He Zhilan agreed to withdraw the lawsuit, which surprised Lan Li. Moreover, He Zhilan did not take a single penny after withdrawing the case. This decisiveness left Lan Li at a loss.
The only thing that came to mind was that He Zhilan must have compromised for He Teng’s future. If so, why then did they suddenly divorce later? And even more so, why didn’t she take any settlement from the Gu family?
"Try to find an opportunity to ask your comrade He Teng and find out what’s going on with He Zhilan. Speaking of which, if your cousin Zhilan hadn’t disappeared, she’d be the same age as He Zhilan," Lan Li’s mother instructed before hanging up the phone.
Lan Li’s mother had heard about He Teng’s situation from Lan Li, so she didn’t bother asking Gu En about He Zhilan. Not only did she not know whether Gu En knew of Gu Zhilan’s existence, but given Gu En’s dislike for He Zhilan, she probably wouldn’t get any useful information anyway.
Upon receiving his mother’s instruction, Lan Li finally took the matter to heart. However, to Lan Li, the suspicion in his mother’s mind was non-existent.
He Zhilan was reading in her room. Lately, she spent her spare time making handmade hair accessories, so she developed a habit of not taking a nap at noon.
About fifteen minutes after He Teng left, the door suddenly rang. As He Zhilan wondered who could be visiting, she got up to open the door. The person standing outside was He Teng, which left her stunned.
"Give me the kettle inside, and take this one. It’s not good for a girl to drink stale water," He Teng said, having returned with a freshly boiled pot of hot water.
Although they were divorced, He Zhilan was still his sister. Hence, even without a marital relationship, He Teng still tried his best to take care of He Zhilan whenever he could.
He had initially returned to his office but thought of He Zhilan as he was pouring himself a drink. As this thought came to mind, he couldn’t sit still and decided to boil a pot of hot water for her.
Seeing He Zhilan dressed neatly and a book lying upside down on her bed, He Teng knew that she was reading instead of taking a nap. It seemed like reading was one of the few hobbies He Zhilan had. Furthermore, the books she read were all books he didn’t understand.
"Didn’t you go back to the dorm for a nap?"
Regaining her composure, He Zhilan casually went back to her room to bring out the kettle. There wasn’t much water left in it; some was used for drinking, and some was used for washing last night. The water in the barracks during early spring was as cold as winter during the wee hours of the night.
Shaking his head, He Teng didn’t respond, just took the kettle and left, leaving He Zhilan speechless for quite some time.
He Zhilan wasn’t sure, but she always felt that after the divorce, He Teng wasn’t as natural around her as before. He seemed to avoid being alone with her, like just now when he stood at the doorway without stepping into her room, maintaining a distance like ordinary friends.
Sighing, He Zhilan closed the door. She felt slightly defeated as He Teng’s reaction seemed more distant than she expected.
Faced with the changed He Teng after the divorce, He Zhilan even began to doubt whether her plan was still applicable to their situation.