At 8 AM the next day, the military training for freshmen of Class of 2006 at Dongjiang University of Finance and Economics began.
The instructors were officers and soldiers from the Dongjiang City Armed Police Detachment.
Classes 1-4 of Business Administration were all undergoing military training together.
Zhao Shaoyang and others were eagerly looking around, but unfortunately, the girls were all wearing baggy military training uniforms and hats, so even goddesses couldn't be distinguished.
The mobilization meeting before military training was essential.
The weather at the beginning of September was hot and humid, and with the power of China's Four Furnaces, it was truly like a sauna.
Chen Pingjiang, who naturally sweats a lot, immediately started grumbling.
Not far away, Cong Nini brushed her hair back, turned around, and handed a bottle of mineral water to Chen Pingjiang:
"Here."
Chen Pingjiang narrowed his eyes, thinking this girl was quite cunning, and casually took it, gulping it down.
Whoa!
Immediately, a murmur of whispers arose.
"Does Cong Nini like Chen Pingjiang?"
"I think she's interested in Chen Pingjiang too, otherwise why wouldn't she give me water?"
"You look a bit subtle."
"Go to hell."
Zhao Shaoyang glared unhappily at the mineral water in Chen Pingjiang's hand:
"Brother Chen, aren't you embarrassed drinking Cong Nini's water? This is a betrayal of Zhang Xinyue, and besides, they're roommates."
Chen Pingjiang glanced at Zhao Shaoyang suspiciously, then glared:
"Read too many romance novels and palace intrigue dramas? I was just thirsty and took a sip of water."
With almost forty years of experience, Chen Pingjiang had seen all kinds of women.
The moment Cong Nini stuck out her rear, he knew what kind of shit she was pulling.
A twenty-year-old's mindset would probably be rejection, a forty-year-old's would be calm acceptance.
Zhao Shaoyang ultimately underestimated Cong Nini's influence in the class.
The girls gossiped, and the boys had expressions of wanting to kill "Dog Chen" and snatch Nini.
The young boys had unconsciously split into Qin Bei's faction and Nini's fan club.
Cong Nini even had more male fans because she adopted a 'pure yet seductive' style, precisely targeting the boys' Achilles' heel.
"Qin Bei, look how quickly Cong Nini made her move, the only high-quality boy in our class has been hooked."
"What's that? I heard she sang KTV with Chen Pingjiang last night."
Another girl started gossiping.
"Wow, really?"
"The guy in Chen Pingjiang's dorm said so."
...
"Did you know, Cong Nini and Chen Pingjiang are together? They say neither of them returned to the dorm last night."
...
The basic parts of military training were traditional exercises like standing at attention and marching in goose-step.
Standing motionless and maintaining a strict posture under the scorching sun was indeed not easy.
Turning drills were a disaster.
The instructor shouted:
"Left turn!"
Half of the girls in Class Four instantly turned left, while another small group of boys and girls turned directly to the right.
The instructor was amused, then shouted again:
"I said left!"
The students became even more confused.
Some didn't move, some who had already turned incorrectly continued to turn left, and some who had turned left previously even turned right.
"Can't you tell left from right!"
...
Whenever military training became unbearable, when it was too hot, thirsty, and hungry, there were always some foolish sophomore and junior students passing by the formation, proudly showing off their iced drinks and popsicles, making exaggerated gestures.
"Wow, that feels great."
Every time this happened, Chen Pingjiang had an urge to rush over and beat them up.
At home, they were all pampered little darlings.
With such a sudden increase in intensity, situations frequently arose.
Those suffering from heatstroke, fainting, menstruating, or experiencing dysmenorrhea all required special care.
Sometimes military training wasn't about competing with the instructor to see who could endure more, but about competing with classmates.
If someone fell, it meant a temporary break was possible.
As they stood at attention, the instructor walked up to Chen Pingjiang, then suddenly delivered a flying kick squarely to Zhao Shaoyang's butt.
Zhao Shaoyang, naturally short-tempered, immediately bristled:
"Why did you kick me?"
The instructor said:
"Are you sticking your butt out to pick up soap?"
...
Then came deafening laughter.
The instructor of the adjacent Business Administration Class Three heard the commotion, frowned, and yelled at the instructor of Class Four:
"Control your soldiers, pay attention to discipline."
The Class Four instructor quickly affirmed.
Finally, a break arrived.
Chen Pingjiang, craving a cigarette, went behind the teaching building to the green belt and puffed away.
Coincidentally, the instructor also strolled over.
The young instructor wasn't old, at most in his early twenties, but he was dark-skinned from years of exposure to the scorching sun.
"You..."
Just as the young instructor was about to shout, Chen Pingjiang immediately offered him a cigarette, his movements seasoned and skillful.
"Don't shout, don't shout. You're leading the soldiers, it wouldn't be good for your reputation if I got punished."
Saying this, he enthusiastically lit a lighter and offered it.
The young instructor hesitated for a long time, finally giving Chen Pingjiang a meaningful look.
Perhaps his nicotine craving had kicked in, and he eventually took the filter tip into his mouth.
Instructors are human too, isn't smoking normal?
Some even manage to hook up with students during the mere two weeks of military training.
"What's your name?"
The young instructor glanced at Chen Pingjiang, as if to memorize his appearance.
"Chen Pingjiang, the handsomest guy in Business Administration Class Four."
Chen Pingjiang offered what he considered his most charming smile.
Zhao Shaoyang was probably born in the Year of the Dog; his nose was incredibly keen.
He ran over, following the smell of smoke:
"Brother Chen, you're really not cool, smoking without calling me. Quick, give me one."
Only after getting closer did Zhao Shaoyang see the young instructor squatting beside Chen Pingjiang.
He froze for a moment, wanting to sneak away.
"Hey, what are you afraid of? It's break time now."
Zhao Shaoyang thought about it and realized,
"That's right, if the instructors are smoking together, what the hell is there to be afraid of?"
He then started puffing away.
After re-forming the ranks, the young instructor stared at the whole class for a while.
Feeling the atmosphere was set, he suddenly shouted:
"Chen Pingjiang!"
"Here!"
Chen Pingjiang wondered why he was being called.
"Smoking during military training, run five laps around the track."
"..." Chen Pingjiang's mind was flooded with ten thousand alpacas.
This goddamn instructor had a deep bag of tricks.
Yet he couldn't refute it.
Shouting "you smoked too" in front of the whole class at this moment would be direct defiance, harming himself without benefiting anyone.
Chen Pingjiang thought,
"Damn it, this is killing the chicken to scare the monkeys. Weren't you just enjoying your smoke too?"
Zhao Shaoyang saw Chen Pingjiang's crestfallen look and burst into laughter, completely forgetting that he had also smoked.
"And you, what are you laughing at!"
The young instructor glared at Zhao Shaoyang.
"Zhao Shaoyang, step out, you also get five laps."
"Holy crap!"
Zhao Shaoyang was startled.
Just as he was about to retort, Chen Pingjiang pulled him.
The two chatted as they ran.
The young instructor had, after all, gone easy on them, making them run only five laps instead of ten.
"Brother Chen, why did you pull me? Didn't he smoke just now too?"
"Are you stupid? Can't you see this is 'killing the chicken to scare the monkeys'? Five laps won't kill anyone, and the instructor has now tamed the other classmates while also feeling some guilt towards us."
"That bastard has so many tricks."
Zhao Shaoyang felt he was still too naive.
"There are academic credits for this."
(End of chapter)
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