Reborn as a Tough Army Wife

Fang Pingying was worried when, unexpectedly, trouble arose that very evening.

Because it was winter, night fell early, and the workers renovating the shop did not stay for dinner, leaving early.

Fang Pingying, thinking it was just the three of them, didn't bother cooking much and simply chopped some meat and made a few bowls of noodles.

Just when they had finished eating and Fang Xiu was in the bathroom freshening up, Fang Pingying was planning to make the bed for sleep when suddenly she heard knocking at the shop's front door.

Luo Honglan was puzzled, "Who could it be at this late hour?"

Fang Pingying also felt something was amiss; ordinarily, in the winter, no one would come by, so she instructed Luo Honglan, "Go to the door and take a look, but remember to first open the small window on the door to see who it is. If it's someone we don't recognize, make sure to ask clearly who it is."

Luo Honglan went to the door, slid open the small window, and saw Luo Zhiyong standing outside in a military coat, exclaiming in surprise, "Big brother, why have you come?"

Then, she swiftly opened the door.

Luo Zhiyong's face looked quite unpleasant. Upon entering, he did not bother to speak to Luo Honglan, but instead anxiously asked her, "Where's sister-in-law?"

Luo Honglan shouted into the room, "Big sister, big brother's here."

"Why come at this hour without saying anything in advance?" Hearing Luo Zhiyong had come from the back room, Fang Pingying was extremely happy, but she still chided with a hint of complaint.

After she had spoken and walked up to Luo Zhiyong, she noticed something off about his expression—his face was ashen, seething with anger, and she quietly asked him, "What's happened?"

Luo Zhiyong pursed his lips, glanced around the room, and spoke in a lowered voice, "Fang Xiu's here, let's talk outside."

The moment Fang Pingying heard this, she immediately thought that perhaps something happened to Luo Zhiming, or else Luo Zhiyong wouldn't have asked to keep it from Fang Xiu.

Her face darkening, she pulled Luo Zhiyong inside, "Let's talk in the room. Fang Xiu is at the back freshening up, and we have a hot water bottle here."

She dragged Luo Zhiyong into the room and handed him a glass bottle filled with hot water, "Now, tell me what happened."

Luo Zhiyong sighed looking at Fang Pingying, "That divorced woman who used to hang around with Zhiming is claiming she's pregnant with Zhiming's child. Now she's taken him and won't let him go."

Fang Pingying's heart sank. She had been worried about such a possibility, but had been reassured by Luo Zhiyong who had inquired that the woman was from somewhere else, so she hadn't been too concerned. She didn't expect it to really turn into a problem.

But discussing this now was pointless. Hearing that Luo Zhiming was being held, she furrowed her brows and asked, "What do you mean by being held?"

Luo Zhiyong explained, "That woman claims she's pregnant with Zhiming's child and demands that Zhiming marry her. But he certainly doesn't agree, so she called over some of her relatives and took him away. Right now, he's being detained in a house on the outskirts of the city, and they want us to give them an answer."

"That woman only demands that Luo Zhiming marry her and nothing else?" Fang Pingying vaguely felt that the woman wouldn't do this just to be with Luo Zhiming—there must be another motive.

Sure enough, Luo Zhiyong continued, "The woman herself didn't say it, but her relatives mentioned that she's just trying to extort money from Zhiming. They kept saying she's willing to get an abortion, but Zhiming has to compensate her for nutrition expenses."

"How much?"

"Five hundred."

"Five hundred?" Fang Pingying's heart trembled at the number, then she asked Luo Zhiyong, "So you're here for us to figure out a way to raise the money?"

Luo Zhiyong shook his head, "No, I was thinking of discussing with you whether or not to tell Fang Xiu about it, to see what she plans to do."

"If we don't give them the money, what do they plan to do?" Fang Pingying felt that discussing it with anyone was useless; nobody could come up with that amount of money all at once.

Luo Zhiyong fell silent for a moment before saying, "They're talking about reporting it to the Police Station, claiming that it was Zhiming who forced himself on her at that time."

Fang Pingying felt that this didn't make sense, "Such things can't just be taken at their word, right? Many people from the timber factory can testify that their relationship was consensual, not something Zhiming forced. Moreover, if it really had been forced, why didn't she report it to the Police Station at the beginning? Only when she can't extort the money does she talk about reporting, isn't that a clear threat?"

Luo Zhiyong naturally thought of these points too, "I know that, so I was planning to come and talk to you about it. Otherwise, I'd just go straight back to the military and call people to get Zhiming out first, and then we can deal with the rest at the Police Station."

"If we go by the actual situation, Zhiming should at most be detained at the station for a few days, given ten days to half a month of education, and then take the woman to get an abortion, and compensate her with some money for her nutrition expenses."

"Is it that simple? What if the woman doesn't want to get an abortion and insists on giving birth, what should Zhiming do?" In fact, the child in the woman's belly was really the most troublesome issue. If she didn't want to have an abortion and insisted on giving birth, Luo Zhiming really didn't know what to do. Help us out by reading on M|V|LEM5PYR.

Clearly, Luo Zhiyong was also worried about this situation. He didn't speak at first, but finally said, "I've thought it over, let's talk about the future when it comes. Let's first get Zhiming out, we should first make a trip to the Police Station. This woman's doing amounts to kidnapping for ransom; we can file a report..."

"Sister, what are you talking about? What happened to Zhiming? Who's kidnapping for ransom?" Luo Zhiyong hadn't finished speaking when Fang Xiu suddenly walked in from outside. She seemed to have overheard Luo Zhiyong and Fang Ping's conversation and looked at Fang Pingying with a frightened expression, asking, "Did something happen to Zhiming?"

Fang Pingying and Luo Zhiyong looked at each other, unsure of how to explain the situation to Fang Xiu.

Seeing that Fang Pingying was not speaking, Fang Xiu became even more certain that something had happened to Luo Zhiming. She became frantic, insisting on reporting to the Police Station to rescue Luo Zhiming.

Luo Honglan, who was in the next room, heard the commotion and immediately came over to ask, "Big brother, sister-in-law, what's going on?"

Seeing that they couldn't keep it a secret anymore, Fang Pingying pulled Fang Xiu aside and briefly explained Zhiming's situation to them.

After hearing it, Luo Honglan bit her lip and said nothing. She couldn't handle such matters but felt a deep anger at Luo Zhiming's irresponsible behavior.

Fang Xiu was stunned for a long moment, then suddenly burst into loud crying, "That damn Luo Zhiming, I thought he cared about me so much. To think that in my absence he's gotten involved with another woman."

Then, as if she remembered something, Fang Xiu suddenly turned her anger towards Fang Pingying, pointing at her and cursing bitterly, "And you, you had the audacity to encourage him to be with another woman, helping him to keep it from us. What kind of sister are you?"

Fang Pingying, mindful that Fang Xiu must be utterly confused and distressed, didn't argue back but frowned and hushed her, "Fang Xiu, keep your voice down. Do you intend to let everyone know about this?"

"Let them know, it doesn't matter anymore. With things as they are, Luo Zhiming has already got a child with someone else. How can we continue living like this? Tomorrow I'm going to divorce Luo Zhiming." Fang Xiu said angrily and then sat down on a chair, clenching her teeth and cursing Luo Zhiming. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)