“Report, instructor, I really can’t run anymore… Can I have leave for this afternoon’s military training? I fainted from heatstroke yesterday and went to the infirmary, and I’m still a bit dizzy today.”
As Xiong Wan spoke, the classmates who had already started dispersing and walking out instinctively slowed their steps. It wasn’t that they also wanted to ask for leave, but rather they wanted to see how strict the instructor would be.
Che Xing’an looked at the female student in front of him, her lips still bright red, and sternly criticized:
“It’s precisely because you don’t exercise enough that your physique is poor and you get heatstroke. Don’t worry, when you faint, I’ll have classmates send you to the infirmary. It’s fine, I see your lips are still red, so there shouldn’t be any major problem.”
Xiong Wan: “……”
She regretted putting on lipstick when she came to gather this morning!
Xiong Wan looked at the instructor in front of her, who was dark-skinned and lean, and forced a smile.
“Then, can I also request to finish the training in the morning, like classmate Liu Chen?”
Che Xing’an looked at the female student in front of him, who was already out of breath after just an hour of jogging, with surprise. She was actually volunteering to add extra training in the morning?
After a moment of hesitation, Che Xing’an was still worried about the female classmate, whose legs were trembling, actually fainting from running. He spoke with a clear conscience and advised:
“You can definitely request it, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it…”
Xiong Wan panted, her eyes blinking rapidly, and quickly said in her slightly off-key Taiwanese accent:
“I can!”
…
Early in the morning, after an hour of jogging, Liu Chen wiped the sweat from her forehead. She felt her entire body had been activated and sat down in the cafeteria, ordering three large meat buns, a bowl of soy milk, two braised eggs, and a portion of fruit.
Tang Shengnan, sitting opposite Liu Chen, looked at the food on Liu Chen’s plate and couldn’t help but sigh with admiration.
“No wonder you’re so good at running!”
“No, no, don’t misunderstand. My appetite is normal usually. It’s just that after exercising today, my appetite improved, and the food in our cafeteria is indeed quite delicious.”
Tang Shengnan shook her head. Her family was from a village under the county, and before high school, she had to help her family with farming from time to time, so she had stamina. She originally thought she would be the one with the best stamina among the girls during military training today. However, when she arrived at the assembly point and saw Liu Chen, whose breathing was already steady, Tang Shengnan knew she was wrong.
It seemed her roommate Liu Chen was not only good at studying, but her slender and fair body also contained great endurance.
While the two were halfway through their meal, Sang Ling rushed in. It turned out that someone in their class had fainted during the morning jog, and she had been called out by the instructor to take a classmate to the infirmary.
“I wonder if the intensity of the afternoon military training will be reduced. Otherwise, I feel like not many people will be able to last.”
…
The instructors also arrived at the cafeteria at this time. Che Xing’an’s gaze immediately found Liu Chen sitting in the middle of the cafeteria and couldn’t help but look at her a few more times, confirming that she was the girl from the Baduanjin video.
“Che Xing’an, what are you gawking at? Let me tell you, you can’t waver just because some female students are good-looking. We are here to train, and we are not the same as these college students. Don’t get distracted.”
Hearing his teammate’s words from behind, Che Xing’an couldn’t help but explain:
“No, am I that kind of person? When I returned for recuperation from my previous post, I was ordered to practice Baduanjin for a month. You know about this, right?”
His teammate nodded.
“I know. And later you kept complaining that your body recovered better after practicing and begged to return to your original unit, hmph!”
Che Xing’an felt a bit awkward seeing his teammate’s disgruntled expression. He didn’t mean he looked down on the current unit. It was purely that he was used to life in the line of fire, and the current peaceful life was truly unsettling.
“That’s the problem. This morning, when I was taking the students in my class for a jog, guess what I saw?”
“Saw what? Saw a ghost?”
“More outrageous than seeing a ghost! I actually saw the girl from the Baduanjin instructional video!”
“What?!”
“What?!”
At this, the teammates in front of and behind Che Xing’an turned their heads to look at him.
“Are you sure?”
Che Xing’an raised three fingers: “I swear to heaven! If it weren’t daylight, I’d think I was hallucinating!”
“Which one? Is it true or not?”
Che Xing’an tilted his chin slightly towards where Liu Chen was sitting.
“She’s sitting there, the most beautiful girl with long black hair tied up that reaches her waist.”
A group of instructors’ gazes involuntarily followed where Che Xing’an was pointing.
As a result, everyone in the cafeteria was drawn by the movements of these instructors and looked in the direction they were looking.
Liu Chen, while eating, felt many eyes on her. She raised her head slightly and glanced around, finally settling her gaze on her class instructor, Che Xing’an.
“Instructor? Is something wrong?”
Che Xing’an shook his head. Although he wasn’t brilliant, he knew that the Baduanjin fist technique was not something to be taken lightly, as he, as a beneficiary, could personally feel its effects.
“Nothing. Classmate Liu Chen, after you finish eating, rest for half an hour and then take the students who haven’t assembled for a couple of laps.”
“Okay!”
Hearing this exchange, the surrounding freshmen who were initially curious silently lowered their heads. Extra training was too intense; they really hoped their own instructors wouldn’t have such ideas!
Because of Che Xing’an’s urging, Liu Chen finished her meal, returned to the dormitory, took a twenty-minute nap, and then got up, refreshed, and reapplied sunscreen. The remaining three roommates in the dormitory were still fast asleep. The morning’s exertion had indeed exceeded their limits.
Before leaving, she woke Xiong Wan. Liu Chen then took the attendance list and waited at their class’s designated spot on the sports field.
Three minutes past the agreed-upon time, the students who had fallen behind in the morning finally arrived. Xiong Wan was among them. Only then did Liu Chen nod slightly. Although this girl Xiong Wan sometimes spoke with a Taiwanese accent and sounded a bit flirtatious, she was, after all, a persistent person.
Next was a two-lap run around the field. Led by Liu Chen and having just slept, everyone managed to keep pace and complete the run this time.
Xiong Wan was also like that, panting heavily with her hands on her knees, sweat constantly trickling down her face from her forehead.
Liu Chen looked at Xiong Wan’s smudged makeup again and fell silent…
How obsessed was this young girl with makeup? She was this tired but still remembered to put on foundation? However, the setting effect was really not good.
Fortunately, because the students who were making up the run were all panting heavily, no one had the extra energy to observe others.
Outside the sports field, members of the news agency saw this scene and pressed their camera shutters.
“Save them up and publish them together. It’ll be enough for a freshman commemorative issue.”
Everyone simply sat down on the field to rest. Liu Chen stood in place, occasionally stretching her muscles, preparing for the training to come.
At 8:30 in the morning, military training officially began. Che Xing’an adjusted the training intensity based on the physical fitness of the students in the class.
Because of her excellent performance, Liu Chen was specifically called out by the instructor to stand in the first position in the front row.
The entire morning passed with the rise and fall of commands like “Attention,” “At ease,” “Salute,” “Squat,” “Quick march,” “Forward march,” and “Running march.”
Since Liu Chen was standing at the front, she couldn’t see the condition of the students behind her but diligently completed every movement.
The students of Food Science Class 1, standing behind her, looked at Liu Chen’s back, standing ramrod straight like a pine tree, and couldn’t help but feel admiration.
If a person’s excellence is not far from yours, you might be jealous. But if a person’s excellence is far beyond that of ordinary people, it will only inspire admiration.
The students of Food Science Class 1 didn’t necessarily feel worship, but they were genuinely impressed by Liu Chen from the bottom of their hearts.
As for Xiong Wan’s proposal for early training, it had long been forgotten amidst the packed schedule of commands.
During this time, because Liu Chen’s commands and movements were standard, she was even brought out by Che Xing’an to demonstrate in front of various formations.
And Xiong Wan, as the class monitor, successfully fainted four times during the twenty-four days of military training, even being specifically asked by Che Xing’an to go for a physical examination. Her health was too poor!
The twenty-fourth day of military training arrived. Beijing’s climate had also changed from the initial unbearable heat to the current crisp autumn air. The backs of the new students on the sports field had gone from slightly hunched to upright.
“Today is your last day of military training. I have seen everyone’s hard work during this period, and the progress is very obvious. I hope that after military training ends, you will also develop the habit of holding your head high and standing tall. Remember to work hard for tomorrow morning’s military training performance!”
After twenty-four days of military training, Liu Chen, the only touch of white in the entire Food Science Class 1, nodded seriously. Tomorrow, she would be the flag bearer, walking at the very front of the formation, not only responsible for setting the rhythm of the team but also for shouting slogans.
“Instructor! We will work hard!”
“Good, dismiss!”
After Che Xing’an said “dismiss,” he prepared to leave the sports field. Outside the field, the bus waiting for their team was parked there. They would return to their garrison unit overnight.
“Instructor, let’s take a group photo!”
“Yes, yes! Instructor Che, let’s take a group photo together!”
The first boy said with a hint of a sob, followed by a barrage of classmates’ suggestions. Che Xing’an looked at the students in front of him, who had been pale and weak when he first met them, but were now tanned like charcoal. His heart softened.
“Just a group photo, the bus is waiting.”
Finally, Che Xing’an squatted in the very front, followed by two rows of girls squatting behind him, then the boys in a half-squat, and the boys standing in the last row. The first group photo of Food Science Class 1 was taken.
It was also, in the future, famously dubbed by many netizens as – the strongest group photo, holding half of China’s food supply.