Very well, he knows the kid is lying, but he can't expose him.
Otherwise, it would be a bit embarrassing if this kid found out that he was staking out the place at night.
Without arguing with Qin Rui, Qin Chu simply patted him and said, "Don't lie, go to sleep."
"Brother, how could you say I'm lying?" Qin Rui looked up at him with displeasure.
He was perceptive and immediately sensed that Qin Chu's confident attitude was a bit off. He frowned, thought for a moment, and then, as if he had thought of something, suddenly said, "Brother, you wouldn't...?"
Qin Chu stiffened subtly for a moment.
But soon Qin Rui remembered that he had rushed out of the tent barefoot in the cold wind, only to find nothing and be taken back alone.
He gave a soft hum, buried his face in Qin Chu's arms, abandoned his previous guess, and said in a muffled voice, "Brother, you don't know anything."
Seeing that he was no longer dwelling on the issue, Qin Chu breathed a subtle sigh of relief.
Fortunately, I managed to save face.
But how long can it be maintained is the question.
Qin Chu got up early the next morning. He had to do military drills and deal with the enemy attack from the previous day. By the time he finished, it was already morning.
A cook died in the kitchen last night, and there's been some unrest and personnel changes today, so Qin Rui didn't go to the kitchen this morning. Qin Chu only remembered after finishing his work that the child probably hadn't eaten yet, so he quickly took a bowl of porridge back.
Qin Chu was carrying porridge when, before he even reached his tent, he saw a person standing in front of it from a distance. Qin Rui was sticking his head out of the tent and staring at the person outside.
As luck would have it, the person outside the tent was none other than the fifth brother who had stumbled upon all of Qin Chu's "secrets".
Qin Chu: "..."
General Qin's expression remained unchanged, but he quickened his pace slightly.
As he walked closer, he clearly heard the fifth brother cheerfully say, "Oh, you're back? Well, Dr. Su is gone."
Qin Chu: "..."
Although Qin Chu kept the bowl of porridge steady, he increased his speed again.
"But it's all good." The fifth brother looked at Qin Rui and sighed, "It's fortunate you came back, otherwise..."
What are you doing here?
Qin Chu stepped in front of the tent, successfully silencing Lao Wu before he could say anything.
As soon as Qin Rui saw Qin Chu approaching, his attention immediately shifted to Qin Chu. He lifted the tent flap and ran towards Qin Chu, calling out, "Brother!"
"Hmm." Qin Chu patted his head, and to make sure the porridge wouldn't get cold, he pulled him into the tent.
But when he turned his head, he saw that the fifth brother had also swaggered in.
Qin Chu: "..."
Qin Chu glanced at Lao Wu, trying to shoo him away with his eyes.
The fifth brother was puzzled by his gaze and scratched his forehead in confusion: "Of course I came to see you, Brother Qin. Haven't I been coming here every day these past two days?"
"You can come over, but just don't say anything you shouldn't," Qin Chu thought to himself.
Noah saw right through Qin Chu's little scheme and couldn't help but remind him, "If you don't want Lao Wu to say it, just tell him directly. He'll definitely listen to you."
Upon hearing this, Qin Chu's face turned even colder...
The fifth brother is willing to listen to him, but that doesn't mean he won't laugh at him.
The thought of being caught secretly protecting the child and then having to "coyly" tell others to keep it a secret made Qin Chu feel that it would be better to just kill him and give him a quick death.
Fortunately, the fifth brother did not continue the previous topic, but instead brought up serious business.
Qin Chu's previous group of men was scattered and dispersed among various officers. These conscripts were not as capable as the personal guards of other generals; they were all among the lowest ranks.
But they had followed Qin Chu through thick and thin, and had learned some skills, so naturally they were unwilling to be used as cannon fodder in the army. Now that Qin Chu had returned, held the title of general, and had a fixed number of troops under his command, those former brothers naturally wanted to return to Qin Chu's command.
Qin Chu did not disagree with this, but said, "Think it through. Given my current situation, you will face even more targeting if you follow me. Also, you cannot slack off under me."
The fifth brother immediately waved his hand: "Brother Qin, don't we know you? Don't worry, as long as you want us, most of the brothers still want to continue working for you. Anyway, given our current positions, no one would bother with us if we were transferred."
The matter was basically settled, and Qin Rui sipped his porridge quietly without interrupting.
Seeing that Qin Chu and the others had almost finished their discussion, he suddenly remembered what Lao Wu had said outside the tent. Curious about what happened next, he looked up at Lao Wu, smiled, and said, "Uncle, what you just said..."
The respectful address made the fifth brother's face turn green, and he couldn't help but raise his hand to touch his weathered face.
Qin Rui stopped halfway through his call, feeling that it was a bit inappropriate for this person to call Qin Chu "brother" while he himself called him "uncle." It made Qin Chu seem like he was suddenly a generation younger.
Not wanting Qin Chu to suffer any injustice, Qin Rui, against his conscience, sweetly changed his tune: "Fifth Brother, you were just saying outside..."
Before he could finish asking the question, Qin Rui felt Qin Chu press down on the back of his head, almost shoving his entire face into the bowl of porridge.
Qin Rui looked up at Qin Chu blankly, while Qin Chu forced himself to remain calm: "Drink your porridge, it's going to get cold."
Unfortunately, although Qin Rui didn't finish asking the question, Lao Wu perfectly understood what he meant.
He was overjoyed to hear Qin Rui call him "Fifth Brother," and immediately slapped his thigh and laughed, "Oh, you want to ask about this? You probably don't know, Qin..."
"Why aren't you leaving yet?" Qin Chu suddenly interrupted.
Fifth Brother: "..."
The fifth brother didn't understand what he had done wrong to be driven away like this.
Although Qin Chu was usually cold and aloof, this remark to drive away the guest was too harsh, making Qin Rui realize that something was wrong.
He quietly looked up to observe Qin Chu's expression and found that his brother wasn't angry, but rather seemed to have an indescribable... embarrassment?
This discovery made Qin Rui even more curious about what Lao Wu was about to say.
Qin Chu belatedly realized that his words had been too abrupt. He glanced up at Lao Wu and forced himself to smooth things over: "Aren't you going to eat?"
The fifth child was still confused: "I've already eaten?"
Qin Chu: "..."
Qin Chu glanced down again and saw that Qin Rui had already finished the remaining half bowl of porridge. Now, he was staring at the fifth brother with his big, dark eyes, asking curiously, "Fifth Brother..."
Just then, a voice suddenly called out from outside the tent: "Fifth Brother! Where are they? Hurry up, we're counting heads!"
The fifth brother immediately stood up: "Oh no, I forgot about that."
He quickly prepared to leave, and Qin Chu's icy expression, which was about to crack, finally held firm at the last second.
"Okay, go ahead." As he said this, Qin Chu's voice even softened slightly, filled with a wonderful expectation that he wanted the person to get lost.
The person outside called out again. Qin Chu watched as Lao Wu rushed out of the tent in a hurry. Qin Chu finally breathed a sigh of relief when Lao Wu stepped out of the tent.
He reverted to his flawless, cold demeanor, looking down at Qin Rui: "Have you finished eating? Wash the dishes when you're done..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qin Chu saw Qin Rui looking towards the tent entrance again.
Just as he took two steps, the man turned back, holding onto the tent flap and peeking inside: "Oh right, Qin Rui, I forgot to tell you, it's a good thing you came back, otherwise your brother would be squatting behind your tent every night and would freeze into an icicle sooner or later!"
Qin Chu tried to cover his mouth, but it was too late. He could only watch helplessly as the fifth brother, that idiot, finished speaking and then hurriedly turned and ran away.
Their hurried movements caused them to knock over the sticks supporting the tent entrance.
The open tent was closed in an instant, and the inside immediately became dark, with only a beam of bright sunlight shining in from the not-yet-completely-closed entrance, leaving a long shadow on the ground.
The tent was quiet, with only Qin Chu and Qin Rui staring at each other.
Upon hearing what the fifth brother said, Qin Rui abruptly turned to look at Qin Chu. His eyes were bright, gleaming even in the dim light of the room.
Qin Chu, being stared at by those eyes: "..."
Qin Chu felt very uncomfortable. He pretended not to hear or see anything and picked up an empty bowl from the side: "I'll go wash the dishes."
But he couldn't move because a child had half his body on his legs.
Qin Chu glanced down and saw Qin Rui slowly smile under his gaze. He smiled happily, a smile that was both silly and brightly mischievous.
Qin Chu, feeling mocked, was speechless.
He shifted his leg, thinking, "If I laugh again, I'll kick you flying, believe it or not?"
Unable to bear it any longer, Qin Chu merely moved his knee slightly and said with a blank face, "Get out of the way."
This time, instead of getting up, one of the children climbed onto his lap and sat there, still looking up at him with a smile: "Hehehe..."
Very good, this time the laughter was purely mischievous.
Before General Qin could truly break down in embarrassment, Qin Rui, sitting on Qin Chu's lap, smiled and put her hands on Qin Chu's shoulders, saying, "Brother, do you like me?"
Although it was a question, Qin Rui's tone was very confident.
He looked up at Qin Chu, his heart pounding. He had struggled countless times before with whether Qin Chu disliked him, but now he was somewhat certain that Qin Chu liked him.
Qin Chu didn't like the other children, but he liked him.
Therefore, Qin Chu would give him the precious food, worry about his safety, and secretly hide behind Doctor Su's tent, staying outside all night long.
He thought he was the only one suffering when they separated, but he never expected that someone had been silently following him and protecting him all along.
Qin Rui's heart seemed to float in the sky, hovering on soft clouds. Yet, it also felt as if it had finally settled down, finding a peaceful little haven, no longer filled with uncertainty and helplessness.
He straightened up and gently hugged Qin Chu. It wasn't the kind of hug he used to give when he was being coquettish or scared, but a very gentle embrace, just like the warm feeling he had in his heart right now.
"Brother, I like you too, I like you the most," Qin Rui said softly, his voice carrying the sincerity of a child.
Qin Chu had given up resisting and simply sat there while he held her.
After a while, he felt that the child was quite well-behaved, so well-behaved that it made his heart ache, so he reached out and touched the top of Qin Rui's head.
But Qin Rui was obedient for less than two seconds before she quickly realized something and looked at him accusingly: "Brother, I didn't hear wrong that day, did I? You were indeed outside the tent. I went out to look for you, so why did you hide!"
Qin Chu: "..." When will this kid ever stop?
Then Qin Rui started to feel sorry for him again.
He remembered what Lao Wu had said: Qin Chu slept outside every night, so he hadn't even packed up his own tent. It was so cold, and Qin Chu slept in the cold wind all night long.
"Brother, why are you like this..." Qin Rui raised his hand to touch Qin Chu's forehead, his eyes reddening instantly. "What if you get sick from the cold outside? Does that mean you can stay up all the time just because I'm sleeping?"
"I also want you to stay in the tent and rest well in a warm place!"
He hugged Qin Chu again, pressing his forehead against Qin Chu's forehead.
The child could laugh or cry at will, leaving Qin Chu completely bewildered. Children are known for their unpredictable moods, and Qin Chu disliked interacting with such creatures.
But now I feel only helplessness. What can I do about the child I'm raising?