Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Two weeks had passed and Qiao Nan was back from school this weekend. Qiao Dongliang took the initiative to ask Qiao Nan which course she chose. “Nan Nan, are you going to choose humanities or science?”

  “Humanities.”

  “Is it because science is more difficult?”

  “No.” Qiao Nan denied. “My results are about the same for humanities and science subjects, but I’m more interested in humanities. Besides, Teacher Liu had a long chat with me. After learning of my decision, he is very supportive of me.”

  “Teacher Liu? Isn’t that your form teacher? Was he the one I saw during the parent-teacher conference last year?”

  “Yes.” Teacher Liu was the form teacher. It was no wonder that her father had an impression of him.

  Qiao Dongliang nodded with relief. “Since Teacher Liu is supportive of you, it should be alright.” The teacher definitely knew more than him. What the teacher said must be correct.

  “It’s strange that your sister had good results in the first year, but ever since she advanced to second year and chose the humanities course, her results have been falling behind. I remember she would always come in eighth place in her class in her first year. Nan Nan, is the humanities course difficult? How could her results drop so drastically?” Though it was not easy to maintain one’s standard, Qiao Zijin’s results had dropped too much. “Nan Nan, do you think your sister has chosen the wrong course?”

  Qiao Nan was changing her shoes and halted in her tracks at the question. She twitched her lips and said, “Dad, I don’t think my sister has fallen very far behind. To be honest, my impression is that her performance in junior high school was worse than in high school. I was really surprised when I heard that she placed eighth in her class. Her improvement was tremendous.”

  In the two lifetimes, no matter how clever Qiao Zijin was, she was neither interested nor good in her studies.

  It was hard to believe that Qiao Zijin’s results would improve by leaps and bounds when she was in high school.

  “Is that so?” Qiao Dongliang was confused. “So, your sister’s results have actually improved?”

  “No idea. Dad, I am hungry. What are we having for dinner tonight?”

  \r \r \r

  “I want to cook stir-fried spicy chicken tonight. The chicken was freshly slaughtered today. I will fry them now.” Since Qiao Nan mentioned that she was hungry, Qiao Dongliang put Qiao Zijin’s matter aside for now. There was nothing he could do about Qiao Zijin. What he must do now was to take better care of Qiao Nan so that she would not end up like Qiao Zijin.

  Ring!

  Qiao Nan had just sat down when the phone next to her rang.

  “Nan Nan, answer the phone.” Qiao Dongliang’s voice could be heard from the kitchen.

  Despite the long distance, Qiao Dongliang was still able to hear the phone ringing. His sense of hearing was very acute.

  Ever since Zhu Baoguo gave this phone to the Qiao family, Qiao Dongliang did not have much opportunity to use the phone. It was only on rare occasions when the phone rang that he could be sure that the phone was still working.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s me.”

  “Brother Zhai? What’s wrong? Why are you calling me at this time?” Brother Zhai called at an opportune time. “Wait a minute. Brother Zhai, will Auntie Miao turn up suddenly like last time and give me a big shock? Even though she did not suspect anything last time, she may discover something fishy if we keep this up.”

  At the thought of what happened last time, Qiao Nan had yet to recover from the shock.

  “My mom is busy right now.”

  “Busy? What is Auntie Miao busy with?” What could she be busy with?

  “Qiu Chenxi came to the army.”

  “Why is she in the army?” Qiao Nan stomped her foot. Qiu Chenxi could be said to be her love rival. Though Auntie Miao did not like Qiu Chenxi, Chief Zhai seemed to like her very much and regard her as his daughter-in-law.

  She had yet to gain the approval of her mother-in-law, and her father-in-law was already a big obstacle to them.

  If Qiu Chenxi managed to make Auntie Miao have a change of heart, things would be bleak for Brother Zhai and her.

  “She must be after me.” Zhai Sheng curled his lips. He could confirm that Nan Nan really liked him. As soon as she heard that Qiu Chenxi was at the camp, she seemed to be very anxious. “But I didn’t care about her. I am the regiment commander whereas she is merely an intern. She has no chance to see me.”

  “Really? Won’t your dad come up with an excuse so that Qiu Chenxi can work with you?”

  “Yes, but it is up to me whether to accept or not.” Nan Nan was spot on. His father liked to take things into his own hands.

  “Brother Zhai, you’d better watch out. If I find out that you have been in close contact with Qiu Chenxi, that’ll be the end of us.” Qiu Chenxi came from a good family background. She was beautiful and had graduated from college. She was also about the same age as Zhai Sheng.

  She had the upper hand only because Brother Zhai liked her, not Qiu Chenxi. Other than that, she had no confidence in winning against her.

  Zhai Sheng could be heard laughing from the other side of the phone. His low-pitched laughter sounded like the cello. Qiao Nan could feel his breathing right beside her ear, making her ear particularly ticklish.

  Qiao Nan took a deep breath. “Brother Zhai, don’t think you can get away with it by laughing. You are also not allowed to smile at other people, especially smiling in such a way to other women!”

  Brother Zhai was not only good-looking and well-built, but also had a very soothing voice. He was perfect from head to toe.

  If he was in the year after 2010 where the internet was the craze and people could upload their songs or clips onto the web, given Brother Zhai’s mesmerizing voice, he would be the talk of the town and well sought-after among the ladies.

  “Now that I am on the phone with you, I should be allowed to smile in this manner.” Zhai Sheng switched the phone to another hand. “Nan Nan, you are usually very smart, but why is it that you are so muddle-headed now? I have known Qiu Chenxi for many years. If I wanted to be too close to her, would I need to wait until today?”

  In other words, if Zhai Sheng had been willing, he would have taken a fancy to Qiu Chenxi long ago. They might even have gotten engaged and married each other. There would not be Qiao Nan in the picture.

  Since it never happened, then it would never happen now or in the future.

  Zhai Sheng was very clear about what he wanted. In this aspect, he had a very clear target in mind. Hence, it was impossible between him and Qiu Chenxi.

  “I will accept your answer.” Qiao Nan blushed. Last week, she had just reprimanded Zhu Baoguo for being too childish, but she was not any better in front of Brother Zhai.

  “I call you today because I have something to ask you. You will advance to the second year in the second half of the year. Is it time to choose the course?”

  “Yes, I have chosen the humanities course.”

  “Did your master give you any advice?”

  “My master? Don’t mention him. He gave me the death order.”