Chapter 905: The Punch That Opens the Way

The wake-up call blared, and the Art Troupe became lively and noisy again. Though the sun had not yet risen, the daylight was already bright. A thin mist hung in the sky, and distant peaks two thousand meters high loomed in and out of view; the scent of cooking smoke drifted on the wind—this was the human world.

Shortly after the wake-up call, the drill call sounded. In the army, all movements depend on the bugle calls. Soon after the drill call, everyone came out laughing and talking; when there are many people, it is always lively, and no matter how chaotic, there is always something to chat about.

People from various posts, even some leaders, all came running out, a huge crowd of several hundred. After assembling and lining up at their respective positions, they shouted "One, two, three, four! One, two!" as they ran back and forth on the hard concrete road.

The band and the dance troupe lined up together, with male soldiers on one side and female soldiers on the other. Wang Yan, tall and broad-shouldered, stood in the front row. Hao Li Shuwen and the others were among the tallest of the female soldiers, so they too were at the head of the line.

Hao Li Shuwen, who had gone back and come down again, kept turning her head to glare fiercely at Wang Yan. The latter sensed her gaze and occasionally returned a smile or raised an eyebrow, which made Hao Li Shuwen even more uncomfortable.

Xiao Xiao Suizi, Lin Lin Dingding, and others, a row behind, saw it all clearly.

Mainly because Chen Can and Wang Yan were in the same row, one cannot help but look at the person one likes; Xiao Xiao Suizi was just like that. As she watched the back of Chen Can's head, she also saw the "game" between Wang Yan and Hao Li Shuwen. In the spirit of sharing with everyone, she nudged Lin Lin Dingding beside her, Lin Lin Dingding nudged other female soldiers, and soon everyone knew.

They were probably thinking the same thing: "Still saying nothing is going on with Wang Yan"... Who would believe that?

While teasing Hao Li Shuwen, Wang Yan was not idle either; he was recalling his school days a thousand years ago, the tune played during the long break for running, the one with a little girl shouting the cadence, along with whistle sounds and footsteps.

After recalling the melody, Wang Yan silently added this tune as the second item on his to-do list. The first was, of course, to write a military song and play the artist.

The morning exercise was not intense; they ran just over one kilometer, and then the main formation stopped running. Only the soldiers of one platoon responsible for the Art Troupe's security ran a bit more, and at a faster speed.

However, the fact that many in the Art Troupe did not run did not mean they had no work. They still had morning classes; as the saying goes, the day's work begins in the morning: practicing vocalization, breathing, articulation, and so on. A group of female dancers bent backward and split to loosen their muscles and practice their basic skills.

This could not be faked; after all, these were professional skills. The leaders had come early in the morning to supervise strictly. Of course, for athletes like Wang Yan, the requirements were much lower; the leaders understood that.

However, Wang Yan himself did not slack off. Taking his suona, he found a corner and blew fiercely, making a lot of noise. The suona demands very high breath control; his breath was naturally sufficient, but his technical proficiency still had a long way to go. His goal was not high: with his collection of various instruments, he just needed to bring them all to LV3, a level presentable enough.

There was no need to force it; after all, his mind was full of knowledge, and he could master an instrument in very little time. Getting a bunch of miscellaneous instruments up to scratch would take only three, five, or seven years; he had plenty of time, and being idle was just being idle.

After practicing like this, the formation was finally dismissed. Everyone returned to their dorms to get their mess kits, and this round trip became a time to rest before going to the canteen for breakfast.

Breakfast was, of course, not abundant: corn porridge, corn vegetable cakes, and extremely salty pickled vegetables.

Wang Yan filled his mess kit with porridge and took two thick vegetable cakes; this was already a lot. Even in a wealthy army, one could not waste freely; rations were still fixed in quota and quantity, only that this "quota" and "quantity" were higher than the "quota" and "quantity" of the general masses.

Even female soldiers with small appetites could eat more than half a mess kit of porridge and more than half a very substantial vegetable cake; this was due to the lack of oil and fat. The side dishes nowadays were not very rich: radish for one meal, cabbage for the next.

Today's seating was much the same as yesterday, except Liu Feng did not sit at the back; perhaps it was because he could not get Lin Lin Dingding to eat fine grain today.

Wang Yan saw clearly that Liu Feng ate a few mouthfuls of rice and then glanced over at the female soldiers' table. Over there, Lin Lin Dingding sat frowning over her corn porridge and corn vegetable cakes; the stuff was indeed scratchy to the throat. Lin Lin Dingding was very pretentious and found eating it quite difficult.

At the same time, Xiao Xiao Suizi, having finished getting her food, broke her large cake in half and handed it to Chen Can: "I can't eat that much; it would be wasteful. You eat it."

"Oh~"

As expected, the group started to tease.

Xiao Xiao Suizi's face immediately turned red; she quickly ran away and sat at the female soldiers' table. Chen Can also scolded the others jokingly, telling them not to tease.

Wang Yan focused on eating; he was hungry. After all, he hadn't eaten enough yesterday, and he had exercised this morning. He was already pondering how to get some meat to eat outside.

Mencius did not have a large population; mostly there were more ethnic minorities. However, due to the Third Front Construction, many people from all over the country had come here to support the construction. Also, because of its location on the border, heavy troops were stationed here. Overall, there was still a market here, but it certainly did not have the transaction volume of the densely populated eastern regions.

His identity as a soldier made it not very easy to do...

While Wang Yan was pondering this, at the female soldiers' table, Hao Li Shuwen, like He He Xiaoping, was eating silently and heartily.

Lin Lin Dingding said, "Hao Li Shuwen, something's wrong with you; why aren't you talking?"

"Just eat your food."

Lin Lin Dingding leaned forward and whispered, "We saw it; this morning you were staring at Wang Yan. You still say nothing is going on between you two..." As she spoke, she giggled, causing the male soldiers watching her to keep turning their heads...

"Can I eat or not?" Hao Li Shuwen glared angrily; how could this go on forever?

Once she showed her temper, the others naturally dared not say more, but this only made them more convinced that she and Wang Yan were together. Hao Li Shuwen was not stupid; from the way others looked at her, she read their meaning. This made her even more uncomfortable; how could she make them understand?

Spreading rumors takes one mouth; refuting them wears out one's legs; the same applies here. Of course, rumors must be clarified, but in fact, no matter what the matter, even after clarification, some people will not believe it, let alone trivial matters between men and women. For such harmless little rumors, time is the best remedy.

Lin Lin Dingding shrugged, then broke off a small piece of the large cake she had eaten two bites from, showing her bite marks, and called out, "Liu Feng, I really can't eat it; you eat it. Hao Li Shuwen, pass it over, pass it over."

Hao Li Shuwen took a deep breath, took the large cake anyway, stood up, and handed it to Liu Feng, not forgetting to glare fiercely at Wang Yan, who had his back to her and was eating big mouthfuls with his head down...

Breakfast time passed in this pleasant atmosphere. Everyone washed their mess kits, returned to the dorms to clean up and wash, which also served as digestion.

Undoubtedly, the one responsible for cleaning the dorm where Wang Yan lived was Liu Feng. Others helped occasionally, but they were not as diligent as Liu Feng, nor as conscientious; even their own quilts were folded loosely and messily.

Only two people in this dorm folded their quilts neatly: one was Liu Feng, who had been transferred from a frontline unit and had formed the habit. The other was Wang Yan; he simply followed local customs, doing whatever was required.

Liu Feng was diligent, clean, and hardworking without complaint; the dorm was swept spotless every day. Chen Can and others helping occasionally was something from long ago. Now, everyone took it for granted that Liu Feng cleaned every day, and even Liu Feng himself accepted this.

Wang Yan, of course, also enjoyed the fruits of others' labor, but at least he helped empty the trash from the chamber pot; the others did not move a muscle.

"We can't always rely on Liu Feng alone," he said, sitting on his bed and looking at the others.

"He's the model soldier. Besides, if we do it, he complains it's not clean; what can we do? You're idle too. If you want to do it, do it with him; no one is stopping you."

Zhu Ke spoke with sarcasm, his words carrying a hint of displeasure, blaming Wang Yan for being too talkative and making more trouble, but he was also mocking Liu Feng. Yet he was smiling, laughing and joking, as if he was not targeting anyone specifically.

"It's not hard; I'm used to it. If I don't do it for a day, I feel uncomfortable," Liu Feng said with a smile, easing the atmosphere.

Wang Yan smiled. He had spoken to help Liu Feng, to slightly correct the mindset of the people in the dorm. Now Zhu Ke was directly being sarcastic to him, with a hint of mockery; this was no longer just about Liu Feng.

Indeed, he, Wang Mou, had no foundation; this was something everyone knew. Usually, everyone laughed together, minding their own business, so all was well. Now that he suddenly spoke up to make trouble, and Zhu Ke was a sharp-tongued person, naturally he was unhappy. There was no need to hide it; he could just blindly confront Wang Yan, after all, this kid even confronts the squad leader.

There were eight people in the dorm. Liu Feng tried to ease the atmosphere, Zhu Ke directly stood his ground, and the rest, including Chen Can, had different thoughts, but they all watched Wang Yan, wanting to see his reaction.

After all, Zhu Ke's words amounted to a deliberate provocation. They were all men; they wanted to see how Wang Yan would respond. Of course, there was also some annoyance, since Wang Yan had spoken to everyone and was causing trouble for them.

They also couldn't figure it out: if Liu Feng was willing to do it, let him do it; why, Mr. Wang, who was also having an easy time, seek unhappiness?

"Chen Can, what do you mean?" Wang Yan turned and asked Chen Can. He asked Chen Can because this guy was the leader of the other people in the dorm. Although the dorm leader was Liu Feng.

Zhu Ke knew Chen Can's identity; Zhu Ke was arrogant, yet he respected Chen Can. So Zhu Ke suppressed the others, and naturally Chen Can became the de facto leader. Although there was no explicit relationship, Chen Can was indeed the acknowledged opinion leader.

Chen Can shrugged indifferently: "I don't care. If you want to do it, do it with our model soldier; help him share the load."

His words were frivolous; obviously, he did not take Wang Yan seriously. He also had grievances against Wang Yan because, since yesterday, Wang Yan had always brought up Xiao Xiao Suizi and his matter, drawing the conflict onto him, so of course he was unhappy.

Although he did not flaunt his identity as a child of high-ranking officials, he still had a psychological advantage; he was very calm and very arrogant.

Conflicts among young people always come so fast. Wang Yan understood these people's thoughts; although he smiled at everyone, he could not be perfect in every way, because people's minds are different. Moreover, this was not an equal relationship; some of his normal behaviors might make others feel he was putting on airs.

However, Wang Yan was actually quite helpless; his mindset was, after all, different. Although he was trying to suppress it, he was not a twenty-year-old youth. Besides, he had lived over a hundred years in the previous world, serving as Emperor for ninety years; one month in the real world was insufficient for recovery. Even if he recovered, he was still not twenty years old.

To him, his ordinary behavior seemed just ordinary, but some actions, expressions, and words made people think he was showing off; that was not wrong. He was indeed always being awesome; of course, it was not faked; he was naturally awesome.

Chen Can, Zhu Ke, and other children of high-ranking officials had a psychological advantage and arrogance; he, Wang Mou, was far more than just arrogant.

It's just that now, the situation is that he merely treats them equally, and they already think he's showing off.

When Zhu Ke spoke like that, he perhaps hadn't even thought it through himself; it just came out naturally. From his perspective, there was nothing wrong with it. But when it reached Wang Yan, it was different.

He had originally been waiting to teach this bunch a small lesson, and Zhu Ke, just because he suggested everyone do the cleaning together, had walked right into it.

Wang Yan nodded with a smile, raised his right hand without much politeness, extended his index finger, and pointed at Zhu Ke: "Tomorrow morning, you are responsible for cleaning."

Immediately after, he pointed at Chen Can: "You, the day after tomorrow."

Zhu Ke froze, glanced at Chen Can who looked equally stunned, sat up from his bunk, and acted like a hooligan: "What if I don't do it?"

"Beat you!" Wang Yan's reply was simple and clear.

Seeing Zhu Ke about to explode, Liu Feng hurriedly held Zhu Ke back and pushed Chen Can, who had also stood up: "It's no big deal; I'll clean it myself. We're all comrades in the same dorm; this is so meaningless. If the Political Commissar finds out, won't we get a disciplinary action?"

"Is there anyone who talks like him? And he wants to beat me? Damn it, who's afraid of whom? Liu Feng, get up; his parents died early, so today I'm definitely going to teach him a lesson."

Without another word, Wang Yan stood up, slapped Liu Feng aside with one palm, reached out to grab Zhu Ke by the throat, lifted him straight up, and pinned him against the bed board of the upper bunk. At the same time, he clenched his other hand into a fist and lightly punched Zhu Ke in the stomach.

Zhu Ke suffocated, desperately trying to pry Wang Yan's hands apart with both hands, his legs kicking back and forth, his stomach aching, his eyes rolling wildly upward; it looked like he was about to be strangled to death.

The dorm was very quiet; no one expected Wang Yan to suddenly make a move, and even less did anyone expect Wang Yan to be so fierce. Liu Feng reacted the fastest and hurriedly rushed forward to pull at Wang Yan, but he simply couldn't push him away.

"Wang Yan, let go quickly; he's going to be strangled to death by you."

Wang Yan smiled and threw Zhu Ke onto the bed: "Don't worry; I have control."

Having said that, ignoring Zhu Ke who was panting heavily and curled up in pain, Wang Yan looked at Chen Can: "Do you have any objections?"

"Is it necessary to make things this bad?" Glancing at Zhu Ke, Chen Can pretended to be calm, "We are all comrades, stirring the same ladle in the same room; we see each other whether we look up or down. Why do this? Can't we talk it over nicely? Must we resort to violence?"

"I'm asking if you have objections, yes or no, answer me."

Wang Yan still smiled, but his voice was faint. Wang Yan would not argue or debate with him; that was meaningless. Zhu Ke had even dragged Wang Mou's parents into it, so for Chen Can to do so here was unnecessary, meaning there was no need for further words.

"Wang Yan, you..."

"Enough, enough, Wang Yan, it's really not necessary." Liu Feng hurriedly stepped forward, hugging Wang Yan's arm with both hands; he already knew who the dangerous one was, "It's just cleaning; our dorm is only this big, actually not very dirty, not much work. Haven't I been doing it for so long already? It's no big deal."

Wang Yan paid no attention to Liu Feng; seeing Chen Can had no reaction, he directly took two steps forward.

Seeing Wang Yan coming closer, Chen Can made his move immediately; puffing out his cheeks and summoning all his strength, he swung a wide hook punch straight at Wang Yan.

Chuckling lightly, Wang Yan very easily grabbed Chen Can's wrist, pulled him toward himself, sidestepped while dragging Liu Feng who still wouldn't let go, and drove a knee strike straight into Chen Can's stomach.

Chen Can immediately clutched his stomach and curled up on the ground, gritting his teeth and groaning, digesting the excruciating pain and the churning within his belly.

"Alright, let go."

A bewildered Liu Feng blankly released his grip, watched Wang Yan sit back down on the bunk, and hurriedly rushed forward to help Chen Can up, saying: "Wang Yan, you really are..."

"I have control; I didn't intend to kill them. Wouldn't I also be dragged off to be shot if I did? It will just hurt for a while and then be fine."

Wang Yan looked at Chen Can: "We're all in the same dorm; how can we let Liu Feng clean every day by himself? And you, Zhu Ke, why did you have to bring up my parents? My parents passed away early, but yours are still here, yet they didn't educate you well. Instead, you rely on your family having some connections and become arrogant?

Oh, right, speaking of connections, we must talk about children of cadres. Chen Can, didn't you just tell Hao Li Shuwen yesterday that you look down on those cadre children? I see Zhu Ke is quite arrogant too, yet you two get along so well? Zhu Ke even respects you. Your family background must not be simple either; do you also have a father who is an Army Commander, just like Hao Li Shuwen?

No, wait; you even look down on Hao Li Shuwen, which means your father is higher than Hao Li Shuwen's father. Could he be a Military Region Commander? Your reaction tells me I'm right. But I don't like the look in your eyes; what, do you want to find your father to deal with me? Have me transferred to a frontline unit?"

Chen Can snorted: "I'm not as narrow-minded as you say; losing to you is just my own lack of ability."

"If you truly had that kind of guts, you wouldn't have come to the Song and Dance Troupe."

Wang Yan shook his head amusingly and continued, "Let's discuss this; it's just cleaning, what kind of big deal is it? Is it worth fighting over? We were laughing and joking together during breakfast, and now suddenly we're sour-faced? Are we all children? I didn't intentionally pick a fight with you two; even if I tried to reason with you, you wouldn't listen, and perhaps you have even more 'reasons' than I do.

I don't bully people; starting today, we each take one day. Today is Liu Feng, tomorrow Zhu Ke, the day after tomorrow Chen Can, the day after that is me, and the rest of you arrange yourselves. The hygiene standard will remain as it is now; any problems? Speak!"

Zhu Ke mumbled: "No!"

"Fine." Chen Can also responded through gritted teeth.

Since these two had submitted, the others naturally dared not have any differing opinions.

Wang Yan nodded satisfactorily: "Then let's implement it this way. From now on, we'll discuss things nicely and not be sarcastic. We all carry a head on our shoulders; no matter how high-ranking or powerful our parents and Laozi are, no one has an extra life compared to anyone else, right? Let me apologize to you two; I held back my strength. Rest for a few more minutes, and after the pain lasts a few more days, it will be fine. As real men, this is no big deal; in the future, we are still good comrades and good comrades-in-arms.

Alright, that's it; it's no big deal. Once things are spoken openly, isn't it resolved? I'm leaving first; my professional skills aren't up to par, so I need to practice hard and strive to write some powerful songs."

Having said that, he ignored the others, picked up a book along with paper and pen, and left the dorm, leaving a room full of people staring at each other wide-eyed.

They were shocked by Wang Yan's rascality; it was as if he wasn't the one who had done the beating...

Liu Feng looked at Zhu Ke and Chen Can, who were still curled up, and asked with concern: "Are you two okay? If it's really bad, hurry to the clinic; don't try to be tough. He said he held back, but it didn't look light to me at all. After so long, I truly never expected he had this trick up his sleeve."

The looks in Chen Can and Zhu Ke's eyes were full of resentment: What the hell are you nagging about? It's all because of you...

But what could the two of them say?

"We're fine; we feel much better now; just endure a little longer and it'll be okay. He indeed didn't use heavy force." Chen Can said reluctantly, "Alright, it's almost time; you guys go first. We two brothers will rest a bit and head over shortly."

Liu Feng intended to comfort them further to eliminate the trouble, but seeing Chen Can's reaction and looking at Zhu Ke who remained silent, he felt that saying more might provoke a fight with them, so he wisely shut his mouth, only saying they would definitely keep it secret and not spread it outside. Then, along with the other extras, he left the dorm to rehearse, leaving just the two of them.

"It really hurts like hell." Zhu Ke finally cried out loudly.

Chen Can also grimaced in pain: "Who says it doesn't?"

After the two of them suffered in pain for a while, Zhu Ke said again: "So we just accept it?"

"Otherwise, what do you want to do? Didn't you hear what he said? We all carry a head on our shoulders; no matter how high-ranking or powerful our parents and Laozi are, no one has an extra life compared to anyone else. Haven't you understood the meaning of that yet? If we dare to play dirty tricks, he dares to risk his life. He has no parents, no attachments, just a worthless life; can you do that?

He could lift you up with one hand and nearly strangle you to death, and took me down with one move. Look at my wrist where he grabbed it; it's all bruised. In front of him, we two brothers are like little chicks; we can't beat him, and we don't even dare to curse him. If we don't accept it, what else can we do? It's useless no matter who my father is. Besides, you know the situation outside right now; better to stay quiet."

Chen Can's words were also full of resentment, even more intense than Hao Li Shuwen's gritted-teeth hatred.

"It's truly damn embarrassing. I just can't figure it out; tell me, what kind of fit is he throwing? He's been here for over a year, and everything passed just fine; why is he causing trouble now?"

"Get lost; he just mentioned it, maybe just making a point, but you said you wouldn't do it, insisted on being sarcastic, and even brought up his parents. His father is a martyr. If these words spread, you'd either die or lose a layer of skin; no one could protect you. With the way you spoke, who wouldn't get angry?"

"I did look down on him a bit; before, I felt he was okay, quiet and smiling at everyone, but these past two days he's been unpleasant to look at. Listen to the things he said just now; is that human language? And what about... what's wrong with you?"

"Didn't you just get beaten? You were nearly strangled to death by him; how could I just stand by and watch?"

"I think you just don't like him either."

... "If you put it that way, then yes, there is a little bit of that; he always talks about the matter between Xiao Xiao Suizi and me. We two are innocent; what is there to talk about? Let me tell you, don't stir up trouble blindly in the future..."

"Didn't you also talk about Wang Yan and Hao Li Shuwen? You're allowed to talk about others, but others aren't allowed to talk about you..."

Of course not allowed; people are just that shameless. When he teases others, he calls it a joke. But if someone else tries to play a joke on him, that is absolutely unacceptable, and he immediately turns sour-faced.

The two had been slightly taught a lesson, had reflected on their mistakes, and the matter was lightly brushed aside, as if they had let Wang Yan off the hook. Of course, that was impossible; they were merely waiting for an opportunity...

Wang Yan naturally did not care about the grudge these two held; he had spoken clearly that he did not believe they had the guts to come looking for trouble again. He would not leave them any leverage to exploit; if they wanted revenge, perhaps it would only be possible later, during the era of the market economy, when they became successful figures. At that time, they might organize some song-and-dance troupe gatherings to mock him, or secretly trip him up behind his back in the future—all the actions of petty men.

Arriving at the large rehearsal venue, Hao Li Shuwen and the others were already there. He He Xiaoping, who had been given two days off, had not rested either; she had come as well. Like the other dancers, she had changed into her practice clothes, displaying her lovely figure.

Hao Li Shuwen, however, was speaking loudly, laughing and chatting happily with someone. Seeing Wang Yan walk in, she shot him another vicious glare before continuing her cheerful conversation.

As usual, Wang Yan smiled and raised an eyebrow at Hao Li Shuwen, walked over to his group, very consciously picked up his suona and the thick stack of sheet music, and left the area to avoid causing anyone discomfort.

It was the same room as yesterday, a storage closet piled with various props. Here, he continued to play "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix." Having played for half the day yesterday and another half-hour during morning practice, his progress was already obvious.

This was mainly due to his excellent memory; the musical score was already burned into his mind. His breath control was strong, saving him much of the effort required to train his qi. His mind reacted quickly, and his hands were nimble. Furthermore, he possessed deep appreciation skills and theoretical knowledge of music; with all these advantages, if he did not show obvious progress, he would truly have lived in vain.

After playing for a while, Wang Yan took the opportunity during a breath pause to take out paper and pen and began writing lyrics.

A song mainly consists of three parts: lyrics, melody, and arrangement. Simply put, the lyrics are the words, the melody is the tune for each line of lyrics, that is, the melody when people sing a cappella. The arrangement is the accompaniment, making a song richer, fuller, and more three-dimensional, while also complementing the lyrics and melody.

To avoid shocking the world, Wang Yan decided to take a month to finish writing this song...

Just as he was diligently "creating," a knocking sound rang out: "Wang Yan, are you in there?"

It was Liu Feng's voice; Wang Yan replied, "I'm here."

"I've been looking for you for quite a while; it was the Political Commissar who told me you were here practicing the suona."

Pushing the door open, Liu Feng saw Wang Yan lying on the table writing something. He leaned in to take a look, muttered the words written there, and asked in surprise, "Are you really writing a song?"

"Would I tell a lie?"

"Truly impressive; these few lines roll off the tongue smoothly; this will work."

Wang Yan smiled and asked, "Because of Chen Can and Zhu Ke, those two?"

"Yes, why did you have to be so impulsive? We are all comrades from the same dormitory; making things so awkward, how will we get along in the future?" Liu Feng leaned closer and whispered, "Besides, they are both children of high-ranking cadres; is that something we can afford to provoke? With just one word from them, our lives would be ruined. It was just cleaning duties; wasn't it fine for me to do it myself?"

These were words from the heart, though they were a bit too soft. But in Liu Feng's view, cleaning was merely a trivial task that required no effort; he had always been a diligent and kind person.

"You're overthinking it; it wasn't about the cleaning at all. It was because Zhu Ke and the others were too arrogant. I just made a casual remark, and Zhu Ke responded with veiled threats and sarcastic tones; how could I possibly tolerate that? Moreover, he dragged my parents into it; you heard it yourself. Chen Can is in league with him; the two share one mind. If I hadn't stood up to them today, they would have bullied me tomorrow.

As you said, they are children of high-ranking cadres; if they bully me and trip me up, what should I do? As the saying goes above, 'Strike one blow to prevent a hundred blows from coming.' Teaching them a lesson today ensures they will all behave themselves in the future. Rest assured, those two definitely won't dare do anything to me.

I'll say it again: if they had any real guts, they wouldn't be idling their days away in the song-and-dance troupe. Afraid of hardship in the countryside, afraid of suffering in frontline units; people like that—I, being all alone, fear no one. If they really push me to the edge, I will go to Jingcheng to find the authorities above; I refuse to believe there is no justice.

Alright, don't get involved anymore; this has nothing to do with you. But I still have to tell you: you can't be too honest. You've done all the dirty and tiring work, yet everyone takes it for granted; no one remembers your kindness."

"I do my work; no one needs to remember my kindness." Liu Feng's words carried great weight.

"Then suit yourself." Wang Yan smiled and patted his shoulder. "Go on; I'm focusing on my creation now; don't disturb me."

"Really, it's nothing."

"Hurry up and go."

Time flashed by until noon; the bugle call for meals sounded again; it was lunchtime. Wang Yan tidied up, put everything in the rehearsal room, returned to the dormitory to fetch his mess kit, and only then headed to the cafeteria.

Today's lunch was millet rice and stewed cabbage with potatoes. Some droplets of oil floated on top of the dishes, which counted as some fat content.

The seating arrangement was naturally the same as usual; their dining spots were almost fixed.

As he came over and sat down, the previously lively dinner table instantly fell silent. This was, of course, due to the fight incident earlier that morning; everyone felt awkward.

But Wang Yan felt no awkwardness; he asked with concern regarding Chen Can and Zhu Ke: "Is everything okay now?"

Seeing Wang Yan act as if nothing had happened, Chen Can twitched the corner of his mouth: "There was never anything wrong to begin with."

"That's good then. Everyone eat; why are you looking at me? Do I have flowers on my face?" Having said that, Wang Yan paid them no mind and began eating heartily.

Meanwhile, at the female soldiers' table behind them, the giggling and laughter continued as usual. Suddenly, Xiao Xiao Balei asked in surprise, "Hey, haven't you noticed? Why is their table so quiet today?"