Chapter 15: Divorce, He Never Considered It

Nan Jue readily accepted the mission. By late afternoon that day, the troops had arrived at Wild Boar Village.

After settling his troops, he held a serious discussion with the village chief in the temporarily erected military tent, which also served as the temporary command post. Nan Jue planned to lead his troops to investigate Wild Boar Forest the next morning.

Then, he would proceed to the next step.

After the village chief left, Nan Jue, tired from the day’s work, was about to eat when the village chief, puffing on his large smoking pipe, returned, breathlessly running to the tent.

“Comrade Battalion Commander, the village committee just received a call for you!”

His haste made his footing unsteady.

Nan Jue quickly put down his mess tin and rushed out, supporting the village chief. “Don’t worry, take it easy. I’ll take the call.”

“Such a fine young man, handsome and kind-hearted.”

Old Village Chief’s weather-beaten eyes were practically glued to Nan Jue. In his sixty years, he had never seen such a handsome young man.

…

The Wild Boar Village branch office was located in the east of the village—a dilapidated, squat, earthen-walled hut. An old wooden table held a black landline phone.

Nan Jue grabbed the receiver and put it to his ear.

“Hello?”

He didn’t know who was calling and spoke cautiously.

“Xiao Jue, it’s me, Liu Zhendong.”

At that moment, Commander Liu was sitting in his office making the call.

Commander Liu?

Nan Jue’s deep, dark eyes flickered with confusion. Why him? Why was he calling the village? Mission instructions were always relayed through military radio, weren’t they?

“Nan Jue, I need to tell you something private. Is anyone around?”

Liu Zhendong was also cautious.

Nan Jue looked around.

“No one.”

“Good. Xiao Jue, well, this is something I don’t know how to tell you.”

Even over the phone, Nan Jue could sense Liu Zhendong’s difficulty.

“Commander, did Wen Yanyan cause trouble at the headquarters again?”

He had a guess.

“She didn’t cause trouble this time, but it’s still related to her.”

Liu Zhendong would have preferred Wen Yanyan’s usual unreasonable behavior; at least that had predictable consequences.

“Commander, I’m sorry. I’ve already told her not to go to headquarters again. She probably didn’t listen.”

Nan Jue apologized again.

Over the past two months, he’d apologized countless times for Wen Yanyan. His usually calm temperament was being worn down.

“No, she was actually quite well-behaved this time, no trouble at all. It’s just that she mentioned something that shocked me. I don’t know if you know about it.”

Liu Zhendong made this call to gauge Nan Jue’s reaction.

Nan Jue frowned.

“What is it?”

“Wen Yanyan said… the day before yesterday, the day you returned from your mission, Zhang, the medical officer, gave her a packet of… some kind of powder. She secretly put it in your water cup. Are you… alright?”

Liu Zhendong held his breath, listening intently, afraid to miss a single word.

What?

Powder?

Water cup?

Nan Jue recalled the event, and his heart pounded. He understood. The water on his bedside table the night before had contained aphrodisiac.

But he hadn’t drunk it.

Wen Yanyan must have drunk it by mistake. That explained her erratic behavior that night—suddenly throwing herself on him, trying to force herself on him, even tearing his underwear.

He’d been furious and sleepless all night, thinking she was possessed. This was the explanation.

…

“Commander, I know about her putting the drug in. It’s over. Don’t mention it again. I’m fine.”

Nan Jue brushed it off; he didn’t want to discuss it further.

“You’re really alright?”

Liu Zhendong asked again, unconvinced.

“Really. Because I’m a soldier.”

Nan Jue explained. Even if he had drunk the water, he had ways to deal with it. Although Wen Yanyan was his wife, he had psychological barriers to intimacy before developing feelings.

He was waiting for feelings to develop, but divorce was something he hadn’t considered.

“Good.”

Liu Zhendong finally breathed a sigh of relief. “As long as you’re alright.”

Nan Jue, his ace soldier, had never disappointed him. He never imagined that Wen Yanyan would end up drinking the drugged water.

“Commander, did Wen Yanyan tell you about this?”

Nan Jue still had questions.