Just as Lu Shaoyu prepared to use the moment to keep flirting with his dream girl, another young soldier entered the hall.
Scanning the room, the newcomer spotted Lu Shaoyu and hurried over to whisper in his ear.
Lu Shaoyu waved him off with an irritated scowl. “Not going! Just tell him I’m not here!”
The soldier hesitated, casting a discreet glance at Zhao Nige before leaning in to whisper something else.
Lu Shaoyu stiffened, muttering a low curse under his breath. Turning back to Zhao Nige with an awkward smile, he said, “Jane Doe, my commanding officer needs me for something. I’ll be right back. Will you wait here for me?”
“Go ahead,” she replied, raising her glass with a polite smile. “John Doe.”
Hurry up and get lost, you idiot. You’re driving me crazy.
They were on a military base, after all. No matter how reluctant Lu Shaoyu was, orders were orders. He dragged his feet, looking back every few steps as he walked away.
Zhao Nige had intended to ask if he knew Lu Yanling, but since he was already gone, she let it go. She could easily find someone else to ask.
Lights flickered across the dance floor as an elegant melody drifted through the air. Glasses clinked while young women swayed to the rhythm, lending a touch of glamour that softened the rigid, austere atmosphere of the military camp.
Young officers did their best to impress the girls who caught their eye, while the young women ducked their heads and giggled, their cheeks blushing redder than the fruit punch in their glasses.
Just then, Zhao Nige noticed a middle-aged officer walk in.
He was none other than Lu Yanling’s chief of staff, Yang Huai.
Zhao Nige walked over and greeted him with easy confidence. “Hello, Sir.”
Taken aback, Staff Officer Yang looked at her. Struck by her beauty, his weathered face flushed instantly. “Uh, hello…”
He had only come to check on how the mixer was going. Seeing such a pretty girl approach him, he wondered if his older charms were still working and whether she was about to ask him for a dance.
Zhao Nige gave him a warm smile. “Excuse me, do you know Lu Yanling?”
The officer’s expression shifted to shock, staring at her as if he had seen a ghost. “Who—who did you say?”
“Lu Yanling, from the special forces,” Zhao Nige replied. “Do you know him, Sir?”
His eyes went wide, his voice turning strange. “Y-Yes, I know him…”
Zhao Nige smiled. If he knew him, things would be much simpler.
“Where is he?” she asked. “Why didn’t he come to the dance?”
“N-No idea!” Staff Officer Yang’s gaze grew increasingly bizarre as he spoke with newfound caution. “Are you… here… to see him?”
“Yes.” Zhao Nige pouted slightly. “I’ve been waiting here for ages, but he hasn’t shown up.”
She continued, “Sir, could you do me a favor and pass a message to Lu Yanling? Just tell him he still hasn’t returned my lipstick.”
“L-L-Lipstick…?”
Staff Officer Yang’s face drained of color, his sheer shock tinged with a distinct hint of gossipy curiosity. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking… what is your relationship with him?”
Zhao Nige smiled. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you.”
He stared at her in utter astonishment, as if his entire worldview had just shattered. The sheer volume of information was simply too much for him to process.
“Sir, could you fetch Lu Yanling for me?” Zhao Nige asked.
“I… I suppose so?”
She looked puzzled. “Do you have a stutter, sir?”
Staff Officer Yang snapped back to reality. “N-No, I don’t.”
He was merely too shaken to speak properly.
Zhao Nige beamed. “Then I’ll leave it to you.”
***
Staff Officer Yang’s mind was still reeling as he walked out of the General Affairs Department building.
It all made sense now. Whenever they invited Brigade Commander Lu to variety performances, he showed zero interest. During their downtime, when everyone else went out for drinks to unwind, he never joined in.
Approaching thirty, the man had never once mentioned a woman.
So that was why.
Yang chuckled to himself. Commander Lu had been hiding such a gorgeous girlfriend all along.
Finding the military affairs office empty, he headed over to the officers’ quarters, where he finally tracked Lu Yanling down.
Yang knocked on the door.
A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal Lu Yanling’s strikingly handsome face. He looked as if he had only just returned, his jacket still on. “Staff Officer Yang, what is it?”
Yang broke into a knowing grin. “Commander, your girlfriend is here. What are you still doing in your quarters?”
“What did you say?” Lu Yanling frowned.
Yang shot him a look that said, Come on, don’t play dumb with me. “Your girlfriend is waiting for you in the ballroom at the general building. She asked me to pass along a message—get over there right away, and… don’t forget to bring her lipstick.”
Lu Yanling’s eyes narrowed, fixing him with a dangerous glare. “She told you she’s my girlfriend?”
Yang cleared his throat defensively. “Hey, I’m just the messenger. I don’t know anything.”
Lu Yanling was rendered speechless.
***
By just past nine, the mixer was already half over.
Zhao Nige was still sitting alone at the corner bar, on her third glass of fruit wine.
Every officer who approached to ask her for a dance had been politely turned down. Before long, realizing she had no intention of dancing, they stopped setting themselves up for rejection and moved on to other girls.
Even Yu Qian, who had arrived with her, had danced with two or three different partners before ending up seated with the most bright and handsome officer of the bunch, chatting away.
Aside from Zhao Nige, the most popular girl tonight was Zhao Lanxin. Swarmed with invitations, Zhao Lanxin had barely left the floor since stepping onto it. Yet, having always seen Zhao Nige as her fiercest rival, she kept one eye on her even while dancing.
Seeing men flock to Zhao Nige earlier had bothered her, but now, watching her sit alone in a quiet, deserted corner, Zhao Lanxin could not help feeling a surge of triumph.
Taking a break between dances, Zhao Lanxin carried a drink over to Zhao Nige and asked with faux sweetness, “Sister, why aren’t you dancing?”
Zhao Nige looked up at her. “You think I’m like you, dancing with anyone who asks?”
She lazily looked away. “I’m not a social butterfly.”
“You!” Zhao Lanxin stiffened, her voice turning biting. “You’re just holding out for the highest bidder, hoping to land a big fish in one go. Ha, you really think you’re something, don’t you?”
“Is that so?” Zhao Nige asked, amused. “And who have you reeled in? Go on, enlighten me.”
Zhao Lanxin raised her chin proudly. “The Deputy Company Commander from 207.”
Zhao Nige clapped. “Wow, impressive. Congratulations, future Deputy Company Commander’s wife.”
Seeing Zhao Nige’s mocking smirk, Zhao Lanxin knew she was merely poking fun at her social climbing.
“Whether I become his wife is none of your business. Didn’t you say things were going great with the Lu family’s young master? How come he hasn’t come looking for you?”
Zhao Nige shot right back. “And whether I become Young Mistress Lu is none of yours, is it? But what about you—how much longer do you plan to shamelessly freeload off our family?”
Fuming and outmatched, Zhao Lanxin stormed off.
She had never once won a verbal spar against Zhao Nige.
Zhao Nige had a knack for striking right where it hurt, and she never pulled her punches.
***
When Lu Yanling arrived, Zhao Nige had just finished berating Zhao Lanxin. In a much better mood, she poured herself another glass of fruit wine.
Turning sideways toward the hall’s entrance with the slender glass in hand, she resumed cursing that petty miser Lu Yanling in her head. All she had done was use his friend’s name as an excuse to meet him, yet he had held a grudge for this long.
Petty and utterly detestable!
Lost in her silent tirade, Zhao Nige failed to notice that the very man she was disparaging stood frowning in the dim doorway, exuding a chilling presence as he watched her.
Zhao Lanxin, however, spotted him first.
Fuming from Zhao Nige’s verbal lashing, Zhao Lanxin had turned around with a dark expression, only to see Commander Lu standing at the ballroom entrance, his cold gaze sweeping across the crowd.
She was thrilled.
She had not known who he was at first. But when changing backstage after the performance, she had overheard the other girls gossiping. Coming out to see the man speaking on stage, she learned that Lu Shaoyu had a powerful, mysterious uncle named Lu Yanling.
Right then, a wild idea had taken root in Zhao Lanxin’s mind.
If she could bypass Lu Shaoyu and win the favor of Commander Lu, wouldn’t that take her even higher? Even if Zhao Nige ended up with Lu Shaoyu and married into the Lu family, she would still have to address her as Aunt.
The thought alone filled Zhao Lanxin with pure delight.
Now, the opportunity was right in front of her. If not now, when?
“Mr. Lu,” Zhao Lanxin puffed out her chest and stepped forward to block Lu Yanling’s path, speaking with coy bashfulness. “May I have this dance?”
“Not interested.”
Lu Yanling stepped around her without missing a beat.
Zhao Lanxin was left speechless.
Just then, Zhao Nige turned around with her fruit wine glass. Across the shifting lights and shadows of the dance floor, she caught sight of Lu Yanling approaching.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly set down her glass.
Lu Yanling strode directly up to her and looked down at her. Before he could speak, she slid off her high stool, grabbed his wrist, and pushed back his sleeve. Pointing at his watch, she struck first.
“Do you know I’ve been waiting for you here for an entire hour and twenty-one minutes?”
Lu Yanling narrowed his eyes. Before he could speak, she chimed in again. “Just to wait for you, in this hour and twenty-one minutes, I’ve turned down invitations to dance from eighteen handsome young officers. Don’t you feel even a little guilty?”
At last, Lu Yanling let out a cold snort. “One every four and a half minutes. Miss Zhao is quite popular, it seems.”
Zhao Nige glared at him, her voice lazy and teasing. “You’re only just realizing that?”
Frowning at her glare, Lu Yanling caught sight of several familiar officers watching them from across the ballroom. Somehow, her shameless pestering had completely derailed the serious matter he came to address.
With an impassive expression, he pulled his hand back and smoothed his cuff.
Lowering his gaze, he asked coldly, “Did you tell Staff Officer Yang that you’re my girlfriend?”
Zhao Nige rested one hand on the small table and offered a sly smile. “What? Are you here to interrogate me?”
At that, Lu Yanling shot her a look. Under the flashing lights overhead, his dark eyes appeared exceptionally cold and stern, standing in stark, jarring contrast to the lively revelry around them. That aloof, ascetic demeanor was fiercely captivating, yet bristled with an edge of aggression.
Zhao Nige stared at him for a few seconds before slowly blinking. “I was just telling him that you haven’t returned my lipstick yet…”
She smiled, leaning in closer. “Lu Yanling, did you find it?”
A faint, sweet scent of peach brushed past his nose as she drew near.
Lu Yanling took in her sly, mischievous smirk. Standing tall, he looked down at her dress, held up by nothing more than wafer-thin straps that left a wide expanse of pale skin exposed. When he stood at the doorway earlier, he had already noticed her sitting sideways at the small table, with only two flimsy strings barely securing her back and waist. It left almost nothing to the imagination.
Countless eyes in the hall lingered on her, yet she acted completely oblivious. To dress like this in a military camp full of men—was she truly that eager to draw attention?
Tightening his jaw, Lu Yanling said in a low voice, “Come outside with me.”