This PLA comrade had spent years in the Military Compound, with barely any contact with the outside world, much less time to worry about local rent prices.
Better not to discuss it with him.
Qian Duoduo thought to herself, carefully folded the receipt, and tucked it into her pocket.
The drive was smooth and traffic-free. After seven o’clock, the black SUV stopped in front of the barracks’ main gate.
The sentry on duty raised a hand, signaling them to stop.
Watching the expressionless soldier approach, Qian Duoduo felt her heart skip a beat for no reason.
She instinctively edged closer to Lu Qiming and whispered anxiously, “What’s going on? Did they realize I’m an outside visitor and want to check my ID? Oh no, I changed clothes in the dorm and left my ID on the desk…”
“No.” Lu Qiming reassured her quietly, “It’s nothing to do with you. Don’t be scared.”
Just then, the sentry reached the driver’s window and stopped.
Lu Qiming was clearly familiar with the procedure. Under Qian Duoduo’s anxious gaze, he rolled down the window, leaned over, and took something the sentry handed over— then… gently blew into it?
Huh?
The look in Qian Duoduo’s eyes shifted from nervous to confused.
No wonder the thing the sentry handed over looked so familiar— wasn’t it a breathalyzer?
A DUI check?
Beep—reading acceptable.
The sentry took back the device and saluted Lu Qiming. “Order of the Day, sorry for the trouble, Captain Lu.” With that, he signaled to his colleague in the booth and raised the barrier.
Once the license plate was recognized, the electronic gate lifted, and the black SUV drove into the barracks.
“Isn’t checking for drunk driving a job for the traffic police?” Qian Duoduo couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you have to check, too?”
“Military management is always stricter than outside.” Lu Qiming looked ahead, answering her, “Teacher Qian will be here for a month. At first, it might seem novel, but after a while, you’ll get used to it.”
“Alright. I just hope the next month goes smoothly.”
Looking at the solemn and majestic “Ba Yi” insignia in the twilight, Qian Duoduo’s heart tightened.
She instinctively straightened her back, sitting up as if she were a student caught reciting under the flag.
She glanced at Lu Qiming.
In the night, the man’s sharp profile seemed softened by the dusk, making him look more approachable than usual.
She thought for a moment, then couldn’t help but speak again, “Captain Lu.”
“Mm?” Lu Qiming responded.
“Suppose— just suppose,” Qian Duoduo chose her words carefully, “If I accidentally broke some rule at your unit, what would happen to me?”
As soon as she finished, Lu Qiming’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly as he glanced at her, “Are you planning on breaking a rule?”
“It’s not that I want to.”
Qian Duoduo looked at him with big eyes, “Honestly, I don’t even know what your military rules are. I’m just afraid I’ll get into trouble. Tomorrow I’ll be meeting your leaders officially… Why don’t you tell me now what things I absolutely can’t do?”
Lu Qiming was silent for two seconds, then said nothing. He turned the steering wheel and drove in a different direction.
Soon, the black SUV stopped in front of a white building.
Qian Duoduo’s fair face showed a hint of confusion. She glanced out the window at the office building, then looked back at Lu Qiming, frowning, “What is this place?”
“First, learn the roads.” Lu Qiming said calmly, “Teacher Qian, you need to remember this place.”
Although she was baffled, Qian Duoduo obediently tried to memorize the look of the imposing building.
Then she nodded at Lu Qiming, “Okay, I remember.”
Lu Qiming started the car again and drove to a second white building.
“Remember this one, too,” he said.
“…Alright.”
Like this, Lu Qiming drove Qian Duoduo around the barracks. At certain locations, he would brake and give her time to take in the details.
Finally, after covering the last spot, the black SUV pulled into the garage.
After parking, Lu Qiming remained seated.
Qian Duoduo sat beside him, still going over the places in her mind, brows slightly furrowed.
After about half a minute of silence, Lu Qiming suddenly asked, “Did you remember all those places?”
“Pretty much.” Qian Duoduo nodded.
“The ones I just showed you were office buildings and the outer perimeter of an undisclosed military equipment storage point.” Lu Qiming said, “These are highly classified areas. Outsiders must not approach. Remember that.”
“Okay.” Qian Duoduo nodded seriously. “I’ve memorized them. I won’t wander around—you can rest assured.”
“As long as you don’t trespass in those restricted zones and follow the rules,” Lu Qiming looked at her calmly, “even if you ran around the Flag Platform in the middle of the night wearing a bedsheet and doing Military Physical Exercise, it wouldn’t count as breaking the rules.”
“….” Qian Duoduo nearly choked, scratching her ear in embarrassment.
Running around the Flag Platform in the middle of the night wearing a bedsheet and doing Military Physical Exercise? What kind of bizarre example was that?
She hadn’t realized this seemingly stern PLA comrade had such a dry sense of humor.
Qian Duoduo thought quietly to herself.
*
Back at the dormitory building, Qian Duoduo waved goodbye to her new neighbors and returned to Room 406.
A glance at her phone showed it wasn’t even eight yet.
She stretched, rolled her neck, and since it was still early, changed into slippers and sat at her desk to play games.
Qian Duoduo played a competitive online game.
In this game, players are matched randomly into five-person teams. Whichever side destroys the other’s crystal first wins.
She wasn’t great at the game, but she was persistent—and liked to spend money on it. She usually played for an hour or two every day.
As soon as she logged in, she received a friend invite.
She clicked accept and joined the other person’s team.
Her friend, with the username “Super Mario Xixixi,” sent a message: [Where did you go just now?]
Seeing Zhao Jingxi’s message, Qian Duoduo hesitated for two seconds and replied: [Went to eat]
Zhao Jingxi: [Don’t tell me it was with Number Eleven PLA]
Qian Duoduo: [It was him]
Zhao Jingxi: [? Panda smoking.jpg]
Qian Duoduo: [He helped me carry my luggage, so I treated him to dinner]
Zhao Jingxi: [Why are you two always like this—help, treat, help, treat— can’t you unlock some new plot for us bystanders?]
Qian Duoduo: [……]
Qian Duoduo: [Are you playing today? If not, I’ll play solo]
Zhao Jingxi: [Okay]
On the other side of the city, in a booth at an Entertainment Club.
Zhao Jingxi was curled up on the sofa, gaming. In the dim light, her red lips and wavy hair made her look alluring. Her long legs, wrapped in jeans, were slender and shapely.
Several male customers were drawn to this captivating beauty, stealing glances her way.
Zhao Jingxi seemed not to notice any of it, focused solely on her game.
Occasionally, she’d take a hand off the phone to sip her cocktail. The colorful nail art on her fingers was eye-catching.
The match progressed quickly.
Their team got a strong top laner, who broke through the top lane in under ten minutes.
By the fifteenth minute, thanks to their “top lane dad,” Zhao Jingxi and Qian Duoduo were already happily spawn-camping the enemy.
When the game ended, Zhao Jingxi’s cocktail was finished.
She signaled to the service staff for a refill and was about to invite Qian Duoduo for another round, when her gaze suddenly froze.
On the black mirrored tabletop, a face was reflected.
Sharp features, long eyes with a slight tilt, pale skin, thin lips—the popular “disenchanted handsome guy” look. He gave off an arrogant, cold, languid vibe.
The second button of his suit vest was undone, the tailored fabric outlining his tall, lean figure.
He stood there lazily, back slightly slouched, a guitar slung over his shoulder. Even saying nothing, his air of decadence drew people’s attention.
For half a second, Zhao Jingxi raised her brows, looking puzzled.
“Drinking alone is boring.”
The man spoke with a thin-lipped smile, then bent down and sat on the other side of the sofa, his long legs crossed carelessly. “Why don’t I keep you company, sis?”
Zhao Jingxi: “……”
She shifted her gaze from the table to the real-life intruder, smiling as she asked, “Excuse me, do I know you, little brother?”
“Jingxi? Jingxi?”
A young woman’s voice came through the phone speaker. Seeing that Zhao Jingxi hadn’t replied, Qian Duoduo turned on her mic and called out, “Are you still playing?”
“I’ve got something to handle here, you play by yourself.” Zhao Jingxi answered casually, then tapped the screen to exit the game.
She turned her head gracefully, staring directly at the young man beside her.
The young man ignored her, instead beckoning the service staff, “One whiskey, please.”
Zhao Jingxi laughed, though her eyes didn’t smile, “Is this how young people hit on strangers these days?”
“You buy me a drink, I’ll sing you one of my original songs for free.” The young man said, his long fingers strumming a guitar chord. In the shifting lights, the thorn tattoo on his collarbone flickered. “Now we’re acquainted.”
To be honest, after so many years in nightclubs, Zhao Jingxi had seen all sorts of things.
…but a random folk singer bumming drinks? That was new.
She found it both funny and exasperating. She was about to refuse, but the man had already started singing in a low voice.
Smoke drifted from the corner, his voice husky and deep. The blue lights above shimmered over his shoulders, turning the guitar’s lacquered surface into a sea tinged with the scent of whiskey—
*
“In the vast sea of people, who am I? In the surging waves, which one am I? In the mighty army conquering the universe, the one quietly giving is me. In the river of glorious endeavors, the one always surging forward is me. I don’t need you to know me, don’t hope you’ll recognize me, I blend my youth into, into the mountains and rivers of my motherland…”
Before dawn, Qian Duoduo was awakened by the blaring song on the radio.
More precisely, not just awakened, but startled awake by the rousing and stirring Military Song, jolting her from her dream and nearly sending her rolling off the bed.
So tired.
Qian Duoduo had trouble sleeping in new places—even hotels. Last night, her first night in the barracks, she tossed and turned on the single bed, not knowing how late it was when she finally dozed off.
And yet, she’d barely slept before being forcibly woken.
She wanted to cry, pulling the blanket over her head, grumbling as she tried to go back to sleep.
Bang! “Creak!” Bang!
Tap tap tap tap!
Doors opening and closing, rapid and steady footsteps—one after another, filling the air, replacing the military song as the new round of noise.
Qian Duoduo didn’t know what was happening, but the footsteps made it feel like the whole building was shaking.
Like it was about to collapse.
…She quickly sat up, grabbing her thick coat from the chair.
Shuffling to the door, she opened it with a click.
A messy, round head poked out, peering down both sides of the corridor.
Just then, the door next to hers opened, and a tall figure in military green strode out. Noticing her peeking out, he paused.
“Did we wake you?” he asked gently, with a hint of apology in his voice.
Qian Duoduo hesitated, then nodded slowly.
“There are a few days each week with Morning Exercise, so it gets noisy. Sorry. Go back to sleep.” With that, he strode off, disappearing quickly— like a gust of wind.
…Qian Duoduo stood in place, blinking unconsciously.
Just now, she’d seen Lu Qiming, wearing a military cap and uniform. The brim shadowed his brows, but couldn’t hide the sharpness in his eyes.
He looked like a ceremonial sword splitting the dawn— striking and sharp.
And…
He really was a bit hard to look away from.