In the army, Zhai Sheng usually was not the smiley boss. Whenever he showed some expression, especially when he smiled, someone would be very unlucky. Hence, he was given such a nickname by the soldiers under his supervision.
However, his expression today seemingly revealed his anger blatantly. This was the first time that Zhou Jun had seen this after being under Zhai Sheng’s wing for so many years. Hence, Zhou Jun immediately doubted his eyes.
“Zhou Jun?” As he had not received a reply from Zhou Jun after some time, Zhai Sheng knitted his eyebrows slightly, his eyes looking stern.
“Yes, Regiment Commander!” Zhou Jun put his feet together, stood up straight, placed his hand beside his ear, and saluted Zhai Sheng.
“Alright, take the watermelon and go back first.”
“Yes, Regiment Commander!” Zhou Jun reacted according to Zhai Sheng’s every command.
He consecutively made two 180-degree turns with his hands by the side of his waist and ended in a ready-to-run posture. Thereafter, he started to run toward the hospital. Qiao Nan was stunned at the sight of this.
Zhou Jun left so quickly after being led around by the nose by Brother Zhai.
Wait, why did she use the idiom ‘lead by the nose’?
“Brother Zhou, why are you looking for me?” Qiao Nan shook her head, trying to shake away the word, which was not so nice, from her mind. Brother Zhai was so upright and noble. How could he possibly make a fool of Brother Zhou? Moreover, there was no reason for Brother Zhai to do that. She must be deluding herself.
“Do you know Zhou Jun very well?” Zhai Sheng did not reply to Qiao Nan. He questioned her instead.
“No. We only met twice.”
“Twice?” Wasn’t that considered a lot too?!
“Yes. Didn’t Brother Zhai send Brother Zhou to pass me the money last time? Including that time, it was a total of two times.” Qiao Nan stretched out two of her fingers and showed the word ‘two’. Her sign really resembled the word.
Looking at Qiao Nan’s gestures, Zhai Sheng’s face, which looked like it was shrouded in a gloomy cloud earlier, was suddenly bright and clear. His pursed lips were more relaxed and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly into a smile.
But shortly afterward, Zhai Sheng managed to hold himself back and continued to pose a serious demeanor. “Was Zhou Jun the person who sent you the money last time?”
At that time, Zhai Sheng was very anxious when he received Qiao Nan’s call. Because of Qiao Nan’s crying at the other end, Zhai Sheng’s heart burned like a fire, and he wished he could immediately gallop over, fast as a horse, to Qiao Nan’s side.
Zhai Sheng did not expect that he would, unfortunately, receive a mission assigned by the top at that juncture.
In the face of national interest, even if Zhai Sheng was unwilling, he had to cast all of his personal matters aside. Thus, he could only find someone to send the money to Qiao Nan on his behalf.
At that time, Zhai Sheng was too anxious. He could not remember who he sent to pass Qiao Nan the money.
Today, he finally realized that Zhou Jun was the one he called out to that day. Coincidentally, Zhou Jun’s father was also sick and staying with Qiao Dongliang in the same ward. The two fathers became ward mates.
“Wasn’t Brother Zhai the one who asked Brother Zhou to send me the money?” Qiao Nan was stunned. Why was Brother Zhai asking her this question?
“Brother Zhou? You obviously know him quite well.” Zhai Sheng’s expression changed again. He looked cold.
“…” Qiao Nan had a huge question mark above her head. What had she said wrongly again? Why did Brother Zhai seem mad?
“Brother Zhou is older than me… He is older by seven years, so I call him ‘brother’. Is there a problem?” Why was Brother Zhai unhappy?
“Do you call me ‘Brother Zhai’ because I am older than you by five years?” To Zhai Sheng, this explanation was very poor. It made his mood gloomy again.
Qiao Nan’s small mouth was nearly sewn shut by Zhai Sheng’s question. “Brother Zhai is Brother Zhai. Brother Zhou is Brother Zhou. It is not the same. Brother Zhou helped my dad by sending the money over last time. If the money did not reach me in time, my dad would not be able to have the surgery. Out of courtesy, I should also thank Brother Zhou. Given the age gap between Brother Zhou and me, is it not natural to call him ‘brother’?”
This… wasn’t this human nature and common in practice? If she did not call Zhou Jun ‘Brother Zhou’, then should she simply call him ‘Handsome Zhou’ instead?
“What about me, then?” Was it because he helped Qiao Nan so much that the latter’s attitude toward him was so good? Was everything because of gratitude?
The more he thought about it, the darker Zhai Sheng’s face was. It resembled black clouds that could rain anytime. It was so dark and gloomy that it made people fearful.
Qiao Nan did not know whether to laugh or cry. “Brother Zhai, why do you keep comparing Zhou Jun with yourself? Can that be compared? Brother Zhou is older than me. Am I supposed to call him by his name, ‘Zhou Jun’?”
“So, is your greeting to Zhou Jun out of courtesy?” Zhai Sheng felt slightly better.
“Otherwise?” Qiao Nan frowned and questioned him instead.
“What about me?” Zhai Sheng suddenly said this. There were many types of ‘brother’ in this world. Among them was ‘brother’ in a romantic sense. Which type of ‘brother’ was he in Qiao Nan’s heart?
Just when this question arose in Zhai Sheng’s heart, he was stunned. Why would he have this type of query?
Being locked in place by Zhai Sheng’s pair of eyes, which was as black and shiny as a gem, Qiao Nan’s heart nearly stopped. She could not help feeling nervous, and both her legs were so stiff that they could not move. Her face was red and her eyes twinkled. She seemed to be shifty while trying to meet Zhai Sheng’s eyes. “Brother Zhai, you… What’s with you today? Why do you keep asking these strange questions? I am confused by your questions. What do you really want to know?”
“…”
Zhai Sheng’s restrained his eyes. Indeed, what was he trying to find out by asking these questions?
“Be prepared tomorrow. I will bring you to see someone.”
“Ah?” Qiao Nan’s mouth opened even wider. Was she on this topic with Brother Zhai just now? “Brother Zhai, is this why you looked for me?” So he was not making a fool of Brother Zhou?
“But, Brother Zhai, you… When did you start calling me ‘Nan Nan’?” At the thought of Zhai Sheng calling her ‘Nan Nan’ in front of Zhou Jun just now, Qiao Nan’s face reddened a shade deeper.
During the past year where she interacted with Zhai Sheng, the latter had never addressed her so intimately before.
“From today onward, can’t I?” Zhai Sheng stepped forward and walked in the direction of the quad. Nevertheless, he did not walk too fast so that Qiao Nan could catch up with him.
“No, not really.” Qiao Nan shook her head. “Brother Zhai, who will I be seeing tomorrow?” In this world, no one except her father would call her Nan Nan. Qiao Zijin would also address her as such whenever Qiao Zijin needed her help or money.
All of a sudden, there was one more person who addressed her as ‘Nan Nan’. Qiao Nan felt a little strange.
“You will know when you see the person tomorrow.” Zhai Sheng was afraid that Qiao Nan would be nervous, so he added one more sentence, “Actually, all you need to do is to be your usual self.”
“Oh… Brother Zhai, did you purposely come looking for me in regard to this matter?” For Brother Zhai to make a trip personally, just who was the person she was meeting tomorrow? “Brother Zhai, are you carrying some fruits?”
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