Chapter 52

"Hua Xiuxiu, come here, come here."

Just after helping Li Luo sell belts at the dormitory entrance, Hua Xiuxiu hurried into the classroom and heard Lin Yuan calling to her from his seat.

"What's up?" Hua Xiuxiu, dressed in military green training uniform, walked to the seat in front of Lin Yuan and sat down.

"I noticed no one got belts with their training uniforms," Lin Yuan said casually, placing a belt on Hua Xiuxiu's desk. "My family had an extra one, so I brought it for you."

Lin Yuan was a day student and hadn't received the free belt Li Luo provided.

He'd just arrived in the classroom and had been waiting for Hua Xiuxiu, not noticing that every other classmate already had a belt.

When Hua Xiuxiu received Lin Yuan's belt, she paused: "I already have one."

"Huh?" Lin Yuan was surprised. "You brought your own belt to school?"

"Not exactly," Hua Xiuxiu shook her head, pulling out the belt Li Luo had given her. "The monitor gave it to us for free—everyone in the dorm should've gotten one."

"Li Luo?" Lin Yuan winced at the name, but hearing Li Luo had given belts to the whole class, he couldn't say more—only felt awkward.

He stared at the belt he'd just handed her, unsure whether to take it back or what.

"Anyway, thank you," Hua Xiuxiu didn't let him struggle. She picked up Lin Yuan's belt, stood up, and fastened it neatly around her waist. Then she picked up the extra one. "If any classmates still don't have one, you can give this to them."

Seeing Hua Xiuxiu wearing the belt he'd given her, Lin Yuan's face lit up. He nodded eagerly: "Yes, yes! Maybe some others still don't have one!"

At that moment, Li Luo and Ying Chanxi had also reached the third floor.

They parted at the stairwell entrance. After watching Ying Chanxi ascend, Li Luo entered the classroom and noticed the belt in Hua Xiuxiu's hand. He asked: "Still not wearing it?"

"Already put it on," Hua Xiuxiu pulled up her shirt hem to show him.

"Then why do you still have another one?" Li Luo frowned. "Didn't you just grab one?"

"You're the one who just grabbed one!" Hua Xiuxiu glared at him. "Lin Yuan gave me this one, so yours is extra."

"Ohhh, got it," Li Luo grinned, glancing between Lin Yuan and Hua Xiuxiu, then nodded knowingly. He reached out and took the extra belt from her hand. "If you don't need it, give it to me."

"Take it, take it."

The clock struck seven. The school bell rang.

Kong Junxiang, also dressed in training uniform, walked into the classroom.

Li Luo was about to return to his seat when he saw Kong Junxiang tugging at his pant waist.

Li Luo raised an eyebrow, stopped, walked back to the podium, and asked: "Teacher, do your training pants come with a belt?"

"No," Kong Junxiang blinked. "Why?"

He never wore belts with his usual pants. He lived in the faculty dormitory, and his small closet had no belt at all.

The training pants had elastic waistbands, so they weren't unwearable—just slipped down after walking too long, forcing him to keep tugging them up.

He figured seven days was short enough to just endure it.

But then Li Luo reached out and placed a belt on the podium.

"I happen to have an extra one. Take it, Teacher Kong."

"Huh?" Kong Junxiang was startled. "You brought an extra one?"

"Yeah," Li Luo said with a guileless smile. "I thought someone might be missing one, so I brought an extra."

Hua Xiuxiu: "..."

The vice monitor in the front row sat with a darkening face, thinking: How can you say that so boldly?

But remembering how this guy had given every classmate a free belt this morning, Hua Xiuxiu let it slide.

"That's thoughtful," Kong Junxiang assumed Li Luo was just a careful monitor. He took the belt without suspicion.

He had no idea his monitor had made a fortune this morning selling belts at the dorm entrance.

After watching Li Luo return to his seat, Kong Junxiang cleared his throat and addressed the class: "Starting at eight this morning, we officially enter training mode. I'll reiterate some key points..."

At the end of August, the heat still turned the playground into a giant steam room.

Instructor Zhang of Class Eight was lean and upright, standing before the formation, watching the freshmen stand at attention.

After a morning of training and lunch, they now entered the afternoon session.

The initial novelty of military training had vanished, replaced by muscle soreness and sweat-soaked uniforms.

"You! Step out!" Instructor Zhang suddenly pointed at Wei Chun as he patrolled the formation.

Wei Chun visibly froze.

He'd just secretly relaxed his legs from exhaustion—and now, startled by the shout, his whole body tensed.

But meeting Instructor Zhang's gaze, Wei Chun clenched his lips and stepped forward silently.

"I said no unauthorized movements."

"Run one lap around the track!"

Wei Chun swallowed hard, wanting to speak—but opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Seeing Wei Chun hadn't moved immediately, Instructor Zhang chuckled. "Where's the monitor?"

"Here, Instructor!" Li Luo raised his hand from the formation.

"Say it properly!" Instructor Zhang corrected. "Where's the monitor?"

"Present!"

"Where's the sports committee member?"

"Present!"

"Present!"

"So quiet? Didn't eat lunch?" Instructor Zhang walked up to Yan Zhusheng. "Louder!"

"Present!"

Yan Zhusheng, not frail like most girls, immediately corrected himself and shouted clearly.

"Good." Instructor Zhang laughed again, then asked, "Do you have a deputy class monitor?"

"Here!" Hua Xiuxiu shouted loudly from within the formation.

"Good!" Instructor Zhang clapped his hands. "All four of you, step forward!"

As he spoke, Instructor Zhang walked over to Wei Chun: "Running alone is too lonely, right? Now let these four run with you. Go."

At these words, Wei Chun immediately lowered his head, bit his lip, and clenched his fists.

But at that moment, Li Luo had already run up to Wei Chun's side and slung an arm around his neck: "Come on, it's just one lap."

"Two laps." Instructor Zhang glanced over and added.

"Yes!" Li Luo made no objection, replied loudly, then quickly dragged Wei Chun off to run.

"On the first day of military training, instructors always like to give a stern warning. Get used to it," Li Luo said, running beside them, offering comfort from experience.

"He should've run alone. Now he's dragging all four of us down," Hua Xiuxiu muttered under her breath; her stamina was poor.

"That's exactly what the instructor wants," Li Luo glanced at Hua Xiuxiu and said calmly. "When you complain about your classmates, he's achieved his goal. So during military training, say less of this."

Yan Zhusheng and Zhu Yufei had no complaints.

Zhu Yufei was naturally athletic; two laps were just a warm-up.

And surprisingly, Yan Zhusheng's long legs completed two laps without seeming to breathe heavily.

After the five of them finished running and returned to formation, at around three in the afternoon, the chief instructor announced a twenty-minute break in the center of the field.

Li Luo glanced at the school fence at the edge of the field and spotted a familiar figure waving at him.

He immediately slapped Zhu Yufei on the shoulder and called out to the other boys: "Follow me—we've got something good."