was lucky to encounter a good soul like my father or else I probably would’ve been sold again or thrown out."
"Kidnapped?" Chen Zheng’s wife gasped, "Wasn’t it said that you were an unwanted girl from a poor family?"
"No, that’s what the traffickers claimed. I arrived at He Family when I was six and stayed a troublemaker till my wedding day, which is why there were so many problems in my marriage. After cleaning up my act, He Teng still didn’t trust me completely. Even after I went to university, I kept making mistakes which disappointed him time and again, and made him angry with me. It’s really not surprising that He Teng has trust issues with me."