Qiao Nan’s loud yell left a dent on Zhai Sheng’s heart.
Zhai Sheng loosened his fingers that were at Qiao Nan’s waist, but he did not let go of her. “Nan Nan, I…”
It seemed that Qiao Nan was not totally clueless, but she did not know what was on his mind. If he confessed his feelings for her, would it make things simpler?
Once Zhai Sheng had decided on a target, he would not change his mind. Sooner or later, he would have to let Qiao Nan know about his feelings. He contemplated making known his feelings to Qiao Nan so that while he was in the army, he would not be distracted or worry that Qiao Nan might be interested in other boys at her school.
“Zhai Sheng, Nan Nan, are you around?” Zhai Hua came at the right time. She relieved them from the awkward atmosphere.
Qiao Nan gave Zhai Sheng a hard push and shifted to the side. “Sister Zhai Hua?”
Zhai Sheng was just about to confess when he was interrupted. His face turned black and he narrowed his eyes at Zhai Hua who came in from the doorway.
Zhai Hua could tell right away what her brother was up to. She trembled slightly and smiled in embarrassment. “Zhai Sheng, you are too fast. You did not bring everything that Mom told you to bring. I have to run after you to bring you the bags. You are so muddleheaded.”
“Well?” Zhai Sheng seemed to be responding to Zhai Hua’s words, but it also seemed like he was asking her a question. Zhai Hua could not help but have goosebumps.
She did not understand. She was his elder sister, and she was four years older than him. Why was it that she was so fearful of him? Should it not be the other way round?
“Nan Nan, I haven’t seen you for so long. Do you miss me?” Zhai Hua could not stand Zhai Sheng’s cold treatment. She turned to look at Qiao Nan whom she was on friendly terms with.
“Sister Zhai Hua, I miss you dearly. Have a seat.” Qiao Nan relaxed slightly. She schooled her expression and moved to the side, making space between her and Zhai Sheng so that Zhai Hua could have a seat between them.
Qiao Nan finally relaxed when Zhai Hua sat down between them. “Sister Zhai Hua, what brings you here? Why didn’t you come with Brother Zhai? It must have been tiring to carry these heavy bags here.”
Zhai Hua felt happy that Qiao Nan cared for her. “Sure enough, having a sister is so much better. A sister naturally will care for you.”
Zhai Hua slanted her eyes at Zhai Sheng. On the other hand, Zhai Sheng curled the corners of his lips and sneered, completely ignoring Zhai Hua.
“All these are from my mom. Nan Nan, tell me honestly. Did you run into my mom again?” She remembered that her mother did not really like Qiao Nan, and she disliked it when Zhai Hua mentioned about the latter. It had not been even half a year’s time since then, but her mother had changed her opinion of Nan Nan even though she had not brought up Nan Nan in front of her mother.
It was also impossible that Zhai Sheng, who stayed in the army all day long, had mentioned Qiao Nan to her mother. If he really had done that, her mother might have disliked Nan Nan even more.
“I ran into her recently.” She was reminded of the previous time when Miao Jing insisted that she made a request of her so that Miao Jing could repay her kindness. Could it be that it was due to that incident that Zhai Hua and Zhai Sheng brought bags of food to her house? It was all under their mother’s orders?
“I see.” Seeing that Qiao Nan did not elaborate further, Zhai Hua supposed that it was not a pleasant encounter. “Nan Nan, Zhai Sheng and I have something on, so we will go back first. We will visit you on another day, alright?”
“It’s okay. Both of you are very busy.” Qiao Nan quickly stood up to walk them to the door.
“Zhai Sheng, let’s go.” Zhai Hua kicked at Zhai Sheng, who was reluctant to move.
Zhai Sheng laughed and shot Zhai Hua a warning look. He stood up slowly and said, “You still owe me a meal. We will eat together next time. I prefer it to be quiet. I don’t like it when there are too many people around.”
“Sure, I will only invite you to the meal!” Sure enough, Qiao Nan, who was usually good at dealing with cunning people, was totally clueless when it came to Zhai Sheng. She let her guard down around him and agreed to his request without any hesitation.
“Okay.” Since Zhai Sheng had achieved his purpose, he left the courtyard house with Zhai Hua.
As soon as the brother and sister got into the car, both of them had a sullen expression on their faces.
“Zhai Sheng, what do you think you’re doing?” Zhai Hua put on an accusatory tone. “Qiao Nan is still very young. How could you do that! Besides, you should know the situation at home. Mom and Dad have always wanted you to marry Qiu Chenxi. Do you know how much trouble you will bring Qiao Nan with that behavior of yours?”
According to Zhai Hua, Qiao Nan was still very young. She might meet many other men in her life and find her real happiness among them.
Given Zhai Sheng’s character, he would be dead set on Qiao Nan, leaving Qiao Nan with no other choice. As a result, she would not be able to search for her own happiness.
Zhai Hua was unhappy when she was reminded of the naive and innocent look that Qiao Nan had when she was with Zhai Sheng.
As a woman, Zhai Hua did not approve of Zhai Sheng’s aggressive and domineering behavior.
There was another reason why Zhai Hua was so unhappy. Qiu Chenxi had taken a fancy to Zhai Sheng since a young age. When all of them played around back then, Qiu Chenxi would always play the role of Zhai Sheng’s bride. Moreover, not only did Qiu Chenxi harbor such thoughts, but the Qiu family and the Zhai family had all agreed to this union.
As such, both families had been creating opportunities for the both of them to cultivate feelings for each other.
Zhai Sheng was at a suitable age to get married, and Qiu Chenxi would soon be graduating from college. The two families looked as if they were planning for their marriage.
Zhai Hua dragged her brother out from the Qiao house as the people from the Qiu family would visit their Zhai family with Qiu Chenxi to agree on a date.
No matter which girl her younger brother liked, Zhai Hua would give them her blessings, but on the premise that after making up his mind, Zhai Sheng must settle this issue with regards to Qiu Chenxi. Otherwise, he would be creating troubles for Qiao Nan.
“Don’t worry, I won’t marry Qiu Chenxi,” Zhai Sheng said calmly.
“How can you be so sure?” According to her, it was very likely that they would get married. If not, she would not have been full of worry.
If she had not appeared in the nick of time, Zhai Sheng, the big black wolf, would have snatched away Nan Nan, the small innocent sheep by now!
Zhai Hua felt that Qiu Chenxi would be the source of their troubles. No matter what, Zhai Hua would take the side of reason. She would not help her brother. She had to fight for Qiao Nan’s interests.
“Grandpa will be back today.”
“Wow, I must hand it to you. You have managed to get Grandpa to act as your biggest trump card. No wonder you can say with confidence that the marriage will not work out. Have you already planned it in advance?!” Zhai Hua’s eyes lit up. In the Zhai family, her father would only listen to Grandpa’s words.
“Of course.” Zhai Sheng leaned back on the car seat as Zhai Hua drove the car. “I have said that Nan Nan is the only one I like, the one I will marry. She may be young and does not understand the affairs of the heart, but I will not do anything that I am not supposed to do. I will not let Nan Nan suffer as well.”