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Chapter 81: Chapter 81 The Failed Invitation
Yan Xiao opened the iron gate, but the other person didn’t seem inclined to enter.
The man in glasses looked at Yan Xiao and Han Jiaojiao, who was washing clothes in the yard, with distaste. Tilting his chin up slightly, he said impatiently, "Does Han Yi live here? Please have him come out and come with us for a bit."
The smile on Yan Xiao’s face deepened, carrying a hint of excitement.
"Oh—come with you guys, huh..." Yan Xiao repeated his words slowly, his expression mocking.
The man in glasses, lengthening his face, asked, "Is he here or not?"
Yan Xiao, leaning lazily against the iron gate, called into the yard, "Jiaojiao, he’s asking if your brother is at home?"
Upon hearing this, Han Jiaojiao walked over after shaking the water droplets off her hands, looking puzzled. "Why are you looking for my brother again? It’s not another Ability test, is it? We’ve already had three."
Seeing Han Jiaojiao’s appearance, the man in glasses was taken aback, not expecting the girl busily washing clothes to be so pretty. His tone involuntarily softened. "It’s not for an Ability test. It’s General Ji who wishes to meet him."
Yan Xiao, knowing people, immediately noticed the man in glasses’ lingering gaze on Han Jiaojiao and wanted to find an excuse to send her back inside. However, before he could make a move, Han Jiaojiao nodded at the man in glasses and said, "Oh, I understand. I’ll tell my brother."
What did that mean?
The man in glasses’s face twitched slightly, but he couldn’t bring himself to get angry at such a beautiful girl, so he patiently said, "Little girl, is your brother not at home?"
"He is," Han Jiaojiao frowned slightly. "But my brother doesn’t have time right now, and besides, look—it’s almost lunchtime."
This time, even Han Jiaojiao’s beauty was of no use; the man in glasses’s face darkened immediately. "Young lady, did you not hear me clearly? I said to have him come with me now."
Han Jiaojiao looked at him blankly for a moment before suddenly understanding, and she immediately got angry! She pressed her lips tightly together and demanded, "What do you mean? Are you treating my brother like a criminal or something? You just plan to take him away? Who are you?! By what right are you doing this?! Who gave you the authority?!"
Han Jiaojiao, like a lit firecracker, bombarded the man in glasses with a string of questions, drawing over neighbors nearby, who stood a short distance away to watch the spectacle.
The man in glasses clenched his fist; reason told him not to stoop to arguing with a young girl. Being a close associate of General Ji, when had he ever been scolded like this? His face turned shades of red and pale, and after struggling for a while, he managed to spit out, "... Little girl, you probably don’t realize that nobody dares to refuse an invitation from General Ji."
Han Jiaojiao’s face turned red with anger. She remembered how in a past life her brother had sacrificed his life for the base, only to be betrayed and killed by Qin Wenhao. The Beicheng Base had done nothing! Now, her brother hadn’t pledged himself to them. Why should they command him so haughtily?! By what right?!
The more Han Jiaojiao thought about it, the angrier she became. With old grievances and new resentment alike, she stood at the gate and shouted loudly, "I don’t recognize any General Ji! My brother doesn’t recognize him either! Why should we go to someone’s house we don’t know? What kind of invitation is this?! You don’t even care whether the guests are free and yet you want to take us away! How is this different from kidnapping?! If you want to see my brother, come over yourself! If you want my brother to go over, show some sincerity! We’re about to have lunch now, please leave!"
"You!!" The man in glasses pointed angrily at Han Jiaojiao but found himself speechless.
Yan Xiao stepped in front of Han Jiaojiao, brushed the man’s finger aside, and chuckled smugly. "Thanks for making the trip, but the kids here are a bit hot-headed, please forgive us, haha."
"You! All of you!! ... Well, you’re very good! Humph!!" The man in glasses, furious, jumped into his car. Seeing that there were still people around watching, he roared even more uncontrollably, "What are you looking at?! What’s there to see?!—Let’s go!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Yan Xiao watched the car drive off, shaking his head. He turned only to find that Han Jiaojiao had already gone inside; the concrete ground was full of water stains. "Jiaojiao, don’t be mad. The man was driven away by you. Look at all this water—were you washing clothes or watering the floor..."
Yan Xiao headed into the main house, not seeing Han Jiaojiao, but heard the sound of chopping from the kitchen.
Han Yi and Lu Changyuan seemed to have just finished discussing something and had just come downstairs.
"What happened? Such a commotion." Lu Changyuan peeked into the kitchen.
"Someone from the base came over to see Han Ge, and Jiaojiao sent them packing!" Yan Xiao laughed nonstop, "She’s really on edge right now."
Yan Xiao recounted what just happened to Han Yi and Lu Changyuan, and he kept exclaiming regretfully, "It’s such a pity you guys didn’t see it." Normally, such a gentle and adorable girl—it’s really rare to see her lose her temper!
While Yan Xiao was having a great time laughing about it, Han Yi and Lu Changyuan didn’t react at all, which made his laughter somewhat awkward.
"You let her handle people from the base all by herself? Hmm?" Lu Changyuan looked at him with a smile that was not quite a smile.
"No, no... at that moment..." Yan Xiao hastily looked at Han Yi and saw his gloomy face, which made Yan Xiao mutter to himself,"No! Han Ge, I couldn’t even get a word in edgewise!"
Lu Changyuan said coolly, "Yes, you didn’t intervene, you just stood there enjoying the drama."
"No! I..."
Han Yi gave him a cold glance and went to the kitchen.
Han Jiaojiao was venting on a frozen chicken in her hands, and Han Yi approached from behind and gently encircled her soft waist, causing Jiaojiao to pause her actions.
"...Brother."
Han Yi’s face was pressed against hers, and he cooed softly, "Are you very angry?"
"Not really..." Han Jiaojiao pursed her lips, gazing down at the chicken pieces on the cutting board that she had chopped haphazardly.
Han Yi gently nudged the pieces of chicken with his finger, a hint of amusement in his voice, "And you call this ’not really’?"
Han Jiaojiao’s face felt warm as she murmured, "Just a little... a little bit angry."
Han Yi chuckled softly in her ear. 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
Han Jiaojiao bit her lip and said sullenly, "They were unreasonable, didn’t care whether you were free or not, and just wanted to take you away. I couldn’t stand it and said a few words, and I drove them away..." She looked anxiously at Han Yi, "Brother, have I caused you trouble..."
"They were driven away, so let there be trouble if there’s any." Han Yi laughed nonchalantly, stroking her hair at her forehead, only to see tears welling up in her eyes.
Han Yi’s heart tightened, and he turned her to face him, "What’s wrong, baby?"
"Brother, did I... cause you trouble again..." Her voice was choked up, and the end of her sentence trembled. She couldn’t quite explain it herself—it was like her emotions were out of control, now furious, now sad, feeling as though something was choking her heart, making it uncomfortable.
"You didn’t cause any trouble." Han Yi held her tightly in his arms, soothing her quietly, "Today was probably a misunderstanding. They wanted to recruit me, they just sent someone tactless."
"Really didn’t cause you any trouble?"
Han Yi cradled her face, wiping away the tears from both sides.
"Really, I wouldn’t lie to you. In a couple of days, someone will surely come to apologize to my baby."
Han Jiaojiao broke into laughter through her tears, "You’re just placating me."
"Just like a child, crying one moment and laughing the next." Han Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief as she stopped her tears.
