Nine. The Troops, Please.

Three years ago, Qin Zhixue went to the border on a mission but never returned. Witnesses said she had jumped off a cliff holding a drug criminal. Upon hearing this news, Jun Lengche was heartbroken, but it was the pain of losing a loved one. Moreover, he couldn't ignore the slight relief deep in his heart—he no longer had to pretend to be her husband.

It was only two years ago that the criminal investigation team officially declared Qin Zhixue dead. Over these years, even without a woman by his side, Jun Lengche's life was far from lonely because of his beloved career. As a surgeon, his life was tense yet fulfilling. However, last night, his almost parched heart was once again nourished by Tong Zhenzhen’s innocence.

Jun Lengche was clear about his feelings and knew what he wanted. So, when faced with Jun’s grandmother’s harsh reproaches and her attempt to arrange another wife for him, he was truly displeased. “Grandma, I want to choose according to my own heart. Don’t you trust my judgment?”

Grandmother Jun felt guilty about forcing her grandson to marry Qin Zhixue. Although Qin Zhixue grew up by her side, she had been wronged, her purity taken, and her grandson suffered. She knew of their unhappy marriage and blamed the stubborn old man in the family for it all.

In truth, Jun Lengche had always been sensible and rarely caused his family worry. Now that he was thirty and had his own opinions, she knew she shouldn’t interfere too much, lest it harm their grandmother-grandson relationship. Grandmother Jun was reasonable.

“Xiao Che, Grandma trusts you to handle this well. By the way, your grandfather wants you to find time to come home in the next couple of days.” In the end, it was Grandmother Jun who yielded first.

Jun Lengche didn’t want to strain his relationship with her, so he nodded in agreement...

On the other side, after sending Jun Lengche and Qin Xiangyang away, Tong Zhenzhen leaned against the door and pretended to cry for a while.

“Zhenzhen, I’m sorry,” Qin Xiangyang apologized outside the door.

“Just go. I want to be alone,” Tong Zhenzhen shouted.

“All right... I’ll come see you again in a few days.” After hesitating, Qin Xiangyang left.

Tong Zhenzhen pressed her eye to the peephole, watching him leave and confirming Jun Lengche was not there either.

She was a bit impressed with her own acting talent. Just by pinching the inner thigh hard, tears really welled up. The pity act worked well—she drove Jun Lengche away and immediately gained Qin Xiangyang’s sympathy.

It seemed that Xiao Yangzi was grateful and hadn’t forgotten how she had “covered” for him back then.

Hmph, Jun Lengche made everyone around you dislike you—that’s just fine, Tong Zhenzhen thought to herself. Although she felt a bit guilty for deceiving Qin Xiangyang, when doing big things, small details didn’t matter. In her heart, she whispered a “sorry” to him.

Unfortunately, Qin Xiangyang was part of the Jun family. It seemed she wouldn’t be able to play happily with him anymore. Tong Zhenzhen felt a tinge of regret.

The room was a complete mess, and cleaning it up was exhausting. Tong Zhenzhen worked late into the night to clear away the damaged items.

Looking at the now empty room, she felt quite downhearted.

Unexpectedly, around seven in the evening, a courier delivered a brand-new set of household appliances to her door.

Tong Zhenzhen wanted to return them but couldn’t find out who sent them.

Tsk—definitely someone feeling guilty. Tong Zhenzhen guessed it was the doing of Long Tianyu. That guy must have nothing but money now.

That bastard was the one who had destroyed her home. She decided to accept this as compensation with a smile. At the same time, she knew she would probably have to deal with this rotten Long Tianyu in the future.

Although she didn’t understand why Long Tianyu had come back, having witnessed his ruthless change of heart, she was certain she wouldn’t be deceived again. Her focus now was revenge. Long Tianyu was nothing more than a pesky fly.

In her newly refreshed home, Tong Zhenzhen went to bed early to rest and prepare for her confrontation with Jun Lengche. She didn’t think he would let her off easily; otherwise, he wouldn’t have come looking for her. As for his reasons for not letting her go, she didn’t care—as long as her goal was achieved.

On Monday at work, Tong Zhenzhen was busy and overwhelmed. She was currently a team leader in the research and development department of an automobile company, overseeing the trial production of a new car. The carefully planned launch was suddenly disrupted when many parts were found missing.

Searching through a warehouse of over ten thousand square meters for a few misplaced parts was like panning for gold in a river of sand. Tong Zhenzhen wanted to curse.

At that moment, her phone rang—it was the minister calling.

Tong Zhenzhen couldn't think of anything more urgent than this trial production delay. On her way back to the office building, the usually calm minister called three times to confirm her location and asked her to come to the reception room on the first floor.

Unusual events always spell trouble, and Tong Zhenzhen had a bad feeling.

Pushing open the door to the reception room, she saw two strangers in military green uniforms sitting opposite the minister. What was going on—were these army personnel?

“Tong, this is Commander Jun from the military district. They need you to assist with an investigation,” the minister who had brought her back from Germany said, standing and approaching her. He lowered his voice so only they could hear, “They mean no good. Be careful.”

Tong Zhenzhen smiled gratefully at the minister. Though a strong woman, she was also a meticulous and considerate leader. She had chosen this job mainly because of the minister’s charismatic personality.

“May I ask what I am supposed to assist with?” Tong Zhenzhen suppressed her impatience and forced a smile.

“This is confidential. Please come with us,” the younger officer stood and said stiffly.

Tong Zhenzhen was annoyed—she was busy and had no time to go. Why would the army want her? And this attitude was so arrogant.

The minister noticed her displeasure, placed a hand on her shoulder, and said kindly, “Military-civil cooperation is necessary, but Tong has important duties today. Can it be postponed?”

“Apologies for the poor tone earlier from Xiao Zhang. We have urgent matters, which is why we have to trouble Miss Tong. After completing the task, we will return you promptly,” another slightly older officer around forty stood and politely extended the invitation.

“Miss?” Damn, she thought, the minister had more respect for her than these officers. She couldn’t refuse!

Seeing the minister’s gaze and the two bright silver stripes and four stars on the middle-aged man’s shoulder, she thought, whatever, I’ll give this polite commander some face.

As the commander left the room, he gallantly opened the door for Tong Zhenzhen, which made her glance at him a few extra times. He seemed familiar, but she couldn’t quite place him.

What on earth could the military want with an ordinary civilian like herself? Tong Zhenzhen was puzzled.