"By the way, why are you..." Jiang Hui looked at Zhou Xiuwen and then suddenly stopped talking.
Jiang Hui rarely looks people up and down, even if they are acquaintances. His eyes usually stay on the shoulders and above.
Only after a long period of conversation and contact did she slowly form an overall impression and perception of this person.
She didn't notice it when the other party first came in, but now that he was sitting close to her, she realized that Zhou Xiuwen was wearing a plain white military uniform today. The dark patterns on the collar and sleeves and the neat tassels on the shoulders made him look very solemn, even with a sense of solemnity.
Perhaps because Jiang Hui's gaze was too obvious, Zhou Xiuwen looked back at himself for no reason, thinking that there was something rude about his clothes that caused Jiang Hui to look at him so closely.
"You're going to see them off today." Jiang Hui said suddenly.
Zhou Xiuwen was stunned for a moment before he realized the surprise in her words, and subconsciously said: "How do you know..."
The girl whispered, "I saw it on the news this morning."
In fact, the report did not say so clearly, only saying that the soldiers who died in this battle will be buried collectively at 11 a.m., and their bodies will be escorted away by a special plane. The news is very brief, without any extra seconds, and only mentions the participants at the end, such and such troops and such and such people.
Zhou Xiuwen had been missing for the past two days, which was not surprising, but he had not shown up today, nor had he sent any communication messages. Moreover, when he showed up, he was wearing a military uniform, so it was obvious that he was going to deliver a gift.
In fact, when she saw the news this morning, she wanted to ask about the situation in Xiuwen next week. However, the news that "the 27 lanes near Liukong Port were blocked and traffic control was carried out" made her regain her sanity.
She went to Zhou Xiuwen to confirm... Even if they confirmed that the soldiers were attending the funeral today, what would it matter? She wanted to go and see him off, but it was not an ordinary funeral where she could go whenever she wanted.
That was the ceremony of conferring honors on the deceased, and the last elegy that the empire wrote for these heroes who died heroically. How could she go when she had no relatives or friends? Jiang Hui even didn't know the names of the soldiers who had protected them.
Even if Zhou Xiuwen could help her, what could he do? Could he ask him to comfort her when he was also sad? Or could he help her find a way to go to the scene and go through the procedures... It was meaningless. The person was dead, it was meaningless.
Jiang Hui was in a very anxious mood, so he had to force himself to focus entirely on assembling the mecha, hoping to distract himself somewhat.
Unfortunately, the effect didn't seem to be very good, and she failed to do either well.
So when she saw Zhou Xiuwen's clothes, Jiang Hui couldn't help but ask - she had originally wanted to remain silent about it.
Zhou Xiuwen didn't seem to expect to hear such an answer. He forced a bitter smile and nodded: "Yes."
"... just stop laughing." Jiang Hui turned his head away. The other person probably didn't know how unnatural his expression was. Really, why did he laugh when he felt so miserable inside? The more he laughed, the more miserable he felt.
"Why are you like Huan Xian now? You have to make yourself uncomfortable and put on a fake mask even when you are unhappy. There is no one here who you need to pretend to be in front of. Don't worry, I won't be scared by your expressions and emotions." Where is the frank Zhou Xiuwen that she first met
Jiang Hui clearly remembered that the other party was very straightforward at the beginning, and a little timid, and could express his inability to do or endure anything. How could he suddenly change his appearance in just a few months, or... Is this the other party's true face
Zhou Xiuwen was stunned after being seen through by Jiang Hui again and again. Then, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders, his straight body and back relaxed all of a sudden, and he tilted his body so that his shoulders and back rested on the back of the chair.
The young man sighed, as if he was brewing his emotions or just adjusting his mood. After a long while, he said, "A lot of things have really happened recently."
Yes, who said it wasn't? She still hasn't recovered from it. Jiang Hui was like this, let alone Zhou Xiuwen, who was facing a more complicated situation.
Jiang Hui didn't necessarily want to listen to the other party's complaints or anything like that, she just felt that he seemed particularly tired today - even though he looked normal when he came to her.
But there were still signs. Perhaps he was a little sad, he seemed to be unable to maintain his usual gentle and optimistic attitude, and he looked like a taut string, very uncomfortable. Jiang Hui thought that he probably needed to rest, instead of forcing himself to speak politely.
There was silence between the two of them. After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Xiuwen's voice was heard again in the room.
"I'm sorry, but I haven't treated you well since I invited you to my home. I'm probably a very irresponsible host."
Jiang Hui shook his head: "That's not very considerate. We would like to thank you and your family for taking us in temporarily. We are sorry for the disturbance. We are just grateful. But..."
She changed her tone, a smile appeared in the corner of her eyes, and she said, "Since we came here in a hurry this time, we can count it from next time. Next time we come, classmate Zhou must treat us well."
Zhou Xiuwen's brows relaxed a lot as well, and he felt a little lighter.
"By the way, I came here for one more thing..." It was almost time, and Zhou Xiuwen was about to open his computer to check the time when he heard two footsteps at the door.
"You're not ready yet? Xiu Wen, didn't you tell us to wait downstairs early? Why are you two late?" The young man's lively and energetic voice suddenly broke the somewhat dull atmosphere in the room.
Then, a calmer voice sounded. Hillman hurried into the room. After a while, the other party slowly appeared outside the half-closed door. It was Huan Xian, who had not been seen for two days.
It turned out that Zhou Xiuwen had already informed Huan Xian and Hillman before coming to find Jiang Hui.
As a result, he talked alone in the room for so long that he forgot about the other two people he had informed before, which caused them to come to him in person.
Jiang Hui: ??? You can forget something like this?!
She looked at the person opposite her with an indescribable look. The depression and anxiety on the other person's face just now had quietly disappeared, replaced by a kind of shy feeling of realizing that he had made a mistake.
Receiving Jiang Hui's questioning gaze, Zhou Xiuwen touched his nose and said, "It's nothing, actually. My father said he wants to invite you to dinner tonight. Do you want to go?"
Zhou Xiuwen's father, who is also the owner of this mansion, has never been seen since Jiang Hui came to the Zhou family.