“Really?” Wen Jiaojiao was secretly relieved that she had arrived at just the right time.
“Whether it’s true or not, you’ll know next year.”
“Let’s go. There’s nothing interesting to see here. Formal training starts tomorrow, so we should go back and get some rest.”
After commenting briefly on the handwriting on the written self-criticism, Zhang Shaoying yawned and headed back.
There really wasn’t much else to see, so the girls returned to their dormitory.
After what had happened with the rumors today, the atmosphere in the dormitory had become somewhat awkward. Regardless of whether the rumors were true or not, Qiu Shumin and the other three girls had unconsciously drawn a line between themselves and Wen Jiaojiao’s group.
Wen Jiaojiao didn’t care.
Zhang Shaoying didn’t care in the slightest either.
Wu Qin was a little regretful that things had become so tense in the same dormitory, but there was nothing she could do about it. Their personalities simply didn’t get along.
As usual, Wang Xiaomei remained mostly silent.
After dinner, everyone began washing up and changing their clothes.
Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded from downstairs.
“Fall in!”
“Everyone has five minutes to get to the training field!”
Hearing the instructor’s voice, everyone froze.
Zhang Shaoying was the first to react. She hurriedly put on her shoes and rushed downstairs.
Wen Jiaojiao followed close behind. Fortunately, she hadn’t changed out of her clothes yet, so she quickly followed Zhang Shaoying downstairs.
Once the two of them moved, everyone else finally snapped back to reality and hurried after them.
The assembly point was the training field, and five minutes was more than enough time to get there from the dormitory.
Zhang Shaoying, Wen Jiaojiao, Wu Qin, and the others were among the first to arrive. Under Zhang Shaoying’s lead, they quickly formed a line.
The instructor nodded in satisfaction.
Over the next five minutes, more than half of the recruits arrived one after another, copying the formation of those who had arrived earlier.
As soon as the five minutes were up, the instructor blew his whistle again and ordered those who had arrived late to stand separately to one side.
Once everyone had finally arrived, the instructor shouted, “Anyone who was late will run five laps before rejoining the formation!”
Someone immediately complained, “Instructor, please! Your notice was so sudden—”
Before she could finish, the instructor said coldly, “The person who just spoke, step forward!”
The female recruit who had spoken immediately fell silent, but the instructor’s sharp eyes had already locked onto her.
She had no choice but to step forward.
The instructor expressionlessly said, “Everyone else, five laps. Start!”
“You. Ten laps.”
The female recruit froze.
Then came a thunderous roar.
“Move! Or do you want another five laps added?”
“!”
The female recruit ran with tears in her eyes, hating that instructor with all her heart.
The latecomers ran around the training field at varying paces while those who had arrived on time stood quietly watching them.
Only after everyone had finished their laps did the instructor speak again.
“Tomorrow is the beginning of formal training. I hope none of you disappoint me.”
“I’ll make this clear right now. Training will last one month. Anyone who fails the physical fitness requirements at the end of the month shouldn’t blame the army for not keeping you.”
“Now, forward march. Follow me to collect your uniforms.”
The recruits exchanged glances before quickly following the instructor to collect their military uniforms.
They were new recruits and were unfamiliar with almost everything in the army. There was still a lot for them to learn.
For now, they simply had to follow orders and obey every arrangement.
After collecting their uniforms and learning how to put them on properly, it was already ten o’clock by the time they returned to the dormitory.
No one had the energy to chat anymore. They climbed straight into bed and fell asleep.
At exactly five the next morning, the whistle sounded right on time.
The inexperienced recruits didn’t even have time to wash their faces. They hurried to the training field to assemble, afraid that being late would result in punishment.
The previous night’s lesson had clearly worked. Almost no one was late today.
However, some people were still punished because they had not worn their uniforms properly.
Once everyone was properly dressed, training began with the most basic drills: standing at attention, standing at ease, and maintaining military posture.
They made quite a few amusing mistakes along the way.
By the end of the day, everyone was completely exhausted.
Everyone except Zhang Shaoying, of course.
Her movements were as precise as the instructor’s, making it impossible not to wonder about her background.
During dinner, Wu Qin couldn’t help asking, “Shaoying, is someone in your family a soldier?”
Zhang Shaoying stuffed food into her mouth and answered vaguely, “Sort of.”
Wen Jiaojiao asked again, “You’re related to Zhang Shaobing, right?”
At that, Zhang Shaoying looked at her strangely.
“Yes. He’s my older brother. You’ve mentioned him twice already. Don’t tell me you want to become my sister-in-law?”
Wen Jiaojiao, who had been drinking soup, nearly choked.
“Cough, cough! What are you talking about? Didn’t I tell you before? Zhang Shaobing helped me once, so when I heard your name, I immediately thought of him.”
Zhang Shaoying nodded in understanding.
“Oh, I see. But now I’m curious. What exactly did my brother do to help you?”
Wen Jiaojiao told her about what had happened a few days earlier.
After hearing the story, Zhang Shaoying immediately asked, “So you’ve met my idol too?”
“Your idol?”
Zhang Shaoying’s face lit up with admiration.
“General Jiang Ting—the Cold-Faced King of Hell!”
“…Uh, the Cold-Faced King of Hell?”
Wen Jiaojiao broke into a nervous sweat.
Who came up with that nickname? What part of him looked like the King of Hell?
Seeing that she clearly didn’t understand, Zhang Shaoying stopped eating altogether and decided to educate her about her idol’s heroic achievements.
“Jiang Ting is my idol! He’s the champion soldier of our Northern Military Region. Anyone who sees him has to give him this!”
She raised her thumb proudly.
“I know that much.”
Wen Jiaojiao knew exactly how frightening Jiang Ting’s achievements would become in the future.
“No, you don’t.”
With a serious expression, Zhang Shaoying began recounting Jiang Ting’s legendary accomplishments as if she were reciting a treasured family history.
She talked about how he could supposedly take down an enemy from more than ten li away, how he had survived dangerous missions unscathed, how many comrades he had rescued, and countless other stories…
By the time she was finished, Zhang Shaoying had practically turned Jiang Ting into a god among soldiers.
Wu Qin and Wang Xiaomei listened with their mouths hanging open.
The corners of Wen Jiaojiao’s lips twitched from time to time as she tried to find an opportunity to get Zhang Shaoying to stop.
The female soldiers eating nearby had already been drawn over by her vivid storytelling.
Were they going to eat or not?
Finally, Wen Jiaojiao gently reminded her, “Shaoying, your food is going to get cold if you don’t eat it.”
“Oh.”
Zhang Shaoying finally stopped talking and lowered her head to continue eating.
Seeing that the story was over, everyone else dispersed.
They were all new recruits who had just arrived at the military base, so naturally, they were curious about these legendary soldiers.
Wen Jiaojiao was somewhat helpless.
She had originally been asking about Zhang Shaobing, yet somehow she had ended up listening to an entire feast of stories about Jiang Ting.
Thinking about that stern, unsmiling man, she found it difficult to reconcile the ruthless military king described by Zhang Shaoying with the man who had gently massaged her ankle.
“Hmm? Jiaojiao, why is your face red?”
Wang Xiaomei had only just emerged from her admiration of the legendary soldier when she noticed that Jiaojiao’s cheeks had turned slightly pink.
Wen Jiaojiao was already beautiful, and with that faint blush on her cheeks, she looked as though she had applied a touch of rouge. She was so pretty that it was difficult to look away.
Wen Jiaojiao blinked.
“Is my face red?”
Wang Xiaomei and Wu Qin nodded at the same time.
“It’s red.”
“…”
“Maybe it’s a little hot.”
She patted her cheeks, trying to cool them down.
That innocent, endearing gesture made the instructors stare.
They normally wouldn’t have paid particular attention to their table, but Zhang Shaoying’s enthusiastic storytelling had gotten them so fired up that they had naturally started paying closer attention.
“Ahem!”
Zhang Shaobing suddenly gave a heavy cough.
Only then did everyone realize that the very person they had been talking about had arrived in the dining hall at some point!