Qiao Lanshu had originally planned to visit Zhong Mei’s department store today, lend her a hand, and chat with her for a while.
After all, Zhong Mei had two children at home—both boys, and particularly mischievous ones. Whenever the children were on vacation, Zhong Mei was busy beyond belief.
But Qin Qiao’an didn’t want to go, and Xiaxia didn’t like playing with those two boys.
Besides, Qin Qiao’an would be home alone, and there wouldn’t even be any lunch for him.
As his mother, Qiao Lanshu worried every day about whether her child had anything to eat.
Now that Qin Qiao’an wasn’t going out, after Qiao Lanshu and Xiaxia left, she said to Xiaxia, “Why don’t we go home for lunch today? Your brother’s home alone, and he can’t cook. We can’t just let him go hungry.”
As the first child in the family, Qin Qiao’an should have been sensible and steady, and capable of handling every household chore.
Unfortunately, he was lucky enough to have Han Ye, his older brother, above him.
Han Ye had taken on the responsibilities of the eldest son and done everything for him.
As a result, Qin Qiao’an couldn’t do many things. For instance, he didn’t know how to cook.
Qiao Lanshu had never demanded that he learn.
She felt that cooking wasn’t difficult. If he wanted to learn, he could pick it up easily.
Qin Yuanzheng hadn’t known how to cook when he was young either, but after spending several years in the military, he became an all-rounder, to say nothing of cooking.
When it came to raising children, Qiao Lanshu was fairly hands-off.
The children could do whatever they wanted, as long as they didn’t let their grades slip and could make it into high school. That was her only requirement.
But now, she wondered whether she had been too lax with them.
She pushed her bicycle and walked with Xiaxia toward the entrance of the compound.
Xiaxia linked her arm through her mother’s as they walked, but after only a short distance, Qiao Lanshu suddenly stopped.
Xiaxia looked up at her. “Mom, why did you stop?”
Qiao Lanshu stood there silently for a moment before turning to look at Xiaxia.
Xiaxia gazed back at her innocently.
Everyone said Xiaxia looked a lot like her mother, but what she had inherited from Qiao Lanshu was mainly her fair skin and face shape. She had a pale complexion, an oval face, and dimples when she smiled.
Her eyes and brows, however, resembled Qin Yuanzheng more, and she had a high, straight nose, which made her features look even more refined.
Xiaxia also clearly took after him in height. Tall and slender, she was truly beautiful.
Qiao Lanshu stared at her for quite a while.
Xiaxia began to feel uncomfortable under her gaze. “Oh, Mom, why are you looking at me like that?”
Qiao Lanshu smiled. “I was just admiring how amazing I am to have given birth to such a beautiful daughter.”
Xiaxia: “…”
She had grown up being showered with compliments, so she was completely unfazed. Her expression remained unchanged, and she wore an almost expressionless face.
“Mom, what are you really trying to say?”
Qiao Lanshu lowered her voice. “Is there any boy at school you like?”
Xiaxia: “…”
She frowned and shook her head. “Of course not. They’re all so childish, just like kindergarteners. They’re terribly boring. Mom, you can stop asking me questions like that from now on.”
Qiao Lanshu was speechless.
“You skipped grades, and the students in your class are all older than you, right? You still think they’re childish?”
Xiaxia nodded. “Extremely childish. I can’t even be bothered to talk to them, let alone like them. Mom, don’t ask me this kind of question again.”
Qiao Lanshu: “…”
She lowered her voice again. “Then tell me—does your brother have someone he likes at school?”
This time, Xiaxia fell silent.
She thought for a moment before answering, “I don’t know either. After he started middle school, most of his classmates changed. I knew some of them before and could have asked, but I don’t know many of his current classmates, so I really have no idea.”
There had been more students in elementary school and fewer in middle school.
That was because the middle school took in students from three nearby elementary schools.
Back when Xiaxia and her brother had attended the same elementary school, Qin Qiao’an often went to look for her, so their classmates knew each other as well.
Now that Qin Qiao’an had started middle school, Xiaxia no longer knew the people in his class.
Qiao Lanshu walked a few more steps. Then she lowered her voice and said, “We’re not going to Aunt Mei’s today. We’re going to follow your brother.”
At that, Xiaxia’s eyes widened slightly. She looked at Qiao Lanshu and whispered, “Mom, secretly following someone doesn’t seem very proper.”
As a teacher, Qiao Lanshu felt a little guilty too.
She lowered her voice. “Well… it’s not really a big deal, is it? I’m following my own son. I’m only worried that he might go astray. If a child turns out badly, the mother bears some responsibility too. Don’t you agree?”
Xiaxia was silent for a moment before nodding. “Mom, I do think there’s something off about Brother too. But how are we supposed to keep an eye on him?”
Qiao Lanshu left her bicycle in the parking shed at the compound.
Then she took Xiaxia back to a spot near their home.
The two of them hid behind a shrub and peered out through the gaps between the branches.
It was the first time either of them had done anything like this, and they found it rather thrilling.
Xiaxia usually acted like a little adult, but at that moment, her eyes were shining faintly with excitement.
She lowered her voice. “Mom, I bet Brother will come out in five minutes.”
Qiao Lanshu whispered back, “Your brother is so impatient. Do you really think he can hold out that long?”
Xiaxia was usually calm and unhurried, but Qin Qiao’an was rather hotheaded and had very little patience.
Han Ye was somewhat irritable by nature, but he was fairly steady in daily life.
As for someone as impatient as Qin Qiao’an, Qiao Lanshu silently calculated.
She hadn’t even counted to sixty when Qin Qiao’an really did come out.
The mother and daughter’s expressions instantly turned solemn.
Qin Qiao’an had clearly said he didn’t want to go out. He had even asked Qiao Lanshu to bring him lunch and buy him some egg tarts.
But now, they had barely left, and he had slipped out right behind them.
What was he up to?
Qiao Lanshu and Xiaxia exchanged a glance before quietly following him.
However, it was broad daylight, so they couldn’t get too close or they would easily be noticed.
The two of them kept their distance.
After turning down two streets, they lost him.
The mother and daughter stood at a fork in the road, both completely dumbfounded.
Xiaxia scratched her head, looking a little confused. “Mom, I think we lost him.”
Qiao Lanshu stood there silently for several seconds before saying, “We’ll each take one road and see if we can find him. We’ll meet back here in an hour. Got it?”
Xiaxia nodded gravely, then parted ways with her mother.
The two of them took separate roads to search for Qin Qiao’an.
That boy could really run. Neither of them found him again, and they had no idea where he had gone.
Xiaxia had been walking along the street for a while when she ran into Zhou Dingwen, a neighbor from the compound.
Zhou Dingwen was also in high school, one grade above Han Ye. The children from families in the compound all followed roughly the same path.
First, they attended high school. After graduating, they joined the military, served for two years, and then took the military academy entrance exam.
If they were admitted, they were practically guaranteed to become officers.
If they failed to get into a military academy, they could only leave the service and return home to find work.
Competition at military academies was fierce. So although these children of influential military families enjoyed comfortable lives thanks to their privileged backgrounds, their training and studies were anything but easy.
After Zhou Dingwen started high school, he rarely showed up around the compound either. Xiaxia used to see him often, but she had seen less and less of him over the past two years.
When Zhou Dingwen spotted her, he called out at once, “Xiaxia, what brings you here?”
Xiaxia stopped by the roadside and glanced at him. “Brother Dingwen, I… I just came out for a walk.”
Zhou Dingwen looked around. There wasn’t even a bookstore on this street.
He smiled and walked over. “Where are you going now?”
Xiaxia shook her head. “Nowhere. I’m going to find my mom.”
“Where’s Aunt Qiao? I’ll take you to her.”
Xiaxia nodded and walked back with him. Along the way, she asked, “Brother Dingwen, did you see my brother just now?”
Zhou Dingwen slipped the stack of documents he was carrying into his backpack and asked casually, “Which brother?”
“Qin Qiao’an.”
Zhou Dingwen thought for a moment. “No, I didn’t. Did you come looking for him?”
Xiaxia sighed, looking troubled.
She didn’t say anything else, while Zhou Dingwen occasionally glanced back at her.
After a while, he asked again, “Xiaxia, your brothers are definitely going to join the military, right? What about you? Are you going to join the military someday?”
Many girls who grew up in military compounds went on to join performing troupes or become military doctors.
Zhou Dingwen had a cousin who had joined a performing troupe.
He thought that with Xiaxia’s beautiful looks and lovely voice, she would have no trouble getting in.
But Xiaxia shook her head and glanced at him. “No. I don’t want to be a soldier.”
She had never dreamed of joining the military.
Her dream was to become a writer. She loved writing.
Of course, if possible, she also wanted to become a teacher like her mother.
After all, teaching and writing didn’t conflict with each other. Many of her favorite writers were university professors.
Zhou Dingwen asked curiously, “Then what do you want to do in the future? Do you have a plan?”
Xiaxia: “…”
Xiaxia thought Zhou Dingwen asked far too many questions.
Even her mother had never asked her things like that.
Besides, she wouldn’t be starting middle school until September, when she turned thirteen. Those questions were still far too early for her.
So she shook her head without answering.
Seeing that she didn’t want to talk, Zhou Dingwen didn’t press her.
However, when they reached the end of the street, he suddenly said, “My dream is to become a pilot—a fighter pilot. But my dad says I don’t meet the requirements, so now I’m thinking that maybe I could become a sniper instead.”
Xiaxia thought that her Brother Han Ye seemed to want to become a sniper too. Recently, she had even seen Han Ye assembling a gun from a pile of scattered parts.
Come to think of it, where had the gun come from in the first place?
Could Director Han have given it to him?
There probably weren’t any bullets in it, right?
Zhou Dingwen was still talking to her, but Xiaxia had stopped listening.
When they reached the end of the street, Xiaxia saw Qiao Lanshu already standing there.
She immediately waved goodbye to Zhou Dingwen and ran over to Qiao Lanshu.
Zhou Dingwen shook his head helplessly, then walked over and greeted her. “Aunt Qiao.”
Qiao Lanshu looked at Zhou Dingwen. He was young and handsome, with a refined, scholarly air. She thought he seemed like a fine young man.
She smiled. “Oh, it’s Dingwen. What are you up to?”
“I went to print some materials. I’m heading home to study now.”
Qiao Lanshu said goodbye to him. Zhou Dingwen glanced at Xiaxia once more. Xiaxia waved at him, and he turned and left.
Qiao Lanshu watched until Zhou Dingwen was out of sight, then lowered her voice and asked Xiaxia, “What did Zhou Dingwen say to you just now?”
Qiao Lanshu was beginning to feel a little paranoid.
She had started to suspect everyone she saw.
Before, she would never have thought in that direction.
But now…
She whispered to Xiaxia, “Why do I feel that Zhou Dingwen’s eyes looked a little strange when he was looking at you? Does he like you?”
Xiaxia: “…”
Xiaxia stared at Qiao Lanshu in shock. She rubbed the goose bumps on her arms and glared at her. “Mom, wake up. I’m not even thirteen yet! What are you talking about?”
If Qiao Lanshu hadn’t kept bringing it up, Xiaxia would never even have considered the question of who liked whom.
Why did girls have to like boys? Or rather, why would boys like girls?
Boys and girls couldn’t even play well together.
Qiao Lanshu looked at Xiaxia. “Xiaxia, you’re a complete block of wood.”
But she quickly added, “Though the way you are now is pretty good. Being a blockhead is fine. Whatever you do, don’t start developing feelings yet. The moment you do, your father and I will have a headache.”
Xiaxia was utterly speechless.
It was the first time mother and daughter had gone out to follow someone—and they had chosen to follow Qin Qiao’an—but in the end, they had failed to keep up with him.
The two of them walked down the street arm in arm, whispering and discussing the situation for a long while. But neither of them had any experience with this sort of thing.
So Qiao Lanshu sighed and said, “Forget it. Let’s eat first. We don’t get to go shopping together very often. Mom will treat you to a proper meal.”
Qiao Lanshu took Xiaxia to a restaurant. Neither of them had much of an appetite, so Qiao Lanshu ordered only two dishes, a soup, and two bowls of rice.
They were halfway through the meal when Xiaxia’s eyes suddenly lit up. She lowered her voice and said, “Mom, I think I see my brother.”
Qiao Lanshu put down her bowl and chopsticks. “Where?”
Xiaxia pointed across the street. “Over there, at the entrance to that convenience store.”
Qiao Lanshu looked over and immediately saw him.
Her expression darkened at once. She stood up and said, “Come on. Let’s go take a look.”
Xiaxia glanced anxiously at the food. “But, Mom, we haven’t finished eating.”
Qiao Lanshu turned to the restaurant server. “Could you please pack this up for us? I’ll come back for it in a little while.”
The server agreed.
Qiao Lanshu grabbed Xiaxia and hurried out of the restaurant, heading straight for the convenience store across the street.
The convenience store was tiny. Apart from a few shelves, it had a long wooden bench along the left wall.
Qin Qiao’an was sitting on that bench now, holding a popsicle. A girl sat beside him. She was fairly pretty, with delicate features and a simple, plainly dressed appearance. She spoke in a soft voice and held a popsicle of her own.
Every so often, Qin Qiao’an leaned toward her and spoke in a low voice. They whispered together, looking quite intimate. No one knew what they were talking about, but they seemed awfully happy.
Qiao Lanshu took only one look before turning away and pulling Xiaxia against the wall.
She pressed a hand to the spot beneath her nose, looking as though she were about to faint.
Xiaxia: “…”
With a solemn expression, Xiaxia held her up and whispered, “Mom, you have to hold on!”
