He didn't give Zhou Jinglan a friendly look.
"What are you yelling about?" Qiao Gaoyang said impatiently, his face clearly showing his unwelcome. "Who's your second brother?"
Zhou Jinglan: "..."
It seems that Brother Qiao has a lot of opinions about him!
However, after reflecting on it, Zhou Jinglan still couldn't figure out exactly when he had offended someone, which made him feel somewhat wronged.
Qiao Xinruo already felt awkward, and now that Qiao Gaoyang had inexplicably given her the cold shoulder, she felt even more awkward, but she couldn't remain silent at this moment.
"Second brother, why are you so angry?" Qiao Xinruo tugged at Qiao Gaoyang's sleeve and winked at Zhou Jinglan.
Even if they have objections, they should discuss it behind closed doors as a family. It's not appropriate to do it in front of others, especially since she was the one who first agreed to go out to dinner with Zhou Jinglan.
Qiao Gaoyang glanced at his sister and realized that what he was doing was not quite right, his eyes darting left and right.
"So, you guys are going out to have some fun?" Qiao Gaoyang's tone was slightly less aggressive.
"Mm." Qiao Xinruo nodded.
"Come back early, and don't hang out with shady people. You're a young lady, don't stay out too late, or people will see you and spread rumors," Qiao Gaoyang admonished.
Qiao Xinruo was about to refute his old-fashioned ideas when Zhou Jinglan quickly made a guarantee before she could even open her mouth.
"Don't worry, Brother Qiao, I will definitely bring Xinruo back on time, I promise!" Zhou Jinglan said earnestly. Even though Qiao Gaoyang was not nice to him, he was still very friendly and even made a gesture as if he were swearing to the heavens.
You can't hit someone who's smiling. Zhou Jinglan was being so nice, and for Qiao Gaoyang to still give him the cold shoulder was really going too far.
But he simply couldn't bring himself to be nice to Zhou Jinglan.
"Good to know." Then, Qiao Gaoyang went inside.
Upon entering the house, I found my elder brother and sister-in-law, along with Yueya, secretly watching the show from the doorway.
"You guys knew this kid was coming?" Qiao Gaoyang was annoyed. He felt like his older brother and Yueya had left him out. Now they didn't even share anything with him. Was this still a loving family?
"Fine, you're all keeping this from me now. What do you mean by this? Are you trying to sow discord?"
"No," Su Yueya quickly reassured her second brother, "We only found out now. Xinruo was acting all mysterious today, staying outside the space all morning. We guessed something was up, so we came out to watch the show. We didn't mean to hide it from you."
"Hmph..." Qiao Gaoyang was fairly satisfied with this explanation.
"It seems that Zhou Jinglan is quite serious about this. He actively sought out Xinruo as soon as he arrived. Most importantly, Xinruo agreed. I think there's potential between them!" Meng Yingxin said.
Although she joined the Qiao family later, Meng Yingxin had a pretty good understanding of Qiao Xinruo's personality.
If this proud sister-in-law had no interest in Zhou Jinglan at all, she would never have agreed to go out with him on the weekend. What else could this be but a date?
"Tch, who knows? Xinruo is all about looks. That kid is just average except for his face," Qiao Gaoyang retorted stubbornly.
On this point, Qiao Shouyan was on the same side as his elder brother.
“That’s right, if he wants to pursue Xinruo, he’ll have to get past us two first!” Qiao Shouyan said seriously.
Meng Yingxin and Su Yueya: "..."
They were too lazy to say anything. Qiao Xinruo was a person with her own opinions. Did it really belong to them, her two older brothers, to decide this?
While the group was engaged in a heated discussion, Qiao Xinruo and Zhou Jinglan had already left.
"Well... my second brother, he might be acting a little strange today, please don't take his attitude to heart," Qiao Xinruo explained awkwardly.
The atmosphere was already a bit awkward, and Qiao Gaoyang's actions made it even more awkward.
Qiao Xinruo felt her toes digging into the ground, and she felt more and more that coming out with Zhou Jinglan today was a mistake. How did she end up in such an awkward situation? Sigh!
“I know my second brother doesn’t mean any harm. Even though I don’t have a sister, if a gay man asked my sister out, I would be just as nervous as my second brother.”
“However, what I promised my second brother earlier is true, Xinruo. I will definitely bring you back on time tonight and won’t cause you any harm,” Zhou Jinglan said sincerely.
Qiao Xinruo: "..."
Second brother?
Xinruo?
Wait, when did she become so familiar with Zhou Jinglan? Why does he call her that so fluently?
"Second Brother? Xinruo? I didn't realize, Zhou Jinglan, you're quite the social butterfly," Qiao Xinruo said.
Zhou Jinglan smiled, quite pleased that Qiao Xinruo addressed him by his name instead of calling him "Comrade Zhou." As for Qiao Xinruo's questioning—
Zhou Jinglan stole a glance at Qiao Xinruo and noticed that her expression didn't seem to indicate she was truly angry, so he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He doesn't really have much experience pursuing people or dating, but he can ask other people around him.
Having thick skin is a very important point.
That's why he dared to call them "Second Brother" and "Xinruo," trying to get closer to them.
"After all, you're my savior. I think we're pretty close, right?" Zhou Jinglan said shamelessly.
Qiao Xinruo: "..."
I'm impressed.
Zhou Jinglan had done his homework for this date. He anticipated that the atmosphere might be a little awkward at first, but he couldn't let that awkwardness last too long, otherwise it would make Qiao Xinru feel uncomfortable, and then there would be basically no hope of a second date.
Therefore, he had to find a way to quickly close the distance between the two and eliminate this sense of unfamiliarity and awkwardness.
"Xinruo, what do you usually like to do? I heard that you used to be a doctor in a military hospital instead of a military doctor. How did you suddenly join the army?" Zhou Jinglan asked.
Chatting about everyday things and learning about each other's preferences not only gives you the opportunity to get to know each other better during the conversation, but also helps to eliminate awkward silences—a win-win situation.
And Qiao Xinruo did not seem to mind Zhou Jinglan's question.
"Studying professional issues to improve my skills." Qiao Xinruo's eyes shone as she said this. "I've loved medicine since I was a child and aspired to become a top doctor, and I've been working towards that goal all along..."
Zhou Jinglan seemed to see the little goddess who descended from the sky, saving him from dire straits, her whole body glowing.
Qiao Xinruo is shining right now.
“As for leaving the military hospital and joining the army, that was an accident. My sister and I were tricked,” Qiao Xinruo said.
"We've been tricked?" Zhou Jinglan was quite surprised.
After all, given Qiao Xinruo and Su Yueya's family background and strength, staying in the military hospital wouldn't mean they could do whatever they wanted, but at least they wouldn't be taken advantage of and forced to leave in such a frustrating way.
"What happened? Can you tell me in detail?" Zhou Jinglan asked.
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