Chapter 549: My Nickname, the Love‑field Specter Who Brings Worry!

Bang!

Kang Changyi placed the tray on the table, and only then breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing the mountain‑piled plates in front of him, everyone's gaze was drawn there.

Lu Yang asked, "So many plates—can you finish them?"

Kang Changyi replied, "Sure, of course. I'm starving. I tell you, I could devour a whole table—exaggerated... I could even eat a chair!"

Lu Yang made a beckoning gesture and even shifted his seat to the side: "Come, start your show. Old Gao has pinned all the hope of eating back the cost on you; you've got to prove yourself."

"No problem!"

Kang Changyi gave an OK sign, wiggled his cheek muscles, his eyes full of excitement.

Back when we were at the military academy, on weekend outings, there was a guy in the dorm who specialized in a buffet‑conquering guide.

At that time, he memorized the guide: first fruit and vegetables, then seafood and fish, finally the heavy meat to fill the stomach.

As for cheap little sweets, cakes, buns, etc., avoid them if possible; only eat them when you truly can't continue, just to fill the gaps between teeth.

But unexpectedly, after just twenty minutes, Kang Changyi surrendered, unable to eat any more.

He took too much meat, got sick of it instantly, and his pants zipper was about to burst.

He nearly choked several times; one round sent away, even saved us the opening ceremony.

"Sister Kang, you shout tough but you can't actually handle it."

"Combat power—weakest in the whole room."

"Eat fast; if you don't finish, there'll be a fine."

Kang Changyi flopped onto the chair, shaking his head vigorously: "I can't, I'm full. Help me out—two pieces of meat per person, just split them."

Guo Yongwen teased him: "We're already full; you took it yourself, deal with it."

"No, please help—lend a hand. I'll go get you some fruit and take a short walk to aid digestion."

"Just go run five kilometers, then come back and keep eating."

"I actually want to."

Kang Changyi puffed out his belly, just about to stand.

A large plated fruit arrangement was set down in front of him.

Guo Yongwen, sitting closest, turned his head and froze when he saw the server's face.

"Cuifen??"

"Why are you here?"

Lu Yang hurriedly waved and greeted: "Hello, sister‑in‑law."

The others, seeing this, realized she was Guo Yongwen's girlfriend and quickly called her sister‑in‑law.

The commotion was so loud that nearby tables turned to look, making Wang Cuifen a bit embarrassed.

"We're not married yet; just call me Cuifen."

"Sooner or later."

"The red envelopes are ready."

"I keep hearing Guo bro talk about you, praising you as beautiful and virtuous."

Wang Cuifen blushed bright red, and Guo Yongwen quickly gave a formal introduction, saying she was his childhood sweetheart and also from Henan.

Wu Sida perked up: "Hey, you're from southern Henan?"

Wang Cuifen: "You too?"

Wu Sida: "Not really; I'm from Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang. But the four mountain‑river provinces are like one family."

Lu Yang invited: "Sister‑in‑law, sit down and eat together; someone's treating."

"No, no, I still have work to do."

"Cuifen, you said you found a new job—was it here?"

"Yeah."

"Tired? If you're tired we can stop. Your man is now an officer, my income's up, I can support you; besides, I eat and drink within the troops, so there's little expense."

When Wang Cuifen first carried out the fruit platter, she was a bit worried and nervous.

She seemed to think the server's job might embarrass her boyfriend.

After all, Guo Yongwen is no longer a non‑commissioned officer; he's now a bona‑fide officer.

When his family learned Guo Yongwen had become an officer, they all changed their attitude, not only stopped opposing but even urged her to marry soon, fearing he'd run off.

So she never dared tell him the exact job she found, only that it gave her a place to settle.

But Guo Yongwen's sincere concern, and everyone calling her sister‑in‑law, made her feel equal respect, and her lingering nervousness eased.

At the table, besides Lu Yang and Gao Feng, she hadn't met anyone else; Guo Yongwen introduced each of them, joking that none of their red envelopes could escape.

It gave Wang Cuifen a solid sense of assurance, confirming she hadn't misjudged or chosen the wrong person.

The meal went on until after nine p. m., when the restaurant was about to close.

Before entering, everyone was so hungry their chests pressed to their backs, holding the wall as they went in.

When they came out, each one still leaned on the wall, barely able to walk.

"I can't, it's too much; I don't even know if we've recouped the cost by eating?"

"Don't think about breaking even; as long as it's close enough, even a hotel owner has to make money."

"That's not certain; we lot, all soldiers, naturally have far bigger appetites than others."

"Exactly, first a big plate of fried rice, fried noodles; there's also an all‑you‑can‑drink, and a dessert assassin—I can see it now, our camp is full of hidden tigers and dragons, all talent!"

"Hahaha, a rare talent, purely a rare talent!"

"Huh, weird, where's Guo Pai? Where did he go?"

Gao Feng lit a cigarette: "I approved his leave, gave him a day off, and he must report back to the camp before tomorrow night."

Ding Tengfei: "Company Commander, you're being biased; why don't you approve leave for us? We also need rest!"

Gao Feng tossed him a handful of sunflower seeds: "Do you have a partner? Is your partner here, chatting nonsense with me? Lu Yang, give him a kick, give your hometown buddy a good lesson!"

Lu Yang laughed heartily, turned to the silent Kang Changyi walking at the back of the line: "Kang Changyi, what about your partner? Why haven't we heard you mention them lately?"

Zhou Kaidong: "It can't be that it's over, right?"

"Go, go, go, cursing me here, I'm full and uncomfortable; a month of continuous high‑intensity training, no signal on the island, how to get in touch?"

"That's true."

"These two already have partners, the rest are all singletons; when will we get off the single status?"

Wu Sida raised a hand: "Don't count me in, I'm not."

The others looked over: "Do you have a girlfriend?"

Wu Sida: "I don't have a girlfriend, I have a wife; I'm married. After this busy period, I need to request a family‑visit leave; the kid needs to start kindergarten, so I have to go back and handle the paperwork."

"Whoa, you already have kids?"

"Is that weird?"

Wu Sida spread his hands, looking like a successful person: "Where I'm from, people marry early; my older cousin is just a year older, his kids are already starting primary school. I also consider myself to have completed the proper governance task early, meeting the hard criteria for promotion."

Those with partners were smug, those without wore a look of melancholy, as if they'd encountered a century‑old dilemma.

Ding Tengfei nudged Lu Yang's arm, whispering: "Brother Yang, what kind of girlfriend are you planning to look for?"

"I don't know."

"Someone like you, Brother Yang, will definitely find a beautiful female officer!"

"We'll see later, I'm not considering it for now, I have no such plan; I just want to focus on my career."

"Tsk tsk tsk, look at how polished that is," Gao Feng shook his head, mimicking Lu Yang's earlier words: "Just focusing on the career, no such plan~ Excellent people now all marry and have children late~"

Lu Yang glanced at him: "Why do I feel like you're subtly mocking me?"

"Caught it, hahaha."

"I just don't want to date."

"You just can't find anyone."

"I only want to be a single aristocrat; women would slow down my draw speed."

"Yo yo yo yo, single dog."

"Just speak your mind, no personal attacks, okay…"

Gao Feng patted his shoulder, looking arrogant, speaking like an experienced veteran: "Yang, in training I might be a hair behind you; but in romance, you're not as good as me—I count as a veteran in the love arena."

"I don't believe it, how many have you dated?"

"One, two, three, four, five, six… I can't count, too many, they're all people who pursued me; back then, my nickname was 'Love‑field Ghost of Sorrow'!"

Kang Changyi widened his eyes, feeling an inexplicable déjà vu that the senior Company Commander had possessed him.

"Does this swagger thing also obey energy conservation?"

"In a squad, if one person doesn't show off, does another automatically fill the spot?"

Lu Yang rummaged in his pocket: "Old Gao, you have to take responsibility for what you said; did you really date that many?"

"Lying to you is a dog!"

"Alright, I recorded it all."

Lu Yang took out his phone and played the recording.

Inside it repeated the line: "Nickname Love‑field Ghost of Sorrow, lying to you is a dog!"

Gao Feng's face instantly changed, he clenched his teeth, pointed at him, and shouted a word: "Woof!"

Pfft!

Everyone burst into laughter instantly.

On the way back driving, the laughter never stopped.

The continuous laughter diluted the extreme oppression and mental fatigue of the devilish Zhou training.

Looking back, the battle with the drug‑smuggling armed militants truly felt like living a vivid heroic dream.

From the relentless, exhausting training, we suddenly shifted into extreme exhilaration and ecstatic joy, over‑activating the cerebral cortex and causing intense cortical consumption.

Everyone except Gao Feng and Lu Yang, due to power overdraw, became rapidly fatigued and fell into a drowsy sleep.

Gao Feng lit a cigarette, turned to the co‑driver: "Aren't you tired?"

Lu Yang: "I'm okay."

"Young people just have abundant energy."

"You're actually not much older than me."

"If there's such training next time, I'll join; if I can't keep up, I'll at least make a meritorious performance."

"Next time, maybe it won't happen."

Gao Feng glanced at the rearview mirror at the drowsy sleepers: "You can see they've changed a lot, made great progress."

Lu Yang also glanced: "We have to keep moving forward step by step, otherwise we'll fall behind."

"If the recording is deleted and Old Ma hears it, I'm doomed."

"Then it definitely can't be deleted."

"Don't force me to drive the car into the ditch."

"You drive, I'm buckled up."

"Alright, I shouldn't have discriminated against single aristocrats; I was just speaking without meaning."

"I'm sleepy, don't disturb me…"

Watching Lu Yang close his eyes and pretend to sleep, Gao Feng was so angry; he raised his hand and slapped his mouth twice.

「Stop talking nonsense, stop talking nonsense; disaster comes from the mouth, disaster comes from the mouth! 」

Not long after, the vehicle drove back to the camp, and inside it was very quiet.

In the rear platoon, everyone rubbed their eyes, opened them, and woke up.

「Have we arrived? 」

「We've finally returned. 」

「Slept really well, haven't slept this soundly in a long time. 」

Everyone, still dazed, had just gotten off the vehicle when a burst of gong-and-drum music suddenly exploded in their ears.

Immediately after, from the flowerbed, behind the publicity board, a large crowd sprang out.

Ma Qing'an and He Zhen Tao jumped straight down from the tree in front, hand in hand, and unfurled a banner.

It read: 'The Devil Week training plan was a complete success; welcome the heroes' victorious return, glory returns!'