Kill The Marriage Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Newlywed
The consequences of getting on a horizontal bar immediately after coming off the operating table were severe.
Ren Zhong’s wounds tore open and became infected, accidentally triggering systemic complications. His condition progressed so rapidly that he was admitted to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) within a few days.
He hadn’t fallen while defending his motherland, but spinning a few circles on a high bar upon his return nearly cost him his life.
By the time he was discharged from the hospital, sitting in a wheelchair with casts resembling snow boots on both feet, he was already a married man.
Before his condition deteriorated, Commander Chen had made him fill out the matching system questionnaire. When he was undergoing surgery and sent to the ICU, Commander Chen didn’t visit the hospital once. He was too busy outside screening matched candidates, claiming that Ren Zhong’s life was tough enough that he’d definitely crawl back up to get married.
“What era is this, and we’re still doing blind marriages!” Ren Zhong sneered with heavy sarcasm.
The electric wheelchair emitted a whirring sound from its motor, propelling Ren Zhong swiftly forward and stirring up a gentle breeze.
His childhood friend, jogging slowly beside his wheelchair, spoke up.
“The Compulsory Marriage Matching Act is just reversing the wheels of history. Those people at the top will do anything to make the data look good. Confining criminals to their homes to beat their wives and children is supposed to raise the birth rate and lower the crime rate? What a garbage line of thought.”
Ren Zhong’s childhood friend and current neighbor was a female Alpha, who had picked him up from the hospital to take him home on her morning jog.
He replied to her sporadically, his brain barely functioning.
“What’s your Alpha’s name? What does he look like? How old is he? What does his family do?” His friend was intensely curious about his marriage partner.
Ren Zhong answered all of the above questions with a single, highly precise sentence.
“I don’t know.”
Friend: “…”
She let out a “Ha!” and laughed. “It really is a blind marriage… Hey, I mean, are you truly not the slightest bit curious?”
“Not interested.” Ren Zhong even opened his mouth wide to let out a yawn. “I didn’t want this marriage in the first place anyway.”
His friend couldn’t help but sigh. “We used to say whoever gets married first is a dog. I can’t believe that you, of all people with your ironclad will, turned into a dog before I did.”
Thinking of this made Ren Zhong angry. He snapped, “If it weren’t for the fact that my injuries forced me to withdraw from the operation, my delay application definitely would have held up a bit longer. By the way, hasn’t your delay application expired yet?”
“Not yet, but soon.” His friend sighed. “It’ll happen next month. We’re truly suffering brothers and sisters; neither of us can escape the shackles of marriage. It’s just a matter of who barks first and who barks later.”
One was an Alpha, the other an Omega. They hadn’t sparked the flames of love, but the beacon of their friendship burned eternally bright, leading them to buy adjacent properties in the same neighborhood. Since Ren Zhong spent most of his year living in the military camp, his friend always helped manage his house.
His friend declared definitively, “That Alpha of yours probably isn’t lacking in money.”
“Where did you hear that?” Even Ren Zhong himself had no idea if the guy was a cat or a dog.
His friend analyzed the situation based on her own observations. “After your marriage was confirmed, he hired a massive team of dozens of workers to handle the renovations. The marital home was finished in less than a month. At a glance, you can tell it cost a fortune. You probably won’t even recognize it as your own house when you get back.”
Ren Zhong was actually aware of the renovations.
When he woke up after surgery, he had received a message from the other party. That Alpha had inquired where he wanted to recuperate during his marital leave. Upon learning that Ren Zhong wanted to use his own property, the Alpha promptly went to inspect Ren Zhong’s house.
It was a property with a beautiful exterior, a stable structure, excellent orientation—and it was an absolutely bare-bones concrete shell.
Busy defending the country, Ren Zhong had bought the house but never actually moved in.
The other party politely expressed his willingness to take on the task of renovating, sent over a few reference pictures, and asked Ren Zhong what kind of interior design style he preferred.
Busy nursing his illness and having no time to deal with a “newlywed husband” he had never even met, Ren Zhong had simply replied with “whatever” and let the guy do as he pleased.
Thinking about it now, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret.
That was his home! His house! Who knows what kind of grandparent-core style that Alpha had turned his territory into.
From a distance, the courtyard of his home came into view.
The bare, pristine little mud yard of his memory was gone forever, replaced by a complete set of landscaping.
There were no abrupt, pretentious rockeries; no mosquito-attracting ponds; no impractical paving stones… None of the elements Ren Zhong hated appeared in the small yard. The developer’s default nouveau-riche European style had been transformed into a high-end, minimalist wooden aesthetic.
Approaching it with a critical mindset, Ren Zhong actually couldn’t find a single flaw. He even felt that the yard was somewhat pleasing to the eye!
He uncontrollably thought to himself: Those chairs in the yard look like they’d be really comfortable to sit in.
Ren Zhong: “…”
F*ck!
Feeling inexplicably annoyed, he subconsciously swore under his breath.
Pressing his fingerprint on the lock, the courtyard gate opened automatically.
Only then did Ren Zhong realize—
That Alpha had actually installed wheelchair-accessible ramps in the house?!
As he drove his humming little electric wheelchair smoothly up the spacious, gentle slope to the front door, he even felt a sense of disbelief.
He hadn’t experienced anything this smooth even in the hospital.
The front door opened from the inside. An unfamiliar male Alpha stood before him.
He had long hair, a scruffy beard, and enough dangling earrings to blind a person.
If Ren Zhong’s feet weren’t immobile right now, he would have jumped up, beaten this Alpha to the ground, and then marched over to Commander Chen for a mutual fistfight.
What the hell kind of dog-sh*t monstrosity was the marriage partner they selected for him?!
The Captain’s aesthetic preferences bore a very “old-school” military flavor. Regardless of male or female, Alpha, Beta, or Omega, short hair that exposed the forehead was the cleanest and sharpest look. Wearing long unkempt hair, tattoos, and piercings—what the hell kind of look was that? A complete freak!
“Are you Captain Ren?!”
The male Alpha seemed incredibly excited. “A pleasure, a real pleasure! I watched the video of your speech and I know of your heroic deeds. It’s truly such an… such an immense honor to finally meet you.”
He extended a hand covered in dark tattoos, wanting to shake Ren Zhong’s hand, but was met with a cold face because he had stepped on a massive landmine.
“My apologies, my apologies. I was just so excited to see you that I forgot to introduce myself.” The Alpha even gave a slight bow to show his respect. “I am deeply honored to be the designer for your marital home. My surname is Han, you can just call me Little Han…”
Ren Zhong slowly raised his hand and shook it, letting out a breath of relief in his heart.
Thank goodness, thank goodness. A designer… dressing like this was understandable.
“Mr. Zhang, look who’s here!”
A tall, slender figure walked out from the kitchen.
He was still wearing a warm-toned apron, both hands tucked into thick, peach-patterned baking mitts. The baking tray in his hands emitted steaming white vapor and the rich, sweet aroma of egg, milk, and butter.
“Captain Ren!”
The man couldn’t hide his joy and excitement. He set down the baking tray and the mitts, taking off his apron as he jogged over.
His eyes were bright, and there was even a faint, almost imperceptible blush on his cheeks.
“I am your matched partner, Zhang Qingyuan. Congratulations on your discharge and recovery.”
He let out a delayed “Ah,” turned back, and picked up a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
“I knew the Captain was coming back today, but I didn’t know exactly when, so I haven’t prepared anything properly. Please forgive me.”
The flowers were bought, the desserts were baked, and the house and yard had been fully renovated…
And this was called “haven’t prepared anything properly”?
Ren Zhong took the bouquet in mild astonishment, lifting his head to evaluate this Alpha male who was already his husband.
Other than a height that resembled an Alpha, Zhang Qingyuan’s face and voice practically screamed Omega!
Beautiful. Incredibly beautiful.
Forgive Ren Zhong for not knowing how to use magnificent vocabulary to describe the beauty of the person in front of him. Though this person didn’t align with his military tough-guy aesthetic, he wasn’t blind. He knew this face was exquisitely outstanding. Even if thrown into a pile of fresh-faced idols, Zhang Qingyuan would be the most radiant, eye-catching star.
Glancing back at the designer beside him—wearing no shirt under his suit jacket, insisting on pairing it with a ripped fishnet top to expose his chest muscles and collarbones…
Ren Zhong suddenly felt that Zhang Qingyuan looked infinitely more “pleasing to the eye.”
“In a moment, we’ll have Teacher Han introduce the various accessibility features of the house so you can experience your new home. If you have any requests or ideas for modifications, please feel free to communicate them with Teacher Han. I’ll get brunch ready as soon as possible.”
Under normal circumstances, these were words an Omega wife would say.
But right now, his Alpha husband was saying these things so naturally, adding a layer of magical realism to the room.
Looking at Zhang Qingyuan’s face again…
It seemed like this stylistic contrast wasn’t actually that jarring?
“Ah, right. I forgot to say it to the Captain.”
Zhang Qingyuan smiled beautifully, warmth radiating from the corners of his eyes and brows, like a gentle, intoxicating spring breeze.
“Welcome home.”
Translator’s Note:
- Blind Marriage (盲婚啞嫁): An idiom that literally translates to “blindly marrying and mutely giving in marriage.” It refers to traditional arranged marriages where the bride and groom never see or speak to each other before the wedding day.
- Teacher Han (韓老師): In China, calling a professional “Teacher” (老師 – Lǎoshī) is a common form of respectful address, not strictly limited to actual schoolteachers.