Han Ye had practically turned into a nag. Walking beside Xiaxia, he kept reminding her, “Just row around near the shore. The water in the middle of the lake is over two meters deep, and you can’t swim. How dangerous would that be?”
Qin Qiaoxia turned to glance at Liu Wenli, who was looking at Han Ye with a somewhat surprised expression.
She probably hadn’t expected that a soldier who looked so cool and tough could be this long-winded—almost as nagging as her own mother.
Qin Qiaoxia nodded and said perfunctorily, “I know, I know. You be careful too.”
Standing on the shore, Han Ye muttered, “What do I have to be careful about? I’m not the one rowing. Besides, I can swim.”
As soon as he said that, he suddenly realized something. He called out to Zhou Dingwen, “Hey, Zhou Dingwen, get off the boat. Get off.”
Zhou Dingwen was already seated in the boat. He had finally gotten the chance to be alone with Xiaxia and row her around, and he was thrilled about it.
Naturally, he didn’t want to get off.
He looked up at Han Ye and asked, “What now? Is there something else?”
Then Zhou Dingwen added, “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful. Don’t you trust me?”
Han Ye frowned. “No, get off. I’ll row Xiaxia around.”
Zhou Dingwen: “…”
Zhou Dingwen was completely speechless. He waved his hand, picked up the oars, and began rowing.
From the shore, Han Ye continued shouting, “No, I mean, I should be the one rowing Xiaxia around. What are you trying to pull?”
Qin Qiaoxia said to Han Ye, “All right, Brother Ye. Keep Liu Wenli company for a while. We’ll be back soon.”
Han Ye: “…”
Qin Qiaoxia added, “If you want to row, you can row with Wenli.”
Han Ye: “…”
Speechless, Han Ye said, “You’re my sister. Of course I…”
Forget it.
Han Ye was at a loss for words.
He stood on the shore, watching Zhou Dingwen row with a broad smile while chatting with Qin Qiaoxia. Something about it rubbed him the wrong way.
For some reason, at that moment, he found Zhou Dingwen’s smile rather irritating.
How strange. It had been many years since he’d found Zhou Dingwen annoying.
But now, looking at him, that childhood aversion had resurfaced.
Seeing Han Ye standing on the shore and staring intently at Zhou Dingwen and Qin Qiaoxia’s boat, Liu Wenli smiled and said, “You don’t have to worry so much. They’re only rowing. They probably won’t fall into the water.”
Only then did Han Ye turn to look at her. “My sister can’t swim, so they still need to be careful.”
As he spoke, he quickly turned his attention back to Zhou Dingwen and Qin Qiaoxia.
Whether he was truly worried that they might fall into the water, or worried about something else, he couldn’t quite figure it out himself.
Liu Wenli stood beside him on the shore. There were many willow trees planted along the bank, their branches swaying in the breeze. With the beautiful lake stretching out before them, the scenery was truly lovely.
Although Liu Wenli was straightforward by nature, she was still somewhat nervous at the moment. Han Ye was focused entirely on Zhou Dingwen’s boat and didn’t seem inclined to speak with her.
So Liu Wenli had no choice but to find a topic herself.
She asked, “Big Brother Han, do you usually get much time off?”
“Not much. We’re usually pretty busy.”
Han Ye had only taken time off recently because Qin Qiaoxia had come to town for school.
Normally, if there was nothing special going on, he stayed at the base practically every day.
Liu Wenli asked again, “Are there many female soldiers in your unit?”
Han Ye turned to look at her, curious about why she would ask such a question.
“Not many.”
And that was it.
He was practically a man of few words.
Just moments ago, he had been quite talkative while speaking with Zhou Dingwen and Qin Qiaoxia.
But now, he barely said anything.
After trying several times to start a conversation, Liu Wenli understood.
Han Ye simply didn’t want to talk to her.
In other words, he wasn’t interested in her.
Liu Wenli was a clever girl, and she understood that immediately.
She felt a little disappointed. What a pity. It was so rare to meet such an outstanding man.
But Han Ye seemed as though he wasn’t interested in women at all.
After observing the two of them for a while, Liu Wenli discovered that Han Ye was actually quite concerned about Zhou Dingwen…
She decided not to make a nuisance of herself. Finding a stone, she sat down and waited for Qin Qiaoxia to return.
Meanwhile, Qin Qiaoxia was sitting in the boat and occasionally glancing toward Liu Wenli and Han Ye as well.
She had assumed that someone as talkative as Han Ye would have plenty to say to Liu Wenli. Instead, she discovered that the two of them had barely spoken.
Qin Qiaoxia was puzzled. Big Brother Han didn’t usually seem so aloof.
Zhou Dingwen rowed slowly. Looking at Qin Qiaoxia, he said with a smile, “Xiaxia, where do you want to go? How about we row all the way around the lake?”
Qin Qiaoxia nodded. “Sure.”
Zhou Dingwen rowed the boat to the center of the lake, then slowed down. He wanted to spend more time talking with Qin Qiaoxia.
When he noticed her glancing toward Han Ye from time to time, he smiled and said, “What is it? Are you worried that Brother Ye will get angry?”
“I thought he looked upset just now.”
Zhou Dingwen said, “That’s just how he is. Hasn’t he always been like that, ever since we were kids? You’ll get used to it.”
Qin Qiaoxia said nothing.
Zhou Dingwen quietly watched her for a while.
Under the sunlight, Qin Qiaoxia looked even fairer and more beautiful. Her face was small, and her features were delicate. Her glossy black hair was tied high, while the wispy strands over her forehead were tousled by the breeze.
Zhou Dingwen stared at her for some time. When Qin Qiaoxia noticed his gaze, she looked back at him.
Suddenly, Zhou Dingwen reached out to take her hand. In a low voice, he said, “Xiaxia, we grew up together too. We’ve been childhood friends since we were little. Do you… do you think of me as…”
He didn’t finish.
Qin Qiaoxia moved her hand away, avoiding his outstretched fingers.
Zhou Dingwen: “…”
Qin Qiaoxia didn’t look at him. She lowered her head and gazed at the water beside the boat. “Brother Dingwen, let’s go back. Rowing isn’t very interesting.”
Zhou Dingwen: “…”
In that instant, his heart slowly went from burning with nervous anticipation to cold, silent resignation.
Unwilling to give up, he looked at Qin Qiaoxia again. “Xiaxia, do you know that I…”
“Brother Dingwen,” Qin Qiaoxia interrupted, looking at him. “You’ve always been like an older brother to me. Thank you for taking care of me all these years. As a brother, I do like you very much.”
Zhou Dingwen didn’t speak for a long while.
Eventually, he gave a bitter smile and said, “Since I’m your brother, isn’t taking care of my little sister only natural? What are you thanking me for? You’re making things sound so formal between us.”
After saying that, Zhou Dingwen didn’t know what else to say. He fell silent and rowed toward the shore.
The two of them remained quiet. Qin Qiaoxia mainly felt awkward, while Zhou Dingwen was filled with disappointment and helplessness, along with a sense of embarrassment.
He had been secretly in love with Qin Qiaoxia for quite some time. Ever since she started middle school, he had thought this little sister of his was adorable, and he had liked her very much.
But they had both been young then. They still had school and exams to worry about, and he had also needed to go serve in the military.
So he had never planned to confess his feelings.
That was the year he learned Qin Qiaoxia had started college. He felt the time was right, so he took the opportunity to come over and see her.
But in the end…
Zhou Dingwen sighed. It was his first time pursuing a girl, and after being rejected, he had no idea what to say or do.
His mind was a complete mess. All he could do was row the boat back to shore.
Han Ye had been waiting there the whole time. As soon as the boat reached the bank, he stepped forward and offered, “Xia'er, come on. I’ll help you down.”
Zhou Dingwen glanced at Xiaxia. Feeling too embarrassed to reach out and help her himself, he could only watch as Han Ye took her hand and led her away.
Noticing that both Zhou Dingwen and Xiaxia looked a little off, Han Ye frowned and asked, “Xia'er, what’s wrong? Are you seasick?”
Qin Qiaoxia gave him a helpless look. “How could I get seasick in a boat ride this mild?”
Han Ye said, “Your face looked strange to me, so I thought something was wrong. As long as you’re fine.”
Qin Qiaoxia shook her head, not knowing what else to say.
Han Ye really was unbelievably slow on the uptake.
The four of them wandered around by the river for a while and walked through the park. For some reason, Han Ye noticed that Zhou Dingwen and Liu Wenli were both unusually quiet. The two of them barely spoke at all.
Qin Qiaoxia had never been much of a talker to begin with, and Han Ye started to feel the pressure.
After hesitating for a moment, he said, “It’s getting late. How about we go grab something to eat?”
Everyone: “…”
Qin Qiaoxia raised her wrist and checked her watch. It wasn’t even five yet, and the sun hadn’t gone down. Wasn’t it a little early to be having dinner?
She hesitantly said, “Isn’t it a bit too early?”
Zhou Dingwen suddenly said, “I’ll skip dinner with you all. I still have to go back to Wencheng to see my family, and I need to catch a train, so I’ll be going now.”
Han Ye asked, “Didn’t you say you were going back tomorrow?”
Zhou Dingwen glanced at Xiaxia and gave a bitter smile. In a low voice, he said, “It’s been too long since I went home. I should go back earlier… the sooner, the better.”
Han Ye thought about it and decided that made sense. It wasn’t often that Zhou Dingwen got to go home, so the earlier he left, the more time he could spend with his family.
He immediately said, “All right, then. We’ll see you off.”
Zhou Dingwen refused. “No need. I can go by myself. You stay and have dinner with them.”
With that, Zhou Dingwen left.
Han Ye still wanted to say something, but he didn’t get the chance.
Zhou Dingwen left in such a hurry, striding away so quickly that by the time Han Ye finished hesitating, he was already a long way off.
Han Ye scratched his head and said to Qin Qiaoxia, “Why do I feel like Zhou Dingwen was acting strange? Do you think he was upset?”
Qin Qiaoxia shook her head. “How would I know? You’re asking the wrong person.”
Liu Wenli, who was standing beside them, looked thoughtfully at Qin Qiaoxia, then at Zhou Dingwen’s retreating figure. She smiled and said, “Qiao Xia, does that Zhou Dingwen like you?”
Han Ye: “???”
Han Ye abruptly turned to look at Xiaxia. “What? Zhou Dingwen likes you?”
A moment later, he added somewhat blankly, “But isn’t it perfectly normal for him to like Xiaxia? I like Xiaxia too. Everyone in our compound likes Xiaxia.”
Qin Qiaoxia: “…”
Liu Wenli: “…”
