The voice sounded so familiar as if she had just heard it in the morning.
Gu Qingjiu followed the voice only to see He Niancheng slowly walking down from the woods.
His slender and long figure was perfectly upright, just like this pine tree, and his army pants accentuated his long legs. There was no need to doubt that perfectly sculpted body beneath this baggy uniform of his.
He exuded the strength and control of a soldier, which made him feel cold and distant. And yet, people still couldn’t keep their eyes off of him.
It startled Gu Qingjiu. She remembered checking her surroundings to see if there were any people around.
Even in her shock, Gu Qingjiu still stood up immediately and greeted He Niancheng with respect. “Chief Instructor!”
He Niancheng stopped when he was a meter away from her. He swept his cool glance towards her as he asked, “What are you doing here?”
Gu Qingjiu paused, unsure if He Niancheng heard her call just now.
She wanted to give him other excuses, but it felt a little inappropriate.
She lowered her eyes and honestly replied, “I was in a bad mood, so I wanted to be alone for a while.”
Her honesty was a little unexpected for He Niancheng.
His long and narrow eyes gazed at her. The light which permeated through the forest made his distant gaze look a little torn.
“In a bad mood? Because of your family?”
He Niancheng walked to her side, looking out at the scenery below the mountains.
The vast greenery surrounding them caused He Niancheng’s mind to drift a little.
He had never expected that one day, he would spend time alone with a recruit in the mountains—even if the said event was an accident.
But to meet Gu Qingjiu, it was too coincidental.
Gu Qingjiu couldn’t have followed him there. His sense of perception was sensitive that no one could follow him for over two minutes without him realizing.
Furthermore, he had been here for an hour.
His sudden question caused a slightly awkward atmosphere.
But He Niancheng’s question might not necessarily be out of concern.
It felt like he was asking just because, rather than him wanting to know more about it.
He was not that sort of person, so whether Gu Qingjiu answered it meant nothing much.
Gu Qingjiu felt weird that he was asking her such a question.
After a moment’s thought, she answered vaguely, “It was some family matters, that’s all. We all have our burdens to bear and every family has their hardships as well.”
Gu Qingjiu did not talk about any touching story to garner pity because she really had no idea what she should tell the Chief Instructor.
It felt weird that they were doing this.
Or should she say that she couldn’t figure out why the Chief Instructor was around such a remote place?
And it was obvious that he had been there even before she arrived since he was already walking down from the mountain.
After Gu Qingjiu’s reply, the two had stayed silent for a while. He Niancheng did not continue to probe further, while Gu Qingjiu did not know what to say. Just when she was about to say that she was leaving, He Niancheng placed a finger on his lips—an obvious indication that he wanted her to keep quiet.
That finger was pale and slender—quite attractive to say.
Gu Qingjiu did not understand what he was doing. But once she kept quiet and listened on, she heard some soft murmurs carried over by the winds.
But those voices were too soft for Gu Qingjiu to catch its contents.
