My husband’s personality will not fit other careers

Pang Liyun, a 34-year-old businesswoman married to Liao Peng, an officer at the Dongxing Border Control Police Station

Iused to work in real estate in Dongxing. Knowing that my husband is a police officer, my clients and friends wanted to send us “gifts” before asking for help in some way. Dongxing is a small place and it’s hard to separate our lives and connections.

Eventually, I moved to a district in Fangchenggang city, a 40-minute drive from the police station, to avoid being compromised.

The longest my husband and I were out of contact was 58 hours. Eventually, I texted him saying, “Officer Liao, I would like to report that my husband has been missing for 50 hours.” He replied that he had been busy in the interrogation room. What could I say?

He never gets angry. However I treat him and whatever I say, I see a smiling face in front of me. He is serious about his work, though.

Once, when some friends and I were in a car passing through his checkpoint, he pretended not to know me. We made eye contact, but he just turned his head away like I was a stranger.

I am three months pregnant, so I have many injections and take medicine every day to protect my baby. I haven’t slept well for months because the needle marks on both sides of my waist hurt. I once drove myself to a Traditional Chinese Medicine hospital in another district for treatment. I felt really uncomfortable, like I was on the edge of a breakdown.

I phoned my husband and asked why I had to go through this suffering alone. That night, he came back home from his dormitory and stayed for an hour to comfort me.

We got married in July 2017. After we had collected all the paperwork

and signed the certificate, he went back to work, without even having a photo taken during the ceremony. I waited in the car until 7 pm to have a simple dinner with him.

I had a miscarriage with our first baby because I was tired after renovating our new house. That was a big loss. I have urged him to at least take care of me at home for the first two weeks after the baby is born.

I have thought about persuading him to do something else, but I know his personality won’t fit other careers. He is an honest man who doesn’t know how to flatter or build relations. Being a police officer is the best job for someone whose only hobby is studying cases.

Don’t think I’m too considerate or a great person. It’s my husband’s work, and loving him means accepting that. As a family, we try to understand each other. I think he is a responsible man because he devotes all his time outside of work to me.

All women love handbags and lipsticks as gifts, but my husband sent me two heatproof tongs to protect my hands when I am cooking. They are identical, and he said one is a backup in case I break the other.

But he also sends photos and videos every day, even if they arrive too late for me to reply.

Pang Liyun spoke with Zhao Yimeng.