"Repressed? Where? Isn’t my brother just as expressive as a log?" He Dongxue was taken aback, her face full of disbelief. "Where does he come across as repressed?"
"He comes off as repressed in every way!" He Zhilan laughed outright. "Whenever I was with your brother, he always kept a straight face, unwilling to get close to me. At night when we slept together, I would tease him, and he’d have this look on his face like ’what can I do, but throw her out?’, and even sometimes scold me. But once I fell asleep, your brother would stealthily kiss me!"
"Really?" Even if the topic at hand was about her sister-in-law and her brother, like any girl her age, He Dongxue was extremely curious about affairs of the heart. "You were asleep, how did you know my brother kissed you?"
"Well, whenever your brother stole a kiss from me the night before, the next day his gaze would always sort of drift and he’d look at me for a bit and then quickly shift his gaze away, only to look back at me again!" He Zhilan covered her mouth and giggled softly. "The night he got stationed, he must have kissed me! The next day his look was a little bit guilty. I had teased him a lot that night and then lay next to him pretending to sleep. Surprisingly, it played out exactly like I thought! He kissed me when I was asleep! But, it was just a fleeting moment."
Listening to this, He Dongxue was dumbfounded, "I feel like the person you’re talking about isn’t my elder brother?"
"Hmm-hmm!" He Zhilan made two sounds through her nose, "Your brother, you see, he grew up too fast, so he always thinks about things from a long-term perspective, always thinks twice before taking any action. He contemplates a lot."
However, human emotions are something one really can’t control on their own. No matter how indifferent He Teng might be towards her, during the quiet, vulnerable nights is when a person is at their weakest and softest. Often, it’s during these times that He Teng’s words and actions reflect his innermost feelings the best.
"Ever since he was young, he has carried a heavy burden. I consider him and Dad to have raised me together. So when he was little, people in the village would say that he acted like a little adult. Sister-in-law, I’m really happy now that you’re with him, and I really hope that you and my brother get remarried soon and have a baby. My brother’s over thirty now, you know, in our village, many people his age already have children in primary school." He Dongxue felt a little sour at this.
"Don’t worry, Dongxue, look at us, aren’t we getting along better and better? While the past was a struggle, wasn’t it just to temper us? As they say in the book, whoever Heaven has in store for great responsibilities, he must first be made to bear many hardships. This applies to your elder brother, your second brother, and all of us alike." He Zhilan comforted He Dongxue.
Indeed, for the He Family, it seems there has never been a moment of peace over these years.
At first, it was due to her — their daughter’s existence — constantly troubling everyone in the family. Later, before she could settle down, He Da disappeared. It was their father’s incredible strength as a parent that held the family together. Someone of weaker resolve might have broken down long ago.
Past two-thirty, He Zhilan took her father and He Da to the General Military Hospital with her. Thanks to Bian Muhe who helped pull some strings, they didn’t have to wait at the hospital. He Dongxue directly led their father to get a physical examination, while He Da went to the specialist’s clinic, accompanied by He Zhilan all the while.