Song Lili walked toward the dormitory building and "accidentally" ran into Lu Ziqing.
"Brother Lu... haven’t you returned to the camp yet?"
Lu Ziqing drifted over to Song Lili and stared down at her from above, "You’re quite bold, huh? Getting into trouble on just the first day?"
"It was Shen Lingxi who wouldn’t let the matter drop, I—"
"At least she had a reason, what about you? Carrying a cell phone privately, and its ringtone went off in the lobby over and over again during such a major event!"
Song Lili lowered her head, her lips pressed tightly,
"I’m sorry, Commander, I was wrong."
"Choosing military school means you can’t live as freely or colorfully as other college students. From the moment you stepped through the gate and put on the military uniform, you must always be mindful of your behavior."
"Yes, Commander, I will never make such a mistake again."
Song Lili kept her head down, genuinely admitting her fault, which left Lu Ziqing with nothing to criticize.
Lu Ziqing cleared his throat,
"Alright, I’m not trying to intimidate you by pulling rank, lift your head."
Song Lili did as told and lifted her head.
"Today, I punished you to run twenty laps, you don’t resent me for it, do you?"
"Not at all, I know you were helping me, and the punishment was actually light."
Lu Ziqing was reassured by Song Lili’s understanding; he touched his chin, licked his lips, and looked slightly hesitant and tentative as though he had something to say but didn’t...
"Is there anything else, Commander?"
This much fuss wasn’t his style!
Lu Ziqing gritted his teeth and asked, "Who was... that person?"
Song Lili didn’t catch on immediately, even looking back to see if there was someone else.
Lu Ziqing smacked his lips.
"I’m talking about the person who called you today!"
"What ’ah oh’? You have a boyfriend, why haven’t I heard about him?"
Lu Ziqing tried hard to mask the sour tone in his words, only to find it slightly revealed no matter how he spoke.
But Song Lili seemed not to have noticed.
She instinctively lied to Lu Ziqing,
"No, that was just a good friend..."
"A good friend?" Lu Ziqing frowned.
Even if a man usually stays in the military camps, used to crude thoughts, he might occasionally become sensitive and delicate.
The voice on the phone spoke plainly, but the tone... indeed had an intimacy and familiarity beyond what ordinary people could achieve.
"Your ’good friend’ talks to you with that kind of tone?"
"Brother Lu, not every man is like you, so distinctly manly and rugged. Some men might be more refined, better with women..."
Song Lili explained demurely and evasively.
At that, Lu Ziqing understood,
"Oh, your good friend is a sissy, right?"
Song Lili braced herself and responded.
Lu Ziqing didn’t dig deeper, finding no reason for Song Lili to deceive him and thus naturally believed her.
Believing her, his mood suddenly brightened, and the weight that was pressing on his chest seemed to lift.
He smiled and patted Song Lili’s shoulder,
"Haven’t had dinner yet? Go eat something quickly! Eat plenty! I’m leaving first."
Having said that, Lu Ziqing waved his hand, with a light-hearted stride, and left with long steps.
Song Lili blinked, a bit confused, wondering why he shifted from gloomy to cheerful so quickly?