Lu Qiming’s gaze struck like a series of muffled punches, leaving Qian Duoduo’s mind reeling.
She felt both embarrassed and awkward, as if the portion of shredded chicken in her hands had suddenly turned into a hot potato.
After a long silence, she stammered, “…I didn’t know before— I didn’t realize that the leftover food was meant to feed the military dogs.”
Under the light, Lu Qiming’s dark eyes fixed on her, still holding a trace of amusement. His expression was half-smile, half-serious, full of playful intent.
Qian Duoduo felt her face flush even hotter under his gaze and gently bit her lip.
That shredded chicken was prepared by Squad Leader Cui to be washed and served as dog food—it was certainly not meant for Lu Qiming to eat…
“I’m really sorry.” Qian Duoduo’s face burned bright red, her head bowed low as she softly added, “I only meant well, but I didn’t expect such a big misunderstanding… I’ll take it back to Squad Leader Cui right away.”
With that, she lifted the shredded chicken and got up to leave.
But in her haste, she made a mistake.
Her mind was in turmoil, her steps hurried and unsteady. She tripped on a chair leg and let out a small cry, the food container tilting dangerously as she stumbled.
Her body slammed against the metal bed frame, and a faint rattling sound echoed in the room.
Lu Qiming was only half a meter away. Seeing this, worried she might fall, he instinctively reached out to steady her.
“…”
Qian Duoduo’s heart skipped a beat. Panicked and flustered, she turned her head to see ten long, strong fingers gripping her arm firmly but steadily, instantly halting her fall.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between them shrank dramatically.
One panicked and helplessly looked up; the other’s concerned eyes lowered slightly, their rapid breaths intertwining in that moment.
“…” Facing the man’s deep black eyes, Qian Duoduo’s heart trembled uncontrollably, her heartbeat faltering.
She moved her lips, trying to say something.
Just then, the bright incandescent light suddenly went out.
In the instant darkness, Qian Duoduo’s eyes widened slightly, the firm hold of the man’s fingers on her arm suddenly feeling even heavier.
Already flustered, the sudden plunge into darkness left her even more disoriented.
Almost instinctively, she twisted her wrist, trying to free herself from Lu Qiming’s grasp.
The thick winter clothes complicated things. To her surprise, in her awkward struggle, the edge of her clothing knocked over a cup of hot water on the table behind her.
“Clatter!”
The fragile glass shattered on the floor.
Startled by the noise, Qian Duoduo reflexively pulled her wrist back harder.
“Don’t move.” The man’s voice dropped, whispering close to her ear, sharp enough to send a chill down her spine.
His tone was slightly serious, with an almost imperceptible hint of concern and tension. “You could get hurt stepping on the glass.”
Qian Duoduo froze.
They were standing too close, and his clean scent of soap mixed with the heat of his body overwhelmed her senses, leaving her mind hazy.
Those few seconds felt stretched into half a century.
Once the young woman’s nerves calmed, Lu Qiming finally spoke again, his voice low and soothing, “It’s probably just a power outage. The electricity should come back on soon. Don’t be afraid.”
Qian Duoduo’s heart thundered as she softly responded, “Mm.”
She then felt his grip on her arm loosen slowly.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Qian Duoduo glanced to the side and saw a sliver of moonlight slipping through the gap in the curtains, casting shadows across Lu Qiming’s cold profile.
He stood in front of her, so close it was as if they could touch. His lowered gaze was deep and unfathomable, fixed steadily on her.
Just before their eyes met, Qian Duoduo paused.
After about three seconds of silence, the military’s rapid response to emergencies proved once again how swift it was. Like the sudden blackout just now, the lights returned without warning.
In the blink of an eye, the room was brightly lit again.
Human nature is to chase after light.
Relieved by the return of safety, Qian Duoduo’s taut nerves finally relaxed. Looking at Lu Qiming again, she suddenly noticed something and exclaimed, “Your clothes!”
Lu Qiming lowered his eyelids slightly and glanced down at himself.
It turned out that the young woman had almost fallen, spilling the shredded chicken and its sauce all over him.
“I already showered, so this must be the outfit I just changed into…” Qian Duoduo felt guilty and earnestly apologized, “I’m sorry for dirtying your clothes.”
“Just take it off and scrub it later.” Lu Qiming brushed it off easily. “No big deal.”
Qian Duoduo glanced at the wet spot and shattered glass on the floor, feeling even more embarrassed, wishing she could dig a hole and disappear.
She was just causing trouble.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a broom leaning against the wardrobe.
Hastily setting down the shredded chicken, she stood and prepared to sweep up the glass shards and then mop the water.
Before she could act, Lu Qiming was already a step ahead, picking up the broom and bending down to clean.
Qian Duoduo stood by, helplessly watching, her cheeks burning bright red. “You should wash your clothes first, or the stain will set.”
“No rush.” Lu Qiming kept sweeping without looking up. He opened the storage cabinet and—
Qian Duoduo was helpless. She couldn’t snatch the broom from him.
She stood still, bending down, and sure enough, the drawer was neat and clean, containing only a white plastic bag with two packs of spicy vegetarian meat strips shaped like lamb skewers lying quietly inside.
The portions looked quite generous.
Qian Duoduo took out a pack, flipped it over, and saw a tiny price tag next to the barcode: 6 yuan.
“So this big pack only costs 6 yuan?” she exclaimed. “That’s such a good deal.”
“There are government subsidies. The military camp’s supermarket is cheaper than outside.”
“Oh, I see.” Qian Duoduo nodded, squeezing the pack.
She glanced back and caught sight of Lu Qiming gathering all the glass shards and debris into the dustpan, then dumping them into the trash bin.
She blinked in surprise.
She recalled Zhao Jingxi’s complaints about men: nowadays many men rely on their mothers before marriage and wives after, treating themselves like kings their whole lives without ever doing much housework or distinguishing between grains.
What surprised Qian Duoduo was how nimble Lu Qiming was with the broom. From the way he held the broom and dustpan, it was clear he was no spoiled man.
After finishing the sweeping and emptying the trash, Lu Qiming took a mop from the washroom.
He placed it on the floor and, with a few strokes, cleaned the wet spots dry.
Qian Duoduo watched quietly and, unable to resist, blurted out, “Team Leader Lu, you’re really good at housework.”
He lifted his head.
Just coming out of the washroom after cleaning the mop, Lu Qiming turned to look at her.
“Is that a compliment, Teacher Qian?” he asked calmly.
“Mm…” Qian Duoduo paused awkwardly for half a second and chuckled dryly, “I guess so.”
“I left home for the Military Academy when I was eighteen and spent most of my time away. I had to take care of myself.” Lu Qiming said. “Washing clothes, cleaning, organizing— these are basic survival skills.”
After hearing this, Qian Duoduo sincerely affirmed, “Looks like soldiers are all very diligent.”
“I can’t say all of them, but at least most aren’t lazy.”
“That makes sense. Otherwise, they wouldn’t pass inspections, and the ones suffering would be themselves.” Qian Duoduo smiled and added.
Lu Qiming glanced at the vegetarian meat strips in her hand and smirked slightly. “Want to try some?”
Qian Duoduo was just a bit hungry herself.
She nodded, tore open the pack, pulled out a skewer of the spicy vegetarian meat strips, and bit into it.
“How is it?” Lu Qiming asked.
Qian Duoduo chewed twice, eyes brightening with surprise. “Really good!” She suddenly felt a little guilty eating alone and quickly offered him some, “You should have some too.”
“You eat it yourself.”
Lu Qiming took out a fresh glass and filled it with hot water from the kettle. “These snacks are pretty salty. You’ll get thirsty after eating. Drink more water.”
Seeing the steaming cup of water, Qian Duoduo pursed her lips and couldn’t help but explain softly, “The blackout happened so suddenly, I got a bit nervous. Plus, with winter clothes being thick, so…” She paused briefly, then put on her most proper tone, “How much was this cup? I’ll pay you back. Or I can buy an identical new one to replace it.”
“No need.” Lu Qiming said casually. “As long as you’re not hurt, that’s what matters.”
Qian Duoduo didn’t know what to say, so she sat down and continued quietly eating her spicy strips.
The strong scent of the shredded chicken clung to Lu Qiming’s physical training uniform, leaving him smelling of oily chili sauce.
Fearing he might give a sloppy impression to a first-time guest, he opened the wardrobe, casually grabbed a training jacket, and tossed it on the bed.
Qian Duoduo kept eating, with nothing better to do, her gaze involuntarily drifting to the tall figure.
Lu Qiming, after taking off the oily physical training uniform, turned his back to her with a “swish” and unzipped the jacket.
Underneath was just a black tank top, exposing a broad, well-shaped upper body.
His upper torso formed a perfect inverted triangle— long neck, broad shoulders, narrow waist.
His arms, bare outside the black fabric, were beautifully muscular, each muscle taut as if alive and gripping tightly to the bones…
Qian Duoduo’s eyes flickered sharply.
She knew men in the military camp were rough around the edges, and there wasn’t much fuss about changing clothes.
Wearing a tank top underneath and just removing the outer jacket was hardly unusual.
But then, she noticed a strange scar on the back of Lu Qiming’s neck.
Unlike the long, winding scar on the back of his hand that looked like a centipede, this one wasn’t from a sharp blade. It seemed more like a burn mark from something hot scraping against the skin.