Liu Wenli took Qin Qiaoxia by the hand and lowered her voice. “Your big brother really is hopelessly dense.”
Before, Liu Wenli had thought Han Ye simply wasn’t interested in her. But now it seemed he was just a block of wood.
Liu Wenli continued, “Are all the men in the army like this? This clueless?”
Qin Qiaoxia thought of Zhou Dingwen just now. “Not necessarily, right?”
Brother Dingwen had figured things out pretty early.
Her own older brother, Qin Qiao'an, was pretty sharp too. He didn’t seem like the type to mature late in matters of love.
When Qin Qiao'an had called home before, he’d learned that she was going to college and immediately warned her not to start dating casually, afraid she might be deceived or something.
Perhaps Han Ye wasn’t slow to catch on. Maybe he had simply never considered the matter of men and women.
After all, he had spent all these years in the army and was always saying that his sniper rifle was his wife, and that he planned to spend his whole life with his gun.
For someone like that, it was truly hard to say when he might develop feelings for a woman.
The two girls walked close together, chatting in low voices.
Han Ye followed behind them, and the more he thought about it, the more something seemed off.
He wasn’t actually stupid. When he first heard Liu Wenli say that Zhou Dingwen liked Xiaxia, he simply hadn’t thought of it in romantic terms, which was why he hadn’t reacted.
But now he had caught on. He might have been a little late, but it wasn’t too late.
Frowning, he walked over to Xiaxia, grabbed her by the arm, and asked, “Xia'er, when you went boating with Zhou Dingwen just now, did he say something to you?”
Xiaxia exchanged a glance with Liu Wenli. Liu Wenli coughed and quietly moved aside, leaving Xiaxia and Han Ye to talk.
Xiaxia hesitated before saying, “Actually, Brother Dingwen didn’t really say much.”
Han Ye snorted. “Just tell me the truth. Don’t hide anything.”
Since he was asking so directly, Xiaxia decided to tell him. “Brother Dingwen said that he and I were childhood sweethearts. Then he tried to hold my hand.”
The moment Han Ye heard this, he blew up. “What childhood sweethearts? What does he have to do with being your childhood sweetheart? I’m your childhood sweetheart, aren’t I?”
When he reached that point, Han Ye paused, then quickly added, “No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, he wasn’t close to you when you were little, so you two don’t count as childhood sweethearts. You’re young, and he’s trying to deceive you…”
As he spoke, he suddenly thought of something else and continued, “No, wait. You said he tried to hold your hand? Why would he do that for no reason? Can a girl’s hand just be held whenever he wants? What’s wrong with him?”
Even as Han Ye ranted, he couldn’t help thinking that he hadn’t even held Xiaxia’s hand before.
Xiaxia had already been living in Wencheng when she was born.
Han Ye had been attending school in Longcheng, so he had barely seen Xiaxia at all.
By the time Han Ye went to Wencheng, Xiaxia was already in elementary school. At that age, he couldn’t exactly hold a little girl’s hand.
Besides, during those years, he had been too busy taking Qin Qiao'an everywhere to run wild and hadn’t spent much time with Xiaxia.
Although he and Xiaxia had known each other since childhood, they had never really been that close.
Holding hands…
He lowered his head and glanced at Xiaxia’s hand. “He really held your hand?”
After listening to him rant in a frenzy for so long, Qin Qiaoxia shook her head. “No. I refused him, and then I rowed the boat back.”
Zhou Dingwen was probably in a terrible mood by now.
Qin Qiaoxia figured that when he came home in the future, he probably wouldn’t visit the Qin family anymore. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be awkward for the two of them to see each other?
Hearing this, Han Ye let out a sigh of relief. “You should have rejected him! That Zhou Dingwen has wanted to steal my little sister from me since we were kids. Luckily, he ran off quickly this time. Otherwise, I would have beaten him up.”
Looking at Han Ye’s expression, Xiaxia sighed inwardly.
Han Ye was still cursing Zhou Dingwen. “That bastard keeps saying he wants to be my best friend for life, then turns around and tries to pursue my sister. Has he even looked in a mirror? What makes him think he’s good enough for you?”
Xiaxia said nothing, simply listening as he continued to grumble and curse.
Han Ye really did seem angry.
Liu Wenli had been watching from the side for quite some time. She quietly pulled Qin Qiaoxia aside and whispered, “Qiaoxia, why is your brother so angry? Is it just because Zhou Dingwen likes you?”
Qin Qiaoxia shook her head. “My brother has always been like this. He gets angry whenever any boy gets a little too close to me.”
Come to think of it, Qin Qiao'an never acted this way, and he was her actual brother.
Liu Wenli said, “This godbrother of yours isn’t even your real brother. Could it be that he likes you?”
Qin Qiaoxia turned to look at her. “Huh?”
Her heart began to pound. Lowering her voice, she asked, “Why would you say that?”
Liu Wenli whispered, “The way he looks at you is strange. It doesn’t look like the way a brother looks at his sister.”
Liu Wenli had cousins and various older brothers of her own. To be honest, she felt that some older brothers did care about their younger sisters, but they didn’t have this kind of possessiveness.
Han Ye was possessive of Xiaxia. Earlier, he hadn’t even been happy about Zhou Dingwen going boating with her.
The more Liu Wenli thought about it, the more convinced she became. “It has to be that. Your wonderful big brother definitely has feelings for you, but he’s embarrassed to say anything. After all, you two are brother and sister.”
Qin Qiaoxia: “…”
Qin Qiaoxia lowered her voice. “What brother and sister? He isn’t actually my brother.”
They weren’t even formally god-siblings. Qin Yuanzheng and Qiao Lanshu had never acknowledged him as their godson.
After all, according to local customs, becoming godparents or godchildren required certain ceremonies, such as burning incense before the ancestors.
People took such things quite seriously.
But neither family had ever brought it up.
At this thought, Qin Qiaoxia realized that she was clever enough to see the possibility. Could it be that both families had never mentioned the matter because they had long intended for the two of them to become in-laws?
Qin Qiaoxia had guessed only half the truth.
Qiao Lanshu and Qin Yuanzheng truly regarded Han Ye as their own son. They had never considered making him their son-in-law.
Han Wenlin, however, had thought differently.
Ever since Xiaxia was born, Han Wenlin had secretly hoped that she would become his daughter-in-law.
It was just that Qiao Lanshu’s family had been too good to them and had helped them far too much, so he had never dared bring up the idea.
Han Wenlin knew how much Qin Yuanzheng cherished his daughter. He also knew perfectly well how troublesome Han Ye had been from childhood onward.
If he dared suggest a marriage alliance, Qin Yuanzheng would probably beat him black and blue.
Still, he couldn’t help wondering: what if?
What if his rotten son suddenly came to his senses and fell in love with Xiaxia?
So, even though Qiao Lanshu had once suggested formally taking Han Ye as their godson, Han Wenlin always brushed it off by saying that Han Ye was already her real son, and that making him a godson would only make them less close.
And yet, so many years had passed. Xiaxia was already in college, and Han Ye still showed no signs of waking up to his feelings. It seemed there was no hope.
Behind his son’s back, Han Wenlin had often complained to his wife about Han Ye, saying that the boy was useless and whatnot.
Of course, none of the children knew about any of this.
Qin Qiaoxia was lost in her thoughts. Then she glanced at Han Ye.
Han Ye still looked awful. Standing beside Xiaxia, he said, “Qin Qiaoxia, I’m giving you a serious reminder: You’re still young and still in school. There’s no rush to date. You can wait until you’re older and more mature, then take your time thinking about it! A great man once put it very well: Love without marriage as its goal is just hooliganism! Don’t be a hooligan, and don’t let anyone else be one with you either. Understand?”
Qin Qiaoxia: “…”
Liu Wenli: “…”
Liu Wenli was practically dumbstruck.
What on earth was he talking about? She wanted to laugh so badly, but she didn’t dare, because Han Ye looked completely serious.
He meant every word.
Liu Wenli lowered her head and covered her mouth with one hand, struggling desperately to hold back her laughter.
Qin Qiaoxia stared at Han Ye’s solemn expression for several seconds. Then, without warning, she reached out and took his hand.
Han Ye: “???”
Han Ye froze. He didn’t pull away. Instead, after his initial shock, he tightened his grip around Xiaxia’s hand.
His rough palm clasped hers tightly, and he asked nervously, “W-what’s wrong? Why did you suddenly take my hand?”
Xiaxia looked at him for a few seconds before pulling her hand away. She shook her head with a smile and said, “Nothing. Let’s go.”
With that, she pulled Liu Wenli away.
Han Ye: “…”
Han Ye looked at his hand, then at Xiaxia, and hurried after them. “What exactly was that about? Why did you suddenly take my hand?”
Liu Wenli glanced at Han Ye and noticed that his eyes were fixed intently on Xiaxia. There wasn’t room in them for anyone else.
After thinking it over, she said to Xiaxia, “Qiaoxia, I just remembered that I have something to do. I’d better go first.”
Xiaxia paused for a second, then nodded. “All right. Do you want me to walk you back to school?”
How could Liu Wenli possibly let them escort her?
Just look at the two of them. How awkward would it be for her to stay?
She quickly said, “No, no, that’s fine. It’s still broad daylight, and it’s only a short walk. I’ll go first. You stay and have some fun with your brother.”
Xiaxia nodded and said goodbye to her.
Zhou Dingwen had left, and Liu Wenli had left too. Now only Xiaxia and Han Ye remained.
The key point was that when Liu Wenli said goodbye to Han Ye, he hadn’t heard her at all. He hadn’t even glanced at her.
Liu Wenli left feeling speechless.
Xiaxia watched her walk away, then turned to Han Ye. “Brother Ye, Wenli spoke to you when she left just now. Why didn’t you answer her?”
Han Ye folded his arms and frowned at Xiaxia, his mind automatically filtering out the things he didn’t want to hear.
He asked again, “Xia’er, what was that all about just now? Why did you suddenly take my hand?”
Xiaxia: “…”
From childhood to adulthood, they had never held hands.
Han Ye had never held another girl’s hand, either.
This was his first time holding a girl’s hand, and it had turned out to be Xiaxia’s.
Still, he felt relieved that it was Xiaxia. If he had held Liu Wenli’s hand instead, he would definitely have felt uncomfortable.
Just imagining it made him uneasy.
Actually, ever since he had been pestered by a female classmate in middle school, he had disliked being around girls. From middle school all the way through college, he had never been comfortable interacting with them. Whenever he got too close, he felt as if they would start clinging to him and accusing him of fooling around with them.
It was simply too troublesome. It was better to keep his distance and avoid any problems.
Xiaxia looked at Han Ye without saying a word. Then she reached out again and took his hand.
Han Ye: “…”
He lowered his head to look at her, his expression filled with surprise and bewilderment. For a long moment, he said nothing.
Xiaxia held his hand and looked at him. “Han Ye, you know I’ve never thought of you as my brother.”
When she was little, she hadn’t been familiar with Han Ye. Somehow, everyone had decided he was her brother, but she had always been the slow-to-warm-up type. She had lumped Han Ye and Zhou Dingwen together as the neighborhood older brothers.
Later, after Han Ye began staying at her house often, they gradually became closer, and she started thinking of him as a brother. But this brother was different from Qin Qiao’an.
As for when her feelings toward Han Ye had changed, she couldn’t say.
Perhaps it was because she had grown up in a military compound, and she had always been drawn to the rough, roguish air of soldiers like them.
Besides, Xiaxia herself didn’t talk much and was introverted and slow to warm up. She particularly liked Han Ye’s outgoing, carefree personality.
Whenever she was with Han Ye, he always had plenty to say, making everything lively. He had lots of friends, and no matter what he did, he seemed to take it all in stride.
All in all, he was quite attractive.
With Xiaxia holding his hand, Han Ye frowned when he heard this and said unhappily, “Qin Qiaoxia, do you have any conscience? How good have I been to you all these years? When you fell into that dried-up well as a child, I was the one who pulled you out. I rode around on my bicycle looking for you for over an hour, and I was so exhausted I could barely breathe!
“When people bullied you, I was the one who went and got revenge for you. I bought most of your books and notebooks too. And now you’re telling me you’ve never thought of me as your brother? Tell me, do you have any conscience at all?”
Qin Qiaoxia: “…”
She looked up at Han Ye and said expressionlessly, “Han Ye, if a pig were standing in front of me right now, even it would understand what I’m saying.”
Han Ye grew even angrier. “Qin Qiaoxia, don’t push it! How can you call me a pig?”
Qin Qiaoxia: “Brother Ye, you’re giving yourself far too much credit. I mean that you’re worse than a pig.”
Han Ye: “…”
Han Ye suspected that Xiaxia was insulting him.
But he couldn’t understand why.
And all the while, their hands were still clasped together.
Han Ye couldn’t bring himself to be harsh with Xiaxia. He had never snapped at her since they were children.
But now he could tell that something was wrong. His thoughts were a complete mess. One moment he was thinking about how Zhou Dingwen liked Xiaxia and wanted to hold her hand; the next, he was staring at Xiaxia holding his.
He scratched his head and said, “Xiaxia, you can’t do this in the future. Who insults her own brother by calling him a pig? It’s terribly rude.”
Xiaxia expressionlessly pulled her hand back, said, “Oh,” and then added, “I’m going back to school. What about you, Brother Ye?”
Han Ye: “…”
Han Ye glanced at his hand, then stuffed it into his pocket. “It’s still early. I’ll take you out for something to eat first, then walk you back.”
Xiaxia said expressionlessly, “No.”
Han Ye: “No what?”
Xiaxia: “I don’t want to eat with a pig.”
Han Ye: “???”
