Chapter 1
On the first day of university, Cheng Xiangbei regretted it.
He had already prepared himself to be in a different dormitory from Lu Nan, but things really took an unexpected turn.
After registering, they weren't assigned dormitories. Following the instructions, he and Lu Nan each took a small stool and sat down by the roadside with the rest of the group. The line was four rows wide. Looking left and right, everyone was bewildered, wondering what kind of show they were putting on by sitting there like idiots.
"Tiger, do you know what this is for?" Lu Nan asked, sitting in the blazing sun with her backpack on.
Cheng Xiangbei pulled out a newspaper to shield him from the sun and whispered, "I don't know, should I go ask?"
The group started moving forward at this point, and Lu Nan shook her head. "Don't go, or we won't be able to find you in a little while."
"Hehe, I knew it. You can't bear to be away from me for even a moment." He shamelessly leaned closer to Lu Nan, earning a roll of his eyes in return.
As Cheng Xiangbei followed the group forward, he noticed that it was all boys. He wondered if there were no girls in their college. However, he didn't have time to think about it. Slowly, he could see the green canopy of the military truck.
"That's it! Board in order!" the soldier shouted, standing behind Cheng Xiangbei to count the number of people. Cheng Xiangbei and Lu Nan exchanged glances, folded up their stools, and stepped onto the carriage. They were at the back of the line, luckily getting seats at the very end of the carriage. The folded stools were reopened, and the two sat down against the side of the carriage.
Seeing that they were all seated, the soldier jumped onto the carriage, facing out of the carriage and squatting down with his back to them.
"Where are we going?" someone asked, raising their hand.
"You'll see when we get there. Sit down and keep quiet," the soldier said sternly, without turning around.
The car slowly started moving, and everyone was completely baffled. However, the soldier clearly didn't intend to say much to them, so they could only whisper among themselves and wait for their destination to arrive.
The truck kept roaring along, driving onto the city ring road and then far out of the city.
Cheng Xiangbei sat on the outermost side, observing the terrain while holding Lu Nan's hand. It was midday, the sun was still scorching like summer, and it was lunchtime. Afraid Lu Nan would be hungry, he whispered, "Nan Nan, there's food in my backpack, would you like some?"
Lu Nan nodded and asked, "Do you have any chocolate?"
Cheng Xiangbei took out a box of chocolates and a small bottle of mineral water from his backpack. "Eat this first to tide you over."
Lu Nan ate two chocolates and drank some water to cleanse her mouth of the stickiness. She leaned against Cheng Xiangbei without saying a word.
Cheng Xiangbei secretly reached down to his lower back, holding him tightly. Turning to look at the other passengers in the carriage, he found them all sitting listlessly, completely unaware of them.
After what seemed like an eternity, the car finally drove through a gate.
Since everyone was sitting with their backs to the car, they couldn't see the sign for the gate and had no idea where they were.
With a creak, the car stopped in a place resembling a large parade ground. The soldier jumped out, opened the side panel, and shouted, "Everyone, pack your belongings and get off in order!"
Cheng Xiangbei was the first to jump down, extending his hand to Lu Nan so he could land easily. Before the two could say anything more, they heard another command.
"Everyone line up behind your department's sign! Hurry up!"
Cheng Xiangbei and Lu Nan were in the same college, but different majors, so they had to queue separately. Fortunately, the two signs were next to each other, so they happily joined the back of the line.
They waited and waited under the blazing sun, and then five more large trucks arrived. The queue grew longer and longer, and everyone's stomachs grew hungrier and hungrier.
"Damn it! It's already two o'clock, are they even letting people eat?!" someone couldn't sit still any longer and shouted. Soon, echoes came from the side, but the leading soldier glared and the shouts subsided.
Finally, after counting everyone, the soldiers led their respective teams forward. The new recruits were not familiar with the terrain and felt as if they had gone around several bends. After passing through a row of willow trees, a row of barracks suddenly appeared before them.
In this group, Cheng Xiangbei was still walking side by side with Lu Nan, so he didn't feel uncomfortable at all and even smiled at Lu Nan from time to time. It wasn't until they entered different courtyards with the group that Cheng Xiangbei waved goodbye to Lu Nan regretfully. It seemed that people from different departments couldn't live in the same courtyard, but it didn't matter. He would go find Lu Nan to play after he settled in.
However, Cheng Xiangbei had oversimplified the situation. After being assigned dormitories and receiving their clothes and bedding, they lined up to eat in the canteen. When they came out after their meal, guards were already standing at the gate. Without leave slips from the instructors and supervising teachers, no one was allowed to leave.
Now, Cheng Xiangbei couldn't laugh anymore.
In the evening, the instructors asked each class to submit their candidates for class monitor.
Cheng Xiangbei was squatting by the bed, feeling depressed, when a boy next to him patted him on the shoulder, handed him a notebook, and said, "Dude, write your name down!"
He took the notebook and wrote his name in a flamboyant style.
"Hey! Cheng Xiangbei! Not a bad name!" the boy teased, then asked the others to write down their names and asked, "Everyone, who do you want as class monitor?"
Everyone felt it didn't matter.
The boy said, "Then let's choose Xiang Bei!"
Cheng Xiangbei suddenly looked up. "I won't do it."
"Comrades, what are your opinions?" the boy asked with a smile.
"Let's go with Cheng Xiangbei! He writes well and is tall enough! He'd be impressive to have as a squad leader!" someone egged on.
By the end of summer vacation, Cheng Xiangbei had grown to 187 cm tall, surpassing the height of his father and brother. Tall and handsome, he made a good first impression on his dorm mates. Although now, he did seem a bit gloomy.
"Cheng Xiangbei, don't refuse. You have to follow the will of the people!" the boy said with a smile.
Cheng Xiangbei turned to look at everyone and saw that they all had kind smiles on their faces. Being a squad leader in charge of seven people wasn't such a big deal. He nodded and asked, "What's your name?"
The boy pointed to himself. "My name is Li Weide."
Cheng Xiangbei raised an eyebrow and laughed, "Little Li or Little De, choose one."
"What?" My mind went blank for a moment.
"Serve me." He smiled lazily, thinking, "I'll take someone down with me even if I die, won't I?"
Li Weide's face fell, and he squatted down obsequiously in front of Cheng Xiangbei, saying, "Your Majesty, you can just call me Weide, or Ade. We can't handle this 'little Li, little De'!"
That evening, he was fed mosquitoes while receiving a lecture. Cheng Xiangbei's position as squad leader of Class One was thus fully established.
Before the meeting was dismissed, a new order came down: all cell phones had to be handed in, and the squad leader, in particular, was to set an example. Cheng Xiangbei cursed inwardly. However, with everyone watching, no one could refuse, so Cheng Xiangbei reluctantly handed over his phone. Damn it, he was just thinking of calling Lu Nan after the meeting!
Life in the military camp was tough, especially since they lived in an abandoned military camp converted into a national defense education base. The living facilities were far inferior to those in modern society. The dormitories were standard eight-person rooms; the toilets were primitive; and showering was out of the question. It wasn't that there was no water, but the nights in the mountains were extremely cold, and taking a cold shower meant risking catching a cold. Hot water was so limited that it wasn't even enough for drinking, let alone for showering.
Among the young men, few were particularly fastidious about cleanliness, so they quickly washed up and went to bed. On their first night at the military camp, few could sleep; the late-night chatter was quite lively. Cheng Xiangbei lay in bed, listening to their lively, unrestrained conversation. He had no desire to speak; his mind was completely occupied with Lu Nan.
"Boss, say something!" Li Weide called out.
"What did you say?" Cheng Xiangbei asked, uninterested.
"Squad leader, you seem so down. Are you homesick?" Luo Ming, who was on the upper bunk, asked with a smile.
"Nonsense, what are you thinking about home for!" Cheng Xiangbei scoffed.
"Well..." someone chuckled slyly. "Want a girlfriend?"
"No." She does have a boyfriend, but he doesn't know which barracks he's in. He also doesn't know if Lu Nan has eaten enough or is dressed warmly enough. The nights in the mountains are very cold, and the uniforms they've been issued are summer uniforms, not warm enough. He remembers Lu Nan carrying a wool vest in her backpack, but now he's not sure.
"No way!" someone laughed. "With a class monitor as handsome as you, there must be a whole platoon of girls chasing after you!"
"You've seriously underestimated our boss's charm! He'd need at least two platoons!"
Cheng Xiangbei listened and laughed, thinking to himself, "Why would I need those two platoons? One Lu Nan is enough."
The next morning at six o'clock, the reveille blew on time.
Cheng Xiangbei was momentarily stunned, but when he looked up and saw the military uniform beside the bed, he realized that military training was about to begin.
"Get up! Get up now!" He quickly dressed and got out of bed, patting each of his comrades who were still in bed to get up.
"Luo Ming is on duty today! Go to the yard for roll call and come back. Everyone else, hurry up and get dressed and assemble!" Cheng Xiangbei was fully awake; after a night of lethargy, his spirits had returned.
"Hey, class monitor, are you on steroids?!" A sleepyhead jumped out of bed, yawning.
“Since we can’t change the status quo, we have to adapt.” Cheng Xiangbei shrugged and slapped the other person on the back. “Stop dawdling, hurry up!”
"Yes, sir!" He gave a rather awkward military salute.
When assembling, they lined up by class. Cheng Xiangbei was tall and was also the class monitor, so he was at the front of the line.
They lined up at the entrance of the courtyard, waiting for morning exercises. Other teams marched past in long lines, their neat uniforms and loud singing filling the air with a strange sense of emotion. Cheng Xiangbei carefully watched each person pass by, hoping to spot Lu Nan among the hundreds of students wearing military caps.
As line after line passed by, Cheng Xiangbei grew increasingly disappointed. With communications cut off and guards on duty, his chances of finding Lu Nan were slim. Although they would return to school in two weeks, he couldn't find peace of mind until he was certain of Lu Nan's location.
Another line of soldiers came by, and Cheng Xiangbei had already given up hope. However, fate always has a way of surprising him. After the tall men in the first few rows passed, a figure wearing black-rimmed glasses and a military cap appeared before him. Lu Nan! It was Lu Nan! Cheng Xiangbei shouted excitedly, "Lu Nan! Lu Nan!"
Amidst the resounding singing, Lu Nan miraculously heard his shout. "Tiger!" Judging from the lip movements, Lu Nan quietly waved and followed the group forward.
Cheng Xiangbei waved excitedly, almost running up to Lu Nan.
"Squad leader! Discipline!" Before he could even move, the instructor blocked his way, glaring at him with a dark expression. "I'll let it slide this time, since it's your first offense. But next time, without my orders, you'd all be sitting here like nails!"
"Alright, everyone! Forward!"
Author's Note: As always, I'll say this upfront: I guarantee a happy ending, but I can't guarantee daily updates.
It's hard to say whether this story will live up to everyone's expectations, so... please refrain from harsh criticism, just a couple of light taps will suffice. Well then, have fun jumping into this pit!
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