Morning arrived with tranquility in the mountains. A thin veil of mist wrapped around the verdant peaks like gossamer, gently encircling them as clouds cold as water stretched across the horizon.

A spring rain had fallen overnight, leaving the road to town muddy and difficult to traverse. The vehicle bumped slightly as it traveled along the path.

When Yu Hao got into the car, Lu Huaizheng was still by the roadside bidding farewell to the little mongrel dog.

She sat inside, leaning down slightly to peer through the window gap. Outside, the man bent down next to the dog and said something inaudible. The little mongrel let out another whimper and gazed at him with tearful eyes.

Lu Huaizheng lowered himself once more, touching his forehead to the dogs in what seemed to be a goodbye.

The driver knew this dog too. He turned to explain to Yu Hao: “This dog was rescued by Captain Lu when he came here for training two years ago. I remember both its legs were broken at the time. Captain Lu took it to a pet shop in the neighboring town for treatment that lasted two months. The dog’s legs weren’t even fully healed when it started running to the military zone every day.” The driver pointed toward a pine tree not far away. “It would just sit there, waiting every day. What’s amazing is that when Captain Lu isn’t around, it never comes, but as soon as he arrives, it runs faster than anyone else. The soldiers joke that this is Captain Lu’s ‘girlfriend.'”

Yu Hao laughed too.

Lu Huaizheng opened the car door and ducked in. Seeing her smile, he paused momentarily before closing the door and instructing the driver to start driving.

It would take forty minutes to reach the town.

The night before, Yu Hao had lain under her blanket thinking endlessly about what to say during these forty minutes. Once they reached town, he would leave, so these few dozen minutes in the car were all the time they had together.

A forty-minute lecture always felt lengthy to her, but forty minutes with him seemed fleeting, passing in the blink of an eye.

Now, with another person in the car, she felt even less able to initiate casual conversation. The driver was talkative and enthusiastic, chatting with Lu Huaizheng the entire way about everything from current events to national development. Unaccustomed to interrupting others, she found no opportunity to join the conversation. Thus, she remained silent for over twenty minutes. Glancing down at her watch, she saw it was already 7:24.

The driver caught sight of Yu Hao in the rearview mirror and asked, “What are you planning to buy, Doctor Yu?”

Buy what?

She wasn’t planning to buy anything—she was here to see off the man she cared for!

“Old Li, have you had breakfast?” Lu Huaizheng suddenly asked out of nowhere.

Old Li made a sound of acknowledgment, looked over, and replied, “Yes, I have.”

Lu Huaizheng nodded, gazing out the window at the rushing greenery of the mountains, and casually said, “I’ll take Dr. Yu to get something to eat. Why don’t you get out and look around town?”

Old Li agreed readily. “No problem. You two go eat. I’ll watch people play chess near the bridge. Dr. Yu, just call me when you’ve finished shopping.”

Yu Hao suddenly turned to ask him, “What time is your flight?”

“Two in the afternoon.”

“Will that be enough time?”

“It’s fine. I just need to get there an hour early.”

It was a four-hour drive from here to the airport, so even leaving at nine would be sufficient. Plus, with Lu Huaizheng’s status, he had access to expedited channels—arriving half an hour early would be enough. By this calculation, they could still spend over an hour together.

Her heart began to pound with renewed vigor. The feeling was like watching a battery about to die suddenly recharge to full—a sensation of unreality as if she’d stolen something precious.

The town featured an ancient canal with a long history. Its waters flowed gently, with a bridge spanning both sides, connecting the pulse of life.

The car arrived precisely at the bridge at 7:40. Old Li parked by the roadside and went to watch people play chess nearby. The town was small, and the locals gathered were always the same group. Someone immediately recognized Old Li and struck up a conversation with him.

The morning sunlight filtered through the cloud layer, spreading gently over the narrow cobblestone path, leaving scattered, lingering patterns of light and shadow. The quiet ancient alleyway stretched beautifully among old, dilapidated residential buildings. The walls on both sides were mottled with dark green patches and covered with verdant moss as if one could see the rings of passing years.

Clear, gentle breezes carried the scent of green moss.

Townspeople rose early. Before eight o’clock, vendors had already filled both sides of the ancient pathway. People clustered here and there, and the streets were even more crowded—the narrow path barely a few feet wide was packed with pedestrians walking shoulder to shoulder. Lu Huaizheng kept his hand hovering near Yu Hao’s back as they navigated through the dense crowd toward a nearby breakfast shop.

“I thought there wouldn’t be many people in this town,” Yu Hao muttered.

“Today is the temple fair. I could have taken you to see it,” Lu Huaizheng said, virtually resting his hand on her shoulder as he looked down at her with a slight shift in his gaze. “My work often leaves me with no choice in these matters.”

Yu Hao lowered her head. “I understand.”

The two moved quietly through the flowing crowd. The marketplace was filled with an endless cacophony of hawkers calling out, vendors selling goods, arguments, and playful banter. Even the burbling sound of flowing water seemed audible to Yu Hao if she held her breath, encircling her ears like a feather gently grazing her.

At the moment when Yu Hao said “I understand.”

Lu Huaizheng’s hand, barely touching her shoulder, involuntarily tightened slightly.

“I just want you to be safe,” Yu Hao suddenly looked up at him and said.

Lu Huaizheng could no longer look away. He stared down at her deeply, as if a meteor had fallen, star-fire burning in his eyes.

He recalled how many years ago while attending a meeting in Nanjing, during lunch break, he was standing outside the hotel smoking with Sun Kai and a few leaders. A girl walked in whose back view looked just like hers, holding the hand of a half-grown child who softly called her “mama.” He had frozen completely at that moment.

For an instant, he truly thought it was her.

The leaders called his name several times, but he didn’t respond. The cigarette between his fingers had collected a long column of ash that hadn’t broken off. He just stared blankly at the young woman’s back, the scene seemingly frozen in time. Sun Kai said that the other leaders were frightened by his expression.

After all these years, everyone understood him well.

They knew he was the type of man who wouldn’t reveal a trace of fear in his eyes even if he knew death was coming in the next second. But the sadness and despair in his eyes at that moment was something they had never seen before.

He had considered that in all these years, she might have married, might have had children.

But when he saw that scene, he realized he had overestimated himself.

Men don’t talk much, but they seem to understand each other’s emotions. At that time, he hadn’t told Sun Kai about Yu Hao yet, but Sun Kai understood there was someone in his heart. Later, seeing how distracted he was throughout the afternoon meeting, Sun Kai said, “Should we have someone bring her over for you to see? If she is the one you’ve been thinking about, it would be good for you to accept reality. If you keep waiting, I’m afraid you’ll miss out altogether.”

After the meeting, Sun Kai found an excuse to bring the woman over.

Lu Huaizheng was sitting in the front row of the auditorium, leaning back, head down. When she entered, he looked up, glanced once, and immediately confirmed it wasn’t her. He stood up and politely explained the situation to the woman, who expressed understanding and left with Sun Kai.

Then he sat with his head down, hand supporting his forehead on his knee, silent in the auditorium for the entire evening. It was then that he decided in his heart: wait one more year.

In psychological terms, this is a form of self-comfort people use when feeling hopeless. When you realize from within that the possibility of something happening is getting smaller and smaller, becoming increasingly remote, you set yourself a short-term deadline in your mind.

And this deadline would cycle indefinitely in his heart.

The breakfast shop Lu Huaizheng took her to wasn’t crowded. The proprietress knew him well and greeted him from a distance, “How do you have time to come out today?”

Lu Huaizheng smiled as he pulled out a chair for Yu Hao, his hand resting against her back as he seated her, then turned to smile at the proprietress: “I’m heading back to Beijing.”

The shop was small with mottled walls. A simple business license hung at the main entrance, indicating a Class C food service establishment.

The proprietress, wiping tables while smiling, nodded warmly: “What would you like to eat? Please, have a seat.”

Lu Huaizheng let her sit down, then hooked a chair with his foot from the adjacent table and sat beside Yu Hao rather than across from her. He asked, “What would you like to eat?”

“I’ll have the same as you,” Yu Hao said, taking a napkin to wipe the table in front of him.

Lu Huaizheng smiled, casually taking the napkin from her hand. While wiping, he turned to order two bowls of porridge, several small dishes, and various snacks from the proprietress.

Their fingertips touched, creating an electric sensation that made Yu Hao’s scalp tingle.

Lu Huaizheng wiped her side of the table first, then quickly wiped his own before tossing the napkin into a nearby trash bin.

In the past, when discarding things, even something as simple as a piece of paper, he would crumple it into a ball and use a standard basketball shooting form to arc it perfectly into the trash can. Sometimes if it missed, he would run over to pick it up and try again, never giving up until it went in.

Yu Hao had once asked him why he was so persistent about this, and he had surprisingly answered that it was a man’s determination.

Just like after playing basketball, he wouldn’t leave the court until making his final three-point shot. Otherwise, he refused to leave.

Now he didn’t have all those flourishes anymore.

“Do you still play basketball?” Yu Hao asked, tilting her head.

The proprietress brought over the dishes.

Lu Huaizheng pulled out a pair of chopsticks from a bamboo container and handed them to her, glancing at her briefly. “Not so much.”

Sometimes even when his unit had basketball games, he didn’t attend.

In high school, he had done two things: play basketball and pursue her.

After she left, he gave up basketball as well.

Yu Hao nodded.

The proprietress glanced at the two of them and asked Lu Huaizheng with a smile: “Captain Lu, is this your girlfriend?”

Lu Huaizheng had just taken a sip of porridge when he heard this question. He paused, looked at Yu Hao beside him, and genuinely didn’t know how to answer. The proprietress’s unexpected question left him frozen with chopsticks suspended in midair as he was about to serve Yu Hao.

They had never officially discussed or confirmed this matter, and he hadn’t asked for Yu Hao’s opinion—saying yes would be inappropriate. But if he said no, what did it mean that he was serving food to her bowl?

Yu Hao noticed his hesitation and saw him withdraw his chopsticks. Her heartbeat suddenly became heavy, her chest feeling as if filled with hot air slowly burning through her and spreading into her brain. The back of her head felt vaguely anxious and swollen, hollow and unanchored.

Morning light leaked in from outside, shining on her neck, which felt strangely hot. Perhaps Feng Yanzhi’s urging about marriage had given her a problem—why did she feel so impatient around him? Knowing he was leaving today, she couldn’t help but want to see him off, just for those few extra minutes together.

“Not yet.” “No.”

They spoke almost in unison.

She decided that until he returned from Beijing and they talked properly, she’d better not speak to him again. She feared she might die of frustration.

The proprietress turned on the television.

The morning news was playing, broadcasting the coup in Turkey.

“Turkey’s situation remains turbulent, with multiple terrorist incidents occurring domestically. These events have caused 230 deaths and 1,510 injuries. The Chinese embassy in Turkey states…”

Suddenly, a young boy emerged from the back room, appearing to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. Seemingly drawn by the sound of the news, he ran out, only to be shouted back by the proprietress: “Go back and study!” The boy’s gaze lingered on the television, hesitating to leave. Then, spotting Lu Huaizheng from the corner of his eye, his face lit up as he rushed over to sit across from him: “Brother Lu!”

Lu Huaizheng looked up and greeted him: “Long time no see, Zaza.” Then he introduced him to Yu Hao: “The proprietress’s son.”

Yu Hao smiled and nodded at the boy.

Zaza showed little interest in Yu Hao. After a polite greeting, his attention returned to Lu Huaizheng. “The news says there’s been a coup in Turkey. Are you going to be sent on another mission?”

Lu Huaizheng had nearly finished eating and was casually leaning back in his chair. He picked up an egg from the dish in front of him, peeling it while glancing at Zaza, responding indifferently: “Don’t know. Waiting for orders.”

“Is it too late for me to join the army now?” Zaza asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Lu Huaizheng looked at the proprietress, who was glaring fiercely at Zaza. Seeing there were guests present, she refrained from scolding him but continued to stare like brass bells.

Lu Huaizheng smiled, placing the peeled egg in a small dish of vinegar and pushing it toward Yu Hao before telling Zaza: “You should focus on your college entrance exam.”

“No, I want to join the army.”

“What army! You can’t handle that hardship! Go back and study properly!”

The proprietress, unable to contain herself any longer, came over and grabbed the back of Zaza’s collar, trying to drag him back inside. Zaza refused to leave, clinging to the edge of the table while looking pitifully at Lu Huaizheng. “I’ll enlist during next year’s recruitment!”

“Why do you want to join the army?” Lu Huaizheng asked casually, watching the news.

Zaza answered with righteous conviction: “I want to protect someone.”

Yu Hao hadn’t touched the egg. Lu Huaizheng listened to Zaza absently while pushing the dish with the egg forward again. “Eat the egg,” he said softly, before looking up at Zaza, his voice returning to its cool tone: “What we protect is not just one person.”

Despite the proprietress pulling with all her might from behind, Zaza remained firmly in place, clutching the table edge and looking at Lu Huaizheng with fervor. “I don’t care!”

Zaza appeared particularly stubborn.

Lu Huaizheng watched Yu Hao eat the egg before saying: “Focus on your exams first. After they’re done, I’ll tell you where the best place to enlist is.”

“They say you have a wide network of connections that’s why you got promoted quickly. Is that true? Can I join your unit directly?!” Zaza asked quite directly, showing no concern for whether his question might embarrass the person being asked.

Lu Huaizheng answered just as frankly and openly: “It’s true that I have a wide network, true that I have connections, and true that I was promoted quickly. But these three things aren’t related.”

Zaza scratched his head: “Then I’ll come find you next time!”

Lu Huaizheng looked at him, and nodded in agreement, and only then did Zaza agree to leave. The proprietress came over, her tone unusually solemn and direct: “I don’t want him to join the army.”

Lu Huaizheng nodded, indicating he understood.

After finishing their meal, Yu Hao needed to return, so Lu Huaizheng escorted her to where Old Li was playing chess.

By now, most people had left the street, streaming toward the center of the temple fair.

Seeing them return, Old Li quickly put out his cigarette and stood up, handing the chess piece to the man beside him. “You play, you play. I have to go.” Then he squeezed out of the crowd and asked Lu Huaizheng, “Leaving now?”

Lu Huaizheng handed a cigarette to Old Li, nodded, and said, “Let’s go. You take her back.”

Old Li took it, made a sound of acknowledgment, and went to start the car.

Yu Hao said mechanically, “Take care on your journey. Contact me when you’re back.”

Lu Huaizheng stood before her with both hands in his pockets, looking down at her in silence for a moment. In the end, he said nothing, just nodded and said, “Get in the car.”

The ancient canal’s water continued to flow gently. The bus station was just across the way.

Lu Huaizheng had walked halfway when he suddenly stopped.

Then Yu Hao saw him suddenly turn back toward her, and instinctively, she called out to Old Li, “Wait.”

Old Li, caught off guard, made a surprised sound and stepped hard on the brakes. The car shook violently, nearly throwing Yu Hao forward. Her head felt dizzy from the jolt.

The next second—

The passenger door opened, and before she could react, a dark shadow loomed over her. Her lips were captured as warm breath intertwined with hers.

Lu Huaizheng supported the back of her head with one hand, his other braced against the seat. His tall figure made the already narrow car interior feel even more confined as he tilted his head to kiss her lips. It wasn’t a light, tentative kiss, nor did it show any first-kiss shyness—he gave her a passionate, intense French kiss.

At that moment, Yu Hao instinctively closed her eyes, feeling as if a meteor had fallen to earth, her vision filled with sparks, utterly overwhelming.

…

Meanwhile, amid the sounds of this passionate kissing, Old Li voluntarily turned away, lightly drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, thinking to himself:

Captain Lu is truly a real man.