"Colonel, the commander wants to see you." Mark suddenly burst in and reported to Daisy; he had always been this thoughtless. Luckily, Daisy was used to it, so she wasn't surprised. "Okay, did he say why he wants to see me?" Daisy asked, fixing her eyes on the report in her hands. She hadn't finished the report, and so she made no moves.
"He didn't. I bet it's something good." The commander wore a big ear-to-ear grin when Mark saw him; hence Mark figured that he must have some good news for Daisy, probably something to do with the military exercises! Every one in the army base was talking about how marvelous Daisy had been this time. It didn't matter if they meant what they said or were just trying to be polite, Mark still felt thrilled when they praised his colonel.
"Okay. I'm going there now." Daisy put the report aside and tidied herself up before leaving for the commander's office. To be honest, the military exercises was a big success, but she didn't think there was anything worth bragging about -- she only did what she was supposed to. She still remembered Hank's words earlier in the morning. She had decided to pay no attention to his teasing; but somehow she still felt uncomfortable when she thought of their conversation.
It was roasting in the afternoon. Daisy frowned and looked up at the burning sun in the sky as she stepped out of her office. The bright light stung her eyes; she closed her eyes for a while and walked towards the commander's office.
Standing in front of the commander's office, Daisy took a deep breath before knocking at the door. She knew anything behind a closed door was private, so she would never barge in without permission.
"Come in." A vigorous voice called out from inside. Daisy curled into a smile, once again tidied her uniform and pushed in.
"Haha! Daisy! Come on in! Come over here and have a cup of tea with me!" Judging from the grin on his face, the commander was genuinely happy to see Daisy.
A cup of tea?' Daisy's face twitched. There was no way that she would believe that the commander simply invited her over for tea. He must have something to tell her.
Where's my tea then? I don't see it." Daisy raised her eyebrows and asked. Gazing at the benevolent old man sitting in front of her, Daisy couldn't help feeling sad. It seemed the commander would be retired soon. To be honest, Daisy would be sad to see him leave the army. He was a generous man who took care of her. Besides, he always seemed casual and carefree, but the truth was he could always get things settled before people realized.
"I'm waiting for you to make tea for us. I've boiled the water. But it's cold now since it took me ages to finally get you over here." The commander had always treated Daisy as his own daughter, he enjoyed teasing her on occasion. It delighted him to see some other looks other than cold ones on Daisy's face. She was a young woman with a great life in front of her, she shouldn't be wearing a stony face all day long.
"So you invited me over for tea, and I have to make it on my own?" Although Daisy retorted sourly, she sat down in front of the tea table and started making tea for them. She was not an expert; she only knew the basic rules of serving tea because she was a big fan of tea ceremony. She once made tea for the commander, and he loved it. Daisy was pleased that the commander was a fan of her tea-making skills. He would frequently invite her over to make tea for him, and he wouldn't take no for answer.
The commander smiled as he quietly watched Daisy wash the tea pot. A few moments passed in silence, and the gurgling of water was the only sound. Then, he finally piped up with the real reason that he invited Daisy to his office, "I heard that the military exercise this time is a big success. What do you think?"
"Indeed it is. But I presume all the praise belongs to Major General Gu. After all, he was the one who achieved tremendous breakthroughs." Daisy answered calmly while filtering the tea. She looked stunningly beautiful when she was focused on something.
Major General Gu is indeed a brave and tactical young man. But your coolness under fire played an important role. I've received lots of calls expressing their admiration for you! I'm sure you will be promoted in no time. Speaking of which, you should be more discreet. You're already the talk of the base because of the military exercises. Don't let anyone have something to use against you."
The commander didn't just say it without reason. He heard some rumors about Daisy. He had no idea whether there was any truth in those rumors or not, but he did remember that Daisy no longer lived in the dormitory the army base prepared for her. Anyway, he thought he'd better alert Daisy before things got worse.
"Discreet? What do you mean by that?" Confused, Daisy asked with a frown. She didn't know why the commander suddenly bought this up. He had never cautioned her about this kind of things before, so why now? Did she misbehave and not realize it?