Chapter 686 - 475 - : Kunming Army Academy

The next day.

School cafeteria.

Stir-fried green peppers with mushrooms, cold wood ear fungus, double-cooked pork, grandma’s home-style scrambled eggs with vegetables.

"Crack."

"Crack, crack."

"Paper, paper."

Fang Huai muttered under his breath as Qin Ting, sitting diagonally across the small dining table, quickly passed him a napkin.

"Tui!"

A big mouthful of mushrooms, gritty with sand, was spat out by Fang Huai onto the paper.

Then, frowning and with a look of disgust, he turned to Qiao Xiaole sitting opposite him.

"You invite me to eat and this is what you give me?"

Qiao Xiaole was somewhat speechless, "What do you expect with the school’s facilities? What else would you want to eat?"

Fang Huai grumpily spat out another bit of sand onto the paper, "Damn it, show a little sincerity at least. Pretend to be ill, buy some medicine, and grab us a stir-fried beef from the little vegetable restaurant at the school gate!"

"Big bro, do you think everybody can just go out whenever they want like you? Lend me your August First Medal, and I’ll wear it out and stir-fry a couple of dishes for you!"

Qiao Xiaole said with rolled eyes, while Qin Ting couldn’t help but laugh with a "pfft."

"You really wanna eat? I know a few squad leaders in the logistics squadron. How about I ask someone to order some dishes and have them delivered here?"

"Delivered? How are these mushrooms not delicious?" Qiao Xiaole’s face instantly darkened, "What squad leaders? A bunch of old lechers, always leaving their numbers for the female cadets."

In just a few days’ time, the relationship between Qiao Xiaole and Qin Ting had progressed rapidly, often gathering together for meals.

Truth be told, Qin Ting wasn’t any less attractive than Zhang Dan, and they were both juniors. He had known her for quite a while now, and they could graduate together this year. Qin Ting was even more sensible than Zhang Dan. After Qiao Xiaole tried to let go of his childhood crush, he started to see Qin Ting’s good qualities.

Sometimes the so-called "moonlight of memories" is just a halo of wishful thinking when one cannot see clearly.

Moreover, Qin Ting had no shortage of admirers. After Qiao Xiaole began to seriously get to know her, he felt an even greater sense of urgency. Hearing about "logistics squad leaders," his jealousy surged instantly. Not content with just a verbal barrage, he looked at Qin Ting, growing more worried as he said:

"Old Qin, let me tell you, don’t be fooled, you’ve got to learn to read people!... And when you go back to Guizhou for your internship, you have to be even more careful! The old perverts... there are plenty of bad ones!"

Their situation was quite pitiable. Just as their relationship started to develop, they only had a few months before they had to go on internships.

Moreover, military officers who pass the admission exam usually return to where they came from. Qiao Xiaole was heading to Tianjin while Qin Ting would return to Guiyang.

Qin Ting was forthright too, shooting Qiao Xiaole a disgruntled look, "Oh please... do you think I’m an idiot."

Qiao Xiaole still felt uneasy and said: "Fang Huai, you’re with the Guiyang Regiment, aren’t you? After you go back to Guiyang, Qin Ting, you should hang out more with people like Fang Huai... those who have girlfriends!"

Fang Huai laughed upon hearing this.

You really expect me to keep an eye on her for you, yet you want to ward me off too, making sure Qin Ting knows I have a girlfriend?

He wasn’t really interested in playing matchmaker, but since fate had done its part, he might as well do a good deed and see it through.

Thinking this, Fang Huai put down his chopsticks and said:

"Qin Ting, have you ever thought about transferring to Tianjin?"

Qin Ting’s face turned red in an instant.

"What would I do in Tianjin?"

Fang Huai didn’t want to ruin the sweet ambiguity between them, so he simply said: "Your accent sounds northern. If it’s too much trouble to transfer, I might be able to help you out through connections in our corps."

Having said that, he glanced at Qiao Xiaole: "But someone there has to receive you."

Qiao Xiaole’s face immediately lit up with a smile, and in Qin Ting’s blind spot, he gave Fang Huai a thumbs-up before feigning a casual look to the sky and coughing:

"I’m more than willing to help out. Her father used to be a big-shot political commissar in Luoyang! I don’t know if she’ll deign to consider our small place in Tianjin!"

"You... you two!"

Qin Ting was left speechless by their back-and-forth arrangements, her mouth opening and closing, her heart full of shy hesitance.

Fang Huai watched this scene, his heart brimming with envy.

How great would it be if he and Yang Shaoqing were at the same large unit?

In the future, she would have to coyly call him leader.

Sigh.

His mother, for some reason he couldn’t fathom, had been calling Yang Shaoqing frequently over the past couple of days to "seek her opinion" on whether she would want to follow Uncle Fang in the business world.

For the last few days, Yang Shaoqing’s first words on the phone were, "What should I do? Aunt Zhang called me again..."

All Fang Huai could do was respond with a chuckle: "What matters most is your happiness. If you’ve thought it over and don’t want to go, I’ll talk to my mom."

His mother had played her cards well.

If Brother Yang really took over the business...

Forget calling him leader, he’d probably have to ask for permission even to spend money!

...

October 13th, in the morning.

Drip, drip.

The windshield wipers of the car moved slowly, fighting against the trickling rain, occasionally creating a "crunch" sound against the glass, indicating that the rain was almost over.

Fang Huai opened the window, taking in the fresh air from the outskirts after the rain.

Near the eastern suburbs of Kunming, there were three military academies within less than twenty kilometers of one another.

Kunming Firefighting Command, Armed Police Kunming Command Academy, Kunming Army Academy.

The Armed Police Command Academy, originally the sibling of the Firefighting Command, upgraded from higher vocational education to a bachelor’s degree.

As for the other, the Kunming Army Academy, it had been a military academy for nearly sixty years, established four months before the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Its first principal and political commissar was on the families that fought in Xiangtan; though its status was not high, its history was illustrious, with generations graduating from this academy.

Many high-ranking officers from the Vietnamese military and the Golden Triangle had studied here, and a lot of officers from the Chengdu Military Region graduated from it as well.