Chapter 10 – And That’s How Rumors Start

“Lu… Lu Dage!” Xu Nuo looked at Lu Chen with eyes full of surprise and joy. “How come you’re here?”

Lu Chen didn’t answer her question. His gaze instead landed on her other hand. “Hold steady. I’ll take over.”

“Okay!”

Lu Chen was a soldier, after all—his strength and capabilities far exceeded hers.

He quickly took off his own belt, looped it into a ring, and slipped it over the girl’s arm in the water. Then he turned to Xu Nuo and said, “You can let go now.”

Xu Nuo breathed a sigh of relief and gently released her grip. “Do you need my help?”

“No need,” Lu Chen answered calmly.

“Captain, I’ll help!” Xiao Wei, the driver, had just gotten out of the car. He also took off his belt and looped it around the girl’s other arm.

The two men worked together and soon managed to pull the soaked girl from the river.

The girl repeatedly thanked them before dragging her dripping body away.

“Lu Dage, you were amazing!” Xu Nuo clapped her hands in admiration. “If you hadn’t shown up just in time, I don’t think I would’ve been able to save her.”

Lu Chen looked at her face. “Next time you run into something like this, don’t act on impulse. The worst outcome is not just failing to save her—but her dragging you down with her.”

“I know.” Xu Nuo was very self-aware. “Just now I was thinking… if I could just buy her some time, maybe someone else would show up to help.”

But clearly, she had underestimated how powerful and desperate a drowning person could be in the water.

Lu Chen pressed his lips together, his deep, clear black eyes resting on her face for a few seconds before looking away.

“Where’s Lu Cheng? Why didn’t he help?”

Xu Nuo answered honestly, “He already left.”

“He left?”

“Yeah. Said he had plans to watch a movie with a friend.”

“And just left you here on your own?” Lu Chen frowned. “Get in the car.”

“Thank you, Lu Dage.”

Xu Nuo obediently climbed into the back seat again, while Lu Chen took the front passenger seat.

“Captain, where to?” Xiao Wei asked as he started the engine and turned around.

“Back to the compound,” Lu Chen said.

“Yes, sir.”

The military jeep sped down the road. Unknowingly, dusk had already fallen. The warm glow of the setting sun painted the sky in stunning shades of gold and orange.

Xu Nuo rested her chin on her hand and gazed off into the distance.

Lu Chen would occasionally glance into the rearview mirror. Through it, he could catch a glimpse of her profile—those long, curled lashes, the high bridge of her petite nose, and her cherry-colored lips.

She seemed to sense that someone was watching her and turned her head toward the front.

At that moment, she caught sight of Lu Chen’s face in the rearview mirror—calm as still water, and the deep, cool eyes hidden beneath his military cap.

Their eyes met briefly—then both looked away.

The jeep slowly entered the military compound, passed through a shaded path lined with trees, the assembly hall, and finally pulled up in front of a row of red two-story houses.

Lu Chen opened the door and got out. With a smooth motion, he opened the back door for Xu Nuo as well.

“Thank you, Lu Dage.”

As Xu Nuo bent down to step out of the car, Xiao Wei, from the rearview mirror, clearly saw what Lu Captain did next—he lifted his hand slightly, placing it above her head to make sure she wouldn’t bump it while getting out.

Xiao Wei was a little stunned.

Having followed the captain for two years, he considered himself fairly familiar with the man’s temperament. And in all that time, when had he ever seen the captain treat a woman so gently?

Just recently, a group of female soldiers from the art troupe had come to perform for the troops. One of them had admired the captain so much that she secretly followed him afterward.

Unfortunately, she tripped and fell, scraping her knee so badly it bled through two layers of skin.

She was in so much pain she teared up right then and there.

But what did Captain Lu do?

Not a single comforting word. He simply picked up the phone, called her troupe’s leader, and coldly reported a “violation of regulations”—ordered that the girl be taken back and disciplined.

Ever since then, the entire base had gossiped that Captain Lu didn’t like women.

Xiao Wei had half believed it himself—until today.

Because what he’d just witnessed absolutely shocked him.

Xu Nuo got out of the car and followed Lu Chen straight into the Lu family’s two-story house. Xiao Wei drove off.

Not far away, Lei Ming was drenched in sweat and holding a basketball, talking animatedly to a group of friends. “Did you see that? I told you! Lu Cheng couldn’t fool me. Captain Lu clearly has a girlfriend! You saw how gentle he was with her just now, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know, man. It still feels unbelievable. Like I’m dreaming or something,” Zhang Dong said.

Lei Ming shot him a look. “Want me to pinch you?”

Zhang Dong waved his hands frantically. “No need, I can pinch myself.”

“Heh! Never would’ve thought it—Captain Lu’s into this type, huh? Heh heh!”

“Lei Ming, are you sure Lu Cheng wasn’t lying to you?” someone else asked. “That girl looked super young—like eighteen tops. Isn’t Captain Lu already twenty-seven? Would the Lu family really arrange a childhood engagement with someone that much younger?”

Zhang Dong chimed in, “Yeah, wouldn’t it make more sense if she was engaged to Lu Cheng?”

“No way,” Lei Ming retorted.

“Think about it!”

Lei Ming rolled his eyes. “You think you’re the only one with a brain? If she were really Lu Cheng’s fiancée, would Captain Lu be acting so close to his brother’s future wife? And do you think Lu Cheng would dare to lie and push his own woman onto his older brother?”

He conveniently forgot that it was Lu Cheng who took Xu Nuo out on a “date” earlier that morning.

Zhang Dong nodded, half-convinced. “Maybe…”

“Maybe? I’m telling you it’s a fact. You think Captain Lu’s just some regular guy? Who knows, maybe he fell for her years ago and the family just went along with it.”

At that moment, inside the Lu home, Lu Chen sneezed twice.

Lu Huaizheng had just finished speaking to his wife over the phone. After hearing that little Yiyi’s condition had improved and she could be discharged first thing in the morning, his mood had visibly brightened.

Hearing the sneezes behind him, he turned around to find his eldest son Lu Chen walking through the door, Xu Nuo trailing obediently behind him.

“Uncle Lu,” Xu Nuo greeted sweetly.

Lu Huaizheng looked from his son to the girl, a flicker of suspicion flashing in his eyes. “Xu Nuo, weren’t you out on a date with Lu Cheng today? Where is he now?”

Lu Chen said plainly, “He went to see a movie with a friend.”

“What?” Lu Huaizheng’s face immediately darkened, anger shooting up like steam. “What kind of behavior is that? He’s clearly due for a lesson! When he gets home, just wait and see how I deal with him!”

“Please don’t get upset, Uncle Lu. He had a prior arrangement. If he stood his friend up, it wouldn’t be right either,” Xu Nuo said gently.

She had already noticed yesterday that Uncle Lu had a heart condition. She didn’t want to risk upsetting him and triggering an episode.

Lu Chen glanced at her when he heard that.

But he didn’t say anything. He simply turned and headed upstairs.

After entering his room, he took off his uniform shirt. Just as he was about to undo his belt, his hand paused.

In his mind, the scene from earlier—by the riverside—suddenly replayed.

He inhaled deeply.

For some reason, his uniform pants were starting to feel… a little too warm.