Chapter 75

Jiang Suihan wondered if Xu Zhao knew about this and why he hadn’t told her last night. Did he forget, or did he genuinely not know?

Then she thought, why should she care about Wang Lijuan? What did it matter to her?

She was just someone she knew. It wouldn’t cause much upheaval in her life. It was better to focus on living her own life well.

Dai Jia chatted non-stop as if pouring out beans, her mouth flapping rapidly: “I heard from people in the family compound that last night Wang Lijuan sneaked out while her sister wasn’t paying attention. After she was captured by the thief, Wang Liying didn’t even bother to put on a heavy coat and kept begging the soldiers to ensure Wang Lijuan’s safety. As an elder sister, she did all she could. But it’s really unlucky for her to have such a troublesome younger sister who’s causing trouble for the whole family.”

Everyone was speculating whether Wang Lijuan had any connection with the thieves from last night, wondering if she had leaked information about the unit to them. Otherwise, why would she have run out in such a haphazard manner, especially since she had run directly towards the direction where the thief had fled?

It was clear she was practically delivering herself as a hostage to the thief, making it easier for the thief to escape.

Wu Guihua shared similar insights to Dai Jia’s. “Hearing what you said reminds me of something. A few days ago, Sister Lin mentioned that she was accidentally hit by someone in the city and bled quite a bit. She went to the city hospital for a couple of stitches. When she came back, she told us she saw someone who looked very much like Wang Lijuan in the hospital. At the time, she thought she must be hallucinating from the accident and treated it as a joke. I didn’t think much of it, but perhaps that person Sister Lin saw really was Wang Lijuan.”

Dai Jia widened her eyes instinctively:”Ah? The two sisters of the Wang family kept it a secret and didn’t leak any information. Last night, I saw Wang Lijuan looking perfectly fine, without any apparent issues. If there was any problem, it’s probably with her mind. I think her mental state is definitely not like ours. What kind of sane person acts like this?”

Dai Jia actually wanted to say that Wang Lijuan might have run out into the cold to find Xu Zhao, especially since she had been preoccupied with Xu Zhao, which had become a hot topic in the family compound. However, she didn’t want to discuss this in front of Jiang Suihan.

“How did it go? Did she confess?” Xu Zhao asked, standing up as someone emerged from the small interrogation room.

The person smirked and threw the notebook in his hand to Xu Zhao: “Just a little girl. She confessed everything after being frightened a bit.”

Wang Lijuan’s actions last night were suspicious, and coincidentally, they had occurred during a major incident. The unit had reason to question Wang Lijuan’s motives. They found a notebook in her bag, and the contents were surprising, leading them to interrogate her.

Wang Lijuan, an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl who had grown up in the countryside, had little life experience. The interrogators, with their stern and intimidating demeanor, frightened her so much that she couldn’t hold her ground and ended up confessing everything.

The notebook contained many details about Xu Zhao, including the incident when Xu Zhao and Zhang Xiangqian discovered the human traffickers. However, that matter had been kept confidential by the county police and was not publicly disclosed.

But how did Wang Lijuan know about it?

The unit interrogators pressed her on this point. At first, she stubbornly refused to speak, claiming ignorance. As a common person, she could not withstand the unit’s methods. Under persistent questioning, she became disoriented and changed her story, claiming she had dreamt of a book where the male protagonist was Xu Zhao. The notebook contained content from that dream. She had been pestering Xu Zhao because she planned to marry him after Jiang Suihan was gone and become the wife of a commander in the future.

The unit’s experienced interrogators had seen all kinds of cases but had never encountered someone who confused a dream with reality, making incomprehensible decisions. It was either a serious mental issue or something else.

This morning, a doctor was called to examine Wang Lijuan. As expected, the guesses were correct. The girl had a mental illness. The doctor diagnosed her with a delusional disorder, where she believed Xu Zhao liked her and that she would one day become a respected commander’s wife.

Xu Zhao and Captain Li were indeed unlucky to be entangled with someone so mentally ill, and it was difficult to hold someone with such a condition accountable.

The person patted Xu Zhao on the shoulder and sympathetically said: “You’re truly unfortunate. Once this matter is settled, make sure to thank your ancestors properly…”

He almost mentioned a traditional ritual to dispel bad luck but stopped himself. Given the current tense atmosphere, sensitive topics should be avoided.

“Anyway, the matter has been cleared up. You can rest easy now. Your wife has done a commendable job. You’re lucky to have such a good girl.”

He glanced at Xu Zhao’s face and silently clicked his tongue. Being handsome can also be troublesome, attracting annoying pests. He touched his own face, thinking that his appearance was safer, as he wasn’t bothered by such nuisances.

Xu Zhao nodded: “Thanks. I’ll return the notebook after I finish reading it.”

The person shrugged: “Do as you wish, just don’t take it out of the office. I’m parched. I’m going to get some water.”

The original notebook had been torn by Wang Liying, so Wang Lijuan bought a new one. She was cautious and made sure the contents were similar to the previous one, but less detailed, only noting the general points. Over time, some details she couldn’t recall no matter how hard she tried.

The notebook wasn’t thick and Xu Zhao quickly finished reading it. He immediately understood the complex and sympathetic looks his colleagues had given him when they left the interrogation room.

This was truly an undeserved disaster!

Thinking about how someone had been fixated on him for months, spying on him, and fantasizing about being with him made Xu Zhao feel disgusted, as if he had swallowed a fly.

The cold weather made Jiang Suihan unwilling to go out. She decided to take a nap, removing her thick clothes and crawling into bed. Feeling the chill, she couldn’t help but curl up.

Without Xu Zhao around, things just aren’t as good. Every night before bed, he would warm up her side of the bed, so when she got in, it was always warm and comfortable. Unlike now, it’s freezing cold, and she can’t sleep at all.

Jiang Suihan stared at the ceiling, thinking about how much she wanted Xu Zhao to come back soon. At the same time, she privately criticized herself for becoming increasingly spoiled. After all, she had endured even harsher and more exhausting conditions during the six months following the family incident.

Indeed, those who are favored often become complacent.

After a while of aimlessly thinking, she finally fell asleep. She wasn’t sure how long she slept, but when she was half-awake, still drowsy, she was reluctant to get up from the warm bed.

She vaguely saw a shadow at the edge of the bed. Startled, she jolted awake and said, “Why didn’t you make a sound? You scared me to death.”

Upon waking fully, she found Xu Zhao sitting by the bed. Despite her drowsiness, she was still startled.

Xu Zhao touched his nose and said, “You’re awake? We’re going to the cafeteria to celebrate the New Year soon. Get up, or we’ll be late.”

Seeing that it was nearly time and knowing that sleeping too much in the afternoon could make it hard to sleep at night, he had come up to wake her. Seeing her sleeping so peacefully with a rosy complexion, he couldn’t bring himself to disturb her immediately and sat by the bed waiting a little longer.

Jiang Suihan hugged the blanket and snuggled in, looking sleepily at him. “It’s cold. I don’t want to get up.”

Xu Zhao rubbed her head and smiled, “If you wear a couple more layers, you won’t feel cold. I heard there will be dumplings and tangyuan tonight. Do you want some?”

Jiang Suihan wrinkled her nose. “I want sesame tangyuan.”

They had had dumplings a few times recently, handmade by her mother-in-law, and she had helped out with the preparation. They tasted great, but as someone from the south, she wasn’t particularly fond of dumplings.

Suddenly, she craved tangyuan—those plump, chewy rice balls filled with rich, smooth black sesame paste. Just a bite was incredibly satisfying.

In her hometown, tangyuan was traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival, not for the New Year. She wasn’t sure who started the tradition of eating tangyuan for the New Year, but she was thankful to that person.

Xu Zhao pulled her out of the blanket. Jiang Suihan flopped onto him like a ragdoll, gripping the blanket tightly and mumbling, “I don’t want to part from my bed.”

Xu Zhao was both amused and exasperated. He pinched her nose, picked up her clothes from the bedside, and dressed her one piece at a time—first the wool sweater, then the knit sweater, and finally the thick outer coat. She ended up wearing four layers on top.

Jiang Suihan felt her arms were nearly immobilized and began missing her thin but warm down jacket. Curiously, she asked, “Are there down jackets for sale at the department store?”

Xu Zhao was familiar with down jackets, which were expensive. They were warmer than cotton coats but hard to come by. His family had a long one given to his grandfather by someone. It had been bought at an overseas Chinese store for around one or two hundred dollars, which could buy several cotton coats.

His grandfather rarely wore it, finding it too light and not warm enough. He preferred military coats, which were durable and could last many years. That down jacket was later given to his father, who occasionally wore it at home but seldom took it outside.

As he helped her button up her clothes, Xu Zhao answered, “Down jackets are imported from abroad and are only sold in overseas Chinese stores. The county department store might not have them. I’ll write to my second sister and ask her to keep an eye out and send one to you.”

Jiang Suihan was always saying she was cold. Despite wearing the most clothes at home, she was still the one who felt coldest. She used to enjoy staying indoors, and now she had even more reason to stay home when it was chilly.

She didn’t know down jackets were only available at overseas Chinese stores and didn’t want to trouble Xu Zhao’s second sister for one. She shook her head and said, “It’s almost the end of winter. After the New Year, spring will come soon, and it won’t be as cold. I already have enough clothes. If I buy more, there won’t be room in the wardrobe.”

The cotton coat she was wearing was also sent by Xu Zhao’s second sister. Besides this one, there were two more coats—one Xu Zhao bought at the county department store, and another sent by his elder sister last month. Both his sisters seemed to have coordinated to buy her winter coats, and she had three in total.

After buttoning the last button, Xu Zhao smoothed out the edges of her clothes and said, “Then we’ll buy one next year. We can just get another wardrobe.”

Jiang Suihan’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she gave him a thumbs-up. “Deputy Commander Xu is awesome.”

Xu Zhao lightly tapped her forehead. “Get up now.”

Jiang Suihan extended her hands to him. “Carry me up.”

Xu Zhao, while grumbling about how she was getting lazier with the colder weather, obediently wrapped his arms around her back and knees and lifted her up with ease.

Feeling the weight in his arms, he furrowed his brow. “Why are you still so light?”

Although Jiang Suihan didn’t eat much at each meal during her pregnancy, she ate several times a day, with plenty of snacks available at home. Aside from the early pregnancy nausea which caused some weight loss, she hadn’t been hungry, and despite replenishing for over two months, she didn’t seem to have gained much weight.

Jiang Suihan, now wearing slippers, defended herself. “How can I be so light? I’ve gained several pounds. Look at my face—it’s rounder than the tangyuan we’re having tonight.”

With a somewhat plaintive tone, she pinched her right cheek and held her face up to him.

Xu Zhao pinched her other cheek lightly, his touch gentle. “Well, there is a bit more flesh.”

Jiang Suihan swatted his hand away, fuming. “Say that again.”

Xu Zhao shook his head with a smile. “You were too thin before.”

From downstairs, Su Ying called out, “Are you two done yet?”

Jiang Suihan raised her voice and replied, “I’m coming.”