Chapter 69 I Am Not Your Soldier.
Li Baoer hangs the last dress to dry and takes a long breath. Finally, she has finished was.h.i.+ng all the clothes.
Seemingly, Xia Ning was worried that she did not have enough clothes to wear. She bought a pile of them, of all styles for her. As far as she knows, Xia Ning bought more clothes for her than for herself. She is really grateful to Xia Ning.
When she gets settled down here, she will do something for her.
Seeing that there are still some coats not to be washed on the bed, Li Baoer packs them with poly bags before hanging them in the wardrobe.
After finis.h.i.+ng all these, Li Baoer turns on her computer. She wants to transfer some money to her mother. But she doesn’t feel it the right time. She knows her mother. She will definitely make rootless guesses.
Let it be. It will be better for her to wait for some days until she finds a job.
“Ding…”
The bell rings. Li Baoer glances at the clock. It is nine in the evening. Who will come at this time?
She has just arrived in C city. She doesn’t expect any visitors.
She looks through the peephole in the door. When she sees who it is, she is shocked by confusion.
It is Dai Zhongheng.
It is late in the evening. Why does he come?
The bell rings again. Li Baoer feels her heart beating rapidly.
Although Dai Zhongheng told her that he had a girl in love. She has kind of dropped the idea. However, he is offering himself now. She is very nervous.
And she is very happy…
She takes a breath to stabilize her emotion and opens the door, “Why? Colonel Dai，what brings you here so late at night?”
Dai Zhongheng wears the army uniform. He is tall, handsome and strong.
Li Baoer looks at him and her heart jumps frequently.
Dai Zhongheng hesitates. Then, he takes out a big doll behind him and gives it to Li Baoer, “At noon, you said that your room lacked a doll. Do you think this one is OK?”
It is Snoopy. Although it looks a little tacky, it is half-man tall. It is imaginable that holding it will be very warm.
Li Baoer loses herself in the thought for a while and she blushes, “I…I was just kidding. I am already twenty-seven. How can I still want to have a doll?”
Hearing what Li Baoer said, Dai Zhongheng, carrying the doll, feels very embarra.s.sed.
“Ugh.” Dai Zhongheng makes a cough. He is shy, “Sorry. I might make a mistake. The doll…”
“I will take the doll…” Li Baoer grabs the doll and suddenly finds herself too anxious, “Well…Err, it is a pity. It is cute.”
Dai Zhongheng smiles, “It is great that you like it.”
“Well, doesn’t Colonel Dai have a girl in love? Did you ever give her a doll?”
Dai Zhongheng is stunned. He lowers his head to look at the floor, “She, she doesn’t like these things.”
“Oh. I see.” Li Baoer is upset. At the moment, her phone rings. She takes it to look. Her mother calls. She says, “Colonel Dai, why don’t you come in. I will answer the phone.”
Li Baoer turns to walk back to the house. Dai Zhongheng made the plan that he would leave after giving the gift. But now, he wonders whether he should come in the house or not.
He hesitates for a while until he finds that in the house, there are lots of things on the floor. He comes in and closes the door.
The house is cleaned up, but the floor is scattered with stuff like packing boxes and labels. Dai Zhongheng looks around and takes a broom to sweep the floor.
“Mom, don’t worry. I am good in C city. Ning is very nice to me…don’t hurry to arrange the blind date until I get everything settled down here…It is all right. I know. Mom, don’t worry.”
Some of Li Baoer’s speech is heard from the bedroom. When he hears the words “blind date”, Dai Zhongheng’s heart tightens.
“Blind date…”
“Hum. OK. I know. When my job gets stable, I will try to make some time and go home. Mom, take care. Be happy. I will give you a surprise in a few days. What surprise? I will not tell you now. That is all. Bye.” Li Baoer hangs up quickly and takes a long breath.
Coming to C city is a sudden decision. She didn’t know that her mother had arranged a blind date for her. Her head aches.
Hearing there are some noises outside, Li Baoer cries “d.a.m.n” silently.
She forgets that Dai Zhongheng is there.
She hurriedly comes out of the bedroom and finds that Dai Zhongheng has cleaned up the living room. Li Baoer is shy, “Sorry, Colonel Dai. My mother is verbose. I am sorry.”
Dai Zhongheng smiles, “It doesn’t matter. Mothers are all worried about their daughters. It is natural. And you should not feel bored. You should please her no matter what she says. To be nice to her when she is still here for you…” Dai Zhongheng pauses here. He is shy, “Sorry, what I am talking about!”
“It is all right.” Li Baoer shakes her head. She remembers the incident that General Dai Zhen lost his wife. Her heart aches, “Err, I just can’t get settled down and my mother is worried about me. Well, Colonel Dai, please wait for a minute.”
Saying this, Li Baoer runs into the kitchen and comes back with a cup of warm water, “Colonel Dai, I have just moved in. I don’t have any good things to treat you. Sorry.”
Dai Zhongheng takes the cup, “If you think I am your friend, please don’t say the guest’s formula.”
Hearing this, Li Baoer feels her heart aching. She smiles and sits down, “Are you busy in the Army? Why can you come out so late at night?”
“I have finished all the things.” Dai Zhongheng responds, “You may call me Zhongheng. It sounds better.”
“Oh, OK.” Zhongheng…It sounds intimate and close.
The living room suddenly gets quiet. They sit in silence and wonder what to talk about.
After quite a while, Dai Zhongheng puts down the cup, “I happened to hear some of your conversation with your mom. Are you going to have a blind date?”
Li Baoer’s heart is lifted. She strokes her hairs, “Hum, I am twenty-seven, already an old girl. I still have no boyfriend. My mother is worried about me. Ha.”
“Is the man of the blind date in B city?”
“Hum. I made a sudden decision to come here. There is someone for the blind date, but I have not met him. My mom said that his condition is good and she pushed me to meet him soon. ”
Dai Zhongheng’s eyes darken, “Then do you plan to find someone in C city or B city?”
Li Baoer ponders for a while, “I don’t have any idea. At my age, I am the one to be chosen. Actually, the so-called condition is not a problem. What is important is whether we can get along for the whole life.”
Hearing this, Dai Zhongheng is unhappy, “Don’t you think your idea too casual?”
Li Baoer glances at Dai Zhongheng and shakes her head, “Colonel Dai, not all the people have the condition like you. Without any advantages, I have to follow the fate. I have to get married anyway. Who wants to be alone for the whole life?”
“Do you mean that you will casually find someone and get married to him?” Dai Zhongheng bursts into a fury which comes from nowhere. His voice is slightly raised.
Aware of the unhappiness of Dai Zhongheng, Li Baoer is confused. Doesn’t Dai Zhongheng have a girl in love? Why is he angry about this issue?
And Dai Zhongheng misunderstands her.
“I didn’t mean that I will find someone casually to marry. I said I want to find someone to get along with for the whole life…” Saying this, Li Baoer is bored. She sighs, “Colonel Dai, please don’t discuss this issue with me. It is a shame.”
The words “Colonel Dai” sound harsh to Dai Zhongheng, “Call me Zhongheng. Only my soldiers will call me Colonel Dai.”
Li Baoer is confused, what’s what?
“Colonel Dai, I am not your soldier and I am not here to listen to your lecture. I may not appreciate your favor. Yes, I fail to appreciate your favor. But I know what I need. Colonel Dai may not bother about it.”
It seems that Li Baoer says so on purpose to go against his words. She mentions Colonel Dai twice continuously. Dai Zhongheng is extremely upset. He is going to lose his temper when suddenly he realizes that he is losing control of his emotions. Then his heart tightens.
It is correct. How to get married and how to arrange a blind date are not his business. Why is he so anxious?
At the bottom of his heart, he has been always avoiding and rejecting the word “Family”. However, it is his opinion. Why does he connect these with her?
“Sorry. I made a scene.” Saying this, Dai Zhongheng stands up, “I am here to give you the doll. If there are no other things, I may leave now.”
Dai Zhongheng turns to leave.
“Wait!”
Dai Zhongheng stops.
Li Baoer walks to Dai Zhongheng and says seriously, “Colonel Dai. I do like you very much. I admit it. But I know I am not good enough for you and I have given up the idea. I am very happy that Colonel Dai can be my friend. However, since you have got someone you like, you should treat her with all your heart. In the future, do not go to see other girls alone at night. It will cause some misunderstandings.
“Dai Zhongheng gives her a stare, “Who says I have…ugh, I know. Don’t worry.”
Li Baoer curls her lips, feeling that she thinks too much. She walks to the gate and opens the door, “Thank you for your Snoopy. Honestly it is my first gift from men. I will cherish it all my life. It is late. I should not keep you stay here.”
Dai Zhongheng is stunned.
Is she kidding? This is her first gift from men?
And she kicks him off…
He is going to leave, but not to be kicked off with embarra.s.sment.
He glances at Li Baoer and walks away.
Dai Zhongheng just goes out of the house, and Li Baoer immediately closes the door. He stands there blankly for quite a while.
Li Baoer gives a sigh. She leans at the door, feeling her heart broken into pieces.
It is finished. She says it so hard that Colonel Dai will definitely ignore her from now on.
“Li Baoer, you are really stupid. Why don’t you just make friends with him? At least, you still have the chance to meet him again. Now, he will try not to meet you any longer.” Li Baoer curls her lips. Tears are at the edge of pouring out. Looking at the snoopy in the living room, she finds her heart aches.
Why did he give her a gift? Why did he give her hope?
No, she cannot keep the snoopy!
Li Baoer looks up at the ceiling. She stares there blankly for a while and finally makes a decision.
She will go for the blind date in a few days.