As the footsteps of the troops faded into the distance, the entire building returned to silence once more.
Qian Duoduo leaned against the doorframe, yawning, rubbing her eyes, and closed the door as she entered her room, planning to wrap herself in her quilt and catch a bit more sleep.
She had just lain down when a whistle sounded from afar.
Right after came the sound of soldiers running in formation, their voices raised as they shouted slogans in unison: “One, two, three, four, one two three four!”
“……”
Qian Duoduo let out a miserable sigh, reached out to lift the curtain, and looked outside.
It was still before dawn, the sky a murky black, and the entire PLA Camp was steeped in the bleak morning chill of winter.
The trees outside the window had lost most of their leaves, their bare branches crisscrossing before the window, slicing Qian Duoduo’s view into sharp, cold fragments.
The training ground was just out of sight, so she couldn’t see the team doing their Morning Exercise.
After a moment, Qian Duoduo “swish”— pulled the curtain closed again, sat back down at her desk, and looked for water to drink.
There was a brand new Thermal Kettle in the dormitory. She didn’t know if every room had one or if the troops had specially prepared it for her.
It was a well-known domestic brand, made of 304 stainless steel, good quality, and even had an insulation function.
There was a button on the bottom— pressing it would keep the water at about 45 degrees for a long time.
The water in the kettle was boiled by Qian Duoduo last night. Before going to bed, she pressed the Insulation Button, and now when she touched the kettle, it was still warm.
It didn’t seem to have cooled down yet.
Qian Duoduo smiled in satisfaction, filled a cup with water, tilted her head back, and gulped it down in one go.
After finishing one cup, she poured a second.
Drinking two cups of water on an empty stomach every morning was a habit Qian Duoduo had maintained since childhood.
It supposedly helped speed up metabolism and detoxify for beauty.
After drinking water, she was thoroughly awake.
She simply got up to wash.
After changing clothes and making her bed, Qian Duoduo put on a light layer of makeup. After she finished, she heard footsteps outside the room once again.
Her hands paused for a moment in suspicion. She stuffed her Cushion Foundation and Eyebrow Mascara into her Makeup Bag, and went to open the door.
Figures moved along the corridor— all Officer Cadre who had just returned from Morning Exercise. They wore uniforms, caps, and boots; everyone looked exactly the same.
After all, this building was the men’s dormitory. Qian Duoduo, as the only woman, couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy seeing so many men all of a sudden.
She hurriedly closed the door until only a small crack remained, quietly peeking out with just one eye.
“Let’s go, time for breakfast?” A young captain suggested to his companion.
“This early? I’d be lucky if I can eat. I still need to catch a nap, I’m exhausted.” The companion answered, face full of lazy fatigue.
“Work starts in an hour! We still need time for breakfast, what are you sleeping for? Come on, come on, come on!”
“If I put my head on a pillow now, I’d fall asleep for sure. Even ten minutes would help. Stop pulling me… Hey, I said stop pulling me!”
……
These single officers in the troops, the youngest just graduated from Military Academy, the oldest only just over thirty, with an average age not over twenty-seven.
A bunch of young men together, arms around each other, laughing and joking, the atmosphere relaxed and harmonious.
Some went to the Mess Hall, others returned to their rooms to sleep; in just a few minutes, there were barely any people left in the corridor.
Qian Duoduo watched for a while, then lowered her eyes, ready to close the door.
But at that moment, she caught sight of a pair of men’s military boots in her lowered gaze— large size, clean, pure black, as dark as the depths of night.
Qian Duoduo paused in surprise and looked up to see the handsome, cool face of a man beneath his military cap.
He was very tall, looking down at her from above, yet naturally, without a hint of arrogance or discomfort.
“Good morning, Team Leader Lu.” Qian Duoduo snapped back to her senses, squeezed out a smile at Lu Qiming, and greeted him, “You’ve already finished Morning Exercise?”
“Yes.”
“So fast…” Qian Duoduo muttered in surprise.
“Just a roll call and a quick run at the assembly point, doesn’t take long.” Lu Qiming replied, then paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over her delicately drawn eyebrows and the light brown eyeshadow at the corner of her eyes. “It’s still early. Teacher Qian, why aren’t you sleeping a bit more?”
“I was planning to go back to sleep, but I couldn’t, so I just got up.” Qian Duoduo didn’t tell Lu Qiming that the reason she couldn’t sleep was because their slogan shouting was too loud. She just shrugged, smiling lightly, “Early to bed and early to rise is good for your health. Maybe after living here for a month, I’ll fix my bad habit of sleeping in.”
As she spoke, her mouth opened wide, and she yawned again uncontrollably.
Lu Qiming saw her rubbing her eyes, clearly still sleepy, and the corners of his mouth curled into a faint arc. “That’s just how it is in the army. Every day before dawn, the broadcast plays a Military Song and blows the Wake-up Call. We get up after six every day. It’s okay for a short time, but if it goes on long-term, a lot of people can’t get used to it.”
“Now that you’re here, there’s no turning back…”
Qian Duoduo finished, raised her head to look at him again, her sleepy eyes filled with confusion, “By the way, Team Leader Lu, you?”
His face calm, “I wanted to ask if you’d like to join me.”
Qian Duoduo froze for a moment.
It was 7:08 in the morning.
Good heavens, ever since she finished high school, she’d never gotten up this early…
“Um…” She turned off her phone screen, gave a dry laugh, and waved her hand in refusal. “It’s too early, I’m not hungry. I probably won’t be able to eat until later. Team Leader Lu, you go ahead, don’t worry about me.”
Lu Qiming looked at her. “Teacher Qian, what time do you usually eat breakfast?”
Qian Duoduo thought for half a second, then answered tentatively, “Nine? Eight forty?” That was already considered early for her. In fact, she often didn’t start making breakfast until ten.
When she finished, Lu Qiming’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. “The Military Camp’s Mess Hall only serves breakfast until before eight.”
“Oh.” Qian Duoduo didn’t mind, still smiling. “That’s fine. Isn’t there a Life Supermarket in your camp? I’ll just go buy some bread later.”
As soon as she finished speaking, her phone rang.
Qian Duoduo glanced at the caller ID and, without even looking up, spoke quickly: “Team Leader Lu, I need to take this call, you go eat breakfast, bye-bye.”
Before Lu Qiming could respond, she slid to answer, hurriedly walking into her room. “Hello, Commissar Xue, hi, hi. I slept well last night, yes, thank you for asking…”
With a soft “bang,” the door closed tightly in front of her.
Lu Qiming stood in place, his Adam’s apple moving silently. His sense of smell greedily and clearly caught a hint of sweet fragrance lingering in the corridor air.
That scent was unique— not just fruity or floral, but like jasmine blended into warm cream, or like a sun-soaked peach, delicate and lingering, as if a soft vine climbed along the pores, seeping into the bones and blood, affecting all the senses.
After a while, when the sweet scent in the air had completely dissipated, Lu Qiming turned expressionlessly, his boots echoing down the stairs as he left.
As he exited the dormitory building, a loud, cheerful voice suddenly called out behind him, “Good morning, Team Leader Lu!”
Lu Qiming turned to see Song Qingfeng.
Song Qingfeng quickened his pace to catch up, his young, handsome face beaming like a sunflower.
He caught up to Lu Qiming, and nudged his waist with his arm, lowering his voice. “Hey, what were you just doing?”
Lu Qiming: “What do you mean?”
“Just now, I mean.” Song Qingfeng glanced left and right, lowering his voice even further as if afraid someone else would overhear. “I worked late last night and didn’t go back to the family quarters, just crashed in the dorm. First thing this morning, I saw you standing at room 406 chatting up a pretty female comrade… What’s going on?”
“That girl’s a blogger participating in the military support event. The women’s dorm is full, so Commissar Xue arranged for her to stay in our building.” Lu Qiming’s expression didn’t change, calm and composed. “We’re neighbors, I was just asking if she needed help.”
Song Qingfeng snorted, “Don’t think I’m that easy to fool. The blogger is staying in the Cadre Building, so by your logic, everyone here is her neighbor. How come I haven’t seen anyone else so attentive, but you’re running over all the time? Besides, the event is organized by Han Deputy Captain, you’re a field officer, why are you so proactive?”
Lu Qiming’s face remained calm. He only replied with three words: “Because I want to.”
Song Qingfeng: “……”
Song Qingfeng raised an eyebrow, his gaze at Lu Qiming instantly turning suggestive and ambiguous. He whispered, “Team Leader Lu, we’re all brothers here, no need to hide your feelings. You’ve got a thing for that girl, don’t you?”
Lu Qiming remained indifferent, tugging at his lips, and gave Song Qingfeng a sharp kick on the butt. “Go cool off somewhere else.”
*
The dark blue sky was tinged with smoky grey. At the sentry post, the soldiers’ bayonets gleamed with frosty menace.
Room 406 of the Cadre Building.
“Alright, Commissar Xue, it’s settled then. We’ll meet at the Mess Hall entrance at 7:30. See you then.”
Qian Duoduo hung up the phone.
The call was from Xue Wei— Commissar Xue.
As the liaison for the troops, Commissar Xue was very attentive to the two bloggers staying at the camp.
He ran around getting their Dining Cards and Entry Passes, and asked about their first night’s experience.
You could say he was thoughtful and considerate, doing his best to improve the civilian guests’ experience in the Military Camp.
On the phone, Xue Wei told Qian Duoduo that their Dining Cards had been made, and she and the other blogger should meet at the Mess Hall entrance at 7:30 to pick them up.
Xue Wei would also take them to breakfast and show them how to use the card in the Mess Hall.
Last night, after dinner at the restaurant, Lu Qiming had driven Qian Duoduo around, and she had especially noted the Mess Hall’s location— after all, she was here as a “guest chef”, and the Cooking Squad at the Mess Hall would be her Revolutionary Base for the next month, so she had to remember it.
She scrolled through Weibo on her bed for a while. At 7:20, Qian Duoduo put on her coat and went out.
The Mess Hall wasn’t far from the dormitory, just a ten-minute walk.
It seemed to have rained last night; the ground was damp, and a few drops of dew clung to the leaves. In the morning light, the water droplets glimmered with a faint sheen.
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