Chapter 18

Li Jiao: Hello, everyone. I’m Li Jiao. I’m fine now; I just came back from the hospital. Thank you all for your concern and help tonight. Thank you.

Internal Affairs Officer: It’s good to hear you’re okay.

Big Northeastern Guy: Aiya, little sis, good to see you’re okay. You don’t know; when you fainted, you scared us all to death.

Academic Affairs Officer: Exactly. It was really scary. Are you sure you’re okay?

Li Jiao: Yes, just a bit of fatigue. Thank you all.

I Want BBQ: Really, Little Chili Pepper, you fainted today, and I was really worried about you.

Coconut Tree from Hainan: Oh my, don’t be gross, Jiao Jiao, just ignore him.

Just a Bit: Jiao Jiao, if you can’t take it anymore, just take a leave of absence; don’t force yourself; it’s too scary.

Monet’s Closed Window Disciple: That’s right, take a leave of absence; it’s the instructor…

Da Vinci’s Egg: The instructor will approve it, right? Everyone fainted.

Michelangelo’s Sculpture: Really, if he doesn’t approve, we’ll protest; what if something serious happens?

Picasso Reincarnated: Easy for you to say, the instructor is so fierce, would you go?

Michelangelo’s Sculpture: I won’t; I’m scared; let’s go together.

Van Gogh’s Sunflower: Heh, I’m not going to die for this; I’m afraid of King Yama’s stern face.

Mona Where’s She: We’re just little ghosts under King Yama’s stern face, it’s pitiful.

Monet’s Closed Window Disciple: But, I have to say, should I say it? The instructor is really handsome.

Van Gogh’s Sunflower: Haha, you like him so much; why don’t you go chase after the instructor? If you catch him, it’ll benefit the class?

Monet’s Closed Window Disciple: Haha, though I’m infatuated, I value my life, I don’t want to.

Mona Where’s She: Hahahahaha…

Picasso Reincarnated: Hahahahaha…

In Room 401, because it’s nap time, Zhang Yue, Su Linlin, and the others have already climbed onto their beds to rest.

Inside the room, there are four beds, with the curtains tightly closed. The room is quiet, only the sound of the air conditioner blowing cold air overhead can be heard.

Outside the dormitory building, cicadas on the trees chirp, signaling the tail end of the summer heat. The dense, lush green trees appear somewhat wilted under the scorching sun.

It’s already mid-to-late September, but the temperature is still hovering around thirty degrees Celsius. Even though the calendar marks the arrival of autumn, the persistently high temperatures make it feel like summer is still in full swing.

However, according to the weather forecast, there will be a heavy rainstorm in a few days. After the rain, the temperature will drop.

In Room 401, on the left bed near the balcony, a blue curtain is drawn, depicting Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” Inside, Li Jiao, who should be taking a nap, sits with a small lamp on, leaning against the wall, holding a small sketchboard and a pencil, depicting the characters on the paper with great concentration.

On the fair sketch paper, black pencil lines outline the profile of a handsome man in military uniform, wearing a military cap and black leather boots on his feet, standing tall with a cold and stern demeanor.

A handsome and vivid character emerges on the paper. Of course, the person Li Jiao is drawing is Zhang Jiulong.

On the sketch paper, Zhang Jiuling in a camouflage military uniform, broad-shouldered and long-legged, gives people a strong sense of security. He slightly lowers his head, exuding a cold and solemn aura, holding an unconscious girl in his arms.

The original image of this painting was secretly saved by her from the school’s online community.

At that time, when she fainted, Zhang Jiuling carried her towards the ambulance. A sophomore sister happened to see this scene, and because it was so touching, she foolishly snapped a photo with her phone.

Later, she posted it in the online community, typing quickly:

“Oh my god, which class does this divine instructor belong to? So handsome!”

Below was a picture; the quality was not very clear, but it showed a military-clad instructor hastily carrying an unconscious girl. Due to the speed, only a side profile was captured.

In the image, the dim yellow light from street lamps illuminated the scene as the instructor hurriedly carried the girl towards the nearby ambulance, resembling a celestial being racing against the “angel of death.”

Resolute and determined, he was single-mindedly focused on protecting the girl in his arms.

And that side profile of the instructor—oh my god, ridiculously handsome, unbelievably good-looking!

Seeing this, everyone started commenting.

“Wow, a heavenly masterpiece!”

“Oh my god, is this from a TV drama? My teenage heart, after so many years, is fluttering again!”

“Three seconds, I need all the information on this instructor!”

“I envy the girl in his arms.”

“Darn it, I’m fainting too; why isn’t anyone coming to carry me?”

“The lady upstairs should stop dreaming. hahaha, it’s a freshman who fainted, and the instructor was just helping.”

“I’m going to dig out my military training uniform from two years ago right now!”

“My roommate asked me why I’m drooling at my phone; this instructor is too handsome, I’m telling you!”

“No classes tomorrow; I’m going to lurk around the training ground to catch him!”

“Tomorrow is philosophy class; I can’t escape it. pretty girls shedding tears.”

“Tomorrow is my major class; not attending, studying isn’t as important as my lifelong affair!”

“Why did I just faint at the training ground, and a bunch of people took photos of me, saying I’m doing performance art?”

“Hahahahaha, you fainted there; probably the first crime scene.”

“Hahahahaha, the one in front, very fast.”

“Ahhhhhh, I fainted too. When will the instructor come to carry me?”

“Ahh, I fainted too.”

“Fainting in line, +1”

“Fainting in line, +2”

“Squeeze, squeeze; I brought my own mat.”

“…………”

At that time, Li Jiao’s classmates also saw it and chimed in a few words, but didn’t reveal the identities of the two people involved.

When Su Linlin showed Li Jiao the photo from the online community, she immediately widened her eyes. Later that night, she secretly went to the online community and saved the photo.

She stared at her phone, infatuated for several days.

With a black pencil, she kept refining the contours of Zhang Jiuling’s face for a long time. After a while, Li Jiao finally stopped the pencil satisfactorily, admiring her own work.

The corners of her mouth slowly curved upward, the laughter deepening in her eyes, delicate fingers gently stroking the paper where the man’s face was depicted.

Unconsciously, Li Jiao’s mind wandered back to that day when Zhang Jiuling carried her onto the ambulance. The curve of her mouth widened, her face blushing with a peachy hue, her heart fluttering with the onset of spring, and she giggled foolishly.

“So handsome…”

She sighed softly.

From childhood to adulthood, the males she interacted with the most were her father and her younger brother. There were hugs within the family. However, being princess-carried, a gesture typically seen only in TV dramas, was something Li Jiao had never even thought about since entering high school.

She never expected that the first time she would be princess-carried in her life would be in such a situation. And the one carrying her was…

Holding the sketchboard to her chest, Li Jiao indulged in infatuation once again. The instructor was really handsome. Oh my god—

Her head tilted, and Li Jiao collapsed into the soft blanket, a faint smile lingering on her lips.

Goodness, the instructor was so “killer.”.

If….if her future boyfriend could be like the instructor, if they ever argued, she would rather run a few kilometers herself than argue with him.

No, they wouldn’t even argue!

With a boyfriend like the instructor, if they argued, she would be the one at fault!

“Sigh~”

Li Jiao rolled over, curling up her body. But how could the difference be so big when they were both instructors?

It was said that after she fainted, the first person to carry her on his back was actually the instructor from Class 2, the one who spoke Sichuan dialect and was called Liuzi.

She heard that Liuzi, the instructor, was the one who first carried her, and Li Jiao had originally wanted to thank him.

But the next day, while standing in attention, Liuzi came over and spoke to Zhang Jiuling.

“Leader, is the girl who fainted in your class yesterday okay?”

“She’s fine,” Zhang Jiuling replied.

“Oh, that’s good.”

Liuzi frowned. “You don’t know; that girl looks small, but she’s quite heavy.”

“You see, you see.” Liuzi turned to his side, pointing to his left shoulder, looking quite pained.

“Carrying her yesterday, my shoulder was in pain all night. That girl’s head kept knocking against my shoulder, oh my god, like a jackhammer, it hurt me so much.”

“I’m still in pain now.”

As he spoke, he rubbed his shoulder, his face twisted in pain, gritting his teeth.

The key was, he said this while Li Jiao was right next to him, hearing everything clearly. Moreover, his voice wasn’t quiet, so most of the classmates on this side heard it.

They all pursed their lips, lowered their heads, and struggled to hold back their laughter, looking very uncomfortable.

Li Jiao herself felt embarrassed, silently lowering her little head, her ears tinged with a faint blush.

She shouldn’t be… too fat, right? One meter sixty, just eighty-eight catties. Linlin and the Boss both said she was thin.

Could it be that she’s really fat?

Just because people said she was too heavy, Li Jiao had been drinking plain porridge and eating bitter melon for several days in a row, her face almost turning green. It wasn’t until Su Linlin and Zhang Yue comforted her that she stopped her self-destructive behavior.

In Zhang Yue’s words, “Jiao, aren’t you thin enough?”

“You go to our Northeast, and with your physique, at most you’d be considered an elementary school student. Look at your thin arms; even the legs of a bench are thicker than yours.”

Su Linlin also said, “Yeah, Jiao Jiao, you’re not fat at all. It’s that instructor who’s too ‘weak’; he can’t even carry you when you’re this light.”

She glanced at Zhang Jiuling not far away, leaned over, and whispered.

“Look at our instructor, he just lifted you up directly and ran quite far.”

“The Class 2 instructor,” Su Linlin sneered, “too weak.”

Liuzi, inexplicably labeled “weak,” still didn’t know about this. If he heard about it, he might get so angry he’d jump up.

In his standard Sichuan dialect, he burst out angrily.

“What? I’m weak?”

“What a joke.”

“I’m the running prince of our unit, running several kilometers in one go is no big deal for me, and I’m weak?”

“You’re simply ridiculous!”

At this moment, Li Jiao, who heard people complain about her, wanted to drill into the ground in shame.

And just when she felt utterly ashamed, she heard Liuzi say,

“Leader, which girl fainted last night?”

“Let me see.”

!!!

Li Jiao quickly pretended to be an ostrich and lowered her head.

Oh my god, oh my god, please don’t let him say my name. Is he going to publicly humiliate me by saying how heavy I am???

This is the epitome of suffering in this world, sob sob sob—

Instructor, please don’t reveal my identity, please…

Liuzi tiptoed, looking around the team, all dressed in camouflage uniforms, his eyes feeling dizzy.

“Hmm, that girl looks familiar to me, I think I’ve seen her before, but where?”

Right under everyone’s noses, Li Jiao’s heart was about to jump out of her chest. She kept her head low, her eyes shut tightly. Can’t see me, can’t see me, can’t see me…

“Li Jiao.”

A familiar and clear voice rang out, and Li Jiao immediately felt as if she was being summoned by the devil.

Instructor, please spare me.

“Li Jiao.”

Seeing no response, Zhang Jiulong called out again, shifting his gaze towards her. His dark eyebrows furrowed, and his attractive phoenix eyes glanced over.

Is this girl just standing there daydreaming in front of him?

“…Here.”

Li Jiao weakly replied, her voice as small as a mosquito. With a mournful face, she looked like a bullied white bun.

Instructor, I really don’t want to be humiliated in front of everyone.

“Oh, it’s you.”

Hearing her response, Liuzi withdrew his gaze and looked at the girl in front of him. He scanned her up and down and saw a petite, sweet, and lovely girl.

Originally, he wanted to tease her, but suddenly couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Liuzi had a handsome appearance, was not very old, only about twenty years old, about the same age as a sophomore student.

Seeing that Li Jiao was a pretty cute girl, he couldn’t bring himself to tease her anymore. Finally, he gave her a thumbs-up.

“Awesome.”

Then he returned to his own class next door.

Originally, when he said this, it meant Li Jiao had fainted yesterday and still came to military training today, which was impressive. However, saying it at this moment made it sound more like saying, “Wow, you’re really fat, but still great.”

Li Jiao thought so, and so did the other girls beside her. They all lowered their heads, their shoulders shaking uncontrollably as they suppressed their laughter.