“Think what you want.”
These four words echoed in Ruan Nianchu’s mind, forming a reverberation. Until she finished showering and lay on the bed, she was still pondering whether Li Teng’s answer was affirmative or negative.
In the end, she naturally couldn’t figure it out.
However, there were three other things she understood. Firstly, Li Teng, her current boyfriend, was really aloof. Although he was also cold seven years ago, at most he was just a sharp mountain, far from the point where ice shards were falling like now. Secondly, Li Teng was indeed not interested in her.
As for the third thing, considering the two aforementioned contexts, the fact that Li Teng agreed to date her first to help her out of her predicament showed that he was truly a good son of the people’s Liberation Army, rescuing the distressed and aiding the needy.
Ruan Nianchu couldn’t help but feel moved. She thought, since he was extending a helping hand, she naturally should be generous and repay the favor, taking advantage of him like this, it was only right to reciprocate.
Thinking about it, she opened WeChat and sent Li Teng a red envelope of 199 yuan, with a note in the message: A small token of gratitude, not to be disrespectful.
After about five minutes, the system prompted that the red envelope had been opened by the other party. The next second, Li Teng also sent her a red envelope.
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Swyd Lkydnbw blpkvyvle qsa y xsxldv clqsal ynnlrvkdt vbl ale ldhlzsrl.
Xrldkdt kv, kv oyp vos bwdeale uwyd, fwpv sdl uwyd xsal vbyd obyv pbl bye pldv.
“???” Swyd Lkydnbw pldv y zsdt pvakdt sq iwlpvksd xyajp.
Nk Mldt’p alrzu oyp sdzu sdl pldvldnl: Idsokdtzu tkhkdt yde alnlkhkdt cakclp. Ps usw jdso bso xkzkvyau sqqknlap obs vyjl cakclp yal rwdkpble?
“…” Rv’p ps byae vs nsxxwdknyvl okvb bkx.
Gqvla vbl ale ldhlzsrl kdnkeldv, Swyd Lkydnbw eked’v ynvkhlzu plde xlppytlp vs Nk Mldt yduxsal. Rq pbl eked’v qkde bkx, bl nlavykdzu oswzed’v qkde bla lkvbla. Ebld pbl pnaszzle esod vblka nsdhlapyvksd csm, kv oyp yzz czydj.
Fbl nsdvkdwle vs blzr swv yv vbl zlyadkdt nldvla, yde obld pbl cwxrle kdvs Nk Mldt, pbl oswze pxkzl yde tallv bkx. Tkp alprsdpl oyp yp rszkvl yp lhla, cwv pvkzz yp nsze yp clqsal. Xnnypksdyzzu, yqvla ekprlapkdt, kq bl bye dsvbkdt vs es, bl oswze tkhl bla y akel bsxl.
Swyd Lkydnbw qlzv vbyv pbl oypd’v bkp tkazqaklde yv yzz. Fbl oyp fwpv y bkvnbbkjla.
But that was not bad either. At least her parents no longer suspected her sexual orientation one moment and worried she wouldn’t get married the next, arranging a series of blind dates for her.
The workday ended.
Saturday morning, the sun was shining brightly. Such weather was perfect for Ruan Nianchu, who was a lazy bug and couldn’t wake up after sleeping once. The alarm didn’t even ring for three seconds before she slapped it into silence. She turned over and continued sleeping, completely forgetting about the “date” thing.
At nine twenty, her phone rang. With closed eyes, she ignored it and hung up without looking.
Just as she hung up, it rang again, and she hung up once more.
The caller persisted.
Until the phone rang for the eighth time, Ruan Nianchu couldn’t help it. She groaned impatiently, rubbed her head, and grabbed the phone lying on the pillow. Glancing at the display, there was no name, just a long string of unfamiliar numbers.
Disturbing her peaceful dream, she really wanted to know which jerk was so rude on this fine weekend. So, she slid to answer the call, furrowing her brows and clenching her fists, trying hard to restrain the urge to curse: “Who is this?”
The voice on the other end of the phone was extremely low and cold: “What time is it now?”
In just five words, the dreamer was awakened. Ruan Nianchu was stunned. In the next instant, she turned her head to look at the clock on the wall, it was quarter to ten. Then, her confusion turned into embarrassment.
“…I’m sorry,” she admitted her mistake very quickly, then confessed, “I forgot.”
Li Teng didn’t waste time with her, “I’ll give you ten minutes, get ready and come downstairs.”
Hearing this, Ruan Nianchu’s eyes flickered, saying, “Ten minutes? That’s not even enough time for makeup.” Although it wasn’t a serious relationship, she still thought she should dress up a bit for the date. Why did it feel like a morning assembly?
Li Teng said, “You don’t need makeup.”
She still hesitated, “But, I feel like it’s not appropriate.”
“Ruan Nianchu,” he called her name, his tone cold and slightly displeased, and retorted, “Is there any ugly side of you that I f*cking haven’t seen?”
Ruan Nianchu was momentarily speechless.
Come to think of it, it was true. Back in Cambodia, she used to have a bare face and messy hair all day long, and she still dared to sleep in the same room with him. What couldn’t she dare to do now? Makeup was for others to see, and he didn’t care, so why was she being stubborn about it?
So she brushed her teeth, washed her face, grabbed a random dress from the closet, and went downstairs.
The jeep was parked by the roadside in front of the door.
Ruan Nianchu opened the passenger door, got in, and acted smoothly, looking quite familiar. She sighed inwardly that hitching rides so many times had thickened her skin.
Li Teng was still the same, smoking with an expressionless face.
She lowered her head, fastened her seatbelt, and casually said, “Good morning, Li Teng. Where are you taking me?” Her voice was lazy, naturally sweet due to her slightly husky tone, softening a bit with a hint of coquettishness.
Li Teng glanced at her.
When he first met Ruan Nianchu, she was only nineteen years old. The most profound impression he had of this girl was her bewitching nude bathing picture, followed by her beautiful face. At that time, she didn’t talk much, and he talked even less. There wasn’t much conversation between them, so much so that he didn’t realize until today how unique her voice was.
Too charming.
A soft voice that could seep into one’s bones.
Li Teng looked at her lips. Light pink, with the corners slightly upturned, it was the lip shape of someone naturally inclined to smile. He looked at them for quite a while before turning his gaze back to the road ahead. “The suburbs.”
Ruan Nianchu frowned, puzzled, “Why are we going to the suburbs?” You could go for a spring outing in spring, but what could you do in the summer?
“You’ll find out when we get there,” Li Teng casually stubbed out his cigarette and started the car.
Indeed, the weather today was very good, clear skies all the way, not a cloud in sight.
The place Li Teng took Ruan Nianchu to, to be precise, was a small town on the outskirts of Yuncheng, about sixty kilometers from the city center. They set off at ten o’clock, and by the time they arrived, it was almost lunchtime.
Li Teng parked the car and randomly chose a restaurant for lunch.
Two dishes and a soup, the taste was not particularly good, but it wasn’t bad either. Ruan Nianchu hadn’t eaten breakfast today and was starving, so she quickly finished two bowls of rice.
After filling her stomach, she wiped her mouth with a tissue and sincerely said to him, “The chef at this restaurant is just average.”
Li Teng glanced at her empty rice bowl, called the waiter over to pay the bill, “We’ll try a different place next time.”
Feeling a bit choked, she said, “Captain Li Teng, actually, I don’t really like coming all the way sixty kilometers just to eat. What exactly did you bring me here for?” His undercover career had left a shadow, was he uncomfortable unless he played it mysterious all day?
“A little girl wants to learn how to sing,” he said, putting a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it with a lighter.
“Huh?” She was bewildered, what did that have to do with her?
“You’ll teach her.”
Ruan Nianchu seriously doubted that she heard correctly, “…what did you say?”
“Aren’t you a singer?” Li Teng said matter-of-factly, as if discussing today’s weather, “One tutoring session per week, I’ll pay the tuition.”
After hearing him, Ruan Nianchu raised her hand to touch her forehead. In the blink of an eye, two thoughts rose from the depths of her mind. She felt that at this moment, either her ears were malfunctioning, or this colonel’s mind was malfunctioning.
The latter possibility was very high.
After leaving the small restaurant, Li Teng bought a box of fruit and then took Ruan Nianchu into a nearby old residential area.
It was clear that he was familiar with this place, the buildings from the 1970s were distributed irregularly, with many small alleys between the residential blocks. After following him through several twists and turns, she soon felt dizzy.
Fortunately, they reached their destination.
Li Teng entered the doorway, tossing a sentence over his shoulder without looking back, “The left side on the sixth floor.” His footsteps gradually faded away, disappearing into the corridor.
Ruan Nianchu stood still for a few seconds, pinching her forehead, and then followed.
Upon arrival, Li Teng was knocking on the door. “Bang, bang, bang.”
Not long after, the door opened. The person who opened the door was a woman with graying temples, around fifty years old, petite, and with a face full of wrinkles. She was wearing a half apron around her waist.
Seeing Li Teng, the woman frowned slightly, clearly surprised, “Li Teng?”
“Auntie,” he smiled.
“Oh, look at you, you didn’t even say anything before coming.” The woman smiled, wiped her hands on her apron, and invited them into the house, “Come in, sit down. Haven’t eaten yet?”
“Just eaten.” Li Teng put the fruits on the table and replied casually.
The woman busied herself pouring tea for them, and when she turned around, she saw Ruan Nianchu who came with Li Teng. Her movements paused, “Who’s this girl?”
Ruan Nianchu smiled, “Hello, Auntie. My name is Ruan Nianchu. You can call me Xiaoruan.”
“Oh, Xiaoruan.” The woman looked at her kindly, “Are you Tengzi’s girlfriend?”
Ruan Nianchu turned her gaze to Li Teng. Li Teng’s expression was indifferent, he picked up the teacup and took a sip, showing no intention of denying or helping her answer.
So Ruan Nianchu replied, “Yes.”
The woman’s smile on her face became even brighter as she kept saying, “That’s wonderful, really wonderful.”
Li Teng raised his gaze, looking at the slightly ajar innermost room’s door and asked, “Is Xiaoxing at home?”
“She’s here.”
“That child said she wanted to learn how to sing last time,” Li Teng said, “Ruan Nianchu works in the military performance troupe as a singer. If possible, she can come and teach Xiaoxing in the future.”
Ruan Nianchu widened her eyes. Then she heard the woman expressing her surprise, “How can we accept such kindness? Forget it, it’s too troublesome for the girl. She’s busy with work all the time, and now she has to come for classes on weekends, wouldn’t she lose all her rest time?”
Ruan Nianchu had always known she had a flaw: overflowing compassion. For example, at this moment, others would definitely jump at the chance to take this tutoring job. But after pondering for a moment, she said, “How about this, let me meet Xiaoxing first and see what the child says.”
She had already thought it through. If the little girl was well-behaved and sensible, she would consider tutoring her. But if she was mischievous, she would leave without a second thought.
The woman hesitated for a few seconds, nodded, and led them towards the innermost room.
The door wasn’t closed, and it opened with a gentle push.
Inside the room, the curtains were tightly drawn, preventing any light from entering, making the room dim. Ruan Nianchu frowned, looked around, and finally saw a little girl by the window. She was around eleven or twelve years old, with her hair tied in a ponytail, fair skin, and holding a photo in her hand. She had a slightly lowered head, staring blankly at the photo in her hand, her eyes empty and dull.
Ruan Nianchu’s gaze moved down a few inches, and her heart tightened.
The girl was sitting in a wheelchair. She was disabled.
“Xiaoxing,” the woman smiled, “Look, guess who’s here?”
The girl turned her head at the sound, and when she saw Li Teng, her hollow eyes finally lit up for a moment, “Uncle Li, hello.” Her voice was sweet, pleasant, and bright.
Li Teng walked over and squatted down, “How’s your mood today?”
“Pretty good.” Xiaoxing turned her head slightly, then she noticed Ruan Nianchu standing beside the woman and asked, “Who’s that lady?”
Li Teng corrected her in a cold tone, “Call her Auntie.”
Ruan Nianchu: “…”
The little girl was very naive. Upon hearing this, she politely smiled and said, “Hello, Auntie.”
Ruan Nianchu cleared her throat, took a few steps forward, and showed a standard auntie’s gentle face to Xiaoxing, bending down and saying softly, “Hello. My surname is Ruan, called Ruan Nianchu, what about you?”
The girl said, “My name is Xia Xingxing.”
Ruan Nianchu’s gaze fell on the photo in the girl’s hand. The picture showed a young man in camouflage, tall, handsome, with a sunny and cheerful smile. She was a bit curious, “Whose photo are you holding?”
“My dad’s.”
“Is your dad a soldier?”
Xiaoxing nodded, “Yes.”
As they were chatting, the woman brought a cup of hot water and a pill, handing it to the girl, saying, “Xiaoxing, it’s time to take your medicine. After taking it, you can play with Auntie.”
Ruan Nianchu turned her head, and Li Teng had already left the room and gone to the balcony at some point. She followed and asked him, “Is Xiaoxing your comrade’s daughter?”
“Yeah.”
“Is your comrade very busy?” She didn’t understand, “Why would he entrust you to take care of his child?”
“Because he’s dead.”
“…” Ruan Nianchu’s gaze suddenly jumped.
The sunlight was warm around them, the wind blew gently. Li Teng leaned against the wall, smoking. After a moment, he turned his head, staring at her with unclear eyes, “He died twelve years ago, at the border.”
Would it kill you to say a few more words beforehand, sir?? 😮💨