Twilight descended, and the sun sank in the west.

Outside the Border Defense Station, the green mountains were lush. The fading sunset glow lingered around the mountaintops, and the edge of the sky was a sheet of crimson. That warm light rippled over Lu Huaizheng's shoulders, making him feel utterly intoxicated.

There is always a group of people in the world. They have waded through rushing rivers, traversed treacherous mountains, and stood guard in unknown corners—not for fame or fortune, but only for the faith in their hearts.

Lu Huaizheng leaned against the wall, his hands tucked in his trouser pockets. He bent one leg, raising it slightly to press against the wall, and looked up with a sigh. "To live a life driven by spirit, who cares for fame and glory? That was the integrity and breadth of mind of our predecessors, something we can't learn."

Yu Hao lowered her head and smiled bitterly.

She suddenly felt that for the past twenty-eight years, every hesitant step she had taken, though seemingly conventional and a solitary journey through countless mountains and rivers, was in fact muddled and unaware.

But Lu Huaizheng, who seemed to live like a scoundrel, was clearer and more perceptive than anyone.

"But thankfully, there are heroes' tombs to preserve their names," Yu Hao said.

Lu Huaizheng suddenly tilted his head. His gaze was still fixed ahead, but his breath was by her ear. As the scorching heat of the setting sun receded, she heard him say, "For me, the only hero's tomb is the embrace of a lover."

There he goes again.

He can't say three serious sentences in a row.

After speaking, he lowered his foot to the ground, stood up straight, patted the back of her head, and said with a smile, "Time to go."

"Go on."

"Did you remember what I said?"

"Huh?" Yu Hao teased him deliberately. "What was it?"

He frowned. "So I was just talking to myself?"

She blinked, intentionally saying, "You mean the part where you said you'd worry about me?"

Lu Huaizheng paused for a second, then turned his head and smiled. "The sentence before that."

"The sentence before that, you said, 'I'm in Beijing'," she repeated.

His hands in his pockets, he raised an eyebrow. "The one before that."

Only then did she smile and stop teasing. "I'll wait for you to come back."

That evening was the Cultural Troupe's final performance. To bid farewell to the current girls and welcome two new ones, Tang Mingliang had the kitchen make dumplings. He also had Lu Huaizheng send a few soldiers to help after combat training, otherwise they wouldn't be able to eat even if they made dumplings until midnight.

Hearing this, Zhao Dailin pulled Yu Hao along to help.

After a busy afternoon in the kitchen, Yu Hao hadn't managed to wrap a single dumpling. Instead, her face was covered in flour—on her nose, forehead, chin, cheeks...a smudge here, a smudge there. Zhao Dailin teased her, "Wow, that speckled cat face of yours must have taken a lot of work. May I ask which dumpling on this plate was made by you?"

Yu Hao was embarrassed. She didn't know how to make dumplings, so she helped the master chef knead the dough. But with dumplings for several hundred people, she couldn't even manage to flip the huge mound of dough. The master chef quickly told this young lady to go cool off somewhere else.

At five o'clock, Lu Huaizheng came in wearing his combat training uniform.

Yu Hao had just been shooed out of the kitchen by the dough-kneading master. With her flour-speckled face, she ran right into a pair of smiling eyes.

After those eyes stared at her face for three seconds, she suddenly realized her silly, flour-covered appearance, covered her face, and ran away.

She usually wore light makeup, just a thin layer to brighten her complexion. After washing her face with water, it was bare and clean, fair and tender like a hibiscus emerging from the water, as translucent as a peeled egg. After washing her face, she didn't hurry out, but instead leaned on the sink to calm herself.

She had to straighten out her attitude. Men were fickle. What if he came back from Beijing and changed his mind? She couldn't act like he had her completely wrapped around his finger.

But Senior Sister Zhao had already revealed all her cards.

How could she save face?

When Yu Hao returned to the dining hall, Lu Huaizheng had already taken off his hat and sat down.

He was methodically rolling up the sleeves of his combat uniform, revealing his fair arms. He reached out, picked up a dumpling wrapper, and spread it in his hand. Several soldiers from his team watched, stunned, shaking their heads and sighing, "Captain Lu is truly presentable in the drawing-room and competent in the kitchen."

Even the old master chef next to them, who had been focused on making dumplings the whole time while wearing a white chef's hat, couldn't help but look up and glance over, saying in surprise, "Judging by Captain Lu's technique, you must make these often at home? Your wife can't cook?"

A few soldiers hurriedly said, "Captain Lu isn't married yet, he doesn't have a wife, not even a girlfriend."

Lu Huaizheng pinched a dumpling shut, placed it on a plate, and reached for another wrapper. He ignored them, picked up a spoon, scooped up a dollop of filling, and said with his eyes lowered, "The company used to make dumplings often. Captain Sun from next door knows how too, no need to be envious."

The old master chef laughed. "It's a shame a good man like Captain Lu hasn't found a girlfriend yet. A gun in the left hand, a dumpling in the right, how harmonious."

"Captain Lu just doesn't want to find one. Captain Sun has mentioned it several times, saying he wants to introduce him to a girl—"

Lu Huaizheng interrupted with a laugh, "Come on, your Captain Sun is a 'poverty-stricken household' himself, and he's going to introduce someone to me?"

This was a joke, the kind of banter between men when the mood strikes.

Yu Hao walked over, pulled up a chair opposite him, and sat down. The soldiers didn't stop talking, making a few more roundabout jokes. The laughter grew more uninhibited, and they were on the verge of telling dirty jokes when a sharp glance from Lu Huaizheng made them realize two young women were present, and they promptly stopped.

The lively atmosphere instantly quieted down.

Yu Hao picked up a dumpling wrapper to learn from the old master chef. The master's movements were skilled and fast. He laid a wrapper in his hand, put the filling in, gave his hand a twist, and when he opened it, a perfectly formed dumpling appeared, like a magic trick. She was stunned watching him.

The old master chef deliberately teased her, "Impressive, right? A family heirloom skill, you can't learn it."

...

Yu Hao's face flushed and paled in turns from the teasing, but she was also very happy. Giggling, she turned to pick up another dumpling wrapper. As if to show off, he wrapped it even faster than before, then proudly placed the dumpling on the plate.

Yu Hao: "..."

Everyone at the table roared with laughter, and even Zhao Dailin couldn't help but chuckle.

Thump. A chair was placed on the floor.

Lu Huaizheng had pulled a chair from somewhere and placed it next to himself. He didn't look at Yu Hao, keeping his head down to pinch the dumpling in his hand, but his words were for her: "Come here, I'll teach you."

The old master chef laughed and nudged her. "Captain Lu has spoken. What are you still standing there for?"

Yu Hao sat over. Lu Huaizheng's movements were very slow. He would occasionally look up at her, wait for her to follow his steps, and after she pinched it into shape, he would fix it up a little for her before casually placing it on the plate.

Yu Hao learned very earnestly and carefully.

In the end, Lu Huaizheng chuckled and said, "No need to be so serious. It's fine if you can't wrap them well, just get the general idea."

Yu Hao looked up in a daze. "Why?"

"In the future, it's enough if one person in the family knows how."

After he spoke, he placed the last dumpling in the basin. Indeed, many hands make light work; the pile of dumpling wrappers had unknowingly disappeared. The old master chef gave a shout, stood up, and carried the basin into the kitchen.

His words made Yu Hao's heart pound, and she broke out in a sweat.

Like a spring silkworm, her heart was a tangled mess, spinning a cocoon around itself. Her mind was racing, and she couldn't catch her breath. His casual remark, like a light veil or a red canopy, had set her heart ablaze.

She looked up at him again.

He was calm and composed, unaware that he had stirred the pool of her heart's spring water. By now, he had already put on his hat, rolled down his sleeves, and led the group of soldiers straight out.

Zhao Dailin sidled up and whispered gossipily in her ear, "Looks like my worries were for nothing? Judging by the state of you two...what did he whisper to you just now?"

Yu Hao's face was hot and tight. She turned and glared at her. "Senior Sister, why did you tell him about the marriage thing?"

This junior sister was quite agreeable when she wanted to be, but when it came to arguing a point, she was also a stubborn person. Zhao Dailin pretended not to hear, quickly gathered her things, and stood up. "I just remembered Professor Han asked me to send him an email...I'm off."

That night was the Cultural Troupe's final performance. After eating dumplings, the soldiers moved their chairs to the square to assemble.

Before the performance, Sui-zi came looking for Yu Hao.

Yu Hao was just closing the department door. When she turned, she saw Sui-zi standing under a bare magnolia tree not far away. She was wearing a black trench coat over a black form-fitting dance leotard, her figure graceful. She waved at her.

Yu Hao was wearing a white coat, her hands in her pockets. Underneath was a silk white blouse and a pair of black trousers. As she walked, the wind gently lifted the hem of her coat, and Sui-zi thought she looked heroic and cool.