[The person upstairs said they’re not a Renee Morgan fan, but who else writes barrage comments like essays? Not me. I only have one thing to say: these two green teas, they’re both jealous of Renee!!]
[These two green teas, they’re both jealous of Renee!!]
[...]
Wendy Aldridge heard this "good news," clutching her mosquito net frozen on the spot. She quickly snapped out of it and stepped up innocently: "Renee, how did you get the squad leader to approve the room change?"
Renee had no idea that Wendy had gone to argue about the tent with the instructor and got rejected. Seeing everyone’s curious looks, she explained: "For rooms allocated by competition rules like this, they’re usually open to swapping, as long as both participants agree. Plus, Miles has a health issue—of course we teammates have to help him out. That’s how our team can stay cohesive."
The others nodded, saying that as teammates, it’s only right to support each other through difficulties.
Wendy followed suit, but deep down she was feeling bitter—Renee really knows how to win people over. Helping Miles out means Miles owes her a favor now, and that favor could turn into a resource someday. Just thinking about it made Wendy feel uncomfortable.
She’d already brought the mosquito net back; that favor should have belonged to her, but Renee snagged it instead.
She wasn’t willing to let it go.
Renee took her clothes back to her own room. She’d just gone to check out that luxury dorm—it’s a single room, but about forty or fifty square meters, with AC, washing machine, private bathroom, water heater, all the basic furniture. The room she swapped with Gael Prescott, though, was much simpler—about the size of a bed, an iron bunk, a window, not even a bathroom.
Renee didn’t complain. She figured there might be a surprise inspection soon, so she didn’t rush to unpack her change of clothes. Instead, she first went to get familiar with the communal bathhouse and cafeteria. On her way back, she filled her iron kettle with water. Just as she got back, she heard chaos outside.
She listened closely—the sounds seemed to be coming from Zara Chapman’s dorm.
Renee had just set the kettle down when a short whistle sounded at the door, gathering everyone. She hurried out.
The instructor stood in the corridor, iron-faced, giving Renee a quick once-over before moving on.
Renee quietly breathed out in relief and stood at her spot.
The other teammates scrambled into their clothes, some wearing shoes backwards, running out of their rooms.
Under the instructor’s sharp gaze, even the squad leader was tense.
Zara had just finished showering and was wearing a tank top. The instructor suddenly showed up, the squad leader knocked on her door to warn her, she got scared out of her wits—the sound from earlier was hers.
The instructor’s sharp gaze swept over them inch by inch, stated the purpose of the spot check, then glanced around at their faces again, suddenly calling out: "Zara, Kyle Beckett, Lionel Lincoln, Gael Prescott, Wendy Aldridge—ten seconds to tidy up the clothes on your beds and the shoes on the floor."
The people called were stunned for a few seconds, then quickly spun around back to their rooms to arrange their things.
Kyle had left his locker door open and was about to go back, but the instructor had already called stop.
He froze where he was—awkward if he went back, awkward if he didn’t. Just stood there embarrassed.
"I’ll give you three more seconds to close it." The instructor spoke again.
Kyle broke out in a sweat, rushed back to close the locker, then ran back out to his spot.
The instructor’s sharp gaze swept over them again, finally landing on Zara: "Did they give you uniforms?"
Everyone said yes, they got them.
Instructor: "Then why are you still wearing clothes like that?"
He didn’t say names, but everyone knew who he meant.
Zara couldn’t take the eyes on her anymore: "Reporting, instructor, it’s rest time right now. I’m allowed to wear my own clothes."
The instructor locked his gaze on her: "The base is just like the military. No flashy, fancy clothes allowed."
Zara pressed her lips, not saying a word.
The instructor withdrew his gaze, told the squad leader to teach them the rules, and left.
The squad leader told them various things to pay attention to, reminded them about meal times at the cafeteria later, and then left.
As soon as the instructor and squad leader left, everyone let out a big sigh of relief.
Wendy looked at Zara’s red-rimmed eyes, then at Renee who was calm as ever. Her gaze swept over Renee’s clothes, eyes full of curiosity: "Renee, did you know in advance there’d be a spot check? I saw you never took your uniform off, and your room was so neat."
The others all looked at Renee.
Zara’s eyes were still red; she huffed and turned her head away, lowering her head to touch up her hair, a bit aggrieved.
Renee calmly glanced at everyone, speaking steadily: "I just went to check where the bathhouse and dining hall were, hadn’t got around to freshening up yet—that’s when the instructor showed up. Also, the military values discipline, and so does this place. Staying clean and tidy all the time—the rules are there for a reason. All we have to do is follow them. It’s got nothing to do with knowing beforehand. Lynn Miller and Miles Yates handled it very well too."
She wasn’t the only one who didn’t get called out. Lynn Miller and Miles Yates didn’t either. Wendy wanted to stir up resentment against her, but that depended on whether Renee played along.
The others nodded in agreement—being here was about building good life habits.
Zara’s aggrieved look faded, and she went back to her room to change.
The stream viewers were loving it, flooding the chat with praise for Renee’s social intelligence.
The production team found the Wendy-Renee exchange very educational and specifically edited it as a highlight reel.
All sorts of promo accounts had their eyes on Renee—the new rising star—clipping the video for detailed analyses. Comparing Wendy’s tea-laced comments to Renee’s clear-cut logic, of course they’re both newcomers, but one’s blowing up and the other’s reputation is tanking.
Renee didn’t know she and Wendy had become a comparison meme. Unlike in her dreams, reality had completely flipped.
Just as she was about to go wash up, Wendy ran over again, smiling and praising: "Renee, you’re so clever. Looks like I’ll need to stick with you to avoid making mistakes in the future."
Renee: "..." She was fuming inside, but still, only Wendy could be sweet-mouthed enough to praise like that.
Renee gave a polite smile: "You’re really smart too. We’re teammates, no need to be so formal."
Breezily turning down Wendy, Renee strode off, leaving Wendy awkwardly standing there.
The stream exploded with approval, everyone saying Wendy was too fake—every word she said was dripping with tea vibes, full of schemes like a wasp nest, and Renee wisely refused her gestures.
Some even commented that the thoughts of these stream viewers were kind of scary: