When Gu Yan went out, she saw Song Qiliang standing in the corridor, holding a green bag while rubbing his hands together to warm them up amidst the cold weather.

  When he saw Gu Yan, his eyes lit up. He grinned and smiled nervously.

  ‘So it was him.’


  Gu Yan walked over and asked, “Why did you come? I thought you would have gone home at this time.”


  “Mhm, I was planning to go home too. I just wanted to see whether you have left already. If you have not, we can ……”


  “I’m not going back home for the coming New Year.”


  Gu Yan wanted to call him Brother Qiliang, but she remembered what Captain Lu said before, so she didn’t say it in the end.

  Sigh……

  She thought of him again. She began to wonder what he was doing currently.

  Song Qiliang was taken aback. “Why aren’t you going back? Is it because of Aunty and the others……”


  Song Qiliang knew a little bit about her maltreatment at home. Even though he was always away from the village, he would often learn about Gu Yan’s situation from his mother.

  Aunty Sun kept urging him to take extra good care of Gu Yan at the training camp. She had led a hard life.

  However, after the recent competition, a series of tasks were assigned to him. By the time he finished them, the year was about to end. He didn’t even have time to visit Gu Yan.

  This time, he just came to test his luck. After all, there was a chance Gu Yan hadn’t returned home yet.

  That was why when he saw Gu Yan, his eyes lit up with joy. He was greatly elated.

  Gu Yan knew Song Qiliang was a nice person upon seeing his worried eyes. However, she didn’t want to explain much.

  She said, “Mhm, I’m not going back. You should hurry up and go. You might miss the train soon.”


  Song Qiliang frowned. He wanted to persuade Gu Yan a bit more, but he could feel she was being distant with him.

  Up until now…… she hadn’t called him Brother Qiliang at all.

  Song Qiliang felt a little dejected and said, “Little Yan, I wanted to come and find you after the competition, but the leader arranged many tasks for me. I……”


  ‘Song Qiliang’s leader……’


  Gu Yan thought about it.

  ‘Isn’t that Lu Ye?’


  Even though he went out on a mission, he still managed to delegate numerous tasks beforehand……

  Gu Yan didn’t know how to react, but she ended up missing Lu Ye even more.

  Her mood also improved. “It’s fine. I’ve been pretty busy during this period.”


  Seeing Gu Yan smile and remain looking so pretty despite wearing a bulky coat, Song Qiliang’s heart rate quickened too.

  The words he had held back before were stuck at his throat.

  He was about to say them, but Gu Yan waved her hand. She said, “Song Qiliang, hurry up and catch your train. Send my greetings to Aunty Sun.”


  Following such, Gu Yan turned away.

  Song Qiliang could only acquiesce. He gripped his pockets tightly and sighed as Gu Yan walked away.

  He couldn’t say it in the end.

  But then he thought about it again. He shouldn’t ask her out immediately.

  What if Gu Yan was too shy? She might reject him.

  ‘How about finding somebody to introduce them when the New Year ends?’


  Thinking about this, Song Qiliang felt even better. He hummed songs as he walked towards the station.