“…” Qiao Nan cut a hole on Tang Mengran’s pants to place the button. She then stared at Tang Mengran. “Was that a tongue twister?” Tang Mengran had said that she was annoying, but she went on to say that she could not stay annoyed at her?
So, was she annoying or not?
Tao Zhenqin wore the altered pants and felt that it was very fitting. “Qiao Nan, I have informed the other female classmates in the class and ask people to pass the words to the boys. I suppose they will find a solution.” But certainly not one as good as theirs.
Qiao Nan nodded. It was good that everyone knew about it. As for how they solved the problem, Qiao Nan was not interested to know. “I will take a bath first. I will go to sleep after bathing. There is military training tomorrow. It must be very tiring.”
“So early?” Zheng Lingling felt excited as it was the first day of school and everyone was new to one another. “No more reading for the day?”
“No, I am exhausted, and I do not read in the dormitory.” Qiao Nan shook her head. She preferred to study in the classroom and did not have the habit of reading books in the dormitory.
Qiao Nan took her clothes and went directly to the toilet to take a shower. After showering, she opened the door and washed her clothes. She brought them out to dry, after which she laid on the bed. In less than five minutes, her breathing evened and was fast asleep even though the lights in the dormitory were still on.
“Is she really asleep?” Tao Zhenqin looked stunned. “Do all of you think that Qiao Nan is a living treasure in every aspect?”
“Definitely!” He Yun nodded affirmatively. “It is getting late. Qiao Nan is right. The military training tomorrow must be very strenuous. Let’s have an early sleep.”
“Let’s sleep.” They lost all excitement in an instant, especially when they saw Qiao Nan sleeping soundly. Tang Mengran, who felt energized previously, was sleepy at once and yawned. “Why do I feel that Qiao Nan has a lullaby effect as well?”
“I think so too.” After taking a shower, they felt clean and refreshed. With the electric fan humming in the background, all of them gradually slipped into dreamland. After a while, Qiao Nan’s dormitory was the quietest among all other dormitories as its residents were the first to fall asleep.
On the next day, all of the students wore camouflaged uniforms to the field for their military training.
Qiao Nan was fully prepared, and so were the girls in her dormitory. The rest of the students from other dormitories were smart as well. They came up with all sorts of ways to alter their uniforms to make them fitting.
Liu Neng noticed that some of the students used clothespins to clip the legs of the pants. The clothespins swayed as the students moved about. It seemed as if there were two braids on the pants. Liu Neng almost lost his composure and broke out in laughter.
It was too hilarious!
Liu Neng coughed. “This is your instructor. His surname is Zhou. You can call him Instructor Zhou.”
A soldier in a green military uniform stood by the side of Liu Neng, a middle-aged man. His posture was particularly tall and straight, especially his pair of bright, jet-black eyes. It was very striking that everyone was drawn to his pair of radiant and sparkling eyes instead of his tanned complexion.
“He was so handsome.”
“He must be very young.”
“Our class is blessed.” The girls were bursting with excitement, exhilarated at the sight of the handsome instructor. They were very fortunate to have him as their instructor.
Qiao Nan felt perplexed at everyone’s enthusiasm. Yesterday, when Zheng Lingling and the rest of them asked her about her relationship with Zhu Baoguo, there was a little disdain in their tone, as if they were sounding her out. Yet, they appeared to be infatuated when they saw the instructor today. Was that alright?
“Good morning, my surname is Zhou. From today onward, I will be your instructor.” Instructor Zhou saluted the students of class one in a serious and formal manner. When he saw Qiao Nan, his eyes lit up.
“?” Qiao Nan who did not have a close look at the instructor heard his voice and found it familiar as if she had heard it before.
Qiao Nan looked up and took a closer look. She almost choked. Instructor Zhou was the son of Zhou Bing who stayed in the same hospital ward as Qiao Dongliang half a month ago. She had called him Brother Zhou back then.
They were acquaintances!
“The instructor is looking in this direction, smiling! His teeth are brilliantly white, and his smile is so beautiful. Who is he smiling at?”
When Zhou Jun saw Qiao Nan, he curled the corner of his lips. Although he did not break out in a big smile, his tanned face made his teeth appear to be particularly white. This slight smile of his did not go unnoticed by the female students who watched his every move!
When he heard the speculation, Zhou Jun quickly recovered and maintained a stern face. “Quiet. The first thing you must learn in military training is to maintain silence. In the army, you must maintain absolute discipline. Without the approval of the instructor, you are not supposed to make any comments or actions. Understand?!”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
The group of students responded lazily, not in unison.
Zhou Jun frowned. His jet-black eyes which caught all of the students’ attention now gave off a ferocious look. The students of class one did not dare to fool around. “Did you hear what I said?!”
“Yes!” This time, the students from class one answered very neatly in unison.
As soon as Zhou Jun put on a stern expression, the students in class one did not dare to play around. “Okay, now we shall start the military training. If there are any questions during the training, one must ask for approval to speak or act. Understand?!”
“Understood!”
The Indian summer in September was still very scary. The sun was scorching hot on the body. Fortunately, the camouflaged uniform had long pants and long sleeves. Although one would not suffer sunburn, it was particularly stuffy and hot.
It had only been more than an hour and many of the students were drenched in perspiration, their shirts plastered to their back.
Zhou Jun looked at Qiao Nan from time to time to check whether she was fine. When he noticed that Qiao Nan’s cheeks had turned red, her hair wet and plastered to her face—that she was drenched in perspiration to the point of having difficulty keeping her eyes opened, Zhou Jun said, “Let’s have a ten-minute break.”
“Phew…” Qiao Nan let out a long breath. Even though they had just finished training, her legs feeling so tired as if they were lead, she did not dare to sit down. Instead, she walked a few steps before leaning against a tree and sipped at her water, hydrating herself.
“Very good, some students are very experienced. When you are tired after exercises, don’t sit down right away. You may also feel very thirsty, but you must not gulp down your water. It is better to take small sips.” There was a hint of praise in Zhou Jun’s eyes. This was the first time he taught students, but he had trained a lot of new recruits.
The new recruits who just entered the army were mostly fools who did not have common sense. They had to teach and guide them along the way.