Beixun City, West District No. 2, Special Operations Unit of the Brigade.
Evening, on the drill grounds. The soldiers stood in their camouflage uniforms with immaculate precision — a well-ordered formation of military composure. The red light of dusk fell across their faces, sweat streaming freely.
Lin Luxiao stood with a clipboard tucked under one arm, spine ramrod straight, his gaze sweeping one by one across those rigid, disciplined faces. A thin stream of perspiration ran down his forehead. His voice dropped with sudden gravity: “Attention!”
Every person snapped to a rigid upright stance. No one dared breathe.
“That’s enough for today — dismissed!”
Everyone exhaled with relief and wiped their sweat.
The squad leader led the men toward the canteen for dinner. The instructor came jogging over from a distance, ran up to stop in front of Lin Luxiao, gave a salute, then dropped his hand and said: “Command’s asking you to come up to the brigade headquarters.”
Lin Luxiao gave a short acknowledgment, pulled off his gloves and handed them to the instructor, then turned to head for his vehicle — and was stopped by the instructor’s hand.
The instructor was a perceptive man. The moment that call had come through, the tone of the voice on the other end had been enough to tell him it was good news. He grabbed Lin Luxiao’s arm hoping to give him a few words of guidance, even though he knew full well that this man’s stubborn temperament never took to that kind of thing.
The two walked out together, and as they went down the stairs, the instructor leaned close to Lin Luxiao’s ear, keeping his voice low: “Whatever the leadership says, just agree with it. Whether they’re trying to match you up with someone, or give you a promotion and change your posting — you’re no young man anymore. You need to start thinking about what comes after. Everyone out there is climbing upward, and you’re still just charging straight ahead — what’s the point? Without you, the Special Operations Unit will still be the elite unit it’s always been, winning top honors every year. When they respond to calls, they compete to be the bravest — and they all take after you for that, every single one of them. When all’s said and done, you’ve got to think about yourself too!”
The instructor felt he’d been clear enough. But Lin Luxiao simply looked at him, said nothing, clapped him on the back, and in a few long strides was down the steps and heading toward the vehicle bay.
The instructor watched his retreating figure and let out a long sigh.
Lin Luxiao had just arrived at the brigade headquarters. He didn’t rush upstairs to find the commanding officer — instead, he stood in the passageway and smoked two cigarettes, narrowing his eyes in quiet contemplation, when a light tap landed on his back. He turned around, cigarette still between his fingers, lifted to his lips but not yet drawn from — and found a young woman in military cap and uniform standing behind him, back perfectly straight.
He cast a glance at the newcomer, then turned back around, smoke drifting idly from his mouth.
Lin Mei was not pleased. She crossed around to stand in front of him. “The leadership’s been asking for you and you’re out here brooding over a cigarette?”
Lin Mei was Lin Luxiao’s cousin on his father’s side.
They had both attended the military academy at the same time. After graduation, he had been assigned to the Special Operations Unit, while she was assigned to the brigade’s administrative support division — essentially a desk position. By current rank, Lin Mei was actually a grade above Lin Luxiao.
Lin Luxiao pinched out his cigarette, settled his cap properly on his head, and said to Lin Mei: “I’m going.”
“Your father came looking for me the other day!”
Lin Mei called after his retreating back. Lin Luxiao, without turning around, gave a dismissive wave of his hand.
……
Lin Luxiao knocked and reported his presence. The man inside looked at him. “Come in.”
He entered, pulling the door closed behind him.
“Have a seat.”
The division chief gestured toward the chair in front of the desk.
Lin Luxiao removed his cap, placed it neatly on the table, and pulled out the chair to sit.
The man behind the desk was somewhere between his mid-forties and early fifties — a broad, square face, temples touched with gray, with a particularly sharp and alert pair of eyes. His expression carried a smile as he said: “Luxiao, you’re twenty-nine this year, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
The division chief nodded, and then wasted no further time on preamble. He came straight to the point: “You can’t just keep staying on the front line forever. I’ve already put in a request with the organization — I want to have you transferred to the main brigade. There’s an exam next month. Pass the written portion, and you’ll go on to the interview. Study up in the meantime, and don’t mess this up for me.”
“……”
Lin Luxiao said nothing.
He had graduated from the military academy at twenty-three and gone directly into the Special Operations Unit — one of the very few graduates to be placed directly into Special Operations right out of school. Special Operations was demanding and well-resourced; certain pieces of firefighting equipment that had only just been airlifted in were sent to Special Operations for practical trials before being gradually rolled out to the regular units. Discipline within Special Operations was stricter, and typically its members were handpicked from across the firefighting units — soldiers with strong all-around capabilities recruited into the Special Operations Unit.
Being chosen straight out of the military academy took either being a particular favorite of the leadership, or possessing exceptional ability.
Lin Luxiao was both.
Seeing that he had nothing to say, the division chief rapped the desk. “If you’ve got thoughts, say them!”
What thoughts could Lin Luxiao possibly have? If he tried to refuse the transfer, the division chief would very likely pick up the ashtray on the desk and knock him over the head with it.
There was no such word as “refuse” in a soldier’s vocabulary.
“Yes, sir!”
The division chief waved him off. “Take the next few days to hand off whatever you’re working on to the instructor. Once you’re at the main brigade, that temperament of yours is going to need some adjusting. Tomorrow’s your birthday — twenty-nine years old, and it’s time you found someone to marry. Keep your eyes open. Find someone who can take care of the household.”
With that, he sent him on his way.
Lin Luxiao gave a salute, put his cap back on, and walked out. He was well used to it — every year it was the same speech, going around and around in circles.
He wasn’t on duty tonight, so he drove straight home after leaving the brigade headquarters, without even changing out of his uniform.
This city always got especially lively at night.
The car turned into the residential complex, was parked, and he went upstairs with his keys in hand.
As he was fishing for his keys at the door, he caught a faint, unfamiliar scent of cigarette smoke. Without thinking much of it, he glanced up — and in the opening of the fire escape stairwell stood a slender dark figure.
Nan Chu was leaning against the wall, a cigarette between her fingers, the ember glowing in the dimness, the stairwell wreathed in haze of her making.
She was wearing a low-cut black dress — fitted and flattering, her curves outlined and accentuated. Her fair skin looked even more delicate and luminous against the darkness. The dress was long, reaching exactly to her ankles. Lin Luxiao narrowed his eyes slightly — at her feet was a pool of black, and on it, a pair of gray flats that made the fine bones across the top of her feet stand out.
She was truly very slender.
The stairwell window was half open.
A cross breeze swept in. The black dress was caught by the wind — lifting and swaying, like a drift of dark smoke, billowing against the wall, more beautiful than any painting.