Chapter 17.1

The intense pain came from her forehead, just like the day she first arrived here, making her feel as if her head was about to explode. Warm blood trickled down her temple, soaking into her ear and then dripping to the ground. The ceiling beam blurred in Jiang Nian’s eyes as the door was suddenly flung open. Through her hazy vision, she saw the tall, imposing figure of Lu Yu. His face was taut with tension as he scooped her up and ran outside.

From the moment they returned home, Lu Yu had sensed something off about Jiang Nian. He had been vigilant, staying in the yard after she closed her door, worried she might do something rash.

But despite all his precautions, he couldn’t prevent Jiang Nian from making the same mistake again.

“Commander Song, Commander Song!” Lu Yu’s shout pierced the quiet night. Usually composed and calm, Deputy Commander Lu was now visibly panicked. With his hands full on holding Jiang Nian, he kicked at Commander Song’s door.

“What’s going on?!” Commander Song turned on the light in the yard and opened the gate with Feng Mei Both widened their eyes at the sight of Jiang Nian in Lu Yu’s arms with her forehead half-covered in blood. Feng Mei screamed, “What happened to Jiang Nian?!”

Lu Yu’s expression was grave, his deep voice hoarse, “She ran into the wall.”

“Oh no! We need to get her to the hospital!” Feng Mei was frantic with worry and anger, “It must be that Zheng Hong who upset her!”

Commander Song snapped at Feng Mei, “Keep your voice down! Stop shouting!” He then turned to Lu Yu, “You head to the hospital now. I’ll go borrow a car from the military district and get Zhu Jun to drive you.”

Lu Yu nodded and quickly carried Jiang Nian towards the hospital.

Feng Mei watched as her husband hurried off, and Lu Yu disappeared into the dark night with Jiang Nian. She anxiously stomped her foot, then noticed the light in Liu Qiang’s yard next door turn on. When Liu Qiang came out, Feng Mei’s eyes lit up. She called out to him, “Captain Liu, can you watch my two boys? I need to go to the hospital to check on Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law.”

“Sister Feng, what happened to Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law?”

Liu Qiang ran over, looking towards the direction where Lu Yu and Commander Song had disappeared. He had heard Lu Yu’s voice from inside the house earlier, and it sounded like something serious had happened. The neighbors near Feng Mei’s house also came out to see what was going on.

Feng Mei immediately shouted at the top of her lungs, “What else could it be? She was bullied by Zheng Hong to the point of wanting to die. Her husband just passed away and she was bullied by Zheng Hong who kept calling her a jinx and a widow, saying she cursed her husband and father-in-law to death. What woman could bear such accusations? Even if Zheng Hong apologized, can her words be unheard?”

Liu Qiang frowned and glanced in the direction of Zheng Hong’s house, feeling a change in his opinion of her.

He never thought this woman could be so malicious.

Previously, she had complained to him about how badly she was treated and forced to break off her engagement by her mother. Now that both of them had their own families, he had let go of the past and treated Zheng Hong as a fellow soldier’s wife. When she asked for help, he had assisted her, not expecting her to hide such a vicious side under her gentle appearance.

Liu Qiang said, “Sister Feng, let Xu Yan go with you. It’s dark at night, it’s good to have someone accompany you.”

Feng Mei replied, “That works.”

Liu Qiang went home first to wake his two sons, telling them to stay at Aunt Feng’s house. Then he went to call Xu Yan, who was lying on the bed with her back to the door, indifferent to Liu Qiang’s calling.

She didn’t want to see him, especially thinking about the fifty yuan he lent to Zheng Hong without asking for it back, making her feel even worse. Their family lived frugally and she couldn’t even bear to help her own family, yet Zheng Hong benefitted instead.

Seeing Xu Yan not getting up, Liu Qiang leaned on the bed and pushed her shoulder. “Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law tried to kill herself by hitting her head against the wall. They’re taking her to the hospital now. Get up and go to the hospital with Sister Feng.”

Xu Yan wanted to push his hand away but quickly got up when she heard about Jiang Nian’s accident. She slipped on her shoes and ran out.

Liu Qiang: …

Commander Song and Zhu Jun drove out of the camp and soon saw Lu Yu running along the roadside with Jiang Nian in his arms.

After they got into the car, Commander Song and Zhu Jun looked back and saw Jiang Nian was lying weakly in Lu Yu’s arms. Her face is frighteningly pale and her head covered in blood. She was semi-conscious, clutching Lu Yu’s collar and speaking intermittently.

“I’m leaving first.”

“I’m going to find your elder brother. I want to see how he’s doing.”

Lu Yu’s face was tense as he held the fragile person in his arms, his voice hoarse. “Sister-in-law, don’t talk nonsense and don’t fall asleep. We’re almost at the hospital.”

He could feel her breathing growing weaker.

Lu Yu tightly grasped Jiang Nian’s knee and arm, looking at her unfocused eyes, red veins spreading in his eyes, feeling cold in his heart.

Could it be that even living another life couldn’t change his sister-in-law’s fate from the previous life?

Zhu Jun gripped the steering wheel tightly, feeling an inexplicable sense of sorrow.

At noon, she had been smiling brightly in front of them but by evening, she was barely conscious and on the brink of death.

Commander Song said to Lu Yu, “Keep talking to her, don’t let her fall asleep.”

Lu Yu’s throat was dry and uncomfortable. He replied heavily, “Okay.”

He held Jiang Nian tightly, preventing her from closing her eyes, and talked about his and Xu Cheng’s experiences in the army, about how they climbed the ranks from ordinary soldiers to battalion captain.

The usually taciturn man spoke a lot tonight.

Jiang Nian, annoyed with the noise, initially closed her eyes and vaguely saw a bright light. When the light faded, she saw the outline of a modern hospital, her father sitting in the corridor, covering his face and crying. Her mother sat on the ground, tearfully watching a corpse being pushed out of the morgue.

Her grandparents were also there.

Jiang Nian saw her grandmother faint, her grandfather trembling as he lifted the white cloth covering the corpse’s head. She saw the corpse’s face, which looked exactly like hers, clearly her in the real world!

Jiang Nian trembled all over, unable to stop crying.

Lu Yu’s voice drifted in and out of her ears. The blurry vision suddenly disappeared, replaced by Lu Yu’s cold, handsome face. His eyes were bloodshot. When he saw her open her eyes, he forced a smile, swallowed a few times and said softly, “Sister-in-law, we’re almost there.”

Jiang Nian, still immersed in the previous vision, leaned weakly against Lu Yu, realizing a desperate truth.

She couldn’t go back.

From now on, she would have to live as Jiang Nian.

The car stopped at the hospital entrance and Lu Yu rushed in with Jiang Nian in his arms.

The on-duty staff, seeing they were from the army, quickly called Dr. Wang, who had just gone home after his shift. In less than half an hour, many people had gathered on the second floor of the hospital.

Dr. Wang cleaned Jiang Nian’s wound with iodine and a nurse administered an IV drip. After a lot of busy work, they were finally done. Dr. Wang’s brows never relaxed as he looked at the wound on Jiang Nian’s head.

He had heard from her family that she had hit her head on the wall herself.

Her previous injuries had just healed a few days ago and now she had such a severe wound again. It was the first time Dr. Wang had seen someone so ruthless to themselves. When she hit the wall, she must have had a death wish.

When Feng Mei and Xu Yan arrived at the hospital, Jiang Nian was already lying in the ward with an IV in her hand. It was unclear whether she was asleep or unconscious.

“Sister Feng, Sister. Xu.”

Zhu Jun called out when he saw them.

Commander Song was a bit surprised, “Why are you two here? Where are the kids?”

Feng Mei and Xu Yan had run all the way to the hospital. Feng Mei, out of breath, said, “I asked Captain Liu to watch them. I came to check on Jiang Nian.”

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and saw Jiang Nian’s head wrapped in bandages, the white cloth stained with blood. She walked to the bedside and softly asked Lu Yu, “What did the doctor say?”

Lu Yu’s throat was still a bit dry. “The doctor said we’ll see if she wakes up tonight. If she wakes up, then she’ll be fine.”

Feng Mei anxiously asked, “But what if she doesn’t wake up?!”

“Can’t you be a bit more optimistic?” Commander Song shot her a sharp look, then patted Lu Yu’s shoulder. “She’ll be fine. Your sister-in-law will definitely wake up.”

Lu Yu looking somewhat exhausted said, “Commander Song, you all should go back first. I’ll stay here and watch over her.”

Commander Song agreed. “Alright, I’ll go back and report to the team and apply for a three-day leave for you. You stay here with your sister-in-law.”

Lu Yu nodded. “Okay.”

Feng Mei wanted to say something but Commander Song pulled her away. Xu Yan glanced at Jiang Nian, who looked lifeless and silently prayed for her, hoping she would get through this and wake up safely the next morning.

Outside the ward, Feng Mei angrily shook off Commander Song’s hand and glared at him. “Why did you pull me away?”

Commander Song sighed. “What can you do there? You’d just be complaining and disturbing others.”

Feng Mei: …

On the way back, Feng Mei asked Commander Song, “Old Song, Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law tried to kill herself because of Zheng Hong. What do you plan to do about it?”

Xu Yan also looked at Commander Song.

She hoped the team would expel Zheng Hong from the family quarters so she wouldn’t cause trouble for their families anymore.

Commander Song didn’t say anything, his face full of frustration.

What else could he do?

Lu Yu’s sister-in-law was driven to suicide by Zheng Hong, so it was all Zheng Hong’s fault. Now, they could only wait for Jiang Nian to wake up. If she was alright, they would have Zheng Hong and her husband buy some supplements and visit her. Let them apologize properly and hopefully, the matter would slowly pass over.

But if something happened to Jiang Nian, it would be a big problem.

It was late at night when everyone returned to the camp. Zhu Jun dropped off Commander Song, his wife, and Xu Yan before returning the car to the military district.

As they passed the third house in the family quarters, Captain Lu happened to open the courtyard gate. Seeing Feng Mei, Commander Song and Xu Yan, his face showed a hint of embarrassment. He already knew about Jiang Nian’s suicide attempt. After a big argument with Zheng Hong, he was planning to visit the hospital to check on Lu Yu’s sister-in-law when he ran into Commander Song and the others.

Captain Lu asked, “Commander Song, how is Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law?”

“What do you think? She’s still unconscious and whether she’ll wake up or not depends on tomorrow morning!”

Commander Song glared at him angrily. “Keep your wife in check. If anything happens to Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law, the whole team will be in big trouble!”

Captain Lu lowered his head in embarrassment. “Commander Song, I’ll submit an application tomorrow to stay in the team and not go out for training. This way, I can watch over Zheng Hong and keep her in line.”

As he said the last sentence, he glanced at Xu Yan’s cold face.

He sighed inwardly. He knew what Zheng Hong had done to Liu Qiang over the past two years and how it had caused constant arguments between Xu Yan and Liu Qiang. Honestly, he felt quite guilty towards Xu Yan.

Commander Song nodded. “Alright. Go get some sleep. Tomorrow morning, take your wife to the hospital to visit Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law.”

Captain Lu nodded. “Okay.”

He closed the courtyard gate and turned to see Zheng Hong standing by the window, craning her neck to look outside. When she saw him, she quickly pulled her head back.

Captain Lu walked into the house with a grim face and stared coldly at Zheng Hong, who was lying on the bed pretending to be dead. “Tomorrow morning, go with me to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some brown sugar, eggs, and pastries. Then go to the hospital to see Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law and apologize properly!”

His tone was harsh, clearly holding back his anger.

When Zheng Hong heard she had to buy so many good things for Jiang Nian, she couldn’t lie down anymore. She turned over and sat up. “If she wants to die, that’s her business. What does it have to do with me? I’ve already apologized to her. Why should I apologize again? And why buy so many good things for her?”

She wanted to say that Jiang Nian had provoked her first, but she couldn’t say that to Lu Guosheng.

Captain Lu, infuriated by her unreasonable and unrepentant attitude, glared at her with a dark expression. “I’ve been training outside for the past two years and rarely come home. Don’t think I don’t know about you pestering Liu Qiang during this time. Let’s not talk about the past, but from now on, if I find out you go looking for Liu Qiang again, you can leave the child here and go back to your mother’s house.”

What Zheng Hong fears most now is going back to her parents’ home. She was used to living comfortably in the family quarters, not having to work in the fields for work points, cook for the whole family or need to please everyone. The thought of going back to her parent’s house was unappealing.

“Okay. I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

Captain Lu took off his shoes and lay down on the bed, staring at the dark ceiling. He asked, “Is there anything else you’re hiding from me? It’s best to say it all tonight, so I don’t hear anything else while I’m out.”

Zheng Hong lay with her back against the wall, thought about the fifty yuan she had borrowed from Liu Qiang over the past two years. She had used half of it to buy new clothes for herself and her children, and the other half to improve their food. Occasionally buying half a pound of meat and a pack of pastries, which she secretly shared with her child.

She didn’t dare tell Lu Guosheng and didn’t want to repay the money.

Zheng Hong closed her eyes and said, “There’s nothing else. I’m tired. Let’s sleep.”