113 Military Training
On Sunday evening, after Li Lin and Li Lianhui returned home, Li Lin reported some good news to Li Wei: Grandpa had come back and brought Li Wei two large bags of dried red dates. Li Lin brought one bag, and Li Wei looked at it, picked up one, and ate it. It tasted good.
When Li Wei asked how her grandfather was, Li Lin said he was fine, just a bit tanned. Her grandfather said it was from sun exposure, but otherwise he hadn't changed much and was still the same.
Li Wei asked again if Luo Da had returned. Li Lin said he had, but went straight home. She didn't see him. It was Luo's third uncle who picked up her grandfather from the station. She didn't know anything else.
Li Wei was very curious: Had she found that expert Luo Da? Had she learned anything from him? Should she continue to work hard in the future?
However, the answer came quickly the next day.
The first week of school was military training. In the morning, Li Wei changed into her clothes—a somewhat oversized military uniform and a peaked cap—and went to school with Li Lianhui.
The school is only a three-minute walk from where Li Wei and her brother live; it couldn't be closer. They could practically walk from one door to the other.
This year, there are nine classes in the first year of high school. Three classes are grouped together for military training. They train during the day and study in the evening.
Li Wei and her classmates from classes 1-3 of the first year of high school trained together, with the boys in front and the girls behind, forming a square formation. They spent most of the morning organizing the formation.
During the break, Li Wei, Ding Anni, and Wan Ningning, a junior high school classmate of Ding Anni from Class 1 of the first year of high school, sat together by the flower bed on the edge of the playground to rest and chat.
They had only been talking for a few minutes when a boy came over and sat down next to them.
Li Wei didn't notice at first. It wasn't until Ding Anni exclaimed, "Hey! You're Luo Jianhua!"
Li Wei then turned to look at the boy. She was shocked. This…this really is Luo Da! But he's changed so much in just over a month!
Originally, Luo Da's skin wasn't very fair, but it was a healthy light tan. Although he wasn't fat, he still had a somewhat youthful air about him. But the person in front of him now, both in appearance and demeanor, was very different from what he had been like a little over a month ago.
His skin tone had changed. Not exactly dark, but let's call it bronze. He'd also lost a lot of weight, revealing more defined, angular features. His hair was now a buzz cut. His eyes were much sharper. He looked like a sword drawn from its sheath, radiating a cold, piercing light.
In short, she has completely shed the naivety she had a month ago. It's as if she has matured all of a sudden.
Li Wei hurried over and looked him over. "Hey, Luo Jianhua, what happened to you? You've lost so much weight!" Li Wei suddenly felt a pang of guilt. If she hadn't insisted on sending Luo Da to find a master to learn martial arts, things wouldn't be like this. Look at this child. He must have suffered so much. He's matured prematurely from all the suffering.
Luo Da chuckled. It wasn't noticeable when he was fair-skinned, but now that he was dark, his teeth appeared strikingly white. Li Wei only saw a flash of cold white light. Luo Da spoke: "Nothing much, I just got some special training from that expert you mentioned, almost killed me. Oh, by the way. That expert's apprentice, now my senior brother, came to this city with me. I guess I'll be pretty busy and miserable from now on. Aren't you happy?"
Li Wei couldn't tell if Luo Da was angry or happy, but the sarcasm was obvious. Thinking of Luo Da's current state, Li Wei felt ashamed and stammered, "What's there to be happy about? My grandfather was just doing it for your own good, what does it have to do with me! Besides, you went off happily... well... who knew it would turn out like this?" No wonder he's a master; he's ruthless. Look at the mess he made of forcing things to grow too fast.
Li Wei was guilty, but she was determined to deny that she had anything to do with the matter.
Thinking about it, he became curious again: "Did the master really send a disciple to continue training you?"
Luo Da maintained his expressionless demeanor: "Well, I'll also open a martial arts school while I'm at it."
Luo Da had truly suffered a lot over the past month, practically living a life worse than death. Fortunately, he survived. And being taken in as a disciple by Old Master Cheng's comrade-in-arms was a pretty good outcome. Sometimes, when he dragged his exhausted body to bed, based on the hints Old Master Cheng had given him, Luo Da figured out that his apprenticeship was entirely a scheme orchestrated by Li Xiaoming.
He didn't complain much. Although it was tough, tiring, and painful, his progress was rapid. His master and Grandpa Cheng took great care of him, making him practice martial arts, soak in herbal baths, and massage his muscles and bones every day, which took a toll on the two old men. Especially when he returned to school, his master specially sent his sixth senior brother to continue teaching him. Opening a martial arts school was just a side project, something that Uncle Luo enthusiastically took care of.
What made him feel uneasy was that during the military training, Li Xiaoming hadn't even glanced at him once. It was a waste that he had been thinking about her all this time. Helpless, he had no choice but to go to her door himself and let her see him.
The only thing that comforted him was that Li Xiaoming seemed to still care about him and wasn't entirely heartless.
Luo Da wanted to say something more, but the instructor had already blown the whistle to assemble, so he could only leave with a "wait here after class" and run off.
After a morning of training, the instructor dismissed the class. Li Wei, tormented by her conscience, waited patiently for Luo Da. She stood there sighing inwardly, "What a mess this has been! Who knew this master could be so ruthless!"
Luo Da ran over with a bag in his hand: "I heard from Xiao Er that you guys moved to live near the school. I'll come to your place for lunch." And then Ding Anni, another freeloader.
Li Wei led the way, while Ding Anni, oblivious to everything else, sized up Luo Da several times and said with a smile, "Hey, Luo Jianhua, you're quite handsome now, more attractive than before, and you've got a bit of a manly vibe, hehe."
Luo Da remained silent, and Li Wei pretended not to hear him; she was still feeling guilty.
Li Lianhui, having finished class earlier, arrived home before Li Wei and was washing his face in the bathroom.
Aunt Gao had already set lunch on the table. When she saw that two more people had arrived, she quickly took out eggs and vegetables from the refrigerator and added two more dishes. At the same time, worried that there wouldn't be enough rice, she also heated up a few steamed buns.
Aunt Gao finished quickly, and Li Wei and the others also washed up and started eating. There was no need to offer them food; Aunt Gao didn't eat there, so she was essentially a part-time housekeeper.
After dinner, Luo Da pulled Li Wei into the room and handed her the bag he had brought: "Here, this is for you."
As Li Wei opened it, she wondered if Luo Da was still resentful that she had made him suffer so much, and if he would do something to scare her.
He opened the blue cloth bag, poured the contents onto the desk, and saw several kinds of pastries he'd never seen before. He immediately frowned, wondering if he really looked like a glutton.
Li Wei had already planned her next steps, but now seeing Luo Da in such a sorry state, and considering he'd gone to great lengths to bring her back local specialties, she felt too bad to repay such kindness. Besides, he seemed busy enough in the future and probably wouldn't have much time for her. She figured his feelings for her would fade over time, and after high school, she didn't believe they'd be in the same school again. Then she'd be free to roam the world.
Once Li Wei made up her mind, she became more amiable towards Luo Da.
Although the September evenings were quite cool, the scorching sun during the day was still unbearable. Every day was spent baking in the sun. On top of that, they had to do drill training. After only two days, Li Wei began to envy Li Lin, who was a first-year high school student this year and didn't have military training.
Although Li Wei was lazy and fond of comfort, she was still better than Ding Anni. Every time it was time to rest, Ding Anni would collapse to one side as if she were falling apart, leaning against a tree and groaning.
In comparison, Wan Ningning, also a city kid, was much more nonchalant, appearing quite nonchalant. Li Wei inquired about it out of curiosity. It turned out that Wan Ningning was a sports star in junior high school and received extra points for physical education when applying to the top high school, so she didn't take this level of training seriously at all.
Compared to the girls' delicate nature, the boys are much better off, since they don't have such intense physical training. It's just some basic movements, and as long as they do them correctly, they can pass.
This kind of training was nothing to Luo Da; his real training was at home every day, while at school he treated it as rest.
Gritting her teeth, Li Wei quickly got through the week of intense sun exposure. She still insisted on applying a whitening and anti-inflammatory face mask every night, and she felt that she had gotten quite a bit tanned. Not to mention Ding Anni and Zhou Xiaoyan, who both had two pink cheeks and looked much healthier.
This week, Li Wei, being a day student and not eating or studying at school, had less contact with her classmates. She could only recall the names of a few of her classmates. She figured she'd get to know them sooner or later, and since she wasn't particularly sociable, she wasn't in a hurry. Unlike most students who eagerly inquired about each other's names and made new acquaintances during breaks...
In addition, although Li Wei is not a stunning beauty, she is still an outstanding girl, one in a hundred. Moreover, she doesn't like to talk to people, which makes many girls gossip behind her back, saying that Li Wei is arrogant and has a hint of looking down on people.
Li Wei never imagined that the word "arrogance" could be associated with her.
Li Wei naturally didn't know any of this, and even if she did, she wouldn't care.
However, her deskmate Lin Xiao, a very lively and cute girl, was a little unhappy and advised Li Wei: "Why don't you talk to everyone more? You are such a nice person, how did you become that monster with your eyes on the top of your head?"
Li Wei found it amusing. What was the big deal? She turned around and advised Lin Xiao, "It'll be fine in a while. We don't really know anything about this. Besides, there will always be some classmates who like to gossip. You can't shut them up, so why bother with all that?"
The monotonous military training was over. Everyone returned their uniforms and went home for the weekend, feeling relaxed. Next week, the real learning would begin, and the fierce competition would officially start.
The day before, Li Wei declined her mother's suggestion that her father drive to pick up the three of them, planning instead for the three siblings to take the bus home for the weekend. The bus stops almost right at their doorstep, so it's much more convenient; why bother her father with the long journey?
As soon as the three of them stepped out of the building, Luo Da drove up. The trunk wasn't fully closed, and it was full of stuff, so the lid couldn't be closed properly.
Luo Da was going to visit Grandpa Cheng and would give Li Wei and the others a ride home. Li Lin was quite happy and cheered as she got into the car, though she was quite upset that her sister wouldn't let their father pick her up. Since there was a free ride available, Li Wei and her brother also got in.
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