It was already dusk. The sky blazed with seven colours — rosy clouds stretched across the horizon, and the clouds looked like rolling tongues of flame. That firelight lit two slender silhouettes on the training ground.

Lin Luxiao stood on the steps with a cigarette dangling from his lips, his gaze moving back and forth between the two of them. They were one in front of the other, and both were covered head to toe in mud and water — their faces worst of all, plastered black with dirt, some of which had dried in the wind and was now flaking off in chunks.

Shao Yijiu came jogging over from behind, propped his hands on his knees, and panted into Lin Luxiao’s ear.

Lin Luxiao took the cigarette out of his mouth. His gaze stayed fixed on the training ground. He asked with bland indifference: “How long have they been running?”

Shao Yijiu wiped sweat off his face and squinted. “Instructor Zhang penalised them with a 5,000-metre loaded run.”

“Who threw the first punch?” Lin Luxiao was quiet for a moment, then asked.

The mud trench of the 400-metre obstacle course was far away; the male soldiers had not been able to see it clearly. It was only when the two of them started fighting that someone over there shouted and came running. By the time they looked down into the pit, the two women were already tangled in a heap — and Xiao Jiu’er had been the one closest to the mud trench at the time.

Shao Yijiu said with some uncertainty: “Xiao Jiu’er said that when the two of them were crossing the trench, Yan Dai couldn’t hold on and dragged Nan Chu down with her. After Nan Chu hit the ground she lunged straight at Yan Dai… But none of that really matters. You know what Instructor Zhang is like — he hates fighting in the unit more than anything. He won’t stop until he’s run it out of them. I’m worried that if it goes on too long, those two girls won’t be able to take it. We’re just recording a show, after all, and if something goes wrong it’ll be hard to explain to the production company.”

Lin Luxiao took a drag. “Where’s the production crew?”

Shao Yijiu jutted his chin in their direction. “No idea. The moment something happened they just kept on filming — didn’t even think to step in and mediate. I said something to the director just now, and he actually told me that if you break the rules you deserve to be punished. Doesn’t seem worried at all.”

“Keep an eye on those two.” With that, Lin Luxiao pulled his gaze away, turned, and went up the steps at a jog. Shao Yijiu called after his retreating back: “Where are you going?”

……

Lin Luxiao made his way to the instructor’s office.

Instructor Zhang was in there with Yang Zhidao, drawing up the next day’s training plan. He turned at the sound of the door and saw a tall figure in the doorway. He squinted, confirmed who it was, then broke into a grin and waved him over.

Zhang Wei was approaching forty. He had enlisted early and served under Lin Qingyuan before transferring to training. He was a serious man — when he scolded someone with furrowed brows, the cold flash of steel in his eyes was enough to frighten anyone half to death. When Lin Luxiao had first arrived in the unit, Zhang had put him through no small amount of hardship, but it was precisely that relentless drive that made men love him and hate him in equal measure.

Yang Zhenggang glanced at him and communicated something with just his eyes.

Lin Luxiao walked over. A smile — rarely seen on his face — appeared. “Uncle Zhang.”

Zhang Wei was immediately on guard: in all these years, when had he ever heard the man address him so ingratiatingly? He was no pushover either — he met the move with one of his own, and said evenly: “Back from your exam?”

Lin Luxiao stepped between the two of them, glanced down at the timetable on the desk, and smiled faintly. “Just finished.”

“How did it go?”

“So-so.”

Zhang Wei knew the man’s habits — he’d been like this since he was young. Casual and carefree, never chasing first place, just hovering somewhere in the top three to be safe. Ask him why he didn’t push for first and he’d bat the question away with a joke: “Why fight for first? You have to give other people a chance.” That said, no one had ever actually seen him have an off day in an exam.

“Forget it, my question was pointless. If you don’t pass, I’ll chop off my own head for you to use as a chair.” Zhang Wei chuckled.

To everyone’s surprise, Lin Luxiao replied with perfect solemnity: “Keep your head — what I need is to ask you a favour.”

Zhang Wei found this novel. He turned to Yang Zhidao. “Well, well — in all the years I’ve known this boy, this is the first time I’ve ever heard him ask anyone for anything. Let’s hear it.”

Yang Zhidao nodded repeatedly, but looking at Lin Luxiao’s expression, he felt a sudden bad premonition, half-afraid the young man was about to say something outrageous.

Lin Luxiao didn’t beat around the bush. “Today’s incident — please pretend you never saw it. Don’t write it into the training report, and don’t report it to the higher-ups.”

Zhang Wei was taken aback. He hadn’t expected this, and a vague alarm went off somewhere inside him. “My two eyes saw it plain as day. How am I supposed to pretend I didn’t? Did those two girls send you here as their advocate?”

Then a second thought: “No, that doesn’t make sense. Luxiao, in my eyes you’re not that kind of man. If anyone in this unit dared fight, you’d punish them harder than I would!”

Then a third thought, and his gaze took on a meaningful depth. “You haven’t gone and taken a fancy to one of them, have you? I’m telling you, that won’t do. Neither of them is a good match for you. Don’t do something you’ll regret.”

“If you’re going to put it that way, then there’s nothing to talk about. I just got back from the brigade — if you file that report, Director Meng will definitely come looking for me tomorrow. Besides, it’s not a big deal. Consider it saving me a scolding, all right?”

Zhang Wei still felt something was off. He knitted his brow. “You’re the type who’s afraid of a scolding? I’m not buying that for a second.”

Lin Luxiao leaned against the desk, arms folded, his gaze deep and dark. “So — will you, or won’t you?”

“You’re really not interested in one of them?” Zhang Wei asked, testing the waters.

Lin Luxiao paused. His gaze was direct — utterly candid. “Really not.”

Zhang Wei clapped a hand on his shoulder. “All right. You’ve never asked me for a single thing your whole life. How could I say no? But I’m warning you — don’t you dare disappoint me.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Shao Yijiu came bursting through the door, red-faced and breathless: “Team Leader Lin — someone passed out.”

Lin Luxiao rose to his feet, instantly alert. “Who?”

“Both of them.”

Lin Luxiao’s expression shifted. Zhang Wei was just about to say he’d send for the military doctor when he realised the man beside him had already strode to the doorway.

Zhang Wei watched him go, then pointed at his retreating back and asked Yang Zhidao: “Is that a normal reaction?”

Yang Zhidao thought for a moment. “Normal enough. Director Meng said in the briefing that everyone’s safety had to be guaranteed. Someone passing out — it’s natural to be alarmed. Come to think of it, I’m alarmed too. I’ll go take a look as well. You sit tight. I’ll have Luxiao send someone back to take you to the brigade later.”

Zhang Wei waved him off. “I’ll come along. I can head back on the way.”

……

The medical room.

When Lin Luxiao arrived, only Yan Dai was there. Doctor Shao was examining her with a stethoscope. Hearing someone come through the door — clearly in a hurry — she looked up: “Aunt Shao — where’s Nan Chu?”

Military Doctor Shao: “She came around. She’s gone back to the dorm.”

The words had barely fallen when Yang Zhidao and Zhang Wei filed in behind him. Lin Luxiao tossed his car keys to Shao Yijiu. “Yijiu, take Instructor Zhang back to the brigade. I need to step out for a bit.” He was already heading for the door as he spoke, unbuttoning his outer jacket as he went. Yang Zhenggang caught up. “Luxiao, where are you going?”

Lin Luxiao glanced at him without breaking stride. “Going to check on the injured. Why?”

Yang Zhenggang fell into step beside him. “The way you look right now, you seem like you’re about to go pick a fight with Nan Chu.”

Lin Luxiao patted his shoulder in reassurance. “Relax, I don’t hit women.”

“You know what I mean.”

Lin Luxiao stopped. He tilted his head back slightly, gave a little shake of it, and said with languid ease: “What about it?”

“I saw Nan Chu go into your office the other day.”

Lin Luxiao finished unbuttoning his jacket entirely, exposing the camouflage short-sleeved shirt underneath. He hooked his hand on his hip, looked away, and said dismissively: “I’m the one who told her to come.”

“That’s your office! You just let anyone walk in there! Have you lost your mind?” Yang Zhenggang kept his voice down.

Lin Luxiao turned back. The two of them faced each other. Yang Zhenggang was a head shorter, yet Lin Luxiao still had to look down at him. After a moment, he glanced away again, stretched the corner of his mouth into a grin. “Really, nothing happened. Relax. Don’t read into it.”

“What do you mean I’m reading into it? Could you do something that doesn’t look suspicious for once?!” Yang Zhenggang was fuming.

“If you won’t believe a word I say no matter what, what am I supposed to do?”

Yang Zhenggang had only meant to give him a heads-up, but Lin Luxiao’s attitude left nothing to work with. “Fine — consider it me overthinking.”

“So we’re good? I’m going then.”

With all the years of friendship between them, Yang Zhenggang was sorely tempted to plant a boot in his back — but in the end, the chain of command held him back. “Go, go.”

……

As Nan Chu was heading up the dormitory staircase, someone grabbed her. She turned around and found herself looking at his stony expression. Her instinct was to wrench free — but his grip held her firm as iron, and she couldn’t budge. Lin Luxiao yanked her back and pulled her down off the stairs. “Come with me.”

Nan Chu stepped down a couple of stairs, trying to pull her hand back. The pale, delicate skin of her wrist felt as though it had been clamped in a steel vice — she couldn’t move it at all. “Don’t drag me. If you want to lecture me, do it right here.”

Lin Luxiao looked at her sideways. “Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough?”

“I’m the embarrassing one — so don’t touch me. Stay away from me. That way you won’t have to be embarrassed along with me.”

Lin Luxiao let out a cold laugh, then practically exploded: “You’ve already made me look bad, damn it!”

She went quiet.

The political education building was right next door. Lin Luxiao dragged her inside, up to the fourth floor, shoved her through a door, and shut it behind them. He pushed her against the door and stood over her, arms folded, looking down at her.

Nan Chu turned her head to one side and refused to look at him.

He moved to intercept her line of sight, determined to make her look at him.

She dodged — wouldn’t meet his gaze, not once.

Back and forth. Several rounds.

He let out a short, mocking laugh. “Scared now? You were quite the tough fighter earlier, weren’t you? What did I say to you last night — I was barely gone and you went and stirred up trouble for me. Deliberately making my life difficult, were you? Hm?”

Lin Luxiao had a belly full of anger he hadn’t yet unloaded. Hadn’t she said she liked him? So what was she doing fighting over another man? Was she playing with him? Messing with him?

In the medical room, he’d bitten back a mouthful of curses — yet the moment he actually saw her in such a sorry state, all of it died on his tongue. But now, looking at that flat, dead-eyed expression of hers, a nameless fury surged up inside him, and the words that came out dripped with sarcasm.

“I’m sorry.”

In the empty, hollow room, her voice rang out — light and cool.

She stood with her head bowed, stray wisps of hair brushing her ear, softly drifting. Just like that, she said it.

The smile on Lin Luxiao’s face froze. It was like throwing a powerful punch straight into cotton — all that force, nowhere to go. What on earth was this? She commits an offence, says “I’m sorry” in that pitiable little voice, and suddenly he can’t bring himself to scold her anymore. In the past, he could have reduced someone to tears without even trying, left them unable to find a place to cry in peace.

He felt equal parts furious and amused. He reached over and laid his palm on top of Nan Chu’s head, trying to tilt her face up to meet his gaze. The girl was stubborn — she kept her head turned away and wouldn’t look at him for even a second.

Out of patience, he simply grabbed her chin and wrenched it toward him. “What kind of apology is this — no eye contact? Where’s the sincerity?”

When her face turned, the left side that had been wiped clean of mud bore four vivid red finger-marks. The corner of her mouth had split, and blood had seeped through the cracked skin.

He finally understood why she hadn’t dared look at him.

Something squeezed hard inside his chest.

His eyes darkened — and even he himself hadn’t noticed: his voice had gone soft. “Yan Dai did that?”

Nan Chu shoved his hand away. “I hit her back. I can request to leave the unit myself — I won’t cause you any more trouble.”

Lin Luxiao let out an exasperated laugh, released her, and shoved his hand back into his pocket. “Did I say you could leave?”

Nan Chu thought: then what are you shouting at me for?

She drew in a breath and steadied her voice. “Team Leader Lin.”

It was rare for her to address him so formally. Lin Luxiao straightened his expression. “Yes.”

Nan Chu said: “I remember everything you said to me last night.”

Lin Luxiao’s expression began to shift.

“I endured her. I let her off. But in the end, I couldn’t hold back that last move. I didn’t used to be this way — I’m not someone who just puts up with things. When people insult me, bully me, I don’t care, I really don’t. But I don’t tolerate things unconditionally either. If someone truly climbs over my head, I will retaliate. And I’ll make sure they never dare bully me again for the rest of their lives. Back then — Ran Dongyang bullied me for three years. Last month, on the set, I smashed his head open. And when I was very young — seven years old — I was kidnapped by some boys…”

At this point, the smile on Lin Luxiao’s lips went rigid.

There was something strangely familiar about this.

Sure enough, Nan Chu said: “Four boys. They dragged me — just seven years old at the time — into a back alley, blindfolded me, and tied my hands.”

Lin Luxiao stared at her. He worked his jaw. “They didn’t… do anything… did they? You were only seven.”

“They didn’t do anything. But I was terrified. At the time I thought to myself — when I grow up, I’m going to find those four men, and I’m going to hack them to pieces.” Her voice was flat and cold as she said it. “Honestly, I’m a very dark person inside. Keeping up the act of being cheerful and adorable around you is genuinely tiring. It feels like I’ve caused you quite a lot of trouble this whole time. Just now, when Instructor Zhang had us running laps as punishment, I kept thinking — when I first liked you, it was that year when I was sixteen. You pulled me out of the fire, gave me a sense of safety I had never felt before. You took me in, and taught me how to fold a tofu-block corner. Sometimes I’d fold it deliberately wrong, and you’d glare at me. When I finally got it right, you’d smile. In all my twenty-something years, that night was truly the most carefree I’ve ever felt. Then I saw your girlfriend, and I was afraid of holding you back, so I packed up and left in a hurry.”

Lin Luxiao blurted out reflexively: “She wasn’t my girlfriend!”

“Then why was she at your place looking for you?”

Lin Luxiao looked away. “She just wasn’t.”

Nan Chu waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter. Yesterday, Xiao Jiu’er said I looked down on all of you. I truly didn’t. That made me think back to the day I left and gave you ten thousand yuan — I wonder if you were quite angry about that? Xiao Jiu’er’s words really did give me pause. You men are very protective of that pride — and I just went and punctured it in the most blunt way possible. But you have to understand: I have nothing else. I only have money. The only way I know how to be good to someone is to give them money.”

Lin Luxiao suddenly thought of what the headmaster had told him a few months ago — about a boy named Bao Shu whom Nan Chu had quietly been sponsoring for school and medical treatment all this time.

She really did not know how to express herself.

Thinking of that, he curved the corner of his mouth.

“Just now, when Instructor Zhang called us up, I was a little scared. I was afraid of causing you trouble — afraid you wouldn’t be able to get promoted. Team Leader, from now on I’ll try my best not to cause you any trouble, and try not to disturb you. Actually — not ‘try.’ I will. Definitely.”

“……”

Lin Luxiao listened, and his chest felt heavy and blocked!

What even was all of this?

It wasn’t until Nan Chu pushed the door open and walked out that it struck him — this girl seemed genuinely hurt.

She wasn’t going to disturb him any more?

He yanked the door open to go after her — and found Yang Zhenggang standing large as life in the doorway, staring at him like a spectre: “I just saw Nan Chu leave.”

Lin Luxiao rolled his eyes, turned, and walked back into the room. He stood in front of the desk with his hands on his hips and nodded. “Right — she was just here.”

Yang Zhenggang walked in and shut the door. “You’ve gone soft in the head again!”

Lin Luxiao had his back to him. He raised one hand to signal him to stop — his head was splitting. “I can’t explain this to you right now. I don’t even know what I think about all this myself!”

Yang Zhenggang smacked the back of his head. “You cannot have any feelings for her whatsoever!”

Lin Luxiao sounded exasperated. “I’m unattached, she’s unattached. If feelings develop, isn’t that normal?”

Yang Zhenggang was aghast. “You actually do have feelings for her?!”

Lin Luxiao pressed a hand to his forehead. “I was speaking hypothetically.”

“Meng’s office has introduced you to several women. What’s wrong with any of them — why set your sights on this girl?”

“Give it a rest. When did I say I had feelings for her?”

“When a man starts feeling tender toward a woman — what is that, if not feelings?” Yang Zhenggang gave a cold snort. “You, you crafty little so-and-so. Still making excuses? She gets hurt, you panic like this — and it’s not feelings? Fine. You say you feel nothing. Prove it. From now on, she runs more laps than Yan Dai and the others, she eats less at breakfast, her training load goes up.”

“Why should it?!”

“Look at you — still protecting her!”

“I’m done talking to you. Let me by — I need to go somewhere.”

Yang Zhenggang was beside himself with exasperation. “If you’re going to pull something, at least wait until this moment passes!”

The words weren’t even finished before Lin Luxiao was already at the door. He waved a hand without looking back.

……

Lin Luxiao tracked down Nan Chu’s camera operator, had a brief word with him, and offered him a cigarette. The man was cordial enough; the two of them stood side by side against a tree, smoking.

“Let me see today’s footage. This afternoon’s.”

The operator made a sound of acknowledgment and pulled it up. “Why do you need to see it?”

Lin Luxiao held his cigarette between his fingers and said casually: “Isn’t there a report to write? I need to understand what happened.”

The operator smiled. “Fair enough. Here you go.”

Lin Luxiao accepted it one-handed, tucked the cigarette between his lips, and studied the screen.

The display was small, but it was just about enough to make out the sequence of events.

He fast-forwarded, searching for the moments when the two of them came into contact.

The first moment: the balance beam.

Lin Luxiao hit pause and zoomed in. He flicked off some ash and narrowed his eyes. His gaze fixed on the hand behind Nan Chu’s back.

The second moment: the obstacle wall.

Nan Chu took a kick directly to the chest, her whole body folding downward, and she dropped straight to the floor of the mud pit.

The third moment: the trench mud pit.

Nan Chu was hooked by a foot and pulled down in.

Lin Luxiao put out his cigarette, closed the camera, and handed it back to the operator. He patted the man’s shoulder as he stood. “Thanks.”

The operator looked up with a smile. “Don’t mention it. Care to smoke a while longer, Team Leader?”

“No.”

His voice had lost all the teasing warmth of moments before. It was all cold edges now — enough to send a shudder through the operator’s whole body.

……

On the walk back, he couldn’t stop turning Yang Zhenggang’s words over in his mind. If the tenderness he felt was the same as liking her —

Then so be it. He liked her.

Halfway there, he happened to catch sight of Nan Chu stepping out in her green military shirt. Lin Luxiao quickened his pace to catch up. His hand made contact — and he knew immediately something was wrong. Her hair was soaking wet. The front of her freshly changed military shirt was drenched in a large dark patch.

“How are you this wet?”

Nan Chu: “None of your business.”

Lin Luxiao: “Come here.”

“I’m not going to your office.”

Lin Luxiao smiled wickedly. “Who said anything about my office?”

Nan Chu was momentarily confused. Before she could make sense of it, she was already being dragged up the stairs.

Lin Luxiao pushed a door open with one hand and shoved her through with the other.

It was only then that Nan Chu understood.

This — was his dormitory room.