The Secret of Second Marriage

I'm not some kind of saintly woman, so I gave Zhou Shanshan a cold look and said to her, "The food is 100 yuan per meal, starting today."

"100 yuan is 100 yuan, Jiang Man. Even at a time like this, you have no sympathy at all, and you're still asking me for money. Here you go!"

Zhou Shanshan was a little unconvinced, but we were stuck on the highway, and the temperature difference in the high-altitude area was particularly large.

During the day, the temperature is over 30 degrees Celsius at noon, but at night, the temperature drops to minus ten degrees Celsius.

Such weather makes it especially dangerous to be outdoors.

She still paid me 100 yuan in order to survive. At first, she took the 100 yuan out of her wallet and slapped it on my face. I looked at her coldly and said, "Pick it up."

Zhou Shanshan was startled by my serious expression, so she had no choice but to squat down, pick up 100 yuan, and hand it to me. This time she was much more obedient and her attitude towards me was particularly polite. She said, "Sister Jiang Man, it's my fault. I'm really hungry. Here's 100 yuan. I want to buy a boxed lunch."

"for you"

I got her a freshly cooked hot meal.

Zhou Shanshan had been hungry for almost a day, and her stomach was growling. At this moment, she couldn't care less about being reserved and wolfed down her meal.

Around 5 p.m., the sky over the plateau was already completely dark.

President Jiang took the tent out of the trunk of the car; the surrounding mountains were bare.

He found a safe spot and set up a tent by the roadside.

He took the knife and walked a long way, chopped down some wood, hauled it back in a cart, and lit a fire next to the tent. He said that this way, they could keep warm at night, and with the firelight, wild animals wouldn't dare to attack.

I went over to help General Jiang chop firewood, threw the chopped wood into the fire, and took a few potatoes from the car to roast for our dinner.

Zhou Shanshan and her daughter experienced some altitude sickness and oxygen deprivation. At first, they stayed in the car and didn't come out, but after using oxygen cylinders, they felt better and sat down next to us to warm themselves by the fire.

General Jiang said, "You should thank Man. Thanks to her, we are able to have a hot meal on this desolate plateau."

With tears welling up in her eyes, Zhou Shanshan said, "Brother Jiang, I know I was wrong."

I went to the car to check our water and food supplies; there were three cases of bottled water left in the car.

I took out my notebook and carefully noted down the ingredients we had. We would eat the vegetables and beef first, and save the compressed biscuits and instant noodles for last.

I calculated that these supplies can last for 10 to 15 days.

Even if this highway is congested, it should be open within a week at most.

I gradually felt more at ease.

Zhou Shanshan was complaining that her daughter was thirsty after eating potatoes and wanted to drink the water in the car.

I went to the car and got four pears, which I gave to General Manager Jiang, Zhou Shanshan, and her daughter.

Zhou Shanshan persisted, saying, "Who wants to eat pears on such a cold day? Don't you have so much mineral water? Open a bottle, heat it up, and make a cup of coffee."

"The water on the bus is precious; we should save it for cooking, and not use it carelessly for washing vegetables. This is a pear, which is very juicy and contains vitamins. I suggest we all eat this first."

I'm being very serious.

Is there anything else Zhou Shanshan wants to say?

I interrupted her directly, saying, "I bought all these supplies. If you don't want to eat them, then you don't have to."

"I'll eat...who said I won't eat?"

Zhou Shanshan immediately picked out two large pears, one for herself and one for her daughter.

I handed the pear to General Manager Jiang.

Mr. Jiang did not reach out to take it, but said calmly, "Man, I won't eat the pear. I'll save it for you. At this time, as a man, I should shoulder more responsibility."

Compared to Zhou Shanshan, this kind of selfish woman...

President Jiang is a much better person.

I used a fruit knife to peel the pears, cut them into pieces, and handed them to President Jiang: "Eat up. I have a lot of other fruit and tomatoes in reserve. If we don't eat these pears, they'll dry out and become useless."

Mr. Jiang ate only a few pieces of pear, but he left most of them for me.

At 9 p.m., just as the weather forecast predicted, the weather on the plateau was unpredictable. The sky was covered with dark clouds, and a violent storm swept across the entire sky.

Our tent was being blown about by the wind.

Mr. Jiang and I, wearing raincoats, took entrenching tools from the trunk of the car and dug up a lot of soil to reinforce the four corners of the tent. Then we moved some stones and weighed the tent down firmly so that it wouldn't be knocked away.

It was stormy with strong winds and heavy rain, and extremely cold.

Because we left in a hurry, we only brought one tent.

Zhou Shanshan and her daughter insisted on squeezing into the tent, and to save fuel, they couldn't turn on the heater in the car. Otherwise, if they kept the heater on, they wouldn't be able to get out of the car even if the highway was open, once they ran out of gas.

So I discussed it with General Manager Jiang, and he said he was wearing thick clothes and a raincoat, and he would keep watch for us outside at night.

Zhou Shanshan said, "President Jiang, thank you for your hard work tonight."

I disagree.

I said, "President Jiang, there's a storm tonight, and I can't leave you out alone in this weather. So whether you like it or not, please share a tent with us tonight."

Zhou Shanshan said, "How can that be? My daughter is inside the tent, it's inappropriate for a grown man like him to squeeze in."

I glared at Zhou Shanshan, thinking that this woman was incredibly stupid.

I said, "If President Jiang is outside, and the temperature is so cold at night, what if he suffers hypothermia and his life is in danger? Who will be responsible, you or me?"

Moreover, President Jiang is the only man in our team. Now, the highway is so congested that no one knows how many vehicles are stuck there.

If other blocked convoys find us and try to seize our supplies, do you think they'll let us off the hook, given that we're just two women with a child?

This is no longer the case. On this remote highway where food and water are scarce, there are no people, and the law is not in effect, even if someone kills you and dumps your body, someone will come to rescue you.

Therefore, President Jiang must live safely!

Zhou Shanshan was frightened.

She was a pampered young lady who had never experienced a truly difficult and dangerous situation.

She didn't know that in this desolate wilderness, the human heart is the most terrifying thing.

I discussed it with General Manager Jiang, and we decided that in these special times, it's better for four people to squeeze into one tent. As long as we can survive, life is more important than anything else.

The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier. We were huddled in the tent, and our phone batteries were running low. Luckily, I had brought three power banks in case my phone ran out of power during the trip.

Zhou Shanshan was still scrolling through her phone at first, but Jiang and I had already glanced at it and switched it to power-saving mode. That way, if we used it sparingly, we could definitely last until someone came to rescue us!

A moment later, Zhou Shanshan suddenly screamed, "Oh no! My phone battery is only at 15%! Mr. Jiang, can I borrow your phone to take a look?"

President Jiang said to Zhou Shanshan, "No, we can't charge our batteries on this kind of highway. We only have three power banks from Jiang Man, so we have to conserve power and stay in touch with the outside world at all times."

Your phone only has 15% battery left, so stop playing games!

Zhou Shanshan wanted to borrow my charger, but I ignored her. I could share food with her, but I couldn't share something as vital as a charger.

I must ensure that both Mr. Jiang and I survive.

This tent is quite large and warm, and there's a moisture-proof and cold-proof mat underneath.

It was pouring rain and the wind was howling outside.

Moreover, the section of highway we are on is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by endless snow-capped mountains.

The night sky was so dark that it was impossible to see the bottom, and the howling of Tibetan wolves could be heard from time to time.

For the first time, I realized how cruel it is to survive in dire circumstances.

How insignificant human beings are in the face of true nature.

On a stormy night, President Jiang slept on the far side, I slept next to President Jiang, and Zhou Shanshan slept on the other side with her daughter in her arms. The four of us squeezed together like this, listening to the sound of the wind and rain outside, and gradually fell asleep and closed our eyes.

But around midnight, I suddenly noticed that Zhou Shanshan's hand had reached past me and was next to President Jiang, as if she wanted to lie down in his arms and sleep.

I've never seen such a shameless woman before; I almost got so angry I almost died.

She gently unbuttoned her clothes, letting Mr. Jiang put his hand inside her breasts, and whispered to him, "Mr. Jiang, I have strong feelings for you."

President Jiang was a light sleeper, and upon noticing the noise, he immediately pushed Zhou Shanshan away and said to her coldly, "Please have some self-respect."

Zhou Shanshan was so angry that she turned red with anger after being rejected by President Jiang.

She stammered, "President Jiang, isn't she also a divorced woman? What's so great about her? I even studied abroad and fell for her, so why can't she fall for me?"

She's just a housewife, what's so great about her just because she can cook a few dishes? Her culinary skills are only useful in this desolate, remote place; who would want to eat her cooking back in the city?

I glanced at President Jiang instinctively, wondering how he would handle the situation.

President Jiang said, "You're nowhere near as good as Jiang Man. Do you think I, Jiang Hui, am the kind of man who gets lustful just because a woman throws herself at me? You're mistaken. I'm not an animal that thinks with its lower body."

We're stuck here today, and if it weren't for Jiang Man, we wouldn't even have a hot meal. Your spoiled princess attitude is worthless!

"President Jiang, how could you say that to me? Waaaaaah!"

Zhou Shanshan is crying.

I told Zhou Shanshan to go back to her seat. Zhou Shanshan's daughter was woken up and asked her mother in a daze, "What's wrong?"

I wanted to save face for Zhou Shanshan in front of the children.

I said, "You should comfort the child first. No matter what, your current role is that of a mother. Don't think about any other messy romantic relationships."

Let's work together to survive first. Otherwise, if something happens to the three of us adults, how will your little daughter survive on this highway?

Zhou Shanshan originally wanted to argue with me, but after hearing what I said, she shut up.

Because she knew that she was a woman with a child, and that her suitcase contained nothing but a bunch of pretty clothes, dresses, face masks, and cosmetics that she didn't need, and absolutely no other supplies to survive.

She originally wanted to seduce President Jiang, hoping that he would take better care of her and her daughter because of their past relationship. However, she didn't expect that President Jiang was such a gentleman.

Her plan backfired.