Chapter 33: The Start of Military Training

Building 8, male dormitory, Room 115.

The night grew deeper. Except for Lin Yang, who was still showering in the bathroom, the others had all climbed into bed early to recharge and prepare for tomorrow's military training.

"Click!"

As soon as he entered the door, Shen Yan found four shirtless, rugged men staring straight at him, looking him up and down as if police were observing a criminal who had committed a heinous crime.

Zhu Baoping sat up straight from his bed and gossiped, "Old Shen, I heard you and that Hao Anqi were all lovey-dovey, even hugging. What's up, are you two really together?"

Tang Song chimed in, "Old Shen, you're something else. You don't make a move until you stun everyone; you're the fastest one in our dorm to get off the singles market."

Shen Yan remained expressionless and replied calmly, "That's all baseless. Her leg was injured, so out of humanitarianism, I drove her back to the dormitory. It's as simple as that."

"Lao Lin said it was obvious Hao Anqi was coming for you. Such a great beauty threw herself at you, and you aren't even a little bit tempted?"

Zhu Baoping was truly envious, jealous, and hateful, wondering why he didn't have such romantic luck. Shen Yan stated that one should marry for virtue, not beauty; finding a girlfriend was the same principle. One shouldn't be too hasty; you can't eat hot tofu if you're in a rush.

At the very least, her character has to be up to par.

Tang Song agreed deeply, saying men aren't animals that only think with their lower halves. Zhu Baoping disagreed, saying, "What's there to worry about? No matter what, just do it first. As the man, you don't lose anything."

The speaker had no intention, but the listener took it to heart.

Once these words were out, although Shen Yan and Tang Song didn't say anything, they knew their values were incompatible and they were destined not to be on the same path.

The next day, the sun had just crossed the horizon, and the morning glow spread across the sky like a ribbon. A gentle breeze blew through the leaves, rustling them. Birds foraging for food were still on the branches, chirping and singing, as if telling people that a new day had arrived.

Sunlight shone through the windows into the dormitory, gently caressing every corner. Golden beams of light hit the walls, forming alternating patterns of light and shadow, making the entire dormitory appear more three-dimensional and vivid.

At 6:30, a harsh alarm sound echoed throughout the dormitory. The six roommates were woken up one after another, emitting impatient complaints.

"Damn it! Someone give me a whack; I'd rather just lie in the hospital for a few days." Lin Yang sat up from his bed, bleary-eyed, muttering to himself.

Zhu Baoping, who had just climbed down from his bed, grinned and said, "That's easy. Find a corner later and I'll take care of it for you."

"Get lost!"

I was just saying it; who the hell actually wants to get hit with a stick?

After a hurried wash, the group quickly changed into their camouflage uniforms. It is worth mentioning that although the quality of the uniforms was nothing to brag about, the thickness was decent enough to effectively block the sun, so there was no corner-cutting there.

After tidying up their appearance, the group trotted off to the cafeteria.

The breakfast supply in the cafeteria was quite rich, with steamed buns, stir-fried rice noodles, meat pies, and more. Shen Yan ordered a portion of stir-fried rice noodles, two meat buns, one boiled egg, and paired it with milk—nutritious and filling.

At seven o'clock, a group of freshmen gathered on the playground by class. Looking out, it was a sea of camouflage uniforms.

The school leaders hadn't arrived yet, so the freshmen stood there like idiots for quite a while, bleary-eyed, complaining about what kind of shitty leaders they were and why they had to get up so early.

It wasn't until 7:30 that the school leaders finally arrived late. First, they adjusted their ties with an air of self-importance, then rambled on and on about how the day lies in the morning and how they were all flowers of the motherland, which made people sleepy.

After finally enduring until the end, Shen Yan picked at his ear and muttered, "This bald guy can really talk bullshit. I wish I had that kind of eloquence."

"Pfft!" Wu Yue'er, who was next to him, couldn't help but snicker and whispered, "Old Shen, I find you quite slick. You don't have a shred of awe for the school leaders."

There were 36 people in the class, lined up in two rows from tallest to shortest. As the tallest boy and girl in the class, Shen Yan and Wu Yue'er naturally stood together.

"What's there to be in awe of? Don't they all have one nose and two eyes? They look well-dressed on the surface, but who knows what kind of trash they are behind the scenes."

Having lived for over thirty years, Shen Yan was clear about the twists and turns of society. Sordid incidents in universities were popping up endlessly on TikTok and Weibo. Even in key institutions like Hangzhou University, who could guarantee there weren't a few such things?

Not being exposed doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

"Well said!" Unexpectedly, Wu Yue'er expressed deep agreement with Shen Yan's words.

"Old Shen, you're the most compatible with me in the whole class."

Shen Yan looked at her in surprise. This Huniu wasn't right; for a young girl to have this kind of awareness, could it be that she had experienced something?

After the big and small leaders finished speaking, it was the chief instructor's turn, and then the instructors for each class took their positions.

The instructor for Law Class 1 was a dark-skinned, big man who was 1.75 meters tall. Perhaps because boys and girls were training together, the instructor didn't have a dark face but introduced himself with a smile, saying his name was Li Bufan and he was 23 years old.

Afterward, Li Bufan led the whole class to the side of the soccer goal, rearranged the two columns into four rows, and immediately began to explain the precautions during military training.

Among them, he emphasized the issue of military training discipline, such as raising one's hand to report.

As for the formal training content, Li Bufan had his own complete process: easy first, then difficult, step by step. He started with standing in military posture. If anyone's posture wasn't standard, Li Bufan would kick them directly to make an example of them. Of course, this was usually aimed at the boys.

Zhu Baoping and Lin Yang had both been kicked and were silently drawing circles in their hearts.

The others felt their scalps tighten and immediately labeled Li Bufan a "smiling tiger," putting in their best effort to strive for perfection.

Thirty minutes of standing in military posture, followed by standing at ease, standing at attention, and turning movements while stationary.

"Turn right!"

Hearing the command, most people performed the requirement perfectly. The very few students who turned in the wrong direction blushed and scrambled to adjust their orientation.

Once, twice, three times...

Gradually, a most prominent "attention-seeker" was officially born.

"Turn left!"

Watching Wu Yue'er scramble and turn in the wrong direction again, Li Bufan's mouth twitched, and he called her out to the front of the team alone.

"What's wrong with you? Can't you tell left from right? How many times has this been?" Considering she was a beauty, Li Bufan's tone was still relatively gentle.

Wu Yue'er stuck out her tongue cutely and said bluntly, "Instructor, I don't want to either, but I've never been able to tell left from right since I was a child."

"Pfft!"

"Hee hee!"

A few students below couldn't hold back and laughed out loud.

"What are you laughing at! Laugh again and I'll punish you with laps."

Li Bufan roared. He didn't believe this. He emphasized repeatedly that the right hand is for holding chopsticks and the heart is on the left. Wu Yue'er nodded reluctantly.

"Come! Try it. Turn right!"

"Turn right!"

"Turn left!"

The direction was opposite again. Li Bufan covered his face and asked the heavens in silence.

Good heavens! It was his first time serving as an instructor, so how did he end up encountering such a weirdo?

"Pfft!"

This time, Lin Yang and Shen Yan couldn't hold it in and laughed out loud; the other students were also trembling, struggling hard to contain themselves.

"You like to laugh, is that it? Very well! You two, step out of line and run five laps around the sports field, execute immediately!"

With his rules challenged, Li Bufan's eyes widened in fury as he pointed at Shen Yan and Lin Yang and shouted sternly.

The two of them cast a resentful glance at Wu Yue'er, then ran off to do their laps without a word.