She returned to the pier, where A Yuan had been waiting all along.
As soon as he saw her, he hurriedly waved to her.
The dishes had already started arriving.
After finishing her meal, Song Ning ordered another pot of tea.
She had the others sit and take their time drinking it.
Then she watched the time and returned to the office.
She dialed the number again.
The call was answered quickly, and once again, it was Gu Zheng's voice.
"Song Ning, is that you?"
"It's me! Gu Zheng! Has Lu Changqing arrived?"
"Just a moment!"
A rustling sound came through the receiver.
It sounded as though Gu Zheng was handing the phone to Lu Changqing.
"Hello! Song Ning? This is Lu Changqing!" There was a faint note of excitement in his voice.
No matter how he looked at it, Song Ning taking the initiative to call him was something to be happy about.
"Lu Changqing! There's something I want to ask you!"
Song Ning lowered her voice. "It's about 'Blue Tears'!"
"Wait-" Lu Changqing cut her off immediately.
Then she heard him speak to Gu Zheng in an apologetic tone.
"Regimental Commander Gu, um... Song has something private to tell me, so if you could..."
Only after a moment did Lu Changqing lean close to the receiver again and lower his voice.
"Song Ning! Why would you bring that up? You know you must never tell anyone outside about this!"
"I haven't told anyone! I just want to ask you-is 'Blue Tears' a badge?" Song Ning asked bluntly.
"A badge?" Lu Changqing said. "You mean you saw a badge that looked a lot like 'Blue Tears'?"
"Yes! You've never told me what it looks like, but that was my first impression, so I wanted to check with you!"
"Song