Chapter 14 Ambiguity Breeds
Chapter Fourteen: Ambiguity Sprouts
In the silent exchange of glances, ambiguity seemed to arise naturally.
Li Yue didn't know where to look, and heard him chuckle softly, "Why are you blushing?"
"Who's blushing?"
Just then, a girl called out from a few steps away from the group of young men who had just walked over, "See Brother Wei?"
The two of them looked at each other simultaneously.
The girl was wearing a military uniform, and several young men and women next to her were dressed in the same uniform.
Ling Jianwei nodded and greeted, "What a coincidence, is the troupe off today?"
"Yes, I performed in a rural area yesterday, so I'm free today." The girl looked Li Yue up and down. "Is this your blind date?"
After saying that, he frowned and said, "Wait a minute, didn't you say you were looking for Sister Hong?"
Li Yue felt embarrassed. Ling Jianwei didn't explain further, only saying, "This is my friend, Li Yue."
The girl paused for a moment, seemingly not understanding the connection, but she had other things to do, and said, "Alright then, we're going to the deputy commander's house, we'll be going now."
After saying goodbye, Li Yue glanced at him thoughtfully.
He twitched the corner of his mouth slightly: "What's wrong?"
Li Yue said, "I'm going home too."
“Okay, I’ll go pick up the old man while I’m at it.”
But sitting in the car, Li Yue couldn't help but ask, "What's the name of the girl you went on a blind date with?"
He glanced at her: "Xie Hongping."
I had no recollection of the name at all, and at first I wondered if it might be an important character in some book.
The car suddenly fell silent. Ling Jianwei paused and said, "I've only met her once. When her family moved to the compound, I was already studying at military academy. I met her once when I went home for a break, but we didn't keep in touch. A year later, her family was transferred to another unit and moved away. That day at the teahouse, it wasn't really a blind date, it was more like meeting an acquaintance. That's what I told her."
Li Yue smiled awkwardly: "I think she's quite cheerful."
He listened and replied, "Looks like you were paying a lot of attention to her that day."
"No, I can always hear her voice when we sit next to each other."
"Still being stubborn. What would happen if you admitted you were interested?"
"But I really didn't pay any special attention."
"Okay, okay, I didn't notice," he said. "By the way, are we going to my great-uncle's house for dinner on Sunday?"
Li Yue looked at him: "Are we going to your great-uncle's house for dinner again?"
“I rarely come back to visit my family, shouldn’t I visit him a couple more times? He asked me to bring you along, I don’t want to get scolded.”
Li Yue asked, "How many days of vacation do you have left?"
"It won't be long."
After calculating, there was indeed very little left. Once his vacation ended, it would be difficult for them to have any contact.
Li Yue nodded.
He seemed to have fulfilled some wish, and his expression relaxed: "You should have agreed earlier. You left me hanging a few days ago. I don't know how you could be so heartless."
Li Yue turned to look out the window and whispered, "I didn't leave you hanging. I already told you it was to avoid their gossip."
"So when I went to find you earlier, they didn't tell you?"
"The storm should have passed."
Ling Jianwei clicked her tongue and said nothing more.
This time, Ling Jianwei drove the car directly into the family compound and then dropped her off.
Li Yue planned to be open and honest; she and Ling Jianwei were just ordinary friends, and friendship was a normal thing. That was the kind of thing she intended to say if anyone asked.
However, from the time she got off the bus until she entered her home, she didn't encounter a single person.
The house was quite lively. Besides my cousin, there was Gu Yanmei and another neighbor girl, who was also unemployed.
The three watched as Li Yue walked in carrying a shoebox and two bags of different sizes.
Gu Yanmei asked in surprise, "Li Yue, Qingqing said that Deputy Battalion Commander Ling is looking for you?"
Li Yue handed her the Sachima: "There are exactly three pieces left, one for each of you."
Seeing that there was food, no one asked any more questions, but Li Yue didn't leave. The three of them asked her to open the shoebox, and then they all exclaimed "Wow!": "What beautiful shoes! Did Deputy Battalion Commander Ling give them to you?"
Li Yue nodded: "Yes, actually I bought it last time, but I left it in the car and forgot to take it. He stood me up once and said he would apologize to me."
"This apology gift is so high-class!"
How much did it cost?
"Still leather shoes!"
When someone tried to touch it, Li Yue said, "You have food in your hands, and it's oily. I'll show it to you."
"Look how much you treasure it."
"And what's in that bag?" my cousin asked.
“Big steamed buns, he took me to play in the compound, and I saw that the steamed buns at the service station were huge, so I bought a bag of them, but Deputy Battalion Commander Ling paid for them.”
When the bag was opened, the three of them exclaimed in surprise again:
"What a big steamed bun."
It smells delicious.
Li Yue said, "You can have one to try; it's even more fragrant when it's freshly steamed."
The three girls ate their steamed buns with smiles on their faces, while Li Yue put away her shoes and took them back to her room.
Gu Yanmei asked, "What's the current situation between you and Deputy Battalion Commander Ling?"
Li Yue replied, "Nothing's wrong. He's just visiting relatives in the capital and will be returning to camp in a few days. He's just killing time by finding someone to keep him occupied."
My cousin looked at me with disbelief: "Is it really that simple?"
"It's that simple. We actually said that on purpose at the wedding."
Li Yue didn't want to hide it anymore and told everything in one go.
When the topic of the wedding came up, Gu Yanmei asked, "By the way, has Rongrong come to see you?"
"No, why is she looking for me?"
Gu Yanmei said, "She said that she felt very bored after getting married. She lived in Dongping's house and didn't get along with Dongping's mother."
My cousin chimed in, "It's only been a few days, and you're already at odds?"
Gu Yanmei pouted and shook her head: "I don't know about them, maybe they just didn't get along to begin with. Rongrong wants to move out, but Dongping thinks it's unnecessary."
Li Yue had no interest in their trivial matters. The matter was already settled, and it was best not to get involved anymore.
She didn't interrupt, put the steamed bun into a bowl, and asked her cousin what would go well with the steamed bun for dinner.
My cousin suggested, "How about shredded potatoes, or stewed cabbage with glass noodles?"
Her family's diet leans towards noodles, but Li Yue is a southerner who grew up eating rice. Even though she's been here for half a year, she's not used to this kind of food. But now, she eats to survive, so she has no choice. However, she feels very comfortable eating with Ling Jianwei.
He said he would go to his maternal grandfather's house on Sunday, and Li Yue was looking forward to it.
The main reason is that my maternal grandfather's family has such excellent cooking skills; even a simple stir-fried cabbage tastes delicious.
But when Sunday came, my cousin said, "I'm going shopping with Li Xiufang today, and Yueyue, you have to come with me."
Li Yue said, "But I have an appointment with someone else."
"With whom?"
"A friend."
"Can you postpone it? We both have to work during the week, and we're only free on Sundays."
Just as Li Yue was about to say something, her aunt said from the side, "You should help your brother first. Is your brother's matter more important or your going out to have fun?"
Li Yue didn't want to argue, so she asked her cousin, "Then I'll do what I did last time, accompany you for half the walk, and then come back."
My cousin nodded and said okay.
Communication was a hassle in those days. Li Yue didn't have Ling Jianwei's phone number, so she had to tell her cousin before leaving that if he came over, she should say she would be back around eleven o'clock.
However, when Li Yue met Li Xiufang, she realized that this girl really knew how to shop. When Li Yue suggested going home, Li Xiufang wouldn't let her.
"Come with me to take another look. Don't you know how to knit? I want to pick a color of yarn to knit a new sweater. Which color do you think suits my skin tone better?"
After looking for a long time, she muttered, "If only my skin were as fair as yours, I could buy any color."
Li Yue understood; this person, who might become her cousin-in-law in the future, was a bit fussy.
Actually, she's not dark-skinned; her skin tone is normal with a yellowish tint.
Li Yue helped choose yarn at the yarn shop and saw white yarn that was very fluffy. She was a little tempted and thought it would look nice to knit a scarf with it.
After much deliberation, it was already past eleven o'clock, almost midnight.
They had agreed to go out for noodles, and Li Yue rushed home.
As soon as I got home, my cousin said, "Deputy Battalion Commander Ling is here. He said he has other things to do and will come over in the afternoon."
Li Yue breathed a sigh of relief: "That's fine too."
But her aunt only learned today that the person who saved her was the same person everyone was talking about, and she asked Li Yue with a smile, "What is your relationship with Deputy Battalion Commander Ling?"
Li Yue stuck to her old story and bluntly stated, "Given my background, would anyone even consider me? We're just friends."
My aunt had a different view on this matter: "If you can get their approval, someone will protect you. No matter what your status is, you won't have any worries."
So he advised her, "You should be more careful. I'm doing this for your own good."
Li Yue didn't continue the conversation.
Ling Jianwei arrived around 3 PM.
Upon hearing a car horn beep outside, Li Yue ran out immediately.
Ling Jianwei opened the car door for her, and after Li Yue got in, she said, "Sorry, sorry, my cousin's girlfriend insisted on dragging me shopping."
He laughed: "What are we going to do now?"
"What?"
"You stood me up, so shouldn't you at least give me something?"
Li Yue froze, then said, "But I have no money."
He couldn't help but laugh: "You don't need to spend any money."
"Then what do you want?"
Ling Jianwei looked over, his eyes darkening.
Li Yue was completely confused by his gaze. He smiled and said, "Just make something casually."
Li Yue let out a soft sigh: "Oh, then what do you want?"
Not to brag, but she is an art student with decent craftsmanship skills. She studied pottery before and has created some artistic pieces.
Ling Jianwei: "I'll tell you when I think of something."
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A note from the author:
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