To prove whether he liked Huo Rou, he wrote a long report on his thoughts, not just a few points.
Si Nian drank down the emotions in his eyes with the wine, a slight bitterness.
He closed his eyes and watched Huo Rou chatting with her old comrades.
Every year at the end of the year, he would take out that thought report and confirm it repeatedly. After so long, he was still confirming this matter repeatedly.
Year after year, confirmation after confirmation, he was greatly distressed by this. He didn't even know where the person he liked was, or if she was still alive.
Now, not only did Huo Rou have someone by her side, she even told him that liking someone didn't require writing out a list of points like that...
What did all these years mean then?
Si Nian frowned and drank glass after glass.
The air became a little hazy, and his thought report repeatedly appeared in his mind.
"Huo Rou," Si Nian murmured Huo Rou's name after drinking an unknown number of glasses of wine, "if I wrote it down, would that count as liking someone?"
"Ah?"
Huo Rou looked at Si Nian. Connecting with the previous conversation, she nudged him with her elbow, "Who did you write the report for?"
Si Nian didn't give any obvious indication. She naturally wouldn't think of herself narcissistically.
He looked at Huo Rou. Her eyes held a simple curiosity. When she wasn't on the battlefield, it was rare to see her fierce expression.
He had also written this down in his report, point twenty-one.
Zhao Wen heard them talking about reports and was very sensitive to it. "What report?"
Before Huo Rou could speak, Si Nian's cold, dark gaze swept over him.
Zhao Wen only then realized belatedly that this was a conversation between two big shots, and he had foolishly butted in.
"Well... Commander Si." He felt it was necessary to try and gain Si Nian's favor. "My report writing is much better now than before. If you need anything, I can help too."
"Get lost."
Si Nian said with a cold frown, "The wine isn't good. Shall I toast you?"
Zhao Wen shut up completely and even moved his stool a bit to the side.
"Why do you have to scare him?" Huo Rou found it a little amusing. Si Nian really hadn't changed. Even though Zhao Wen was in his current position, in Si Nian's eyes, he was still the soldier he could scold whenever he wanted. "Speaking of which, I was also a soldier under you. Why don't I feel like you're so fierce?"
Si Nian raised an eyebrow when she brought it up actively. "Are you afraid of me?"
Back then, everyone in the army feared his methods. Only Huo Rou didn't complain about hardship or fatigue. Despite being a woman, she did better than anyone else.
He had written this down in his report, point nine.
Huo Rou shook her head. She really wasn't afraid of Si Nian.
At that time, she had thought that some aspects of Si Nian were very similar to Qin Ningyi.
So, she had never been afraid from the start.
She probably didn't have anything to fear at that time either...
Si Nian looked at her with a deep gaze. "Since you're not afraid of me, why..."
Can't you like me?
His unfinished sentence was drowned out by the ringtone of a mobile phone.
Zhao Wen's phone rang at the most inconvenient time. Si Nian had finally found an opportunity to say this.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Wen answered the call and stood up abruptly.
"Captain Huo." He looked at Huo Rou with a complicated expression. "Giles has escaped."
"How could he escape?"
Huo Rou was quite confident in Zhao Wen's abilities and their security. How could the person escape after so long?
Zhao Wen put away his phone, picked up his jacket from behind the chair, and put it on as he said, "We had finished the interrogation and were handing him over to the higher-ups today. During the handover... he was abducted."
"You all eat. I'll go deal with it." Zhao Wen finished speaking, put on his clothes, and was about to walk out.
Huo Rou also stood up. "I'll go with you."
"This..."
Zhao Wen looked troubled. Huo Rou and her team had found the person before, and it was fine to catch him together. Now that they had lost the person, it might be difficult to explain if someone outside their team came to catch him.
Huo Rou saw his hesitation and understood his concerns. Just as she was about to explain, Si Nian stood up coldly.
He looked at Zhao Wen. "I'll take her with me. It'll be fine."
"Let's go." He beckoned to Huo Rou, slinging his jacket over his arm, and strode out. The others were not within his consideration.
The three of them had come together, so it was natural for them to act together. Zhao Wen dismissed his concerns, explained to the others at the table, and then quickly followed.