Jiang Xue forcefully pulled away Li Yang’s hand that was covering her nose, and in the next instant, saw her face covered in blood.
“Ah! That’s so much blood!”
Li Chengyun hadn’t expected the girl to be so fragile. Her fair face was now smeared with blood, making the injury look quite serious.
Li Yang narrowed her beautiful eyes and lightly glared at Li Chengyun.
Originally full of guilt, Li Chengyun couldn’t help but feel a hint of amusement at her childish gesture.
Li Yang casually wiped the blood from her nose with her sleeve and spoke.
“I’m fine!”
She then handed the list in her hand to a girl sitting by the door.
“Zhang Qiaoyue, please go to the bus at the back and check if everyone’s here. Don’t delay our departure time.”
“Got it, Captain!”
“Thank you!”
Zhang Qiaoyue, a straightforward and upright girl, took the list and quickly got off the bus.
“Xue’er, help me get my water bottle. I’ll get off and wash my face.”
Jiang Xue understood that there was no time to return to the dorm—they were already at the main gate.
“Okay!”
Seeing that Li Yang was fine, Chen Lili finally turned her attention to Li Chengyun.
“You must be Commander Li Chengyun, right? Truly young and promising.”
“I’m Chen Lili, head of the publicity department of the Nancheng Art Troupe, and the person in charge of this performance group.”
Li Chengyun gave Chen Lili a salute.
“Minister Chen, I came to confirm your departure time and ask if you need any assistance.”
Chen Lili shook her head.
“Commander Li, there was just a small incident. Can we depart in ten minutes?”
Li Chengyun knew she was referring to the incident where he had accidentally caused the girl’s nosebleed. An awkward itch crept up the back of his head, making him want to scratch it.
He didn’t know what had come over him.
He had even forgotten strict protocol—normally, he should have reported from outside the vehicle and waited for permission before boarding…
Li Yang hadn’t noticed that Li Chengyun had already been standing outside the vehicle for several minutes. From that angle, his view had been filled with her efficient roll call.
But fate had its own inexplicable ways—Li Chengyun had impulsively boarded the bus just as Li Yang turned to get off.
With a bang, it resulted in a nosebleed.
When their future children would ask about their first meeting, both of them would find it amusing—this awkward encounter witnessed by more than twenty people.
By the time Li Chengyun got off the bus, Li Yang had already cleaned the blood from her face and returned to her cool, composed demeanor.
Li Chengyun approached her and saluted.
“Comrade, are you alright?”
Li Yang nodded, knowing it wasn’t intentional.
“I’m fine, comrade.”
Anyone would feel unsettled after a bloody mishap before departure—especially someone like Li Yang, who had experienced something as strange as transmigrating into a novel.
Not noticing that Li Chengyun hadn’t left yet, Li Yang reminded herself to stay alert on the journey ahead and walked back toward her vehicle.
Jiang Xue felt too shy to speak to someone as strikingly handsome as Li Chengyun. Blushing, she lowered her head and hurried after Li Yang.
Under the escort of the Northwestern Corps, the convoy took three days to reach their final destination.
The dormitory arranged for the art troupe was a three-story building with a courtyard in front of the corps headquarters. There were no nearby structures, ensuring privacy and avoiding disturbance to the soldiers.
The first floor had been converted into several large rehearsal rooms.
After getting off the vehicles, everyone decided to rest and recover first.
Originally, Li Chengyun could have left after escorting them.
But he still felt guilty about injuring Li Yang and wanted to help somehow.
So when Li Yang got off the vehicle carrying several bags, Li Chengyun immediately took them from her hands without hesitation.
“Comrade, let me help you. First, see which dorm room you want.”
Despite her polite refusal, Li Yang couldn’t get her bags back, so she gave up insisting.
She looked around. The second floor might be noisy since it was closer to the ground. The third floor was better—more open, with a wider view. Although it meant climbing more stairs, it was acceptable.
“Commander Li, please help me carry these to the third floor.”
“Alright, Comrade Li Yang.”
Li Yang: ??
Behind them, Jiang Xue sighed—why didn’t she have such luck, having a man help carry her luggage?
“Oh my, look at you two putting on a show! Just now you were calling each other ‘comrade’ like strangers, and now it’s ‘Commander Li’ and ‘Comrade Li Yang.’ Next time, will he call you ‘wife’?”
Before Jiang Xue could finish, Li Yang covered her mouth.
“If you dare spout nonsense again, I’ll tear your mouth apart.”
It was pure reflex—being in the entertainment world, rumors and relationships were the most dangerous.
“I’m warning you, don’t joke about me like that. If no one helps you carry your things, I will. Now shut up.”
“Yang, love you~”
Li Yang glanced back—fortunately, they had gotten off early and no one else seemed to have heard.
She shot Jiang Xue a glare, picked up her bag, and hurried toward the third floor.
She needed to choose a room with good lighting and ventilation.
After all, six people would share it—if the room wasn’t good, it would feel oppressive.
By the time she reached the third floor, slightly out of breath, she saw that Li Chengyun had already placed her belongings in a spacious room.
Six single beds were arranged opposite each other. He had placed her things by the window, where there was also a desk beside the bed.
The other five desks were lined up against the opposite wall, with six wardrobes nearby.
Li Yang hadn’t expected him to be so good at picking spots.
“Comrade Li Yang, you can take this bed.”
“Alright, thank you, Commander Li. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.”
Her soft and gentle tone made Li Chengyun feel as if his ears might melt.
Jiang Xue quickly claimed the bed opposite Li Yang, afraid someone else would take it.
“I’ll leave you to settle in. I have matters to attend to.”
“Alright, Commander Li, take care.”
Li Yang walked him to the door and finally let out a breath of relief.
The beds were already made with new military-green bedding. Chen Lili had said they should rest well today and adjust their condition, eat at the canteen on time, and gather downstairs tomorrow.
There were also female soldiers stationed here. For convenience, two separate dining halls had been built for men and women.
Usually, few male soldiers came to their area. The canteen was located just two hundred meters below their dorm building—easy to find.