Wu Heping was so embarrassed that for the next month, he would take a detour whenever he saw Yu Hao.

That said, Yu Hao’s method seemed to have some effect. Wu Heping wasn’t as afraid when he saw Lu Huaizheng anymore. Once during a break from training, he even couldn’t resist applying to play a game with Lu Huaizheng, who responded by grabbing his head and giving his hair a thorough ruffle.

Yu Hao was on duty on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, returning to the institute for the remaining time. Every Saturday, there was a seminar. When she had nothing to do, she would sit in her office reading literature or lean on the windowsill watching them train.

Yu Hao never expected that Lu Huaizheng on the training field was a completely different side of him she had never seen before. The relaxed, joking man she knew from before seemed like an illusion. His stern face appeared as if it had been tightened with tape, barely able to muster a smile, his gaze profound, sharp as a knife when looking at people.

Behind her office was a shooting range. A row of elite soldiers, newly selected this year, lay prone on the ground in unison, with their Type 95 rifles positioned in front of them.

Lu Huaizheng stood behind this row of people. He lowered his head and kicked Wu Heping with his foot, “Load the magazine. What are you spacing out for?”

Wu Heping complied.

He kicked again, “Pull the bolt, come on.”

Wu Heping’s marksmanship was quite accurate, but he was slow. Even aiming at a target took him longer than the average soldier. Previously, he must have had an instructor who placed great emphasis on standard form.

Lu Huaizheng couldn’t stand it and raised his foot for another kick, “Are you putting on a show or what!”

Yu Hao leaned on the windowsill, sighing. Does liking someone make you particularly cowardly? Oh, Wu Heping, Wu Heping.

At the end of March, the entire Airborne Brigade underwent psychological evaluations. All three assault teams in the brigade, including the one led by Lu Huaizheng, were required to take the assessment.

Lu Huaizheng was the last one. He had just returned from an outside mission and hadn’t changed out of his regular uniform. As soon as he entered, he tossed his hat onto the table, pulled up a chair, and sat down in front of her, raising his eyebrows, “Let’s begin.”

Yu Hao acted as if she hadn’t seen him, keeping her head down and routinely marking the evaluation paper.

“Name.”

“Lu Huaizheng.”

“Position.”

“Captain of the First Assault Team, XX Airborne Brigade.”

“Have you been sleeping well recently?”

Lu Huaizheng leaned back in his chair and smiled, “Is that your way of showing concern for me?”

Yu Hao looked up, giving him a cold glance, “This is part of the test questions.”

Lu Huaizheng was at a loss, licking the corner of his lips.

His smile gradually faded, his gaze shifting to the side, “Not very well.”

“Have you had any sexual activity recently?”

Lu Huaizheng suddenly turned his head back: “Is this also part of the test questions?”

Yu Hao nodded, “Yes, poor sleep is also related to hormonal imbalance, for example, being single for too long. Without sexual release, one can become irritable, leading to poor sleep.”

“…No.” After saying this, he awkwardly turned his head away again.

“Have you lied to anyone recently?”

Lu Huaizheng looked back at her.

This time, Yu Hao explained in advance, “After lying, one feels uneasy, which is also one of the reasons for poor sleep. You’re young and vigorous, with unresolved desires, and you like to deceive people with nonsense. Normally, you can’t sleep well.”

Lu Huaizheng stared at her for a long time, then lowered his head, his tone somewhat helpless, “Yu Hao, that day I was just… teasing you.”

Yu Hao lowered her eyes, marking a big X on the paper, “Call me Dr. Yu. We’re not familiar.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

Yu Hao ignored him and directly asked the next question.

“Have you experienced indecision when making decisions recently?”

“Yes.”

“Related to work?”

“No.” Lu Huaizheng leaned back in his chair, hands folded in front of him, looking at her steadily for a moment, then turning away to look at the large tree outside the window. His gaze fell on the sparse golden spots of light filtering through the tree gaps, “I’m hesitating about whether I should win you back.”

Yu Hao lowered her head and made another big X, continuing to the next question.

“Has your memory declined?”

“No, I remember past events very clearly.”

“How about physiological functions?”

“…”

“Insomnia can lead to memory decline. Over time, physiological functions will gradually deteriorate. You’re not married yet, so be careful not to stay up late at night.”

“Have you experienced anything you regret?”

“Yes, I regret it very much. It’s related to you. Would you like me to recount it?”

Yu Hao raised her hand to stop him.

“I don’t want to hear it.”

He lowered his head and smiled, “You know what I’m going to say.”

It was that time when the two of them were hiding on the rooftop playing games. Yu Hao had helped him beat a level and broke all his game records. Lu Huaizheng leaned against the wall smoking, quite puzzled that the game records he had spent so long establishing were so easily broken by a little girl. The key was that she remembered every map she had cleared perfectly.

Yu Hao threw the game console back to him, her tone genuinely mocking: “You’re too weak.”

Boys at that age had their pride and a strong competitive spirit. Being teased like this by the girl he liked made him even more unwilling to accept it, so he thought about finding a way to regain some face and take her down a peg.

Lu Huaizheng casually put out his cigarette, grabbed Yu Hao’s wrist, and pinned her against the wall, threatening in a low voice: “Who are you calling weak?”

At first, he purely wanted to teach her a lesson, but somehow the atmosphere changed.

That corner was rarely visited. The sun was warmly shining. It was evening, with a crimson sky and the afterglow scattered like brocade, gently wrapping around the entangled youths in the corner.

Yu Hao’s back was against the wall, her head near his neck. When he pressed over, her nose tip touched his neck, sending an electric sensation. His breath was at her ear, rising and falling.

His voice lowered even more as he bent down to find her eyes, “Getting carried away, aren’t you? Hmm?”

Yu Hao’s heart pounded like a drum. The atmosphere changed in an instant, with undercurrents flowing, extremely ambiguous. The sunset glow tinged his eyes with a faint red color.

Lu Huaizheng looked at her water-red ears, his lips by her ear, exhaling hot breath. On impulse, he tried to brush his lips against her soft, delicate ear.

Yu Hao instinctively shrank away, her hands pushing against his chest.

Lu Huaizheng grabbed her hands and pinned them against the wall, looking down at her intriguingly. After a while, the light from behind made her feel weak. Yu Hao felt like she couldn’t stand steady anymore.

The atmosphere was warm, more so than his breath. When Lu Huaizheng lowered his head again, he found that she had closed her eyes. But at that moment, a mischievous thought surged within him. He turned his head and laughed softly in her ear: “Didn’t you say you didn’t like me? Yet you close your eyes when I take advantage of you? Who are you cooperating with?”

Yu Hao woke up as if from a dream, opened her eyes, and kicked him hard. In the sunset, the young man leaned against the wall, laughing so hard that his body trembled.

…

Lu Huaizheng left Yu Hao’s office and washed his face at the door, scooping up water and rubbing his face vigorously. Then, with his head down, he supported himself on the sink, letting the water drip from his hair.

After the college entrance exam, he was admitted to a second-tier university in the suburbs. He traveled a long way to Tsinghua University to share an apartment with Zhou Siyue, thinking she would be either at Tsinghua or Peking University.

When he had no classes, he would squat at Wudaokou with a cigarette between his lips, sometimes staying there for an entire day.

He felt like an idiot, but he didn’t dare ask Zhou Siyue about her. He was afraid to find out she wasn’t there. But he thought it was her dream, and when he looked at the magnificent university gate, he felt a sense of closeness.

In his sophomore year, during the military recruitment, he impulsively enlisted. Time in the military passed quickly, and he had no time to think about women. He thought he should have forgotten her.

But when he saw her again, he understood—he hadn’t forgotten. The feelings were buried deep, not easily dug out all at once. It would take some time.

He was quite lazy. If he couldn’t figure something out, he wouldn’t bother thinking about it.

Lu Huaizheng scooped another handful of water onto his face. Someone came up behind him and hooked an arm around his shoulder. With his head still dripping wet, he turned to look and saw it was Sun Kai, the captain of the second team.

He was a bit shorter than Lu Huaizheng, his skin two shades darker, but his features were regular, and his smile was sunny. He grinned at him, “Old Lu, I’m getting married.”

Lu Huaizheng was stunned for a moment, then wiped his face with his hand, “That’s great news.”

Sun Kai said, “I’m telling you early so you can prepare the red envelope.”

Lu Huaizheng smiled, turning to lean against the edge of the sink, making a sound of acknowledgment, “Did you meet through a matchmaker?”

“The political commissar introduced us. It’s that female doctor from our Air Force Hospital.”

“Nice.”

Sun Kai hooked his arm around Lu’s neck: “Now it’s just you left.”

He propped his hands back on the edge of the sink, his expression relaxed, “I’m not in a hurry. Let’s talk about it when I’m thirty.”

Just as he finished speaking, a sudden urgent bugle call sounded. Both men’s expressions tensed slightly. They exchanged glances, quickly put on their caps, and rushed like arrows toward the assembly point indicated by the bugle.

Sun Kai cursed, “Do we have a drill today?”

Lu Huaizheng shook his head, “Probably a mission.”

When Yu Hao was going downstairs, she saw the two men racing past her like the wind. Lu Huaizheng only gave her a single glance, his steps generating a breeze as he moved, his slim figure quickly disappearing around the corner.

When they returned, it was already a week later.

Yu Hao thought they hadn’t come back yet. While wandering around the training field, she was caught red-handed by Lu Huaizheng. At that time, she was imitating Lu Huaizheng’s usual manner of instructing his team members, walking back and forth with her hands behind her back, occasionally stopping to kick one person or shove another—

“Chin tucked so tight, aren’t you afraid it’ll shatter?”

“Feet, why so wide apart? Are you rowing a boat?!”

“Whose target are you aiming at?!”

“Forget about making your posture look pretty, just aim at the target first! Why don’t you join a performance team instead!”

Her tone was extremely similar to his.

Then she caught sight of a figure from the corner of her eye. She looked over suspiciously and discovered Lu Huaizheng leaning against a tree with his hands in his pockets, watching her with a serious yet amused expression.

Yu Hao’s face changed color, and she immediately turned to leave.

He straightened up and followed, “Do you know that unauthorized entry to the training field is prohibited?”

“I know now.” She replied neither coldly nor warmly, continuing to walk without stopping.

“Stop.”

Yu Hao didn’t stop.

“Stop or I’ll shoot.”

This was the first time Yu Hao had heard such a blatant and forceful threat, “You’d better blow my head off in one shot, or I’ll haunt you even as a ghost.”

Stubborn as a bull.

Later that day, Li Hongwen called Lu Huaizheng to his office. On the table, a pot of Da Hong Pao tea was brewing, wisps of steam rising. He poured a cup for Lu Huaizheng and pushed it toward him, “Try it. Professor Han brought it, especially for me.”

Lu Huaizheng took a sip, leaned back in his chair, and nodded, “Good tea.”

“Of course, everything from Professor Han is good.” Li Hongwen said meaningfully, “So, any progress?”

Lu Huaizheng: “What progress?”

Li Hongwen clicked his tongue, “With Yu Hao! Don’t tell me you haven’t even added her on WeChat after all this time.”

Lu Huaizheng smiled without saying a word.

Seeing this reaction, Li Hongwen realized something was off, “No way, kid. I only took two days to win over your sister-in-law. It’s been almost a month, what have you been doing?!”

“She just doesn’t like me.”

“It can’t be that bad. Put in some effort, and she’ll come around. There’s an exercise between your team and the second team tomorrow on the training field. Let Yu Hao participate as a hostage for Sun Kai’s side. You guys need a hostage, right?”

“We can use a dummy.”

“A dummy isn’t realistic enough. Let Comrade Yu Hao make a small sacrifice. It’ll also boost morale for the team.”

The next day, Yu Hao received notification from the leadership to participate in this exercise as a hostage for the second team, waiting to be rescued by the first team.

Sun Kai locked Yu Hao in the hostage camp, assigned two guards, and instructed, “Captain Lu’s team has a long-range sniper. You must not let your guard down. Lu is fond of clever tricks. Even if he tries to break in by force, we can’t back down! Take him down! Understood? Also, protect Dr. Yu well. If the hostage gets shot in the head, no one wins.”

Yu Hao wore a protective helmet on her head and was tied to a chair with rope. Before Sun Kai left, he patted her shoulder as if to comfort her, “Thank you for your trouble.”

The hostage camp was a small room built with layers of car tires stacked on top of each other. It was open on all sides so she could see outside, which meant she was completely exposed to the view of both teams. If anyone didn’t like her, one headshot would solve the problem.

Yu Hao had a walkie-talkie beside her that allowed her to hear information from Lu Huaizheng’s team.

After a series of crackling static sounds, Chen Rui’s voice came through, “Captain, can you see the hostage camp position?”

After a moment, Lu Huaizheng’s voice came through, “I see it.”

Then the squad leader: “Captain Sun has gone all out this time. I can see they’ve just planted mines in the area. If we charge in, we not only risk getting shot in the head but might also get blown up. Why don’t we just put a bullet through Dr. Yu’s head and save ourselves the trouble?”

This was followed by a group of snickering laughs.

Yu Hao’s face darkened. She hadn’t expected this from the squad leader.

Then she heard Lu Huaizheng’s voice, suppressing laughter, “Good idea.”

There was a moment of silence.

Three, two, one.

“BOOM—” Yu Hao saw a mine explode on the ground in front, soil flying, dust billowing. Only then did she realize—these were all real weapons.

Lu Huaizheng’s voice came through the walkie-talkie, “Alright, enough chatting. Chen Rui, cover me. Find high ground, don’t let them discover your position.”

Thunder kept exploding around her, along with the bang of gunfire. Yu Hao’s ears were ringing. In the grass ahead, someone seemed to be moving; the small grass stood up in the wind amid the explosive thunder.

That shadow suddenly burst out of the rising black smoke. Yu Hao watched him rush toward the hostage camp. When he was halfway there, another mine exploded nearby. He reacted extremely quickly, shielding his face with his elbow, and dropping flat to the ground. When he raised his head again, his handsome face was revealed, and he made a “shh” gesture to Yu Hao.

Using the mines as a smoke screen, along with Chen Rui’s sniper cover, Lu Huaizheng quickly reached the hostage camp. This was the most risky and direct approach, one they wouldn’t dare use in real combat because it would easily expose their position. But in a drill, this method was the fastest.

However, Yu Hao deliberately shouted: “You’re here!”

The two guards who had been patrolling on the other side rushed over immediately, completely exposing Lu Huaizheng. He reacted quickly, supporting himself on the window of the hostage camp to flip inside, grabbing one person’s arm and folding it down to the ground, then turning to catch the other’s shoulder, pinning him against the wall. The first guard lunged at his back, but Lu seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, grabbing the attacker and throwing him. Both guards fell to the ground together, the buttons on their shoulders were triggered, smoke rose from their helmets, and they were out of the game.

The entire process was extremely swift, smooth, and elegant.

Yu Hao was dumbfounded.

Lu Huaizheng walked over, lifted his pant leg as he crouched in front of her, one hand resting on his thigh, smiling as he met her eyes: “Did you do that on purpose? To cause me trouble? Hey, what did I do to offend you?”

“No, just untie me.”

“Beg me, and I’ll consider it,” Lu Huaizheng said.

“Or are you planning to carry me out with the chair?”

These words, especially combined with Yu Hao’s serious expression, made Lu Huaizheng unable to hold back. He burst into laughter and untied her.

The two pressed against the wall, preparing to leave. He kept her protected behind his hand, “Don’t run off. Follow me closely, understand?”

The two left the camp one after another.

Yu Hao followed behind Lu Huaizheng, maintaining a distance of one meter. Lu Huaizheng, sticking close to the tire wall, asked her, “Why are you so far away? How can I protect you?”

Yu Hao: “I don’t need your protection.”

He snorted, “Then keep up on your own.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he moved extremely quickly, reaching the tree in two or three steps. Yu Hao was still standing by the hostage camp.

Sun Kai discovered the hostage was missing and began detonating mines across a wide area.

Within a few minutes, several explosions thundered in front of Yu Hao. Lu Huaizheng immediately dove toward her, shielding her under his body. The man’s firm, solid frame pressed against her, his rapid breathing falling on top of her head.

As the dust cleared, the faces of the two gradually became clear.

Yu Hao felt the man’s chest vibrate slightly, his voice angry: “I told you to follow me and you didn’t! You’d deserve it if you got blown up!”

“Can you put away your princess attitude for once?!”

“I spoiled you in the past!!”

After this scolding, she obediently followed behind him without saying a word.

During lunch, both had dark faces, as if facing a great enemy.

Then, on Friday, Lu Huaizheng was on leave. He went to Li Hongwen to get his phone back. As soon as he turned it on, countless WeChat messages popped up. He discovered a strange conversation in Li Yaoxin’s Moments.

Li Yaoxin had replied to someone: “Miss Yu Hao, you do like to give thumbs up to my Moments.”