Lu Qiming spaced out for a second.
Before long, that soft, gentle voice rang out again. With a casual tone, she asked, “Didn’t you say you were having dinner with colleagues? Where are they?”
“They already went back to the office,” Lu Qiming replied.
Hearing that, Qian Duoduo grew curious and looked up at him. “Aren’t you going back too?”
“I am.”
Qian Duoduo looked even more confused, then laughed. “Then why didn’t you leave with your colleagues and instead ended up wandering alone outside the restaurant?”
Lu Qiming said, “I wanted to say goodbye to you before I left.”
“……”
So he’d waited outside just for her?
The light smile on Qian Duoduo’s face froze for a moment.
The next second, her gaze returned to the wound on the back of his hand. “Good thing you pulled me back earlier, otherwise I’d probably be lying in a hospital bed right now. I really appreciate it.”
“Anyone in that situation would’ve done the same thing,” Lu Qiming said. “You don’t need to take it to heart.”
Qian Duoduo smiled but didn’t respond.
After she finished disinfecting Lu Qiming’s wound, she opened the box of band-aids she had bought, took one out, and gently applied it with great care.
“All done.” Qian Duoduo put the used cotton swabs and other items into a plastic bag, preparing to get up.
“Thank you, Miss Qian,” Lu Qiming said.
After throwing out the trash, Qian Duoduo returned and started packing up.
Casually, she asked, “Did you drive here?”
Lu Qiming: “No.”
Qian Duoduo: “Perfect. My car’s parked in a nearby residential area near the tea restaurant. Sorry, but you’ll have to walk a bit.”
Lu Qiming frowned slightly.
Qian Duoduo pointed to the back of his hand and explained, “I’m planning to take you to the ER so the doctor can give you a tetanus shot.”
After hearing that and seeing the serious look on her face, Lu Qiming was silent for several seconds before finally saying, “That’s not necessary.”
“I took a good look at your wound earlier — it looks kind of deep. Better safe than sorry. Getting the shot is just a precaution.”
Lu Qiming: “Really, it’s fine.”
“It’s useful,” Qian Duoduo said earnestly. “Almost a million people get tetanus every year globally, and it has a high mortality rate. I know you might think I’m overreacting, but please understand — this happened because of me, and I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
Lu Qiming lowered his gaze. Looking at her sincere, serious face, he found himself at a loss for words.
He remembered his first day at military school at eighteen.
The instructor had told them: The people’s army serves the people. Protecting the public and defending the weak wasn’t just duty — it was something etched into every soldier’s instincts.
He didn’t think what he’d done was anything worth being thanked for.
To Lu Qiming, this kind of minor injury barely even counted as a wound.
The only reasons he let Qian Duoduo disinfect and treat it were, one, to ease her mind; and two, a selfish desire to spend a little more time alone with her.
But now, she wanted him to go to the ER for such a minor injury?
After a brief pause, Lu Qiming looked at Qian Duoduo and asked, “Do we really have to go to the hospital?”
“It’d be best,” Qian Duoduo said sincerely, taking responsibility for her savior. “Of course, if you really don’t want to, I can’t force you.”
“The military hospital’s nearby,” Lu Qiming said.
Qian Duoduo froze for a moment, then quickly pulled out her phone. While searching the map, she said, “Alright, great. Just a second, I’ll find it…”
“I know the way.”
“Oh, okay.”
*
The tea restaurant was in the old part of town, where streets were narrow and had no designated parking.
Diners parked their cars in several nearby older residential compounds.
The parking fee was cheap — ten yuan for three hours, with an extra three yuan per additional hour.
Qian Duoduo and Lu Qiming walked together to retrieve the car.
They passed the tea restaurant and turned left into a small alley beside it.
It was already late at night.
The alley was dimly lit, with only the stark white light from a convenience store cutting sharp geometric shapes on the pavement.
Somewhere above, a neighbor was playing music — an old Cantonese song from the ’90s drifted through the air, weaving between overhead power lines like musical staves.
Lu Qiming walked beside Qian Duoduo.
Suddenly, he asked, “Do you ever walk these kinds of streets alone at night?”
“Rarely,” Qian Duoduo replied with a soft smile. “Whenever I go out to explore new places, it’s usually with my team.”
Lu Qiming gave a small nod in response but said nothing more.
“Overall, the crime rate in South City is pretty low,” Qian Duoduo said conversationally. “Come to think of it, I haven’t heard of any robberies happening here in ages.”
Lu Qiming: “Serious incidents can happen anywhere. You can’t be too careful.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Qian Duoduo smiled. “Thanks for the reminder, Mr. Lu.”
As they talked, the two of them entered an old residential compound.
Qian Duoduo’s car was a Mercedes E-Class she had bought just last year— pure white, sporty, full of energy and personality.
She opened the driver’s door and got in, while Lu Qiming settled into the passenger seat.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, and once he got in, his long legs seemed to have nowhere to go.
“My assistant sat there earlier this afternoon,” Qian Duoduo said awkwardly when she saw him struggling. “She’s pretty petite— you might need to adjust it.”
Lu Qiming said nothing, just reached for the controls on the door to adjust the seat.
Qian Duoduo started the engine.
One hand on the steering wheel, she used the other to look up the military hospital on her phone and set up navigation.
“Turn left when we leave the compound, then go straight onto the main road,” Lu Qiming directed.
Qian Duoduo nodded and casually placed her phone back in the center console.
“My driving skills are so-so,” she said, pressing her foot on the brake pedal, her face slightly warm as she gave him a heads-up in a small voice. “If I brake too hard or turn the wheel too sharply, please bear with me.”
Under the faint glow of the streetlights outside the window, Lu Qiming took in her anxious expression.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he said, “I’m the one hitching a ride—if you don’t mind having me around, that’s enough.”
Hearing that, Qian Duoduo let out a small breath and slowly drove the car out of the residential complex.
They had just turned onto the main road when they hit a red light at the first intersection.
Qian Duoduo stepped on the brake.
While waiting at the light, her gaze swept over Lu Qiming’s phone and she asked casually, “Is that your personal phone?”
“Yeah.” Lu Qiming turned to look at her. “Why do you ask?”
Qian Duoduo smiled at him, her voice soft: “No reason. I just remember you once said you guys have personal phones and work phones— military-issued ones. Just asking. Looks like a domestic brand?”
Lu Qiming replied mildly, “Our unit has regulations. Eavesdropping devices nowadays are really discreet. Classified personnel can’t take any risks.”
“Got it,” Qian Duoduo said, glancing at the navigation as she responded like she was talking to herself. “The more cautious you guys are, the safer the rest of us are. It’s just… with all those rules and regulations, it must be kind of a hassle for you.”
Lu Qiming’s lips curved faintly. “It’s just duty.”
The military hospital was just over a kilometer from the old town. With smooth traffic at night, the drive took only a few minutes.
After parking, the two of them walked straight into the emergency building.
It was nearly ten o’clock at night, but the ER was still bustling.
A few kids with fever patches stuck to their foreheads, a food delivery guy who’d fallen off his bike, and several young soldiers in camouflage uniforms.
Lu Qiming went to the triage counter and handed over his military ID.
The middle-aged nurse took it, clicked quickly through the computer without even looking up. “What’s wrong?”
Lu Qiming paused for a couple of seconds before answering, “Injured my hand. Here for a tetanus shot.”
The nurse didn’t say anything more, selected a room and doctor, and handed back his ID. “Room One. Go sit inside for a bit. The screen’s broken, so the doctor will come out and call your name when it’s your turn— listen for it.”
“Thank you.”
Lu Qiming walked back to Qian Duoduo and said, “All set.”
Qian Duoduo was still glancing around.
She blinked, eyes full of curiosity, and asked quietly, “This is my first time at a military hospital. Is it really different from regular hospitals? Do they only treat soldiers?”
“Military hospitals are run directly by the army,” Lu Qiming explained. “Some serve the troops exclusively, others treat civilians too.”
“Oh, I see.” Qian Duoduo nodded in understanding.
They entered the ER waiting area.
The lights were bright, the floor tiles so clean they reflected the overhead lights, and plenty of seats were unoccupied.
Qian Duoduo randomly picked a spot to sit. Just as she sat down, her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen. Caller ID: Mom.
Without thinking, she picked up. “Hi, Mom?”
“What are you doing, sweetheart?” Zhang Xuelan asked from the other end. “Have you eaten yet?”
“Yeah, I have. What about you and Dad?”
“We just finished,” Zhang Xuelan said with a sigh, sounding exhausted, “Ugh, you have no idea. Between the flight and the long-distance bus, it took the whole day just to get here. I thought my stomach was going to flip! I just told your dad — this is the last time. Seriously, the last! If the choir organizes any more of these sightseeing trips, I’m done!”
Qian Duoduo chuckled quietly. “Wait till tomorrow when you see the mountains and rivers—you’ll change your mind.”
“That might happen…”
Zhang Xuelan yawned, paused, then asked, “So, are you home right now?”
Qian Duoduo blurted out, “No.”
Zhang Xuelan sounded suspicious. “It’s so late and you’re still not home. Then where are you?”
“…” Qian Duoduo quickly glanced at the stern-faced man next to her, then shifted her toes and turned to face away from him.
Bracing herself, she fibbed, “Still working. Meeting with a client.”
“Alright.” Zhang Xuelan didn’t question it. “Then when you’re done, head home early. Let me know once you’re back.”
“Will do.”
After hanging up, Qian Duoduo finally relaxed. It wasn’t that she’d meant to lie — it was just that if Madam Zhang knew she was with Number Eleven right now, her imagination would probably run wild, and she’d start forming all sorts of unrealistic ideas…
“Your mom telling you to go home?” A deep, pleasant voice suddenly came from beside her.
Qian Duoduo jumped and looked up at Lu Qiming. “Ah, yeah.”
“Sorry for the trouble,” he said.
“Don’t say that,” Qian Duoduo waved her hand quickly. “I’m the one who insisted you come to the hospital for the shot. If anything, I’m the one wasting your time…”
At that moment, the door to Room One opened from the inside, and a young male doctor stepped out.
He was about 1.8 meters tall, wearing a white coat over his military uniform. Fair-skinned, glasses, with a refined, elegant air.
The young army doctor called out, “Lu Qiming?”
“Wait for me here,” Lu Qiming said softly to Qian Duoduo, then walked into the room.
Qian Duoduo got up in a hurry and followed.
“Um…” She stood hesitantly at the door, testing the waters. “Doctor, would it be alright if I came in too?”
The military doctor paused slightly at her voice, looked at the pretty, gentle girl in front of him, then glanced back at the stern, handsome officer inside.
He seemed to catch on immediately. “Family member? Of course.”
Qian Duoduo: ……