Chapter 63: Military Training Ends

If ordinary girls had been present, Zhu Yufei and the others could have joked and teased nonstop.

But now Ying Chanxi had appeared—she, who embodied both beauty and academic genius, carried an indescribable aura even while walking down the street.

Instantly, Zhu Yufei, Lin Yuan, and the others fell silent, stepping aside obediently to watch.

Li Luo, however, looked at Ying Chanxi, then at the two bottles of water in her hands, raised an eyebrow, and reached out shamelessly: "You can't finish these, right? Let me take one for you."

"Dream on," Ying Chanxi snorted, sidestepping his sneaky hand and clutching the two bottles tightly. "You've got power now, so popular—why not drink the beverages other girls give you from now on?"

"But I don't drink beverages," Li Luo said, shoving his own cola into her arms and forcibly snatching one of her water bottles. "I'm trying to lose weight lately—water's healthier. You handle this drink for me."

Qiao Xinyan, watching from the side, blinked. The excuse felt oddly familiar; she glanced twice at Ying Chanxi.

"How much do you even weigh, still trying to lose weight? Who'd believe you…" Ying Chanxi muttered, yet her grip on the cola didn't loosen. "And you're giving me drinks others gave you? That's not right."

"I have no obligation to cater to every girl who likes me," Li Luo said, twisting open the water she'd given him and taking two big gulps. "Otherwise, I'd have been dead from exhaustion all three years of high school."

"Shameless," Ying Chanxi rolled her eyes, then said, "I have my own water. Keep this drink for yourself."

"I have water too," Li Luo shook the water in her hand, then pointed to Yan Zhusheng under the shade of the tree. "If you can't finish it, just give it to her."

"Huh?" Ying Chanxi paused, then walked toward Yan Zhusheng.

Yan Zhusheng sat on a bench, cradling a guitar and playing softly.

She closed her eyes, lost in the music, humming softly, utterly unaware of the classmates gathered around her.

Around her and at her feet lay eight or nine different beverages—all offered by boys who'd mustered up courage.

Since last night, when Yan Zhusheng sang on the playground, many had started inquiring about this girl.

After seeing her face in person during the day, they were utterly awestruck.

Soon, Yan Zhusheng became as instantly famous in every class's gossip circles as Ying Chanxi had been during the summer prep class.

Some bolder boys had already begun signaling their interest toward Yan Zhusheng.

Yet Yan Zhusheng remained oblivious. After finishing her song, she opened her eyes and returned to her cold, aloof demeanor.

She glanced at the drinks on the ground, picked them up silently, and walked over to Li Luo and the others: "Want some? I can't finish them all."

"See?" Li Luo glanced at Ying Chanxi. "All these are gifts from others—why not pass them on? Back in middle school, didn't the drinks other boys gave you end up in my stomach anyway?"

Zhu Yufei, Lin Yuan, and the others cheered and rushed over, picking drinks from Yan Zhusheng's hands, shouting "Hooray!"

Ying Chanxi rolled her eyes at him, tucked the cola away silently, and walked over to Yan Zhusheng: "Want to go out for a walk?"

Yan Zhusheng finished distributing the drinks, turned to Ying Chanxi, thought for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."

…

At ten p. m., the dormitory lights went out.

Early the next morning, before six, the head instructor's whistle blew from below.

The military training at the camp officially began.

They'd assumed the training intensity would be higher here.

But Li Luo hadn't expected that their mornings were mostly spent standing at attention and marching in step, while afternoons featured all sorts of interesting activities.

Thursday was obstacle training—each class competed in speed, and when the instructors demonstrated, they sprinted so fast, scaling walls as easily as climbing onto a bed.

But when they tried it themselves, everyone made fools of themselves.

Friday was firearms experience—unfortunately, each person got only three bullets, and after a brief taste, they were sent off.

Still, having touched a real gun in this lifetime, Li Luo could only say: no wonder Fuyi High had such a reputation—this military training was truly different.

His own high school training back then was just for show; in college, it was even more casual and half-hearted—nowhere near as fun as this camp.

He'd once thought academicians were all bookworms, but now, at Fuyi High, he realized: damn, the life of a top student was truly different—vibrant, rich, and full of color. He'd been a total idiot before.

By Saturday afternoon, they were scheduled for an outdoor exploration activity.

The instructors carved out a large area behind the camp, led them up the mountain for a few kilometers of field training.

They also taught them how to camp properly and build fires in the wild.

On Sunday morning came the inspection of military training results.

Each class marched in formation past the reviewing stand, then endured the tedious wait while leaders delivered speeches.

After their final lunch at the camp, everyone boarded the bus back to school, reluctant to leave.

"I've got one good piece of news and one bad piece," Kong Jun said as soon as the bus pulled away, while everyone was still awake.

"Teacher Kong, tell us the good news first," Zhu Yufei called out. "Once I hear the good news, I'll drop right to sleep—the bad news can wait for the others."

"The good news," Kong Jun cleared his throat, "once we return to school, all first-year students get immediate vacation—no need to come early tomorrow morning; just show up at eight."

"And the bad news?"

"The bad news," Kong Jun smiled, "the next two days are the entrance diagnostic exam. But don't stress—relax. It's just to get a rough sense of your current level."

At this, the bus erupted in groans.

Li Luo sighed too.

The exam questions couldn't be predicted in advance—his score was unlikely to be good.

But he wasn't anxious about immediate results; having been given a second chance at life, he had plenty of time in high school to study properly.

…

The bus entered the school grounds.

After returning to their classrooms and tidying up briefly, the students scattered.

Li Luo stayed behind, assigning the other three class officers to arrange the desks and chairs into an exam layout.

Midway, Ying Chanxi came downstairs and found Li Luo: "I've made plans with Xinyan to go out this afternoon. Are you coming?"

"You two go," Li Luo waved his hand. "I'm exhausted—I need to rest."

His novel had burned through seven days' worth of drafts; even though he had 250,000 words stored, the constant use was draining it fast.

Especially since he'd been posting ten thousand words daily on schedule—the consumption rate was still substantial.

It's better to go back and write some more.

Ying Chanxi, seeing he wasn't coming to play, snorted and turned away.

Li Luo had originally planned to clean up the classroom and leave, but before departing, he pulled out his phone, opened the Qidian Reading app, and checked his book comments section.

The next moment, he suddenly froze.

【What the hell is "Year Rings"? I searched for it—there's no such song. Is it original by the author?】

【Flop Diary】: I won't write too much about military training—it's just meant to bridge the gap between summer vacation and high school, introduce some supporting characters, and lay the initial framework for the first-year cast.

This book is confirmed.