The promise is old, the meeting is just right

Chapter 4 I Love You For Seven Years

On this day, He Xiao didn't dare to look at Cheng Mian again until he left.

Before leaving, I hurriedly got into the car, picked a seat by the window, and kept my head down. Not long after, I heard someone knocking on the window.He Xiao looked sideways, and then bumped into those dark and deep eyes.Cheng Mian stood outside the car, about 1.8 meters tall, raised her head slightly, and gestured for her to open the window with her mouth.Knowing his temper, He Xiao hesitated a little, and opened the window.

A white grocery bag was handed over.

"I have prepared some food for you. You eat too little at noon. Eat some later on the way to avoid motion sickness."

He Xiao froze for a moment, and couldn't help but glance at him.I saw a slight smile on his lips, warm and clean, at this moment she suddenly felt a soreness in her heart.It turned out that he remembered all of them.

Hastily picked it up, He Xiao thanked hoarsely.

Cheng Mian looked at her and said, "Send me a text message when you get home."

"……Um."

"I'm busy during this time, and I'm going to be ready for battle on New Year's Day in a few days, but I'll call you when I have time."

"Ah."

"Remember to pick it up."

"..."

It seems that she has quite a lot of handles in his hands, He Xiao fell silent and turned her head away.Cheng Mian smiled and closed the window for her.

The car drove out of the farm slowly, the sun was setting, and the thin twilight was slowly blurring in the sky.Turning around inadvertently, He Xiao could still see the figure standing at the gate of the farm, saw her looking over, and waved to her.This time He Xiao didn't hide, and kept watching him until the car turned a corner before looking back.Deep down in my heart, I felt a little sad.

Chu Tian who was sitting on the side touched her lightly: "Smile, you actually remember everything, right?"

He Xiao didn't speak, but pressed his forehead against the window.

For a long time, she had avoided thinking about that time.However, Cheng Mian's reappearance broke all this.

She hasn't slept well these days.Because she often dreams, what she dreams every night is the old compound that she hasn't been back to for more than ten years.Everything she had tried to forget became clearer because of this dream.

The army compound, that is where she grew up.

According to my mother, she carried her into the car to the army within a hundred days.At that time, the compound was in a small county town, and since Lao He hadn't been promoted at that time, the living conditions were really not good.

When Lao He was in the army, his mother seldom complained about these things, but she changed jobs and returned home, and occasionally mentioned them.She didn't have much of an impression of these things. She was still young, and from time to time she lived with her mother on the farm where her father worked, and only sporadically remembered the few playmates on the farm and the delicious fried cicadas on the table in summer.Later, my father took up the job and transferred back to the missile brigade, so my mother joined the army. Although I went back to the farm several times, the most profound thing in my memory was the ancient but unforgettable old compound of the missile brigade.To this day, she still thinks it is the most beautiful place she has ever been.

She once asked many people when the old compound was built, but many people could not give an accurate answer.Because this is an army, people come and go every year, and are transferred in and out. Over the past few decades, dozens of groups have been changed.But that didn't stop her from liking it here.

The layout of the courtyard is the same as that of other military courtyards, with stadiums, cinemas, auditoriums, well-organized buildings, training grounds, schools for children, and the large playground where she loves to lie on it and watch the stars in summer .The scenery outside the courtyard is even more beautiful. There are endless bamboo forests and shallow streams covered with small stones everywhere, as well as the short hills and endless flowers blooming all over the mountains and plains in spring.

Maybe it's because she loves too much that she feels so sad when the troops change defenses.She was still young at that time, and didn't know what the needs of the army and the interests of the country were. She only knew that she was going to another strange city with her compound, and she couldn't take everything here.She found it difficult to accept, so she cried desperately on the day she left, and Lao He was so anxious that he almost beat her.Later, she also forgot how she got on the military card and traveled a thousand kilometers to another city.

It was a summer afternoon at that time, and the sun was so fierce that she couldn't keep her eyes open.Dazed, he saw only a man wearing two bars and two stars epaulettes standing at the door to greet them, and beside him stood a boy who was half his height, and he stared at them with novel but kind eyes. There is a faint smile on the lips.Seeing their car stop, maybe seeing her, he walked towards their military card, opened the car door, and was about to call them out of the car, but she couldn't help it.She pushed him hard, then lowered her head, and spat it out.

The feeling of motion sickness finally got better, but it frightened everyone around her, especially the boy standing in front of her.Before she had time to look at him, she was sent to the health team, and she heard her father Lao He mention the boy's name in a daze.

Cheng Mian.The journey of the future, hard work.

Later, He Xiao often thought that it would be good to hold back at that time.However, God always plays a trick every second. If this moment is destined to be like this, then there is no escape.Just like that distant time, those people who carried all the joys and sorrows of her youth in her memory, she has not forgotten, and will never forget.

After New Year's Day, it snowed a few times, and the temperature suddenly dropped a few degrees.

However, the training ground of the T Division far away in the suburbs is a scene of excitement. The reconnaissance company is conducting a 400-meter obstacle training, requiring them to run down more than a dozen obstacles within 2 minutes. The soldiers are all working hard. After two trips, sweat hung on my back.

Cheng Mian stood on one side of the barbed wire fence wearing a neat field uniform, holding his watch with one hand, staring intently at the marching soldiers, urging everyone to speed up from time to time.After the training, Cheng Mian looked at the record and frowned slightly.

"Song Xiaowei stays, and the rest disband."

Song Xiaowei's heart skipped a beat when his name was called out, and he stepped forward only after everyone had left.Without raising his head, Cheng Mian just stared at the grade record and asked bluntly, "What's going on?"

There was a trace of embarrassment on his dark face, Song Xiaowei scratched his head and said, "Maybe it's because I've been out for the past two days. Don't worry, the company commander. I will definitely adjust myself as soon as possible."

"Not in shape?" Cheng Mian laughed when he heard the reason, "Then tell me, what can make your grades so much worse than before?"

Song Xiaowei lowered his head and said nothing.

Cheng Mian then stopped at the point: "I won't say much to you. You are a veteran, so you must know what to do. You haven't forgotten the martial arts contest after the next year, have you?"

"Report to the company commander, I haven't forgotten!"

"Cheer up if you don't forget."

Cheng Mian patted him on the shoulder while talking, Song Xiaowei was unprepared and staggered back a few steps. He originally wanted to cover his shoulder with his hand, but he quickly withdrew after realizing it.Cheng Mian sensed something was wrong, pinched his shoulder with his hand, saw his suddenly pale face, and immediately understood: "I hit my shoulder?"

Song Xiaowei wiped the sweat from his forehead, raised his head, and smiled embarrassedly at Cheng Mian: "Commander, you also know that I will participate in the military competition in the next year, and the 400-meter obstacle course is my shortcoming. Don't hurry up." Practice is not enough. Besides, we have so many teachers, so we just pick out a few of us, and if we don’t bring back a few firsts, how can we have the face to explain to the brothers.”

Cheng Mian looked at him seriously, and his voice was a few degrees colder: "You didn't get the first place by letting you hold your shoulders. Just now I saw that your movements were different from your previous habits. You should be honest. Who did you learn from?"

Speaking of this, Song Xiaowei didn't dare to hide it.

"The company commander is wise, I learned from the squad leader of our division who won the first place in the 400-meter obstacle course in the group army last year, but I am not capable enough. Not only did I fail to learn well, but I also ruined myself." He smiled as he spoke. , with a serious expression, mixed with a little confusion, "Company Commander, this year is the last year of my second term. If I can't get some results, I'm embarrassed to stay in the army."

Hearing what he said, Cheng Mian couldn't say what to reprimand him, and could only tell him: "Heal your injury quickly, there is not much time left before the competition."

Song Xiaowei grinned: "Yes!"

Today is Sunday, and it is rare that there is no meeting in the afternoon. The two leaders of the reconnaissance company gathered in the activity room to play badminton.Many soldiers watched from the sidelines, and the two fought for a few rounds before being seized power.Cheng Mian stood aside and watched the excitement for a while, then remembered something, turned and went back to the dormitory.

After eating at noon, he sent a text message to He Xiao, and the phone has been placed on the table since then, and now he opened it, and the screen showed an unread text message.

——I have already eaten lunch and just took a nap.

After reading this text message, the mood that became depressed because of Song Xiaowei's matter in the morning suddenly improved.

Rubbing the screen of the phone with his fingers, Company Commander Cheng was hesitating whether to call her when the door of the dormitory opened suddenly. Instructor Xu Yixu walked in with a towel and a teacup. He was here to pour water. Seeing Cheng Mian staring at the phone, he couldn't help but ask, "How's the situation?"

Cheng Mian put the phone back on the table and poured himself a glass of water: "It's not that good."

"How come?" Xu Yi smiled sinisterly, "Don't hide it."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Mian almost choked on the saliva he just drank: "Still hiding it? I haven't taken a vacation since I came back from the farm."

After coming back from the friendship, it was New Year's Day combat preparations, and then I was busy with the training of the recruit company and the reconnaissance company, and then the Chinese New Year was coming, and I was so busy that it was not easy to ask for leave.Thinking of this, Cheng Mian felt that he had to grow several gray hairs, all of which were caused by worry.

Xu Yi smiled: "This is the situation of our soldiers, you should try to overcome the difficulties. And let me tell you, chasing girls like you is not enough, you have to pay attention to strategy."

Cheng Mian raised his eyebrows slightly: "What's your opinion?"

Xu Yi cleared his throat: "First of all, you have to find out what this girl thinks. For example, what does she think of you, does she like other people?"

Cheng Mian thought it was funny: "If I asked that directly, she might avoid me even more."

"Of course you can't ask directly." Xu Yi put down his teacup and motioned for him to come forward, "I ask you, what are we doing?"

"Nonsense, Scout."

"Then let me ask you again, what is reconnaissance?"

"..."

"Cha Ye, Spy Ye, Tan Ye, Si Ye, Jian Ye." Xu Yi has fully entered the role of a military adviser at this moment, "Using your excellent scout quality, it shouldn't be difficult to get this bit of information out. Bar?"

That's true.

Company Commander Cheng thought for a while: "Then what if she likes someone else?"

"Four words: wait for an opportunity to separate."

"Why am I so wicked?"

"Not only is it immoral, but you also need to have a thick skin." Xu Yi smiled slightly, and asked again, "It stands to reason that you should know He Xiao's parents, so you can start from behind."

"Stop!"

Cheng Mian stopped, he wasn't even sure what He Xiao was thinking, and he wanted to attack from the rear?If it is not done well, it will be the result of being attacked by the enemy.

Xu Yi also got it right: "Then follow what I said before, and experience it well." After speaking, he patted him on the shoulder and walked away very gracefully.

Cheng Mian couldn't help laughing.

He turned his head and stared blankly at the bright sunlight outside the window for a while, unconsciously replaying in his mind the look in He Xiao's eyes that looked back at him when he was leaving that day.After a long time, he stood up suddenly, stroked his hair, put on his hat and walked out.

It's decided to focus on attacking one side first.And—it must be taken!
He Xiao is very busy during this time.

January is the time for all insured units to pay fees and submit files for the new year.Since the beginning of the month, she and her colleagues in the collection department have worked overtime for two consecutive weeks to finish all the work. When Director Zhang of the center announced the three-day holiday, they didn't even have the strength to cheer. .

He Xiao quickly went downstairs to the service desk to look for Chu Tian. The two changed their clothes and walked out of the unit with ease.There was an old man at the door selling roasted sweet potatoes, which were sweet and soft. The two picked one, and walked slowly towards the subway station while chewing.A black car drove past them, suddenly slowed down, and finally stopped.The people in the car lowered the windows, poked out half of their heads, and called He Xiao to stop.

When He Xiao saw who it was, he suddenly felt dizzy.The person in the car was the section chief of her collection department and the nephew of Director Zhang of their center. According to unreliable information, this nearly 35-year-old divorced man seemed to have a good impression of her.He Xiao has no interest in him, but he can't turn a blind eye.

Hastily wiped the residue from the corner of her mouth, He Xiao stepped forward slowly: "Hello, Section Chief Liu."

Section Chief Liu thought he was charming and smiled at her: "You want to go home, Xiao He? Get in the car, and I'll see you off."

He Xiao waved his hand and declined politely: "I don't bother you, the subway station is just a few steps ahead, it's very convenient."

"It's okay. During off-duty hours, there are many people in the subway, aren't you afraid of being crowded?" As she spoke, the pair of shrewd eyes hiding behind the glasses looked her small body up and down.

He Xiao suddenly felt offended, but he couldn't get angry, so he could only patiently say: "I won't feel crowded when I get used to it, and I won't waste your time, Section Chief Liu. Chu Tian and I are going to go shopping first. Take a step."

As he spoke, he took Chu Tian's arm and hurried forward.After about 5 minutes, she was relieved when Section Chief Liu's black car drove out of sight.Then, hearing Chu Tian chuckle, He Xiao turned around and pinched her pretending to be annoyed: "Don't laugh!"

Chu Tian cleared her throat: "It is said that Chief Liu is interested in you, how do you feel?"

"I got goosebumps all over my body."

Chu Tian snorted: "Woman, if you don't have your own heart, what is waiting for you is a blind date. Then you will realize that there are many vulgar men like Section Chief Liu."

He Xiao didn't speak, and the dim light from the street lamps came down, which set off her whole face with a kind of hazy beauty, as if it was covered with a layer of mist.Smile, this feeling is more obvious.

"How do you plan to pass the three-day vacation?" After a long time, she changed the topic, her voice was cold and crisp.

Chu Tian knew that with He Xiao's personality, it would be useless to talk too much.So he sighed and replied, "Sleep for a day first, and help my cousin move the day after tomorrow."

"cousin?"

"My aunt's daughter, Tu Xiao."

He Xiao immediately realized: "The one who helped me look at my legs before?"

"It's been so long, do you still remember?" Chu Tian was a little surprised.

"I'll go with you." Smiling, He Xiao said softly, "It's nothing to do anyway."

"Okay." Chu Tian responded happily, "But let me tell you in advance, my cousin and the others are moving to the army's cadre rest center, are you sure you want to go?"

He Xiao was silent for a minute, and couldn't help asking: "Everyone is human, why are you going to join in the fun?"

Chu Tian smiled sweetly: "Go and see Brother Bing."

He Xiao: "..."

Chu Tian's cousin Tu Xiao is also a soldier, a military doctor to be precise.

Before university, Tu Xiao had been living with his parents in City S, and after graduation he was assigned to the General Hospital of the Military Region in City B.Working here alone for more than two years, his father, Tu Ruimin, was transferred to the B military region.The family was reunited, and Tu Xiao moved into the compound of the military region.Now Tu Ruimin has retired from the Armament Department of the B Military Region, handed over a house in the compound, and his family has moved into the dry rest center.

On Saturday morning, He Xiao went to the B military compound with Chu Tian early.Unexpectedly, the house of Tu Xiao's family was already empty, and the guard informed that two military trucks had arrived early in the morning to take away the belongings of Tu Xiao's family, so the two had to rush to the cadre rest center in the suburbs.As usual, there are sentries on duty at the gate of the cadre rest center, and they cannot enter casually, so Chu Tian had to call and ask Tu Xiao to come to the gate to claim it.

The two were wrapped in heavy overcoats and waited in the duty room. After a while, they saw a tall woman in a plaid coat with neat short hair, with her hands in her pockets, walking towards them with brisk steps.Chu Tian happily waved to her, and pulled He Xiao forward together.

"Have you been waiting for a long time, is it cold?" Doctor Tu asked.

Chu Tian shook his head and introduced to her: "This is my classmate, He Xiao. Cousin, do you remember?"

Tu Xiao stared at He Xiao with bright and clear eyes for more than ten seconds, and suddenly smiled: "Of course. You have been in our hospital for more than a month, are you feeling better now?"

He Xiao nodded slightly: "It's not a big crime. When it hurts, take some medicine and you can bear it."

"That's good. It's cold now, so we should pay more attention." As he said, he put his hands on the shoulders of the two girls, "Go and sit at home for a while, everything has been shipped here, but it's a bit messy, so don't dislike it."

Tu Xiao's father, Tu Ruimin, lives in the Second Cadre Retirement Center of the Command of the B Military Region, which has been built for more than 30 years.As soon as He Xiao walked in, she was full of affection for the small buildings made of red bricks, because they were so similar to the house she lived in in the old compound of the Missile Brigade, old, with a sense of time and history.

Tu Ruimin lives in a separate small second-floor building. The gate of the yard is open. He Xiao stops at the door. When he looks up, the first thing he enters is the pots of crab claw orchids on the balcony of the sunny room on the second floor. The rose-red flowers are extremely dazzling in this winter.

He Xiaozheng was watching patiently with great interest, when suddenly he heard a loud voice from behind: "Come on, come on, wrong body, let us go in first."

He Xiao turned her head and saw a man in a dark blue sweater over a military shirt sweating profusely moving a large cabinet into the yard. She turned sideways to make way for them, and when she subconsciously wanted to help, a joint Ming Ming stretched out his hand, lifted it up, and supported the bottom of the cabinet in time.

Withdrawing her hand quickly, He Xiao raised her head and saw a very familiar face.The man also saw her, a pair of dark and sharp eyes were extraordinarily bright under the sunlight.

"coming?"

There was a lot of dust on his face, the first button of the military uniform was also loose, and his tall figure was slightly bent because of carrying things. It was such a common greeting that made He Xiao suddenly realize that he knew that she would meet today. come over.

You don't even need to think about who leaked the news.

He Xiao endured it again and again, pretending to be calm and hummed: "Tian Tian's uncle is going to move, I will help."

Cheng Mian smiled, a little childish: "That's just right, my old chief's future father-in-law is also moving, and I'm here to help."

As soon as the words fell, the man walking in front raised his head and yelled at him: "What future father-in-law, I have already obtained the certificate! I have obtained the certificate! Oh, daughter-in-law, why are you beating me?"

Tu Xiao looked at the two people standing at the door with a smile, then turned her head and raised her eyebrows at the man in front of her again: "Shen Mengchuan, can you lower your voice? I can divorce you after calling for a license!"

Shen Mengchuan didn't care at all, and kissed Tu Xiao cheekily.

Seeing the undisguised sweetness between the two, He Xiao was a little embarrassed.Cheng Mian saw it, raised his eyebrows slightly, cleared his throat, and reminded someone Shen: "Boss, this task hasn't been completed yet, how come the commendation meeting started?"

Tu Xiao blushed and waved Shen Mengchuan away, and walked into the house.After Cheng Mian was stared at by the old chief, he turned his head casually and said to He Xiao, "Go in."

He Xiao followed behind him without refusing.As soon as he raised his head, it was his tall silhouette wrapped in sunlight.

The things have been moved almost, only some spare parts are left, and they are being moved to the storage room upstairs.

Chu Tian, ​​who claimed to come to help, is now holding the arm of his aunt, Madam Tu, acting like a baby. When he was a child, because his parents were busy with work, Chu Tian lived in his aunt's house for more than three years, and he has a very close relationship with her.Seeing He Xiao coming in, he introduced Tu Xiao's family to her with a smile.

He Xiao felt a little sorry for being late and not being able to help.Seeing the soldiers who were busy in and out, sweating profusely, she decided to go out and buy some mineral water to quench their thirst after they finished their work.

Regardless of Chu Tian's obstruction, He Xiao left the courtyard alone.But before he had gone far, there was a sound of footsteps behind him.You don't need to look back to know who it is, He Xiao continued to walk forward on his own, and the person behind him was not in a hurry, the two walked in tandem like this, in the eyes of outsiders, I don't know how weird it is.

After pondering for a moment, He Xiao turned around, stared at Cheng Mian and asked, "Why are you following me?"

Cheng Mian stepped forward in a leisurely manner: "I heard from Chu Tian that you are going to buy water, so many people are afraid that you won't be able to bring it back, so they go with you."

"No need, I can move."

She tried to make their previous relationship look like a friend, so she spoke in a very polite tone.Although Cheng Mian was rejected, he was not too frustrated. He just glanced at her and smiled: "I know you can carry it, but it's the first time you come to the rest house, and you don't know where the service agency is." Bar?"

"..."

He Xiao didn't say a word, turned around and continued walking.Company Commander Cheng raised his eyebrows, and followed him with more fighting spirit.This emotion has been brewing since he received Chu Tian's call last night.

There is still more than a month before the Chinese New Year, and the holiday is approaching. When the troops enter combat readiness, they cannot leave the gate of the division headquarters at all.So when he received a call from Chu Tian last night, Company Commander Cheng immediately approached Instructor Xu and told him that he would ask for leave to go out tomorrow and asked him to stay and look after the house.After listening to his detailed reasons, Xu Yi sighed that the fate is not shallow. If God wants you to catch up with someone, no matter how far away you are, he can turn [-] or [-] corners to connect you.

Cheng Mian took it for granted.Knowing that he messed up things last time we met, Cheng Mian decided not to look forward and backward and have scruples.As Clausewitz said in his famous "On War", "The best defense is offense."

Taking the initiative is the best choice!

Cheng Mian followed He Xiao silently, reminding her to turn left when the road came to an end, and she arrived at the service agency in a short while.The service agency in the army is also a good place to accommodate military family members. Most of the people working here are military wives, and they are very friendly when they see people in military uniforms.

He Xiao quickly bought the things, packed them all in bags, and when he was about to pay, someone had already snatched them up.Looking up at Cheng Mian's side face, he smiled and told the salesperson to check out, and after paying, he took all the things away.

He Xiao froze for a moment: "I'll help you."

Cheng Mian looked at her, raised his chin slightly, and smiled solemnly: "Everyone here is a soldier. If you see me, an old man, let you carry things by a woman, you might want to take off my military uniform."

What a broken reason.

He Xiao glanced at his military jacket with the first button unbuttoned, but did not refuse.

The two walked back slowly.Seeing that He Xiao's attitude was not very cold, Xu Shi said, "I heard from Doctor Tu that you have seen a doctor in the General Hospital of the Military Region?"

"Old problem, arthritis. Now as long as you don't exercise strenuously, it's not a big problem."

Synovitis of the knee?Cheng Mian paused slightly, and then asked, "When did it happen?"

"High school." He Xiao looked straight ahead and said softly, "It wasn't long after I got home in the winter of my freshman year in high school."

Cheng Mian was startled, but suddenly smiled.

He Xiao was a little puzzled: "What are you laughing at?"

"I was just thinking, we're meant to be."

He Xiao: "..."

Cheng Mian wanted to say something more, but an old but powerful voice stopped him suddenly.The two looked back at the same time, and saw a pair of white-haired old men walking towards them supporting each other.Seeing someone coming, Cheng Mian's eyes lit up suddenly, he put down the things in his hand, and ran forward quickly.He Xiao hesitated for a while, but finally stayed where he was, looking at them reminiscing about the past from a short distance away.

Probably Grandpa Cheng Mian's old comrade-in-arms, He Xiao thought silently.When she was still living in the compound of the Missile Brigade, she heard that he had a grandfather who carried a mic on his shoulder, but she never asked, and he never mentioned it.I'm afraid he is still like this now, because in his heart, Cheng Mian is an arrogant person after all.

Thinking about He Xiao, he recalled how he was when he was young, and when Wei Wei was in a daze, Cheng Mian had already returned: "An old comrade of my grandfather, I haven't seen him for more than a year."

He Xiao glanced back subconsciously, and saw that the two old men were still looking in their direction, and when she turned her head, she smiled at her, as if she was watching her specially.He Xiao turned around in embarrassment, and when his eyes met Cheng Mian, he asked in a low voice, "Why are they looking at me all the time?"

Cheng Mian didn't speak, but stared at her with brighter eyes, and He Xiao was about to get hairy before speaking: "Probably - it's because they think you are my girlfriend."

girlfriend?
He Xiao was slightly embarrassed: "Are you kidding me?"

Cheng Mian didn't speak, just smiled, and the two walked forward for a while, then he stopped suddenly and looked back at He Xiao.And He Xiao was confused by him, and also stood on the spot.

"Xiaoxiao." He called her name, "I have been regretting for the past seven years, there is something I didn't tell you earlier."

He Xiao suddenly felt his heart skip a beat, and stared blankly at Cheng Mian.

Cheng Mian also looked directly at her: "I like you. Seven years, or longer than seven years."

He Xiao's eyelids twitched. After a moment of surprise, she lowered her head and remained silent, making her expression unclear.Cheng Mian waited patiently but nervously.

After a long time, he heard He Xiao ask in a low voice, "Why? Why did you tell me this all of a sudden?"

Why?Cheng Mian looked at her, with a bitter smile on the corner of his mouth: "Because, I'm afraid that there will be another Ye Hongqi."

Ye Hongqi.

Hearing this name, He Xiao seemed to be caught by someone, a little sad, and a little angry.She suddenly raised her head to look at Cheng Mian, her red eyes startled him.However, before he had time to say anything, He Xiao grabbed the mineral water he bought and smashed it hard on his feet.

Cheng Mian was overwhelmed by the sudden situation, He Xiao turned around and ran a long way before remembering to chase.

He just moved his feet, and he couldn't hold back his breath, his face was tense, and he tried his best to stand still.

The pain was as if a bone was broken, Cheng Mian finally couldn't hold it back, and sat down on the ground grinning.After quietly slowing down for a while, his head was covered with sweat, so he had to take off his hat and put it aside.

Looking at the figure gradually disappearing into the sunlight, Cheng Mian lost his mind for a while, then lowered his head and laughed at himself.

It's really ruthless to start.

He Xiao walked back in one breath.

When I reached the gate of the community, I felt the pain in my calf.He stopped for a while, wiped the sweat from his forehead, but touched the tears on his cheeks.Dazed for a moment, He Xiao wiped her face vigorously until she couldn't see anything unusual.

After calming down, He Xiao regretted hitting such a heavy hand.But when I think about some things that happened in the past, I feel that even in the past seven years, he is still so stupid in some aspects that it makes people itch.

The bag was left in the rest house, and He Xiao rang the doorbell.Mother Tian Ying opened the door for her, and seeing her, she couldn't help asking, "Have you finished helping people move?"

He Xiao nodded and was about to go into the bedroom when Ms. Tian grabbed her and said, "Don't go, I just have something to tell you."

After finishing speaking, he hurried into the study.

He Xiao looked blankly at Lao He who was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper.Sensing his daughter's gaze, Lao He stretched out the newspaper in his hand, pushed the reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, and pretended to say casually: "What kind of blind date party is held in People's Park this morning, your mother will make it for you It's hilarious."

He Xiao accurately comprehended the meaning of these words, bowed his hands to Old He, turned around and was about to leave, but was cut off by Ms. Tian who just came out of the study.

"Why are you going?" Ms. Tian glared at Old He, and stopped He Xiao from letting her go.

He Xiao couldn't laugh or cry: "Mom, I'm still young, it's not like I can't get married!"

"It's only when you're young that you can find a good partner. When you get older, you still have to choose?" Ms. Tian pushed He Xiao onto the sofa regardless of the date and time. But I took some good ones for you, here are the photos, look, each one is very energetic!"

Old He also enlightened her with a smile: "Just take a look, your mother has been busy for you all morning."

He Xiao had no choice but to take the photo.

Fortunately, she has dealt with this kind of thing many times before and has successfully accumulated a lot of experience.After finally dismissing Ms. Tian, ​​He Xiao hid in her room.

The sunshine outside was just right, He Xiao closed the door, and stood silently in the silence that cut off everything.After a long time, I moved my body, came to the desk, bent down, and opened the bottom drawer.

Because I haven't touched it for a long time, it took a little effort to pull it.There were a lot of things in the drawer, and He Xiao patiently flipped through them, and finally found a photo when it bottomed out.Because it was mounted on a plastic cover, the photos are still well preserved.

He Xiao gently patted off the dust that did not exist on the surface of the photo, revealing its original appearance.

It was a photo of her at her new compound after the switch.The new compound is not like the old one, where the old trees stand tall and the sky is shaded by greenery. The bright sunlight hits her so hard that she can't keep her eyes open, so she has to squint slightly.The boy standing beside her has a more natural expression than her, looking at the camera and smiling brightly.Standing on the other side of the boy was Cheng Mian, who also squinted slightly, wondering what he was thinking.

The cameraman captured this moment. Because she thought it was ugly, she always put it at the bottom of the box.Now, it finally came out again.

He Xiao's eyes were slightly moist, and he stared at Cheng Mian in the photo for a long time, then murmured hoarsely: "Cheng Mian, you are such a bastard."

As Cheng Mian's imperial military adviser, Xu Yi learned of the news that he was unfavorable at the first time.

That day, seeing Company Commander Cheng "injured" and returning to the company, Xu Yi laughed secretly for a long time.Originally, I wanted to give him some advice and suggestions, but the teacher suddenly arranged work tasks, and the two of them were so busy that they didn't even have time to talk nonsense.

First, a group of leaders from the army came to inspect, and it was easy to deal with it. The division party committee held a meeting and decided to carry out field training in batches in the whole division, and the location was somewhere in the northeast.The order was conveyed level by level, and when Cheng Mian came here, almost everyone in the division knew about it.

It is common for field troops to go out for training, and Cheng Mian has long been used to it.It's just that when I received this order, I still felt a little bit guilty.Two weeks is a bit too long.

After the meeting, Xu Yi couldn't help laughing after looking at the specific arrangements in the document just issued: "There is still one month until the Lunar New Year, and you still go to the Northeast for training? It's too roundabout."

Cheng Mian stood by the window of the meeting room, looking out the window.The sun was shining today. He looked up and squinted at the blue sky: "Fortunately, we are the first echelon, the first to set off. After that, maybe we will celebrate the New Year around the bonfire on the northeast mountain."

"I didn't hear how happy you were."

"If you can't solve your personal problems, you can't be happy."

Xu Yi sighed leisurely, and gave a lecture to Company Commander Cheng again, "Sometimes, if you are willing to report your thoughts to the leader, it depends on whether the person is willing to listen, otherwise it is all useless. People often say that you make decisions before you act. Movement is important, but you also have to go with the flow."

Of course Cheng Mian also understood this truth. He leaned his elbow against the window frame with one hand, stroked his hair with the other hand, and laughed at himself: "Is it possible that she has been unwilling to accept me?"

"At this time, you need to show your masculinity." Xu Yi sternly, nodded the table, and said, "It's like launching an individual missile, the only thing you need to do now is to lock the target drone He Xiao, as long as it doesn't come out The range of range allows people to have a certain amount of time to react and accept. As the saying goes, there is no target drone that cannot be shot down, only missiles that cannot be launched!"

"What kind of metaphor?" Cheng Mian sneered.

What are individual missiles used for?Shoot down the drone!Besides, if the missile can't be launched, don't you have to abandon the bomb?After such an analysis, either he died or she died.Not a good result!

Cheng Mian decided that he could not just listen to Xu Yi's instructions. After tossing and turning for two days, he decided to give He Xiao a call.

However, no one answered the phone, and a cold female voice reminded him to call later.Cheng Mian waited for a minute, then called again, this time the beep was interrupted within 1 seconds.

Staring at the screen of the mobile phone, Cheng Mian stroked the board hard, and dialed again with perseverance, but was hung up again without accident, but fortunately, a text message came in.

He Xiao: Cheng Mian, are you annoying?

Cheng Mian: I have something to tell you.

After 1 minute, He Xiao replied: I don't want to hear it.

Cheng Mian looked at the text message, hesitated for a moment, and typed out a line: I'm sorry for what happened that day.

After sending this text message, Cheng Mian anxiously waited for a reply while holding the phone, but the phone seemed to be dumb, and there was no movement.After waiting for nearly 10 minutes, Cheng Mian called He Xiao again, only to be told that the phone had been turned off.

Cheng Mian stared at the phone with wide eyes, and threw it aside in frustration for a long while.

When Company Commander Cheng was at a loss, Xu Yi came to the door and said that he had important news to tell him.Cheng Mian was worried, how could he have the time to listen to his tricks.

"Dry goods!" He said impatiently.

Xu Yi coughed twice, and said, "I heard from Chu Tian that He Xiao is going on a blind date this weekend."

Blind date?

Cheng Mian was stunned, and the first thing he did when he realized it was to grab the hat and put it on his head and walk out.Xu Yi was so lively and not afraid of trouble, he shouted at his back: "Just to remind you, it's time for me to ask for leave this weekend!"

Cheng Mian waved his hand and walked away without looking back.

Blind date.

When hearing the word "children", He Xiao was also taken aback for a moment.

While soaking fried dough sticks in soy milk, Ms. Tian emphasized: "You heard me right. The time and place have been set. When the time comes, you should dress up well, don't be as casual as you are at home, and behave well when you meet, do you hear me?"

He Xiao admired Ms. Tian's speed so much: "I'm not prepared at all, why are we going on a blind date?"

"Why didn't you prepare? Didn't I let you see the photos a few days ago?"

He Xiao was at a loss for words, her attention was completely absent from that at the time, and she couldn't even remember what the person in the photo looked like now.After a while, I still found out the reason for the refusal: "I saw it, but I didn't promise to go on a blind date, did I?"

"It's not that I want you to marry now, but just to meet and see if you get along well." Ms. Tian glared at her, remembering the blind date arranged for He Xiao, she brows happily again, "this time this time I think it's pretty good. I started my own company and I'm young and promising. It's because I was so focused on work that I didn't get married, and my mother was in a hurry to arrange a blind date, otherwise it wouldn't be your turn."

"You didn't say that about your daughter."

He Xiao was dissatisfied, but when it came to this matter, she couldn't shake Ms. Tian's determination to let her go on a blind date no matter what.He Xiao asked Lao He who was sitting across from her for help, but when she saw that the situation was not right, she bowed her head and ate breakfast to avoid it.

When she came to the center, Chu Tian couldn't stop being overjoyed when she heard the news that she was going on a blind date: "Do you know what it means to be bound? If you promised Company Commander Cheng earlier, why would you need a blind date?"

He Xiao glanced at her, didn't say a word, and continued to change clothes with a dull head.

Chu Tian seemed to be excited, and continued to say: "Actually, I don't understand what your mother thinks. You are not at the point where you can't get married. Why are you so anxious? Speaking of which, I'm still a year older than you." , why didn't my parents urge me?"

"You are like this, in my mother's words, it is unfilial."

Chu Tian pouted: "Who knows where my brother soldier is still standing guard?"

He Xiao smiled, but she still couldn't hide her boredom afterwards.Seeing this, Chu Tian said: "Don't be depressed, your mother is right, she doesn't want you to marry him now, and when you meet him, treat him as a friend."

He Xiao didn't feel much relief, but just sighed faintly: "You don't understand."

This is not the first time that her mother has arranged for her to go on a blind date. Before, she would either reject it, or if she couldn't do it, they could meet and deal with it. There was no so-called relationship at all.These two words have been ignored by her for too long, until someone appeared again to make her aware of their existence again, so that she could no longer remain indifferent.

The blind date was arranged for Saturday.

He Xiao was always punctual. Although he was extremely reluctant, he still arrived at the coffee shop he had made an appointment with 10 minutes earlier.To her surprise, the blind date arrived earlier than her, and was sitting on the window seat with her head down and fiddled with her mobile phone.As if sensing that someone was watching her, he slowly raised his head, saw He Xiao, smiled and waved at her.

The attitude is generous, the movements are smooth, and it can't be seen that this is the first meeting.Seeing He Xiao walking towards him, he immediately stood up, opened the chair and asked He Xiao to sit down.

"Thank you." He Xiao twitched the corners of her mouth, a little unnaturally.

"You're welcome." The man sat down with her, "What would you like to drink?"

"Whatever, I don't choose."

So the man called the waiter and ordered two cups of black tea.After the waiter left, he smiled and said to He Xiao: "My aunt must have introduced me. My name is Chen Chengjie. I am 31 years old and I have a small company under my management."

He Xiao straightened her hair and introduced herself briefly.Chen Chengjie listened quietly, his bright and sharp eyes fluctuated slightly: "Miss He is still so young, why would she come—"

It seemed that he didn't agree with this method, so Chen Chengjie avoided saying the word "blind date".

He Xiao didn't expect him to be so direct, and after a few seconds of reaction, he said, "Why?"

Chen Chengjie took the black tea, and then asked another question: "Then what does Ms. He think of the blind date? In my opinion, it seems too deliberate and too purposeful. On the contrary, haste makes waste."

After hearing this, He Xiao felt it was amused. Chen Chengjie is indeed a person who has been in the mall for a long time, and he always likes to put himself in a pre-emptive position when he speaks.It's a pity that she is neither his partner nor does she plan to have any long-term development with him, so there is really no need to be too polite.

He Xiao thought for a while and said, "To be honest, I don't like such occasions. This time, I came here out of no choice." So no matter how reluctant you are, sir, don't vent your grievances on me.

Hearing He Xiao's subtext, Chen Chengjie raised his eyebrows in surprise, and smiled slowly: "So it's a sympathy."

He Xiao showed a "you finally understand" expression.

Chen Chengjie was a little embarrassed, but he suddenly relaxed and was more frank: "To tell you the truth, the last two years have been a critical period for the development of my company. It is difficult for me to allocate extra energy to take care of my family and career, so It's not that I don't want to get married, it's that I have no skills."

He Xiao's pressure was not as great as him, so he kindly helped him with an idea: "You can tell your aunt what you think."

"It's useless, our old lady is very stubborn." Chen Chengjie shook his head and said, "And I don't like this method very much, Ms. He, in my opinion, this kind of method of only asking the other party's family and income when they meet is a good idea." It’s hard to help you find your ideal partner.”

He Xiao gave him a thumbs up, indicating that the hero sees the same thing.

After putting aside the identity of the blind date, the two had a good chat.

Chen Chengjie went to the bathroom on the way, and He Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he had time to be alone.She was almost grateful that Chen Chengjie was so resolute in his attitude of "looking down on her", otherwise it would be really hard to find a reason to deal with Ms. Tian when she went back.

He Xiao picked up the cup and took a few sips of tea. After talking so much, he was really thirsty.Looking around, the weather was fine today, there were many people outside, He Xiao was thinking about whether to ask Chu Tian to go shopping after the end, when a jeep drove out in her direction.

He Xiao recognized at a glance that it was Chu Tian's car. It was specially bought by her parents in Sichuan as a gift after she passed the civil service exam. However, the traffic in City B is usually too congested, so she seldom drives it.

He Xiao couldn't help laughing, but when the car door opened and the person who came down was clearly seen, she couldn't laugh anymore.She looked at the man in military uniform, stood up from her seat with a huff, and opened her eyes wide.Cheng Mian? !Him, how did he come here?
He Xiao's subconscious first reaction was to go out, but at this moment Chen Chengjie also paid the bill, and when he saw her, he said, "Miss He, let me take you back."

He Xiao glanced at Chen Chengjie, before he could say "no need", Cheng Mian had already pushed the door open and entered.He seemed to have been prepared for a long time, as soon as he entered the door, he grabbed He Xiao's arm and walked out without even looking at Chen Chengjie.

After He Xiao realized it, he had already been pulled out of the gate by him. She tried her best to break free from Cheng Mian's hand, but with her little strength, how could she beat a man who had been a soldier for eight years.So He Xiao became angry: "Cheng Mian, let me go!"

Seeing this, Chen Chengjie also rushed up, and was about to help, when he saw Cheng Mian let go of He Xiao's hand, his handsome face was expressionless, and he said to He Xiao in a very calm tone: "Smile, you can't do this."

He Xiao's eyes almost popped out when he heard that. "I, what did I do to you?"

Cheng Mian glanced at Chen Chengjie, then turned to look at He Xiao: "Didn't I tell you? The marriage report will be approved soon, why are you so awkward?"

What marriage report?
He Xiao lowered her voice and said through gritted teeth: "Cheng Mian, stop talking nonsense, what marriage report, who is making trouble with you!"

Cheng Mian ignored her, and turned to smile and said to Chen Chengjie: "I am kidding you, He Xiao is my girlfriend, we are going to get married soon, because the marriage report has not been approved yet, she is a little anxious, so—— "

When Chen Chengjie heard that there was such a thing, he couldn't help but glanced at He Xiao, who quickly shook his head in denial, and was about to explain, but saw Cheng Mian sincerely said to her: "Don't worry, the director of the division's political department has assured me that As soon as I go to work on Monday, I immediately approve my marriage report."

"Interesting? Cheng Mian!" He Xiao glared at him angrily.

Cheng Mian just smiled, squeezed her hand, and signaled her not to speak.

Looking at the situation, Chen Chengjie also understood.He smiled knowingly, patted He Xiao on the shoulder, and left first.

He Xiao endured it all the time, waited until Chen Chengjie started the car and left, then shook off Cheng Mian's hand and strode away.Cheng Mianyuan breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly chased after seeing this.

"He Xiao!"

According to past experience, He Xiao would never talk to him at the moment.But this time unexpectedly, she stopped abruptly, turned around, couldn't say any curse words, and just glared at him blindly.

Cheng Mian felt a little guilty, but still had to put on a confident look: "I heard from Chu Tian that you are going on a blind date today, but you don't want to come, and after thinking about it, this is the only way I can help you."

That's right.Xu Yi heard the news from Chu Tian, ​​and "unintentionally" disclosed it to Cheng Mian.

He Xiao has calmed down a little now: "So, do I still have to thank you?"

Cheng Mian looked down at her, with a warm smile in his dark eyes: "That's too polite."

"You're welcome!" He Xiao broke out completely, "I've already made it clear to him that the two of us don't have that kind of relationship, and he doesn't mean anything to me, okay?"

Cheng Mian stopped laughing, and thought for a while: "Maybe the information I got was wrong. But our army has always achieved its goal, no matter what method it uses." After a pause, he said, "Even if it achieves some The deterrent warning effect is also good."

He Xiao was about to cry, she gave up communicating with him, turned around and left.Cheng Mian called her behind her back: "He Xiao, I'm not joking."

Cheng Mian stood in place, hesitated for a few seconds, and blocked He Xiao's path with a stride: "I was wrong!"

He Xiao raised his eyes to look at him, the face that had experienced eight years of military life was no longer as fair as he remembered, it was less immature, and more majestic and vigorous, which made the whole person look heroic.He Xiao looked at him, just looking at him like that, making Cheng Mian a little embarrassed.

He let go of He Xiao's arm, and looked away unnaturally: "Actually, I'm here to ask you for help."

The sudden change of direction made He Xiao a little uncomfortable.She pursed her lips and asked without emotion, "What can I help you with?"

"Ah, it's actually a trivial matter." Cheng Mian took off his hat and stroked his hair. This is his habitual action, which shows that he is a little guilty at the moment.His eyes turned, and finally fell on He Xiao, "Do you still remember those two old seniors I saw in Qianxiu that time?"

He Xiao thought about it, and after thinking about it, he looked at Cheng Mian with obvious vigilance: "What's wrong?"

"That's right." Cheng Mian cleared his throat and said, "That's my grandfather's old comrade-in-arms. They kept in touch with each other often, and they accidentally talked about us. My grandfather called my mother to ask, and Mr. Zhao didn't know too much. I know, so I came to ask me, so—" At the end, he looked at He Xiao with obvious flattery, "You know my mother too, after she heard that you were in city B, let me do whatever you want I want to take you home for dinner."

He Xiao felt strange: "What about us? What can we do?"

"Didn't I tell you? The two seniors thought you were my girlfriend." Cheng Mian said with a cheeky smile, "I didn't deny it at the time."

He Xiao just felt that her lungs were going to explode, she thought how could this man be so rascal, he was talking to himself, but in the end she couldn't hug him anymore and she had to help him smooth things over?
"You talk nonsense yourself, what does it matter to me?" She said and was about to leave.

Cheng Mian quickly stopped her again: "That's not nonsense, it's the truth."

He Xiao glared at him coldly, and walked away without leaving any room.

Cheng Mian was startled, looking at her back, feeling a sense of frustration spontaneously.His whole body was not as full of strength as when he came here. After looking around, he didn't care about his military appearance, so he put on his hat and sat on the steps outside a hotel.

Looking at the shadow cast by the sun on the ground, Cheng Mian almost wanted to slap himself.I'm calling you a jerk!

That night, He Xiao couldn't sleep because of tossing and turning.Finally fell asleep, but had several dreams one after another, woke up from the dream, saw the moonlight outside the window through the undrawn curtains, panting again and again, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

After finally recovering, He Xiao took the phone and checked, it was not yet 02:30 in the morning.The phone reminded her that she still had an unread text message. When she clicked on it, it was from Cheng Mian: Xiaoxiao, do you really want to come?
In the dark night, He Xiao looked at the phone with a dazed look.She suddenly felt extremely tired all over, she put down her phone and lay back, but she didn't feel sleepy at all.

She had just dreamed that she was a child, and in the dream she saw Cheng Mian for the first time, and she vomited all over him because of motion sickness.The young Cheng Mian's face turned pale, and he pushed her away heavily.In the dream, she was startled by that cold and disgusted look, as if she didn't understand and didn't want to believe that he would treat her like this, so she ran after him, as if she insisted on asking for clarification.The two ran around the playground in the yard until someone gave her a stick from behind, and she woke up with a start.

After realizing that it was a dream, He Xiao felt unspeakably fortunate, and the scenes of the first meeting with Cheng Mian uncontrollably came to the back of his mind, over and over again.

At that time, the troops had to travel thousands of miles to another city, and she got up early, but she hadn't even gotten into the water yet. After arriving at the new compound, she couldn't hold on anymore.As soon as the door of the military cab was opened, she dazedly grabbed a man's arm and vomited faintly.

Later, she was sent to the health team, and she slept groggyly all afternoon. When she woke up, she was accompanied by a strange boy except for the pungent smell of disinfectant.He was lying on the side of the bed and fell asleep, and was awakened by her movement. He stared at her for a while, and suddenly showed a bright smile: "Are you awake?"

At that time, she looked at him, looked at this strange place again, and was a little scared: "Where is this? Where are my parents?"

"Uncles and aunts are busy cleaning up the new home. This is the health team. You are motion sick. Do you remember?" Cheng Mian got up and poured her a glass of water. Seeing her ignorant appearance, she smiled, "Did you forget? Then Didn’t you vomit all of me for nothing?”

She blushed at what he said, said "I'm sorry" in a low voice, took the water glass, and drank it in small sips.Cheng Mian sat on the side and peeled the apples. After she finished drinking the water, the apples were peeled and handed directly to her.

Holding the big apple, she took a bite and chewed it carefully.Then he looked at Cheng Mian and said, "Not sweet."

Cheng Mian was at a loss for a while, he scratched the back of his head: "Well, I got this for you from the cooking class of the health team, it may not taste good. When you are well, I invite you to come to my house. My apples are sweet. .”

Seeing his nervous expression, for some reason, she laughed.The eyes are curved, which is really good-looking.Seeing her happy, Cheng Mian also smiled.

Later she chatted with him while eating an apple: "I don't like this compound, do you like it?"

"I don't like it either. Before moving here, I lived in the capital with my mother. It's much more beautiful than here. Besides, I have a lot of friends there."

Cheng Mian kept telling her about the military compound far away in the capital, and she was amused by his funny expression and tone from time to time. Family.When we parted, I was a little bit reluctant.

Cheng Mian rubbed her head: "I have a way to make you fall in love with our compound."

"What way?" She blinked and looked at him curiously.

"Find a good friend!" Cheng Mian said loudly, his fair face was a little excited, "With a friend, you won't have to worry about having no one to play with you, and you won't be unhappy."

He Xiao remembered that she blushed after hearing his words.Now that I think about it late at night, I realize how young and frivolous I was at that time.For a moment, there was a touch of sadness, slightly sour.

In fact, she has no right to blame Cheng Mian.He said that he wanted to be her friend, and he would always be a good friend. As for those words that he never said, they cannot be regarded as evidence.Thinking about it, her indifference to him during this period of time was actually just her own hypocrisy.

Sighing slightly, He Xiao sent a text message back to Cheng Mian: "When, what time?"

Waking up the next morning, Zhao Suyun noticed that something was wrong with Cheng Mian, to be exact, he was excited, and his expression was completely different from the one he had when he came back last night.

Putting a boiled egg into his bowl, she said, "It looks like you slept well last night?"

More than good.Cheng Mian raised his eyebrows, bit off half of the deep-fried dough sticks, and said vaguely: "Mom, hurry up and go shopping for vegetables. Don't miss lunch."

"Thinking about lunch before I swallowed breakfast!" Zhao Suyun glared at her son, and suddenly felt wrong again, "Why, He Xiao——is she coming over today?"

At this moment, He Xiao was standing in front of the dressing table combing her hair.She didn't sleep well last night, and her face looked paler than usual.

She received Cheng Mian's reply at five o'clock in the morning. Since it was not easy for him to come out, she set the meeting time for this morning.Time was so tight, He Xiao didn't even have time to recover.Facing the mirror, he hesitated for a while, and finally just put on a little makeup.

In the mirror, she has light makeup, fair skin, vivid eyebrows, and her long hair is simply tied into a ponytail, looking clean and fresh.He Xiao stood up in satisfaction, packed up her things and went out.

City B on weekends is usually congested. He Xiao didn't ask Cheng Mian to pick him up. He followed the address sent by Cheng Mian and drove to the base compound.Before officially going to work, she and Chu Tian trained in the Municipal Bureau for half a month, and every time they took the bus, they would pass by a military family home.Yards like this don't mark their unit names, so every time He Xiao passes by, he can only see the sign "Guards are sacred and inviolable" and the sentinel standing guard at the door.

When He Xiao got off the bus, she saw a man standing on the side of the road waving to her.Besides Cheng Mian, who else?She didn't let him pick it up, so he waited at the door.In the minus-degree weather, he put on a dark sweater and pine green army trousers, with his hands in his pockets and his back straight, walking back and forth like a mobile whistle.

Looking at him, He Xiao inexplicably wanted to laugh.

Cheng Mian has seen her since He Xiao got off the bus, watched her slowly walking towards him, restrained and restrained, and then suppressed the urge to run towards her.It wasn't until she approached that he raised his eyebrows slightly, his brows and eyes filled with warmth: "Here we come."

In contrast, He Xiao seemed less natural.She tightened her scarf, bowed her head and let out a "hmm", and walked past him into the courtyard.Cheng Mian turned to look at her back, brushed her hair, and followed her briskly.

At this time, Cheng Mian only hated why his family didn't live in the innermost part of the compound, so he could spend more time with He Xiao on this journey, unlike now, when he walked a few steps and saw the gate of his house, Mr. Zhao Suyun, Mr. Zhao, was waiting there inside.

That's why He Xiao agreed to come here, because when she was in junior high school at the courtyard children's school, Zhao Suyun was her Chinese teacher and head teacher for three years, and she was Mr. Zhao's Chinese class representative for three years.Feelings are naturally quite deep.

He Xiao followed Cheng Mian into the house one after the other.

Taking the things in her hands and putting them aside, Cheng Mian probed into the kitchen, and was about to ask Teacher Zhao to come out, when she heard Zhao Suyun calling him from inside: "Handsome, quickly help me get a bottle of soy sauce from the cabinet, I'm so excited Don't open your hands, hurry up!"

Cheng Mian gave He Xiao an embarrassing look, and walked into the kitchen. Amid the sound of cooking, he complained: "I didn't tell you, don't keep calling me by my nickname."

"It's been called for 27 years, and I can't change it."

Cheng Mian was a little helpless, and decided to put this question aside: "Mom, He Xiao is here."

"What?" Various voices from the kitchen were mixed, and Teacher Zhao couldn't hear clearly for a while.

Cheng Mian simply took a pot cover to stew the ribs on, grabbed Zhao Suyun's shoulders, and pushed her out of the kitchen.Zhao Suyun was about to reprimand him when she saw someone standing in the living room.

He Xiao was also standing there alone, a little at a loss. Hearing the movement in the kitchen, he turned around and saw Zhao Suyun coming out of the kitchen.Looking at each other, she quickly adjusted her state, twitched the corners of her mouth, and showed a gentle and generous smile: "Ms. Zhao."

Teacher Zhao looked at the girl standing in front of her without blinking. In her mind, He Xiao was always the same as when she was seventeen or eighteen years old. So slim.She turned back to her son in disbelief and asked in a low voice, "This is it, Xiaoxiao?"

Cheng Mian looked at her mother with a wry smile.

Zhao Suyun also laughed, she walked over, took He Xiao's hand, looked at it for a moment, and said, "It's not that I dare not admit it, I have grown into such a big girl. What Auntie remembers in her heart is still what you looked like when you were in high school Woolen cloth."

He Xiao held her hand instead and lowered his head.

"Come here, come in and sit down." Teacher Zhao pulled He Xiao into the living room, "It's snowing outside, look at your hands are cold, are you cold?"

He Xiao glanced at Cheng Mian, only to see him standing aside with his hands in his pockets, smiling lightly and raising his chin to her.He Xiao immediately turned her head, sat down on the sofa, and answered Teacher Zhao with a smile: "Fortunately, it's not too cold."

Zhao Suyun looked at her, and the more she looked at her, the more she liked her.I wanted to chat a few more words, but suddenly smelled a smell, Teacher Zhao stroked his forehead: "It's broken! My ribs!"

In order to welcome He Xiao, Teacher Zhao cooked a large table of dishes, and Cheng Mian helped serve the dishes, and couldn't help reminding her that enough is enough, and she is not afraid that her son will be jealous.Teacher Zhao didn't bother to talk to him, and sent him to wash the dishes and tidy up the kitchen after dinner. He took He Xiao up to the second floor and sat down in the small living room outside her and Cheng Jianming's bedroom.

"Cheng Mian, I don't see anyone anymore. I think it will be annoying when he comes back. Let him stay downstairs, let's talk here for a while, clean up." He poured a cup of tea for He Xiao.

He Xiao took the teacup without speaking.

Zhao Suyun sat down opposite her, looked at her obediently bowed her head and drank tea, and said slowly: "I haven't seen you since Lao He changed jobs. Other cadres transferred from the military still know a little bit of news , as for your father, it seems to have disappeared out of thin air. If the army placement is fine, but your father chooses his own career, and there is nowhere to look for it."

"My dad is like that, he's used to living his own life."

"That's down-to-earth, your father is such an honest person."

He Xiao smiled: "My mother often said the same thing about him, saying that he was an honest man in business and couldn't make a lot of money."

Teacher Zhao couldn't help laughing, and pulled her to talk about a lot of things in the army compound before.Being in this environment and listening to those past events, He Xiao almost had the illusion that she had gone back to the past, back to the childhood when the military songs were loud.

"Smile, what's the matter with you and Cheng Mian? I heard Grandpa Cheng Mian talk on the phone for a long time that day. you."

He Xiao came back to his senses, feeling a little embarrassed for a moment.

"You mean—about the girlfriend?" He Xiao cleared his throat, a little embarrassed, "It was Cheng Mian's joke, and the old man took it seriously."

Zhao Suyun smiled: "I also think it can't be so fast."

He Xiao let out a "hmm" and lowered his head.

"However, based on what I know about Cheng Mian, he never jokes like this." Teacher Zhao held He Xiao's hand with warm eyes, "He said that because he likes you."

"Ms. Zhao—" He Xiao was so startled that she wanted to withdraw her hand.

"Don't worry, he didn't tell me anything." Zhao Suyun reassured her, "I saw it myself." She said, "That year your father changed his career too suddenly, and once he said he would leave, he contacted her within two days. I packed the car and packed the things. It was snowing on the day I left, and I thought it would not be too late to leave after the snow melted, but you all left that day. I remember, it was your dad who escorted the car, and you and your mother took the train ?”

He Xiao nodded: "Because of the snow, my mother was worried about my father all the way."

"That's why I said you left too hastily." Teacher Zhao sighed softly, "Not long after you left, Cheng Mian came back. I haven't been home for half a year, but the first thing I did when I put down my luggage was to knock on your door. He left and ran to the train station like a madman, neither his father nor I could stop him."

He Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously said, "I didn't, I didn't see him."

"Of course you can't see it." Zhao Suyun smiled wryly, "He ran so exhausted that he didn't catch up with you. He came back after lying in the snow for a long time, and then he had a fever for several days."

—and almost contracted pneumonia.

Teacher Zhao hesitated for the last half sentence, but still didn't say it.

He Xiao's face turned pale, she looked at Zhao Suyun in a daze, her whole body was a little chilly.She didn't know, she really didn't know at all.

Not long after lunch, the snow began to fall slowly.

Cheng Mian had to go back to the army for vacation before dinner, and because he was afraid that He Xiao's road would be difficult to walk after dark, Zhao Suyun asked Cheng Mian to take her home early.

There was already a layer of snow on the ground, and there was a creaking sound when one stepped on it. He Xiao followed Cheng Mian, walking very slowly.Suddenly, he remembered the last time she mentioned that she had arthritis not long after returning home from the compound, and he added the word "Yuanyuan" without thinking.

That's what it means.It turned out that when she was in so much pain that she couldn't walk, he didn't have a good time.

He Xiao suddenly felt a little uncomfortable in his eyes, and hurriedly wiped them with his hands. When he looked up, he saw Cheng Mian standing in front of her, quietly waiting for her.So she took a few quick steps and followed him.

The two of them walked silently to the bus stop.Cheng Mian waited for the bus with her for a while, then suddenly turned her head and said to her, "Smile, we will go to the Northeast for training next week, and we may not be able to come back a year ago."

northeast?He Xiao almost blurted out: "Then you should bring more clothes."

Cheng Mian was startled, and smiled brightly: "It's okay, soldiers are afraid of the cold." He looked at her, hesitated, and reached out to pat off the snowflakes that fell on her shoulders, "I just want to talk to you in advance. Let me just say, happy new year. To avoid being trapped on the northeast hills, there is no signal to make contact.”

He Xiao looked at the hand with sharp bones and moved his lips, as if he wanted to say something.It's just that the bus she was waiting for was about to arrive. She glanced at Cheng Mian, said "Happy New Year" and got on the bus quickly.From the corner of the eye, he caught a glimpse of Cheng Mian walking forward with her, but he didn't get in the car after all. He paused, stepped back, and waved to her through the glass window.

Bright smile, sharp eyes.

(End of this chapter)