The missing item was precisely his military shorts.
"Wife, where did my shorts go?" Qin Jian called out from the balcony.
"Missing shorts? How is that possible? They were still here last night!" An Hao said, "Have you checked if the wind blew them downstairs?"
"Impossible!" Qin Jian asserted, "The wind was blowing from the Northwest last night; even if clothes had fallen, they could not have fallen downstairs. They should have fallen onto the balcony."
Even if they had fallen downstairs, it was so early; there were no people coming and going below, the shorts should still be down there.
Qin Jian leaned over to look downstairs and after scanning around, he didn’t spot his shorts.
"This is really strange," An Hao came out of the kitchen, "Don’t tell me we’ve got a ghost in the house?"
"Forget it, it’s just a pair of shorts. If they’re lost, they’re lost. Let’s not look for them anymore." In any case, he received plenty from the military; missing one pair didn’t matter.
"It’s not a big deal to lose a pair of shorts, but it’s just so odd." A perfectly fine pair of shorts, how could they just vanish without a trace?
This left An Hao utterly baffled!
Song Yueqin was listening from inside with fear, her hands clenched in cold sweat, not daring to make a sound.
How could this have gotten so tense?
In her heart, she was already praying to Buddha, hoping this couple would not dig any deeper into the matter.
Clearly, the Bodhisattva didn’t hear Song Yueqin’s prayers at all; her chants to Amitabha were in vain, as the couple in the living room kept discussing the matter with a relentless attitude, as if they wouldn’t stop until they had an answer.
"Logically speaking, they shouldn’t be lost." Qin Jian casually picked up a pair of socks, "If wind were to blow them, it should be these socks that would go first.
Three pairs of six socks, not one missing; all here."
Song Yueqin felt that if these two continued , she would be doomed, so she quickly got dressed and came out.
When she opened the door, she saw Qin Jian and An Hao standing in the living room.
"Brother! Sister-in-law! You’re up early." Compared to her arrogant demeanor yesterday, Song Yueqin was much more restrained today.
It was as if the person from last night wasn’t her at all.
Seeing the peculiar looks Qin Jian and An Hao were giving her, Song Yueqin felt even more guilty, "What are you both looking at me for?"
"I’m wondering if you took the wrong medicine," An Hao said coolly, looking at her, "You’re a completely different person compared to last night. What new schemes have popped into your head overnight?"
"Not at all," Song Yueqin laughed unnaturally, "I think what you said last night made a lot of sense. I shouldn’t have asked you for the bracelet. Indeed, I should go back to the old lady myself. So, I plan to go back with Qin Fen early this morning... Uh, I plan to catch the early train with Qin Fen, could you, sister-in-law, perhaps make breakfast a bit quicker?"
Song Yueqin’s sudden change made An Hao feel even more that something was not right; this was not Song Yueqin’s usual behavior.
Her sudden humbleness and softened demeanor gave An Hao the feeling of someone trying to cover their tracks; a thought suddenly flashed through her mind – did she take the military shorts?
When this idea emerged, An Hao was startled by herself.
How twisted would Song Yueqin have to be to think of taking Qin Jian’s shorts? It wasn’t until her gaze landed on her own underwear that she became certain of her thought.