Chapter 11: The End of Military Training  

The candid photos in the post were indeed stunning, clearly the result of careful composition. The morning light cut diagonally at a 45-degree angle across Chi Miao’s brow, making the fine hairs on his skin glow in the backlight.  

His slightly pursed lips formed a cold, straight line, yet a faint smile softened the right side of his face. This contradiction between youthful charm and mature poise made his gaze beneath the brim of his military cap seem especially profound.  

Lin Yumo’s fingers trembled slightly as she continued scrolling through the screen, only to find several trending posts related to her flooding the forum’s homepage.  

【Campus Luminary Captured on Camera｜Is This Beauty Even Real?】  

【Class Seven’s Beauty｜I Need All Her Info in Three Minutes】  

【Daily Question: Can I Run Into the Goddess Today?】  

Lin Yumo’s heart fluttered like a feather had brushed against it when she saw the bolded title: “Campus Luminary Spotted on the Field.”  

The moment she opened the post, dozens of candid photos cascaded down like a waterfall. One of them captured the instant she adjusted her cap, the shadow of the military hat perfectly framing her eyelashes and revealing the elegant curve of her jaw. Her fair neck, accentuated by the camouflage collar, looked like an unpolished piece of mutton-fat jade.  

She zoomed in on the timestamp in the bottom right corner of the photo: 08:17:23.  

It was the exact moment she had passed by Class One’s formation that morning.  

In the background of the photo, the shadows of leaves slanted across the ground, and at the edge of the frame, barely visible, was the blurred figure of someone holding a class placard in Class One’s lineup.  

Lin Yumo’s fingertip lingered on that patch of indistinct camouflage for a long time.  

The comments section of the post had already turned into a massive confession fest:  

【I noticed her during training this morning—her skin is so fair it practically glows!】  

【Class Seven, right? I’m going to ‘pass by’ tomorrow!】  

【She should be crowned the freshman class flower right now!】  

Her phone suddenly vibrated as Song Xingran’s messages, packed with emojis, bombarded her screen:  

【Did you see yourself on the confession wall?!】  

【That side profile killed me a hundred times over!】  

【Lord of Zero’s candid shots are insane too… *drools*】  

Attached was a close-up of Chi Miao’s throat as he tilted his head back to drink water.  

Lin Yumo: “……”  

Pretending she hadn’t seen the throat photo, Lin Yumo replied to Song Xingran’s messages, telling her to sleep early and not stay up too late.  

……  

The days of military training slipped away amidst sweat and the hum of cicadas.  

Thanks to her impeccable posture and precise movements, Lin Yumo was selected, along with another classmate, Wang Changyu, as the company’s model cadets.  

Every morning, while the rest of the students were still practicing drills under the scorching sun, she was already training in the shade. Wang Changyu’s marching steps were as precise as if they’d been mechanically calibrated, and Lin Yumo adjusted her rhythm to match his.  

On the day training ended, Song Xingran collapsed under a camphor tree like a dehydrated fish.  

She grabbed her water bottle and gulped down half of it before pulling out a bottle of sunscreen spray and dousing herself in it. A hazy cloud of sunscreen mist enveloped her.  

“Little Jasmine, do I look like a walking cloud now?”  

The girl’s voice emerged from the mist, tinged with the relief of having survived an ordeal. Lin Yumo took half a step back, laughing. “Hold your breath when you spray—there’s too much powder in the air.”  

Song Xingran stuffed the bottle back into her bag and groaned, “Got it, I’m holding it now.”  

She buried her face in the sleeve of her camouflage uniform and mumbled, “Little Jasmine, I’m so jealous of you. That demon instructor… I messed up one move today and got punished with twenty squats…” She lifted her tear-filled eyes pitifully.

“Little Jasmine, my legs go weak just seeing military green now…”

Lin Yumo listened to her complaints with a smile, pulling out chilled watermelon from an insulated bag. The bright red flesh was beaded with fine droplets of water.

“You’ve worked hard. Have some watermelon.”

Song Xingran’s eyes immediately sparkled like stars: “Thank you, babe! You’re my savior!” She eagerly grabbed a fork and speared a piece of watermelon, popping it into her mouth: “Wow, so refreshing~”

When Instructor Fang’s whistle pierced through the shade of the trees, Lin Yumo saw Song Xingran’s shoulders slump instantly.

She quietly slipped a peppermint candy into the girl’s hand.

……

The September sunlight spread across the field like melted gold. By the time Song Xingran gripped Lin Yumo’s wrist for the third time, the camouflage sleeve was already wrinkled from her grasp.

“Little Jasmine, my palms are all sweaty…” Her voice trembled.

Lin Yumo gently patted the back of her hand: “The head instructor is just starting his comments.”

Before she finished speaking, the principal’s voice came over the loudspeaker. Lin Yumo looked toward the podium, but her gaze unconsciously drifted toward Class One’s formation.

Chi Miao was listening to a girl beside him, his thin lips curved in just the right degree of a smile.

“Little Jasmine, look at Lord of Zero over there—it’s so infuriating! Why is he talking to her? That’s Zhang Yawen,” Song Xingran suddenly whispered in her ear.

“Notorious two-faced girl from middle school.”

She pouted. “Acts all sweet and gentle around Lord of Zero, but ignores everyone else. Pretends not to hear when people ask her questions.”

“Honor guards, assemble!” Wang Changyu’s call interrupted their conversation.

The scholarly boy stood under the shade of a tree, his fair face wearing a shy smile as he said to Lin Yumo, “We should get ready.”

Just as they took their positions, Class One began their march.

As the sound of Class One’s goose-stepping grew closer, she noticed Chi Miao’s kicks were precisely measured, while Zhang Yawen’s arm swings were consistently two centimeters too high.

This observation inexplicably eased her mind. Whatever—since they weren’t synchronized, the first prize was definitely going to Class Seven.

When Class Seven’s number boomed over the loudspeaker, Lin Yumo heard Song Xingran gasp sharply in the ranks.

She took a deep breath, feeling Wang Changyu’s elbow collide perfectly with hers as they kicked up dust at the same height with their goose steps.

When the final whistle signaling the end of the parade sounded, the head instructor’s leather shoes tapped a crisp rhythm on the podium, and Lin Yumo felt her heartbeat sync with the sound.

As the announcement “Class Seven, Grade One—First Prize!” erupted, Lin Yumo saw Song Xingran pounce on her like an unbridled rabbit.

“Little Jasmine, did you hear that?” The girl’s eyes shone brilliantly. “Our class won!”

The force of her tackle made Lin Yumo stagger, but she couldn’t help smiling when she saw Wang Changyu flashing a “V” for victory from the ranks.

Sunlight filtered through the cheering crowd. She remembered how, half a month ago, Instructor Fang had crouched on the ground marking goose-step positions with chalk. During those sweat-drenched days, Wang Changyu always handed her a bottle of mineral water during breaks, while Song Xingran would sneak peppermint candies into her bag.

Now, the red silk banner on the award podium fluttered loudly in the wind. This first prize held all their perseverance—the kind where their palms blistered but no one complained.

“Lin Yumo! Wang Changyu! What are you dawdling for? Get up here now!” Instructor Fang’s voice came from behind, tinged with exasperation but unable to hide the pride in his tone.

He strode over and gave them both a hearty pat on the shoulder. “Don’t keep the certificates waiting!”

Lin Yumo and Wang Changyu exchanged glances, smiling simultaneously.

They walked through the cheering classmates, stepping briskly toward the award podium.

Sunlight spilled across the steps, stretching their shadows long behind them.