There is a bus stop next to the mall. Qin Shen took Xu Man out of the square and asked her to go that way. "There is bus No. 306 that goes directly back to your community. Just wait here. You don't have to go back to the detachment."
Xu Man's sense of direction is not very good. After living in Mingzhou for a month, she can only barely recognize the routes between the detachment and the community, and that's on the premise that Qin Shen drives her there. She had never been to the vicinity of this mall and was not familiar with the bus situation. After hearing what Qin Shen said, she obediently agreed, followed him to the platform, and stood in front of the billboard waiting.
There weren't many people waiting for the bus at this time, only about seven or eight people, some sitting or standing. Xu Man was carrying her bag and standing in the middle of the platform with Qin Shen. Next to them was a long-haired young man, hunched over on a waiting chair, looking at his phone. But after a while, the phone in his hand ran out of battery and turned off automatically. The long-haired young man cursed, put the phone back in his pocket, took out a cigarette, lit it and smoked it.
The smoke drifted away, bringing with it waves of pungent and choking smells. Xu Man just felt her throat itchy and wanted to cough softly a few times, but Qin Shen beside her turned around and said to her, "Go wait in front."
After saying that, without waiting for her to reply, he walked to the left side of the platform. After being stunned for a moment, Xu Man nodded and followed him, her heart beating slightly faster.
Did he say that because he realized that the smell of smoke was bothering him?
Her heart was filled with ripples for Qin Shen's thoughtfulness, but she then forced herself to suppress it. After so many misunderstandings, she really didn't want to be so self-indulgent again.
Time and again, there was heart-pounding hope, and time and again, there was disappointment and self-mockery due to discovering the truth. The huge gap between the two was like the difference between heaven and earth. Not everyone could understand this feeling.
Don't think too much. She warned herself not to think too much about it, just treat it as a coincidence, another reason, or just his simple personal wish. In short, don't think about it herself, so as to avoid being disappointed in the end.
but--
Xu Man's thoughts were interrupted by two yellow lights. The No. 306 bus stopped beside the platform with a dull sound and opened the front and rear doors.
"The car is here." Qin Shen nodded to her and took two steps back to make room for her. "Get in the car."
Xu Man was stunned by his action. Does this mean that he... doesn't want to get in the car with her?
...That's right, he just said he would take her home, but didn't say where. After all, it's not like driving her home like usual, so it would be inconvenient, so it's normal to just take her to the bus stop.
She tried to convince herself that this was a very normal thing. No, it should be said that the fact that Qin Shen sent her to the bus stop was already worthy of gratitude. It was wrong for her to ask for more for this. However, the loss still surged up from the bottom of her heart uncontrollably. See, you are being too sentimental again. That’s why I told you not to think too much. Why think so much? What can you get except disappointment?
Thinking of this, Xu Man suppressed the disappointment in her heart and smiled at Qin Shen: "Yes. Thank you, Captain."
After thanking her, she said goodbye again. Qin Shen was stunned at first, then he smiled and said with a bit of helplessness and puzzlement: "What else do you want to see you? I'll get in the car with you. Get in quickly, or the driver will scold you."
He will go up with me?
Did I really think too much this time?
Xu Man was startled. Before she could feel the unexpected joy, the driver inside asked, "Hey, are you two going to get on the bus or not?" She got on the bus in a hurry, said sorry with a dry face, hurriedly swiped the bus card, and walked into the car.
Qin Shen came up later than her, but he had long legs and took big steps, so he surpassed her in just two steps. He found an empty double chair and motioned for her to sit in it.
At this time, the bus had already started moving, and inertia caused Xu Man's body to lean forward a little, not very much, but Qin Shen still held her shoulders, helped her stand steadily, smiled and said, "Be careful."
Xu Man's heart skipped a beat.
During her nearly one month of internship in the detachment, Qin Shen had driven her to and from get off work at least twenty times, if not thirty times. There were also those dining invitations that were more like dates than dates, which pushed their relationship to the peak of ambiguity. But it was just ambiguity. The closest they had been to each other was when he leaned over to guide her in writing a report. Apart from that, there was no close contact, not even any close contact due to work. Their interactions were no different from those of ordinary colleagues.
Even Tian Si, a love guru who claims to have had countless men, was puzzled by this situation. She said "emmm" for a long time on the other end of the phone, and finally gave an answer that made her not know how to evaluate, "Captain, you are such an upright and good man."
So even though Qin Shen's arm around her shoulders just now looked extremely natural, like an unintentional act of helping others, she still felt her face blush and her heart beat fast, and she didn't calm down even when she sat on the chair with her bag.
After she sat down, Qin Shen also sat on the chair next to her. It was a bit inaccurate to say "next to" because there was still some distance between the two of them, but usually Qin Shen drove and she sat on the passenger seat, so the distance between them was much larger than it is now, and the contrast created an illusion. And the distance between them was not very far. It was indeed very close, so close that as long as the driver turned a little wider, the centrifugal force generated would allow her to lean on the other's shoulder.
Such speculation made her feel a little embarrassed. She couldn't tell whether she was nervous or expectant. However, the situation she imagined never happened. Except for a little shaking when starting and stopping, the bus ran very steadily at other times. In addition, the road conditions were not complicated after nine o'clock in the evening, so the bus stopped at the bus stop near her rented community in less than half an hour.
They got out of the car and walked towards the community.
It had rained heavily the past two days, and the air was not as hot and humid as before. Occasionally, a breeze blew, bringing a slight chill. However, many people still chose to stay in their rooms with air conditioning. There were few people on the road, and after turning the corner of the road, there was no one to be seen. Only Xu Man and Qin Shen were walking slowly, and their shadows kept getting shorter and longer under the light of the street lamps.
Minnesota's air quality is excellent all year round, and its livability index ranks among the top five in the country. On summer nights, you can not only see a sky full of stars, but also a Milky Way pouring down from the sky. The brilliant galaxy twinkles with a faint silver glow and hangs on the sky, like a diamond necklace floating in the deep sea. The stars are evenly scattered, but they form a bunch, which makes people feel emotional and admire the beauty of nature.
The quiet night and the gorgeous sky, such a summer night made Xu Man's mood sooth and calm. She drifted away unconsciously and returned to the question she had been thinking about.
She slowed down her pace and thought.
What kind of feelings does Qin Shen have for her?
To say it was ordinary, if he told anyone about the things he had done, he would get the answer "he likes you" or "he is pursuing you". To say it was special, she could indeed feel it vaguely, but it was not very clear.
Every time when she was almost sure, things would change, telling her that her previous guesses were either she was overthinking or she had misunderstood, in short, she was just being wishful thinking; and when she was lost or even disappointed, there would always be a new turn of events, which would cheer her up again, making her think that maybe she was not overthinking, and that maybe that was really how he felt about her... She would keep switching back and forth between "He should like me, right?" and "I'm overthinking again, I'm just being wishful thinking."
It was very tiring, and she felt anxious and frustrated, but she was not a courageous person. She could not directly ask Qin Shen how he felt about her, so she could only keep on nagging him. At worst, she would just finish her internship, leave Mingzhou and return to Xinjing, without getting the result she wanted, and her memories of him would become a youthful past that she would recall with a hint of regret.
Tian Si was very disappointed with her idea, but he was far away in another province and couldn't rush over to wake her up. He could only patiently tell her the 36 strategies of Tian's love every time they chatted, trying to brainwash her, but he failed every time.
coward. This was the name her childhood friend half-jokingly gave her when she was going crazy, but Xu Man thought about it and felt that the word was very apt and there was nothing wrong with it.
She was a coward, hesitating in the circle she had drawn, and couldn't decide for a long time whether to take a step forward.
It’s not a question of whether you dare or not, it’s just that you haven’t even thought about it yet.
"Why don't you leave?"
Qin Shen's question brought Xu Man back to her senses from her thoughts. She looked up and realized that she had stopped by the roadside at some point and did not continue walking. The male protagonist who was thinking about something just now was standing in front of her, looking at her, with a slight smile on his handsome face, his eyes were as deep as the night and as bright as the stars. Just looking at him made her cheeks feel slightly hot, and her heart seemed to have branches sprouting, swaying gently.
She stared at him blankly, and suddenly her blood rushed to her head, and she impulsively wanted to ask aloud the question that had been tormenting her for almost a month.
Wondering.
Want to know.
"Captain," she mustered up the courage.
"Um?"
Qin Shen looked at her with a smile and responded.
"..." The courage seemed to last only a brief moment, and soon receded, taking with it the question that had reached the tip of his throat.
"Nothing." She looked down at the ground and whispered, "Just... thank you for your... maintenance in the restaurant before."
The person on the other side was silent for a few seconds, then let out a soft sigh and laugh.
"I thought you were going to thank me for spending so much money on you tonight," he said. "This dinner is not cheap. Those people didn't even know the details before they shouted 69.9 per person. In fact, several things had to be paid separately. I paid a lot for the drinks alone. I was really impressed by them. They drank more than ten dozen in half a day. I don't know how they drank it."
Xu Man raised her head blankly, as if she didn't react to his words.
Seeing her dark eyes staring at him, as pure as a mountain spring without any impurities, Qin Shen's heart began to beat slowly.
"I want to ask you a question."
He said.
"Have you ever been in love?"
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