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Psst! We're moving!
Shen Yihuan’s eyes lit up, looking at him intently.
Lu Zhou had been good to her before, but he had never said such mushy words. It was new.
She clung to him: “Say it again.”
Lu Zhou’s expression faded: “What.”
“Just that last sentence, where you praised me.”
“In a better mood now?” he asked.
“Don’t change the subject!” Shen Yihuan grumbled, holding his finger, dissatisfied, “Say it again, quickly!”
“Stop messing around,” he pulled Shen Yihuan’s hand away and stepped back.
There was still a wire fence between them, and with him taking a step back, Shen Yihuan couldn’t reach him.
Shen Yihuan glared at him.
Lu Zhou’s expression was calm. He turned his head to glance at the running situation of his team, then turned back to Shen Yihuan and said, “Dinner will be ready soon. Don’t go yet; wait for me over there for a bit.”
“Why? I won’t,” Shen Yihuan flared up, “I’ll only wait for you if you praise me as beautiful again.”
Lu Zhou glanced at her, said nothing, and walked directly towards the center of the training ground, leaving Shen Yihuan alone, furious.
________________________________________
Fifteen laps ended.
Lu Zhou lined up the team and instructed the newcomers in the camp: “Get along well, don’t cause trouble.”
A loud “Yes!” boomed from below.
“Alright, we’ll have live combat training outside the camp this afternoon, gather at one o’clock, bring your equipment bags.” Lu Zhou stood at the front of the team, legs apart, hands clasped behind his back, around his wrists, “Dismissed, eat!”
Everyone cheered, and the formerly neat formation dispersed.
Lu Zhou went to the steps nearby, twisted open his water bottle, and tilted his head back, pouring half of it down. It streamed along the corner of his mouth, down his jawline, finally rolling into the damp hollow of his collarbone.
After drinking water, he scanned the crowd.
“Zhao He, put on your shirt!”
“I’m all sweaty, Captain Lu!” Zhao He shouted.
Lu Zhou: “There are female comrades from Beijing, put it on.”
He fell silent, and had no choice but to put it on. However, someone nearby, who was more talkative, laughed and teased: “Captain, are you afraid that little girl who was just talking to you will see it? You’re quite protective!”
Lu Zhou looked at him, not at all embarrassed at being exposed, and said directly: “Want to run laps again?”
He immediately shut up.
By the time he washed his face and went out, everyone had already left the training ground to eat. Lu Zhou walked out and saw Shen Yihuan dozing, chin in hand, under a nearby tree.
In her dream, Shen Yihuan vaguely noticed that the scorching sunlight in front of her suddenly diminished.
She didn’t wake up, only let out a sigh of satisfaction, buried her head deeper into her arm, and continued to sleep.
Her sleep schedule these past few days had been too erratic. Because of traveling, she slept intermittently during the day and only a few hours at night. Whenever she had free time, she would feel sleepy.
She didn’t know how long she had slept.
“Shen Yihuan,” a voice sounded above her head.
She vaguely opened her eyes, first seeing a pair of military boots in front of her, gleaming.
Squinting, she looked up and finally saw Lu Zhou, standing tall in front of her. The sunlight poured entirely onto his back, leaving only a shadow in front of him, enveloping her.
“The mess hall is closing soon, go eat.”
“Oh.”
She stood up. Having squatted for too long, she was unsteady on her feet for a moment. Lu Zhou swiftly pulled her, and she promptly fell into his arms, leaving a scent that burned her nostrils.
His firm chest instantly tightened with her breath, his muscle lines prominent.
He gripped Shen Yihuan’s wrist, steadied her, and took a step back.
“Let’s go.”
“Wait for me,” Shen Yihuan called out softly.
Her legs were numb, so she couldn’t walk fast, but the man in front of her didn’t wait at all.
The mess hall was already empty. They had combat training in the afternoon, and the TV crew also had filming tasks, so they had long finished eating and gone for their nap.
As soon as Lu Zhou entered, the uncles and aunts serving food in the mess hall greeted him warmly.
Shen Yihuan’s leg numbness hadn’t subsided, so she limped in, unconsciously sniffing.
He had quite good rapport.
He was a strange person; despite his cold face, few words, and stubborn temper, he had been liked by teachers and school leaders since he was a student. It was the same here.
Lu Zhou quickly served himself a plate of food. He turned back to Shen Yihuan: “What do you want to eat?”
“...”
She hesitated, finally pointing to the shredded potatoes in the corner, then added a bowl of egg drop soup and a small bowl of rice.
Lu Zhou: “Too little.”
Shen Yihuan looked at him: “You said, don’t waste.”
Lu Zhou told everyone in the mess hall: “You all clean up and go rest. I’ll wash these two plates.”
He found a seat.
Eating face-to-face like this hadn’t happened in a long time.
Shen Yihuan nibbled her rice in small bites. Lu Zhou ate quickly. His daily energy consumption was high, requiring more replenishment. In no time, he finished his meal like a whirlwind.
Shen Yihuan looked down at her plate, which was almost untouched, and let out a soft “wow.”
“Don’t like it?”
She spoke honestly: “The food doesn’t have much flavor.”
Lu Zhou: “How long are you staying here?”
Shen Yihuan looked up, frowning: “Why?”
She thought he was trying to send her away.
Lu Zhou pulled out a cigarette pack, took one out, put it in his mouth, but didn’t light it: “You’ll get thin if you stay too long.”
“Then it’ll be like losing weight.”
“You’ll have no meat left.”
Shen Yihuan’s eyes curved in a smile, and she said mischievously, “You know that now? What were you doing while I was sleeping?”
Lu Zhou glanced at her, a warning in his eyes.
After eating, Lu Zhou carried both plates to the sink outside, squeezed some dish soap, and washed them clean.
Water flowed over his hands, creating white foam. Shen Yihuan watched his movements, the man’s back, now, looking at it, was incredibly gentle.
________________________________________
After a nap, filming continued.
Shen Yihuan was still with Qin Zheng. The scope of the TV station’s work was broader than her studio’s, covering not only Xinjiang cuisine but also Xinjiang culture, Xinjiang soldiers, and the Xinjiang spirit, while she primarily needed food material.
So she had a very free afternoon, only lending a hand when they were filming.
They went to film their training ground, but it was empty.
All afternoon, Shen Yihuan didn’t see Lu Zhou, and her messages to him went unanswered.
At 7 PM, a notice came down, saying they would have a welcome party that night, not a large one, but just everyone gathering to drink and eat, to get to know each other better and get along more harmoniously.
When Qin Zheng told her the news, Lu Zhou had just replied to her daytime message.
Lu Zhou: Coming back soon.
Cherry: It seems like there’s a welcome party tonight, will you be there?
Lu Zhou: Yes.
At 8 PM, everyone entered the room. A large round table was already filled with dishes, more elaborate than the mess hall food at noon, with many big dishes, beef and mutton, clearly an effort made to entertain them.
They took their seats.
It was very crowded, with 7 or 8 empty seats remaining.
Presumably, only a few officers with some rank from the military camp would come, Shen Yihuan thought, as the many people she saw at the training ground during the day certainly wouldn’t fit.
The first to arrive was He Min.
He was the deputy team leader, older than Lu Zhou. In fact, many soldiers trained by Lu Zhou were already older than him, some significantly so.
Lu Zhou had achieved a major merit a few years ago, almost losing his life, and being a graduate of a prestigious university, his military rank rose quickly.
Here, seniority was not based on age, but only on merits.
He Min was enthusiastic. As soon as he entered the room, he cheerfully greeted everyone and introduced himself: “Everyone’s from Beijing, I wonder if you’re used to our Xinjiang liquor.”
The cameraman, originally from Northeast China, immediately said heartily: “What’s there not to get used to? I’ve wanted to try it for a long time!”
He Min smiled and asked: “Didn’t Captain Lu invite you to drink yesterday?”
Qin Zheng: “Everyone had to travel early the next morning, so we drank Xinjiang yogurt, which was especially delicious.”
“This liquor tastes even better, it’s pure and strong.” He Min picked up three bottles, tapping their necks on the table edge, bong, bong, bong three times, opening them all effortlessly and skillfully. He poured a drink for everyone.
Finally, he got to Shen Yihuan. He glanced at her, recognizing her as the girl he saw by the training ground that morning.
She was far away then, not clearly visible, but he knew her figure must be beautiful. Now, closer up, he realized she could be this good-looking.
“Drink?” he asked.
Shen Yihuan was puzzled. He hadn’t asked anyone else while pouring drinks; why her?
“Yes.”
The young girl was quite straightforward. He Min chuckled, poured her a glass, and pulled out the chair next to her to sit down.
With drinks flowing, a few other soldiers also arrived. With many men present, the atmosphere quickly became lively.
Shen Yihuan waited a while, but Lu Zhou still hadn’t arrived, so she lowered her voice and asked He Min, “When is your Captain Lu coming?”
He Min raised an eyebrow: “He’ll be here after his shower, soon. Are you old acquaintances?”
Shen Yihuan didn’t catch the implication in his words, nodding and saying “Mm.”
“What’s your last name?”
“Shen.”
“Shen Yingtao?”
“...” Shen Yihuan turned to look at him, “Shen Yihuan.”
“...Last time, I saw you texting Captain Lu on his phone, and you were saved as ‘Cherry.’ I thought that was your name.”
“That’s my WeChat name,” Shen Yihuan said.
She thought for a moment and then realized something was off, “How did you know that person was me?”
It’s not that simple.
The only woman who could be treated specially by someone like Lu Zhou was this mysterious “Cherry.”
The tattoo on his back was concrete evidence.
Just as he was about to speak, Lu Zhou entered.
He was wearing a simple camouflage short-sleeved shirt, and his hair must have just been washed, as it was damp, with a wet patch on the back of his neck.
He scanned the crowd, then clapped He Min on the shoulder: “Move one seat over.”
He Min: “...”
Shen Yihuan, on the other hand, showed little reaction, as if it were a matter of course. She looked up at him and continued eating her meat; she was starving.
Lu Zhou sat down next to Shen Yihuan.
Someone stood up, raising a glass to toast the guests from afar, so Lu Zhou poured himself a glass, stood up to clink glasses with him, and tilted his head back, drinking it all.
Several more people offered toasts. Before they even ate their meal, Lu Zhou had already had three or four glasses of wine.
Shen Yihuan watched him from the side, seeing that he showed no signs of being drunk and his face hadn’t changed, realizing that his alcohol tolerance was quite good.
She had never seen him drink before, only that he always bothered her about drinking.
She propped her chin on her hand, tilting her head to the side: “Captain Lu, may I offer you a toast too?”
Lu Zhou looked at her, then glanced at her cup, which was full of wine, and frowned.
He Min, on the side, couldn’t help but shiver.
“No need.”
“Why can’t I?”
“You’ll get drunk.”
“What’s one glass going to do?”
Although she often drank in the past and had tasted all sorts of alcohol, her alcohol tolerance wasn’t particularly good, and several times Lu Zhou had to carry her back.
Lu Zhou picked up a piece of lamb with his chopsticks and put it in her bowl.
Shen Yihuan got stubborn, holding her wine glass, determined to toast him.
He Min couldn’t have imagined that Lu Zhou would control this girl to such an extent, knowing that he initially didn’t even dare to pour her a drink.
Lu Zhou was determined not to let her drink. He stood up, took a can of cola from a nearby cabinet, pulled the tab open, tapped it in front of her, then picked up her wine glass and poured all the wine from it into his own empty glass.
“...” @Jingjiang Literature City
Shen Yihuan glared at him, silently mouthing words to curse him.
He Min saw it all. In the team, sometimes the men would use foul language among themselves, but no one dared to speak to Lu Zhou like that.
Shen Yihuan was the first.
And cursing him with such audacious arrogance.
He waited for Lu Zhou to get angry.
However, he didn’t.
Their unsmiling Captain Lu curved his lips, picked up his own wine glass, and clinked it against the cola can.
“Drink.”
“Bastard,” Shen Yihuan cursed directly out loud.
Her voice was quite loud, and it happened to be a quiet moment after someone at the table had just finished speaking. Others heard it too, and seeing the expressions on both their faces, they knew she was cursing Lu Zhou.
The other soldiers were also surprised, exchanging glances.
They watched their captain lean back in his chair, with a subtle smile, taking a leisurely sip of his wine, as if he hadn’t heard anything at all.
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