The exam week ended, and the holiday began an entire week earlier than An Hao and her friends had anticipated.
What great news it was, with over a month of summer vacation, she planned to spend a good amount of time at the military base.
An Hao packed her things with great excitement; just thinking about the upcoming reunion made her heart soar.
"An Hao..." For Gu Shuangshuang, holidays were headache-inducing.
As a child neither cherished by her mother nor favored by her father, she had nowhere to go during the vacation.
Last year during the New Year celebrations, she returned to her own city and stayed with her father, the chief of staff, at the military base.
Every day, aside from eating and sleeping, she was dragged by her father to the training ground to jog with a bunch of male soldiers—just thinking about it was tediously boring.
"An Hao! SOS!" Looking at An Hao, who was so happy she might just fly away like a little bird, Gu Shuangshuang spoke from her bed languidly.
Seeing Gu Shuangshuang utterly bored, An Hao couldn’t help but laugh.
She put down what she was working on and approached, "Shuangshuang, I’m going to spend the holiday in the Northwest, staying a while with Qin Jian’s unit. How about coming with me? This way, we won’t have to be apart."
Gu Shuangshuang’s eyes lit up at this, but her excitement quickly faded, "No, no! You are going to the military base to see your husband, what am I supposed to do? Be a third wheel? Even if I didn’t play third wheel, watching you two being all lovey-dovey would just depress me."
An Hao laughed, whispering playfully in her ear, "Then forget it. But you know, Qin Jian mentioned that their regiment headquarters isn’t far from the camp where Tian Niu is stationed. I was thinking, if you were to come too, we could see each other every day. If you decide not to go, then forget it."
At that, Gu Shuangshuang was somewhat tempted, "Are you serious?"
"Cross my heart and hope to die," An Hao swore.
"Then I still won’t go..."
After saying she wouldn’t go, Gu Shuangshuang felt a tinge of regret, "An Hao, do you think it’d be inconvenient for me to stay there?"
An Hao knew her friend was already itching to go, "Haven’t you stayed at a military base before? Isn’t your dad a chief of staff? Are you saying you have never stayed in his quarters?"
A mischievous smirk appeared on Gu Shuangshuang’s face, "You have a point. But, I am still really mad at that Tian Niu!"
"Oh my! My dear lady, when did you become so coy? If you’re mad, you should go and see for yourself! You haven’t paid him any attention for such a long time, not even giving him a chance to clear the air. Aren’t you afraid that Tian Niu, heartbroken and thinking there’s no hope left with you, might find solace in someone else, like Xiaotian?"
Stirred by An Hao’s provocation, Gu Shuangshuang suddenly felt spirited, "You are so right! How could I, Gu Shuangshuang, let a man I fancy escape from the palm of my hand?"
"That’s the spirit," An Hao chuckled, offering her a devious suggestion, "Get his heart in your grasp first; then, once he’s utterly ensnared, you’ll be the one to decide how to mold and knead that heart. When the time comes, you can properly tame and train that foolish bull!"
"Oh my goodness, you couldn’t be more correct! That’s exactly what I was thinking!" Gu Shuangshuang lifted the corners of her mouth, revealing a terrifying smile, "Roar! I’ll show Tian Niu the price of angering me!"
Saying this, Gu Shuangshuang made a fierce gesture of crushing something in her hands.
Meanwhile, Tian Niu was carrying out a special mission assigned by Qin Jian. He lay in the bushes, holding a pair of binoculars, unmoving, as he observed the enemy’s situation.
Suddenly, he sneezed without any apparent reason.
Whooosh~! The overcast sky, which had been gloomy all day, began to rain.