"Even if the Gu family was desperately in need of a daughter, they shouldn’t be so desperate, right?" Bian Mufan laughed, "If you ever get the chance to meet Gu En, Zhilan, call her over as a little brother. Let’s see if she responds or not!"
He Zhilan chuckled softly, "If I really run into her in the army, I’ll give it a try."
"We’ll wait for you to come back with the joke!" Lin Chan with a slight curl of his lips said, "Make sure next time you see Gu En, warmly call her by her pet name, alright? We come from a big compound after all, it could be quite unfamiliar to call each other by full names. Got it, my brothers?"
For a while, Gu En’s nickname became Lin Chan’s topic of amusement for the night. A group of grown men spent a whole evening spinning tales about Gu En’s childhood, laughing until they couldn’t stop.
After the meal, Lin Chan took He Zhilan back to her hotel. Only then did he head out to have fun with his friends. The next morning, he called upon Chen Yun, who lived nearest, to take them both to the train station. Lin Chan probably had too much to drink and so didn’t show up.
As soon as they got off the train, He Teng came to pick them up personally. Riding in a military vehicle for the first time, He Dongxue was incredibly excited. Seeing He Teng’s skills behind the wheel, she held onto He Zhilan’s hand and kept nudging, "My big brother actually knows how to drive!"
Coming from a rural background, let alone driving a car, people who’ve never touched a car in their lifetime were plenty. So, He Dongxue watching He Teng drive them and He Zhilan to the headquarters with ease and seeing He Zhilan’s unimpressed expression knew well enough that He Teng must have made it a habit to personally drive He Zhilan around.
Perhaps catching He Dongxue’s infectious excitement, a faint smile danced on He Teng’s lips as he drove.
However, indeed, now that He Da was back home, looking after their elderly father and here, He Dongxue had been admitted to a university, as a big brother, he indeed felt as though a burden had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Oh, right." He Teng suddenly remembered Gu En and called out to He Zhilan, "Gu En and that Tang something are also at the headquarters. Stay away from her if you see her there."
"Chen Yun told me, I know." He Zhilan nodded, paused, then added, "Brother don’t worry, you inspected my martial arts moves when you were home, right? If I have to fight Gu En, my chances of victory are greater, assuming we fight one-on-one!"
On hearing this, He Dongxue burst into laughter.
Unable to resist a chuckle himself, He Teng glanced back at an amused He Zhilan, and warned, "The two of you daring to start a fight at the barracks, without a second thought, both of you would be thrown out."
He Teng knew, at the barracks, Gu En definitely wouldn’t dare to cause any trouble. It didn’t matter whether they were in the military base or in front of Lan Li, Gu En would behave.
The car drove into the barracks and came to a stop. He Teng said, "We’re here." He let He Zhilan and He Dongxue get off the car first while he parked the vehicle in the parking area before getting off. Each of them carrying their small bags, they followed him to the guesthouse.
"Sister-in-law, my brother’s barracks are so vast and grand!" He Dongxue, holding onto He Zhilan’s hand, following behind He Teng, took in all the sights around her with wide, curious eyes.
Not far away, Kang Xing and Niu Rang, seemed to have radar-like focus when they heard He Zhilan’s voice. They dashed over with big smiles on their faces.
"Kang Xing! Niu Rang! Long time no see!" He Zhilan greeted them in return, she looked around then asked,"Where’s Ya’nan?"