"Uncle Liberation Army, someone's being a hooligan!" Xia Chuyi looked at Huo Shiqian with a pitiful expression and pointed at He Qing.
"You..." He Qing was so angry he was grinding his teeth, but he was intimidated by Huo Shiqian and dared not speak out.
Huo Shiqian's gaze was piercing. As soon as he opened his mouth, there were only three cold words: "Return to the base."
"Mr. Huo... I was on leave..." He Qing tried to explain with a forced smile.
"What's the matter, He, are you Qiao Canmou's soldier, and that means I can't order you around? Or, would you rather stay here and keep playing the hooligan?"
His eyes swept indistinctly over Xia Chuyi's hands, which were now pulling at the hem of his clothing.
A suspicion crossed Xia Chuyi's mind.
Was that comment about being a hooligan directed at her?
Sweetly smiling at him, she calmly let go of his clothing.
Huo Shiqian withdrew his gaze and looked at He Qing with an intimidating stare before striding off.
He Qing, frightened by Huo Shiqian's imposing manner, didn't dare to even breathe too hard, let alone stay any longer, and had to follow. Before leaving, he covertly glared fiercely at Xia Chuyi.
Xia Chuyi met his threatening gaze without a hint of fear.
"Lanlan, something's come up at the base, so I'm heading back first. Take good care of yourself. I'll come to see you later."
Her childhood sweetheart did not forget to say goodbye to his little sister.
"Mmm, Brother Qing, I'll take care of myself. Military matters are important."
Did these two really forget that she and He Qing were engaged?
Ironic laughter almost escaped Xia Chuyi's eyes.
With He Qing gone, the object of Xia Lan's curry-favoring shifted to her.
Xia Lan approached her and said softly, "Chuyi, you... you mustn't misunderstand... Brother Qing and I aren't like that... and also, the earlier incident was a misunderstanding... maybe I saw it wrong..."
With those words swiftly glossing over the morning's events, Xia Lan changed the topic: "Actually, Chuyi, you are beautiful, and if only you were a bit gentler, Brother Qing would like you."
Xia Chuyi found this amusing inside.
So it was her fault that He Qing didn't like her?
Xia Lan's act of feigning weakness and innocence, while covertly attempting to stir jealousy was executed with natural ease. Unfortunately, she was still too young to hide the sharpness in her eyes.
But she was not about to believe her act like she did in her previous life, nor play into her script.
"I know!" Xia Chuyi slipped her hands into her jacket pockets, her eyes curving into little arcs as if not bothered by the previous events.
Then, lifting her face with pride, she smiled, "What could you and He Qing possibly have? He Qing is formally engaged to me, his fiancée. Even if he doesn't like me, he'll have to marry me. Other women, no matter how much they want to, can't snatch him away."
Xia Chuyi deliberately drew out her tone, stating things bluntly, causing Xia Lan's face to momentarily falter.
"Mmm... Yes." Xia Lan managed to say, grinding her teeth and with a vicious look in her eyes.
"Ha ha ha." Xia Chuyi laughed ambiguously and then said, "Getting up so early has made me tired. I'm going back to my room."
She saw Xia Lan's eyes light up momentarily, her gaze shifting toward Xia Chuyi's flowered jacket.
"Chuyi, let me go back with you."
It seemed Xia Lan was up to something again, and following Xia Lan's gaze, Xia Chuyi too looked at her own clothes.
Indeed, if someone examined carefully, her jacket wasn't worn quite neatly, having been hurriedly put on in haste.
Xia Lan had drugged her yesterday, and certainly wouldn't believe she came through the night unscathed.
So, Xia Chuyi surmised that Xia Lan was trying to find an opportunity to check for any telltale signs of intimacy on her body.
"Sure." She glanced at her and said with a beaming smile, as if she hadn't noticed a thing.
Suddenly, she added, "Oh wait, that won't be right, you have a habit of sleepwalking at night, don't you? And you have a tendency to take your dreams for reality, talking all sorts of nonsense…"