At that time, Lu Huaizheng and Sun Kai had just started at the Military Academy. The night they left Guangzhou, they drank a bit too much.

The night before, there was a brief farewell ceremony in the Military Unit's canteen. In truth, they weren't feeling that emotional yet. For soldiers, scattered to the four corners of the earth, each guarding their own front, they were bound to meet again. But the next day, when they got on the bus, the moment the instructor held their hands and wouldn't let go for a long time, his eyes gradually turned red.

The two big boys finally couldn't hold it in anymore. A gentle breeze brushed their faces, their emotions stirred, and their hearts surged with the soft wind. Although they tried to suppress the reluctance and regret in their hearts, they were still young after all, and shed tears.

After the bus left the camp and dropped them at the station, the two didn't rush to buy tickets and leave. Instead, they sat on a bench at the station for the whole afternoon. When night fell and the neon lights flickered, Lu Huaizheng suddenly asked him if he wanted to drink, and Sun Kai readily nodded.

The two of them picked up their things, found a small restaurant nearby, and drank for almost the entire night.

Lu Huaizheng was really drunk that night. He was already a bad drinker. After finishing a case of low-alcohol beer, he came back from the restroom, one hand propped on a beer bottle, his face flushed as he looked at Sun Kai. He let out a muffled burp, looked at Sun Kai with dazed eyes, and said, "Let me sing you a song."

It wasn't that he had never heard Lu Huaizheng sing. They often sang military songs in the team. His singing wasn't terrible, but it definitely wasn't good either. At least he was in tune, but he lacked technique. You could tell it was a straight guy's singing style just by listening.

Sun Kai was also drunk. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Go on, sing. Tonight, I'll risk my life to accompany a gentleman. No matter how bad it is, I, your brother, will listen."

Without batting an eye, Lu Huaizheng opened his mouth and began to sing.

The moment Sun Kai heard it, he thought, 'That's not right, it's a love song.' Seeing that pitiful look in his eyes, he suddenly waved a hand in front of his face and laughed at him, "Drunk, are you? What crap are you singing? Shut up! Sing me 'Unity is Strength'!"

"No, I'm singing this one."

Sun Kai asked him with a chuckle, "Are you missing a woman?"

The man, who was usually quiet and reserved, even more serious and stern on the training ground, and never mentioned his love life, suddenly let his guard down at that moment, half-closed his eyes, and nodded.

Sun Kai threw a peanut at him and advised, "Go find a girlfriend in Beijing."

Lu Huaizheng hummed the tune softly, lost in his drunken state.

At some point, the lights in the small restaurant grew dimmer. A hazy, swaying halo above his head made him feel sleepy. When he finally closed his eyes completely, his head slumped directly onto the table. The tune gradually stopped. Sun Kai leaned closer and heard him mumbling as he lay on the table, "I won't look for one. I'll wait a little longer."

"Who are you waiting for?!" Sun Kai picked up another peanut shell and threw it at him.

He didn't answer. With his face pressed against the table, his lips moved like a bird's beak as he muttered to himself, "What if she comes back one day and can't see me?"

When the restaurant closed, both of them were dead drunk. In the end, it was Chen Rui, who was studying in Guangzhou at the time, who came to pick them up.

In the taxi, Chen Rui was sandwiched between the two. To his left was Lu Huaizheng's singing, which sounded like a major car crash, and to his right were Sun Kai's vulgar curses. The driver would occasionally cast a sympathetic glance from the rearview mirror.

At that time, Chen Rui, with some inexplicable nerve, took out his phone and recorded the two of them.

Later, Chen Rui also joined the Airborne Brigade and was assigned to Lu Huaizheng's team. That video was passed around and watched by everyone in the team, and the word got out. The way to handle Captain Lu—get him drunk!

Sun Kai, afraid of embarrassing Lu Huaizheng, ultimately saved him some face. He didn't reveal everything, editing the story and omitting the part about Yu Hao as he explained it to the two women. After finishing, he hooked his arm around Lu Huaizheng's neck and stroked the back of his head comfortingly, "I tell you, the men in our brigade are all tough guys with a soft heart!"

Lu Huaizheng turned his head to avoid his hand and cursed with a laugh, "Get lost!"

Sun Kai retracted his hand, secretly leaned close to his ear, and said softly through gritted teeth, "I saved you some face, you know. I didn't tell Yu Hao all the things you said back then. Otherwise, you'd really have no face in front of her in the future, I'm telling you."

Lu Huaizheng shot him a sideways glance, then turned his gaze back to the stage to watch Chen Rui and the others messing around. Unperturbed and seemingly unconcerned, he said, "I don't have much face in front of her to begin with. What, you still need face in front of your wife?"

The spotlighting on stage was quite crude, but Chen Rui, Wu Heping, and the others were having a blast. After speaking, Lu Huaizheng even pointed at the most timid one, Wu Heping, and pretended to scold him with a straight face, "You, get down here. Are you looking for a punishment?"

Wu Heping was genuinely a bit scared. He started to shuffle down with small steps but was pulled back by Chen Rui. "Stupid! You've been with Captain Lu for so long, can't you tell if he's really angry or just pretending? When he's really angry, he won't even bother talking to you! He'd have stood up and left long ago! He's just scaring a coward like you!"

Wu Heping started singing into the microphone again, even changing the lyrics at the end.

"In the wine cup, a piece of loyal, devoted heart..."

Sun Kai knew he was best at glossing things over and most afraid of having his weaknesses exposed. Li Hongwen had once said that emotions were probably his greatest weakness—family, love, friendship...He was a nostalgic person who valued relationships and loyalty.

Sun Kai smirked sinisterly at Lu Huaizheng, "You don't care about face, huh?"

Lu Huaizheng snapped back to reality and turned to look at him, sensing he was up to no good. Sure enough, he suddenly leaned forward, stuck his head out, and shouted at Yu Hao, "Dr. Yu, let me tell you, that day after he got drunk...Mmph mmph mmph mmph!"

The music on stage was loud and boisterous. Just as Yu Hao leaned forward to listen, she saw Sun Kai's mouth being covered by Lu Huaizheng. She hadn't even heard the first half of the sentence.

Sun Kai gave Lu Huaizheng a cheeky look, silently asking, 'Didn't you say you don't care about face?'

Lu Huaizheng wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pinning him in front, while his other hand was clamped firmly over his mouth. He looked down at him with a cold expression, not letting him say a single word.

Sun Kai gestured with his eyes for him to let go.

Lu Huaizheng calmly returned the gaze—'I'll let go if you shut up.'

Sun Kai raised an eyebrow, still cheeky—'I won't.'

Lu Huaizheng raised an eyebrow too, and smiled—'Everyone has some dirt on them, right?'

Yu Hao just stared blankly as the two of them reached a consensus with their eyes amidst the chaotic spotlights.

Lu Huaizheng let go. Sun Kai didn't speak anymore, pursing his lips and sitting obediently to the side, deciding not to bother them.

"What did Captain Sun say?" Yu Hao asked, tilting her head up.

Lu Huaizheng glanced at her. "He's acting crazy, don't mind him."

When they were young, emotions were hard to hide. They were direct and frank, daring to say anything. Back then, he truly didn't care, bold and passionate. To put it bluntly, a bit shameless, not caring about the girl's feelings. What he cared about was all superficial, like shopping for clothes. He would occasionally study his reflection in the mirror to see which angle made his smile look best. On days when he had gym class with her, he would even spray on some hair gel before leaving in the morning.

He was the one who gave Zhou Siyue that bottle of hair gel back then. He would even deliberately coordinate the colors of his jersey and sneakers. So cocky and vain.

Now, aside from a few sets of military uniforms that he wore often, he didn't have many casual clothes and was even less particular about them. Sometimes when he went downstairs to buy a pack of cigarettes, he wouldn't wear anything underneath, just throw on a jacket and go. Whatever was convenient. He didn't care much for superficial things anymore; he cared more about inner feelings and thought things through more than before.

He couldn't say which he preferred.

Sometimes he missed the uninhibited freedom of his youth, but more often, he enjoyed his current state.

If it were in the past, even if Sun Kai didn't say anything, he would have shamelessly tried to curry favor with Yu Hao, and maybe even throw in a few questions: 'This is how much I thought of you back then, this is how I treated you, and what about you? Where have you been all these years?!'

Then he would make her feel guilty, so she would be nicer to him.

But now, the reason he stopped Sun Kai was because he felt there was nothing worth saying. More importantly, he didn't want Yu Hao to know, fearing it would be a burden for her.

Thinking about it carefully, a man waiting twelve years for you without any mishap...if the other person can't reciprocate with the same feelings, the feelings can't be equal. Any more or any less becomes a burden.

Lu Huaizheng had always felt that what he was willing to give her was his own business. As for her, she should be free.

The song was called "Love Sickness". Yu Hao had performed it at an arts festival in high school, playing the piano at the time.

After the performance, Yu Hao sang it again for Lu Huaizheng alone on the rooftop. They had fought two days prior, and it was the first time Lu Huaizheng had gotten angry at her. Although Yu Hao felt no remorse, she sang with sincerity.

At that moment, he was leaning against the wall, looking down at her with a gaze as tender as water and full of smiles.

As she sang on, Yu Hao actually became a bit distracted. She kept feeling like he was going to kiss her in the next second. She couldn't say if she was looking forward to it or not; she was just a little scared at the time. She had an aversion to the opposite sex, but she just couldn't withstand him looking at her so affectionately.

Later on, whenever they had a spat, she would sing "Love Sickness". After just a couple of lines, he would be pacified. He was particularly easy to coax.

Yu Hao turned her head to look at the man's cold, hard profile, wondering if he was still so easy to coax now.

"What time are you leaving tomorrow?"

Hearing her voice, Lu Huaizheng withdrew his gaze from the stage and turned to look at her. The music was still booming, but Wu Heping had actually stopped singing. The group had messed around for a while, knew when to quit while they were ahead, and got off the stage cleanly before Lu Huaizheng lost his temper, leaving it to the girls from the Cultural Troupe.

His gaze shifted to her, a smile slowly forming. "What's wrong?"

Yu Hao said, "I need to go to town tomorrow to buy some things. Why don't I go with you?"

Lu Huaizheng wasn't stupid; he naturally knew what she was thinking.

He had originally planned to leave before she woke up. That way, she would feel less disappointed, and his own departure would be cleaner. So he had asked Instructor Tang to book a car to pick him up at six.

"What time do you get up?" Lu Huaizheng asked in return.

Yu Hao thought about it. If she said too early, she was afraid the shops in town wouldn't be open. If she said too late, she was afraid he would leave early. After much consideration, she chose what she thought was a compromise time and tested the waters, "Six-thirty?"

Lu Huaizheng nodded slightly. With his elbows on his knees, he lowered his head and lifted his leg, seemingly grinding something on the ground. Squinting slightly, he said nonchalantly, "Let's make it seven then. I'll wait for you at the gate."

Yu Hao nodded vigorously.

Lu Huaizheng's lips curved into a slight smile. He bypassed Sun Kai to put an arm around Tang Mingliang's shoulder. Over the deafening music, he leaned close to his ear and said, "Don't have the car come pick me up tomorrow. Let Chen Rui go ahead and wait for me at the airport."

Tang Mingliang was taken aback. "Why not pick you up?"

The music was thunderous. Lu Huaizheng let go of his shoulder, stretched, and leaned close to his ear again. "Yu Hao is going to town. I'll take her. I can just go to the station and catch a ride from there. Just arrange a car for me tomorrow."

Sun Kai glanced at Yu Hao, who was nearby, and gave Lu Huaizheng's head a playful push with a smile. "Not bad, you kid."

Lu Huaizheng ignored him, blocking his hand, and continued to instruct Tang Mingliang, "And arrange a driver for me too. I won't have time to bring her back."

Tang Mingliang's expression became profound and inscrutable. He stared at him quietly without a word.

Lu Huaizheng looked at him for a moment, then frowned. "Hey, what's with that look?"

Tang Mingliang raised an eyebrow. "You're really interested in Xiao Yu, aren't you?"

They were all experienced men. Going to such lengths, wasn't it just to spend a little more time together? As if no one else had ever been in love. You're so precious with her! Treating her like a treasure!

Sun Kai thought Lu Huaizheng wouldn't answer. Who knew that his expression would suddenly turn serious. His eyes, as clear as a mirror, were earnest. In the cool moonlight, they were hazy like blue smoke yet profound. He saw him lower his head and then give a soft "mm."

Although the brothers usually joked around and ribbed each other, he was the only one who had seen what Lu Huaizheng was like when he was drunk. Joking was one thing, but deep down, he couldn't help but feel for him. Now, seeing him take this step, he couldn't hide his excitement and joy. "Is it set then?"

"Sooner or later." Sparing with his words, he was putting on airs now.

Sun Kai didn't mind. "So, can I start calling her sister-in-law?"

Lu Huaizheng smiled.

Tang Mingliang was also gratified. The whole thing with Sui-zi was just a misunderstanding, and it was fine now that it was cleared up. He just hadn't expected this kid to hide his feelings so deeply. He said, "No need to make it so complicated. Just have Xiao Yu go to the airport with you, and then let the driver bring her back."

Unexpectedly, Lu Huaizheng waved his hand dismissively. "No need. It's more than four hours to the airport from here. The round trip would be tiring for her. Let's just stick to the plan."

Sun Kai laughed. "Yo, you haven't even married her yet and you're already doting on her?"

Lu Huaizheng said coldly, "Why don't you try making Fang Yan do a round trip like that in one day?"

Alright then, Sun Kai shut up.

Fang Yan wasn't a gentle lady like Yu Hao. Fang Yan would probably slap him to death.

They're both doctors, why is there such a huge difference?

The next day.

When Yu Hao was ready and went to the gate, Lu Huaizheng had changed into casual clothes—still a white t-shirt and a black jacket. He was leaning crisply against the car door. In the faint light of dawn, he had his arms crossed over his chest, his head lowered in concentration.

As Yu Hao got closer, she realized he was on his tiptoes, teasing a dog. The dog seemed to know him well. The moment he lifted his foot, the dog stood on its hind legs, pawing at his shoe. He lifted his foot higher, and the little dog got anxious, sitting down on the ground and letting out a yelp at him.

Lu Huaizheng smiled, had the driver get a sausage from the car, then squatted down, placed the sausage on the ground, and made a hand signal to the dog.

It meant it couldn't eat yet.

The dog actually listened to him, sitting obediently and waiting for his command.

Yu Hao stood quietly in the distance, watching. The mountain breeze blew gently, soft and fresh.

Lu Huaizheng patted the dog's head and said in a low voice, "Go on, eat."

The dog suddenly lowered its head and bit into it, devouring it in a flash. While eating, it looked up at the man beside it.

Lu Huaizheng stroked the dog's fur a couple of times, then stood up with a smile, hands in his pockets. When he looked up, he saw Yu Hao watching him from a distance.

His smile seemed just like it used to be, but she knew clearly that he was no longer the Lu Huaizheng of the past. Now, what he carried on his shoulders was the nation, these rivers and mountains.

Yu Hao's heart pounded in her chest. Her emotions surged like magnificent waves on a lake. In her dreams, it was always him.

For a man like this, she would be willing to wait another ten years.

She thought.