Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  In the previous life, after Qiao Zijin was married to Chen Jun, she received many praises for the pair of hands that resembled those of a rich man’s daughter. Everyone thought that she was, in fact, born to a wealthy and good family—that the Chen family married a daughter-in-law that was compatible with the family.

  Since Qiao Nan and Qiao Dongliang moved house, Qiao Zijin could no longer maintain that pair of fair and tender hands. It was a matter of course before it turned coarse.

  Qiao Zijin had already tried to let go and not think too much about it. Who knew that Qiao Nan had to expose her and rub salt on her injury today!

  “You! Forget it. I’m happy today and won’t take issue with you. I’m going to bed.” The more she quarreled with Qiao Nan, the more pleased Qiao Nan would be. Anyway, her father would not leave today. She could not be bothered to argue with Qiao Nan and waste her breath.

  Qiao Zijin lifted her chest like a little rooster, returning to her bedroom and shutting the door without any hesitation.

  The loud bang of the door closing made Qiao Nan’s heart increasingly uneasy.

  Her father, mother, and Qiao Zijin were in the room. She was the only one outside. This door did not seem like a door to the bedroom but a door to the heart. It segregated her from the three of them.

  Qiao Nan tugged one corner of her mouth and frowned. In the end, she walked toward the main door and opened it without any hesitation. She left the small courtyard of the Qiao family.

  She had stayed in this house of the Qiao family since she was born. Moreover, she grew up in the quad. However, this place did not belong to her. She kept feeling suffocated when she was here.

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  After leaving the house of the Qiao family, Qiao Nan looked up at the sky. It was dark and starless. She gave a long sigh, her head drooping. She then walked toward her temporary ‘home’ in a sullen mood.

  The lights were bright in all the houses. Walking along the dark roads, Qiao Nan’s gaze was gloomy. That lonely figure of hers seemed to have been abandoned by the whole world.

  Although there was no one to laugh and cry with Qiao Nan if she returned to the temporary home, and it would be cold and quiet with only Qiao Nan in it, Qiao Nan felt more comfortable being alone than to stay at the house of the Qiao family. In the Qiao’s residence, she would find it hard and depressing to spend the Lunar New Year.

  There was the sound of someone stepping on the snow. This greatly alerted Qiao Nan who had been immersed in her own sorrow. She was so frightened that her hairs stood up.

  “Now you know what fear is?” Zhai Sheng walked out from a dark spot. He looked at Qiao Nan angrily as his heart ached. “You’re going home alone so late in the night? Since when did you become so daring? Why did I remember that one and a half years ago, you didn’t even dare to look at me more than once and talked to me with your head bowed?”

  “Brother Zhai?!” Qiao Nan heaved a sigh of relief and shouted with happiness and joy. She quickened her steps and ran over to Zhai Sheng’s side.

  On a supposedly lively night, as she was experiencing the coldness and loneliness of the world, she would inevitably think of her good friends. The first person that she thought of was, in fact, not Zhai Sheng, but Zhu Baoguo, who was her playmate and classmate.

  However, Qiao Nan knew that it was not appropriate for her to look for Zhu Baoguo at this moment. Everyone was happily having a reunion dinner with their families. As an outsider, she should not join in.

  Nevertheless, to her surprise, the person whose appearance that Qiao Nan dared not wish for was right before her now. This was like a miracle.

  “It’s already so late and you’re still out. Why won’t you rest at home? Are your troops on leave this year, so you could come home for the Lunar New Year?” Standing beside Zhai Sheng, Qiao Nan transformed from a downhearted lady to a lively and energetic one. Her tiny mouth was so chatty. It was so noisy that Zhai Sheng wanted to use a special way to shut this sweet little mouth up.

  “I know that a fool will definitely not feel good about herself so I can’t rest even when I’m on leave. I’ll send you back.” Thoughts were thoughts. Zhai Sheng eventually dared not do something so abrupt to Qiao Nan. As per his usual habit, he rubbed Qiao Nan’s head and held her slightly cold hands as he walked.

  Zhai Sheng’s hands felt very hot and warm. That temperature was akin to that of the sun and gradually dissipated the haze that was hovering in Qiao Nan’s heart. It brought her beautiful sunshine. “Brother Zhai, how did you know?”

  Prior to today, she always believed that she could endure for just one night.

  Before Qiao Zijin said it, Qiao Nan already knew that it would not be possible for her father and her to go back after the reunion dinner.

  Clearly, she had portrayed herself like a flour dumpling with a good temper. Even Zhu Baoguo thought so. She thought that she could endure it, but she did not expect that although she had just left the house that brought her immense pain for a short period of six months, she could not even tolerate one night of stay there. She could not make herself suffer anymore.

  What Qiao Nan did not understand was why she could not even accurately predict her own temper. Yet, why was Zhai Sheng so spot on and was ‘coincidentally’ waiting for her here? It was as if Zhai Sheng understood her more than herself.

  Zhai Sheng thought for a while. His gaze deepened but his eyes became brighter. This became the only light that Qiao Nan saw in the darkness. “Yes, tell me. Why did I know?”

  “.……” Qiao Nan’s face turned red. She was stunned. What did Brother Zhai mean by this word of his? Why did it sound like he was confessing his love for her? Had she become confused from her anger toward her mother and Qiao Zijin that she had such an illusion?

  Qiao Nan looked stupefied and could not react. This made Zhai Sheng smile bitterly. “No wonder, you’re still young.”

  Clearly, she was older by a year after today and would be an adult. Why couldn’t she understand his words?

  “No, not young anymore!” Qiao Nan would not concede defeat. She was young? She was already an ‘old auntie’ that was over forty years old!

  “Are you certain that you’re really not young anymore? One must know that there are certain things that only adults can do.” Zhai Sheng halted his steps. He looked at Qiao Nan seriously. Once he received a certain answer, he would definitely not let Qiao Nan have any chance to back out.

  Eighteen years old. This was a beautiful age that people looked forward to. This was the age that Zhai Sheng had waited one more year for.

  “Brother Zhai, you…… are you serious? Or are you kidding me? It’s the Lunar New Year today, not the April Fools’ that people in western countries celebrate. Furthermore, this joke is not funny at all!” How could Brother Zhai mean that? She must have been thinking too much and confused by her anger toward Qiao Zijin. “Brother Zhai, you…… don’t bother about what I have just said. I was angered beyond my sense. There is no other meaning. Don’t laugh at my narcissism.”

  “Today’s not the April Fools’ indeed. I’m not teasing you, and I’m not joking with you either. Nan Nan, actually, you understand what I mean, don’t you?” Zhai Sheng was a soldier. He preferred to be straightforward. This was not a military training exercise, and neither was it a war with his enemies. Standing before him was a young lady that he loved most, someone that he wished to marry and spend his life with.

  “Nan Nan, I like you. If you’re willing to accept me, when you reached eighteen years of age, I’ll directly file a marriage report with the top leadership to marry you. After you marry me, you don’t need to have any burden. You can follow me to the army.”

  “G-get married?!”