Chapter 5 : He is married for the second time and has four children

This was also the reason why he had never planned to find a partner in the past few years.  

He had been introduced to several women before, mostly arranged by military leaders’ families. Some were divorced, some were single, but either they weren’t willing to follow the army to such a remote place, or they didn’t want to take on the responsibility of raising four children. In any case, none of those introductions worked out. Gradually, he lost interest in the idea.  

He rejected every matchmaking attempt.  

Today, he never expected to receive a confession from a girl 9 years younger than him.  

No matter what, it was quite a surprise.  

But he also knew that once she heard about his situation, she would probably never bring up dating again.  

Since he had never seriously considered this matter before, he wasn’t too disappointed at this moment. It was all within his expectations.  

Sure enough, Song Shiwei, sitting across from him, frowned and asked, “Can I ask why you divorced your ex-wife?”  

This question was very important to her. After all, she needed to hear the full story.  

Zhou Tingyue was a little surprised that she would ask this. Most people immediately changed their expressions when they heard about his situation.  

“My marriage was arranged by our families, but right after we got married, I was sent on a mission. The battle was brutal, and I nearly died. A local fisherman couple saved me, but they both lost their lives, leaving behind four orphaned children. To repay them for saving me, I decided to raise those four children as my own.”  

At this point, he seemed to recall that moment, his emotions shifting slightly. He glanced at Song Shiwei across from him and saw that she was listening intently. His impression of her improved even more.  

“Now, do you understand?”  

Song Shiwei was so focused on listening that she was a bit slow to react.  

“Understand what?”  

“Understand why I got divorced.”  

Song Shiwei shook her head in confusion. “I don’t understand. What does this have to do with your divorce?”  

Seeing how innocent she looked, Zhou Tingyue smiled and shook his head.  

“Who would willingly endure hardship with me and raise four children? Fortunately, we had only registered our marriage and obtained the certificate we hadn’t held a wedding yet. She refused to adopt the children, so we divorced.”  

“I understand her decision. These four children are my responsibility, not hers. Military marriages aren’t easy to dissolve, and I didn’t want to hold her back, so I applied for a divorce through the organization. Given my special circumstances, they approved it.”  

“So, do you understand now? Do you still want to date me?”  

After saying this, he smiled self-deprecatingly.  

He wasn’t sure why he had talked so much to this little girl.  

Maybe he was genuinely moved by her sincerity. Or maybe… he really had some feelings for her.  

Either way, she was completely different from the women he had met before.  

He glanced at the sky outside, guessing that his comrades had probably finished their tasks by now. Following his usual principle of not wasting food, he quickly finished the remaining dishes in front of him.  

Then, he waved and called the waiter over.  

“How much? How many ration tickets?”  

When Song Shiwei heard this, she instinctively reached for her money and tickets, but he was faster.  

“How could I let you pay for my meal? What kind of man would that make me?”  

He smiled, tucked the change into his pocket, then turned and walked out.  

Song Shiwei hurriedly grabbed her shoulder bag and followed closely behind.  

When she reached the door, she shouted, “Wait!”  

Zhou Tingyue stopped and turned to look at her.  

“What’s wrong?”  

Song Shiwei looked at him seriously.  

“I’ve made up my mind. I don’t mind. I just want to be with you!”  

Earlier, after he finished speaking, he had been busy paying the bill and didn’t give her time to think. But she had gone over it in her mind.  

Yes, he had been married once and had four children.  

But that wasn’t his fault!  

The parents of those four children died, so it was completely understandable that he chose to take care of them.  

As for his ex-wife, they had divorced right after getting married and never developed any real feelings for each other. None of that was his fault.  

On the contrary, Song Shiwei thought that he was a man of loyalty and responsibility!  

If she weren’t being pursued by this absurd plot, she could wait or even not think about marriage at all.  

But this damned plot, this sense of fate pressing down on her, made her fearful. She didn’t want to die!  

She didn’t want to be a tragic cannon fodder character!  

And right now, Zhou Tingyue was the person who best fit her ideal type.  

He was handsome, had a stable job, was a good person, and most importantly if she followed him into the military life, she could stay far away from the male and female leads!  

That alone made her very, very, very satisfied.  

Most importantly, even if there was a perfect man somewhere out there, what were the chances she’d end up with him? She knew her own situation well. In her family, aside from her parents, who hoped she’d marry into a good household, no one else really cared. They might even try to ruin her plans!  

So, Zhou Tingyue was just right!  

But when Zhou Tingyue heard her words, he was stunned, looking at her in disbelief.  

“What did you say?”  

Song Shiwei had already made peace with her decision, and her smile grew even brighter.  

“I said, I’ve made up my mind. I don’t mind. I just want to date you and marry you!”  

Zhou Tingyue felt as if he had been hit by an enormous wave of surprise.  

His head was spinning!  

“Are you sure you’ve thought it through? I’m divorced, and I have four children to raise!”  

Song Shiwei nodded firmly.  

“I’m absolutely sure! I’ve made up my mind! I’m going to marry you, and the sooner, the better!”  

If possible, she wished she could leave with him tomorrow!  

Of course, she knew that was impossible. Not only was Zhou Tingyue a soldier, but the military had strict regulations, and marriages had to follow procedures.  

Not to mention that her own parents wouldn’t allow her to leave with someone the day after meeting them on a blind date.  

Everything had to go through the proper process. The man had to bring gifts to the woman’s family to formally propose. If both families agreed, he would then have to file a marriage report with the military. She had heard that the approval process for that took at least a week.  

Only after that could they get married, and she could follow him to the army.  

Even if she counted on her fingers, the whole process would take at least ten days! And within those ten days, who knew what could happen? Every extra day she stayed, the risk of being forced into a tragic fate increased.  

That was why she was so anxious!  

Seeing how certain she was, Zhou Tingyue was momentarily at a loss.  

He really hadn’t expected her to agree.  

But at that moment, looking at her serious expression, seeing that she wasn’t joking and even seemed a little desperate, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t moved!  

Besides, he did have some feelings for her.  

“In that case… let’s try being together?”  

As soon as he said that, the tips of his ears turned red.  

His eyes wavered with uncertainty, and he didn’t even dare to look directly at Song Shiwei.  

But Song Shiwei wasn’t satisfied with that level of commitment.  

She grabbed his arm.  

“Don’t ‘try’, let’s just be a couple! From now on, you’re my partner!”  

Her eyes curved into a bright, happy smile.  

“And since you’re my partner… when are you coming to my house to propose?”