The selfishness of the vanguard
The sun has not yet lost its ferocity of midsummer and is still stubbornly emitting heat.
The stadium of Jiangcheng University is as big as a green basin.
The air was filled with the scent of scorched grass and the slick rubber track. On the playground, green squares of camouflage uniforms, like carefully cut pieces of matcha cake, lay out across the vast track. The instructors' resounding whistles and commands echoed in unison, forming the first symphony of university life.
The Cultural Heritage Protection Department was assigned to the Seventh Company of the Third Battalion.
The instructor was a sleek, dark-skinned young soldier who introduced himself as Zhou Hai. His eyes were sharp as an eagle, and he was stern. His first command, laced with unquestionable authority, instantly silenced the joking group: "Everyone in the first row, stand up straight! Heads up! Chests out! Abs in!"
The first training item is also the most classic item in military training: standing at attention.
It seemed simple, but every second was torture. In less than ten minutes, my collar was soaked with sweat, sticking to my skin, making it itchy and stuffy.
Fatty Jiang's face was wrinkled into a bitter mess, and he was mumbling something silently. Judging by his lip movements, he seemed to be reciting the equipment synthesis table from the game to divert his attention. Zhao Teng, who had been so active in the class meeting, was now withering. He twitched his toes secretly, but was caught by Zhou Hai's sharp gaze and immediately stood straight again.
Lu Yu stood in the first row, his figure as slender as a pine tree. This level of physical exertion was just a warm-up for him.
Shi Guang was placed at the back of the line. Amidst the swaying crowd of seven or eight people, Lu Yu could only occasionally glimpse Shi Guang's equally erect, though slightly frail, figure from the corner of his eye. Shi Guang's military posture was standard, even more so than most, but his overly straight back, to Lu Yu, revealed a stubborn stubbornness.
[This guy doesn't look very fit, can he hold on? ]
[I don't think I had dinner yesterday, and I woke up so early this morning. What should I do if I have hypoglycemia? ]
A series of thoughts swirled in his mind like a group of buzzing mosquitoes, making him a little upset.
"You! Step out!"
Instructor Zhou Hai's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Lu Yu's thoughts. He looked up and saw Zhou Hai pointing at him.
Lu Yu was stunned for a moment, but still shouted "Here" and stepped out of the line.
Zhou Hai walked around him and nodded with satisfaction: "Well, your posture is standard and you look in good spirits. What's your name?"
"Report to the instructor, my name is Lu Yu!"
"Okay, Lu Yu," Zhou Hai patted his shoulder. "From now on, you'll be the vanguard of the first platoon of our seventh company. You'll be responsible for assembling the troops and delivering orders. Is that okay?"
"Report to the instructor, no problem!" Lu Yu's voice was loud and confident.
After an hour of military training, they rested for ten minutes. Everyone collapsed to the ground almost instantly, and the sound of bottles being opened echoed on the lawn.
Fat Jiang wailed, "My legs are no longer mine," while turning on the kettle and drinking like a bull.
Lu Yu unscrewed his water bottle and took a long sip, his eyes uncontrollably searching the crowd. He soon found the time.
He was sitting alone at the edge of the grass, away from the crowd. Instead of drinking water, he pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket and carefully wiped the sweat from his forehead and neck, his movements unhurried and graceful, a grace that stood out from the crowd. Lin Xiyue, standing beside him, seemed to want to say something to him, but seeing his reserved demeanor, she hesitated and didn't speak.
Lu Yu looked at his face, which had turned a thin layer of red under the sun, and his slightly pale lips, and the feeling of irritation in his heart surged up again.
He stood up and, as the vanguard, began to patrol the team, under the pretext of checking everyone's condition to prevent anyone from getting heatstroke. As he walked, he joked with his familiar classmates and reminded them not to drink too much ice water.
He walked around and naturally came to the back half of the team, near Time.
He didn't speak directly to Shi Guang. Instead, he patted the shoulder of a boy in front of Shi Guang and said with a smile, "Hey, buddy, are you okay? Your face looks a little pale."
The boy gave him a grateful look and said, "It's okay, squad leader. I just feel a little dizzy."
"Drink water slowly, don't rush." Lu Yu warned, and then, as if "by the way", he stopped by Shi Guang's side. He didn't look at Shi Guang, but said to the air in a voice that was neither loud nor soft, but loud enough for several people around to hear:
"Everyone, the instructor said, if anyone feels unwell, don't force yourself to do it. Report and go rest under the shade of a nearby tree. Especially those students who didn't eat breakfast are particularly prone to hypoglycemia. Our military training is to hone your will, not to risk your life. Everyone, please pay attention!"
The afternoon training started with the most basic and most grueling marching and goose-stepping.
All afternoon, the stadium echoed with the resounding "one, two, one" and "pa, pa" of kicks. The sun was setting, baking the ground scorching hot. Walking in the queue, I could feel the heat rising from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.
The students in the first platoon of the seventh company were clearly not as fit as they had been in the morning, due to the morning's exhaustion and the short lunch break. The team marched sparsely, and their goose-stepping was uneven.
Instructor Zhou Hai's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and he punished several people by making them step out of the line and practice individually.
"Lu Yu!" Zhou Hai called out his name again. "Your movements are very standard. Come to the front and demonstrate! Everyone else, watch carefully. If you can't do it right, no one will be able to eat tonight!"
Lu Yu responded and stepped out to the front of the team. He stood tall and straight, and every movement was clean, sharp, and full of power, a textbook example of skill.
With him as a "living target", the team's condition has improved a lot.
Zhou Hai asked him to return to the team and then began to check each row. He asked Lu Yu, the vanguard, to follow him and correct any students who were not in the right position.
Lu Yu's heartbeat suddenly quickened for no apparent reason. He followed Zhou Hai, walking past them in rows.
"Raise your hands higher!"
"Stand on your toes!"
"Follow the pace of the students in front of you!"
He patiently corrected students over and over again with a gentle attitude, which was in stark contrast to the strict Zhou Hai and won the favor of many classmates.
Finally, they reached the row where Shi Guang was.
Shi Guang's movements were actually very standard, with a good sense of rhythm, and there was almost nothing wrong with them. But perhaps because he was exerting too much energy, his left knee bent slightly when he kicked, a very subtle flaw that was impossible to detect without careful observation.
But Zhou Hai had sharp eyes and he saw it immediately.
"You! Yes, you!" Zhou Hai pointed at Shi Guang. "Why aren't you straightening your legs? Are you being lazy?"
Shi Guang's body stiffened, his lips pressed into a straight line, and he didn't speak.
"Get out of the line! Support yourself on one leg and stay still! When you straighten your legs, you can return to the team!" Zhou Hai's tone did not allow for discussion.
Under everyone's gaze, Shi Guang silently walked out of the queue and stood on one leg in the open space next to him, with the other leg in a kicking position.
The sun was still scorching, reflecting a dazzling light off the light-colored walls. The one-legged position was extremely strenuous, and within a minute, Shi Guang's body began to tremble slightly, and more sweat oozed from his forehead and slid down his cheeks.
Lu Yu stood aside, watching this scene, his brows furrowed tightly. He knew that Shi Guang wasn't being lazy, he was just exhausted. This punishment was too much for him.
He looked at Shi Guang biting his lower lip stubbornly, refusing to beg for mercy, and the nameless anger in his heart suddenly rose up.
He took a deep breath, walked forward and saluted Zhou Hai.
"Report to the instructor!"
"explain!"
"Instructor, Shi Guang isn't slacking off," Lu Yu said in a steady and powerful voice. "He showed some signs of hypoglycemia this morning. It's possible his movements are deformed due to lack of energy. I suggest he return to the team to recover, or rest nearby. Otherwise, he could easily strain his ligaments."
Zhou Hai glanced at Lu Yu in surprise, clearly having not expected this vanguard soldier to contradict him in public for a classmate. He looked Lu Yu up and down, then glanced at the shaky figure not far away, and remained silent for a few seconds.
"Are you the squad leader?" Zhou Hai suddenly asked.
"yes!"
"You're quite responsible," Zhou Hai's tone softened a bit. "Alright, for the sake of your status as squad leader. Um, Shi Guang, right? Return to the team!"
Shi Guang seemed to have been pardoned, his body swayed and he almost fell.
"Thank you, instructor." Lu Yu saluted again.
He turned around and said to Shi Guang: "Return to the team."
Shi Guang walked back to his seat silently, his head lowered. No one could see his expression. He only felt that his cold and hard heart was being carefully supported by a warm hand.
At nine o'clock in the evening, all the companies were disbanded. The moon had risen, and the streetlights on campus cast a soft glow, stretching the shadows of the students as they dragged their tired steps.
When Lu Yu returned to Room 602, Fatty Jiang was already a corpse, slumped over on the bed, too lazy to even shower. Sun Rui, on the other hand, had already begun his nighttime study schedule.
Lu Yu took a shower, changed into dry clothes, and then found a small medicine box he had brought with him. He took out two plasters to relieve muscle pain and a tube of safflower oil.
"Fatty, get up, put on some plaster and go back to sleep, or you won't be able to lift your legs tomorrow."
"Ah...Brother Lu...I can't move..." Fat Jiang groaned.
Lu Yu put the plaster on his computer desk in a bad mood. Then he took the remaining things and walked to Shi Guang's desk.
Shi Guang was sitting in a chair, gently rubbing his knees and calves. His brows were slightly furrowed, and he was obviously enduring the muscle pain.
"Here." Lu Yu placed the ointment and safflower oil on his desk.
"Put them on all of them," Lu Yu said in a flat tone, without any emotion. "You're too thin and don't have much muscle mass. The soreness tomorrow will be more severe than for others. I don't want to go to training with a limp, so I'll use them tonight."
Without waiting for Shi Guang's answer, Lu Yu turned around and returned to his seat. The dormitory became quiet again.
After a long time, Shi Guang finally reached out, picked up the box of plaster, tore open the packaging, and silently applied it to his aching knee. The cool touch of the plaster seeped into his skin bit by bit, and it seemed to ease the tense vigilance in his heart.
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