As soon as they left the He residence, Lu Jinhuan finally relaxed.
He Congnan walked ahead, and before long, the distance between them had grown to several dozen meters.
When he realized the little girl had disappeared from behind him, he turned around.
The moment he saw her, a smile spread across his face.
Lu Jinhuan had her head lowered as she hurried to catch up with him.
Her arms were stiffly bent and swung awkwardly, as though she were carrying something invisible. Her upper body remained perfectly straight while her short little legs pumped as fast as they could.
Her running posture was rather strange
Like a clumsy little bear.
She was absolutely adorable.
“Can’t keep up? You could’ve just called out.”
“Huff… huff…”
“The air is so cold…”
“If I shout, my chest hurts.”
“You don’t have to wait for me, Commander. I’m actually a pretty fast runner. I’ll just treat it as exercise.”
Panting heavily, Lu Jinhuan tugged the scarf down to her chin, revealing her entire delicate, charming face.
He Congnan instinctively raised a hand, wanting to pat her back to help her catch her breath.
Then he realized the gesture would be inappropriate.
He quietly lowered it again.
“You’re not one of my soldiers.”
“So why are you calling me ‘Commander’?”
“Call me something else.”
Tilting her head back, Lu Jinhuan blinked her large eyes twice before cautiously trying,
“He… Officer He?”
Given the relationship between their families, she was actually supposed to follow Lu Jinyun’s lead and call him Big Brother.
But the gap between their social standing was simply too great.
Calling him that felt a little too familiar.
Before coming here, she had been quite confident thanks to Qiuqiu.
But after seeing what the He family was really like…
She wasn’t so sure anymore.
If she truly married into this family, her situation would actually be worse than Lu Jinyun’s.
Not only would she have to deal with powerful elders and a spoiled sister-in-law…
She would also have to see Lu Jinyun every single day.
And her husband would still be practically a stranger.
How was she supposed to survive that?
He Congnan looked down into her eyes.
Watching her expressions change one after another from uneasiness, to helplessness, to anxiety was like watching frames of a movie.
He found her endlessly interesting.
What could she possibly be thinking?
Smiling with amusement, he said,
“If you don’t want to call me ‘Big Brother,’ then just call me by my name.”
“Do you know what my name is?”
A flash of surprise crossed Lu Jinhuan’s face.
Call him by his name?
Eh?
Her father was thirty-seven this year.
He Congnan was only eight years younger than her father.
Based on age alone…
She could practically call him Uncle.
Seeing every thought written plainly across her face, He Congnan couldn’t help laughing.
“You’d better not call me ‘Uncle.'”
“If you do, I’ll leave you here.”
Feeling guilty, Lu Jinhuan rubbed her nose before obediently saying,
“Big Brother He.”
In all his twenty-nine years, countless people had called him Big Brother.
But never had anyone said it so softly…
So sweetly.
It went straight to his heart.
The two continued walking together.
He Congnan deliberately slowed his pace to match hers.
“First time in Beijing?”
“Only your parents came when my younger brother got married.”
When Lu Jinyun married, Lu Jinhuan had only just started her first year of high school.
There was no way she was going to skip classes just to attend Lu Jinyun’s wedding.
“Mm, it’s my first time.”
“Beijing is so cold.”
“Back home, everyone’s already wearing summer clothes.”
As she spoke, she pulled her padded jacket tighter around herself.
Seeing that the tip of her nose had turned red from the cold, He Congnan didn’t hesitate.
He removed his own coat and draped it over her shoulders.
Instantly, Lu Jinhuan found herself wrapped in warmth and the fresh scent of grass lingering on the fabric.
She froze completely.
She didn’t even dare move.
It was as though someone had cast a spell on her.
“Earth to Jinhuan.”
He laughed and waved a hand in front of her eyes.
The little girl was simply too lovable.
The way she stood there, wide-eyed and stunned, reminded him of a frightened little rabbit.
“C-Commander… no, Big Brother He…”
“You should put your coat back on.”
“It’s so cold.”
“You’ll catch a cold wearing only a shirt.”
Snapping out of her daze, Lu Jinhuan hurried to remove the coat.
He Congnan stopped her.
“I’m not cold.”
“Our training includes all kinds of weather conditions.”
“Besides, I naturally run hot.”
“I take cold showers all year round.”
Lu Jinhuan said nothing more.
She really was cold.
It was already after five in the evening.
The temperature had dropped far below what it had been when they arrived that afternoon.
“Thank you, Big Brother He.”
“You’re such a nice person.”
Seeing her wrapped in his coat made He Congnan feel strangely self-conscious.
She looked so well-behaved.
Her voice was soft and sweet.
Walking beside him, she barely reached his chest.
She seemed tiny.
If he hadn’t already known she was eighteen, he would have thought she was still a child.
He coughed lightly.
“What do you like to eat?”
“This area is rather remote, so there’s only one state-owned restaurant nearby.”
“In a couple of days, I’ll take you to try Beijing roast duck.”
Although Lu Jinhuan was slender, she loved good food.
Unfortunately, aside from visiting her grandmother in the countryside, this was the first time she had ever traveled far from home.
She had never tasted northern cuisine.
“Really?”
“Thank you, Big Brother He.”
“If you ever visit Suzhou someday, I’ll treat you to Jiangnan cuisine.”
He Congnan paused.
What does she mean by that?
Does she not know why her parents brought her here?
Or…
Does she simply not like me?
Back at the house, when his mother asked her to accompany him outside…
Surely she understood what that implied?
“You…”
“Haven’t considered staying in Beijing?”
he asked quietly, sounding unexpectedly nervous.
Blushing, Lu Jinhuan answered honestly.
“My father already told me.”
“He brought me here to meet you.”
“Before coming, I had already prepared myself not to go back home.”
“But after meeting your mother today…”
“I got a little scared.”
“You know what my family is like.”
“I really don’t think I’m good enough for you.”
At that moment, He Congnan could practically hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Just as he’d thought from the moment he first saw her
This straightforward little girl suited his tastes perfectly.
He hated women who danced around their words, expecting others to read their minds.
Talking to someone like that exhausted him.
“Then…”
“You know about my condition, don’t you?”
Lu Jinhuan nodded earnestly.
“I do.”
“You’re eleven years older than me.”
“And you’re infertile.”
He Congnan: “…”
Sometimes… being a little less honest isn’t such a bad thing.
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem…”
“Then doesn’t that settle it?”
“You’re young, beautiful, and have a wonderful personality.”
“How could you possibly be unworthy of an old bachelor like me who’s getting older and… can’t have children?”
Lu Jinhuan giggled.
“You’re twenty-nine, but you don’t look old at all.”
“You look twenty-seven… maybe twenty-eight.”
“You definitely don’t look like someone who’s almost thirty.”
He Congnan thought to himself,
This little girl really knows how to stab a man in the heart.
“So…”
“You really don’t mind…”
“…not having children?”
This was the one question Lu Jinhuan felt completely confident answering.
“I don’t mind at all.”
“My father said you have weak ”
She immediately clapped a hand over her mouth.
“N-No!”
“I mean…”
“Nothing is ever absolutely certain…”
Oh no!
Now that she’d relaxed, she’d let her mouth run wild.
What on earth did I just say?
She was so embarrassed she wished the ground would swallow her whole.
Pouting in frustration, her little face turned bright red.
He Congnan felt equally awkward.
Discussing infertility with such a young girl was undeniably embarrassing.
But he could tell…
She genuinely didn’t care.
At that moment, warmth spread through his chest.
He suddenly felt so energized that he could have gone for a five-kilometer run carrying full military gear.
“So…”
“Do you have any requirements?”
Lu Jinhuan blinked in confusion.
“Requirements?”
“I… can make requests?”