Opening WeChat, she sent a new message to a black night sky avatar.
Qian Duoduo: 【Team Leader Lu, I’m already at the Mess Hall. Are you back at camp?】
About a minute later, a reply popped up.
Lu Qiming: 【Just arrived, traffic was bad.】
Qian Duoduo blinked and replied: 【The traffic was terrible on my way back too…】
Qian Duoduo: 【Where are you now?】
Lu Qiming: 【Dorm. I’m changing clothes.】
In the officers’ dormitory building, room 408.
After replying, Lu Qiming tossed his phone on the table and went to the bathroom to run water.
After finishing, he pressed the flush.
The squat toilet’s drain valve wasn’t soundproofed; the flush sounded like a flood, noisy and sharp.
Lu Qiming twisted his neck, grabbed the hem of his sweater and pulled it over his head.
The bright incandescent light turned on, spilling across the half-length mirror, reflecting a strong, muscular torso. Turning around, his back muscles formed a broad fan-shaped shadow, each muscle seeming to breathe.
He turned back to look expressionlessly at the nape of his neck in the mirror.
That bullet wound was like a medal, silently hanging there.
When the wound was scabbing over, the military doctor advised him that the scar wasn’t large and could be treated, unlike the long knife scar on his wrist. If he kept applying medicine, it could significantly fade.
Lu Qiming hadn’t cared then.
For a marching man, every scar told a story. Besides, he thought, he was a rough old guy— not competing in beauty contests. Whether or not to keep scars didn’t matter.
But now, his thoughts had subtly changed.
Last night, Qian Duoduo noticed the bullet scar on his neck and curiously asked about it.
At that moment, through her clear, bright eyes, he saw many complicated emotions.
Admiration, regret, pity… and a faint, hard-to-catch fear.
Fear? Of course.
What girl wouldn’t be afraid of ugly scars? What girl wouldn’t fear a man covered in wounds?
Lu Qiming furrowed his brows slightly.
She didn’t like this kind of wound.
So many years have passed— he wondered if the medication would still work. Next time he’d have to see a dermatologist…
Staring into the mirror for a few seconds, he then turned off the light, took his training uniform from the wardrobe, put it on.
After fastening the cuffs and collar, he smoothed the collar, glanced at the phone on the table out of the corner of his eye, and noticed two new WeChat messages.
From the little piglet girl’s avatar.
【Okay.】
【So should I wait for you at the Mess Hall door?】
Under lowered lashes, Lu Qiming’s gaze softened slightly as he replied: 【I’m coming.】
……
When Lu Qiming arrived at the Mess Hall, he saw Qian Duoduo standing on the third step of the entrance, chatting with a young captain.
Her soft, clear eyes were gentler than today’s sunshine.
That young comrade was familiar to Lu Qiming.
An Zhicheng was a top graduate from the Military Language Academy, having earned a master’s degree.
He graduated not long ago and currently worked in another department, focusing on decoding and code-breaking.
During school, he had participated in a certain type of military exercise and earned a Third-class Merit— a solid resume.
At this moment, An Zhicheng was softly speaking to Qian Duoduo, who listened patiently and responded occasionally. Both handsome and beautiful, youthful and vibrant, their harmony was striking.
Lu Qiming’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
He usually didn’t have much interaction with An Zhicheng— just the occasional ball game or jog. They were polite when meeting.
Before, he hadn’t noticed.
Now he found the guy downright unpleasant to look at.
Just then, several comrades walked over from the office building direction.
Spotting Lu Qiming, their eyes lit up. Smiling, they greeted, “Team Leader Lu, I heard you’re proctoring the sniper assessment this afternoon?”
“That’s right,” Lu Qiming replied coldly.
One joked, “Poor little soldiers, they’re in for a rough time again.”
Hearing this, Qian Duoduo’s face tightened, and she turned her head instinctively.
Her gaze met a pair of dark, deep eyes.
The man leaned against a plane tree’s shadow, sleeves rolled up halfway to reveal a lean, strong forearm. His figure was sharp, his stance casual.
He had been standing there for a long time, silently watching her. The pressure from his gaze felt like an invisible force in the surrounding air, making Qian Duoduo uneasy.
Like being caught red-handed doing something wrong.
Strange.
Why was she so nervous?
She was just having a normal chat, nothing wrong… Her mind jumbled with confusion.
Noticing the subtle change in Qian Duoduo’s expression, An Zhicheng’s face grew more serious and he tentatively called, “Teacher Qian?”
“Mhm.” Qian Duoduo replied, looking at An Zhicheng politely. “An-ge, well… I’m going to eat now. We can talk about the social media stuff another time, alright?”
An Zhicheng asked, “Are you eating at the Mess Hall?”
Qian Duoduo nodded, “Yes.”
“I’m going to eat there too,” An Zhicheng said enthusiastically. “How about we get food and sit together? We can chat while eating.”
Qian Duoduo thought about it, “Sure, that’s fine…”
Before she finished, calm footsteps sounded close to her ear.
Qian Duoduo stiffened and glanced sideways.
Lu Qiming was already walking up, passing her and An Zhicheng.
“Sorry to keep Teacher Qian waiting,” Lu Qiming said calmly, lowering his eyes. “Let’s go in.”
An Zhicheng, still caught off guard, froze.
He turned left to look at the fresh-faced blogger girl, then right at the cold Special Operations Team captain, and said confusedly, “Teacher Qian, so you were standing at the Mess Hall entrance waiting for Team Leader Lu?”
Qian Duoduo opened her mouth to answer.
Lu Qiming cut in first: “Of course, Teacher Qian was waiting for me.” He paused slightly, then glanced at An Zhicheng out of the corner of his eye. “What else did you think she was doing?”
“…” An Zhicheng was speechless.
Seeing An Zhicheng embarrassed, Qian Duoduo quickly tried to ease the situation: “An-ge, if you want to know about social media, I can send you some info later. We’re connected on WeChat anyway, so we can chat there.”
“Okay.” An Zhicheng looked grateful. “Thank you, Teacher Qian.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Well… Team Leader Lu, I’m going to head off first. You two enjoy your meal.” An Zhicheng sensed the team leader wasn’t in a good mood today, said goodbye, and quickly left.
Meeting a good comrade at the Mess Hall entrance, he leaned over and whispered low, “Help me figure out what I did wrong today. Why does Team Leader Lu look at me like he wants to stab me…”
At this time, the Mess Hall entrance was always crowded.
Not wanting to attract attention, Qian Duoduo lowered her voice and said to Lu Qiming, “Let’s go, Team Leader, time to eat.”
Lu Qiming looked at her for a few seconds without a word, then lifted his chin slightly, signaling “ladies first.”
Qian Duoduo turned and walked away, and Lu Qiming stepped up behind her.
“Beep—beep—”
After swiping their cards twice, Qian Duoduo pocketed her meal card, holding her tray, and whispered to Lu Qiming, “I already swiped your card for you. Later you can take more Yanchao Dufu Si—it’s a banquet dish and hard to get normally.”
Lu Qiming’s gaze traced the elegant side of her face, a slight lift of his brow. “You made this?”
“No,” Qian Duoduo said. “That dish was made by Teacher Kuai. The main ingredient is Yanchao dried tofu, with shredded ginger and dried shrimp. It should be pretty good.”
After finishing in the food line and scanning the area, only a few seats remained on the side of the Mess Hall. She didn’t spot any familiar faces from the Cooking Squad.
Qian Duoduo chose an empty seat and began enjoying today’s lunch.
After a few bites, she heard a light clatter. Another standard meal tray appeared on the table.
A clean, slender hand with defined knuckles held the edge of the tray.
“…” Qian Duoduo was stunned, surprised, and raised her eyes.
Lu Qiming lowered his gaze calmly and asked, “Is the seat opposite you taken?”
Qian Duoduo was still confused and shook her head vaguely.
Seeing this, Lu Qiming bent down and sat, quietly eating without caring about the surprised glances from all directions.
He didn’t mind; Qian Duoduo, however, felt her face burn red.
Embarrassed, she quietly asked, “Why are you sitting here?”
Lu Qiming: “To eat.”
Qian Duoduo: “…”
“I mean, there are other empty seats. Why choose this one?” she lowered her voice more. “So many people around, from different departments and teams. Aren’t you afraid of people gossiping behind your back?”
Lu Qiming spoke as usual, eating without lifting his eyelids: “They don’t have that kind of leisure.”
Qian Duoduo was speechless.
She thought: If it’s his unit and he doesn’t care, then I, who will only stay a month, don’t need to care either.
Quietly exhaling, Qian Duoduo calmed herself and continued eating her hot Yanchao Dufu Si.
Just then, Lu Qiming suddenly spoke without any change in tone: “What were you talking about with An Zhicheng just now?”
Qian Duoduo was caught off guard for half a second, then said with a smile, “Oh. An Zhicheng’s sister is graduating this year and is interested in social media. He asked me about it, so I chatted with him a little.”
Lu Qiming paused his movements and looked up at her.
“Adding WeChat contacts was also ‘a little chat’?” he asked calmly.
“Mm.” Qian Duoduo nodded. “Our company has some internal training materials that are useful. I’ll send them to him via WeChat.”
Lu Qiming: “Why do you call An Zhicheng ‘An-ge’?”
Qian Duoduo blinked, then replied seriously in a low voice: “I heard Xiao Honghua and Wen Hao call him that, so I followed suit. Besides, ‘An-ge’ is a more affectionate and respectful way to address someone.”
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