Chapter 3

Li Jiao felt that although everyone’s performance was not very good, the instructor was too harsh. He immediately dampened their enthusiasm.

She pursed her lips secretly, hoping that she wouldn’t make any mistakes later on. Otherwise, this instructor might “kill” her.

Zhang Jiuling: “Everyone, add 20 minutes to the training!”

“!!!!”

As soon as this was said, no one dared to complain. They could only express their shock with widened eyes.

Truly a devil….a devil!!!!

Thirty minutes plus another twenty minutes, making it fifty minutes!

“Stand still, no moving!”

“Move, and add one minute!”

Now, no one dared to do anything.

Each person raised their chin, chest out, and stomach in, doing their best to control their posture.

Cannot move, cannot move!

Li Jiao tightened her whole body, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Even her eyes were straining and widening, like a little goldfish.

Cannot move, must not move!

Move a bit, and you’re as good as dead!

Time passed by second by second, and the entire military training ground was incredibly quiet, with only occasional sounds of instructors correcting.

Thousands of freshmen were frozen as if under a petrification spell.

Among countless classes,  class 1 stood out the straightest and was also the most rigid.

Why?

Because their class has a devil instructor. With just one cold glance from him, the entire class doesn’t even dare to breathe!

They were wrong. What’s the use of having a handsome instructor!?

Sure, the instructor is handsome, but he’s deadly!

The sun overhead quietly shifted its position.

The scorching sunlight directly hit the top of their heads. Under the military training cap, sweat kept dripping down. Along the hairline, past the ears, and down to the chin, forming droplets of sweat.

September this year is hotter than usual, and just standing in a military position has already caused several students to collapse.

The freshmen on the military training ground are getting dazed and worn out by the heat.

Just when they thought they were about to end their lives, the chief instructor blew a whistle and shouted through a megaphone.

“Everyone, take a break; fifteen minutes!”

“Yeah!!!”

Everyone immediately cheered, but right after came the shouts from their own instructor.

“What are you cheering for! Did I tell you to move!”

“Stand still!”

“Add another ten minutes!”

…

Hearing the scolding and cries around them, class 1 collectively sighed in relief. Thankfully, they didn’t move, or they would have to endure another ten minutes!

Also, as long as their own devil instructor didn’t speak, they wouldn’t dare to move.

Looking at the people who hadn’t moved throughout, Zhang Jiuling’s tone remained icy as he said, “Ten minutes left. Rest after that.”

Like this, while class 1 watched others drink iced tea and lie down to rest, they stood for another ten minutes before being allowed to rest.

“Now, everyone take a ten-minute break.”

Hearing their own instructor’s permission, everyone dared to move.

One by one, they collapsed on the ground, resembling a pile of mud.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just a useless person now~”

“Oh my god, this is so tough~”

“Oh, mom, I’m exhausted.”

“My goodness, so thirsty, let’s go get some water.”

“I need to use the restroom; I need to use the restroom; I’m going to be suffocated!”

…

People around them scattered in small groups, some going to the restroom, some fetching water, and others lying down on the spot…

Su Linyin and Zhang Yue walked over from another direction, handing a cup of water to Li Jiao.

“Jiao Jiao, here you go.”

“Thank you.”

Li Jiao’s cheeks were flushed like an apple from the sun. She took the cup and sighed.

She took a small sip from the cup and then tilted her head back to finish the water.

Just a moment ago, her throat felt like it was smoking, hot and dry.

Zhang Yue sat down and fanned herself with her hand. “It’s too hot today.”

“Just the first day, and it’s already like this. I feel like I can see my miserable future.”

Su Linlin cupped her face, squatted down, and sighed deeply. “Our instructor is too harsh. Although he’s handsome, why isn’t he lovable at all?”

Li Jiao recalled what the instructor looked like. She hadn’t paid much attention earlier, but she remembered the instructor being a bit dark-skinned?

A group of girls nearby was also discussing the instructor, the ones who had been punished earlier.

“Hey, our instructor is handsome, but he’s too unkind.”

“That’s right, he made us do push-ups as soon as we arrived. I almost fell directly to the ground.”

“He’s so strict; he definitely doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

“Haha, how would you know? The instructor is so handsome, he must have a girlfriend.”

“Yeah, maybe. Hey, did you notice his rank is a major, a senior officer!”

“So impressive?”

…

Su Linyin perked up her ears to eavesdrop on the gossip and was about to join the discussion.

Once again, the familiar sound of a whistle echoed, and the chief instructor announced the end of the break, signaling the continuation of the training.

Reluctantly, everyone put down their water cups and walked back onto the training ground.

“Ten minutes passed so quickly, didn’t it?”

“So hot, we have to endure the roasting again.”

Su Linyin also complained, “I haven’t heard much yet.”

Li Jiao comforted her a bit, and as they chatted, they returned to their positions.

Just as they stood still, the instructor approached.

The instructor’s resting tent was on the other side, different from the students’, so they came from a different direction.

Learning from the lesson, class 1 fell silent as the instructor approached, standing in attention.

Zhang Jiuling walked over, and his black military boots pressed down on the grass, leaving an indentation.

“The morning session covered the ‘attention’ and’stand at ease.'”

“We’ve already practiced ‘stand at attention’, and now we’ll learn to’stand at ease.'”

As he spoke, he turned to the side, revealing a sharply defined profile, explaining and demonstrating simultaneously.

“For’stand at attention’, extend the left foot in the direction of the toe, about two-thirds the length of the foot, both legs naturally straight, the upper body maintaining the posture, with most of the body weight on the right foot.”

After explaining, Zhang Jiuling demonstrated the movement once again.

His body tightened, his movements were smooth, extending the foot swiftly, and he was retracting with strength. When shifting the weight to the foot, one could almost see the robust muscles in his legs, harboring formidable strength.

Beside her, someone whispered in admiration, “So handsome~”

Li Jiao was indifferent; she hadn’t paid much attention to the instructor before. Taking this opportunity, she took a few more glances. Indeed, the instructor was quite handsome.

Well, just a bit on the darker side.

What if he were a bit fairer?

Li Jiao couldn’t help but imagine for a moment, shaking her head afterward. No, no. If he were too fair, he wouldn’t look like a soldier.

Too fair would make him seem a bit delicate, while a bit darker looked more military, exuding a masculine aura.

Lost in her thoughts, Li Jiao snapped back to reality as Zhang Jiuling finished his explanation.

“Now, give it a try.”

“Everyone, stand at ease!”

Li Jiao returned to her senses and awkwardly followed suit.

Zhang Jiuling walked up to each person, correcting their posture.

“Upper body at ‘stand at attention’ position.”

“Weight on the left foot.”

“Eyes at eye level.”

Moving from the first row, he quickly reached Li Jiao at the back of the formation.

Seeing the instructor approaching, she quickly adjusted her posture, raising her head and chest and leveling her eyes.

Zhang Jiuling walked up to her, paused, glanced at her feet, and then looked up at her without saying anything.

Why did the instructor stop when he reached her?

Li Jiao dared not even breathe. What’s happening? What did I do wrong? Why did the instructor stop?

She held her breath, her eyes staring straight ahead, afraid to look at Zhang Jiuling.

However, Zhang Jiuling remained silent, extending his foot to point at the grass in front of her.

He approached Li Jiao a bit, and she once again caught a whiff of the cold fragrance emanating from him, faint and refreshing, quite pleasant.

Having just returned from a break without wearing his military cap, Li Jiao’s gaze shifted slightly, revealing Zhang Jiuling’s dense, black hair, attractive ears, and the handsome profile of his side face.

Her mind relaxed, and her thoughts began to drift. The instructor did seem quite good-looking.

Zhang Jiuling tapped the ground, noticing that the girl in front of him hadn’t moved for a while. He looked up and found the young lady in front of him, seemingly lost in thought.

His expression remained indifferent. With his right foot in black military boots, he tapped the ground again and spoke with a cold tone.

“Your feet are reversed.”

“Ah, huh?”

Li Jiao snapped back to reality, lowered her head to look at her feet, and indeed, while at ease, she extended her right foot instead of her left. Wasn’t that a mistake?

Hearing this, the people around couldn’t help but chuckle.

In an instant, Li Jiao’s face turned crimson. Quickly, she switched her right foot back to the left and stammered.

“Instructor, I’m sorry. My mistake.”

Zhang Jiuling had initially intended to walk away, but upon hearing the voice, it sounded familiar. He stopped and glanced at her.

Wasn’t the first thing he heard when he approached, “So dark,” said by her?

Zhang Jiuling rarely took a second look at someone. He saw a petite and charming girl with fair skin and blushing cheeks, like a red apple, standing before him.

After a moment, he lifted his foot and continued walking away.

She’s quite small, but surprisingly bold.

Later, Li Jiao only heard the instructor speak with his familiar, cold voice.

“Continue training.”

Seeing that the instructor had finally left, Li Jiao heaved a sigh of relief while feeling a mix of embarrassment and indignation.

How embarrassing, making a mistake in the foot position? Did the instructor think she couldn’t distinguish left from right?

The morning training passed relatively quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was already noon. Thousands of freshmen were allowed to return to the cafeteria for lunch.

Afterwards, feeling like a lost soul, Li Jiao went back to the dormitory to rest for an hour.

Then, she was dragged back to the training ground for more exercises.

The afternoon’s training focused on striding and turning in various directions.

“Everyone, attention!”

“Left turn!”

“Right turn!”

“About face!”

“At ease, attention!”

“Everyone, right turn!”

…

The entire afternoon was filled with turning, and everyone’s heads were spinning.

Li Jiao was no exception. While she could initially figure out the directions, she later found herself turning randomly along with everyone else.

Moreover, whether it was a misunderstanding from the morning or not, the instructor often called her name in the afternoon.

“The last one in the first row, in the wrong direction.”

“Right turn, last one in the first row.”

“Last one in the first row, pay attention to your face.”

“The last one in the first row…”

Throughout the afternoon, Li Jiao was continuously singled out. Although the instructor also called out other names, Li Jiao seemed to be called more frequently.

There was no way around it; she stood in the first row, and her habitual dizziness made her mistakes too obvious.

By the end of the day, Li Jiao felt almost nauseous from all the turning.

Even during dinner in the cafeteria, when she heard someone mention the word “left,” she immediately performed a perfect 90-degree turn to the left, knocking over her classmate’s meal.

After realizing her mistake, she hastily apologized and offered to buy a new meal for her classmate. The fellow freshman, understanding her reflexes, patted her on the shoulder and reassured her.

Turning away, Li Jiao couldn’t help but reflect that it was only the first day of military training, and everyone seemed a bit crazy.

After a whole day of military training, there was an evening meeting in the classroom to elect class representatives.

Inside the spacious classroom, the standing air conditioner was practically decorative and completely out of order.

Above, five or six ceiling fans whirred rapidly, circulating warm air. Any slight movement made it feel unbearably hot, with sweat continuously pouring out.

Someone tugged at their collar, fanning themselves while urging, “Hurry up and make the selection; it’s too hot.”

On the podium, a student temporarily appointed by the counselor organized the process.

“Now, let’s choose the class monitor. Any volunteers?”

Zhang Yue was the first to raise her hand, followed by five or six other girls.

The student at the podium glanced around and suggested, “Let’s decide through a vote then.”

Just entering the school, nobody knew each other well. Voting, in essence, boiled down to first impressions—if someone seemed pleasant, they got the vote.

Zhang Yue had good popularity, with around ten votes. Compared to the two or three votes for the other candidates, she easily won.

After that, in Li Jiao’s dormitory, Su Linyin became a secretary committee member, and Li Jiao was persuaded to become a cultural committee member.

Regardless, holding a small position could always be useful.

Li Jiao had a sweet appearance, resembling a girl-next-door. She had two dimples when she smiled, which everyone found charming. Unsurprisingly, she won the position of cultural committee member by a significant margin.