“Is it just the two of us?” Qian Duoduo blurted out.
“For now, yes.” Lu Qiming’s expression looked as calm as ever. After a brief pause, he added, “But if you want to invite someone else, that’s fine too.”
“Besides you, who else do I even know here?” Qian Duoduo curved her lips. “I mean, do you have any colleagues or friends coming along?”
Lu Qiming replied, “No.”
He looked at her calmly, then continued, “My idea was to have dinner with you alone. I didn’t plan to invite colleagues.”
Such straightforward words slipped into Qian Duoduo’s ears, and she froze for a moment. Her earlobes flushed red in an instant.
She really didn’t know how to respond to that.
Half a second later, she quickly adjusted her expression, trying to look as normal as possible, and replied with a gentle smile, “So are you planning to eat out?”
“I’m not picky. Anything is fine.”
Lu Qiming’s gaze brushed over her rosy cheeks. “What does Teacher Qian want to eat?”
“I haven’t really been to Shishui District much before.” Qian Duoduo’s smile was gentle and modest. “You’ve been here a few years, Team Leader Lu. You probably know better than I do what’s good around here.”
Hearing this, Lu Qiming lowered his eyes in thought for two seconds, then asked her, “Are you okay with Guangdong Cuisine?”
“Yeah.”
Qian Duoduo nodded. Although she preferred food with stronger flavors, Guangdong Cuisine was fresh and light, with delicious soups.
It was nice to have once in a while— refreshing and good for cutting the grease.
“Then let’s have Yue Cuisine,” Lu Qiming said. “Is that alright?”
“Sounds good.”
Qian Duoduo didn’t refuse the suggestion.
Based on their previous interactions, Lu Qiming had left a good impression on her. She thought he was responsible, upright, and a good PLA Comrade who served the people.
As a person, he might not be someone to date, but he was great to have as a friend.
Besides, since she’d already made her attitude clear in their previous encounters, Qian Duoduo felt no psychological burden in interacting with Lu Qiming again.
At her core, she was a laid-back, easygoing person. Her intentions were clear from the start, open and honest.
After agreeing to have dinner together, Qian Duoduo thought of something.
She turned her head to peek left and right, then casually asked, “Is 408 to the left of my room?”
“Yeah,” Lu Qiming answered.
Qian Duoduo glanced over. Rooms 406 and 408 were right next to each other, only a few meters apart.
In other words, the two rooms even shared a wall.
Really couldn’t get any closer.
“So close…” Qian Duoduo muttered to herself. Then she turned her gaze back and smiled sweetly at Lu Qiming. “Team Leader Lu, could you go sit in your room for a bit? I want to change clothes.”
She paused, worried the leader might think she was being fussy, living in the PLA Camp as an influencer and changing outfits twice a day, which might hurt the local enterprise’s image.
She quickly explained in embarrassment, “I misjudged the temperature today and wore too much. I’m just going to take off a sweater… I’ll be quick.”
Lu Qiming caught her nervous expression, and a hint of warmth, almost imperceptible, softened his stern face. He replied calmly, “Go ahead, no rush.”
“Alright.”
After responding, Qian Duoduo closed her door again.
The silent gaze was cut off by the door. Lu Qiming didn’t go back to his own room, but stood waiting in the corridor.
She was a girl as soft as a cloud, her footsteps light, everything she did barely making a sound.
But deciphering work required acute hearing, and Lu Qiming, tilting his ear, still caught faint sounds from inside— like soft clouds brushing past the moon.
Creak— maybe she was opening the wardrobe.
The dormitory had been renovated, but the furniture was still the old stuff.
The light brown wardrobe was ancient, its sliding track hadn’t been oiled in ages, and every time it opened or closed it made a sharp noise.
Clack clack— maybe she was moving the hangers inside…
Lu Qiming stood at the door for a while, leaning casually against the wall.
His eyelids drooped slightly in a relaxed posture, face expressionless, staring straight at the cold white corridor wall.
He’d always thought vision was the most important of the five senses.
Light enters the eyes, forms an image on the retina, signals are converted, and the brain decodes all the information.
Of all the organs involved, the brain was the most crucial.
What the eyes see, the mind will imagine.
For example, right now.
At this very moment, Lu Qiming’s sharp hearing picked up the faint “rustle rustle” from behind the door.
The sound of clothes.
Combined with what the girl had said before closing the door, there was only one possibility. @Infinite great stories, all at Jinjiang Literature City
A certain realization flashed into his mind, and Lu Qiming’s eyes narrowed slightly, his breathing suddenly skipping a beat.
He closed his eyes, pressing his fingers to his brow.
His thoughts drifted, and he had to forcibly cut them off.
But the image of her smiling eyes lingered in his mind, refusing to go away, challenging his self-control.
Lu Qiming, control.
Many thoughts spread like a virus.
He remembered the sweat beads on Qian Duoduo’s forehead.
Maybe it was the fickle weather’s fault—those beads would roll down her cheeks and chin, drip onto her fair collarbone, and further down, be swallowed by the pale neckline.
Just then, there was a soft click from the lock, and the door opened again.
Qian Duoduo came out, looked up, and saw the tall figure standing at her door. Caught off guard, she instinctively took half a step back.
“Team Leader Lu…”
Seeing the cold face before her, she let out a breath, patted her chest twice, and looked confused. “Didn’t I ask you to go back to your room for a bit? Did you just stand here the whole time?”
Lu Qiming didn’t answer right away. He lowered his eyes, Adam’s apple bobbing slightly as he tried to control himself.
After several seconds, he finally said calmly, “Just came out. Let’s go.”
PLA Comrades had long legs; with one stride, Qian Duoduo had to take two to keep up.
She quickened her pace to catch up, rummaging through her shoulder bag while casually asking with a smile, “Team Leader Lu, is the Yue Cuisine restaurant far? How are we getting there?”
“About two or three kilometers.” Lu Qiming’s face showed little emotion, and he didn’t look back. “I’ll drive.”
“Okay.” Qian Duoduo replied politely, “Thank you for letting me hitch a ride.”
Lu Qiming kept walking ahead. “No need to be so polite, Teacher Qian.”
Behind him, Qian Duoduo fished around in her bag for a while, finally finding a small item at the very bottom.
She took it out, hesitated half a second, then reached out with slender white fingers and tugged at the man’s sleeve.
Lu Qiming paused and turned his head.
He didn’t lift his eyelids, but looked at the hand holding his sleeve.
It was delicate, fair, with newly done nails—short and rounded, painted a mix of pink and blue, bright but not over the top.
“This is for you.” The girl said, and with her other hand, handed him something.
Lu Qiming took it.
It was wrapped in clear candy paper, about the size of a thumb.
Looked like… candy?
Lu Qiming was silent for a moment, then finally lifted his lashes and looked straight at the girl’s face. His brows rose slightly, showing a trace of upright curiosity.
“This is Snowflake Nougat. I made it myself.” Qian Duoduo smiled at him, her tone tinged with a little pride she couldn’t hide. “It’s all-natural, no additives at all. It’s a thank-you for bringing me in today, showing me around, and helping me carry my luggage.”
Lu Qiming held the Snowflake Nougat and nodded after a moment, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Qian Duoduo was happy to share food with friends. “I brought a lot. Try this one first, and if you like it, I’ll give you more.”
“Okay.” Lu Qiming put the treat away, took a long stride, and continued down the stairs.
Qian Duoduo followed behind him, suddenly remembering something and hurriedly called out, “Oh, Team Leader Lu, let’s agree first—tonight’s dinner is my treat. Don’t even think about fighting me over the bill.”
“Okay,” Lu Qiming replied.
PLA Comrades weren’t talkative to begin with, and for some reason today, he was even more sparing with words. If he could answer in one word, he’d never use two.
Seeing this, Qian Duoduo just assumed Lu Qiming was in a bad mood for some reason and didn’t think much of it, pulling out her phone to check Weibo and some gossip.
But just half a step away, only Lu Qiming knew what kind of torment he was enduring.
He knew, at a moment like this, he shouldn’t talk too much to this girl, nor look at her for too long.
She had a dangerous allure about her.
How could there be such a girl in the world? Her smile rippled out from her pupils, and the air around her seemed coated in sugar.
Countless threads of sweetness, honey seeping in everywhere, enough to tempt him into losing control.
Lu Qiming had always been confident in his self-control.
He thought his will was strong as stone, unyielding to any temptation from outside.
But for some reason, every time he saw Qian Duoduo, he became someone else.
It felt like just one more glance at her, and he’d lose control.
*
The PLA Camp in Shishui had separate parking for military and private cars.
The former had a special military garage with designated staff, while the latter shared parking with other local units.
Qian Duoduo followed Lu Qiming out of the dorm, walking along the green path, across half the shooting range, and arrived at the open-air parking lot for private cars.
She glanced around and noticed most of the cars were electric, many of them the latest “internet celebrity” models.
She couldn’t help but blink and asked, “Did everyone here coordinate on what cars to buy? They’re all the same!”
Lu Qiming knew which models she was talking about and replied coolly, “Those car owners are mostly young guys who just graduated from military school. They hang out together, so when it’s time to buy a car, they do their research and end up picking the same model. It’s normal.”
“How do you all do your research?”
“By looking up information,” Lu Qiming said. “There are lots of platforms now.”
Qian Duoduo: “Weibo? Douyin? Red Book?”
Hearing this, Lu Qiming paused for a moment, then replied, “I know the ones you mentioned. I’ve already registered accounts.”
This really surprised Qian Duoduo, and she blurted out, “Team Leader Lu, you’re way trendier than I thought!”