A carefree soldier king in the city

Chapter 94 Childhood Memories

Su Haijun was overjoyed and said with a smile, "I just arrived too! Qianqian, would you like something to drink?"

Tang Qianqian smiled and said, "A glass of plain water will do."

"Would you like something to eat?"

"No need, I'm not hungry."

Su Haijun said "Oh," and then raised his hand: "Waitress, a glass of warm water, please!"

Soon, the waiter brought a glass of warm water and placed it in front of Tang Qianqian's table, politely saying, "Please enjoy!"

From the moment Tang Qianqian entered the room, Su Haijun's gaze never left her face. To him, being able to look at her like this was such a blissful thing, as if he could never tire of looking at her for a lifetime. Tang Qianqian naturally felt Su Haijun's gaze fixed on her, but feeling guilty, she dared not meet his eyes.

After the waiter left, Su Haijun withdrew his gaze and then said, "Qianqian, do you know? Ever since I was old enough to understand, I... I... I've liked you..."

His words were somewhat ambiguous, and it was clear that he had mustered all his courage to speak them so boldly.

After listening, Tang Qianqian nodded, then lowered her head with deep apology and said, "Brother Haijun, I know you've always liked me, but from childhood to adulthood, I've only ever seen you as my brother."

Upon hearing this, Su Haijun gave a wry smile and asked, "Qianqian, do you remember? When you were ten years old, you told me that you would marry me when you grew up. Do you know how excited and happy I was when I heard that?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Qianqian's face visibly darkened, and her thoughts froze on the year she was ten, her memories adrift...

That year, he was fourteen and she was ten.

One summer day that year, the sun shone brightly under a clear blue sky...

He and she sat barefoot on the blue stone under the willow tree by the river, their four little feet completely submerged in the cool river water. He sang her favorite song, and she listened attentively, a happy smile always on her face.

"Hey! Navy guy, look! There are fish! They're so beautiful!"

She inadvertently spotted a red fish swimming slowly underwater. Overjoyed, she quickly pointed to the river in front of her feet and screamed excitedly.

He looked at it, smiled, and asked, "Do you like it, Qianqian?"

"Yes, I like it." She nodded happily without hesitation.

"thump!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than he jumped in without a word, splashing water everywhere.

She was startled and quickly stood up, shouting, "Navy brother, what are you doing? It's dangerous! Come up quickly, come up quickly!"

He dove out of the river and popped his head up, chuckled at her, and said, "It's okay, Qianqian, I'll catch that fish for you."

With that, he took a deep breath and then submerged into the water…

She was startled and immediately stamped her feet in panic, shouting, "Navy brother, come up quickly, it's dangerous, it's dangerous!"

A moment later, he sprang out of the water, holding a red carp the length of a chopstick in his hands, and shouted excitedly, "Qianqian, I caught it! I caught it!"

However, she burst into tears in distress. Only when she saw that he was alright did she feel relieved and quickly called out, "Brother Navy, come up quickly."

He swam ashore, grabbed the red carp firmly with both hands, handed it to her, and asked with a smile, "Do you like it?"

She smiled through her tears and nodded, replying, "Yes, I like it."

She gently tapped the fish's head with her finger, and the fish immediately began to wag its tail and struggle.

But she naively said, "Brother Navy, don't fish need to live without water? Look how pitiful it is! It's crying in pain! Let's put it back in the water! Otherwise, it will die."

He laughed and said, "Okay, shall we release him together?"

"it is good."

He and she grabbed the fish with both hands and released it back into the river. With a flick of its tail, the fish disappeared in the blink of an eye, like a flying arrow.

"Hehe, the fish are free now!"

"Yes! The fish are free now."

"Navy, you're soaked to the bone, let's go back!"

"Hehe, it's okay, it'll be done in a bit. Um... Qianqian, I... I..."

"Navy Bro, what's wrong with you? Why are you stammering?"

"Qianqian, I...I like you."

"Hehe, I thought it was something serious! Navy Bro, do you really like me?"

"Yes, really, I swear to God, I, Su Haijun, truly love Tang Qianqian."

"Hehe, then I'll marry you when I grow up."

"really?"

"Yes, really. If you don't believe me, let's pinky swear."

"Okay, pinky promise."

"Whee!"

"Ha ha!"

"Hey Navy buddy, let's go home! You're soaked to the bone, be careful not to catch a cold!"

"Okay, let's go home."

These are beautiful childhood memories, and also unforgettable ones.

After a brief moment of recollection, Tang Qianqian smiled, but then returned to normal and said softly, "I remember, but back then, I was just an ignorant little girl, and what I said back then can't be taken seriously at all."

Yes, children speak without thinking. But can we really take what children say seriously?

Hearing this, Su Haijun gave a wry smile and asked, "Qianqian, do you still remember the day I went abroad to study? I told you that I would definitely marry you when I returned to China after completing my studies, and you smiled and said, 'Okay!' Do you remember any of that?"

Tang Qianqian nodded and replied, "Yes, I remember."

Su Haijun forced a smile, his gaze never leaving her face, and asked again, "Qianqian, can you tell me why you've fallen for someone else?"

In his opinion, it shouldn't have been like this, the little boat of love capsized so easily!

Upon hearing this, Tang Qianqian gently bit her lips, and then said with extreme apology and guilt, "I'm sorry, Navy Brother, I've always thought of you as my brother."

Su Haijun frowned slightly, a hint of anger flashing across his face, and asked again, "You only see me as your brother?"

With each question he asked, his heart bled terribly, as if a sharp knife had pierced it. Yes, his heart was bleeding. How he hoped, how he longed, for her to give him a satisfactory answer. Unfortunately, none of this was what he had expected.

She nodded and replied, "Yes."

Upon seeing this, Su Haijun's eye twitched violently. At this moment, he finally understood that it was impossible to salvage this love. However, he still clung to a sliver of hope, a hint of pleading, trying his best to remain calm and act like a gentleman. He said, "Qianqian, I really, really love you. Let's stop playing this game, okay? This game isn't fun at all. Qianqian, I know you're testing me, right? You're testing if my love for you is real, right? You deliberately had that Chao Bufan pretend to be your boyfriend to test me, didn't you? Qianqian, I swear to God, I truly love you. I can't live without you, you know? If I lost you, my life would be colorless. Please, let's stop playing this game, okay?"