Chapter 77: Chapter 77 How pathetic do I look in your eyes?
Gu Qiaoqiao didn’t understand at first, so she followed and caught up with him, trotting a little and then slightly out of breath she asked, “So do you agree or not?”
Qin Yize stood at the staircase, looking at Gu Qiaoqiao who seemed not to understand, his expression somewhat inscrutable.
Just how many faces did Gu Qiaoqiao have? He no longer wanted to know.
What he wanted to know was, why the change of heart again?
When she had proposed divorce, she had been so resolute.
And in a blink of an eye, she considered it again.
But that period of consideration was a bit too long, wasn’t it?
And, a girl who seems so smart, why didn’t she understand what he had said?
Was what he expressed so profound?
The car hadn’t arrived yet, Qin Yize watched her, eager to know the answer, and seemingly asked nonchalantly, “Why three years?”
Gu Qiaoqiao bit her lip, a sharp sting coming from the corner of her mouth, and she couldn’t help but hiss in pain.
But in her mind, she thought, yes, why three years indeed.
Logically speaking, three months would have been more like it.
“Then just one year.”
One year’s time, she didn’t know if it would be enough.
“How did you hurt your lip?” Qin Yize had indeed just noticed—it seemed there was a trace of blood, but Gu Qiaoqiao’s lips were naturally rosy, so it was not easily noticeable.
Gu Qiaoqiao was startled and instinctively reached out to touch it, but Qin Yize moved quickly, putting down his travel bag and blocking her arm.
Then he unobtrusively let go and frowned, “Your hands are full of bacteria, I’ll take you to the infirmary.”
At that moment, the round-faced young man also walked in with a bounce.
He had moved the luggage to the car outside, while Qin Yize took Gu Qiaoqiao towards the infirmary.
Gu Qiaoqiao had just bitten through her lip because what she had been thinking made her seethe with resentment.
Therefore, she had ignored the pain in her lip.
Actually, just touching it with her hand would have sufficed.
But Qin Yize had said her hands were full of bacteria.
So she had to keep her mouth shut.
The wound wasn’t severe: after a simple disinfection and a prescription, the two of them headed for the train station.
This was a small county town hundreds of miles from the Imperial Capital, where the winter sun always set very early.
The smoke billowing from the boiler chimneys, due to the low temperature, seemed to hover over the town.
Taking advantage of Qin Yize’s inattention, Gu Qiaoqiao still placed her finger on her lip.
A few breaths later, she quietly took it down.
But the earlier topic was no longer something she could ask about.
After all, there was a driver and an eager round-faced young man.
He kept trying to make conversation, tirelessly at that.
So even though Qin Yize seldom responded, the atmosphere inside the car still seemed quite lively.
When they reached the platform, Qin Yize reached out and made a fist, giving the young man a friendly punch on the chest, “You have good physical fitness and your mind is sharp too. Don’t neglect your training, I’m looking forward to seeing you become a detective hero soon!”
The round-faced young man flashed a bright smile, showing his white teeth, “Thanks for the encouragement, and I wish you a smooth journey!”
The question Gu Qiaoqiao wanted to ask, she couldn’t really bring up anymore.
Soon after boarding the train, Gu Qiaoqiao found out that the tickets had been changed to sleeper berths.
However, these two sleeper tickets were for bottom bunks, which were then exchanged with an elderly couple in their seventies.
Gu Qiaoqiao had no objections.
The upper bunks were fine for youthful travelers, but they wouldn’t suit the elderly.
After settling the dinner down below, Gu Qiaoqiao climbed to the upper bunk.
Since it was the train’s departure station, the elderly couple had been sitting on the lower bunk all this time, so the pillowcase, duvet cover, and sheets on the upper bunk were very clean.
Qin Yize also lay down on the opposite sleeper berth.
He must have been about six feet three inches tall, watching Qin Yize close his eyes and compose himself, seemingly reluctant to speak any further.
Glancing at his slightly bent figure, Gu Qiaoqiao slowly caught on.
What he had just said was probably an agreement, right?
But, did this have anything to do with his conviction to marry only once in his lifetime?
As long as he didn’t say no, she would take it as an agreement!
Outside the car window, it was completely dark, perhaps in the wilderness, so not a single light could be seen.
And the clanking sound of the train now seemed like a lullaby, and Gu Qiaoqiao soon fell asleep.
The rest of the journey was peaceful, and they arrived at the terminal station the next evening.
When she heard the familiar local accent, Gu Qiaoqiao was excited, and her heart also seemed to leap out.
However, they needed to stay one night here, as the bus to her home wouldn’t be available until the next morning.
Gu Qiaoqiao thought she would probably part ways with Qin Yize at the exit of the station.
Because she remembered clearly that the train to Border City only ran once, departing at eleven o’clock at midnight.
At this moment, there were less than four hours left until the departure time.
She saw Qin Yize still carrying her travel bag, walking ahead unhurriedly.
But that direction was not towards the waiting room.
Gu Qiaoqiao panicked, grabbed her own travel bag, and said hastily, “Alright, give me the travel bag, and you go to the waiting room to wait for the train.”
As she said this, she reached out to take it over.
Unexpectedly, Qin Yize didn’t let go at all.
Gu Qiaoqiao’s hand gripped the strap of the travel bag, and she looked at him questioningly.
The night light was a bit dim and yellow, and the northern provincial city was several degrees colder than the Imperial Capital.
So, Qin Yize’s features appeared somewhat frosty.
After a few moments, as if he had restrained some emotion, a slight smile curled up at the corner of his mouth, and he asked Gu Qiaoqiao, “Do you think I would let you, a girl, stay alone in a hotel?”
“Do you think I would let you go home by yourself?”
“Gu Qiaoqiao, sometimes I am truly curious, just how worthless do I appear in your eyes?”
“But… I…” Gu Qiaoqiao was somewhat at a loss for words under Qin Yize’s calm questioning.
She really hadn’t considered the possibility of going home with Qin Yize.
She also didn’t think there was anything to worry about staying in a hotel alone.
But she had forgotten that she was only nineteen years old now, that the safety here wasn’t good, especially at night, and Qin Yize, who knew many insider stories of the place, how could he possibly leave her alone?
And he couldn’t possibly let Gu Qiaoqiao go home alone.
Even if they were divorced, he would make sure she was safely sent back.
Qin Yize had trouble identifying the emotions stirring within him.
He was accustomed to the trust of his colleagues and friends.
Their friendship was precious.
It was the kind of brotherhood where one could confidently entrust their back to the other.
So, feeling uncomfortable about Gu Qiaoqiao’s attitude weighed on him.
But seeing Gu Qiaoqiao’s reddening face and speechless manner made him think that fussing over this was really pointless.
Quickly putting his emotions aside, Qin Yize gestured towards a spot not too far away.
Gu Qiaoqiao followed the direction of his gaze and then saw a tall man wearing a military coat striding forward.
Behind him was a military green jeep, which people in the North directly called a 212…
It was only at this moment that Gu Qiaoqiao finally realized, Qin Yize had everything arranged already.
He never intended for her to stay alone in a hotel waiting for a bus home.
And then she understood that the two full travel bags Qin Yize had were gifts for her family.