Chapter 32 Sending people away regardless of the time

"What would you like to drink? Milk or warm water?" Dan Anwen walked towards the kitchen.

"Drink warm water." The girl was puzzled; why were milk and warm water the only two options?

She seems to have only drunk water and beverages at Dan Si's house; she's never actually drunk milk.

Dan Anwen smiled slightly where the girl couldn't see, and went into the kitchen to pour her a glass of warm water.

"Uncle Dan, where is Dan Siren?" the girl asked the man sitting idly to the side, holding a glass of water.

At this time in the past, Guan Xiang and Yao Xin would have arrived long ago, and the three of them would usually be playing in the living room. Why is there not a single one of them today?

"Are you sure it's today for studying?" The man's eyes held a faint smile, his voice deep and magnetic.

"Isn't today Friday?"

The girl was puzzled. She hadn't misremembered; Sister Jing had given her a day off at noon today, which meant she had to come to Dan Si's house to study.

The man chuckled, took out his phone, and showed the girl the time on the screen.

Why is it Thursday?

The girl was a little embarrassed; she really hadn't paid attention to the time. Was it really necessary to be so awkward?

"Uncle Dan, I'll head back now." The girl grabbed her schoolbag and was about to get up and leave.

"Wait a minute," the man called out to her. "Don't rush, have you finished reading that book from last time?"

The girl nodded blankly. She had already finished reading it, but hadn't met a man yet, so she hadn't had time to return it.

Fortunately, she always brought the book with her when she came to Danyuan. Thinking of this, the girl took the book out of her bag and handed it to the man.

"Uncle Dan, I've finished reading it."

Dan Anwen's indifferent expression faltered slightly. He took the book and said, "Then come with me to the study upstairs to exchange it for another one."

Gu Zhaodi didn't want to leave at this time, so she nodded and followed the man to the third floor.

A man's study should resemble the space of someone who enjoys reading. Unlike the modern bookshelves in his office, this room features mahogany bookshelves, the deep red color adding a touch of mystery to the books.

The man categorized the books and placed them on a side bookshelf. The girl followed the direction of the books and realized that the books here seemed to be the same set as the books in his office.

"Uncle Dan, you bought two sets of the exact same books?" the girl asked in surprise.

Dan An paused in his hand as he put the book down, and said calmly, "It's more convenient to read this way."

He didn't like carrying books around, so he simply prepared three sets of books, one of which was in the study of Jinshan Villa.

The girl secretly concluded that Uncle Dan really seemed like a knowledgeable scholar. He loved reading so much, and the books were kept in such good condition that they even contained Uncle Dan's notes.

While the girl was choosing books, the man asked her in a low voice how she had been doing lately.

"It's pretty good, especially since my grades have improved a bit." The girl's expression brightened as she spoke, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

"By the way, it's winter vacation already, why haven't you gone home yet?" As far as he knew, the girl's home was in Lin'an City, which was at least a day's journey from Nan'an City.

The girl replied casually, "I bought a ticket for the 27th."

Dan Anwen didn't ask any more questions, but instead let the girl focus on choosing books.

"You have a month during winter break, so you can choose a couple more books."

Gu Zhaodi stopped picking out books, turned around and looked at the man sitting on the sofa drinking coffee, her eyes filled with even more joy.

"Thank you, Uncle Dan." The girl didn't refuse; she was eager to absorb more knowledge.

Finally, after careful consideration, the girl chose two books to take home.

Seeing that the girl had made her choice, the man offered to take her home.

The girl pursed her lips and refused in a low voice: "Uncle Dan, you don't need to this time. It's daytime now."

The girl implied that it was not safe at night and she did not need someone to take her home.

Dan Anwen understood, but he did not agree. "It's daytime, but there's no time limit for giving someone a ride."

It's just a matter of whether you want to send it or not.

Seeing that the man had already taken the car keys, Gu Zhaodi had no choice but to get into his car and return to the dessert shop.

On the bus, the girl suddenly realized that she didn't seem to have Uncle Dan's contact information, and she didn't know when she would be able to return the book next time.

"Uncle Dan, can I add your contact information?" The girl asked, feeling a little uneasy.

The man's eyes narrowed slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Of course."

As he spoke, the man parked his car on the side of the road and opened WeChat for the girl to scan.

After adding him, the girl looked at the man's WeChat profile picture, which was a completely black background image.

The WeChat name was even more casual, just the capital letters of a man's name, DAW.

The girl thought for a moment and changed his WeChat nickname to "Uncle Dan".

When we arrived at the dessert shop, we found Sister Jing standing in front of the door, staring into the distance, lost in thought.

Su Wenjing frowned when she saw the girl get out of an expensive car.

Watching the girl say goodbye to the people in the car until the car drove away, Su Wenjing walked to Gu Zhaodi's side.

"Zhao Zhao, who gave you that car?" Su Wenjing was a little worried. Zhao Zhao had no relatives in this city, and the car wasn't cheap.

The girl withdrew her gaze from the departing car. "That was Dan Si's uncle. I thought it was Friday, so his uncle brought me back."

Speaking of this, Su Wenjing remembered that she only took the day off today because she didn't want to make desserts, and she didn't expect the little girl to get the time wrong.

"Now that you're back, could you come with me somewhere?" Su Wenjing's eyes held a hint of sadness.

The girl didn't know the source of her emotions, but she knew that Jingjie was extremely vulnerable right now. "Okay, I'll go put my bag away first."

......

"Sister Jing, who is he?" The girl had some vague guesses as she followed Sister Jing to the cemetery in the suburbs.

The man in the photo on the tombstone is wearing a solemn dark green military uniform, standing tall and making a solemn and sacred salute, with sharp and piercing eyes.

“He is my fiancé.” Su Wenjing paused for a moment, then turned to the girl with tears in her eyes. “Zhaozhao, let me tell you a story, my story with him.”

“Okay.” The girl knew that Sister Jing needed to express her emotions, just like she had last time, feeling overwhelmed and wanting to confide in someone.

Su Wenjing slowly recounted their love story: childhood sweethearts, innocent and carefree, a couple everyone in the compound envied, until five years ago...

“He sacrificed himself in a mission five years ago, but his remains were never found…” Tears streamed down Su Wenjing’s face. The beautiful memories eventually led to the most cruel scene. “Does that prove he might still be alive?”

After saying this, a glimmer of light appeared in Su Wenjing's originally dull eyes, but then, as if remembering something, it gradually faded away.

"But I've waited five years, and he still hasn't come back, I..."

"Is today the anniversary of his death?" She sensed that Sister Jing was in a low mood when she was at the store entrance.

“Yes, it’s his death anniversary. Even if I don’t believe he’s gone, it’s hard to change that fact, isn’t it?” Su Wenjing’s throat tightened as she uttered the words “death anniversary” with difficulty.

Five years have passed, and so many things have quietly changed. She went from initially hoping for his return to gradually becoming numb to waiting, and finally accepting the fact that he had really left.

Gu Zhaodi didn't know how to comfort her fiancé who had lost her lover, so she could only hug her.

We hope to offer her some warmth and ease her pain in this deserted cemetery.

"Zhao Zhao, let's go back." Su Wenjing wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, regaining her usual energetic self. "He doesn't like me crying."

"Thank you, Zhao Zhao. Thank you for listening to me today. It seems like you're the only person I know in this city."

The girl knew that Sister Jing was not from Nan'an City, but because he was buried in the Martyrs' Cemetery in Nan'an City, she followed him here and stayed to guard this empty tombstone.

On the way back, Su Wenjing explained why she opened a dessert shop in the business district.

“We grew up together in the military compound in City B. Later, he was transferred to the military region in Nan’an City, while I went to university in City B.”

“He can’t go back to City B at will, so I come to Nan’an City to see him every weekend. We often hang out near the business district, where I have the best memories of him and me in Nan’an City.”

Su Wenjing's eyes lit up with a hint of sweetness. "He loves desserts, so I opened a dessert shop in the shopping district."

As Jingjie told her story, the girl seemed to see those sweet years they shared.

"You wait for him where you are, and he will find his way back."

He watched as the little girl earnestly told him that he would come back.

Even though she knew it was just a consolation, a glimmer of hope still burned in her heart, because so many people had told her that he would never come back.