Chapter 2: New Marriage Infidelity (2)

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Rubbing his sore temples, he picked up the incessantly ringing phone and mumbled, "Hello..."

"What?" The information coming from the other end of the line jolted him awake, without paying attention to much else, he leapt out of bed and into the phone he blurted, "Which hospital? I'll be there immediately."

For him, yesterday was an excruciating day in his life.

His newlywed wife had actually been rolling around in their marital bed with another man!

In a fit of rage, he spat out words of divorce and then ran off to a bar to drown his sorrows overnight.

But what he never imagined was that his always timid wife, who barely had the courage to speak, would actually try to kill herself!

Yes, the call he had just received was from the hospital—the message was that his wife had attempted suicide by slashing her wrists at home and was now being resuscitated in the hospital!

"Big brother, big brother, what's happened?"

Seeing Gao Han rushing out reeking of alcohol, Su Che instinctively tried to stop him. Being equally drunk, his headache was so bad that even his voice was hoarse.

"My wife is in trouble. I need to go to the hospital."

After saying this to his best buddy, Gao Han dashed out of the room.

When Gao Han arrived at the hospital dressed in clothes smelling of a night's drinking and with a stubbly face, he was immediately met with his ferociously aggressive mother-in-law swinging her small purse at him!

"You owe me my daughter. You owe me my daughter!"

Although he knew there was more to the story, the fact was Ruixi, his newlywed wife, had attempted suicide and was clinging to life. As her husband, it was his responsibility to bear the consequences.

So, facing his mother-in-law's accusations, he remained silent, allowing her to beat him as she pleased. When she finally exhausted herself, he approached his own parents and asked in a low voice, "How is she doing now?"

He was better off keeping silent. As soon as he spoke, his father, whose face was already as dark as the bottom of a pot, exploded, "What the hell happened, you bastard? Did you do something to Ruixi that caused this, otherwise why on earth would Ruixi suddenly..."

Facing such condemnation, Gao Han still stood tall, his rugged face tinged with an indescribable bitterness. "I did not."

Indeed, he hadn't. Most of his time was spent with the military, either on duty or on missions, and he would spend what little free time he had with his young wife, as their parents wished. In the three months they had been married, he had not done anything to betray their marriage. But his inaction didn't mean betrayal didn't exist. The betrayer wasn't him—it was his seemingly gentle and frail wife.

Yet these were words he could never disclose to their elderly parents.

"You didn't?"

Gao Hong, looking at his tall son, his voice was as fierce as if squeezed through clenched teeth, "Still making excuses? If you didn't do anything, why would Ruixi become so desperate? A man should own up to his actions. If you've done wrong, then you need to take responsibility for your actions!"

Gao Han hung his head, his eyes, bright as stars, fixed intently on his father, the bitterness in his heart unknown to anyone else.

But to some people, it's like this: if you speak, they say you're making excuses, and if you remain silent, they say you're tacitly admitting your guilt. No matter what, as long as they think you're wrong, then you are wrong, all explanations are just excuses.

"Quick, go and apologize to Ruixi's mother now!"

Gao Hong pushed his slow-witted elder son again and nodded towards the mother-in-law who was howling and wailing.

"I said, I didn't do anything to wrong her."

Despite his words, Gao Han obediently made his way towards the mother-in-law who had just used him for target practice. He hadn't done anything to wrong his wife—that is, their daughter—but she had gotten in trouble at their home, and as her husband, it was his duty to take responsibility. No matter what had happened before, now that it had come to this, it was his fault.

"Sorry, Mom, I didn't take good care of Ruixi."

Gao Han's voice was dry as he apologized. The tall man, over six feet, seemed particularly forlorn in front of a woman not even five and a half feet tall.

But Ning's mother didn't care what he was saying. Upon hearing his "insincere" words, she began beating him with her purse again without mercy: "If it weren't for the good things your parents said in front of me, how could I have possibly married my daughter to you? How long have you been married, and my poor Xiaoxi is now on the brink of life and death. What will happen if this goes on? Are you waiting for the next time we meet to be Xiaoxi's funeral? You want us to send off our child prematurely; what is your heart made of, Gao Han? During the proposal, you spoke so nicely—how a soldier is responsible and will take care of Xiaoxi. Responsible, my foot! I think soldiers are nothing but a bunch of irresponsible assholes!"

Listening to his mother-in-law's furious rant, Gao Han remained calm, allowing her to vent her accusations. But when she began to slander his profession, he could no longer hold back, "Mom, please don't speak of soldiers like that. Maybe I didn't do well enough, but please do not insult my identity, do not insult the military profession!"

In the eyes of a soldier, the honor of the collective is above all else.

Gao Han could accept his wife's affair and the elders' reprimands without full knowledge, but he absolutely would not allow anyone to insult his troops, his comrades. Not even if that person was his mother-in-law!

Startled by Gao Han's forceful rebuttal, Ning's mother jumped back, the words she had prepared trapped in her throat, causing her to cough violently. When she finally regained her composure and realized that her normally obedient son-in-law had dared to contradict her, her anger surged to her head, and her words became even more vicious, "Alright then, so impressive, huh? Because of you, my Xiaoxi has attempted suicide and is fighting for her life, and now even I, her mother-in-law, am unwelcome. Do you want to torment my daughter and me to death? What exactly are the Gao Family planning—my... "

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