Chapter 17

“What’s wrong? Fainted?”

Upon seeing this, the instructor of Class 2 looked over. The little girl was leaning into someone’s arms, her face pale and her eyes tightly shut. It seemed she had indeed fainted.

“Instructor, what should we do? We pinched her acupuncture point, but she is still unconscious.”

“Come on, I’ll carry her.”

“Help her up.”

Several boys stepped forward to assist, holding onto her arms. Perhaps due to her unconsciousness, her weight seemed heavier.

Unable to stand, they just managed to lift her before she almost fell back to the ground.

“Hey, slow down, slow down.”

“Easy, don’t let her fall.”

Some nearby girls noticed that Li Jiao’s clothing had shifted, revealing a glimpse of her slender waist. They kindly adjusted her clothes to prevent any embarrassment.

One girl even took off her thin jacket and tied it around Li Jiao’s waist.

“Here,” the instructor of Class 2 lifted Li Jiao onto his back and hurried towards the edge of the military training ground, where an ambulance was on standby.

“An ambulance!”

“Get the ambulance!”

Several boys from Class 1 also followed, running alongside Instructor Liu on both sides and behind, forming a protective barrier.

The training ground was vast, and the resting area for Class 1 was in a corner. Now, they were running straight across the entire training ground towards the ambulance.

Their swift and urgent movement attracted the attention of onlookers.

“Instructor, do you want me to take over?” a boy asked.

“This stretch is too long, and carrying someone while running so fast, Instructor Liu, you’re already sweating,” another remarked.

In response, Instructor Liu simply tightened his hold on the girl. Sweat dripped down, blurring his vision and causing some discomfort.

Gritting his teeth, his determination showing, he replied, “No need!”

In his mind, he cursed, “Damn, why is this military training ground so big!”

On the playground, instructors from other classes also noticed the situation. Several of them ran over and inquired.

“Liuzi, what’s going on?”

“She fainted.”

“She’s unconscious.”

“Let me take over for you.”

“No need; you go quickly and call the ambulance over.”

“……….”

Liuzi continued to run with the person on his back. One instructor took a step ahead and went to call the ambulance.

Zhang Jiuling had just finished speaking with the chief instructor and was descending the stairs by the avenue, heading towards the military training ground.

From afar, he saw five or six people running towards him, their faces pale with urgency.

It seemed someone had collapsed. One instructor was carrying a person on his back, accompanied by four or five male students, running as if their lives depended on it!

“What’s going on?”

Zhang Jiuling ran over, and when instructor Liuzi saw him, tears almost welled up in his eyes.

“Boss, one of your students in your class fainted.”

Zhang Jiuling glanced behind him, and there he saw the girl, her face pale almost to transparency, long eyelashes hanging down, and lips devoid of color.

With a slight furrow in his brow, his voice was deep and warm, carrying a hint of seriousness.

“Let me take over.”

Liuzi couldn’t run any further. Upon hearing this, he stopped and gently lowered the person from his back.

A pair of strong arms took over, and Zhang Jiuling held the person, running towards the nearby ambulance.

Watching their figures disappear into the distance, Liuzi collapsed on the ground, feeling relieved and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Panting heavily, he said, “Oh my, this girl looked so light, but she’s heavy.”

“Oh my, I’m so tired…”

Li Jiao felt her mind clouded, surrounded by darkness, unable to see anything. The sound of the wind rustled past her ears swiftly, faintly hearing some voices.

Li Jiao knew she had been carried by someone earlier. She heard someone asking her if she was okay, and someone kept calling out to her, urging her to stay awake.

“Classmate, don’t fall asleep, classmate!”

“Can you hear me, classmate?”

“Don’t fall asleep; absolutely don’t fall asleep, classmate!”

“……….”

She could vaguely hear it all, wanting to respond but being unable to open her eyes or speak.

Initially, she was starting to wake up halfway through, but being carried by the Class 2 instructor, her head knocked against his shoulder, jostling her, and she ended up fainting again.

Finally, her eyes struggled open, just a crack, hazy and dazed, and she saw a man’s face: thin lips pressed tight, a high-bridged nose, sharp facial features.

The dim yellow light from the streetlamp cast a faint halo over his face, giving him an almost divine aura, as if he were a perfect statue sculpted by Michelangelo.

Instructor…

He looked ahead with resolute eyes, exuding an inexplicable sense of reassurance.

Am I being carried princess-style by the instructor now?

This was Li Jiao’s final thought before slipping completely unconscious.

“Hello, the patient is fine.”

“It should be due to recent overexertion, coupled with a fever, that she fainted.”

A female nurse, holding a medical record, smiled and reassured the others.

“Just rest well, and everything will be fine.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiuling nodded slightly.

“No trouble at all.”

The nurse beamed, “No problem. If you need anything, just ring the bell.”

After speaking, she glanced at Zhang Jiuling several times with reluctance, then finally left, stomping her feet at the door.

Wow, he’s so handsome!

The hospital wasn’t far from the school, and as it was a newly built branch, there weren’t many people around. The hospital room was empty except for one unconscious patient, Li Jiao.

Zhang Jiuling took a few steps forward, looking at the girl lying on the bed. Her already fair face appeared even paler now. Her two delicate eyebrows were slightly furrowed as she slept, her eyes tightly shut, her long eyelashes curled and raised, her nose petite and refined, and her lips pressed lightly together.

Her face, which had been round before the military training, had become more slender and angular in the past few days, hinting at the delicate beauty of a melon seed face.

Li Jiao had the traditional appearance of a southern girl: delicate and charming, with a soft and graceful demeanor. When she smiled, two small dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth, like two little drops of honey—sweet and lovely.

But now she lay on the bed like a delicate white hibiscus, fragile and pitiful.

Was it because she was too tired that she fainted?

Hasn’t her fever subsided yet? Why is her recovery ability so poor?

Suddenly, Zhang Jiuling remembered the girl being the same earlier today at Maple Lake, with a pale face and red eyes, like a little rabbit.

At that time, she had mentioned that her fever hadn’t gone away.

How did he not notice…

Zhang Jiuling’s handsome brows furrowed as he gazed at the girl in the bed. For the first time, a feeling of guilt began to spread in his heart.

Approaching the bedside, he reached out, his slender fingers gently brushing against the girl’s smooth forehead. It wasn’t hot, but rather cool.

Looking down, he saw a blanket at the foot of the bed. Zhang Jiuling pulled it over, covering her and tucking the corner of the blanket around her neck before straightening it out.

Standing up, he realized he needed to report to the class counselor.

With that, he opened the door and stepped out to make a phone call.

When Li Jiao opened her eyes again, all she saw was white—nothing else, just white.

In that moment, Li Jiao truly began to wonder if she had ascended to heaven.

But at the same time, the burning temperature all over her body made Li Jiao start to wonder wildly.

What’s going on? Half heaven, half hell, is my body being stewed in the pot of hell?

A bit more awake now, Li Jiao looked down and saw herself covered with a thick blanket.

With some effort, she pushed the blanket off, and the sweat on her forehead dripped down.

“In the middle of summer, why such a thick blanket?”

“Who’s so afraid of me freezing to death?”

The main culprit for fearing she’d freeze to death, Zhang Jiuling, after finishing his phone call, opened the door and saw the girl sitting on the bed, her cheeks red like a ripe apple, sweating profusely, and fanning herself with both hands.

The blanket he had covered her with earlier was kicked aside by the girl with disdain.

For a moment, Zhang Jiuling felt a bit embarrassed.

Walking in, he spoke, his voice still cold.

“Awake? Feeling better?”

Li Jiao turned her head. “Instructor?”

In an instant, a flurry of images flashed through Li Jiao’s mind—the scenes from before she lost consciousness. Oh, she remembered now that, before she completely lost consciousness, the person holding her was the instructor.

Zhang Jiuling walked in and sat down, and his long legs looked somewhat out of place on the small couch.

He casually began rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, his distinct knuckles visible as his fingers undid the cuffs, revealing his forearm. When he bent his arm, a vein protruded, adding to his masculine charm with every movement.

Li Jiao had never realized that someone could look so attractive even while rolling up their sleeves. Involuntarily, she swallowed a small gulp of saliva.

After realizing her reaction, her face turned even redder.

Oh no, she felt like a pervert lusting after someone’s beauty!

Not hearing a response for a while, Zhang Jiuling raised his head and glanced at her. The girl was holding her red cheeks and rubbing them continuously. Her somewhat chubby cheeks, like two little buns, were being kneaded.

“Li Jiao.”

“Here!”

Li Jiao instinctively replied loudly. If it weren’t inconvenient right now, she would have jumped up from the bed to salute out of reflex!

Zhang Jiuling calmly observed the tense girl before him. He had only learned her name when she registered.

Li Jiao?

Her name truly suited her, petite (short).

He asked, “Feeling better now?”

“Reporting to the instructor, feeling better.”

After answering, Li Jiao tilted her head, feeling like crying. What was she doing? Her reflexes were too terrifying!

—-Instructor, you’re such a devil! I’m in the hospital, and you still appear out of nowhere.

Suddenly, Zhang Jiuling’s phone rang. It was a message from Li Jiao’s counselor, saying they had arrived at the hospital.

Zhang Jiuling stood up and addressed the person on the hospital bed.

“Rest for now. I’ll go fetch someone.”

“Okay.”

Watching his figure leave the ward, Li Jiao collapsed onto the bed, feeling restless. She pulled at her hair in frustration and said, “Oh no, Li Jiao, what’s wrong with you…”

Ah, why did she faint again?

Was it because of the fever?

Oh, she knew military training was terrifying! Mom, I want to go home!

She lay on the bed, kicking her legs randomly.

But…

Li Jiao suddenly crawled up from the bed and sat cross-legged. Her hair was tousled from her recent actions, resembling a spider’s web.

A pensive expression crossed her delicate face.

Was the person who brought her to the hospital really the instructor??

It must be the instructor; he’s already here.

Then, was the person she saw earlier also the instructor?

Oh no, the instructor really did carry her…

Oh my, my Monet, my Michelangelo…

Li Jiao held her face, smiling with her eyes curved and two cute dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth, exuding a sense of innocence.

From childhood until now, she had never been princess-carried by anyone.

Ah, the instructor princess carried her…

After returning to school, she definitely had to draw it down!!

Oh, my Da Vinci!

…

Li Jiao was fine and returned to school that evening.

After all the fuss, it was the counselor who drove her back to school.

Upon returning, Zhang Yue and Su Linlin both held her, inspecting her from top to bottom. They had wanted to go to the hospital with her, but they couldn’t catch up as they ran too slowly.

After learning that Li Jiao had only fainted due to exhaustion, they felt relieved.

Tonight, the whole class was quite scared because of Li Jiao’s fainting incident.

According to Zhang Yue and Su Linlin, many classmates helped out. Some called the ambulance, some kept her awake, and some even stayed with the instructor until she was taken into the ambulance…

After knowing that Li Jiao had gone to the hospital, everyone kept in touch through the class group chat, asking about her condition.

Although everyone in the class came from different places, after a few days of military training, they hadn’t become particularly close yet.

Even though they weren’t close, when something happened, it truly made everyone feel the most sincere and genuine kindness from each other.

Li Jiao has to say that she was truly moved.

After getting her phone back, she sent a message to the class group.