Marriage in the 1970s: The Political Commissar's Contract Wife

Especially those eyes, almost exactly the same! Only Zhi Xia's eyes were softer and more timid, carrying the weariness and confusion of pregnancy, while Fang Zhi's eyes in my memory were always bright and sparkling, carrying the stubbornness of not giving up and the light of idealism.

But the outline, the features... it was too similar! So similar that it terrified her, made her lose her mind!

Could it be... could it be that Fang Zhi didn't die back then? But the ages don't match! If Fang Zhi were still alive, she would be almost fifty, while Zhi Xia is only in her early twenties... Could it be...?

An even more unbelievable, even somewhat absurd, thought popped into Zheng Qin's mind: Could it be... genetic? To this extent?

She dared not think any further, her mind a jumbled mess, a mixture of fear and inexplicable excitement that made her feel both cold and hot all over.

No! She had to go find Fang Zheng immediately! She had to tell him right away! This was a huge deal!

Zheng Qin steadied herself, forced herself to stand up straight, and, after getting her bearings, practically stumbled as she ran towards Fang Zheng's workplace. She had to see her husband immediately and tell him what had happened!

What lies behind this newlywed daughter-in-law's face? Could she be... connected to her long-lost sister-in-law?

Zheng Qin's slightly hurried footsteps echoed in the office building corridor, almost in sync with her flustered heartbeat.

She didn't even bother to greet the familiar guards at the door, but rushed straight to the door of Fang Zheng's office. She took a deep breath, and without even knocking, pushed the door open and went in.

Fang Zheng was sitting behind his large desk reviewing documents when he heard the noise. He looked up with displeasure and, seeing it was his wife, his brows furrowed even more. "What are you doing here? You're all in such a panic. Didn't Xiao Chu bring his wife home today? Why aren't you home? What are you doing here?"

Zheng Qin slammed the door shut behind her, leaning against it, her chest still heaving slightly. Her face remained pale, her eyes fixed on her husband, her voice trembling with agitation and nervousness: "No...it's not about Xiao Chu, it's...it's about Xiao Zhi!"

Fang Zheng paused, a clear pain and confusion flashing across his face, which quickly turned into incomprehension and a hint of impatience: "Xiao Zhi? What nonsense are you talking about?" His younger sister, Fang Zhi, had been dead for almost thirty years, a scar that no one in the family wanted to touch easily.

"No! I'm talking about Xiaxia! Xiao Chu's wife!" Zheng Qin interrupted him urgently, rushing to the desk, placing her hands on the edge, leaning forward, and staring intently at Fang Zheng. "She...she looks exactly like Xiao Zhi! I saw it with my own eyes! Just now at home, when she took off her scarf and hat...that face, especially those eyes...it's exactly like Xiao Zhi! I almost...almost thought it was Xiao Zhi coming back!"

Fang Zheng froze, the pen in his hand falling onto the document with a "thud," leaving a small ink stain. He looked up, his eyes sharp as he looked at his wife, as if trying to determine if she was hallucinating from being too excited about their son bringing his wife home.

"How is this possible?" Fang Zheng's voice deepened, filled with disbelief. "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Or... are you just missing Xiao Zhi too much?"

He stood up, walked around the table to his wife, and tried to calm her down. "Xiao Chu's wife is Zhi Lin's sister. She's from Suzhou. I know her background very well. Besides, if Xiao Zhi were still alive, how could she not come home? Back then..." His voice choked, and he didn't finish his sentence. The news from the front lines and that cold, hard notification of being a martyr were a permanent pain in their family's hearts.

"I'm not mistaken! I'm really not mistaken!" Zheng Qin grabbed her husband's arm, her fingers turning white from the pressure, her voice trembling with urgency and tears. "Old Fang, believe me! It really is exactly the same! When I looked at her face, my heart almost jumped out of my chest! If I didn't know it was impossible, I would have really thought she was 'Xiao Zhi'!"

As if she had considered an even more shocking possibility, her eyes widened suddenly, and her voice lowered, filled with horror: "Old Fang, do you think... could she... could she be Xiao Zhi's daughter? Could it be that Xiao Zhi... might not have died back then? Or..."

"Nonsense!" Fang Zheng interrupted her sharply, his expression suddenly turning extremely serious, even angry. "How can you say such things?! Xiao Zhi is a martyr! She sacrificed herself gloriously! Her innocence and reputation cannot be tarnished by anyone, including your baseless speculation!"

He took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart and the faint, dangerous hope stirred up by his wife's words.

Reason told him that this was absolutely impossible.

The younger sister's sacrifice has been confirmed, and Zhixia's background is also verifiable. Looking alike? The world is full of wonders; perhaps it's just a coincidence.

But deep inside, the wound that belonged to his brother and had never truly healed was torn apart by his wife's shocking words.

He had to immediately nip his wife's unrealistic, and potentially troublesome, idea in the bud.

"Zheng Qin, listen carefully." Fang Zheng gripped his wife's shoulders, his gaze piercing, his tone commanding without room for argument. "First, Xiao Zhi has sacrificed herself; that's a fact, no doubt about it. Second, Zhi Xia is Xiao Chu's wife, our daughter-in-law, and she's carrying Xiao Chu's child—our grandchild. Her background has been investigated by the organization, and there are no problems. Third, the resemblance is just a coincidence. There are plenty of people in the world who look alike; it's nothing to be surprised about."

He looked at his wife's still pale face and lingering fear in her eyes, his tone softening but becoming even heavier: "What you need to do now is not to let your imagination run wild and make wild guesses. You need to go back immediately and, as her mother-in-law, take good care of your pregnant daughter-in-law and soothe her mother-in-law's emotions. Your outburst just now may have frightened them. Do you understand?"

Looking into her husband's stern yet pained eyes, Zheng Qin opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she could only slump her shoulders helplessly.

Her husband's words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the chaotic flames of shock that had ignited in her heart, but also making her even more confused and uneasy.

Is that striking resemblance really just a coincidence?

"I..." her voice was hoarse.

"Go back." Fang Zheng released her hand, turned his back, and stopped looking at her. His voice returned to its usual calm, but carried a hint of imperceptible fatigue. "Just pretend nothing happened. Treat the guests well, especially Xia Xia. She's a member of the Fang family now."

Zheng Qin stood there for a moment, looking at her husband's straight but somewhat stiff back, and finally nodded slowly. She turned around dejectedly, opened the door, and walked out.

The office door closed gently.

Fang Zheng stood still for a long time without moving.

He slowly walked to the window, looking at the bare tree trunks in the yard and the blurry figures on the training field in the distance.

His younger sister Fang Zhi's youthful, vibrant face with a stubborn smile, and the face that his wife had just described, which overlapped with that of his daughter-in-law Zhi Xia, kept appearing in his mind in an uncontrollable alternation.

Is it really... just a coincidence?

He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his gaze was calm and profound. Regardless of the truth, stability was the most important thing right now.

He had to investigate personally, secretly, without alerting anyone, especially Xiao Chu and... that daughter-in-law who looked like his sister.

Hopefully, it's just a coincidence. Otherwise... this family, which has been peaceful for so many years, is likely to be thrown into unpredictable turmoil again.