Leng Kai was awakened by a series of urgent ringing from his phone.
The room was pitch-black, and he looked at the laser projection on the ceiling—it was still 2 a.m.
He got up, and as he did, the desk lamp came on, illuminating the small, roughly 20-square-meter room.
He picked up his cell phone from the short cabinet on his left and saw that it was Elder Lu, whom he hadn't contacted in years, which made him hesitant to answer the call.
"Leng Kai? Did I disturb you?" Elder Lu said.
"No, I've gotten used to being woken up early in the morning," Leng Kai said, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"How have you been doing in the country this past year?" Elder Lu asked with a chuckle.
"Standing guard, watching the gate, and sometimes I have to check whether the ammo storage is damp—pretty relaxed and pretty boring," Leng Kai replied with a laugh.
He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the cabinet, took one out, put it in his mouth, then leaned against the headboard and lit it for himself.
