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Gu Xiaoxi listened, feeling a pang of sourness in her heart.

She lowered her head to look at the little girl in front of her, whose hand was still tightly gripping her fingers without letting go.

Perhaps, what Quan Mo wanted by asking her and Quan Shaoqing to accompany her to sleep was just to find a bit of a mother’s feeling.

"She is a very well-behaved child. Knowing that her parents are no longer around, she has never made a fuss about it.

But we all know that she thinks about her mom and dad every day.

Actually, I really treat her as my own daughter.

Xiao Xi, are you willing to accept her and love her with me?

" Quan Shaoqing looked at Gu Xiaoxi, his eyes shimmering with the luster of ice crystals and full of inquiry.

Gu Xiaoxi looked at Quan Mo, then nodded heavily.

As an orphan, she could understand the psychology of a child needing parents.

How could she refuse...

Quan Shaoqing excitedly got up and kissed Gu Xiaoxi’s forehead, overwhelmed with unspeakable emotion.

Actually, most women would not accept another person’s child, even if that person were their blood brother. But she had accepted, bringing him an unprecedented joy.

"Talking about this now is a bit too early, I’m not even prepared to marry you yet!" Gu Xiaoxi’s cheeks warmed slightly, suddenly finding it very awkward to be sleeping in the same bed with him.

"Then when do you plan to marry me? I can wait, keep waiting until you are willing to marry me..." His voice began with vigor, getting softer towards the end. Until at a certain moment, as if he thought of something, he abruptly stopped.

Quan Shaoqing couldn’t help but clench his fists, feeling that he could wait, even if it meant waiting until the end of his life...This was the biggest promise he could give her.

He reached out his hand to find Gu Xiaoxi’s slightly cool hand and then clasped it in his palm.

Gu Xiaoxi pulled the blanket over them, her big eyes blinking, feeling the warmth of his palm, and let it be.

Then their hands tightly clasped together, they entered dreamland.

Gu Xiaoxi did not sleep well that night, continuously having a dream, a capricious dream.

She dreamed that Quan Shaoqing had died!

She dreamed that he said goodbye to her, telling her to live well.

Then he disappeared...

When she awoke from the dream, tears streamed down her face.

The two people beside her, however, lay peacefully, the room so quiet that not a sound could be heard.

Gu Xiaoxi lightly touched her cheeks, realizing that she had indeed been crying.

And even the pillow beneath was drenched with tears, wetting a large area.

She got out of bed on tiptoes, it was already six in the morning.

As the first light of dawn appeared in the sky, she took her clothes, tiptoeing quietly out of the room.

By the time she returned to her own room, Yun Xiao was already neatly dressed and seemed surprised to see her, "I thought you would get up later... Why have you been crying?"

Yun Xiao, alarmed, stepped forward and took Gu Xiaoxi’s hand, feeling its iciness and concernedly said, "Did the superior officer mistreat you?"

"No!" Gu Xiaoxi shook her head, seeing Yun Xiao’s agitated look. She stepped forward and gave her a big hug, then said with a slightly choked voice, "Yun Xiao, I often have the same nightmare over and over again. I dream that he’s dead. Do you think that’s a bad omen?"

"Tch, tch, tch, stop talking nonsense. Dreams are the opposite, which means the superior officer will have a long and full life," Yun Xiao hurriedly comforted her while patting her back.

"Is that really the case?" Gu Xiaoxi always felt particularly heavy-hearted whenever she thought about it.

"You’re overthinking it. Hurry up and get dressed, we need to do our morning training. Otherwise, we’ll be late," Yun Xiao pushed Gu Xiaoxi behind the curtain, urging her to hurry up and change.

Gu Xiaoxi sighed, wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes, thinking that Yun Xiao must be right, she was definitely overthinking it.

When Quan Shaoqing woke up, Gu Xiaoxi had already vanished.

There was an indescribable sense of stuffiness in the room.

It wasn’t until he opened the curtains and let the air into the room that things got a bit better.

...

"Shaoqing, are you leaving now? What about Momo?" Seeing Quan Shaoqing coming down from upstairs, Lin Shu hurriedly went up to ask.

"Quan Ji will come to take her away later. This is a military area; she can’t stay for long," Quan Shaoqing said sternly, having reverted to his aloof and steely demeanor as an officer.

"Oh, then why don’t you eat breakfast before leaving?"

"No need!" Quan Shaoqing said as he picked up his bag and headed for the door. At the doorstep, he paused, turned back to look at Lin Shu, and asked, "What time did Xiao Xi leave?"

"A little after six! She went to morning training with Yun Xiao. Is there anything else?" Lin Shu asked, puzzled.

Quan Shaoqing always felt a heaviness in his heart, opened his mouth but said nothing, and drove off.

Perhaps it was due to the "Immortal" spell, but he could sense her mood was not well. From the moment he woke up, a sense of heaviness had churned within him.

Why would she be in a bad mood?

*

Another day of intense training began for the twenty-man squad, where not only the military dogs had to train, but the people as well.

That entire day, Gu Xiaoxi trained the hardest, as if trying to vent, she practiced physical conditioning with abandon. It seemed she wanted to forget the repetitive nightmare of the night.

Even Yun Xiao couldn’t bear to watch.

During the break at the end of the afternoon training, Yun Xiao brought water to Gu Xiaoxi and said with concern, "Xiao Xi, why don’t you ask the superior officer if something has happened recently?"

"Even if I asked, he wouldn’t say. If Lin Mi doesn’t know about it, then we certainly won’t," Gu Xiaoxi replied after taking a few sips of water, glancing at the time; the training was over. "Never mind, maybe I am really overthinking it."

Gu Xiaoxi stood up, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and handed the water back to Yun Xiao, "You go back first this afternoon, I have something to do tonight."

"What is it? I can accompany you if you want."

"No need, I’m going to practice boxing with someone! You go ahead!" Gu Xiaoxi said.

Saying so, she took Xiao Xiao and left the training grounds.

It was still the same stretch of woods where she remembered the boy, Zuo Yu, whose speed was like the wind and who would be suitable to practice boxing with.

Because she couldn’t hit him. And with others, she was afraid she might hurt someone if she accidentally used too much force.