The so-called black, strangely-shaped object was a USB drive that Yu Hao had tucked into the seam of her bag, which Professor Han had used during his morning lecture. Before Lu Huaizheng pulled her away, Yu Hao suddenly remembered. She took the bag from Lu Huaizheng's hand, found the USB drive, and held it between two fingers, looking at the sentry. "Is this it?"

The sentry first glanced at Lu Huaizheng.

Lu Huaizheng looked down at Yu Hao, then averted his gaze and gave a slight nod. Only then did the sentry dare to take it. After confirming there was no issue, Lu Huaizheng pulled Yu Hao away.

The sun was setting in the west, and the evening glow painted a few brilliant clouds across the edge of the sky. In this season of growing grass and flying warblers, the rosy light was gentle and vast, but the trees seemed oblivious to its charm.

A shiny black Mitsubishi was parked at the Military Region Gate. The driver's side window was open, and the driver, wearing black sunglasses, was leaning against his seat, casually tapping a beat with his fingers. Seeing someone striding over from a distance, the driver hooked his sunglasses down his nose with his index finger to get a better look. Recognizing the person, he immediately straightened up, his back now ramrod straight against the seat. As the person approached, he put on a fawning smile. "Captain Lu."

Lu Huaizheng grunted in acknowledgment, walked straight around the front of the car, and stuffed the person behind him into the passenger seat. He really stuffed her in, without asking for Yu Hao's opinion at all, pushing her inside with considerable force.

Then, with a thud, he slammed the door shut. He strode back to the driver's side, tapped on the door, and said with a voice devoid of emotion, "Get out."

The driver obediently got out of the car and closed the door.

Lu Huaizheng took off his cap, then shed his military jacket and tossed it into the back seat. After opening the driver's door, he seemed to remember something and turned back to the driver, saying, "The leaders will be seeing Professor Han off later. You drive them."

The driver nodded.

"Leaving."

After saying that, Lu Huaizheng turned and jumped into the car. While pulling his seatbelt across, he glanced at Yu Hao in the passenger seat. Seeing that she had already obediently fastened her seatbelt, the corner of his mouth twitched. He looked away, turned the steering wheel, and stomped on the gas, roaring off. In the rearview mirror, the driver stood ramrod straight, saluting him and watching him drive away.

The black SUV drove out of the military region, speeding smoothly along the asphalt road. Rows of tall, graceful poplar trees stood proudly on both sides, with tender buds sprouting from their bare branches. They were like sentinels who had stood guard for many years, loyally and selflessly dedicating themselves to the city.

Yu Hao thought they were a lot like him—tall, yet giving a strong sense of security.

After shedding the immaturity of his youth, the man appeared exceptionally profound.

Lu Huaizheng wore only a standard-issue shirt with a navy blue tie knotted neatly at his neck. He probably felt a bit stuffy, as he subconsciously loosened his collar. Catching his reflection in the rearview mirror, he seemed to think it looked improper, so he frowned and tightened it again, his expression slightly impatient.

Lu Huaizheng drove quite fast, but steadily. After leaving the military region, the car merged onto the city's main road, moving forward as slowly as a snail in the endless stream of traffic.

Yu Hao's gaze remained fixed outside the car. In recent years, she had grown to enjoy observing these strangers she met by chance.

For example, the young woman in the passenger seat of a Porsche Cayenne was acting coy and throwing a tantrum at the man driving; the couple in the BMW were arguing endlessly about gas money; the woman in the Toyota had road rage, frantically honking her horn at the traffic...

In a daze, she witnessed all facets of life, the turmoil of a floating world where humans and ghosts walked side by side.

And the man beside her was calmly navigating her through it all.

Lu Huaizheng was a quiet driver. He didn't say much, just followed the traffic at an unhurried pace. At red lights, he would rest his hand on the window frame and prop up his chin while waiting. He drove quite carefully, usually yielding and never cutting others off.

Yu Hao had rarely seen someone drive with such a zen-like attitude. She had once ridden in a colleague's car. Normally, the colleague was a very gentle person, but the moment she touched the steering wheel, she turned into a firecracker, exploding at the slightest provocation, cursing all the way. If someone accidentally cut her off, she'd get so furious she looked like she could eat the steering wheel.

After entering the city, the crowds grew. Some people noticed the military license plate and couldn't help but stare. Lu Huaizheng simply rolled up the window. The whistling wind and the noisy clamor of people were instantly shut out, and the car's interior became exceptionally quiet and narrow.

In the quiet space, Yu Hao felt that his every breath became remarkably clear. Her own heartbeat began to pound, thumping away, and her temples throbbed slightly. She recalled the image of Lu Huaizheng snatching the sanitary pad from her earlier.

The man's hands were long and powerful. He had seemed a bit awkward holding that thing. Usually, he was drawing guns, shooting, and flying in combat, yet he appeared helpless when faced with a woman's item.

It was a little cute.

During the lunch break, with nothing to do, she had casually asked the Little Squad Leader some things about Lu Huaizheng. The Little Squad Leader got quite excited, his eyes shining as he spoke:

"I got here pretty late, so I haven't seen a lot of things myself, just heard about them. But I did see him at the martial arts competition last year. The captain can draw and shoot in less than a second, 0.7 or 0.8 seconds, I can't remember. Anyway, it's crazy fast. While others are still loading their guns, his has already fired. Another time, a fighter jet of unknown nationality appeared in our airspace. That's basically a level-one alert. You never know what they might drop from up there. If it was a bomb, the civilians below would suffer...That day, the captain was on patrol with a rookie. The captain hailed them in over a dozen languages, telling them to leave immediately, but the plane just circled at an altitude of ten thousand meters. After a two-hour standoff, the captain radioed the leaders to report the situation. He said they had prepared for the worst and would do their best to minimize the losses. You have no idea how much energy, resources, and money it takes to train an airman, especially one like the captain. If something really happened, some would rejoice and some would grieve. But he still had the mind to joke over the radio, saying, 'Which country is this guy from? He's forcing me to speak every damn foreign gibberish I know.' The leaders' faces were grim at the time, but there was nothing they could do. To protect our airspace, sacrifices are inevitable. They grit their teeth and gave the order. One of the leaders' eyes even turned red, and he secretly turned away to wipe his tears. In the end, after the captain issued a final warning in English, the plane left. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. When the rookie got down, he was following behind the captain and had pissed his pants...But no one laughed at him then, because everyone has the right to be afraid in the face of death."

...

Yu Hao thought they would drive to their destination in silence.

But then the man beside her, while looking in the rearview mirror and turning the steering wheel, casually tossed out a question:

"How have you been these past few years?"

It was as if he were an old friend she hadn't seen in years. The sentiment behind it stirred up a mix of emotions.

"Pretty good." Yu Hao's gaze fell on the scenery flashing by outside the window. "What about you?"

Lu Huaizheng didn't say anything for a long time. While passing through an intersection, he rested his hand on the car window and waited for the red light, his gaze fixed outside. The moment the car started moving, he spoke in a nonchalant tone, "In this line of work, not being dead or injured is already pretty good."

"What made you decide to join the army?" Yu Hao was quite curious.

"To get by." He looked straight ahead as the car drove on steadily, his answer surprisingly honest.

He really hadn't thought much about it at first. He just went for it on a whim. Not long after enlisting, he met Li Hongwen, who took a special liking to him and mentored him all the way to the present.

Protecting the country, shedding blood for the sky—say it too much and it becomes empty talk. He had always felt it was no different from a normal job. You still got a salary and bonuses, and if you made a mistake, your pay was docked and you were disciplined. The only difference was paying more attention to your image when you were out.

When on missions around the world, other people's last wills were long, tear-jerking essays. His only had two sentences.

Alive, be a hero among men; dead, be a hero among spirits.

No regrets.

His mother passed away when he was very young, and his father died in the line of duty a few years later. He grew up with his aunt, and to this day, his maternal grandfather still doesn't like him. The only person he ever worried about late at night...was the last person he wanted that thing delivered to.

Later, he couldn't even be bothered to write those two sentences.

"Thank you for driving me back," Yu Hao said, breaking the silence.

"No need."

He snorted. "It's the last time, anyway."

Just as he finished speaking, the car came to a stop at the entrance of the Research Institute. Lu Huaizheng turned off the engine, his expression indifferent. Without looking at her, he said, "We're here."

Just like a competent chauffeur.

Yu Hao's hand touched the door handle as she whispered another thank you.

"Wait."

She froze and turned her head back.

Lu Huaizheng wasn't looking at her. He was leaning back in his seat, his gaze fixed outside. He slowly lowered the window, and the blurry scenery of trees gradually came into focus. As the glass descended past his chin, he asked nonchalantly:

"Are you free on Saturday night?"

Yu Hao seriously considered her Saturday schedule.

She did have plans, but they could be adjusted. She would have to check her schedule when she got back to be sure.

Lu Huaizheng rested one hand on the steering wheel, tapping it idly with his index finger. He looked perfectly patient.

"I need to go back and confirm with Professor Han," she said honestly.

The corner of his mouth hooked up. He pulled his hand back from the window frame, sat up straight, and started fiddling with the radio. "Forget it," he said casually. "Pretend I never asked."

A moment of silence.

"What a coincidence?!"

A face suddenly appeared outside the car window—or rather, two faces. It was the newlywed Song Xiaotao and her fellow graduate student, Yuan Jing. In the entire institute, these two were the closest. Ever since Song Xiaotao got married, she had been trying every which way to introduce Yuan Jing to her husband's childhood friends, especially Lu Huaizheng.

But upon seeing Yu Hao's face in the passenger seat, they were both stunned. Song Xiaotao's smile froze.

Lu Huaizheng leaned back in his seat and glanced leisurely at the two of them. In a light, polite tone, he said, "It is quite a coincidence."

Song Xiaotao looked at Yu Hao warily, asking suspiciously, "What are you doing here?"

Lu Huaizheng smiled, tugged at his collar, and with a completely unabashed expression, spun a wild tale—

"Picking up a girl."