Night gradually fell, and the noisy training ground outside slowly quieted down.
At this time, the innermost office of the Engineering Research Institute was still brightly lit.
Vice Dean Zhang was writing furiously under the desk lamp, his head bowed.
On a workbench not far away, a middle-aged couple was assembling an extended submachine gun.
Song Jingzhou held a pencil and was intently marking the blueprints, occasionally pointing at the unfinished assault rifle and offering his opinions.
Time passed second by second until the outside world fell into complete slumber. Vice Dean Zhang tapped his back and stood up.
"Alright, that's enough for today."
"Everyone has worked hard these past few days. You can take a good rest for a while. The next steps will have to wait until the report is submitted and approved before we can continue."
As Vice President Zhang finished speaking, Song Jingzhou and another couple simultaneously stopped what they were doing and instantly relaxed their tense bodies.
As Song Jingzhou unfastened his gloves, he glanced at his watch.
2:27 AM.
"Dean Zhang, we'll be leaving now," the middle-aged man and woman said, waving goodbye to Vice Dean Zhang as they tidied up.
"Okay, you guys go first."
Song Jingzhou gathered up all the blueprints on the table, stuffed them into his drawer, and quickly locked it.
"Old man, what are you still looking at? Let's go. You said yourself that you'll be idle for a long time. We can deal with other things tomorrow."
Vice Dean Zhang didn't even look up. "You can go back now. I still have some finishing work to do. I'm too lazy to come tomorrow."
Song Jingzhou stood in front of him with his hands in his pockets. "Anyway, I don't have anything to do for the next few days, so I'm letting you know in advance that I have to go out for a few days."
Vice Dean Zhang looked up. "A few days? Where are you going? Aren't you from southern Hunan? Don't you go back to the army at night?"
Song Jingzhou chuckled slyly, "You think I'm like you, all alone?"
"I have a boyfriend, and he's from Kyoto. I also have elders at home, so I'm going back to visit them."
Vice Dean Zhang gave Song Jingzhou a complicated look. "You think you can respect the elderly and care for the young?"
"Old man, what's wrong with your eyes? Who do you think you are?"
Vice Dean Zhang lowered his head and asked, "Do you know when I first met you?"
"when?"
"Three years ago!"
"I don't remember this."
"Back then, you led your company in drills by the fishpond on the back hill, and you shook down all the jujubes from a jujube tree next to the fishpond, leaving me with not a single one."
"I took great care of that jujube tree. Not only did it not leave me any jujubes, it also broke all the branches. I was so angry that I started cursing on the spot."
"As a result, you bunch of greenhorns actually started arguing with me, acting all arrogant and infuriating me. I ended up having to call Zhou Long over, and finally someone reasonable came along. Although he was reluctant, he managed to get you to apologize to me."
"Seeing how dejected you all looked, I felt a little guilty, thinking that you were just a bunch of kids and that I might have been too harsh on you."
"Goodness, I didn't expect that."
Vice Dean Zhang suddenly raised his voice, "You and your group apologized and turned to leave. I was just starting to feel guilty! I didn't expect that two people would suddenly rush out from the back of the group, each taking one of my feet, and lift me up and throw me into the fishpond."
"I shouted so loudly, but not a single person turned around!"
Song Jingzhou's lips twitched, and he abruptly interrupted Vice Dean Zhang, "Alright, alright, old man Zhang."
"What does this have to do with me?"
"How could I be uninvolved with you? I remember it clearly. One of the guys who carried me, that wretched thing, was you!"
Song Jingzhou said with a righteous expression, "Old Zhang, let me tell you, don't slander me. Do you think I'm that kind of person? No wonder Liu Chuanzhi keeps saying that you're old and blind. I think he's right."
“I’m an honest and conscientious soldier, and I’ve been the team’s role model for three consecutive years. Would I do something so immoral?”
"I think Liu Chuanzhi is right, you're just getting old and your eyesight is failing."
"I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going home to sleep. You can stay up all night if you want. Oh, by the way, I've already told you I'm taking the next few days off."
After finishing speaking, Song Jingzhou turned and left expressionlessly.
As soon as he turned his head, his tense face immediately contorted, his eyes widened, and his two rows of big white teeth bared like a husky's.
Holy crap, what a coincidence!
The annoying old man he stuck in the mud of the fishpond was actually Old Man Zhang. He hadn't changed at all; his mouth was still so sharp it was infuriating.
Back then, he single-handedly defeated the entire company of soldiers with just his words, not only remaining undefeated but also nearly driving them to vomit.
Shameless old man! What do you mean "his jujube tree"? It's clearly wild...
After a good night's sleep, the next morning, Song Jingzhou first went to get the note from Old Zhang, and then went to the troops behind to find Su Jindong.
Knowing that Song Jingzhou was going back, Su Jindong quickly took out all the allowance he had received this month.
“Here, take it all. You have to give it to my grandma. She definitely won’t want to spend the money. If you have time, buy her all the things you need.”
"The old lady likes to eat noodles, but she has bad teeth. Could you give her some eggs instead? She also likes to drink tea. If it's convenient, could you also give her some sugar and soft pastries?"
Song Jingzhou looked at the money and bills in Su Jindong's hand, "Aren't you going to keep some for yourself?"
"I'll keep it, I have six yuan left."
"Now I don't need to coax my partner anymore, they all give me milk. It's better to give money to my milk than to give it to someone else."
Just as Song Jingzhou was about to say something, he sensed something and suddenly looked up, meeting Su Chang'an's sinister gaze from the second floor of the opposite dormitory, who was leaning against the side of the corridor.
Su Jindong belatedly realized that Song Jingzhou was looking behind him, so he also turned around and looked back.
At this moment, Su Chang'an gave the two a provocative smile and stretched out a hand, making a shooting gesture towards them.
Song Jingzhou's eyes darkened. "When did this thing get back?"
Su Jindong's face also darkened. "He's been back for a week, and he's been like a mad dog, always barking at me."
Song Jingzhou turned around and said to Su Jindong with a serious expression, "He's probably trying to use the same trick again to provoke you and make you make a mistake."
"Don't fall for his tricks, and try to have as little contact with him as possible on weekdays."
"It hasn't been long, but he's already completely different from how he seemed last time. Last time, he could at least maintain appearances on the surface."
"Now he's making no attempt to hide his hostility towards us. It seems that what happened at home has had a big impact on him. No matter how cunning he is, he's still only in his early twenties..."
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