"Thank you, Uncle Zheng." Hanhan was familiar with the customer and took the candy, sharing a piece with her little sister.
"Children shouldn't eat so much candy. Hanhan, you're losing your baby teeth, don't you know that?" Zhou Xing came downstairs with a cold face. When Hanhan heard him say that, she obediently put the candy on the coffee table.
"It's okay to eat one less piece." Staff Officer Zheng was unwilling to give up and offered the candy forward again.
"What's wrong? Hanhan took her little sister inside to play." Zhou Xing seemed to dislike Staff Officer Zheng's contact with the two children, and his words made Staff Officer Zheng somewhat embarrassed, unsure whether to put down the candy he was holding or give it to.
"Officer Zheng, don't listen to him. He just bought a big bag of candy." Zhou Xing's mother came over and tried to smooth things over, but Zhou Xing's face became even uglier.
Hanhan led her younger sister into the dining room, and when she saw Qin Xiaoyu, she snuggled up to her and acted coquettishly.
"Xiaoyue, have you introduced her to Xiaoyu yet?" Zhou Xing's mother walked in with a smile. Now her hairstyle was Qin Xiaoyu's, and she looked several years younger than before.
"Not yet, Xiaoyu, come here." Zhou Yue walked around the table and led Qin Xiaoyu into the living room.
"This is my godson's mother, and this is my father's most capable assistant, Staff Officer Zheng."
Upon hearing this, Staff Officer Zheng stood up abruptly and gave Qin Xiaoyu a military salute.
Qin Xiaoyu was a little confused and didn't know how to return the salute. When Hanhan saw Staff Officer Zheng salute, she also followed his example and returned the salute. This made everyone in the room laugh, and the atmosphere eased.
"Please sit down, chat casually, you young people have things to say." Zhou Xing's mother gestured for Qin Xiaoyu to sit down, then took one child by the hand and headed upstairs, giving Zhou Yue and Zhou Xing a meaningful look. Zhou Xing kept a straight face, ignoring his mother's hint, and refused to leave.
"Zhou Xing! Come here! Let's see what we're having for tonight!" Zhou Yue was getting anxious and tried to lure him away from the situation.
“Anyway, I’m not drinking it. Go ask Dad.” Zhou Xing wasn’t fooled.
"Hey! You, come here right now!" Zhou Yue suddenly became forceful and dragged Zhou Xing towards the dining room. The two of them tore and tugged as they walked out, leaving only Qin Xiaoyu and Staff Officer Zheng in the living room.
"What kind of books do you usually like to read?" Staff Officer Zheng adjusted his breathing and made conversation.
"What?" Qin Xiaoyu was stumped by his question. It took her a while to understand it, but she had no answer.
"So, what kind of books do you usually like to read?"
"I don't read books," Qin Xiaoyu said honestly. "I don't even have a cell phone, so what's the point of reading?"
"So what kind of movies do you like to watch?" Staff Officer Zheng had no choice but to change the subject.
"I don't watch movies."
"So what kind of music do you like to listen to?" Staff Officer Zheng still had a smile on his face, but for some reason it looked a bit like he was crying.
"I..." Qin Xiaoyu couldn't bear to look at his pitiful little eyes, so she decided to just find a song to fill the void.
“She doesn’t listen to music.” Zhou Xing barged in without any politeness, extinguishing Staff Officer Zheng’s last hope.
"Zhou Xing, you come here right now!" Zhou Yue tried to clear the room again, but this time the rhythm was completely disrupted, and Staff Officer Zheng could no longer keep up the awkward conversation. Qin Xiaoyu also realized that this was clearly a blind date.
Staff Officer Zheng finally made it to lunchtime, when Commander Zhou's mother, along with Hanhan and her siblings, came downstairs to his rescue.
Qin Xiaoyu had eaten a formal meal at the Zhou family's house once and knew roughly where the tables were set. Commander Zhou sat at the head of the long table, with Zhou Xing's mother to his right and someone else to his left—whoever was originally there, it was Hanhan. Whether she felt the treatment was unfair or not, Zhou Xing's mother brought back a high chair and sandwiched her little sister between herself and Commander Zhou.
Zhou Yue sat next to Han Han, Zhou Xing sat next to Zhou Xing's mother, and Qin Xiaoyu was placed next to Zhou Yue. This time, Zhou Yue and Zhou Xing were both moved to Zhou Xing's mother's side, with Qin Xiaoyu sitting next to Han Han on the right and Staff Officer Zheng on the left.
Qin Xiaoyu felt very uncomfortable with this seating arrangement. However, as a guest, she had no right to object and could only silently take her seat.
"Officer Zheng, let's go somewhere else. My sister's so annoying, she always fights with me at meals." Zhou Xing pushed Officer Zheng aside without a word and sat down next to Qin Xiaoyu without any further explanation. Under the astonished gazes of the whole family, a embarrassed Officer Zheng could only hurriedly sit down next to Zhou Yue. Zhou Xing's mother opened her mouth but didn't say anything; her eyes already radiated hatred towards Zhou Xing.
This meal was incredibly awkward. He had originally wanted to give Staff Officer Zheng a chance to curry favor, but now he was sitting all alone on the outside, unable to reach Qin Xiaoyu and her two children.
"Little Yu, you don't know, Staff Officer Zheng and Hanhan are old acquaintances, they have a very good relationship," Zhou Xing's mother said with a smile.
"Yes, Hanhan is really smart. Last time I brought combat supplies, there were only English labels on them, which I couldn't translate, but Hanhan was able to read them." Staff Officer Zheng said, his eyes full of admiration.
Commander Zhou slammed his bowl down triumphantly, his lips pursed like a catfish, his expression saying, "What else can you say about the soldiers I command?"
"He's just a kid, don't listen to his nonsense." Qin Xiaoyu didn't dare to take credit and modestly replied.
"Don't say that. Children should be praised for their strengths. Chinese parents take pride in suppressing their children, which is not a good thing." Zhou Xing's words left Qin Xiaoyu and Zhou Xing's mother speechless, and the atmosphere that had just become lively fell silent again.
"Officer Zheng, have you been back to your hometown recently?" Zhou Xing suddenly asked.
"No," Staff Officer Zheng quickly sat up straight and answered honestly.
Zhou Xing gave him a look, roughly meaning "at ease," telling him to relax, but Staff Officer Zheng dared not. At this moment, Zhou Xing was like a fully armed enemy, ready to fire at any moment.
"So, people from your hometown have come?" Zhou Xing asked, feigning surprise.
"Yes, it's here." Staff Officer Zheng buried his head, almost burying it in the bowl.
"With so many people coming from your hometown, your monthly salary probably isn't enough to cover your expenses, right?"
When Zhou Xing starts fussing and nagging, there's no room for anyone else.
Qin Xiaoyu realized he was putting Zheng, the staff officer, down. She felt a little sorry for this honest and unassuming soldier; what had he done to deserve this?
"It's alright, it's enough."
"He's just a combat staff officer, how could he possibly spend all his salary and allowance? Zhou Xing, go upstairs after you finish eating." Zhou Xing's mother was about to explode.
"I haven't finished eating yet, can I have another bowl of rice?" Zhou Xing got up and served himself a full bowl of rice.
“People from my hometown keep coming over. It’s not just a waste of money, it’s also a waste of time. Who can stand entertaining relatives every day, right?” Zhou Xing said with a grin, looking at Staff Officer Zheng.
"Zhou Xing, you talked so much during the meal today!" Zhou Xing's mother had reached her limit. Zhou Xing probably felt he had performed enough and stopped talking.
"Little Fish, you've figured it out, haven't you? Zhou Yue and I wanted to play matchmaker for you, but Zhou Yue said she wanted to tell you first so you wouldn't be too shy to come. So we did it without telling you first, don't be angry."
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