Chapter 176: Being too outstanding is itself a sin

Before 5:30 p. m., Lu Yang rode his motorcycle back to the Sixth Company and went to the company commander to clear his leave.

In the unit, going out requires a leave slip, and upon returning one must also clear the leave with the company commander.

Otherwise, it counts as a violation; under abnormal circumstances, soldiers must return to their unit before dark and are not allowed to stay outside overnight.

Of course, those who are married and have family members visiting the unit are exempt, and management will be relatively more humane.

At this time, Ma Qing'an was in the office discussing the upcoming exercise with He Zhen Tao.

Seeing Lu Yang come to clear his leave and even return the motorcycle key, Ma Qing'an was somewhat surprised.

"Didn't I say to let you ride it for two days? Returning it tomorrow night would be fine too; I'm not going out these two days, so I don't need the bike."

"Company Commander, your bike is too eye‑catching; wherever I go, eyes follow me. Riding it out, I have to explain to people eight hundred times a day. I'd rather ride my little green motorcycle—at least it doesn't draw attention."

"Hahaha, being so flashy is itself a kind of sin."

Ma Qing'an laughed happily, because Lu Yang's words were essentially praising his bike.

This made him feel the money was well spent; buying that Ducati was a good choice.

Moreover, Lu Yang's attitude in handling things also made people feel reassured.

He had promised to lend it for two days, but the other party returned it after just one day.

What's more, he filled the tank and cleaned the bike inside and out.

This made people feel he was reliable; next time there's something, Ma Qing'an will still be willing to lend him the bike.

He Zhen Tao laughed and teased: "You went out early this morning, played all day—where did you go? Didn't you go to some place you shouldn't have?"

Lu Yang shook his head: "I went to the 441st Regiment..."

He gave a brief report of what had happened during the day.

Having heard that Lu Yang's day off was not like others'—he didn't go shopping or binge‑eat,

but instead went to another regiment to study and exchange, even learning a set of Through‑the‑back Fist, leaving both of them with a look of utter disbelief.

Especially when they heard that the Division Chief of Staff had personally invited Lu Yang to the Reconnaissance Battalion, they both jumped up in shock.

"How did you respond?"

"Did you agree to him?"

Faced with their tense questioning, Lu Yang shook his head.

"I said, I am the 4,983rd soldier of the Mechanized Infantry Sixth Company; then he didn't give me any trouble."

Hearing this, the two let out a sigh of relief together.

They were truly afraid the Chief of Staff would take him away.

After all, the authority of the division's senior leaders is still considerable.

If he insisted on transferring Lu Yang, even without going through procedure, Lu Yang would have to pack up and leave that very night.

Because the Special Third Regiment falls under the division's jurisdiction, even Ma Qing'an and He Zhen Tao are his subordinates and must obey his orders.

Fortunately, Chief of Staff Xiong knows that forcing things doesn't work; otherwise Lu Yang would no longer be a soldier of the Special Third Regiment Sixth Company, and any honors and achievements he might earn in the future would have nothing to do with them.

After finishing his brief report, Lu Yang left; just as the office door closed, the company commander and the instructor let out a long sigh of relief.

"It seems that being too outstanding isn't a good thing either—we've already attracted the division's attention this early."

"Maybe we should just keep Lu Yang from going out so often in the future; we don't fear thieves stealing, we fear them taking a liking to him."

"That's useless; the exercise is about to start, you can't stop Lu Yang from performing or hide him—we can't be that selfish. We also have to consider Xiao Lu's future development; at least for now he's still our Sixth Company soldier."

"What you say is also true; Old Pan went to the Navy, we hated to see him go, but now he's doing quite well, isn't he?"

"Moreover, Lu Yang's reply that 'I am the 4,983rd soldier of the Mechanized Infantry Sixth Company' still surprises and moves me; I haven't heard such a warm‑hearted remark in a long time."

"Yes, he's really a rare soldier—neither arrogant nor impatient, solid and steady. If every soldier in the unit were like him, how great that would be."

"Wherever he goes, people take a liking to him. First the Seventh Company Leader, then the Regiment Commander, and now the Division Chief of Staff."

"When I think back to that time, Gao Feng couldn't take Lu Yang away and wore that frustrated expression; just remembering it makes me want to laugh."

"Hahaha, hearing you say that, my heart feels much lighter."

Lu Yang returned to the squad with a big bundle of things; on his way back he deliberately took a detour to buy some stuff.

Everyone who has served in the unit knows that when going out on leave, one must bring something for the "left‑behind children."

Things like fried chicken, milk tea, cigarettes—just like restocking, two large plastic bags were packed full.

So when Lu Yang returned to the dormitory, he immediately caused a huge stir, like a hunter returning with a full load.

"Come on, come on, don't rush, don't grab."

"Take it slow, take it slow; there's plenty, there's plenty."

"Hand out yours, hand out yours; after handing out yours, line up, everyone line up."

Lu Yang distributed the food and drinks, then took a cup of milk tea and went out—this was for Zhou Kaidong.

Besides, there were two packs of Xiao Su; the cigarettes were given to him by the Ninth Company Leader when he left the 441st Regiment as a token of thanks.

Lu Yang doesn't smoke much, so he prepared to give them to Zhou Kaidong—this also counts as his own labor's fruit.

Zhou Kaidong isn't in the Third Squad; the Third Squad members said he was at the laundry yard, idling around, so Lu Yang simply went straight to find him.

Not only Zhou Kaidong, but the First Platoon Leader was also there; it looked like the two were arguing again, though no one knows why they started up once more.

Lu Yang slowed his steps, tiptoed, pricked up his ears, and used the hanging clothes in the laundry area as cover to creep closer.

"First Platoon Leader, did you actually hear what I said? I told you to talk to Lu Yang about switching to your squad—it's for your own good and his too."

"He was your soldier in the New Recruit Company; transferring him to our First Platoon Third Squad is perfectly justified, and even if the Second Platoon Leader has objections, they're useless."

"Besides, if you don't consider him, you still have to consider yourself; with Lu Yang around, if he wins an award, that honor would also be yours."

"Are you done or not?" Zhou Kaidong said impatiently: "I've said it—there's no need for this; how many times do I have to repeat it before you understand?"

"Okay, let's not talk about anything else; let's just talk about the squad's honor—it was you who gave up the 5 km slot to Lu Yang, and you said the withdrawal‑step trigger shot would earn a placement, yet you came back empty‑handed."

"Now the Second Platoon is shining with glory, while our First Platoon couldn't even bring back a decent placement; are you saying this is my fault, or yours?"

Zhou Kaidong watched Kang Changyi jumping up and down, hehe coldly laughing: "I think it's your brain that's the problem!"

Kang Changyi, angry, kept jumping up and down, chattering away a great deal.

Among them were not a few emotional criticisms and reprimands; hearing them left Lu Yang inexplicably with an itchy feeling in his hands...