Elder brother's garrison

Page 274

"Last time, Ringo broke her fan while saving my ship girl. I'm going to ask Yixian to make her another one," Xiaobai said to Ringo.

"Huh? A fan?" Mu Yu paused for a moment. "Is it that folding fan?"

"Mm." Xiaobai nodded.

It seems that Mu Yu also knows what Ringo's folding fan looks like.

"You actually lost that?" Mu Yu said to Lin Qing in surprise. "Didn't you always treasure that thing?"

Ringo simply lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing to me? It's not like I gave it to you." Mu Yu sighed.

Ringo saved Pachina while under heavy artillery fire. In that life-or-death situation, she didn't have time to worry about the folding fan at her waist, so even if Ringo was very careful, it wasn't impossible for her to lose it.

"Was that folding fan a gift?" Xiao Bai finally realized something was amiss; it seemed the fan had an unusual origin.

"It was your brother who gave it to Ringo," Mu Yu interjected.

"Huh?" Xiaobai was stunned.

Mu Yu looked at Xiao Bai's surprised expression, then glanced at Lin Qing for a while.

After lingering on Ringo's unchanging expression for a moment, Mu Yu, seemingly having obtained his consent, said to Xiao Bai, "Ringo... um... he wasn't like this before."

"What's it like?"

"Ringo used to be quite cheerful and handsome, but he was always a bit reserved, probably because he was young. He was always a bit hesitant," Mu Yu said.

Xiao Bai only realized after hearing this that Mu Yu was explaining the history of crabapples to him.

Why is the word "handsome" used to describe Ringo-neechan?

Xiaobai looked at Ringo's face strangely.

Ringo is a stunning beauty, with a face that could topple kingdoms and make fish sink and geese fall from the sky. Her looks, which could be described as a femme fatale anywhere, have absolutely nothing to do with being handsome.

"Then one time, due to some unpredictable changes during the battle, one of his ship girls was sunk." Mu Yu's tone and expression became serious as he said this.

Xiao Bai paused in his steps.

She looked at Ringo's expression.

Ringo had already tacitly allowed Mu Yu to tell his story, so she didn't interrupt him and listened quietly.

Only then did Xiaobai see the deep sadness that Lin Qing couldn't let go of beneath her seemingly calm expression.

“It’s common for admirals to be immature. After all, that’s how it is for newcomers. Everyone gradually becomes more skilled after suffering some small losses. But the situation Ringo encountered was extremely rare, and he paid an irreparable price for it,” Mu Yu said. “How could someone in his early twenties stand that? He always looked like he was dead, didn’t eat, and just sat at the gate of the naval base.”

“I’m not saying Ringo is without fault, but there’s no point in letting him sink into despair like this. Headquarters has also invited a lot of psychology researchers to help him, but unfortunately, it’s all been of no use.” Mu Yu shrugged as she said this. “Later, your brother went there on a business trip and heard about Ringo’s situation, so he paid him a visit.”

"Then heaven knows what happened, but Ringo actually pulled herself together. Although her personality changed drastically, she at least grew a lot and became as capable and efficient as an old hand. Gradually, she even rose to the position of governor."

"Did your brother comfort you?" Xiaobai asked.

Ringo looked at Shiro and nodded.

Xiaobai wanted to ask her brother what he had said to cheer up a commander who had lost all hope, but considering that this might be a past that Ringo didn't want to recall, she didn't ask.

"And then Ringo became like this." Mu Yu pointed to Ringo's bright red dress, "and she often carries a folding fan in her hand, treating it like a precious treasure."

"So the folding fan was a gift from my brother... and it has such important meaning for Ringo-neechan..." Xiaobai murmured, lowering her head.

A moment later, Xiaobai awkwardly raised his head.

For Ringo, the folding fan wasn't the most important thing; perhaps the meaning behind it was more important.

Xiaobai finally understood why Ringo had gone to such lengths to save Pachina.

"I'm sorry, it seems I'll never be able to return that fan to Ringo-neechan," Shiro apologized to Ringo.

Ringo shook her head, seemingly not too concerned about the fact that the fan was completely damaged.

Xiaobai and Linqing arrived at the entrance of the abandoned prison.

At this moment, Yi Xian was sitting at the prison gate, leaning on a sandalwood table, carefully looking at a fan in his hand that was charred black and tattered.

"Admiral." Yi Xian saw Xiao Bai, stood up, and bowed to him.

"Good afternoon, Yixian." Xiaobai nodded to Yixian. "These are Muyu and Linqin, the Pacific Governor and the Inland Governor, respectively."

"Greetings, Governors." Yi Xian bowed humbly to the two governors.

"Yixian, the fan I gave you last time..." Xiaobai looked at the two fans, one good and one bad, on the sandalwood table in front of Yixian and felt a little embarrassed.

It seems that Yixian has finished painting the new folding fan, but this new folding fan is probably useless now.

Thinking about it this way, I feel really bad for Yixian.

"Yi Xian was just about to say that too." Yi Xian interrupted Xiao Bai, which was unusual for her, and looked very strange. "The Admiral asked Yi Xian to redraw this fan. Yi Xian finished it, but something is a little strange."

"Huh? What's so strange about that?"

"The fan you asked Yixian to replicate, Yixian later discovered, seems to be the one Yixian painted for your brother before. I wonder where you brought it back from?"

Chapter 347 Missouri Chair

When Yi Xian spoke, he was always astonishing.

After she said those words, Xiaobai and Muyu were deeply shocked by the truth of the matter.

"Yixian..."

"Hmm? What's wrong, Admiral?"

"Was this folding fan really made by Yixian?" Xiaobai asked in disbelief.

Yi Xian nodded.

"Not entirely. The fan ribs were bought, but the fan surface was painted by Yixian herself." As Yixian spoke, she gently opened the fan on the table, which was already tattered beyond recognition.

The folding fan, scorched by the high temperature, would shed a lot of black residue at the slightest touch. Yi Xian's fair and delicate fingers were covered with a lot of black dust as she picked up the fan and opened it.

Following Yixian's instructions, Xiaobai looked at the fan.

The fan surface was charred black, making it impossible to see what was painted on it, but there were still a few corners where the image could be vaguely discerned.

"This fan was painted by Yixian when she was just learning ink painting, and she made quite a few mistakes." As she spoke, Yixian handed the fan to Xiaobai so that she could see it more clearly. "The portrait is a copy of 'A Clear Spring Flows Over Rocks,' and the inscription is a Tang poem. At the time, the Admiral even said that the inscription Yixian chose didn't match the image."

Yi Xian's jade-like fingers pointed to a few words in the corner of the fan.

“Yi Xian himself can still recognize his own handwriting.”

The many mistakes Yi Xian made were something a layman like Xiao Bai couldn't see. In her opinion, even the smallest details of the images and writing on the fan were quite beautiful.

But now that you think about it, Xiaobai, who has figured things out, doesn't find it strange anymore.

After all, his own brother knew that he simply didn't have the patience to learn calligraphy and ink painting. In the entire naval base, the only people who were proficient in both skills were probably Deep Sea Yamato and Yixian.

When the fan painting was being done, Yamato Shinkai hadn't learned any of these techniques yet, so if his brother's fan wasn't bought, it could only have been painted by Yixian.

Xiao Bai patted his forehead.

I was really too stupid; I only realized it after it was so obvious.

"So, Admiral, where did you get this fan?" Yi Xian asked again, seeing that Xiao Bai had no more questions.

Yi Xian's gaze was calm and dignified, but Xiao Bai dared not look directly into her eyes.

Xiao Bai was internally cursing her brother terribly.

My brother is such a jerk!

Yi Xian is such a good woman. She made a fan by hand and gave it to her brother. How could her brother just give it to Lin Qing?

Even a novice like me, after hearing the truth of the matter, would feel that what my brother did was absolutely outrageous.

Who in the world would casually give away something a girl gave them?

"Uh... this..." Xiaobai looked at Yixian in front of her and hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

Xiaobai really didn't know how to answer.

When Yi Xian asked this question, she noticed Xiao Bai's predicament, and a hint of doubt appeared on her delicate brows.

As if by some strange twist of fate, Yi Xian and Lin Qing, who was behind Xiao Bai, made eye contact.

Compared to Xiaobai and Muyu's surprise at the truth, Ringo appeared quite composed. After learning that the fan was painted by Yixian, Ringo neither showed any shock nor was she angry that her folding fan was actually made by another ship girl.

A woman's intuition is terrifying.

When Yixian met Ringo's gaze, she nodded thoughtfully: "Admiral, did the governor behind you give you the fan?"

When Yi Xian finally asked, there was no point in Xiao Bai trying to avoid it, so he had no choice but to nod in resignation.

"Yes," Xiaobai replied softly.

Xiao Bai could already imagine the impending "battlefield" or "death trap."

"Is that so?" Yi Xian smiled. "Fate is truly an interesting thing."

Yi Xian put the fan back on the table, muttering to himself with a sigh of relief, but without any emotional fluctuation.

"Huh?" Xiaobai looked at Yixian's expression, which showed no anger whatsoever, and became puzzled.

"The Admiral seems quite disappointed?" Yi Xian asked with a smile, looking at Xiao Bai. "What's wrong?"

"No...no." Xiaobai looked Yixian up and down curiously. "Isn't Yixian angry?"

"Huh? What are you angry about?"

"Brother gave the fan you gave him to Sister Ringo."

"Ah, this one." Yi Xian smiled as she spoke. "This fan has been used for so long without any minor damage. If it weren't for this burn, it would probably still be very new. I'm very happy that this ordinary fan of mine, which I haven't put much effort into, has received such attention from the Governor."

Yi Xian paused here, "Besides, the admiral only had a three-minute whim when he wanted to take the folding fan. He didn't get tired of it and leave it to gather dust in the warehouse. Instead, he gave it to someone who knew how to cherish it. That's why I feel embarrassed."

At this point, Yi Xian bowed to Ringo: "Yi Xian's fan painting is still very rough. I am flattered that it has been appreciated and loved by the Governor."

— Surprisingly, I didn't feel angry at all.

Yat-sen has such a good temper.

Xiao Bai breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension that had been building up inside her eased.

Ringo waved her hand, indicating that there was no problem.

Yi Xian gently patted the dust off her hands, then picked up the newly replicated folding fan from the table and presented it to Ringo with both hands.

Ringo accepted Yixian's folding fan, but instead of unfolding it to examine the painting on the fan, she held the fan ribs in her bosom and gave Yixian a gentle smile.

Ringo smiled, as if a hundred flowers were in full bloom.

Mu Yu quickly covered her eyes, giving an expression that said, "I didn't see anything."

Adults' thoughts are truly unfathomable. Xiaobai thought that Ringo wouldn't accept the new folding fan, or even if she did, she wouldn't be too happy.

After all, the new folding fan was no longer the one her brother had given her; all the meaning it held was gone.

But Ringo's expression was still very happy, and she made no attempt to hide her love for the new folding fan.

"Ringo-neechan, don't you mind?" Shiro asked. "The fan that brother gave you was actually taken from a ship girl."

"I don't mind." Ringo shook her head, looking down at the new folding fan in her hand. "I know."

"What do you know?"

"The folding fan was a gift from someone," Ringo said slowly.

"Huh? You knew that?!" Xiaobai was startled.

Ringo reached out and patted Shiro's head, her eyes filled with tenderness: "New folding fan, thank you."

"Oh...oh oh..." Xiaobai still felt a little uneasy, but since Linqing and Yixian, the two parties involved, didn't seem to mind at all, Xiaobai could only let it go.

Maybe I'm just being too sensitive.

Happy End is fine.

The interview was still going on in the admiral's office, so Xiaobai and the two governors shouldn't stay out too long. They had to hurry back after getting the folding fan.

After thanking Yi Xian, Xiao Bai headed back towards the office building.

Yixian sat back down at the entrance of the abandoned prison.

The former warden also lost his only job after being paroled by Yamato Fuka. For Yatsen, who had always been diligent and hardworking, his unemployment was as disheartening as suddenly losing his purpose in life.

However, everyone in the naval base has seen Yamato's performance, and Yixian can't selfishly take Yamato back just to achieve his own goal.