NOVPUB
Chapter 431: 421
"What did you say?" Shen Yunfang stared blankly at the person in front of her.
Li Hongjun stood by the bed without speaking.
The room was silent for a while.
After a long time, Shen Yunfang finally asked slowly, "Is it settled?"
Li Hongjun kept his eyes fixed on his wife and slowly nodded.
"When are you leaving." Shen Yunfang felt her heart twist as she asked the question. How had she forgotten, how could she forget, the beginning of ’79 was the start of the war against Vietnam.
As a soldier, once Li Hongjun knew of this news, he was bound to yearn for the battlefield; how could she forget this.
"I’m leaving tomorrow," Li Hongjun clenched his teeth tightly.
Shen Yunfang suddenly raised her head and glared fiercely at the man in front of her, "You’re leaving tomorrow, and you’re only telling me now?" her voice sharp.
"Wife, I’m sorry." Li Hongjun stepped forward, bending down to try and hold her in his arms.
"Don’t touch me." Shen Yunfang, agitated, batted away the hand that reached out to her, "What am I to you, huh? Such a big matter, and you’ve decided all by yourself, right? You’re home now to notify me, is that it? Li Hongjun, well done, you’re really something."
"Wife, don’t be angry, listen to my explanation." Li Hongjun sighed, he hadn’t mentioned it earlier precisely to avoid this scene.
"What’s there to explain? If you explain, will you not have to go to the battlefield? Then explain, even if it takes all night, I’ll listen," Shen Yunfang glared at him with wide eyes.
Li Hongjun was silent.
He had to go to the battlefield; it was his duty as a soldier, as well as his dream. He knew he was wronging his wife; anything could happen on the battlefield, maybe, just maybe, he would leave her to become a widow and put the burden of raising their children solely on her.
Seeing him deflate like a punctured ball, Shen Yunfang said, "No wonder, today you suddenly mentioned sending the kids to the Ma Family. Maybe you didn’t know how to tell your daughter and son, so you’re picking on me, right? I tell you, I don’t agree. If you truly dare to go to the battlefield tomorrow, then we’re done, I’ll take the children and leave, go be your hero. I won’t even collect your body if you die," she ranted fiercely.
Li Hongjun was still silent.
"Will you say something, say something! Say you’re not going, say you’re not going," Shen Yunfang, angered by his silence, picked up a pillow from the bed and hit him with it, trying to get him to agree not to go.
"Wife, wife, wife, I must go, it’s my responsibility, I’m a soldier," Li Hongjun stepped forward and hugged his wife, preventing her from getting too agitated and hurting herself.
"Soldier? Does being a soldier mean you have to go to war? With our country so large, I refuse to believe that all soldiers get to go to the battlefield. Li Hongjun, you just want to be a hero, don’t fool me with those high-minded military ideals." Shen Yunfang was like someone crazed, "Do you know that besides being a soldier, you are a husband, a father to two children? Do you realize that in war there’s no guarantee your bravery can ensure absolute safety? Do you understand that if you die, your wife and children will have no future?" As she spoke, she couldn’t help bursting into tears.
He knew all this, he knew, he was aware of his selfishness, he knew he was letting them down, but this was his duty as a soldier.
Li Hongjun held his wife tightly, his hot lips pressed to the top of her head.
As if struck by a sudden idea, Shen Yunfang lifted her head, desperately searching for his lips, "Husband, listen to me just this once, can’t we avoid the battlefield? Can’t we just live our simple lives?" She mumbled as she sucked on his lips urgently.
Li Hongjun was equally eager in seeking the sweetness from her lips.
"You promise me, please, just this once, and from now on, I will listen to you in everything about our family, okay?" Yunfang couldn’t get his answer and urgently took the initiative to press him down, continuing to plead.
Li Hongjun didn’t speak; he swiftly removed both their clothes and, taking advantage of his wife’s position, entered her.
"Ah, husband, just promise me, please promise me." Yunfang cried as she moved on top of Li Hongjun, attempting to use the body he always favored the most to make him relent.
Li Hongjun clenched his teeth, his hands steadying his wife’s slender waist.
Throughout the night, the bedroom was intermittently filled with the woman’s soft sobs and pleas for mercy.
At last, dawn broke, and Yunfang, bare-skinned, barely managed to open her swollen eyes and saw Li Hongjun, with his lean waist, getting out of bed to dress.
"Wife, I’m leaving. Take good care of yourself and the child. I will definitely return," Li Hongjun said without turning back, not wanting his wife to see his swollen eyes.
"Wuuwuuwuu, do you think you’re the Big Bad Wolf, with your ’definitely will return’?" Yunfang couldn’t help but burst into tears again. Having cried all night, her voice was hoarse and her words were scratchy and piercing.
"Stop crying, and don’t make me worry," said Li Hongjun, who couldn’t hold back anymore and turned to hold his wife in his embrace again. But he let go immediately, fearing that if he held her any longer, he wouldn’t have the courage to walk out the door.
"Li Hongjun, listen to me! You don’t have to worry about the house; I will definitely take care of the children. But you have to come back safely, you hear me? If not, I won’t let you off even if I become a ghost," Yunfang yelled as she heard the door.
Slam, the door was shut.
"Wuuwuuwuu, you bastard, if you dare not to return, you’ll see how I’ll mistreat your daughter and son!" Yunfang, infuriated, threw herself on the bed and started pounding it.
Yunfang had no energy to get out of bed that day until the evening when she finally forced herself up, dressed, washed her face, and went to the Ma Family to pick up the children.
The man had left, but a man wasn’t everything. She still had her children. She was a mother; she had to be strong.
Mu Huazhen saw Yunfang, looking defeated, and didn’t know what to say to comfort her, "Yunfang..."
"Sister-in-law, don’t say anything; I understand everything. Li Hongjun has gone to war, and I still have to live my life. I have two children to raise. If Li Hongjun doesn’t return, then he’s the one missing out on his blessings," Yunfang said, but she couldn’t stop the tears from coming again. 𝒏𝒐𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
"Ay, stop crying. Men, there isn’t a good one amongst them. We don’t need them to live well," Mu Huazhen quickly helped her sit down on the sofa to compose herself.
This Li Hongjun really was irresponsible, going off to war like that without discussing it with his wife. If it were her, Liguo, she’d have killed him.
From afar, Ma Liguo could feel his wife’s unkind glare, and he felt a twinge in his heart. He mused, what had he done to deserve this? Why did all the bad stuff seem to involve him?
"Xiaoshen, you know Hongjun’s capability, don’t you? If only one person can return, that person will definitely be him. You don’t have to worry," Ma Liguo tried to find comforting words.
"And what if not even one person can come back?" Mu Huazhen asked straight out.
Ma Liguo was stumped. Maybe he shouldn’t be with this wife who had no tacit understanding with him; did she find it fun to constantly embarrass him?
