The forced self-preservation yielded some effect.
The girls each chose books they liked.
It was disheartening for the girls to find that out of a large bookshelf, only a few books were worth reading.
"Little Sweetheart, did you start reading books when you were two years old?" Zhao Hongmei couldn't help but ask.
Given Su Xiaotian's age, if she hadn't started reading and learning to recognize characters at two, it would be hard to believe she had finished so many books.
Su Xiaotian couldn't help but chuckle.
What strange things filled Zhao Hongmei's mind?
Reading at two years old?
Could she even understand it?
"No, I started school at seven!" Su Xiaotian said solemnly.
Starting school at seven.
Such an answer was truly hard for the girls to believe.
This meant that she had only been in school for six or seven years.
"Do you spend a lot of time reading every day?" Chu Yue asked tentatively.
If she hadn't started reading at a very young age, there could only be one other possibility: she spent a lot of time reading.
Su Xiaotian nodded.
"For years, since I learned to recognize characters, I've spent about ten hours reading every day!" Su Xiaotian said.
Ten hours?
Since learning to recognize characters?
The girls exchanged glances.
They were undoubtedly diligent readers, but spending ten hours reading every day was truly unbelievable.
And this was starting from the age of seven.
What did a seven-year-old child understand?
Qi Xiaofang recalled seeing Su Xiaotian reading a book under the dormitory building on her first day of reporting.
Thinking back to the military training these past few days, Su Xiaotian would still pull out a book and read diligently whenever she had time.
Suddenly, she felt that it was not without reason that this young girl was so outstanding.
After exchanging glances, the girls made up their minds.
The girls chatted in Su Xiaotian's bedroom.
Meanwhile, Su Wuke and his comrades sat under the big tree in the courtyard, chatting and enjoying their rare leisure time.
Their conversations were much broader than the girls', ranging from why the Su family moved from the Northwest to the capital, to how Su Xiaotian became a top student at Capital University at such a young age.
It was also at this time that they learned that the Su family's children were not only Su Wuke and Su Xiaotian who were outstanding.
There were ten siblings in the family, and each one was a rare genius.
Moreover, the Su family was different from many families with inherited traditions.
All ten children had achieved success in their respective fields, and even the youngest, Su Xiaotian, was no exception.
Everyone sighed again, feeling that heaven owed them a sister, an outstanding sister!
Time always passed quickly during chats and breaks. It seemed like only a moment had passed before the sun began to set in the west.
Seeing that it was getting late, Qiao Guangyuan proposed to take his leave.
"Company Commander, we've prepared a lot of meat skewers at home. Little Sweetheart said we could have a barbecue later."
Su Wuke busily invited everyone to stay for dinner.
However, how could the comrades impose?
"Wuke, we'll be going back now. Having a meal at your place is already too much of a treat," Qiao Guangyuan said.
"The meat skewers are already prepared. If we don't eat them, they'll likely spoil by tomorrow," Su Wuke said.
The group could only stay again.
Su Xiaotian reheated the braised pork bones, sour and spicy fish, and stewed beef left from lunch. Combined with the barbecue, dozens of people ate another meal.
The group, having eaten two meals at the Su family's, felt a little embarrassed.
They hadn't brought much when they came, but they had eaten heartily all day.
The Su family had truly treated them to the best.
"Wuke, it's getting late, and we should be going. However, I wonder when Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunties and Uncles will be back," Qiao Guangyuan asked.
Having eaten at the Su family's all day without meeting any elders, he felt quite embarrassed.
Qiao Guangyuan voiced the thoughts of the other comrades, and they all nodded in agreement.
"Little Sweetheart, let's wait for the elders to come back too!" Chu Yue said sheepishly.
"Alright, since there are so many of us, it's not scary even if it gets a bit late," Su Xiaotian said with a smile.
They were supposed to return to school that night, otherwise, they would miss classes the next day.
However, if it got too late, they might have to walk back.
The Su family was not too far from the school, but it wasn't exactly close either. It would take about an hour to walk.
"It's okay, we have plenty of people. We ate a lot today, so if we have to walk, we can just consider it a way to aid digestion," Zhao Hongmei said with a hearty laugh.
They all felt they could walk back without issue, let alone the soldier boys.
As they were talking, the Su family elders returned.
Grandma Su was overjoyed to see so many young people in the yard upon entering.
She was practically eager to chat enthusiastically with the young men and women.
Qiao Guangyuan was momentarily unaccustomed to Grandma Su's warmth but quickly managed to converse with her normally.
Moreover, he was good at pleasing the elderly, and after a few words, he had Grandma Su beaming with happiness.
Grandma Su repeatedly told Qiao Guangyuan that when he came to the capital in the future, he must visit their home and not be shy, and so on.
Naturally, while being warm to Qiao Guangyuan, Grandma Su did not neglect the others.
In Grandma Su's eyes, all these children were good children.
Indeed, in the decades to come, these children might become the most important friends and comrades to her grandchildren, besides their family.
It was indeed getting late. After chatting briefly with Grandma Su, the young people bid farewell reluctantly.
The Su family saw them off together. Su Xiaotian returned to school with the main group.
Since she had to walk back to school, Su Xiaotian didn't bring anything else this time.
As they were leaving, Qiao Guangyuan and Su Wuke agreed on the time and place to meet at the train station the next day.
By the time Su Xiaotian and the others returned to school, it was already ten o'clock.
A little later, and the dormitory doors would have been locked.
The girls quickly ran to the washroom to freshen up before getting into bed in their dorm.
At this time, the lights in the dorm had already been turned off.
It was then that everyone realized that Yin Ruyun seemed not to have returned.
However, thinking that she was a local from the capital, she might return early the next morning, so they didn't think much of it.
Su Xiaotian took out books from the system and read for another two hours before drawing a prize and going to sleep.
She had a feeling that after starting university, her reading time seemed to be decreasing.
She used to be able to guarantee ten hours of reading time every day, but since the start of the semester, there hadn't been a single day where she achieved that.
As a result, she hadn't been drawing anything good from the lottery during this period.
Su Xiaotian secretly resolved to read and study whenever she found a spare moment starting from the next day.
She wasn't the only one with this thought; the other girls in the dorm felt the same way.
Profound knowledge did not fall from the sky but was gained through diligent study.
They wanted to learn from their little sister Su Xiaotian, to be studious individuals, and to be people of profound knowledge who could earn the respect of others.
Su Xiaotian didn't know that the intense competition in Dorm 314 began that very night.
These girls, spurred by her, had become determined!