"Besides, even if it’s not for the things in the luggage, we have to fight for some dignity back!"
What encouraging words!
Lin Xinglan responded emphatically, "Exactly! How brazen to just snatch someone’s belongings, is there no law left!"
Song Lili had never disliked Lin Xinglan, even when she acted like a arrogantly spoiled young lady, she still felt okay about Lin Xinglan... maybe because...
To some extent, this naïve and clueless girl was quite similar to her twenty-year-old self, perhaps...
"It was you who asked your father to send you to the military academy, right?"
Lin Xinglan pursed her lips and then nodded honestly, "Xilin’s entrance exam is extremely strict, it’s known for not allowing any backdoor admissions. I knew that I couldn’t possibly pass the entrance exam on my own, so I begged Dad with tears, tantrums, and threats of suicide. Dad has spoiled me since I was young, and he couldn’t stand up to my persistence, so he pulled some strings. He’s the mayor, and the academy leaders dare not refuse to give him face... so, I got in."
"You went through all that trouble to get in, yet you don’t seem to have any interest in military affairs... is it because of someone?"
Song Lili casually guessed, catching Lin Xinglan by surprise. Her eyes widened,
"You really are a seer!"
Song Lili laughed, "Then... let me guess again, is it Company Commander Duan Chen?"
Lin Xinglan’s steps halted in surprise, and her little face suddenly blushed, "Is it that... obvious?"
"It couldn’t be more obvious."
Song Lili said honestly, "When you treated me that way back then, did you think I had something with Company Commander Duan?"
Lin Xinglan bit her lip, "The first time I saw you, you were talking with Duan Chen under a big tree for a long time, as if you were very familiar... Duan Chen has never talked to me like that. Every time he sees me, it’s just an expressionless face, and getting him to smile is so hard... When I ran into him at the academy, he pretended he didn’t recognize me, or else he just sternly criticized me..."
"What do you like about him?"
"Um... although he doesn’t often smile, when he does, it’s truly charming. That rugged, handsome smile is just incomparable to the average person!"
"Even though he looks impassive and can be very stern, he’s actually very attentive..."
"How did you two meet?"
"His home is very close to mine. When he was in his teens, he lived at my place for a while... for about half a year. It was during that time that I started to feel something for him..."
The haughty and domineering young lady was displaying a shyness that took people by surprise.
Song Lili said that she and herself were quite alike, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was; now she saw...
It was the foolishness of falling for someone that was so similar.
Pure and undistracted, loving someone was warm and beautiful, whether it was for oneself or someone else.
"When I was young, my father was the vice-county head of Tanjin County. That place... was especially difficult to govern, doing the most grassroots work with the smallest salary, and he and my mom were often apart. My mom thought my dad was a loser and quickly divorced him."
"At that time, I was actually quite introverted. Dad was busy with work, and Mom wasn’t around. Sometimes when I got sick, I didn’t even know it myself. When Duan Chen brother stayed at our house, he could always tell immediately if I was even slightly unwell..."
"He had excellent academic results and always taught me my schoolwork patiently. Back then, my dad wasn’t such a big official yet, and teachers would directly call out my name in the classroom, saying I wasn’t smart, but brother Duan Chen was always very patient with me..."
"Later, he wanted to join the military, and I cried my eyes out... but I couldn’t keep him. He looked like someone with dreams and aspirations. After he joined the military, he rarely came home, and even if I waited at his house, it was hard to catch him. But the less I saw him, the more I wanted to see him..."
"Friends say... that over time, you’ll forget, but I can’t forget. Once someone has lived in your heart, it’s not that easy to forget, the little bit of kindness they once showed you gets amplified day by day when they’re gone... like aged wine, the longer it sits, the richer it becomes."
Listening to Lin Xinglan’s story, Song Lili’s own emotions were stirred.