"Buzzing~"
Shortly after Xu Chenfeng posted the video of the students singing together in the group chat, his phone started vibrating repeatedly.
"Hey Lao Xu, what's the name of this song you posted? I've never heard it before."
"It sounds pretty catchy, it must be another new song written by some military singer!"
"Could it be Professor Jiang Wei?"
"I don't think that's his style. Besides, why would Jiang Wei write songs for college students first?"
"This must be college students' military training. It reminds me of when we first entered the recruit training camp."
"Old Xu, get closer to take the picture! My phone's sound quality isn't good, I can't hear you clearly!"...
When the other veterans in the group saw the photos of middle school students singing together at night taken by Xu Chenfeng, they immediately became interested and started sending voice messages to discuss it enthusiastically.
At the same time, in a roadside restaurant on a pedestrian street in a night market in Cangzhou City.
Several burly men were sitting together having a meal.
Veteran Zhang Hongtao, who was having dinner with his friends, saw a short video sent by his old comrade-in-arms Xu Chenfeng.
After noticing the Tsinghua University logo on the cover, I curiously put down my wine glass and held the phone to my ear to listen carefully.
"Squad Leader Zhang, that's a foul!"
"We just agreed that whoever gets their phone first will treat us, and you've already started making calls without saying a word."
"Squad Leader Zhang is loaded; he's clearly planning to treat everyone to this meal, haha~"
"Is this another video from some young girl? I'm telling you, you're not getting any younger, it's time to find a girlfriend!"
When Zhang Hongtao suddenly picked up his phone to check and listen, others nearby immediately started to cheer and shout.
"Shh~ Don't talk nonsense. Our Brother Zhang is handsome and refined, why would he have trouble finding a wife?"
"They just haven't met a more suitable soulmate yet!"
He overheard someone making fun of the veteran about his search for a partner.
A close friend of Zhang Hongtao immediately signaled the person joking to shut up and not bring up the topic.
Just like instructor Xie Minghui.
Zhang Hongtao, a former soldier in a motor transport unit, also experienced a deeply unforgettable love affair three years ago.
At that time, his girlfriend was a primary school teacher named Zhou Yueyao, who was delicate and charming with an outstanding temperament.
Unlike Xie Minghui, a border guard stationed on the snowy plateau, who was forced to part ways.
Veteran Zhang Hongtao and his girlfriend are deeply in love and consider each other to be their soulmate.
Whenever he has a vacation, Zhang Hongtao's first priority is to travel to the city where his girlfriend lives to spend time together.
After a sweet and happy courtship, the two decided to register their marriage and walk down the aisle together.
However, just as Zhang Hongtao was happily preparing for his wedding with his girlfriend...
A cruel accident in fate shattered everything.
It was also a day in late autumn.
After school in the afternoon, Zhou Yueyao, the homeroom teacher, was escorting the students across the road.
A short distance away, an SUV was wobbling as it drove towards the school gate.
Just a few dozen meters away from the zebra crossing.
The SUV suddenly accelerated and sped straight toward the elementary school students who were crossing the road.
The children crossing the road were terrified when they saw a car speeding towards them like a cannonball.
Seeing that two students were about to be hit by a car, Zhou Yueyao, who was on duty, didn't have time to shout and rushed over to push the two students away.
She herself was hit hard by the out-of-control SUV that sped towards her.
After a loud "bang".
The female teacher, Zhou Yueyao, was thrown more than ten meters away by the impact. After rolling on the ground for a distance, she immediately lost consciousness.
The out-of-control SUV finally came to a stop after crashing into a large tree on the side of the road, with smoke billowing from the hood.
When angry parents and passersby rushed over and opened the car door, a strong smell of alcohol quickly filled the car.
The drunk driver who caused the accident simply lay down on the ground and fell fast asleep.
Zhang Hongtao will never forget it.
That afternoon, right after I finished training, I received a phone call from my girlfriend's family, who were crying and shouting.
Upon learning that his soon-to-be-married girlfriend had been sent to the funeral home, the once clear sky outside the window seemed to collapse instantly.
Zhang Hongtao, who burst into tears on the spot, was personally escorted by his military leaders to the funeral home in the city where his girlfriend lived.
He didn't even know how he got through that journey; he cried and laughed the whole way, and it all felt like a dream.
It's as if as long as I can wake up, this nightmare will end, and I can even joke about this dream with my girlfriend, only to be punched in the heart by her delicate fist.
It wasn't until his girlfriend lay on the cold bed in the funeral home, her pale and cold face appearing before him, that he realized what was happening.
Zhang Hongtao then truly realized that the gentle, kind, and understanding girl had really drifted away from him.
The wedding that the two never held became a dream that could never be realized.
Since then, Zhang Hongtao, who had lost all his form, was unable to continue normal training in the army.
After special approval, he became a demobilized soldier and returned to work in the local area.
During that period, Zhang Hongtao suffered from insomnia almost every night.
As soon as you close your eyes.
The scene from the surveillance footage of his girlfriend being hit by a car while trying to save a student would keep replaying in his mind.
It wasn't until six months of psychotherapy, along with constant mutual comfort and encouragement from his girlfriend's parents, that he gradually emerged from the shadows.
Even now, every time Zhang Hongtao gets paid, the first thing he does is visit his girlfriend's parents, treating them like his own family.
Then he went alone to the cemetery to visit his fiancée, who was now gone forever.
This love story, which he kept buried deep in his heart, was only known to his closest friends.
That is, he forbade others from making fun of him about young girls at drinking parties, and that colleague, who was also a demobilized soldier, was mentioned.
"I didn't call. My comrades were delivering goods at Tsinghua University and filmed a video of students doing military training. It suddenly reminded me of when I was in the army."
"This song sounds pretty good, does anyone know what it's called?"
With a cigarette between his fingers, Zhang Hongtao then turned his phone volume up to the maximum and placed it on the lazy Susan table.
So that everyone around can hear the song more clearly.
"Hmm~ I've never heard of this song before either. Why does it feel like it's been out for a long time?"
"This song is clearly not something an ordinary person could write; it must be written by a national-level singer from a military arts troupe!"
"The melody is simple yet inspiring. Why didn't we have songs like this when we were in the army?"
The people sitting together were immediately drawn to the singing coming from the phone and began to discuss it curiously.
"Found it! Holy crap, it's that singer Wang Yueheng again!"
"This song is called 'Unity is Strength,' and it was just composed this afternoon!"
Someone picked up their phone, opened a music app, and used the song recognition function, then moved closer to Zhang Hongtao's phone.
As the song information popped up on the screen, the other person glanced at the screen and exclaimed in surprise.
"Wow, Lao Dong, you even know how to use such advanced gadgets!"
"Unity is strength? What a great song title!"
"Looks like we have another option for the next company choir competition!"
"That guy named Wang Yueheng is really over the top. How could he write a song like this?"
"It seems like it was written specifically for university military training!"
The group took out their phones and searched for information related to "Unity is Strength".
When I saw that it was a piece that Wang Yueheng had composed on the spot for the military training in the afternoon, braving the heavy rain, I was once again extremely surprised.
"Wang Yueheng, isn't that the singer who sang 'Wanjiang'?"
"He just wrote a song called 'Dragon Scales of Heaven and Earth' for the Forbidden City not long ago; his poetry skills are quite impressive..."
Amidst the rising smoke, Zhang Hongtao squinted slightly and muttered to himself.
He only recently learned about this talented singer from the news.
For some reason, he thought of his long-deceased girlfriend, Zhou Yueyao, once again.
The other party is a primary school Chinese teacher who also enjoys writing.
During my student days, I also wrote some prose and poetry which were published in newspapers and magazines.
If she were still alive, she would probably be a loyal fan of Wang Yueheng, this talented poet and singer...
Zhou Hongtao's longing and yearning for his girlfriend also drew his attention to the blurry figure of the young student singer leading the group in the video.
Zhou Hongtao lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and sat there quietly.
I want to listen to this young singer's work a little longer, instead of my girlfriend.
"Buzz~"
Just then.
A new video message was sent to the group.
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