Chapter 39 - Discussing Literature with Su Xiaoxiao

When Xiao Bing walked into the room and turned on the lights at night, he found Su Xiaoxiao asleep, lying on the sofa in her pajamas.

One of her arms was hanging above the ground, and the other arm was resting on her chest. An upside-down book was lying on her.

Xiao Bing put on his slippers, crept in and came to the front of Su Xiaoxiao. The little girl used to look cold, but she was really cute when she was asleep. Her mouth was still glistening with saliva. Xiao Bing couldn’t help but shake his head and smile.

Xiao Bing hesitated and decided not to wake her up. Oh, the book she was reading was Schiller’s ‘Intrigue and Love’. “The love story in this little girl’s book is too dark. When I’m free, I’ll have to teach her what is beautiful…” Xiao Bing thought to himself.

With so many things happening to the Su family recently, Xiao Bing was really worried that it would affect Su Xiaoxiao’s state of mind.

Xiao Bing looked around, then walked into Su Xiaoxiao’s bedroom. Maybe it was his imagination, but he smelt the faint aroma of a girl in the room.

He picked up the blanket from the bed and crept to the sofa in the living room. He was preparing to cover the blanket over Su Xiaoxiao when she suddenly rubbed her eyes and opened them in a daze. When she opened her eyes, she found Xiao Bing very close to her. They stared at each other for a moment, then Su Xiaoxiao let out a scream and shrieked, “Pervert!”

Automatically, she kicked between Xiao Bing’s legs. Xiao Bing hurriedly jumped to one side. “Shit, luckily I’m good at dodging. Otherwise, I’ll get hurt.” Xiao Bing thought.

“Hello, use your eyes, okay? I was trying to put the blanket on you. Why do I deserve this?”

Su Xiaoxiao just realized that she was lying on the sofa in the living room. Just now she had opened her eyes in a daze, and she subconsciously thought that she was lying on the bed in her room. She thought that a pervert sneaked into her room. At this time, she looked at the blanket in Xiao Bing’s hands. Su Xiaoxiao’s face was hot, and she was very embarrassed. However, she had a cold personality and wouldn’t say too many nice words, so she apologized stiffly.

Xiao Bing had long been used to her personality. He couldn’t imagine why a woman as hot and unrestrained as Su Peiya had such a cold sister. They were simply two extremes.

Seeing Su Xiaoxiao turn over and sit up, Xiao Bing smiled and said, “You are reading ‘Intrigue and Love’?”

Su Xiaoxiao looked a little surprised, “Have you read it?”

Xiao Bing naturally sat down on the sofa. He took the book in his hands and flipped a few pages. He smiled and said, “The famous play by Schiller, an outstanding German dramatist in the 18th century. The book tells the tragic love story between Lois, daughter of a civilian violinist, and Ferdinand, the son of the prime minister. Do you think us soldiers are all uneducated and uncultured?”

Su Xiaoxiao apologized and said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean that…”

“Ha ha, I don’t mind either way. In fact, the special forces have very high requirements for soldiers. Of course, if someone has outstanding skills in some areas, such as marksmanship, combat, investigation, etc., as long as one of them is far superior to others, he can also stay in our forces. However, on the whole, we also pay attention to cultural knowledge, and most of us have extensive knowledge. If anyone doesn’t have enough knowledge, they would receive special tutoring.”

There were words that Xiao Bing didn’t say. A top soldier like him would know more. After all, sometimes he had to carry out some special missions. In order to take on a variety of identities, he must learn to act like others. Naturally, he needed to have a sufficient knowledge reserve. Therefore, Xiao Bing was not only strong, but his calligraphy, painting, and musical ability, as well as many other aspects, were also close to professional standards, including literary knowledge.

Su Xiaoxiao nodded, “I sincerely apologize. But you know that’s not I meant. After all, my sister was in the same army as you…”

Su Xiaoxiao looked upset when her sister was mentioned.

Xiao Bing noticed that Su Xiaoxiao was upset so he quickly changed the subject. “In fact, for a little girl like you, I think it is better to read more magazines with romance novels. World-famous books like ‘Intrigue and Love’ are too heavy for you.”

Su Xiaoxiao laughed, “Are you afraid that I’ve been affected too much recently, and will be depressed after reading such books?”

Xiao Bing was surprised. Su Xiaoxiao was much smarter than he thought.

“Don’t worry, novels are novels, and life is life. I will never mix them up.” Su Xiaoxiao smiled bitterly. “If life could be as beautiful as the stories in books, then many things would not have happened, right… What do you think of this book?”

“Lois, the daughter of a civilian violinist, and the son of the prime minister are deeply in love. However, this love ended in the tragedy of death for them under the hierarchical society and the intrigue of the court. The book is compact in structure, vivid in plot and intense in conflict. It exposes social inequality and various conspiracies and evil deeds within the court for power and profit, and reflects the sharp conflicts between the aristocratic class and the townspeople in the court of 18th-century German society.”

Su Xiaoxiao nodded and said with a little disappointment, “What you said is too formal. I want to ask you… What do you think of the tragic love between Ferdinand and Lois? I don’t want to listen to the profound social stratum and the great truth of power struggles. For us women, what you say is not as important as our family, love, and friendship. Maybe I’m a little selfish in saying so, but that’s the truth.”

“I can understand.” Xiao Bing sighed deeply, revealing a face of sadness, followed by another heavy sigh, “I feel sorry for the girl… She was forced to deceive him with a fake letter, but Ferdinand did not choose to keep on believing her, but drank a cup of poison and died with her. Don’t you think he was selfish?”

Su Xiaoxiao was silent for a moment and said, “The love in Ferdinand’s heart is sacred and no betrayal should be allowed. He could turn against his prime minister father for Lois. He could accept this civilian girl. He could bear any pressure for this girl, but he couldn’t stand the girl tarnishing this sacred feeling he had.”

“But what’s the truth?” Xiao Bing said in a low voice, “The truth is, this is his misunderstanding. He realized it when his beloved woman took the cup of poison he personally handed over. I have to admit that his love is passionate and burning, even sacred in the eyes of many people. Every reader has pushed the responsibility of this tragedy to the dark society at that time, believing that the class oppression at that time caused the deaths of the bitter lovers. But no one thought about how selfish this man was!”

Su Xiaoxiao looked at Xiao Bing with some surprise. Everything Xiao Bing said shook her heart. This was something she had never thought of before, but thinking about it afterward, was it not the truth?

Su Xiaoxiao asked, “What kind of love do you have in mind?”

Xiao Bing was silent, then his eyes shone with a strange light, and Yezi appeared in his mind. Then he said word by word, “If we love each other, we will join hands and grow old together. If we separate, I will protect her. ”

“If we love each other, we will join hands and grow old together. If we separate, I will protect her…” Su Xiaoxiao muttered to herself, repeating what Xiao Bing said, and gradually spaced out.

Xiao Bing added, “Of course, for my woman, unless she doesn’t love me anymore, she will never separate from me.”

“What if her family stops you?”

“Then I’ll try to gain the approval of her family.”

“What if God stops you?”

Xiao Bing smiled with a confident and domineering look, “Then I’ll fight against it!”

Looking at Xiao Bing, Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t stay calm. Suddenly she quickly withdrew her eyes, put on her slippers, stood up and walked towards her room. She said with a shiver, “It’s getting late. Go back to your room and get some sleep!”

Xiao Bing looked at Su Xiaoxiao’s back and said with a smile, “All right, good night!”

Back in his room, Xiao Bing was lying on his bed. He thought to himself, “Yezi, ‘if we separate, I’ll protect you’. I believe this will never happen to you and me, never!”

The next morning, when Su Xiaoxiao got up, she heard a noise in the kitchen. Then the frost on her face melted instantly and a warm feeling rose in her heart.

Su Xiaoxiao went into the kitchen after washing up. Breakfast was ready, including a bowl of egg cakes.

Her eyes fell on the apron Xiao Bing was wearing. Xiao Bing noticed that she was staring at the apron so he immediately took it off. He said with embarrassment, “A man wearing this… doesn’t look very good, right?”

“No.” Su Xiaoxiao shook her head and said seriously, “It’s good… It feels… close. Like a family atmosphere.”

Xiao Bing sat down and smiled, “That’s good, let’s eat. There is still one day off today, have a good rest and go to school tomorrow.”

“I’ll go and see my mom later… Brother Bing, I would like to ask you for a favor.”

Xiao Bing smiled and asked, “Sure. What is it?”

Su Xiaoxiao lowered her head and said in a sad tone, “A lot of things have happened in my family recently. It seems that bad luck has fallen on our Su family… I have not been in the mood to study, but the mid-term exam is approaching… I think your language skills are good. Can you tutor me?”

Xiao Bing felt guilty for Su Xiaoxiao. He hurriedly promised her on her little request, “No problem. We’ll start tonight. I already finished breakfast. I’ll go to the restaurant first. Take your time!”

“Hmm! Come back early tonight… for the lessons! I’ll cook and you’ll have dinner at home.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my promise.”

Waiting until Xiao Bing left, Su Xiaoxiao’s face was permeated with a happy smile. The picture of Yezi and Xiao Bing kissing appeared in her mind. She thought to herself, “Hmm, badass, see how you hook up with her tonight!”