Chapter 68: The Crisis Begins

  In just a few months, 'Shiwai Taoyuan' has undergone tremendous changes, with various creative ideas being turned into reality by her and Zheng Fei.

  School is about to start, and Zheng Fei and Song Jiangliang finally let her go. Ji Xin'an has now returned to his own track.

  After two months of cold war with Yao Wenhuo, when they met again on the training ground, they were both much calmer. Looking at Yao Wenhuo who looked a bit haggard, Ji Xin'an felt that her words had been too harsh, but she didn't regret it, even if given another chance to choose, she would still choose her own ideals.

  After a summer vacation, I saw Ji Xin'an again. All the thoughts rushed to my mind, and the resentment in my heart disappeared immediately. "An An, let's not quarrel anymore, okay?"

  "I don't want to quarrel either, but..." Ji Xin'an lowered her head. She wanted to have a calm and peaceful talk with him, but was afraid they would end up quarreling again like last time.

  "Let's talk about the future later, don't let things two years from now affect us, okay?" Yao Wenhuo knew what she was going to say, but their ideas just couldn't be unified, so they decided to put it off for now.

  Ji Xin'an looked at him and nodded, "Alright, let's talk about it later."

  "Are we okay now?" Yao Wenhuo worried that she was still angry and looked at her carefully.

  Ji Xin'an couldn't help but laugh at his cautious appearance, "Not reconciled, you still want to continue like this?"

  "No, of course I want to be good." Yao Wenhuo hastily explained, but seeing Ji Xin'an's teasing eyes, he immediately knew he was being played, but his heart was also happy, and he stretched out his hand to hold her in his arms.

  "But I'll still be very busy later and won't always be able to take care of you, will you still not be happy?" Ji Xin'an thought that although they had forgotten the original cause of their conflict due to a summer break, it didn't mean they wouldn't argue about it again in the future, so it was better to speak up.

  "Would you like me to accompany you? I really can't bear another day without you." Yao Wenhuo looked at Ji Xin'an, although he wanted to tell her not to busy herself with those things and not to think about taking the military academy exam every day, but after going through this cold war, he also understood how great Ji Xin'an's determination was, so he didn't dare mention it again.

  Ji Xin An furrowed his brow in some embarrassment. If it was just about daily training, he would have no problem following his own words and would even be happy about it. However, other things were not that simple. Although they were delighted to reunite after a long time apart, he still hadn't lost his rationality and wasn't willing to give him a straightforward answer.

  Ji Xin'an had promised his master to keep the shooting range a secret, not even telling others, let alone bringing outsiders there. As for 'Shi Wai Tiao Yuan', except for his parents and business partner, no one else knew about it. Although he wasn't intentionally hiding it from Yao Wenhuang, he felt that now was not the best time to tell him, so Ji Xin'an hesitated after hearing his words.

  "Wen Hao, although we are together now and like each other, it doesn't mean we have to be stuck together every day. We should at least give each other some free space. If two people are tied too tightly, they will suffocate and not even have a bit of air left, and eventually look at each other with disgust." Ji Xin'an carefully chose her words, afraid that the relationship that had just eased would become tense again because of her careless remark.

  Yao Wen-hao felt a bit displeased in his heart after hearing her refusal, but he also thought that Ji Xin-an's words made some sense, so he didn't get angry again. He nodded, "Alright, I'll give you freedom and not pester you every day, but you must also spare some time for me during your daily leisure time. Don't make me feel like everything is more important than me."

  Ji Xin'an smiled and nodded slightly, saying nothing more. She leaned quietly against his shoulder, savoring the warmth of this moment.

  The two who had just reconciled and were basking in the sweetness of their reunion didn't notice a pair of jealous eyes staring at them from not far away.

  "Lingling, what are you looking at?" Yu Yao walked over and saw the embracing couple.

  "They've made up." Shilin said calmly as Yu Yao walked over.

  "Finally, this summer my brother had a gloomy face, as if he owed someone money. If it wasn't for him improving his mood, I would have been affected too." Yu Yao also looked at the two of them and smiled, although she didn't know what happened between them, but they had been in a cold war for an entire summer, which made the atmosphere during training more oppressive than usual. Now that they've made up, she's happy along with them.

  "Now it's fine, but they will still quarrel again. The two of them are not suitable for each other, and contradictions will still arise even if they are together." Xilin hooked up the corner of her mouth and sneered.

  "How could you think that, my brother likes Ji Xin'an so much, no matter how big the conflict is, it can't create an obstacle." Yu Yao didn't see Shi Lin's gaze, thinking she was still talking about their cold war this summer, but Yu Yao knew what kind of pain Yao Wenhuang had suffered for Ji Xin'an in the past month.

  "Do you also think that Yao Wenhuo really likes her?" Shilin heard her say that Yao Wenhuo liked Ji Xin'an, and a wave of annoyance rose up in her heart, jealousy was like a big mouth devouring her.

  "Of course, I've never seen him like someone so much before, and it's making me a little jealous." Yu Yao joked, but in fact she was happy for Yao Wen Hua. Being with the one you like is a wonderful thing, and although she didn't really feel "jealous" as she said, she couldn't help but feel envious in her heart.

  "Some things are not as you think they are, what looks beautiful on the surface may be a completely different scene inside." Shilin lost her composure for the first time in front of Yuyao, her expression could no longer maintain its calmness, her seemingly twisted face ruining her original beauty.

  "Lingling, what's wrong?" Shilin herself had never seen such a thing before and looked at her in astonishment.

  "I'm tired, I'll go back first." Shilin finally couldn't bear it and turned to leave.

  Looking at Shilin's abnormal behavior, although she felt a bit strange, she didn't take it to heart. The other two people were not approachable, so she could only continue training by herself.

  Yao Wenhao didn't expect that his reconciliation with Ji Xin'an would touch off Shi Lin's jealous heart. During the time he was at odds with Ji Xin'an, it had all been observed by Shi Lin, who was secretly delighted and hoped they would break up for good. But in the end, they still made up, and this rollercoaster of emotions finally caused her to collapse.

  School reopened, and Shilin and Chen Zhaoji both entered the high school of this school. Several old classmates all went to a high school, everyone was very happy, preparing to gather together, until the appointed time, only Yao Wenhao and Shilin had not arrived.

  "An An, have you told my brother?" Yu Yao looked at Ji Xin An. Originally, she should be the one to inform him, but she had unceremoniously passed him off to Ji Xin An.

  "I told him, I'm afraid he forgot and reminded him several times on the phone." Ji Xin'an didn't seem to be in a hurry, just standing under the tree shade looking towards the direction he should come from.

  "Why don't we stop waiting here and move forward to see if we can run into them?" Zou Ze had been waiting for a while and was getting impatient, so he stood up from the ground, patted the dust off his body, and thought of not waiting anymore.

  "Let's go then." The other three didn't want to wait there any longer either, so they all walked forward together and really saw the two of them, but they didn't seem to be arguing about anything, and even when several people came over, they still didn't notice.

  Yao Wenhao went to the place Ji Xin'an said early this morning, originally he shouldn't have been there, but because of his special relationship with a few people, they also invited him, and he readily agreed. However, before arriving at the destination, he was stopped by Shi Lin on the side of the road.

  "Didn't we agree to meet somewhere else?" Yao Wenhuo thought he had remembered the wrong place when he saw her waiting here.

  "Not here, up ahead, I have something to discuss with you." Shilin had arrived very early and was waiting for him on his usual route.

  "What's the matter, speak quickly, time is almost up." Yao Wenhao frowned as soon as he heard it.

  "Yao Wenhuo, you and Ji Xin'an are not suitable for each other, don't be with her anymore." Shi Lin finally spoke out bluntly this time.

  "What do you mean, it's not up to you to decide what's suitable or not. I like Anan, and no one can stop us from being together." Yao Wenhuo looked at her with even more disgust.

  "Ji Xin'an is going to take the military academy exam, and you hate being a soldier the most. You two are not going to end up together." Shi Lin roughly knew what they were fighting about this time.

  "This is none of your business, I'll handle it myself." Yao Wenhao was even more annoyed when she brought up this matter. He knew that this was the biggest gap between him and Ji Xin'an. Although he was born into a military family, what he disliked the most was being a soldier. But this wasn't just him; few children from military compounds liked being soldiers either.

  Shi Lin was about to say something, but Yu Guang's gaze swept over to Ji Xin'an and others who were walking by, and she immediately changed her mind. "Yao Wenhuo, I like you, I've liked you for a long time. I won't give up on you for the sake of my ideals like Ji Xin'an did. As long as it's what you like, I'll like it too. Wherever you want to go, I'll follow you to the ends of the earth."

  The few people who were about to pass by were stunned by her sudden confession, and in a very tacit understanding, they all stopped in their tracks, looking at each other in bewilderment.

  Yao Wenhao was startled, but sometimes people are like this. When someone you like says they like you lightly, you'll be excited for a long time. If someone you don't like makes a promise to you, no matter how grand, you won't feel even a little happy. Yao Wenhao is feeling this way right now. "This is your business, I don't like you. The person I like is only one, and that person is Ji Xin'an."

  Ji Xin'an heard his blunt refusal and words of liking her from the other side, and was delighted while also becoming slightly flushed.

  But Shilin didn't expect him to reject her so directly, and in front of her best friend Ji Xin'an. She felt ashamed, humiliated, and all sorts of emotions flooded her heart. Now she only had one thought: 'They can't be together anymore, if they break up, I'll have a chance.'