Chapter 9

“Is he also in the army? Is he a new recruit or…?” Li Ting asked.

Sareen quickly shook her head, “No, no. He’s back home. We got engaged before.”

Li Ting said, “Then it’s okay.”

Everyone understood. It didn’t matter if they were dating before joining the army, but in the army, new recruits couldn’t date unless they were promoted.

Actually, they all understood the reason for this rule in the army.

However, they were quite curious, especially Lin Shuoyin. The army said that dating was forbidden, but secretly, there must be some people dating.

Just like in school, the teachers said that dating was forbidden, but many students still dated.

“Good morning, Battalion Commander.”

They ran into the young commander from the train.

Li Ting saluted. The others quickly followed suit, saluting and greeting, “Good morning, Battalion Commander.”

Lin Shuoyin and the others ran into Shen Guannan. Shen Guannan nodded, “Good morning, comrades.”

Li Ting smiled, “Battalion Commander Shen, where are you going?”

Shen Guannan said, “I’m going to the canteen.” He had something to do at noon and didn’t have time to eat.

“Oh, okay. That… Battalion Commander Shen, your coat sleeve is unraveling.” Li Ting subtly reminded him.

“Really?” Shen Guannan raised his hand to look. Sure enough, it was.

Li Ting smiled, “If you’re too busy, I can sew it for you.”

“No, no. I can sew it myself.”

Shen Guannan quickly refused. They weren’t even close. It would be inappropriate to ask someone to sew his sleeve.

Li Ting felt a little disappointed, “Okay, then, Battalion Commander, I’ll take them around first.”

Shen Guannan waved his hand, “Go, go.”

After they walked away, Li Jinye curiously asked, “Squad leader, do you know the Battalion Commander?”

Li Ting nodded, “Yes, we’re from the same place. We’re both from the capital.”

“My parents also know his parents.”

Li Jinye exchanged a look with Lin Shuoyin and the others.

“Oh, I see.”

The new recruit training would start tomorrow. After touring the military district, they arrived at the art troupe building.

They had met everyone in the art troupe during lunch, so they were familiar with their faces.

Now, they were getting a detailed introduction. Lin Shuoyin’s singing team had seven members, including her and the team leader.

There were four female comrades and two male comrades.

The team leader was named Meng Jia. She was a bit older than them, about thirty years old.

The six team members were Lin Shuoyin, Li Ting, Song Weiwei, Chen Meilian, Xiong Zhiyuan, and Cha Su. Cha Su, like Sareen, was also Mongolian. He was a Mongolian guy.

“Shuoyin, sing a piece for everyone first. Let’s hear your voice.” Meng Jia said.

Coming to the art troupe meant singing, playing instruments, and dancing.

“Yes, team leader.”

Lin Shuoyin sang “I Love My Country’s Blue Sky.” She loved this song.

After singing a part, Meng Jia said, “Sing another part of ‘Red Plum Praise.’ Have you heard this song?”

Lin Shuoyin nodded, “I have.”

Meng Jia said, “Okay, sing.”

This song was a bit difficult for ordinary people.

But who was Lin Shuoyin? She graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music.

Although she hadn’t gone to a music academy in this life and hadn’t received systematic training, the original owner had good natural talent. Plus, she had practiced every day before coming to the army.

Singing “Red Plum Praise” was easy for her.

After listening to Lin Shuoyin sing, Meng Jia’s eyes lit up. She asked,

“How many times have you sung this song before?”

Lin Shuoyin thought for a moment, “Two or three times? I can’t remember. I’ve sung it before.”

Meng Jia praised her, “Shuoyin, you have a very good talent. Your voice is great. You were born to sing.”

She wanted to say that this little girl’s singing skills were better than anyone else in their singing team. This was true talent, real talent.

Lin Shuoyin smiled shyly. Meng Jia continued, “Did Li Ting tell you that besides our own major, we also have to learn other things, like instruments? Everyone must learn at least two instruments.”

Lin Shuoyin nodded, “She did.”

Meng Jia said, “Have you decided what you want to learn?”

“Team leader, I want to learn the erhu and the Morin Khuur.”

Meng Jia said, “Okay, we’ll start learning after you finish your training.”

After staying in the troupe for a while, Lin Shuoyin and the others went back to the dormitory.

Sareen said, “Shuoyin, besides singing, what did you choose for your other two options?”

“I chose the erhu and the Morin Khuur.”

Upon hearing this, Sareen’s eyes lit up, “You chose the Morin Khuur. I can teach you during our break.”

“I chose singing and dancing.”

Lin Shuoyin said, “Okay, okay.”

“What about you two? Which two did you choose?” She asked Su Xiangwei and Li Jinye.

Su Xiangwei said, “I chose dancing and singing, just like Sareen.”

Li Jinye said, “I chose singing and playing the flute.”

There was no one else in the dormitory now. The four of them discussed learning their second and third specialties.

First, singing. The three of them wanted to learn from Lin Shuoyin. They asked her to guide them. Lin Shuoyin said, “You guys sing. I’m not a professional either.”

Li Jinye said, “Shuoyin, don’t be humble. I heard our team leader praise you.”

“Yeah, we heard you sing ‘Red Plum Praise’.”

“You’re definitely…” Li Jinye gave her a thumbs up.

They couldn’t sing this song well.

Lin Shuoyin scratched her head, “Then I’ll tell you my thoughts.”

“Okay.”

So, Lin Shuoyin gave her three roommates some basic guidance. Of the three, Sareen sang the best. Li Jinye and Su Xiangwei were a little worse.

After singing, they played instruments. They were busy for a while.

Li Jinye suddenly remembered, “Do you think Li Ting likes that Battalion Commander Shen?”

She had wanted to tell her friends this for a long time, but she had forgotten.

Sareen said, “You think so too?”

Su Xiangwei had experience dating. She was certain,

“I think she does. The way she looks at Battalion Commander Shen is different.”

Her sixth sense told her that Li Ting liked Battalion Commander Shen, but he didn’t seem to be interested in her.

Lin Shuoyin said, “Didn’t they say that dating is forbidden? Li Ting hasn’t been promoted yet, right?”

She had only been here for a year, last year.