Chapter 47: Military Training

By around eight in the morning, Su Nianmei was already in her dorm room. Gu Xichao had dropped her off earlier and had hurriedly left afterwards. Su Nianmei hadn’t minded; she was well-versed in handling these situations independently.

After reporting in, she returned to organize her belongings. The dorm was a six-person room with three students from out of town and three locals. Su Nianmei’s bed was on the upper bunk near the door, while her lower bunk neighbour was a girl from Northeast China named Qi Man. Across from her was a girl named Zheng Ling’er, a native of Jingdu with fair skin and a delicate oval-shaped face. Zheng Ling’er was seated at the desk, brushing her hair.

The other three girls had gone out for dinner.

While unpacking her luggage, Qi Man spoke excitedly, “Do you know? Tonight, we’ll get to meet our instructors!”

Su Nianmei made a vague sound of acknowledgement. As the last to arrive, she hadn’t been aware of this event.

Zheng Ling’er paused in the middle of brushing her hair and remarked, “What’s so great about military training? It’s exhausting, and you get sunburned.”

“But we get to see the soldiers! There will be so many dashing, uniformed soldiers!” Qi Man slapped her bed, making a loud “pop,” and then turned to Su Nianmei with a wide grin. “Xiao Su, tell me, don’t you think handsome soldiers look amazing?”

Su Nianmei was taken aback by the sudden question. Images of Gu Xichao in his uniform immediately flooded her mind. After a brief hesitation, she nodded shyly, “They look great!”

Su Nianmei returned to the dorm after attending the instructor introduction that evening. She was already missing Gu Xichao and even Gu Xiaobao and Er Gouzi. With fourteen days ahead of being unable to see him, she felt nostalgic.

Honestly, her little brother Su Huailin had behaved rather oddly this morning, too. Though he was around seventeen or eighteen, when he saw her, his ears turned red without saying a word. He seemed entirely different from the last time they’d met.

Lying on her bed, Su Nianmei couldn’t help but wonder about her little brother. She stretched, her arm muscles slightly sore. Last night, Gu Xichao had insisted she do several stretching exercises with him, fearing her muscles wouldn’t handle the abrupt physical strain of training. The exercises had left her nearly in tears.

She had only dozed off when her roommates’ noise woke her up.

Qi Man was slapping the iron bed railings, making them clatter loudly while struggling to pull on her military training uniform pants.

“Xiao Su! Xiao Su! Wake up!”

Su Nianmei opened her eyes and sat up, only to find the entire dorm in a chaotic frenzy. Her five roommates were all scrambling to put on their military training uniforms.

“Xiao Su, don’t just sit there—get dressed, quick!” Qi Man had a belt in her mouth and was stretching her arms as she tried to pull a short-sleeve shirt over her head.

Su Nianmei clicked her tongue, amazed that Qi Man could talk while putting on her shirt. “The school leaders must have gone mad this year. They skipped the usual freshman orientation and rushed straight into training right after the instructor introduction without giving us a breather.”

Zheng Ling’er gave her a look, saying nothing.

But you said the soldiers were handsome this afternoon.

Qi Man, now fully dressed, glanced over at Su Nianmei. “Girl, hurry up! The instructors will be here in five minutes to teach us dorm room tidiness and inspect our uniforms.”

As Su Nianmei took the uniform out of its bag and began to put it on, her pale, slender arms slipped gracefully into the sleeves. Her movements seemed unhurried, but she was quick.

Qi Man silently admired her, thinking that it was a true pleasure to watch her. She thought it was just a pity that beauty in this world, whether men or women, could never be enjoyed enough.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle echoed down the hallway.

Everyone gathered in the corridor, the six dorm members lined up neatly against the wall.

Standing at the end of the line, Su Nianmei could hear the wave of voices up ahead, each group calling out in unison, “Hello, Instructor!”

“This is such a big production. I’ve only seen something like this once before in our village when the village head organized a pig slaughter during New Year,” Qi Man whispered, sidling up to Su Nianmei.

Zheng Ling’er scoffed. “Can’t you be a little less uncultured?”

Qi Man, irritated, snapped back, “Oh, and I suppose you’re just so sophisticated?”

As they looked ready to start arguing, Su Nianmei nudged Qi Man back into place. “Alright, alright, enough.”

“Here come the instructors!” someone called out, and the whole corridor fell silent. As the line of instructors approached, they were greeted by a chorus of respectful greetings.

Su Nianmei’s eyes landed on the man standing at the very end of the group. She was momentarily stunned, then her eyes lit up, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she squinted, staring intently at him.

Su Nianmei tried to communicate with Gu Xichao using her gaze as if to say, “Didn’t you have something to do? Why are you here?”

But Gu Xichao only glanced briefly in her direction before looking straight ahead, standing tall and still in his military uniform at the back of the group.

Uncertain whether Gu Xichao had noticed her, Su Nianmei puckered her lips, trying to make a small sound. However, she dared not speak too loudly. She could feel Qi Man’s glances from beside her, which only made her cheeks warm, though she couldn’t stop a smile from tugging at her lips. She even felt a bit light-headed.

The school counsellor leading the group stopped and looked back at the instructors. “We’re about halfway through the dorms now. Why don’t we use this room to demonstrate tidiness tonight?”

Instructor Jiang glanced toward the man at the back. Seeing no objection from him, he nodded in agreement.

As the last one entered the dorm, Su Nianmei didn’t notice the iron threshold beneath her feet and tripped, pitching forward.

Instead of expecting pain, she looked up to see Gu Xichao standing by the door.

His right hand steadied her left shoulder, and as he withdrew it, his index finger lightly brushed against her neck—whether accidentally or on purpose, she couldn’t tell.

A warm tingle spread from her neck down to her toes. She quickly looked around, relieved that no one seemed to notice them.

Once inside, the room bustled with noise.

Qi Man yanked Su Nianmei over to stand beside her in a quieter spot where they could sneak peeks at the instructors without much interference.

Watching handsome men is best enjoyed from a distance, she thought. They might be easy on the eyes, but having them instruct you directly removes the appeal.

Gu Xichao stood beside Instructor Jiang—this was the closest position he could get to his wife. When he saw Su Nianmei shift her position, he quietly moved a bit closer to her direction.

Qi Man nearly cursed under her breath. She’d deliberately chosen a spot farther from the instructors when they lined up earlier. She had even dragged Su Nianmei over with her.

Who could’ve guessed that another instructor would move his way right over? It seemed the strict reputation of Jingdu University’s military training wasn’t an exaggeration after all.

The light cast Gu Xichao’s shadow long across the floor, and it fell right beneath Su Nianmei’s feet. As the light wavered slightly, Su Nianmei stared at the shadow, completely absorbed.

Suddenly, Qi Man bumped her arm.

“Hey!” Su Nianmei exclaimed, her voice cutting through the silence as all eyes in the room turned to her.

“Classmate, please follow the steps I just taught and redo your bedding,” Instructor Jiang instructed, his voice deliberate and even.

Su Nianmei froze, her mind racing. Her bed was on the upper bunk, so she had two options: climb up and fix it in place or bring the bedding down to fold it neatly on the tables they’d pushed together.

Climbing up would be awkward, but the tables looked a bit dusty, and she hesitated.

Gu Xichao’s voice, though calm, seemed to echo louder than anyone else’s in the room. “Captain Jiang just went over it once, and I’m sure everyone here is quite capable,” he said. “But to be thorough, I’ll demonstrate again. Watch carefully, learn attentively, and take things step by step. After all, military training isn’t some hardship.”

Instructor Jiang blinked in surprise, caught off guard. He’d noticed the major watching that girl for some time, and he’d called her out to get her to focus. But he hadn’t expected the major himself to volunteer to fold her blanket.

Gu Xichao climbed the ladder to her bunk with a few quick steps. He’d helped choose the bedding set himself, so he immediately knew which one was hers.

Out of respect (and perhaps fear), no one dared question why this unfamiliar instructor knew precisely which bed belonged to which classmate.

Only Jiang—Instructor Jiang—was left quietly puzzled, though he didn’t dwell on it too much.

He’d later regret this once he found out that “Classmate Su Nianmei” was, in fact, his superior’s fiancée. If only he’d put two and two together sooner, he could’ve bragged endlessly about it to the other guys.

But that was a story for another day.

Gu Xichao stood on the ladder, careful to keep things professional by not stepping directly onto Su Nianmei’s bed. He leaned his knee against the bed frame for balance.

With a deft motion, he shook the blanket twice, and the neatly folded quilt spread flat on the bed. “Classmates, once you get the hang of the technique, you’ll find you can fold a perfect square even up on the bunk,” he explained, demonstrating each step slowly to emphasize key points.

Su Nianmei’s breath caught as she watched him. She’d tucked a small photo of Gu Xichao under her pillow, thinking she wouldn’t see him for the next two weeks. Now, she could only pray he wouldn’t lift her pillow and find it—that would be beyond embarrassing.

She felt a wave of relief as Gu Xichao finished folding the blanket and looked ready to climb down.

But in the next second, he leaned forward, supporting himself on the edge of the bed. From her angle, she could only see his hand as he adjusted the pillowcase with a slight shake, setting it just right before he stepped down.

Gu Xichao kept a straight face as he reiterated a few more housekeeping tips.

Su Nianmei’s mind was in a swirl. Even after Gu Xichao and the other instructors left, she couldn’t stop wondering—had he noticed the photo or hadn’t he?

After inspecting their dorm, the tour group moved on to the other rooms.

When the dormitory locked up for the night after washing up, Su Nianmei still didn’t know where Gu Xichao was staying, nor did she go looking for him. Instead, she took a spare blanket from her luggage, draping it over her stomach without disturbing the blanket Gu Xichao had meticulously folded.

Su Nianmei lay on her stomach, drifting to sleep, as the faint scent lingering on her pillowcase seemed to carry traces of Gu Xichao’s fragrance.

For lovers, fragrance was like a hidden bond, pulling them toward each other.

She reached under her pillow, feeling for the photo she’d hidden there; it was still in place. Smiling, she took it out, kissing it before turning over and finally closing her eyes.

At around five in the morning, the distant moonlight seemed tinged with chill, and the cold, damp air seeped up from the ground. Yet Su Nianmei felt wide awake. Standing tall and alert, she scanned the area, but among the instructors, she didn’t catch sight of Gu Xichao.

During a short break, Instructor Jiang gathered the students in a shaded area, keeping an eye on them. They were all so young and delicate, like budding flowers, each a piece of the nation’s future, but just a little sun seemed to exhaust them. The counsellor approached to inform him that a student, Su Nianmei, was needed elsewhere.

Following the instructions, Su Nianmei walked to the campus basement, where they’d been issued their training uniforms earlier. She assumed it might be a routine check—maybe a payment mistake since she was the class monitor.

The basement was empty when she arrived, and she waited a moment. Suddenly, warm arms wrapped around her from behind, pulling her close, her back pressed against a familiar chest. The lines of their bodies fit perfectly, and the familiar scent filled her senses.

Her hands were gently but firmly held by the person behind her. Gu Xichao rested his chin on her shoulder, his breath falling softly against her ear. Gu Xichao’s voice drifted softly, “Did you enjoy the photo?”