The lecture ended at eleven o’clock. Yu Hao shut down the computer, packed up the presentation materials, and prepared to leave with Professor Han.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from below: “Attention—”

His voice was loud and resonant, powerfully penetrating the entire hall: “Salute!”

As he finished speaking, everyone below simultaneously executed a perfect military salute. Yu Hao was momentarily stunned by their imposing presence, thinking that those in the front row were just young men, yet they all seemed so mature beyond their years. The next second, she thought of someone who, at their age, was still fooling around with girls all day without any sense of purpose.

Back then, the members of the “Girls’ Generation” group all had good relationships with him. Hu Siqi and another girl were in the same class, while the other three were from different classes. The five girls were like conjoined twins—as soon as class ended, they would run to find each other to go to the bathroom together, or during lunch break, they would all stick together in the corridor chatting, impossible to separate.

It seemed there was an unwritten rule during school days.

The handsome ones and the pretty ones always seemed to know each other, as if validating each other’s good looks, or as if they belonged to a world where they already knew each other before entering—like they had been given entry passes. Anyway, at that time, Lu Huaizheng and the few better-looking boys were all very familiar with Hu Siqi’s group of girls.

Plus, Lu Huaizheng participated in many extracurricular activities—basketball, soccer, and even billiards. New people would appear around him from time to time, all particularly good-looking. Yu Hao felt he was like a social butterfly, knowing everyone, and surrounded by many admirers, regardless of gender.

The “social butterfly” in Yu Hao’s eyes was now following behind that naturally imposing middle-aged man, heading toward them. The middle-aged man was in his early forties, with dark skin and a slightly plump build, but his facial features were resolute, still looking commanding and dignified. He was the deputy chief of staff of the Airborne Corps, named Li Hongwen.

The two men stopped in front of the podium. Li Hongwen leaned his hand on the lectern, smiled slightly, and said: “Professor Han, how about having lunch at our Number Six Mess Hall?”

He had known Li Hongwen for many years and was familiar with his temperament. He had originally planned to take Yu Hao to a special dining place as a reward for helping him with the PowerPoint presentations over the past few days. But with Li Hongwen’s invitation, there was no way to refuse. So Han Zhi’e turned to look at Yu Hao.

Li Hongwen and Lu Huaizheng also looked at her.

“You come too,” it was the social butterfly who spoke this time.

Yu Hao looked at his expression and inexplicably felt like she was stealing someone else’s rice.

The group headed toward the Number Six Mess Hall, with Professor Han and Li Hongwen walking side by side in front. Yu Hao, Lu Huaizheng, and a young squad leader followed behind them. The young squad leader wasn’t very old and had a very honest smile. Then Yu Hao noticed that both military men walked rather quickly. Lu Huaizheng kept pace with his leader, forcing her to take hurried small steps to keep up with Professor Han.

When they reached the entrance, Yu Hao finally understood that the so-called “Number Six Mess Hall” was just the air crew’s cafeteria. She had thought it was some special military dining place.

She couldn’t help asking the young squad leader standing at the edge: “Do you all call the cafeteria Number Six Mess Hall?”

The squad leader was about to answer when the captain next to him languidly intercepted: “What did you expect, a special dining place just for you?”

His tone was quite sharp.

The young squad leader looked a bit confused.

Yu Hao ignored him and again reached across the person in the middle to talk to the squad leader, determined to get to the bottom of it: “Why is it called Number Six Mess Hall?” She had this one flaw—when there was something she didn’t know, she had to clarify it, or else it would bother her.

The squad leader took a breath, and glanced at Lu Huaizheng, thinking, now it’s finally my turn to answer, but was again cut off by the person next to him, this time with an even sharper tone: “Why do you ask so many useless questions?”

Although the captain was normally stern and rigid during training, in private he was just a big boy, approachable, often playing around with them regardless of his image, taking good care of them, and very easy to get along with. It was rare to see him so snippy.

The squad leader timidly swallowed his answer, not daring to speak anymore.

Yu Hao also stopped talking, keeping her mouth tightly shut, unwilling to say another unnecessary word.

…

The cafeteria was very quiet. Because not everyone had arrived yet, nobody could start eating, and they had to remain standing, without chatting with each other.

Lu Huaizheng stood perfectly straight, his back like a tall pine tree, firmly planted beside her. Yu Hao could hear his even, steady breathing, not like the reckless, arrogant youth of years past, but now steady and restrained.

A few minutes later, the last soldier, having finished checking all the equipment, ran up the stairs breathlessly and gave a loud report at the door. Yu Hao was still calculating when they could start eating when she heard a loud command from beside her: “Fall in!”

He had grown taller. Before, Yu Hao’s height could reach past his shoulder, but now she found herself just reaching his shoulder level, or perhaps a bit below. With her ear so close, his voice seemed to emanate from his chest cavity, particularly solid and powerful.

The only time they had eaten together before was after he won the basketball game, at Class Eight’s gathering.

Unexpectedly, the second time was with the adult Lu Huaizheng in his military unit.

Yu Hao noticed that several people’s trays had extra items, different varieties—eggs, shrimp, bitter gourd, carrots, and the like. She glanced at Lu Huaizheng and saw that his plate was completely clean with nothing on it. No wonder his tone was so sharp; it turned out others had special treatment, but not him.

The other tables were quietly eating, but at their table, Li Hongwen and Han Zhi’e were chatting enthusiastically. Yu Hao was set somewhat to the side, quietly eating from her bowl. Li Hongwen suddenly turned to her: “Your student looks refined and sensible.”

Han Zhi’e looked at Yu Hao and smiled in response: “The little girl is shy around strangers.”

“She’s not that young anymore, still calling her a little girl?”

Han Zhi’e playfully asked: “Guess how old she looks?”

Li Hongwen tilted his head, carefully examined Yu Hao for a moment, and said, “She does look young, but someone who has stayed by your side for so many years must be at least twenty-eight, if not thirty, right?”

“Impressive!” Han Zhi’e gave a thumbs up.

Li Hongwen laughed, “Did I guess right?” Then he turned to ask Yu Hao: “So, thirty or twenty-eight?”

Yu Hao answered truthfully: “Twenty-eight.”

Li Hongwen smiled: “Not bad, already an assistant researcher at twenty-eight.”

Not particularly outstanding—the truly impressive ones would be researchers by thirty. By the time she climbed to that level, she would probably be over forty.

Han Zhi’e said: “The little girl is quite intelligent and a good person. How about it, can you introduce someone to her?” He then looked back. “Do you have any suitable young men in your unit to introduce to our Yu Hao?”

It was a joke.

But Li Hongwen suddenly became serious, his eyes shifting: “How about the one sitting across from you?”

The mentioned Lu Huaizheng seemed to have heard nothing, earnestly scooping large spoonfuls of rice, not even pausing his chopsticks as he picked up vegetables. Yu Hao thought he must be truly hungry.

Han Zhi’e’s gaze fell on Lu Huaizheng, examining him back and forth, nodding: “Not bad, but why does he look so familiar to me?”

Only then did Lu Huaizheng speak up to remind him, “Half a month ago, at Song Xiaotao’s wedding, I met you.”

Han Zhi’e remembered, having a vague impression, but his memory wasn’t as good as the young people’s, and his attention hadn’t been focused on that. He couldn’t match the specific details, only knowing that there had been such a person.

Li Hongwen looked at Lu Huaizheng: “Seems quite a coincidence. How about it, would you consider it? Professor Han has been my old friend for many years. I trust that any student he introduces must be a good girl.”

Han Zhi’e had only casually mentioned it as a joke, not expecting Li Hongwen to be genuinely anxious for Lu Huaizheng.

Just recently, Li Hongwen had said he wanted to introduce someone to him, but Lu Huaizheng had evasively dodged it.

Fearing that Yu Hao would be embarrassed, Han Zhi’e was about to say something on behalf of his student when he heard Lu Huaizheng put down his bowl and smile self-deprecatingly at the two older men:

“Sir, please stop teasing me. How could such a beautiful young woman marry someone like me who’s in the military? Don’t make it difficult for her. I’m full now, I’ll head back first. Please enjoy your meal with Professor Han.”

Seeing his resistance, Li Hongwen did not insist further, and afraid that Han Zhi’e might misunderstand, he turned to explain: “He wasn’t this resistant at the last matchmaking event. Despite being in the military for so many years and living roughly, he’s been raised by his aunt since childhood and has always had good manners. I don’t know what’s gotten into him today. Perhaps little Yu’s conditions are too good, and the boy is intimidated.”

That’s what Li Hongwen said on the surface, but inwardly he was puzzled—it didn’t make sense; he had introduced women to even better conditions before, and had never seen him make such a fuss.

Han Zhi’e smiled outwardly, but inside he was extremely protective: What use is good looks? What’s so impressive about flying a fighter jet? Not only are you looking down on us, but we might not even find your conditions acceptable!

Throughout all this, Yu Hao hadn’t said a word, being passed back and forth like a ball.

…