If she, now potentially pregnant, decided against it, well then, He Teng would be really anxious, wouldn’t he?
What a pity that the timing just wasn’t right. Otherwise, if she reached a point of no return, Zhilan might have actually been able to use that as a tactic, ignoring everything else, focusing on reconciling their marriage first.
After they reconcile, whatever craziness follows would be a matter for the future. All in all, Zhilan is currently filled with regret. When He Teng initially refused the divorce, she insisted on it, but things did not develop as she had originally planned.
In short, plans never keep up with changes.
In a blink of an eye, it was the weekend. Early on Saturday, Zhilan headed for the base. The moment she appeared at the door of the base, coincidentally, the same young soldier who was on duty last time saw her and was taken aback.
"Comrade, I’m really sorry, but Captain He said that if you’re here to see him again, we can’t let you in!"
"Who said I was here to see him?" This time, Zhilan was smarter. Not permitting her to get in, huh? The base didn’t just belong to He Teng, "I’m here to see Kang Xing! Tell him that Zhilan is here to see him and to come out and get me!"
"Oh, okay!" The young soldier nodded, instructed his companion to keep watch, then turned and ran inside.
Around ten minutes later, Kang Xing came out with the young soldier, both of them sweating. Seeing Zhilan at the entrance, he quickened his pace and rushed over.
"Zhilan, you’re finally here!" Kang Xing led Zhilan into the base, declaring, "She’s here to see me, not our captain! You can’t stop the people who’ve come to see me!"
"Let’s go, Zhilan. Have you had lunch yet? Did you walk here? Are you tired? Thirsty?" Kang Xing chattered on, announcing to people they met on the way "Zhilan is here to see me, Kang Xing! Not our captain! She’s here to visit me, not the captain!"
And so, all showy-like, he led Zhilan through the base.
The news that Zhilan had come to the base to see Kang Xing, and that Kang Xing had let her in, spread like wildfire. When the news reached Captain He, he was stunned at first. Then, unable to restrain himself, he laughed softly, "Talk about cunning strategies!"
Although Kang Xing was able to invite Zhilan in, he had no authority to arrange for her to stay overnight. Therefore, after bringing Zhilan into the base, he went straight to see Commissar Chen Zheng. Without further ado, Chen Zheng smilingly arranged for Zhilan to stay at the base for the weekend.
"Thanks, Commissar Chen!" Zhilan squinted her eyes, grinning from ear to ear, "If my brother gets upset, you have to stick up for me!"
"Don’t worry. If he gets mad, I’ll have a word with him! The weekend you came last time, I happened to be away from the base. If I’d been here and knew about this, I would definitely have brought you in. That kid, his head’s not screwed on right!"
Commissar Chen was speaking from the heart. When he returned to base on Monday, he heard that Zhilan had come to visit He Teng but was kept waiting outside the base the entire afternoon and eventually dismissed.
He was livid at the time, gave He Teng an earful, then began to worry if Zhilan might never visit the base again.
Unexpectedly, Zhilan was not naive. She switched tactics upon encountering resistance from He Teng and started to use diversion tactics.
Commissar Chen loves smart girls!