Qin Ningyi's uncle still had some matters to attend to. The city restaurant reservation had to be postponed. He asked Qin Ningyi to take the guests to the military district’s family compound first.
The mountain road wound through green waters and picturesque homes.
“Old Qin, the gossip here is even more amusing than what we hear at the restaurant,” Zhao Hengyu said, smiling as he watched the receding village scenery. He had overheard some juicy tidbits.
He glanced at Zou Xiaoxiao's slightly tired face in the rearview mirror and intentionally tried to tease her, “There’s a family here that for years…”
“Zhao Hengyu.” Huo Rou’s voice cut in unexpectedly. Her tone was light, but it made Zhao Hengyu unconsciously want to respond.
Zhao Hengyu chuckled and hesitated, “Sister-in-law, what’s up?”
“Drive properly and don’t get distracted.”
“Yes!” Zhao Hengyu felt as if he should snap to attention and salute.
Zou Xiaoxiao, who had been leaning by the window, blankly watching the scenery, looked at Huo Rou with curiosity when she interrupted Zhao Hengyu.
It was rare to hear such a cold tone from Huo Rou. Before, regardless of colleagues’ doubts or other issues, Huo Rou had always been calm and serene, speaking in a gentle voice. She had never sounded like this.
But…
“You also find his gossiping annoying, don’t you?” Zou Xiaoxiao nudged closer to Huo Rou, wrinkling her nose. “For a man, he gossips too much.”
Huo Rou smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
Zou Xiaoxiao had found a good reason for her earlier words. She turned back to look out the window.
“Grandma, who are you calling a gossip?” Zhao Hengyu protested. “What I do is called integrating with the locals and understanding their customs and traditions.”
This ability was precisely what Qin Ningyi had valued when inviting him to join Guyan.
When it came to dealing with women, he was the best. Here, “women” certainly didn’t refer only to young women; the elderly were also a significant part of his audience.
Only by appealing to all ages could he gather more information.
“That’s just an excuse,” Zou Xiaoxiao regained some energy. “Which man gossips like you? Wherever you go, you rush into the women’s circle first.”
Hearing Zou Xiaoxiao’s fiery tone, Zhao Hengyu’s lips curved into a secret smile, though his words were sharp, “So what if I rush into the women’s circle? You can’t even do that!”
As the two bickered, Huo Rou no longer urged Zhao Hengyu to pay attention to the road.
The scenery on the road kept changing.
Farmland disappeared, replaced by windswept sands and forests.
After passing through a mountainous area, the road ahead became flat again.
The afternoon sun beat down intensely on the dry branches by the roadside. The sky was clear and pristine, with occasional birds soaring past, their calls echoing in the vast emptiness.
Huo Rou liked this sense of starkness.
She had survived for four years in a similarly desolate place. Seeing such scenery didn't make her feel bleak; instead, it evoked a sense of home.
She could never return to that place, but she hadn't expected to find that feeling again here.
“Is the military district environment like this too?” she met Qin Ningyi’s returning gaze and, for the first time, expressed curiosity about their destination.
“Yes, more or less,” Qin Ningyi said, looking at the vast, empty scenery ahead. “That place is a bit more challenging than here. Their office is closer to the city, so the environment would be much better. But recently, for some reasons, they’ve been staying in a mountainous area in the far suburbs.”