Han Ye had no idea why Xiaxia had suddenly gotten angry.
That afternoon, Xiaxia really did refuse to eat with him and returned to school early.
Han Ye had finally managed to get a day off and come out, only for his good friend Zhou Dingwen to leave early, while Xiaxia refused to go shopping or eat with him either.
This left Han Ye feeling rather depressed.
He couldn’t figure out why Xiaxia was angry, and wondered if Zhou Dingwen had somehow offended her.
Even after returning to the military base, he was still complaining about Zhou Dingwen to his roommates, saying that Zhou Dingwen was no good at all. He had treated him like a brother, yet Zhou Dingwen had actually dared to have designs on his sister.
Han Ye wanted to call and give Zhou Dingwen a piece of his mind, but Zhou Dingwen wasn’t at the unit, so he had no choice but to wait a few more days.
Fortunately, after more than half a month passed, Han Ye gradually began to figure things out.
After all, he was a man in his twenties, not an ignorant little boy who understood nothing.
He carefully replayed what had happened that day and felt that Xiaxia’s reaction had been strange.
Zhou Dingwen had wanted to hold Xiaxia’s hand because he liked her.
Then if Xiaxia had held his hand, that must have been because she liked him too, right?
But hadn’t Xiaxia always found him annoying since they were children?
Han Ye couldn’t make sense of it.
Just because he and Xiaxia had held hands twice, Han Ye had been sleeping badly for days. Even his dreams were filled with Xiaxia holding his hand.
In his dreams, he kept asking Xiaxia, “Why did you hold my hand? Didn’t you always find me annoying?”
But the Xiaxia in his dreams still ignored him.
Lying in bed in the middle of the night, he could even feel that his right hand was slippery, as if he could still sense the touch of Xiaxia’s hand.
The whole thing was just strange.
Maybe he had been thinking about it too much, which was why he kept dreaming about it at night.
Even more terrifyingly, one night Han Ye dreamed that Xiaxia kissed him. Not only had he not resisted in the dream, he had actually enjoyed it. And then…
In the middle of the night, he got up to wash his sheets and pants.
Han Ye felt as though the sky had collapsed.
How was he supposed to face Xiaxia—or Qiao Lanshu and the others—after this?
Because of that, Han Ye didn’t go to see Xiaxia again for several months.
…
After Qin Qiaoxia returned home, she reflected on things as well. She felt that Han Ye had always treated her as a younger sister.
Although she didn’t have the kind of sibling affection for Han Ye that one would normally have between brother and sister, any other kind of relationship between them would be inappropriate.
She had to take Han Ye’s feelings into consideration.
If Han Ye really regarded her only as a younger sister and had no other feelings for her, then if she made her feelings clear, wouldn’t they lose even their brother-and-sister relationship?
Qin Qiaoxia thought about it. If she and Han Ye were to become complete strangers who no longer had anything to do with each other, she didn’t think she would be willing to accept that.
So she decided to let it go.
She was still young, after all, and there was no need to rush into matters of the heart.
Maybe she would meet a man more charming than Han Ye in the future.
After all, her father was a military district commander, and there were so many young men in the army. Surely she could find someone with a good bearing.
After Xiaxia thought things through, she stopped looking for Han Ye as well.
Although they were both in the same city, they didn’t see each other again for several months.
When her holiday arrived, Qin Qiaoxia pulled her suitcase to the train station. That was when she saw Han Ye again.
Han Ye knew that she was going home for the holiday, so he had come to pick her up.
He had driven over and was waiting outside the school gate, just about to go inside to look for her.
As luck would have it, he saw her come out.
He scratched his head and walked over awkwardly. “Xia'er, you’re going home today. Why didn’t you tell me? I almost missed you.”
It was Qiao Lanshu who had called Han Ye to tell him that Xiaxia would be taking the train home that day. The train station was chaotic and crowded, and Xiaxia was a young girl traveling there alone for the first time. Qiao Lanshu was simply too worried to let her go by herself.
After all, there were far too many children abducted at train stations.
Xiaxia was so beautiful—what if someone kidnapped her?
Since Qiao Lanshu had called him, Han Ye had no choice but to make time, no matter how busy he was.
So he had hurried over that day.
Xiaxia was a little surprised to see him.
But after thinking about it, she realized that this really was something her mother would do.
Her mother was always worrying about her, constantly afraid that she would be abducted by human traffickers and sold to some remote mountain village.
Xiaxia looked Han Ye up and down before saying, “Aren’t you very busy at the military base? I was afraid I’d disturb you. Besides, I’m only going to the train station. I’ll be fine on my own.”
Han Ye didn’t dare look at Xiaxia’s face, much less meet her eyes.
This tall, strapping young man was usually arrogant and overbearing when reprimanding people at the military base. Yet in front of Xiaxia, he kept his head lowered and seemed completely at a loss.
He came over, took Xiaxia’s suitcase, and placed it in the car. Only then did he say, “Oh, stop that. How could a little girl like you know how dangerous society can be? Get in. I’ll drive you home.”
Xiaxia was startled. “You’re driving me home? All the way to Wencheng?”
Han Ye nodded, still refusing to look at her. “I took a few days off. I’ll drive you home and visit Mom while I’m there.”
Han Ye hadn’t gone home during the New Year holiday the previous year, and he had been busy ever since. This time, he had finally taken some annual leave.
When Xiaxia heard that he was taking her back to Wencheng, she felt a little happy.
After getting into the car, she asked, “How many days are you staying at home this time?”
Han Ye kept his eyes on the road and answered expressionlessly, “Seven days.”
Xiaxia asked again, “So you’re going home to visit your family? Did you call Uncle Han to tell him?”
Han Ye said, “What’s there to tell him? Won’t he know once I get home?”
Xiaxia fell silent.
Han Ye added, “But I did tell Mom. I said I’d taken leave to drive you home and visit the family while I was there. I also told her that I might not be able to come home for the New Year this year.”
Returning home for the New Year required drawing lots. Not everyone could get permission to go home.
As a company commander, Han Ye had heavy responsibilities and often had to remain at the military base.
Still, he could usually take leave to visit his family, so whether he could return home during the New Year didn’t matter much to him.
After all, during a time when the entire country was celebrating reunion, there had to be people standing guard in silence.
After talking with Han Ye for a while, Xiaxia realized that he seemed not to have looked at her even once.
It wasn’t her imagination. From the moment they had met, Han Ye hadn’t looked at her at all!
Why wouldn’t he look at her?
Was he afraid to, or simply unwilling?
What was Han Ye feeling guilty about?
Xiaxia really wanted to ask him, but since he was driving and still had several hours of highway ahead of him, she decided not to.
Along the way, Han Ye stopped to rest for a while and brought Xiaxia a large amount of snacks: dried beef, biscuits, apples, bananas, sunflower seeds, red dates, and all sorts of other things.
He had prepared an entire pile of food.
Even Xiaxia was a little stunned.
She picked up an apple and took a bite, then looked at Han Ye. “Brother Ye, where did you get all this food?”
Sitting in the driver’s seat, Han Ye took snacks out of the bag one by one as he said, “I bought them especially for you. It’ll take several hours to get there. Wouldn’t you be bored if you had nothing to eat along the way?”
Han Ye paused, glanced at Xiaxia, then quickly lowered his head. He took out a can of peaches and handed it to her. “Besides, there’s no town or village anywhere along this road. If you get hungry and want something to eat, there won’t be anywhere to buy it.”
Xiaxia nibbled on her apple while eyeing Han Ye suspiciously.
She thought he was acting strange.
Han Ye had always treated her and Qin Qiao'an well since they were little, often buying them stationery and snacks.
But Han Ye was actually a careless person.
Their family went out together fairly often, yet he had never prepared food for her before.
Why was he suddenly being so thoughtful this time? He was worried she would get bored, and worried she wouldn’t have enough to eat.
Xiaxia was finding it a little difficult to get used to.
She looked at Han Ye and asked quietly, “Brother Ye, did you do something guilty?”
Han Ye jolted in alarm and nearly jumped out of his seat.
He immediately looked up at Xiaxia, swallowed, and said somewhat nervously, “What are you talking about? I’ve always conducted myself properly. What could I possibly have done?”
Xiaxia studied his expression. “If you didn’t do anything guilty, why are you so nervous?”
Han Ye clicked his tongue, reached over, and flicked her on the forehead. In a deep voice, he said, “When was I nervous? All this food still can’t keep you from talking. Honestly, aren’t you usually pretty quiet?”
With that, he settled back into his seat, fastened his seat belt, and said, “Let’s go. We’re heading home.”
He started the car and continued down the road.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Xiaxia ate while watching the scenery outside. Every now and then, she turned to look at Han Ye.
His expression was definitely strange. He was obviously feeling guilty.
And he even had the nerve to turn it around on her.
Xiaxia grumbled inwardly, unaware that Han Ye was already in a complete panic.
After driving for more than half an hour, he finally couldn’t take it anymore and said, “Stop looking at me all the time. You’re distracting me. Just eat your food.”
Xiaxia: “…”
Driving while distracted really was dangerous.
So Xiaxia stopped looking at him, and the two of them didn’t speak again. They returned to Wencheng in silence.
Qiao Lanshu and Qin Yuanzheng knew they were coming back today, so they had both left work early. They went to the market, bought a chicken, some pig’s feet, and pork, then returned home and immediately began making steamed buns, simmering chicken soup, and preparing braised pig’s feet.
After Xiaxia came home, she put her suitcase in her room and went to help Qiao Lanshu make the buns.
Qiao Lanshu pulled Xiaxia close and asked about school.
In those days, making phone calls wasn’t cheap, but Qiao Lanshu had never been one to scrimp on that. She often called Xiaxia, so naturally she already knew what had been going on at school.
But now that her daughter was home, she still couldn’t help asking a few more questions.
After earning her master’s degree two years earlier, Qiao Lanshu had returned to her alma mater, Wencheng University, to teach. She often went away for training and research, and even knew some of the teachers at Xiaxia’s school.
Once mother and daughter started talking, they showed no sign of stopping.
Qin Yuanzheng kneaded dough nearby while listening to them chat.
Han Ye was crouched beside him, listening as well.
Seeing him standing there in a daze, Qin Yuanzheng found it strange. Han Ye hadn’t been home in two years, yet he was unusually quiet.
Whenever Han Ye came back, he always had plenty to say. Either he would tell Qin Yuanzheng about life in the army, or he would boast to Qiao Lanshu about his achievements there.
This was the first time he had ever been so silent.
But Qiao Lanshu was busy talking with Xiaxia and preparing dinner, so she hadn’t had a chance to ask Han Ye what was wrong.
Qin Yuanzheng called Han Ye over and asked him, “Has anything happened in your unit?”
Han Ye stood beside Qin Yuanzheng and watched him knead the dough.
There were already strands of white in Qin Yuanzheng’s hair, and wrinkles had appeared on his face, but Han Ye didn’t dare underestimate him.
No one should think that just because Qin Yuanzheng was getting older, he was no longer formidable. If he found out that Han Ye had feelings for Xiaxia, he would probably break Han Ye’s legs on the spot.
Because he felt guilty, Han Ye was especially respectful in front of Qin Yuanzheng. “N-No, nothing happened. Everything’s been fine lately.”
Qin Yuanzheng rolled up his sleeves, revealing arms with strikingly well-defined muscles.
Han Ye glanced at them and silently took half a step back.
Qin Yuanzheng noticed and looked at him in confusion. Frowning, he asked, “What’s wrong with you? Is something going on that you can’t tell me?”
Han Ye swallowed and scratched his head. “Really, nothing’s wrong…”
Under Qin Yuanzheng’s stare, Han Ye took another two steps back and hurriedly came up with an excuse to escape. “Well, Uncle Qin, I’m going back to my place to take a look. I haven’t been home in two years. My dad must be missing me.”
With that, he ran to the kitchen doorway and called out to Qiao Lanshu, “Mom, I’m going home for a bit.”
Qiao Lanshu quickly asked, “Remember to come back for the steamed buns, okay? Oh, and bring your father and Aunt Zhao over for dinner. Tell them they don’t need to cook tonight.”
Han Ye glanced at Xiaxia. She was sitting beside Qiao Lanshu and had just looked up at him.
His heart gave a sudden leap, and he immediately turned around and ran.
Qiao Lanshu froze for a moment, then chased him to the kitchen doorway and shouted outside, “Hey, you little rascal! Did you hear me? Remember to come back for dinner!”
Han Ye didn’t answer. In the blink of an eye, he had run out the door.
As expected of someone who had trained in the army for so many years—he was incredibly fast.
Qiao Lanshu stood at the kitchen doorway for several seconds before turning to Qin Yuanzheng, who was kneading dough beside the table. “That boy’s pretty impressive. He runs so fast. If he entered the Olympics, he’d definitely win a gold medal, wouldn’t he? He’d bring glory to the country.”
Qin Yuanzheng: “…”
Qin Yuanzheng shook his head helplessly. “I don’t know what’s gotten into Han Ye. He seems preoccupied this time. When I talked to him just now, he was distracted too. I have no idea what he’s thinking.”
Qiao Lanshu returned to the kitchen and continued making buns with Xiaxia. As she worked, she said, “Han Ye’s already in his twenties. Could he be seeing someone?”
Qin Yuanzheng’s hands paused. Only then did he say, “If he can actually find someone, that would be a good thing. Just look at him—he’s built like a bull, wild and unruly, talks too much, and has a stubborn temper. He charges ahead without thinking. I’m worried he’ll never find a wife.”
Han Ye had improved a lot over the past few years. After all, he was already a company commander, with a whole group of soldiers under him. He couldn’t afford to keep acting recklessly.
In the past, he had been rather impulsive and had gotten into plenty of fights in the army. Fortunately, he had won every time, so he hadn’t embarrassed Qin Yuanzheng.
Hearing this, Xiaxia suddenly chimed in, “Dad, don’t say that about Brother Ye. I think he’s a good person. And life in the army hasn’t been easy for him these past few years.”
Qin Yuanzheng snorted. “Not easy? If it hasn’t been easy, that’s because he brought it on himself. He was always getting into fights in the army—of course it wouldn’t be easy. If only he were a little more steady, his commanding officer wouldn’t have had to complain to me time and time again.”
Qiao Lanshu smiled. “If Han Ye really is in love, that would be wonderful news. I wonder which girl he’s taken a fancy to. When he comes back tonight, I’ll have to question him properly.”
As she spoke, she turned to Xiaxia and asked, “Xiaxia, do you know about this? Did he tell you?”
Xiaxia: “……”
