Zhu Baoguo gritted his teeth and remained silent for a long time before he said, “If…” If Zhai Sheng was not in the picture, and Xiao Qiao had never known Zhai Sheng, would he be the man who would be marrying her two days later?
Qiao Nan had a blissful smile on her face as if she was bursting with happiness. “Zhu Baoguo, ‘what if’ does not exist.”
No amount of words was as convincing as the happiness on Qiao Nan’s face. Zhu Baoguo slumped his shoulders in defeat. “You’re right. ‘What if’ does not exist.”
If there was ‘what if’, what he wanted to say the most was not what would happen if Xiao Qiao did not know Zhai Sheng. Instead, it was for him to grow up and mature and to understand his feelings so that he could protect her and love her. In that case, Zhai Sheng would not be in the picture.
“It is getting late. You should rest. Ignore those senseless people.” Zhu Baoguo walked off in despair. He seemed to be dealt a harsh blow.
After Zhu Baoguo left, Shi Qing came looking for her. She was Qiao Nan’s bridesmaid. She would be staying at the Zhu family’s residence these few days as well.
Actually, their houses were situated very near to each other. It was very convenient for Shi Qing to go to the Zhu family’s residence.
However, she quarreled with her mother. Instead of staying at home and be at odds with her mother, she would rather go to the Zhu family’s residence a few days earlier than the actual wedding day to accompany Qiao Nan and to keep a watch on the foolish Zhu Baoguo.
Shi Qing shared a room with Qiao Nan at the Zhu family’s residence. “Have you seen Zhu Baoguo, that stupid fool? Did he try to snatch Brother Zhai’s bride?”
If the stupid fool dared to do that, Brother Zhai would definitely teach him a lesson.
Zhu Baoguo could not even handle her. He would be in a worse state if he ended up in Zhai Sheng’s hands. At this thought, Shi Qing could not help but break out in cold sweat, worrying for Zhu Baoguo.
He was daring but not as smart. It was tantamount to playing with fire.
“Nevertheless, I will not change my mind. You don’t have to worry.” Qiao Nan had a good laugh at the anxious look on Shi Qing’s face. “Are you worried that Zhu Baoguo will be taught a serious lesson by Brother Zhai?”
She knew that there must be something going on between Zhu Baoguo and Shi Qing.
One was her foolish son that she had ‘raised’, while the other was a young lady that she favored. Qiao Nan would be the first to agree if they ended up together.
“He is too pitiful. He has become physically stronger these past few years, but he is still not as smart. It is not surprising that I am not as strong as him. After puberty, women are not as strong as men. Zhu Baoguo has nothing to be proud of to be able to defeat me. But in terms of intelligence level, he is not my match. If he can’t even defeat me, how can he defeat Brother Zhai?”
Shi Qing sighed. Why did Zhu Baoguo have such a low IQ?
Zhu Baoguo was proud that he had defeated Shi Qing, but he had no idea that Shi Qing was very worried for him.
“People like him are all brawns and no brains. I am worried that he will be the cannon-fodder when he carries out missions in the future. It may seem peaceful but there are hidden dangers in the world that we live in. If Zhu Baoguo is assigned to a mission in places like Xinjiang, I wonder how he is going to carry out his mission.”
Although Shi Qing was speaking of the uncertain future that had yet to come, she had a look of worry on her face. She behaved as if it was for real, and that Zhu Baoguo would be sent to that place tomorrow.
“Have you come up with any solutions?” Qiao Nan propped her head with one hand, lying on her side as she stared at Shi Qing.
With Shi Qing around, there was no need for her to be worried for Zhu Baoguo. She could finally hand the burden of taking care of the foolish son to Shi Qing.
Shi Qing seemed to be in serious thoughts. “Everything will be fine in two days. Once you are married to Brother Zhai, there is no need for me to come up with solutions.”
Once the wedding banquet was held, everything would be easily solved.
Qiao Nan arched her eyebrows. “What does it have to do with this?” Did it mean that if she did not get married, her foolish son would have to carry out missions in those dangerous places?
Who said so?
Shi Qing turned to face upward and placed her hands beneath her head, staring at the ceiling. “Don’t you know that many people said that you are like Cinderella now that you are going to marry Brother Zhai? The stupid fool wants to graduate as soon as possible so that he can carry out missions to achieve military merits and to be promoted. He wants to catch up to Brother Zhai so that he could vie for your affection.”
It was not that easy to achieve military credits.
As the saying went, money came from danger, and heroes emerged in troubled times.
Zhu Baoguo had to carry out the most dangerous missions in order to catch up to Brother Zhai in the shortest time and to vie with him for Qiao Nan’s affection.
But Qiao Nan would be marrying Brother Zhai in no time.
In that case, there was no need for Zhu Baoguo to risk his life.
Now that there was no need for him to achieve military credits in the shortest time, Zhu Baoguo could complete his studies and perform his duties one step at a time.
“Brother Zhai is indeed a genius. He is quick and accurate in deciding that you are the one for him. He is brilliant. He did not give any chance to others.” Shi Qing was full of admiration for Zhai Sheng. It was similar to her adoration of him when they were still young. The adoration was evident in her eyes. “He is indeed my idol from young.”
Qiao Nan curled the corners of her lips without saying anything. She was baffled by Shi Qing’s attitude. “Aren’t you angry at me? Don’t you hate me? Do you still idolize Brother Zhai? Have you been dealt a serious blow? Are you running a fever?”
Qiao Nan could not figure out why Ding Jiayi and Qiao Zijin were so heartless and vicious. It seemed that Shi Qing was another unfathomable person. One could not predict her behavior.
Shi Qing stood up right away, flipping her short hair confidently. “Why should I hate you? It is not your fault that Zhu Baoguo likes you but not me. He is foolish and could not tell who is good for him. Brother Zhai has always been so outstanding and remarkable. There is no need to distance myself from him. Zhu Baoguo is a fool. I don’t believe that I can’t take him down!”
Shi Qing waved her fists and stated her stand when the door was kicked open.
Zhu Baoguo looked sullen and stared at Shi Qing angrily. “Hey, tomboy, how dare you say that I am a fool!!”
Zhu Baoguo did not eavesdrop on them intentionally. He was on the way back to his room when he passed by Qiao Nan’s room. He did not hear a single word of what was being said previously. But he heard clearly that Shi Qing yelled that he was a fool.
However, after his ferocious growl, Zhu Baoguo was given a hard smack to his face with a pillow.
