Chapter 118 Night Training

When Lu Yinzhao returned to the dormitory that day, he told his roommates about the nighttime training exercise.

The three of them wailed in agony once more.

"Come on, let the storm rage on! Guys, I'd like to recite a poem now."

“Yes, you can recite it.”

Xu Zishi is from the Chinese Literature Department, while Jiang Yi and Song Shuye are from the Physics Department and the Finance Department, respectively.

Led by Xu Zishi, who stood with his hands behind his back, assuming the air of a great literary figure, he recited: "Before dawn breaks, the whistle urges us on; camouflage uniforms, frosty, return under the moonlight..."

Jiang Yi followed closely behind: "Their legs trembled from marching, their throats were hoarse from singing military songs?"

Lu Yinzhao covered her mouth and chuckled.

Song Shuye scratched his head and stammered, "The sunscreen was applied like paste, and my calves were so tired...they were cramping?"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The group exchanged glances, then burst into laughter.

“I’m reporting this! Someone was talking in their sleep last night! They were shouting ‘one, two, one’ in their dream!” Xu Zishi said.

“That must be Xiao Song,” Jiang Yi said, taking a sip of water.

Song Shuye pointed at himself, "Why is it definitely me? Be honest, I'm the most well-behaved sleeper. But you, Jiang Yi, don't you know you grind your teeth in your sleep?"

Jiang Yi remained calm and composed: "That's impossible. You must have misheard. You can ask Xiao Lu if he heard it."

Lu Yinzhao was suddenly called upon and said somewhat bewilderedly, "Sorry, I've been too tired these past few days and I slept very soundly, so I couldn't hear anything."

Jiang Yi shrugged at Song Shuye, looking like he was saying, "See, I didn't lie."

Song Shuye was too lazy to argue anymore and changed the subject.

He looked at Lu Yinzhao and said, "Lu Yinzhao, a lot of people have asked me for your WeChat today."

"mine?"

"I really don't know how they knew you were my roommate, but don't worry, bro, I refused them all for you. I know you don't like adding strangers," Song Shuye said, patting his chest.

"Actually, some people have asked me, but I just said I don't know any Lu Yinzhao," Jiang Yi said calmly.

“This doesn’t surprise me. He’s so handsome, people would like him even if he were wearing a burlap sack.” Xu Zishi raised an eyebrow at Lu Yinzhao.

Lu Yinzhao blushed after being told that.

He thought his military training appearance was already sloppy enough, but when he looked in the mirror, he had no idea what was so attractive about it.

I'm sweating profusely every day, my mouth is dry, and I can barely keep my eyes open. What's so handsome about me?

"To be honest, Lu Yinzhao, you could totally be a star. Believe me, you'll get approached by talent scouts before you even graduate," Song Shuye joked.

Lu Yinzhao said helplessly, "I've already told my family that I'm not going to enter the entertainment industry..."

At most... I'll be a behind-the-scenes worker.

Xu Zishi grasped the underlying information in those words, "Family? You mean your family wants you to be a star? You have family members in the entertainment industry?"

Lu Yinzhao: "..." Almost the whole family is like that, can I say that?

Not wanting to scare her roommate, Lu Yinzhao decided to be conservative in her answer and nodded slightly.

The group's eyes widened. "Really?!"

"Um."

Lu Yinzhao knew that he had made a successful comeback in recent years. After that variety show became popular, it was gradually forgotten by everyone after a few years, and his account gradually stopped updating.

Since then, he has not appeared on public platforms.

No one knows that the current Lu Yinzhao is the same person as "Zhaozhao" from back then; the production team protected his real name back then.

However, his face still retains some resemblance to his childhood self.

If fans look closely, they will recognize it.

Considering that Song Shuye and the others are his peers, it's understandable that they don't know much about him.

After all, when Lu Yinzhao was two or three years old, these kids were just babies, too young to understand anything.

Lu Yinzhao thought to herself, "Perhaps your parents will recognize me."

To know him, all you need is his once wildly popular "Zhao Zhao emoji".

"Who's the celebrity?"

Are they your parents? Or your brother?

Are they actors? Do we know them?

Seeing that Lu Yinzhao had admitted it, his roommates started asking questions all at once.

Lu Yinzhao said ambiguously, "There are actors and singers, but... I'll tell you the details later, because I..."

"We understand, we understand!"

"Keep it low-key! We absolutely will not tell anyone about this, hahaha!"

"Lu Yinzhao, your family is amazing! I could tell at first glance that you had the look of a star! I didn't know it was from your family genes!"

All three of them acted as if they had latched onto Lu Yinzhao's coattails, as if having him meant having the biggest connections in the entertainment industry.

Lu Yinzhao knew that this kind of thing couldn't be kept secret forever. If they really wanted to dig into his past, they would find out no matter what. Besides, the career he wanted to pursue in the future was also related to being an artist.

It's only a matter of time before his family background is revealed; he just doesn't want people to know about it so soon.

He has always understood the principle that a tall tree catches the wind.

Lu Yinzhao didn't want to become the center of attention.

Song Shuye said he doesn't like adding strangers, and that's true. A comfortable relationship for Lu Yinzhao must have boundaries.

The more others approach him, the more resistant he becomes.

Currently, he only makes friends within a certain circle of people he deems trustworthy.

*

One week after military training.

The much-talked-about "nighttime training exercise" has finally arrived.

The day before departure, the counselors and instructors gave instructions to all the new students.

Make sure they get plenty of rest, bring them the necessary water and dry food, and change into a pair of comfortable shoes.

Lu Yinzhao and his roommates were all extremely afraid of death.

Everyone was in bed by 8 p.m.

This time is completely out of their usual routine.

"Yezi, are you asleep?" Xu Zishi asked.

"No, why?" Song Shuye replied in a low voice.

"Is Xiaolu asleep?" Jiang Yi asked.

Lu Yinzhao peeked out cautiously: "No."

"What time do you think they'll wake us up?"

"I don't know, but it's definitely when you're sleeping the best."

"If I collapse when the time comes, don't worry about me. Carry my will forward and uphold the spirit of hard work and struggle that we, the 506th Division, have forged ahead," Xu Zishi said.

“Who’s going to care about you? I can’t even take care of myself,” Song Shuye said.

"You guys don't exercise much, do you?" Lu Yinzhao couldn't help but ask.

“It’s more than just a few… When I was in high school, I didn’t even go to the morning exercises,” Jiang Yi said.

"I'd rather sit than stand, and lie down than sit. Guess how many pounds I gained at home after the college entrance exam?" Xu Zishi said.

“You’re too thin. Even if you gained ten pounds, no one would notice. I do play basketball occasionally, but that’s only about once a month…” Song Shuye said.

"..." Lu Yinzhao suddenly realized that he was the most active among his roommates.

Swimming is not only good exercise; carrying a camera out to take photos is also very tiring for your legs.

"I'm a little worried about whether you can hold out until tomorrow," Lu Yinzhao said quietly.

"Xiao Lu, you are the hope of our entire dormitory. We are all that need you."

"Keep it up, we'll try our best not to die too quickly."

"You are the one who truly excels in all aspects of moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education!"

The four of them slept in bed and had a late-night chat, which lasted for more than an hour before finally calming down.

Gradually, only the sound of breathing filled the dormitory.

At four o'clock in the morning, the whistle blew.

Lu Yinzhao was the first to get up, patting everyone's beds, "Get up! Get up! Hurry up!"

Because he sleeps well, he doesn't feel sleepy at all right now.

The other three weren't so good.

"A mosquito got into my mosquito net last night and bit me all night. I barely slept at all," Song Shuye said helplessly.

"I barely fell asleep at 1 a.m., and I only slept for three hours before I had to get up..." Xu Zishi got out of bed to go to the bathroom with dark circles under his eyes.

"Enough talk, it's time to assemble. I'll go down and wait for you. Don't forget your luggage packs."

Lu Yinzhao slung his military duffel bag over his shoulder and rushed out of the dormitory first.

Seeing that Lu Yinzhao had left, everyone hurriedly washed up.

A dozen minutes later, everyone had finally gathered downstairs.

Everyone followed their respective groups and prepared to depart from the school gate.

Instructor Zhang said that the distance of this weighted march was 18 kilometers.

At first, people didn't really grasp the significance of this number.

After walking eight kilometers, the group slowed down, and some people couldn't keep up...

Lu Yinzhao had trained his physical fitness with his uncle during the summer vacation, and sometimes he would jog ten kilometers in the morning. He felt pretty good at the moment.

"Hang in there, everyone! We'll give you a break at the 10-kilometer mark, so keep pushing!" Instructor Zhang whistled and shouted.

Upon hearing that they could rest, everyone went all out and became completely absorbed in the moment...

Lu Yinzhao noticed that some of the students who weren't in good physical condition had been panting heavily just moments before, but now suddenly quickened their pace, their faces resolute, as if they were experiencing a final burst of energy before death.

Lu Yinzhao was a little startled and quickly followed suit.

When we reach the ten-kilometer mark.

A large number of them collapsed on the spot.

"Don't lie down! Don't lie down! Get up and take a break, drink water in small sips, don't drink too fast!"

Lu Yinzhao saw Instructor Zhang pulling up the students who were lying down one by one, and tirelessly blowing his whistle to remind them.

I just feel like the other person is like a mother hen leading a bunch of chicks, her head is probably about to explode.

Instructor Zhang saw that although Lu Yinzhao was also covered in sweat, his performance had not declined, so he couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.

"You're really good, kid. You weren't bragging the other day."

“Instructor Zhang, I’m also quite tired, but I just didn’t say it.” Lu Yinzhao glanced at the listless team next to him. “I can only promise that I will try my best not to hold you back or cause you any trouble.”

"I've mentored several classes of freshmen at your school, and you're one of the most persevering among them. What's your name?"

"Lu Yinzhao".

"Okay, I've got it."

Instructor Zhang had never made a point of memorizing the names of the new students before, but he would ask more questions about those who left a deep impression on him.

"Why do you remember me?" Lu Yinzhao had a bad feeling.

"We're going to have an orienteering race before the military training ends. You're in good physical condition, so I'd like to select you to participate."

"..."

"What? Don't you want to participate?"

“No…” Lu Yinzhao managed to utter two words.

"That one isn't tiring, it just tests the contestant's sense of direction. Good luck, Lu Yinzhao, I believe in you."

Instructor Zhang patted Lu Yinzhao on the shoulder, and a moment later blew his whistle to let everyone continue their journey.

A chorus of groans erupted around them, yet they were forced to help each other up.

"Mom, I want to go home!" Someone in the crowd started to go crazy.

Lu Yinzhao slung his bag over his shoulder and silently joined the queue.

He regretted it; he shouldn't have shown off in the first place.

Those who stand out will be conscripted into the army.

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Author's Note: Zhao Zhao: Is it because I'm too good? [Sigh]