On Sunday, they had a full day to rest. By evening, it was time to officially move into the dormitory to make it convenient for the start of military training early the next morning.

There were six people in each dorm room, randomly assigned from four different classes. Although they didn’t know each other yet, young people bonded quickly. It was the first experience of this kind for all of them, so everyone was excited, chatting endlessly well into the night.

Cai Yatong from Class 7 was the most talkative. After gossiping about family matters, she eagerly switched topics, “Hey, I really didn’t expect it. I got so lucky! I ended up in the same dorm as the freshly crowned school belle. If the wild monkeys in our class find out, they’ll beg me to get your autograph!”

Qi Zhen had just washed her hair and was carefully applying essential oil. She chuckled as she replied, “You’re exaggerating. Everyone’s just joking around. That school belle title doesn’t mean much.”

Ji Ruomeng, who slept on the upper bunk, rolled her eyes after hearing that. She tossed her novel aside and sat up. “Comrade Cai Yatong, you really are lucky. Not only did you get placed in the same dorm room as the school belle, but you also got to live with our little fairy An’an. Isn’t our little fairy An’an beautiful too?”

“Beautiful, beautiful! Our room is overflowing with beauty— fairies descending to the mortal realm!”

As Cai Yatong spoke, she smiled at Qi An’an. She was actually a little puzzled. By her standards of beauty, Qi An’an was undoubtedly more attractive than Qi Zhen. Qi Zhen was pretty, yes, but in a somewhat conventional way. Qi An’an, on the other hand, had a fresh and lively charm that made her much more pleasant to look at.

But titles like ‘school belle’ were usually chosen by straight guys. Perhaps this was just what counted as good taste for them nowadays.

Qi An’an was amused by their banter and leaned out from her upper bunk. “Stop with the compliments already! Come here Tian^[1]Sweet Tong, let me pinch your little cheeks. Let’s see if they’re as sweet as your mouth.”

Cai Yatong had a round, chubby face and had already been pinched several times that night. Hearing that, she happily leaned over again.

Luo Xue from Class 2, lying on the other side, sighed. “If I hadn’t already formed a chemical bond with my bed, I’d totally come over to pinch cheeks too. But I’d go for An’an’s face. It looks so soft and pinchable.”

Ji Ruomeng cheerfully responded, “No problem, do it tomorrow morning. We’ll pinch her together.”

As they laughed and played, Qi Zhen finished taking care of her hair. She screwed the cap back on the essential oil and casually shifted the topic, “Hey, Hu Wei, got any juicy gossip for us?”

She was addressing the only girl in the dorm from Class 16.

Hu Wei had a quiet, reserved personality and didn’t talk much. Being called on suddenly startled her. After thinking for a moment, she said, “I don’t know many people, just the ones in my class, and there’s not much gossip…… Mostly just a few troublemakers.”

She became a little more animated at that point. “Our class’s academic performance isn’t great. Some of the worst students probably got into this school through connections. Their families are rich and they’re flashy, but they don’t listen in class or study at all. The teachers find them a headache. Ah…… especially Jiang Lu. I don’t know him well, but he seems like a bad person. Too violent. That senior, Li Hanyu, was beaten up pretty badly by him. And another guy in our class, He Jiahao, must have offended him somehow. He hasn’t shown up to school ever since.”

Her voice softened a bit, “But he really is good-looking.”

Ji Ruomeng responded from the top bunk in a lazy tone, “I don’t know He Jiahao, but beating up Li Hanyu was definitely a public service.”

Qi An’an, who had been listening quietly, frowned. How could this be? Before high school, her impression of Jiang Lu was of someone quiet and gentle. He always studied diligently and never got into fights.

The next time she saw him, she had to ask seriously what had happened.

She was lost in thought when Qi Zhen suddenly let out a soft laugh and said gently, “You can’t say that about him. Jiang Lu is actually a good person. I used to know him. He’s very kind to his friends, just a little cold toward people he doesn’t like.” As she spoke, she glanced subtly in Qi An’an’s direction.

Qi An’an caught Qi Zhen’s look. She paused for a moment before replying, “That’s normal. No one’s warm to people they dislike. Alright, little cuties, we have to get up early tomorrow. Let’s sleep now.”

Everyone groaned in protest. “Let’s sleep, let’s sleep! We have to get up at six……”

Qi Zhen quietly clenched her fists. Qi An’an had deflected her slightly provocative comment effortlessly. Once the lights were off, she grew even more frustrated. Everyone else had finished getting ready for bed, but she hadn’t even applied her face mask yet. Now that everyone was urging sleep, she couldn’t say anything more.

Forget it. Qi An’an was just pretending anyway. Jiang Lu didn’t even tell her which high school he was attending. She probably only found out today that he also enrolled at Xincheng No. 1 High. That alone showed how little Qi An’an really mattered to him.

Qi Zhen stewed over it and lay down in a huff.

After the lights went out, Qi An’an didn’t fall asleep right away. She thought about what Hu Wei had said. Part of her was worried, and the other part simply didn’t like hearing people talk about Jiang Lu behind his back. It felt like an offense against him.

More importantly, it was Qi Zhen’s attitude. Even though Qi An’an had always seen Qi Zhen through rose-colored glasses, she wasn’t stupid. It was clearly Qi Zhen who brought Jiang Lu into the conversation.

And the way Qi Zhen spoke didn’t sound like she was defending him. In fact, there was a kind of smug undertone that made people uncomfortable. If Qi Zhen had genuinely cared for Jiang Lu, Qi An’an would have been at ease, even delighted. But now, she didn’t even sense basic respect. It felt like an official couple being torn apart by the show’s creators.

Her hopeful heart dimmed a little. Qi An’an turned over and pulled the blanket over herself to sleep.

────ρя


The next morning, the whistle blew at exactly six o’clock, and everyone got up right away to get ready.

Still sleepy-eyed, Qi An’an quickly tied her hair into a low ponytail and went around spraying sunscreen on all the girls in the room. When she got to Qi Zhen, the latter smiled and said, “No need, An’an. I have my own. I already applied it.”

Qi An’an nodded and immediately turned to grab Ji Ruomeng, who jumped away, saying, “I hate that stuff!” and ran off.

All military training sessions began with standing in formation.

It was mid-September. Though it wasn’t as scorching as summer, the heat was still enough to make the students suffer. After a brief self-introduction, the young drill instructor demonstrated the correct posture, and then began the long, grueling session of standing at attention.

Qi An’an wasn’t particularly short or tall and ended up standing in the middle. Coincidentally, the person next to her was Yu Tianyang. This guy couldn’t keep his mouth shut, even during military training. After half an hour, he grew bored and whispered, “Little Aunt, Little Aunt.”

Qi An’an rolled her eyes and whispered back just as softly, “Shut up. We’re in training.”

Yu Tianyang reluctantly fell silent. But an hour later, when the instructor finally let them rest for five minutes, he immediately turned to her and started talking. Glancing around to make sure no one was listening, he asked in a low voice, “Qi An’an, do you know what happened to Jiang Lu? He’s like a totally different person from middle school.”

Qi An’an pursed her lips lightly. She was worried too. “I don’t know, but I’ll ask him when I get the chance. I used to think it’s just because he didn’t do well on the high school entrance exam, but now I’m not so sure.”

Jiang Lu had always been more sensitive than others his age. She couldn’t just ask him bluntly. She’d have to find a gentle way, one that wouldn’t make him feel uncomfortable.

Yu Tianyang nodded. “You’re right to ask. Jiang Lu never really had many friends. Since you’re so close to him, you should be concerned. Actually, I asked him yesterday too, but you know how he is. Like he’d ever open up to me.”

Qi An’an glanced back. Jiang Lu stood tall and upright, naturally positioned in the last row. There were too many people in between, so she couldn’t see him at all.

They were so far apart. After military training ended, everyone would eat and rest on their own, so there didn’t seem to be any chance for her to talk to Jiang Lu alone.

Yu Tianyang seemed to notice her hesitation and offered a thoughtful suggestion, “The boys’ dorm is super noisy, and I can tell Jiang Lu prefers quiet. Yesterday, he went out and stayed in the stairwell alone for quite a while. Next time he goes out again, I’ll let you know right away. You can pretend to be going downstairs to fetch water and just happen to run into him. Wouldn’t that give you a chance to talk?”

That was a great idea. Qi An’an’s eyes lit up. “Okay, then I’ll wait for your message in the evening from now on.”

Yu Tianyang gave her an OK gesture. “No problem.”

────ρя


After standing in military posture the entire day, their legs had gone numb. Just when they finally made it to dismissal, they were told they’d have to return after dinner and continue training for another hour.

During dinner, Jiang Zifan looked devastated. Gnawing on a chicken leg, he muttered bitterly, “I’m telling you, I’m calling my dad. He’s gotta get me out of this. I can’t take even one more day of this crap. I’ve never suffered like this in my entire life.”

They were all teenagers, pampered at home, and none of them had ever endured hardship like this. But unlike Jiang Zifan, the rest didn’t have powerful fathers. So everyone declared they’d rather die than give up and vowed to resist military training together.

Jiang Zifan had no choice but to turn pleading eyes toward Jiang Lu. “Brother Lu, everyone’s turned their backs on me. Are you with me or not? You look like a young master born with a silver spoon. How are you handling this kind of life?”

Jiang Lu glanced lazily at him. “Eat your food.”

Zhou Qi laughed and teased, “You’d have better luck dragging Wei Zhe into this than Brother Lu. Brother Lu could fight ten people by himself. What’s a little military training to him?”

Wei Zhe, the skinny and lanky one they mentioned, protested while shoveling rice into his mouth, “Don’t pull me into this. I’m in it till the end.”

Jiang Zifan gave up. “Fine, I’ll stick it out too. Otherwise, it’s like I’m not man enough. But Brother Lu, seriously, you’ve been training all day and you’re dead tired. How come you’re eating so little? Not even a bite of meat?”

Jiang Lu frowned. “No appetite.”

In truth, he felt nauseous. During the marching formations today, Qi Zhen had stood right in front of him. It had been nearly impossible to pretend not to see her.

……

On the way back, they walked down a tree-lined path that led to the open training field. Some students who had finished eating had already gathered there in small groups. As they neared the end of the path, the voices of a group ahead became clearer.

Zhou Qi perked up. “Hey, are those girls up ahead talking about Brother Lu?”

“Isn’t that normal?” Jiang Zifan said. “Brother Lu’s exactly the kind of guy girls dream about. Not surprising if they’re talking.”

The boys chuckled among themselves, none of them noticing the faint, cold, mocking smile that tugged at the corner of Jiang Lu’s lips.

Someone asked, “Brother Lu, wanna wait until they’re done talking? If we walk out now, they might get embarrassed.”

Jiang Lu walked at the front, his expression unreadable. “Wait for what? Let’s go.”

────ρя


Qi An’an and Ji Ruomeng had already returned to the field. After standing for just two minutes, Ji Ruomeng pulled her toward the tree-lined path.

“Why are we going there? The gathering starts in ten minutes.” Qi An’an was confused but let Ji Ruomeng lead her anyway.

Ji Ruomeng made a pained face. “There are benches over there, An’an baby. Let me sit for a bit. My legs are dead. We can’t miss ten minutes of sitting just for a two-minute walk.”

When they arrived, they found that most of the benches were already taken. Only two seats remained, and they weren’t next to each other.

Ji Ruomeng took a look. “Ugh, is that Qi Zhen by the free seat? Of course it is.”

Qi An’an knew Ji Ruomeng didn’t really like Qi Zhen. She squeezed Ji Ruomeng’s hand. “You take that one over there. I’ll sit next to Qi Zhen.”

It didn’t sound like a fun idea. Ji Ruomeng frowned but figured she couldn’t let Qi An’an stand, so she reluctantly agreed.

Just as they made up their minds, Qi Zhen looked in their direction. Whether it was intentional or not, her hand brushed against the bottled drink beside her. The cap hadn’t been tightened properly, and the liquid immediately soaked the bench.

“What the hell?! She totally did that on purpose!” Ji Ruomeng, who had only mildly disliked Qi Zhen before, now looked furious. “She saw us. She did it on purpose!”

Qi An’an also frowned slightly. Qi Zhen’s hostility was even more intense than she’d expected. Still, she believed she’d done nothing to deserve it. From the first time they met until now, her conscience had been clear. But everyone had the right to dislike someone. Maybe she and Qi Zhen were simply destined not to be friends.

“It’s fine. Even if she did it on purpose, she won’t admit it. Don’t bother stooping to her level. I’m not that tired anyway. You sit, I’ll stay beside you.”

Ji Ruomeng was still upset, but with no proof, she let Qi An’an drag her away. As they neared the bench, the conversation on Qi Zhen’s side carried clearly to their ears.

“Everyone says Jiang Lu’s family is super rich, but what exactly do they do? How much pocket money does he get a month?”

“I can’t tell what his family does, and that’s private.” Qi Zhen replied. “But his monthly allowance? Probably tens of thousands.”

The girls gasped in awe. Qi An’an’s brows furrowed deeply, her expression growing cold.

“Wow, with that kind of background…… has he dated a lot of girls?”

Qi Zhen gave a vague smile. “That I don’t really know. But from what it seems, he’s not looking for a girlfriend right now.”

Someone teased, “How do you know what he thinks? Did he tell you?”

Qi Zhen didn’t deny it, lifting her chin slightly. Teen girls were like this, knowing someone distant and untouchable could instantly make them the center of attention.

“Then why is he always getting into fights? Does he have a temper or something? Honestly, he kind of scares me sometimes.”

Qi Zhen nodded mildly. “Mm, he’s always been like that. His family’s going to arrange everything for him in the future anyway, so he doesn’t study much. He’s a bit cold and his temper is not great either, but……”

It was getting more and more outrageous. Qi An’an couldn’t take it anymore. She turned and walked straight up to Qi Zhen.

“That’s not true. Jiang Lu isn’t like that. You need to take responsibility for your words. If you don’t know him, then don’t spread false rumors and slander him.”