Chapter 362: When Men Gossip, What About Women?

Everyone's here, right? Let's start the meeting.

The agenda focuses mainly on the upcoming period...

To adapt to the call for transferring elite Army troops to bolster Navy forces, the daily training schedule will be adjusted as follows...

Listen carefully and take thorough notes; first point, focus on cardiovascular fitness and bodily coordination training...

In the Sixth Company office, Ma Qing'an sat at the front, holding the training adjustment plan compiled by Lu Yang.

The subordinates listened and took notes diligently, but whenever they looked up, their eyes were inevitably drawn to that massive bundle of blazing red.

The office decor in the unit is usually simple and bright; to put it bluntly, a frontline command office is almost unadorned.

And having such a huge bouquet of roses on the adjacent desk is rather eye‑catching.

That inevitably sparked wild speculation—could Lao Ma be single now?

In ancient times, Lao Ma knew the road; today, Lao Ma is single!

Ahem!

Ma Qing'an coughed twice, waiting for the daydreaming Zhou Kaidong.

Focus, don't daydream!

Yes!

Ma Qing'an began the second point, but more people were now drifting off.

Everyone, consciously or not, glanced at the roses; Zhou Kaidong even nudged Lu Yang, signaling him to look as well.

But Lu Yang remained solemn and upright throughout, his expression focused and serious, not glancing that way at all.

Only after the meeting ended did someone feign a question and rush to the desk for a glance.

When Sun Chen saw the card marked "to Lu Yang," his pupils dilated dramatically, as if struck by a massive shock.

Quick, quick, quick—let's go!

What's up, why so nervous? Was the flower bought by the Company Commander for his girlfriend? Is Lao Ma dating someone—maybe a female soldier from our unit?

Do you know what the hell I saw? The card says, "For Lu Yang!"

Whoa!

Liu Ziqiang was so scared he couldn't speak.

He then began wildly speculating all sorts of bizarre scenarios.

Company Commander, did he—did he and Lu Yang get together?

Honestly, I've suspected something off between them for a while—who gives a motorcycle right after leaving the company and hands over his beloved Ducati for him to ride? There's definitely something fishy.

I heard Brother Yang is brewing a novel, planning a yaoi story; without experience or practice, can he even write that?

Anyway, I'll never go to the bathhouse with him again; if he tosses me a soap, would I pick it up or not?

Bang!

A handful of seeds struck Liu Ziqiang's head.

He turned around and saw Zhou Kaidong glaring at him fiercely.

Why are you so cheeky? Do you two have something wrong with your heads, acting so sleazy?

I already asked—someone delivered the flowers this morning, saying they were for Lu Yang. Clearly a young lady has a crush on him and is secretly confessing!

Liu Ziqiang and Sun Chen rubbed their heads, their faces showing sudden enlightenment—they had gotten it all wrong.

But immediately after, they launched a frantic discussion about who sent the flowers.

In the unit, men courting women is commonplace, but women pursuing men is rare.

Third Squad Leader, do you know who sent the flowers? Is it a female soldier from our unit?

No idea, there's no signature.

Wow~ so mysterious, there must be a big story behind it!

What are you saying, Brother Yang got an anonymous confession and received ninety‑nine red roses?

These roses aren't cheap; when I was in school courting a girl, eleven cost two or three hundred, I saved a whole month's worth of money; ninety‑nine would be several thousand.

My god, bro! So you think Lu Yang is being kept by a little rich lady?

What, who's being kept by a little rich lady, who, who, who?

Shh, lower your voice, we're talking about Platoon Leader Lu; he seems to have caught the eye of a little rich lady, who drove over this morning to present flowers, supposedly in a sports car!

Is it real? How could I not believe it?

Is it really true? The old Squad Leader went to the company meeting this morning, and they all saw the genuine nine‑hundred‑ninety‑nine roses!

Whoa, that's so romantic! How did they manage that? I also want to be pursued by a beautiful, wealthy girl—any tips?

Don't even think about it; that stuff's for modeling. But I saw Platoon Leader Lu taking a supplement yesterday, not sure if it has special effects—I'll find a chance to ask.

By the way, ask him for me too; I have a friend…

Gossip is human nature.

Especially in a closed environment like the military.

Anyone breathing under a nose can't escape the fate of being gossiped about.

For example:

Kang Changyi was formerly called "Platoon Leader Strawbag", "Kang Aunt", a connected person.

Chen Panpan, being too weak, became the Sixth Company's standard measurement unit.

Zhang Jiaheng needs no introduction; his nicknames are countless, and his legendary tales can be traced back to the fall of a top ace pilot.

As for Ma Qing'an, he's been labeled "older unmarried male youth", "sister‑complex", "motorcycle guy", "SpongeBob eye‑mask loyalist", and "smooth‑smoke fanatic".

Thus Lu Yang being gossiped about is only a matter of time, just needing the right trigger; some even extrapolated from the viral "steamed bun murder case" online to imagine a "bouquet of roses sparking love‑hate drama".

Platoon Leader's here, Platoon Leader's here!

Seeing Lu Yang walk over here, the Second and Third Platoon soldiers who had been discussing earlier instantly fell silent.

Lu Yang was the First Platoon Leader; the Second and Third Platoons were not under his command, he was simply passing through.

But for some unknown reason, as he walked past these two units, he inexplicably felt a strange sensation.

Lu Yang had just passed the Third Platoon when he heard a faint, whispering sound behind him, like mice holding a meeting.

He quickly turned his head; the Third Platoon soldiers stood properly at attention, looking straight ahead without anything odd?

"Is it an illusion?"

Lu Yang scratched his head and continued forward.

Just after passing the Second Platoon's formation, that strange feeling appeared again.

He even felt many people behind him pointing and gossiping about him, yet when he turned back again there was nothing.

Lu Yang was like a statue in the game '1,2,3, woodman'—taking two steps then turning his head, five steps then waving his hand, almost turning into a tango tango walk.

In a state of not understanding, not knowing, not comprehending, Lu Yang arrived at the First Platoon formation, feeling restless all over, and began preparing new teaching material.

"To better adapt to future sea life, according to company headquarters' orders, we will start today, in advance, the basic training related to it."

"Today I will teach you the breathing exhalation and inhalation of basic hard energy work; this skill is what I learned in the Armed Police Third Detachment."

"It can help you better control your body, feel the rhythm of breathing, thereby strengthening cardiopulmonary function; everyone watch my demonstration."

"Spread your legs, half-squat in horse stance, then sink qi into the dantian; inhale, watch my movements closely—don't be fast, exhale......."

Basic hard energy work helps somewhat in strengthening the body and feeling the breathing rhythm.

In the future, the Sixth Company will shift from land to sea, so these basic trainings are very necessary.

Although the company commander had once told Lu Yang he wanted to jump straight into swimming lessons, considering that haste makes waste, the vast majority of the company are complete beginners.

So, as the saying goes, 'sharpening the knife does not delay the woodcutting'—it's better to slow the pace a bit, solidify the foundation, so that later genuine training will be twice as effective with half the effort.

To boost everyone's enthusiasm for the new training, Lu Yang deliberately revealed that practicing hard energy work helps somewhat with male sexual function.

He had thought it would arouse everyone's training enthusiasm, but instead he harvested a very strange burst of laughter, which Lu Yang could not understand.

After training ended, he sought out Zhou Kaidong to learn the situation, from whom he discovered that the entire Sixth Company was wildly gossiping about him.

Lu Yang was also speechless—indeed, when men gossip, they are no less than women.

Things he himself didn't know were being spread with nose and eyes—i. e., in vivid detail.

To curb this unhealthy trend, Lu Yang decided to give them a good lesson they'd remember!

"Everyone, turn right, run!"

"Target, the toilet!"

"All of you, get inside the toilet, assume horse stance, and practice breathing and exhalation/inhalation!"