Sending letters from the town was convenient, and there was nothing much happening, yet for a full half-month, he did not receive a single letter from her.
During his intensive training, he had read the two letters he brought with him so many times he could recite them by heart. He longed so much for a letter from her, what did she think of him in her heart?
Hu Xibing said, "Captain Meng, Chiang Xiao isn’t in town right now."
"Not in town?" Didn’t they just say she was living in Osmanthus Alley? What’s this about her not being in town now?
Hu Xibing thought about the instructions Chiang Xiao gave him before, and he felt conflicted, as if two little people were fighting inside him.
Should he tell or not tell?
Chiang Xiao had told him not to tell Captain Meng that she was taking her grandparents to Huali Tea Garden and that she would find time to go to the camp herself to tell him.
He thought, what if Chiang Xiao had her own plans, like wanting to "surprise" him? If he told Captain Meng, wouldn’t he ruin Chiang Xiao’s intentions?
After thinking it over, he decided to listen to Chiang Xiao, "Right, Chiang Xiao has gone to visit relatives with her grandparents."
Meng Xinian frowned, "What relatives do they have? Where are they? How many days are they going for?"
"Not in the town, they’re in some other place, and I’m not sure how long they’ll be gone for, Chiang Xiao didn’t tell me," said Hu Xibing, sweating as he lied, "How about this, if Chiang Xiao returns, I’ll have her contact you right away?"
Why did that make him feel so uncomfortable?
Firstly, Hu Xibing used to always call Chiang Xiao "Sister-in-law," but he found that now Hu Xibing would only refer to her by her full name.
Secondly, why did it seem like Hu Xibing’s relationship with Chiang Xiaoxiao was closer than his?
"Go ask her uncle what relatives they’ve gone to see, and get the details of where they are. If possible, I’d like to get their contact information," he said.
Hu Xibing promptly agreed and then hung up the phone.
No matter what, as long as he could get by for now, it was fine.
Of course, he wasn’t really going to ask Ge Dejun, but what should he do about this? Two days passed, and when Meng Xinian called again, Hu Xibing said that Ge Dejun and the others had gone up Bai Gu Mountain, and he managed to put Meng off again.
But he knew he couldn’t put him off for that long.
Just as he was worrying about what to do, Chiang Xiao gave him a call. At first, he was worried it was Captain Meng calling again, and he was almost too scared to pick up.
"Chiang Xiao, Captain Meng has been nearly going mad looking for you these past few days!" Hearing Chiang Xiao’s voice, Hu Xibing was instantly relieved.
"He’s probably just uneasy because he doesn’t know where I went and lost control for a moment. It’s fine, I’ll call him in a bit too. I called this time to give you a phone number. They’ve installed a phone up on the mountain where Uncle Huo is staying, so if my uncle or his family have any urgent matters, they can call this number to reach me."
"Okay," said Hu Xibing, quickly writing down the phone number and then added with some unease, "Remember to call Captain Meng later. By the way, I lied to him, I told him you were visiting relatives. You can’t slip up and give me away, and if anything, say that you fooled me too, or I’m finished."
Just thinking about Meng Xinian’s possible reaction after learning the truth made Hu Xibing’s hair stand on end.
Chiang Xiao chuckled, "Brother Hu, I won’t betray you. But you’re making him sound too frightening. I bet he didn’t take it too seriously."
How could he possibly not take it seriously?
After hanging up the phone, Hu Xibing couldn’t help but wipe away a cold sweat.