At five in the morning, a whistle sounded abruptly.

Lin Shiyu woke up from his sleep. The sky outside the window wasn’t fully bright yet, as it was still dark gray outside. Complaints sounded from the dormitory as Mao Silu struggled to sit up, his messy hair standing up. He sat on the bed and stared blankly, saying, “Oh my God, it’s too early.”

A shout came from the hallway, “Get ready within half an hour, dress neatly, and gather downstairs!”

A group of students rushed like they were in a war, getting dressed, washing their faces, and brushing their teeth. The hallway was chaotic. Mao Silu looked down and searched for his shoes on the floor. “Why have my shoes shrunk?”

Lin Shiyu replied, “Those are my shoes.”

Gao Jie said, “Damn, I didn’t eat that much yesterday, why can’t I fit into my pants?”

Ruan Zhikai said, “Brother, give me back my pants before you stretch them out.”

The dormitory was in disarray, but Zhong Qi seemed more awake than the others. He tidied up his things in an orderly manner. When he saw Lin Shiyu change his clothes and prepare to leave, he reached out and pulled him back.

“Meal card.” Zhong Qi pointed to the card on the bedside table, indicating that Lin Shiyu had forgotten to take it.

There was still a trace of sleepiness on Lin Shiyu’s face. Having just woken up, he didn’t seem as unapproachable as usual. Upon hearing Zhong Qi’s reminder, he turned back, picked up the meal card, and put it in his pocket, muttering, “Thank you.”

His voice wasn’t cold, and even in the dim morning light, it sounded soft. Not fully awake yet, Lin Shiyu seemed completely unaware of his surroundings, lazy and ignorant.

With the meal card in his pocket, Lin Shiyu walked away alone.

“I noticed that Lin Shiyu treats you better than the rest of us,” Gao Jie curiously remarked. “You guys must have a good relationship.”

Zhong Qi said, “It’s okay.”

“He even thanked you,” Mao Silu said with an envious expression. “Why is he always grumpy when I talk to him?”

Ruan Zhikai said, “Maybe he’s targeting you.”

“Huh?” Mao Silu believed it. “Why would he do that to me? Have I done something to him?”

Ruan Zhika enjoyed the spectacle. “Who knows? Just go and ask him.”

Another whistle blew, like a death knell. They stopped talking and hurriedly packed their things and ran downstairs.

On the first day of military training, they practiced military posture, squatting, marching, left and right turns. Leading the seventh class was the loud-voiced, stern-faced, black-skinned Instructor Chen, who loved to punish people with squats.

If they didn’t stand straight– squats; if their marching wasn’t synchronized– squats; if they turned in the wrong direction–squats.

In the morning, before it was over, someone had already broken the record and completed one hundred squats.

Everyone was sweating under the scorching sun. Instructor Chen paced around the formation with his hands behind his back. When he approached Mao Silu, he slapped his butt and said, “Why is your butt so high when you squat? It’s sticking out.”

Everyone wanted to laugh but didn’t dare. Instructor Chen continued, “Your posture is incorrect, do twenty more squats!”

Mao Silu’s face turned red but he still obediently stepped aside to do squats.

Instructor Chen then approached Lin Shiyu, observing him for a moment before mocking, “You have fair skin. Did you apply a lot of sunscreen?”

As he spoke, he raised his hand and pinched Lin Shiyu’s chin, saying, “Let me see how thickly you’ve applied it.”

Lin Shiyu furrowed his brow and dodged, giving Instructor Chen a glare.

“Oh, quite fierce!” Instructor Chen laughed, then sternly said, “Place your hands on your trouser seams! What did I just teach you?

“A grown man taking care of himself like a woman. What’s there to be dissatisfied about?” Instructor Chen crossed his arms and confronted Lin Shiyu, saying, “Come on, reply.”

Lin Shiyu replied, “I have no complaints.”

“Did you shout ‘report’?” Instructor Chen exclaimed.

Lin Shiyu gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, and shouted, “Report! I have no complaints!”

“Is your voice louder or mine?” Instructor Chen angrily asked. “No one will indulge your spoiled temper here! Fall out and run five laps around the track!”

Without a word, Lin Shiyu walked out of the formation and headed towards the track.

“Is there anyone else dissatisfied? It’s best to make it clear to me now.” Instructor Chen surveyed the formation with a menacing tone, “Otherwise, when the training tasks become harder, you won’t even have the chance to cry.”

No one spoke up.

The time was approaching noon, and the sun was scorching on the field without any shade, distorting the air. Lin Shiyu had decent stamina, but it wasn’t particularly exceptional. After running five laps, his previous injuries started to ache again.

He ran back, sweating profusely, with his back drenched in sweat. Standing next to the formation, he called, “Reporting.”

Instructor Chen glanced at him and leisurely said, “Fall in.”

Lin Shiyu, still panting slightly, returned to the formation. His position was in the middle, so he passed Zhong Qi at the end of the formation when he joined. Their bodies lightly brushed against each other, and Zhong Qi saw the blush on Lin Shiyu’s fair face, the sweat drenching his forehead and jawline, and his lips were moist and slightly redder than usual.

The intense heartbeat after exercising seemed to transmit out of thin air, thumping in his ears.

Instructor Chen walked behind him and slapped his back, saying, “Stand up straight! What, did you just finish running and now are eager to do squats again?”

This slap landed right on the bruised area on Lin Shiyu’s back. Unprepared for it, he coughed in pain, and his body trembled slightly. However, he managed to endure it, straightened his spine without making a sound, and didn’t even glance at the instructor. His lips tightly pursed, displaying a stubbornness.

It wasn’t until noon that the merciless and cold-faced instructor finally allowed them to go to the cafeteria for lunch.

Mao Silu, with a pained expression, laid his head on the table. “I can’t go on. My legs are so sore, I can’t even walk. What about the afternoon training?”

Ruan Zhikai said, “Let’s eat our fill first. This instructor is intentionally messing with us. I don’t think we’ll have good days ahead.”

Gao Jie was also punished and had to do a few squats. While massaging his legs, he said, “I just glanced at the girls’ side, and it seemed like some of them were crying.”

‘They’re crying on the first day?”

Zhong Qi sat on the side, his head bowed and eating. Initially, he was sitting alone with his tray, but for some reason, these three people naturally gathered around him to chat, and Zhong Qi just went along with it.

“What about Lin Shiyu?” Mao Silu looked around. “He must be tired too.”

“Why do you care about him?”

“I wanted to talk to him and ask why he’s targeting me. Maybe we can clear up the misunderstanding.”

This caught Ruan Zhikai off guard. He stared at Mao Silu for a while, looking dumbfounded. “…As long as you’re happy.”

 

Edited by: Jaisland

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