Uh-oh, there’s been a misunderstanding.
A flush of red rushed up from Qian Duoduo’s cheeks to the base of her neck.
Embarrassed and flustered, she stammered, “N-no. No, I’m not family.”
The young military doctor was amused by her awkwardness and chuckled. “Not family? Then why are you at the ER with him in the middle of the night?”
“We’re just friends,” Qian Duoduo explained earnestly.
“Friends can go in too.” With that, the doctor led her into the examination room and started up the computer to record the case.
“What’s the issue?” he asked.
“He hurt his hand. Doctor, could you give him a tetanus shot, please?” Qian Duoduo spoke before Lu Qiming could say anything.
“Oh? A hand injury?” The doctor turned toward them, his gaze sweeping over to see the bandage on the back of Lu Qiming’s hand. “Take it off, let me have a look.”
Lu Qiming peeled the bandage away, revealing a crimson gash on his skin. A bit of blood had clotted at the edges of the wound.
The doctor frowned slightly, inspecting it carefully before asking, “What cut you?”
Qian Duoduo replied, “Probably the edge of a motorcycle’s side mirror.”
“That’s a pretty deep cut.” After examining it, the doctor reapplied a fresh bandage and turned back to the computer to type. “A tetanus shot won’t hurt, good to have as a precaution. Do you have iodine at home?”
Lu Qiming nodded. “Yeah.”
“Then disinfect it three to four times a day. Try to keep the wound dry for the next few days.” With that, the doctor printed out the form and reminded them, “Exit this room, turn right. The last room at the end of the hallway is the injection room.”
As they stepped out, Qian Duoduo noticed two new people in the waiting area— an elderly lady with gray hair and a little girl.
The child looked about one or two years old, curled up in her grandma’s arms with her eyes closed, a cooling pad on her forehead, her flushed little face steamed red from the fever.
The elderly woman clutched her granddaughter tightly, holding a fairy wand toy in one hand, scanning the room anxiously as if searching for something.
Lu Qiming’s gaze also landed on the pair.
Qian Duoduo noticed and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
Lu Qiming didn’t respond. Just then, the elderly woman spotted them and, after a moment’s hesitation, began walking their way.
Qian Duoduo blinked in confusion.
Seeing this, Lu Qiming noticed that the old woman was struggling to walk while holding the child. He naturally stepped forward to meet her.
Qian Duoduo had no idea what was going on.
All she saw was the tall man squatting down in front of the elderly woman a few steps away, seemingly asking her something.
The old lady, without hesitation, handed both the baby and the fairy wand to Lu Qiming, then bustled off in a hurry.
That left Lu Qiming standing calmly, holding the baby in one arm and the toy wand in the other.
Qian Duoduo: “……”
Stunned, she walked up and asked in disbelief, “Mr. Lu, what are you doing?”
“The old lady needed to use the restroom and couldn’t manage with the child,” Lu Qiming said. “She asked me to help look after her.”
Qian Duoduo suddenly understood.
No wonder— the old woman had looked anxious earlier.
Turns out she desperately needed the restroom but had the child with her, so in her urgency, she turned to someone for help.
Looking at the sleeping baby in Lu Qiming’s arms, Qian Duoduo instinctively lowered her voice and asked quietly, “Isn’t she afraid you might be a bad guy? Just handing her baby over like that?”
Lu Qiming glanced down at the child, tucking the blanket more securely around her, and said mildly, “She said she saw me show my credentials to the nurse earlier in the ER.”
Qian Duoduo instantly got it.
Of course— the people’s army is the pride of the nation.
Their righteous image is deeply ingrained. Every Chinese citizen, young or old, trusts them completely.
Not long after, the old woman returned from the restroom.
“Thank you, young man.” She took the baby back from Lu Qiming with a grateful yet embarrassed smile, “It’s just me taking care of the child at home. Every time she gets a fever or cold and I have to rush to the hospital, I don’t even get a chance to go to the restroom. Sorry for troubling you.”
Hearing this, Qian Duoduo felt a pang in her chest and couldn’t help asking, “Where are the child’s parents?”
“They’re working out of town, very busy,” the old lady sighed. “My in-laws used to help out a bit, but at the start of the year, she was diagnosed with stomach issues…”
She waved her hand, continuing, “Anyway, I shouldn’t keep complaining. I need to get back and give the child her medicine. Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome.”
After the old lady left with the child, Qian Duoduo and Lu Qiming continued toward the injection room.
On the way, something seemed to cross Qian Duoduo’s mind.
She kept sneaking glances at him from the corner of her eye.
Lu Qiming noticed and turned to look at her. “Why do you keep staring at me?”
Caught by his gaze, Qian Duoduo snapped back to reality, ears turning pink.
She shifted her eyes to her shoes, a sheen of sweat forming on her nose.
“It’s nothing,” she said.
She’d just realized that this man wasn’t quite the stereotypical military type she had in mind.
Especially when he was holding the child earlier— he actually seemed… kind of gentle?
When they reached the injection room, the nurse on duty was drawing blood from an older woman.
Seeing the two of them come in, the nurse held out her hand. “Form, please.”
“Tetanus. Arm shot. Roll up your sleeve.”
Getting a shot in winter was a hassle— they had to take off their thick coats.
Lu Qiming took off his overcoat and was about to set it aside when two small pale hands suddenly reached out and took it from him.
“I’ll hold it for you,” Qian Duoduo said.
“Thanks.” Lu Qiming rolled up his shirt sleeves.
She stood nearby and watched as the fabric moved up his arm.
His lean, powerful forearm was laced with veins like bronze vines.
The muscles of his upper arm were sharply defined, taut and rugged, radiating a restrained strength.
It looked nearly twice the size of her own arm…
One punch from him might sink a ship.
Qian Duoduo mulled over the thought and swallowed hard with a dry gulp.
The nurse disinfected his arm with iodine, then drove the needle in with a sharp stab, piercing that solid skin.
Qian Duoduo winced at the sight, quietly sucked in a breath, and looked away.
After administering the medicine, the middle-aged nurse skillfully pulled out the needle, pressed a cotton swab over the spot, and said, “Come press this for him.”
Qian Duoduo froze for a moment before realizing the nurse was talking to her.
She hurried forward, taking the cotton swab with one hand and steadying Lu Qiming’s arm with the other.
The sensation was firm and solid, completely different from her own soft fingertips.
Qian Duoduo’s chest tightened slightly, and she felt oddly flustered.
“Keep pressing a little longer,” the nurse reminded her. “Don’t let go until it stops bleeding.”
“Okay, got it.” Qian Duoduo nodded.
After leaving the injection room, Lu Qiming glanced at the girl walking beside him and reached out with his left hand. “I’ll take it.”
“It’s awkward with your opposite hand. Let me do it,” Qian Duoduo said, keeping her head down. After a pause, she added softly, “Why don’t you sit down?”
He really was tall. Helping him stop the bleeding at such close range gave her a strong sense of pressure.
Lu Qiming nodded and sat down on a bench nearby.
Qian Duoduo sat next to him, her expression calm, though she still didn’t raise her head.
From Lu Qiming’s angle, the hospital hallway lights slanted across her face.
The blush on her cheeks was vivid, like clouds kissed by a tender evening glow.
There was a faint scent in the air.
Sweet, warm, and clean— not the smell of any flower or fruit, but something unique and quietly alluring.
The hallway was quiet, with only the occasional murmur of voices from afar.
Other than that, it was just the sound of the two of them breathing.
Ten seconds passed, then thirty, then a full minute…
Qian Duoduo glanced at the cotton swab in her hand and figured it should be enough.
She tried removing it and found that the tiny spot where the tetanus shot had been administered was no longer bleeding.
She tossed the used swab into the trash and steadied herself before asking, “Mr. Lu, where do you live?”
“Single officers can only stay on base.”
“Oh. Would you mind telling me where your unit is located?” Qian Duoduo suggested, “If it’s on the way, I can give you a ride.”
Lu Qiming’s lips curved slightly. “Where do you live?”
Qian Duoduo answered honestly, “Jingning District, near Century Tower.”
“That’s pretty close.”
“Really? That’s great.” Her eyes lit up. “Then I’ll drop you off.”
Qian Duoduo liked to follow through on things.
Since she had brought him to the hospital late at night, she felt responsible for taking him back as well.
And if it was on the way, it made everything easier.
On the way back to Century Tower, Qian Duoduo took the expressway.
At a steady seventy kilometers per hour, traffic was smooth all the way.
The trip from the military hospital took less than twenty minutes.
As they neared her residential complex, she realized Lu Qiming still hadn’t told her the exact address.
She was getting anxious.
Gripping the steering wheel, she asked, “Mr. Lu, how do I get to your unit?”
Lu Qiming replied, “Pull over at the next intersection.”
“Oh, okay.”
She pulled over, and the man in the passenger seat unbuckled his seatbelt.
Qian Duoduo was surprised. “You’re…?”
“It’s just a few hundred meters. I can walk back in a few minutes,” Lu Qiming said. “Didn’t mean to take up so much of your time. Girls shouldn’t stay up late. Good night.”
With that, he opened the door and got out.
Qian Duoduo was stunned. She stared blankly for a few seconds before snapping back to her senses. “I have a car—it’s no trouble to take you to the gate.”
But Lu Qiming insisted it wasn’t necessary.
Qian Duoduo had no choice. She waved at him, rolled up the window, and drove off.
A few hundred meters later, she passed through a quiet stretch of road. The cold northern wind swept through, and the distant neon lights shimmered like a sea of colored glass.
As she passed a bus stop, something clicked in her mind. She quickly turned the steering wheel and made a U-turn.
The late-night street was silent and empty.
Qian Duoduo slowed down, scanning the roadside through the window.
Soon, she spotted that now-familiar silhouette.
Lu Qiming was still standing there.
With a click, the metal flame of a lighter flared up, casting a warm glow over half his face.
Strong brows, deep-set eyes, and sharp brow bones were etched in light and shadow.
He took a drag from the cigarette, his Adam’s apple bobbing visibly, veins taut along his neck.
A moment later, smoke drifted from between his lips.
His sharp, cold profile blurred in the haze, with only the faint glow of the burning tip visible— like the eye of a beast lurking in the dark.
Seeing the solitary figure smoking in the distance, Qian Duoduo brought her car to a full stop.
Over there.
Sensing the gaze behind him, Lu Qiming turned around.
When he saw the girl in the car, his brow creased slightly, as if surprised she had come back.
Then, naturally, he moved the cigarette away. “Miss Qian, is something wrong?”
“I just remembered— the matchmaker told my mom your unit’s in Shishui District…” Qian Duoduo’s eyes were full of confusion. “Shishui’s nearly twenty kilometers from here. Why did you say your unit’s close to my place?”
Lu Qiming stubbed out the cigarette and looked at her. “You’re pretty responsible. If I hadn’t said that, you wouldn’t have gone home first.”
Qian Duoduo was flustered and baffled. “You should’ve just said no at the hospital. We could’ve gone our separate ways. Wasn’t it a hassle to come all the way out here?”
Lu Qiming’s gaze was steady and calm. After a pause, he replied, “I was worried it wouldn’t be safe for you to be alone.”
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