Beside the field, a tall and well-built man was smoking quietly. His dark brows were furrowed tightly together, and his clothes were crisply ironed. His shirt was buttoned all the way to the collar, and he emanated a fascinating, brooding aura.
Zhou Hong came over to him. "What are you up to? Why are you smoking over here alone?" he asked laughingly. "The song and dance ensemble is about to perform, and everyone's really excited. Why are you the only one pulling a long face? That look of yours is scary enough to make all the lady comrades in the troupe cry!"
Xu Qigang threw his cigarette to the ground and extinguished it with the sole of his shoe, then glanced at Zhou Hong, the look in his fathomless eyes becoming even more intense.
Xu Qigang's features were nowhere near what anyone would describe as gentle or elegant. His body cut an awe-inspiring and intimidating figure, and he had a high nose bridge and a firm lower jaw. When he was angry, he gave off a frightening vibe that was known to drive kids to tears.
Last year, the song and dance ensemble put on an appreciation showcase, but a newly-arrived female comrade had been immature and offended Xu Qigang. He punished her by making her do a three-kilometer cross-country run, and the girl almost died from exhaustion.
Because of the incident, all subsequent performances had been cancelled.
This time around, the showcase was taking place only because Xu Qigang had gone to the city and kicked up a fuss!
"This guy must be crazy!" Zhou Hong thought. "In the past, he always pulled a long face at the sight of the troupe, so why did he ask for them this time around?"
"Captain… Captain…" Liu Chun ran over to him from the main entrance. He was responsible for escorting the troupe over from the city, and was now running to Xu Qigang to report that he had completed his duties.
Xu Qigang's eyes lit up.
"Captain, Sister-in-law's name wasn't on the list." Liu Chun had a booming voice, and the entire field went silent when they heard what he said.
At that moment, Xu Qigang wanted nothing more than to bite his head off.
On the field, the training comrades looked curiously at their legendary captain, their eyes filled with disbelief.
Mother of god! The icy-looking Beelzebub had a wife? What woman could be so blind?
Wouldn't the captain scare his wife to death in the middle of the night?
Then again, since when did the captain have a wife? Some time ago, a tycoon wanted the captain to be his son-in-law, but the captain rejected him.
"Sister-in-law? What Sister-in-law are you talking about?" Zhou Hong's eyes glowed as they zeroed in on Liu Chun.
"I… I don't know!" Liu Chun noticed the expression of extreme displeasure on his captain's face and realized too late that he had made a mistake of epic proportions.
Xu Qigang had merely asked if the list of the performers included someone by the name of Sheng Ning. The rest had merely been Liu Chun's overactive imagination.
"You d*mn rascal…" Zhou Hong didn't embarrass Liu In front of Xu Qigang. Instead, he dismissed him and followed Xu Qigang from the field all the way to the office.
"So tell me," Zhou Hong pondered aloud, "who is this sister-in-law, and why don't I know about her?" His curiosity had been piqued. All this while, Xu Qigang had spent most of his time taking his men out for field training. He never mentioned anything about a wife!
Xu Qigang glared at Zhou Hong in annoyance as he removed his coat. The weather was hot, and he was wearing only a singlet underneath, which revealed his bronze, toned muscles.
Zhou Hong saw them and felt a tinge of envy.
Xu Qigang washed his face while Zhou Hong continued to linger around. "Do you need me to chase you out?" Xu Qigang asked.
"Fine. I'll leave on my own." Xu Qigang had been through all sorts of harsh, rigorous training, so if he wasn't willing to talk about something, nobody would be able to force it out of him.
However, as an extremely dedicated instructor, Zhou Hong wasn't going to give up easily.
Because of the fight, Sheng Ning stayed at home for a whole week without stepping outside of the house. However, she heard plenty of news, including the fact that Qi Mei's family members had broken the village head's legs and that the village head had lost his position.
And Widow Zhang had gone into hiding and was nowhere to be found.