Chapter 13

“Hey, those at the back, keep up, keep up.”

“Have you all had breakfast?”

Behind Class 1 is Class 2, and their instructor, one who speaks Sichuan dialect in his early twenties, is the prime of youth.

This is his first time leading military training. He was thrilled when he learned about the “environmental lake” project at Nanjing University’s military training.

He snatched the flag from the first row of male classmates, waved it in the air, and cheered excitedly.

“Hey, come on, show me some spirit.”

“Pull yourselves together, understand?”

“Come on, come on, hurry up. If anyone performs well today, I’ll treat them to ice cream, got it?”

“Hurry up.”

In contrast to his excitement, Class 2 seemed a bit listless, and the whole class seemed very dispirited.

It’s too difficult; the environmental lake is too difficult; will they even make it back alive?

Li Jiao was at the rear of Class 1, She turned her head and looked back. The instructor was excited about going on an outing, but the students were despondent about going to their “death,” creating a huge contrast.

Li Jiao silently turned her head back, realizing that she wasn’t the only one feeling sad about the environmental lake.

She pulled her backpack strap and looked up, catching a glimpse of Zhang Jiuling ahead, who was carrying nothing and going light. His sleeves rolled up, revealing strong arms.

Every step he took was precise, with consistent stride length, as if he had measured it. His walking posture was also very handsome, with two long legs wrapped in camouflage trousers and black military boots stepping on the asphalt road.

It was as if she was watching a military parade.

The instructor is so handsome~

Li Jiao also started to daydream, not looking at the road but staring at Zhang Jiuling’s figure.

Perhaps her gaze was too intense. Zhang Jiuling turned back, his cold, dark eyes meeting Li Jiao’s prying gaze directly, making her instantly feel exposed.

Li Jiao immediately felt awkward, nodded awkwardly, and smiled awkwardly.

Then, she withdrew her gaze and focused on her own thoughts.

Seeing that she wasn’t looking at him anymore, Zhang Jiuling turned his head faintly and continued walking.

That girl who had a fever yesterday?

She’s staring at him again today. Is she holding a grudge, wanting to retaliate against him?

“Come on, classmates, keep going, keep going; we’re almost at the entrance to Maple Lake; come on, keep going!”

The instructor from Class 2 cheered excitedly, waving flags and cheering on, almost dragging the students along with him.

But the students in their class couldn’t muster any enthusiasm at all, dragging their feet as they walked.

The scorching sun was already out, slowly roasting this group of national flowers.

“I can’t take it anymore, seriously.”

“It’s so hot; I just want to go back now.”

“The environmental lake is too scary; I don’t want to go.”

“Let’s just stop here.”

“I was wrong; I shouldn’t have come to Nanjing University in the first place. If I hadn’t come to Nanjing University, I wouldn’t have encountered this stupid project; if I hadn’t encountered…”

…

Compared to Class 2, Class 1 was still alright, with decent overall morale, and no one was clamoring to go back to school.

Even in this heat…

They looked at the stern-faced instructor next to them and suddenly felt a lot cooler.

Maple Lake is naturally famous for its maple leaves. Every October, the mountains here are covered in red maple leaves, reflecting in the clear lake water. It is truly breathtaking.

Every year, many people come here to admire the scenery. In addition, Maple Lake has a good environment, fresh air, a pleasant climate, and is particularly suitable for migratory birds to inhabit.

Now it’s September, and there aren’t many red maple leaves. At this time of year, most people still come to see the migratory birds.

Maple Lake is located in a low-lying area in a small valley.

Coming out of Nanjing University, the students took the western entrance, needing to descend a long flight of stairs to reach Maple Lake.

With the instructors leading the way, the students descended to the lakeside road of Maple Lake in an orderly manner.

Class 1 naturally led the way. As soon as they reached the lakeside, the temperature dropped significantly. Countless maple tree leaves provided shade, and coupled with being by the lake, it couldn’t have been cooler.

“Wow~ It’s so cool here.”

“Maple Lake is so beautiful.”

“Suddenly, I feel like the environmental lake isn’t so bad after all; at least it’s cool.”

“What’s the use of being cool when it’s twenty kilometers?”

“Wow, look, look, there are migratory birds!”

“…………”

The students suddenly became excited, laughing and chatting.

Zhang Jiuling glanced at the now relaxed queue; his brows furrowed slightly, casting a cold glance over them.

Wherever his icy gaze swept, silence followed.

They were all about to die, all high-spirited, a moment ago, forgetting about the cold-faced Yama.

Zhang Jiuling looked calmly at the now-silent and serious group.

“You’re here for training, not for an outing.”

The class fell silent like cicadas in winter; no one dared to speak.

Li Jiao was also very afraid. The instructor may be good-looking, but he was really scary; his cold expression could make her shiver directly.

“First row, lead the way; keep up at the back.”

Zhang Jiuling gave the order.

Class 1 reformed their formation and set off again, the line neatly arranged.

Li Jiao silently followed the group. When she passed by Zhang Jiuling, her calves couldn’t help but move a bit faster.

The instructor was too frightening; she’d better keep her distance.

She thought her movements were subtle, but Zhang Jiuling noticed everything. He glanced at the petite girl at the end of the line, who was walking quite fast.

Was he really that scary?

Did she intentionally walk a few steps faster, passing by him?

As Li Jiao walked past Zhang Jiuling, just as she breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she had narrowly escaped, before she could even feel a moment of relief…

Suddenly, it felt colder, and there was a sense of chill.

At the same time, the light dimmed.

She suddenly had a bad feeling; her neck stiffened, and she quietly turned her head. Zhang Jiuling’s handsome profile was right beside her; his high nose bridge and well-defined features—even his neck line—were exceptionally beautiful.

Li Jiao quietly swallowed, completely devoid of any mood to appreciate the instructor’s beauty.

I’m going to die. Why is the instructor standing next to me?

Could it be that there will be extra training today too?

No way, help, Mom~~

She turned her head to look at Zhang Jiuling, her expression miserable, as if she could burst into tears at any moment, her small face twisted in distress.

Zhang Jiuling did feel her gaze, and with a sidelong glance, he saw the girl frowning, looking miserable.

Seeing him, she seemed very unhappy?

As Li Jiao felt like crying without tears, she suddenly heard Zhang Jiuling’s clear and calm voice.

“Look ahead.”

Instantly, Li Jiao snapped back to attention.

She quickly turned her head to look ahead.

I’m going to die, I’m going to die, getting caught peeking at the instructor; could he really make me do extra training?

Instructor, I’m sorry, please spare me…

“Have you recovered from your fever?”

This sudden question from the usually icy instructor was a rare inquiry: was he actually concerned about her?

She hadn’t reacted for a moment, and she was stunned.

“…………”

No one replied for a long time. Zhang Jiuling turned his head slightly to see the girl staring blankly again, his eyebrows raised slightly.

He began to doubt whether this girl had something wrong with her brain; was her attention always so unfocused?

This was how many times already, and she was still daydreaming in front of him?

Zhang Jiuling’s dark eyes narrowed slightly, and his voice was cool.

“The last one in the first row.”

“Yes, sir!”

Li Jiao instinctively answered, her voice loud.

“I’m asking you, have you recovered from your fever?”

“Reporting, sir, I took medicine this morning; I’m better now!”

Zhang Jiuling nodded slightly. Seeing Li Jiao instinctively stand at attention, he was somewhat satisfied. After training for so long, there was finally some progress.

“Continue marching.”

“Yes, sir!”

Li Jiao immediately followed the order to turn right, heel to toe, aligning with the rest of the formation.

After going through the whole routine, she was stunned herself; her reflexes were too scary.

For the rest of the environmental lake route, Zhang Jiuling didn’t walk ahead of the group. Instead, he stayed at the back of the formation, standing next to Li Jiao.

Throughout the journey, Li Jiao felt like crying from the overwhelming tension.

Instructor, what did I do wrong? Can you tell me?

You’ve been standing beside me the whole time, and it’s scaring me to death.

From start to finish, Zhang Jiuling didn’t have much thought except for silently criticizing internally.

Wasn’t this girl’s courage a bit too small? He wasn’t a monster, so why was she so afraid of him?

With such poor mental resilience, what would happen if she actually ended up on the battlefield in the future?

He wasn’t trying to scare her. As a qualified soldier and a good instructor, Zhang Jiuling felt it was necessary to toughen up Li Jiao’s mental resilience.

Wasn’t she afraid of him?

Then he deliberately stood next to her to help her overcome her fear.

If Li Jiao knew about the sincere intentions behind his actions, she’d probably be moved to tears.

At 9 o’clock in the morning, all the freshmen from Nanjing University entered Maple Lake, having walked a considerable distance.

The scorching sun began to rise higher, and the previously cool temperature gradually increased. Everyone’s sweat was dripping incessantly, the heat was blinding, and sweat soaked their backs.

The initial enthusiasm was beginning to wane. When they first entered, everyone could still chat and laugh with each other.

Now, they were completely absorbed in moving forward, heads down, just wanting to reach the rest spot as soon as possible.

The instructor from Class 2 wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Looking at the exhausted students, he clapped his hands.

Encouragingly, he said, “Come on, let’s cheer up!”

“Don’t be so gloomy.”

“Let’s sing a song together.”

“I’ll start.”

“Unity is strength~”

“Get ready; unity is strength~”

He waved the flag vigorously and sang with all his might.

However, everyone was tired. After singing for a while, very few people followed along.

After a while, the instructor from Class 2 was hoarse from shouting, coughed a bit, and yelled,

“Why aren’t you singing for me?!”

“Oh my, am I holding a solo concert here??”

“Do you have tickets, or are you just listening along?!!”

“Sorry, do you have any shame?!!”

His exaggerated Sichuan dialect, full of passion and humor, sounded particularly amusing, and many people laughed.

The instructor from Class 2 continued, “Alright, alright, hurry up, come on, sing.”

“Unity is strength~”

“Ready, go!”

“Unity is strength~”

This time, many people joined in singing together, their voices loud and clear.

The instructor from Class 2 actively moved around among the groups, directing them.

“Come on, listen to my commands. Listen to my commands.”

“Unity is strength~”

“Ready, go!”

“Oh my, what on earth is this pitch? It’s completely off-key.”

“Your singing—I bet even I could sing better than you!”

A student laughed and replied, “I don’t believe it.”

“Hey~”

“Don’t you dare not believe me; let me tell you…”

…

After some deliberate adjustments by the instructor from Class 2, the atmosphere improved significantly.

The surrounding classes also started singing along.

“Unity is strength~”

“Unity is strength~”

“This strength is iron~”

“This strength is steel~”

“Harder than iron, stronger than steel!”

“Fire at the *** Emperor~”

“Let all undemocratic ideologies perish!”

“…………”

The voice echoed repeatedly around Maple Lake.

Thousands of students from Nanjing University sang along, full of vitality. This is how we, as young students, should be.

Youth should be like this.

Hearing everyone around her singing, Li Jiao also sang softly along.

“Toward the sun~”

“Toward hope~”

“Toward the new China, emitting brilliant radiance~”

Her voice was small and unclear, and Zhang Jiuling beside her couldn’t make out anything.

He only vaguely heard a few words: “toward… hope… emit… radiance?”

???

Was this girl singing? Hope emitting radiance?

Was she going to become a light bulb?