Lu Qiming’s gaze swept over the shop sign, then he suddenly asked, “Do you want Milk Tea?”
Qian Duoduo was just about to reply to a message from Zhao Jingxi when she heard his cool, porcelain-like voice. She was startled and lifted her eyes in confusion.
“What?”
“Milk Tea.” Lu Qiming casually raised his chin. “Last time you wanted to buy from this shop but it was too crowded, so you didn’t get any.”
Qian Duoduo followed his gaze and remembered.
After eating Hunan cuisine last time, she had planned to buy Milk Tea for him, but it was too crowded, so they had to buy Coconut Water at 711 instead.
This Milk Tea shop was another branch of the same brand.
Surprised, Qian Duoduo blurted out, “It’s been so long, and you still remember the name of that Milk Tea shop?”
Lu Qiming gave her a faint smile: “There aren’t many customers here. If you want it, I’ll buy it for you.”
Qian Duoduo wasn’t the type to bother others.
She had planned to say she wasn’t thirsty and reject the offer.
But…
Bothering her “boyfriend” didn’t seem too bad?
After a few seconds of hesitation, she smiled brightly: “Then I’ll have a ‘Strawberry Oolong Bobo,’ seventy percent sugar, warm. Thank you.”
“Okay,” Lu Qiming replied. “Wait here.”
With that, he turned and entered the Milk Tea shop.
Qian Duoduo, wearing a padded jacket with the large coat over it, felt warm standing in place. Her attention returned to the chat with Zhao Jingxi.
Zhao Jingxi: 【No kisses!?】
Qian Duoduo felt embarrassed and silently typed: 【Nope.】
Zhao Jingxi immediately replied: 【???】
Zhao Jingxi: 【The cinema is such a perfect crime scene, and Lu Qiming actually resisted kissing you?】
Qian Duoduo: 【Yeah, he didn’t kiss me.】
Zhao Jingxi: 【If the kiss didn’t happen, surely there was some other intimate contact?】
Qian Duoduo clenched her phone, recalled carefully, and answered: 【Nope.】
Zhao Jingxi: 【…】
Zhao Jingxi: 【Girl, your boyfriend isn’t just all show, right? Does he have some issue…?】
Qian Duoduo: 【No.】
Qian Duoduo: 【It’s because Alejandro’s new movie was really exciting. He was so absorbed that he didn’t have energy for those weird things.】
Zhao Jingxi sent a disappointed sigh sticker: 【You wasted a whole night for nothing.】
Zhao Jingxi: 【Please, hurry up and make some progress!】
Zhao Jingxi: 【Ever since I knew you two started dating, I’ve almost become your CP Fan Leader! I’m dying of anxiety every day!】
“…” Qian Duoduo couldn’t help but smile. Just as she was about to reply, a pure, cool shade of blue caught her eye.
She hesitated, her gaze sharpening.
Lu Qiming had finished buying the Milk Tea and walked out.
The paper cup with a cartoon print looked small and somewhat amusing in his long, bony fingers.
His blue sweater was a turtleneck style, covering his slender neck, the edge just meeting his sharply angled jawline.
There was no precise way to describe it—it was just clean, crisp, and good-looking.
“So fast.” She blinked in surprise and reached out to take the Milk Tea, her smile tinged with mischief: “Thank you.”
She bit the straw and took a sip; the strawberry’s sweet and sour mingled with the oolong’s fragrance, spreading over her lips and tongue.
The taste was good.
Satisfied, Qian Duoduo sipped the Milk Tea and asked, “Are we heading back now?”
Lu Qiming’s gaze fell on the girl’s lips wrapped around the straw. A faint tinge of orange stained the white straw’s tip.
Whether from thirst or the delicious Milk Tea, her sipping was a bit fast, and a small drop of light brown liquid even spilled from the straw, wetting the corner of her mouth.
Noticing this, her tongue flicked out playfully and deftly licked it off before quickly retreating between her lips.
The fleeting pale pink was moist and soft, faintly shining in the night.
Lu Qiming swallowed lightly, his breath slightly heavy, forcing himself to look away from her lips.
“Mm,” he answered, his voice slightly hoarse. After a brief pause, he added politely, “If there’s anywhere else you want to go, we don’t have to return too early.”
Qian Duoduo asked in return, “Is there somewhere else you want to go?”
Lu Qiming’s expression remained calm. His rough fingertips, callused from hard work, unconsciously rubbed each other.
No other plans yet?
How could that be?
But he couldn’t say it out loud.
Those strong, primal, long-suppressed thoughts in his heart—any one of them might sully the pure white lily.
His pulse thudded chaotically beneath his veins.
He shook his head and said softly, “No.”
“Then let’s go back to your unit. Everyone will be busy with work tomorrow.” Qian Duoduo didn’t notice anything unusual about him, still smiling brightly. “Today, we saw the movie I’ve been longing to watch. That counts as accomplishing something big.”
Perhaps infected by her radiant smile, Lu Qiming slightly smiled: “Okay.”
The two walked to the underground garage, retrieved the car, and drove back to the Stonewater District Compound.
The first date as a couple with Lu Qiming thus quietly ended—smoothly, in a way both expected and somewhat unexpected.
On the way back, the black SUV sped along the city’s main road at eighty kilometers per hour, leaving the neon-lit cityscape and the howling wind far behind.
Watching the streets rush past the window, Qian Duoduo felt a bit sleepy. She spaced out for a few seconds, then closed her eyes to rest.
Unexpectedly, just as her eyelids closed, a familiar magnetic voice sounded in her ear.
Lu Qiming suddenly said, “Are you free this weekend?”
Qian Duoduo, about to fall asleep, abruptly opened her eyes wide. Although awake, her mind was still fuzzy as she mumbled, “I think so.” Pausing, she turned to look at him blankly. “Why do you ask?”
“If you’re free,” Lu Qiming’s tone was as usual, but his fingers gripping the steering wheel tightened slightly, “I want to ask you out.”
“Sure.” Qian Duoduo agreed promptly and asked, “Where to? What to do?”
“I’m busy these days, so I haven’t planned the details yet,” Lu Qiming said. “I’ll tell you the plan by Thursday night at the latest. Is that okay?”
After hearing this, Qian Duoduo couldn’t hold back a soft laugh.
He glanced sideways at her: “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” Qian Duoduo shook her head, forcing herself to suppress the smile, then said, “I just think your way of speaking is very interesting.”
Lu Qiming said nothing, focused on driving, quietly waiting for her to settle.
Qian Duoduo’s eyes sparkled with laughter as she said, “We’re a couple, boyfriend and girlfriend, not superior and subordinate. But when you talk to me, it feels like you’re reporting to your commander.”
After she spoke, Lu Qiming pursed his lips slightly: “Sorry, I’ll try to change.”
“There’s no need to apologize.”
Qian Duoduo mumbled to herself, then added, “Then save the weekend for me. I’ll be waiting for your invitation.”
“Hmm.”
After this exchange, both fell into a tacit silence.
The car was quiet, the atmosphere subtle.
They returned to the base near eleven at night.
The barrier lifted automatically; the black SUV slowed and carefully drove into the garage.
Stopping the car, Lu Qiming turned off the engine, and all the lights inside the car went out instantly, leaving only the boundless dark night.
A crescent moon hung in the sky, its clear and cold light faintly echoing the white streetlamp by the garage—forming the only two light sources in the area.
Qian Duoduo had fallen asleep about a kilometer from the compound. She only opened her sleepy eyes after sensing the car stop.
Looking around, they were already back in the base garage. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, then unfastened her seatbelt.
Her right hand gripped the car door handle, about to push open the door and get out.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from the driver’s side—a hand with distinct knuckles, slender and strong—and abruptly grasped her delicate wrist.
Stopping her from leaving.
Qian Duoduo’s body stiffened slightly. Surprised, she turned her head.
Outside the car window, the concrete wall was cast with flickering tree shadows.
Inside the car, separated by glass, the man’s profile was hidden in the cold darkness. His features and expression were indistinct, but his black eyes stared straight at her, reflecting scattered faint light.
Qian Duoduo’s heart jolted.
That gaze again.
Like a wild beast locking onto its prey on the barren plains—raw, blunt, seemingly burning with heat that could pierce the dense night.
The calloused skin at the man’s tiger mouth brushed against her soft wrist, sending a shiver through her skin.
He silently stared at her without speaking. The chill aura surrounding him wove an invisible net, binding her inescapably.
Her mouth dry, heart pounding rapidly, Qian Duoduo felt as if her whole heart might jump out of her throat any moment.
After several seconds of silent confrontation, she finally swallowed and forced out a trembling sentence: “If you… have something to say, just say it.”
Lu Qiming looked at her. After a moment, he spoke in a deep, slightly hoarse voice, “At the cinema just now, I wanted to hold your hand.”
A flicker of flame lit her ears and cheeks.
In the dark, Qian Duoduo blushed and timidly asked, “Then why didn’t you?”
“First, because you were so absorbed in the plot, I was afraid of disturbing you,” Lu Qiming said calmly. “Second, I didn’t have your permission and didn’t want to offend you.”
Qian Duoduo took a deep breath internally and tried to sound as calm as he did: “So… do you want to hold my hand now?”
“Now, it’s not just holding hands.”
“…”
Her whole body burned hotter.
Her cheeks were warm, her skin tingling as if countless little insects had crawled over her.
Less than half a meter apart—this close was terrifying. She felt all her courage vanish and couldn’t bear to look at him directly.
At a loss for words, Qian Duoduo bit her lip lightly, her head unconsciously lowering.
A moment passed.
A frosty breath brushed her neck.
His chin tightened, and four long fingers gently grasped her jaw, lifting it up.
Her eyes darted nervously, heart racing wildly, as she was passively drowned in Lu Qiming’s deep, shadowed, misty eyes.
“Duoduo.”
The man’s hoarse voice whispered her name like a tender caress, cautious and intimate, “Can I… take the next step?”
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