You Can Only Stay by My Side

Jiang Xia had been mentally prepared for this. She had heard Tian Caihua's conversation with him.

Jiang Xia turned and looked at him calmly. "All right."

Zhou Chenglei was not surprised that she agreed so readily. All her previous fussing had been because she wanted a divorce.

He continued, "My household registration and food ration registration are still with the military and haven't been transferred back yet, so we can't get a divorce certificate for now. We can only do that after my household registration is transferred back. If you don't want to stay here, I'll take you back to your parents' home tomorrow. If you can bear it, you can also wait until we get the divorce certificate before leaving."

That last sentence was merely courtesy.

He knew she could hardly wait to leave tonight.

But before the divorce certificate was issued, she was still his wife. He could not drive her out, so he gave her a choice.

Jiang Xia thought it over. "Then I'll leave after we get the divorce certificate."

She had none of the original owner's memories. If she rashly returned to the original owner's parents, it would be easy to expose herself.

Besides, identity cards had not even appeared yet. Staying at inns required a Letter of Introduction, and there were inconveniences everywhere. So until the divorce certificate was obtained, staying with the Zhou family was the best choice.

Give her a month or two. Once she had earned enough money, she could buy a room in the village. Even after the divorce, she would have somewhere to settle, and then she could slowly get to know the original owner's parents.

Zhou Chenglei gave her a somewhat surprised look. Hadn't she been itching to return to the city?

Ever since her fever, she truly seemed like a different person.

Knowing he was suspicious, Jiang Xia explained, "My parents won't agree to our divorce. If I go back after we get the certificate, there'll be nothing they can do."

Jiang Xia had grounds for saying that.

In the book, the original owner's parents truly did not agree to her divorce. When the original owner divorced the male lead and returned home, Father Jiang and Mother Jiang would not even let her through the door, forcing her to go back and live with the male lead.

With nowhere to go and unwilling to return to the male lead, the original owner had no choice but to seek out that abusive man. She followed him without title or standing, setting off a chain of tragedies afterward.

That made sense. He also knew Father Jiang would never agree to their divorce. Zhou Chenglei nodded. "All right."

They were strangers, after all, and the two fell silent.

Even the air seemed to flow with awkwardness.

Seeing that she had nothing more to say, Zhou Chenglei said, "Go to bed early."

"Oh, you should go to bed early too," Jiang Xia replied.

Zhou Chenglei turned and walked out. Seeing the basin of dirty clothes by the door, he picked it up and took it outside.

Jiang Xia did not know how to wash clothes. Ever since they married, he had always washed hers.

Jiang Xia was lost in thought and did not notice him taking away the clothes she had changed out of.

After Zhou Chenglei went out, he washed Jiang Xia's clothes in the courtyard.

After putting her youngest son to sleep, Tian Caihua came out and saw her younger brother-in-law washing his wife's clothes again. She rolled her eyes. Then, remembering that he had just come out of his parents' room and gone into Jiang Xia's room, she asked, "Fourth Brother, have you and Jiang Xia discussed it?"

"Mm."

"So are you planning to divorce? When are you getting the divorce certificate? Tomorrow is Friday, so you can do it then. If you don't, you'll have to wait until next Monday."

"Not for now. My household registration hasn't been transferred back yet. We can only divorce after it is."

Tian Caihua was displeased when she heard that.

But she also knew that when the two got their marriage certificate, Zhou Chenglei had not yet left the military. He had even submitted an application, but who knew that after returning from a mission, one of his ears would be deaf? He had no choice but to leave the military.

"Then she's going back to her own family tomorrow, right? They're getting divorced. Surely she can't stay in our home eating, drinking, and living here for free?" Tian Caihua truly could not stand Jiang Xia, nor did she want to wait on that young miss.

Zhou Chenglei's hands paused, but he still said, "She'll leave after we get the divorce certificate."

Tian Caihua's face immediately darkened. "She'll only leave after the divorce certificate? How long will that take?"

Zhou Chenglei was silent for a moment. He recalled what the Chief had told him when he left the military...

This divorce would probably not be easy. It likely would not take merely one or two months. Even if he submitted an application, they had only been married for a short while, so it would not be approved. Dragged out like this, even half a year might not be enough.

"Probably around half a year."

"What? Half a year? She still has to stay in our home for half a year, eating and drinking for free? Does that even count as a divorce? If she stays another half year, she could have a child by then!"

The thought of having to serve a sister-in-law who could not do anything for another six months made Tian Caihua furious.

Zhou Chenglei's eldest brother, Zhou Chengxin, returned from outside and said quietly, "What are you shouting about? Since when is Fourth Brother's business yours to manage?"

"You think I want to manage it? If I didn't have to wait on her, do you think I'd care?" Tian Caihua went straight into the room with a dark face.

She truly could not take it anymore. She actually had to endure this for another half year!

Who knew whether they would even divorce after half a year?

Why was it that both of them were daughters-in-law of the Zhou family, yet she had to do everything while Jiang Xia did not have to do anything just because she could not? Zhou Chengxin said to Zhou Chenglei, "Don't mind your Eldest Sister-in-Law. You and Fourth Sister-in-law only need to discuss your own matters. She just complains about doing a bit more work. But without Fourth Sister-in-law, wouldn't she still have to cook? What difference does it make whether she cooks one portion more or one portion less? She's just making trouble! I'll talk to her."

"I know," Zhou Chenglei answered.

Zhou Chengxin went back inside to placate his wife, afraid that if she made enough of a scene, his parents and Jiang Xia would hear and things would end badly.

Zhou Chenglei worked quickly. In just a few strokes, he washed the clothes clean and hung them up to dry.

He had made a decision and was about to speak to his parents when Jiang Xia unexpectedly came out.

Tian Caihua had been so loud that Jiang Xia could not possibly have failed to hear. She came out and saw that Zhou Chenglei was hanging up her clothes. Feeling a little embarrassed as well, she said, "I'll move out tomorrow."

Jiang Xia had just sorted through the original owner's belongings and found more than a hundred yuan. It was enough to stay at a Guest House for a while; she would not be driven into a corner.

Zhou Chenglei glanced at her. "Come inside and talk."

The two returned to the room, one after the other.

Zhou Chenglei asked directly, "Where are you planning to move to?"

She had said she was moving out, not that she was going home. He guessed she did not intend to return to her parents' home.

Jiang Xia answered truthfully, "I'll go to the city and stay at a Guest House or an inn, but I'll have to trouble you to ask the Village Chief to write me a Letter of Introduction."

Zhou Chenglei frowned as soon as he heard that and rejected it without a second thought. "No need. I'm planning to split the household. Once we do, you and I can move out."

Before the divorce certificate was issued, they were husband and wife. It was only right for her to live at home. Besides, Father Jiang had done him the favor of guiding him. When he first entered the military, he had been a soldier under Father Jiang. Father Jiang had taught him many things. He could not possibly let Jiang Xia stay at an inn by herself, nor was he at ease with a young woman staying in an inn alone.

Jiang Xia looked at him. "If you only want to split the household because I'm not going back to my parents' home, there's no need. I can stay at an inn for now. You only need to help me ask the Village Chief to write a Letter of Introduction."

She did not like owing people. She could simply leave. She had hands, feet, and a brain—it was not as though she could not survive.

It was only because she did not even have a household register on her, and the Village Chief did not know her, that she had to ask him to help obtain a Letter of Introduction. Otherwise, she would have left directly.

Zhou Chenglei said truthfully, "It's not entirely because of you. We were bound to split the household sooner or later. My Second Brother already split off, and my Eldest Sister-in-Law has grievances against me too. I want to split the household as well."

He knew that ever since he had arranged a job for Second Brother, Eldest Sister-in-Law had held a grudge against him.

Eldest Sister-in-Law was actually making a fuss because she wanted to split the household.

It was better to do so sooner, lest living together made their grievances grow ever larger.

Zhou Chenglei glanced at Jiang Xia, then added, his tone exceedingly firm, "And before we get the divorce certificate, if you won't return to your parents' home, I cannot let you stay at a Guest House alone. You can only stay by my side."