CHAPTER 5 

Just as the sky began to brighten, before the morning wake-up call had sounded, in a single-occupant officer’s dorm at the third company of the infantry regiment, Lu Xiao opened his eyes. His body’s internal clock had already woken him.

He got up and, even with one hand, skillfully folded his blanket into a neat, standard “tofu block.”

This wasn’t the first time Lu Xiao had been injured. That he had become a captain at such a young age was a testament to how much effort he’d put in. Especially when he first joined the army, every training task in the military drills was grueling—even if they didn’t use live ammunition.

He was young then, full of pride and unwilling to admit defeat. Despite his age, he pushed himself harder than anyone else and suffered quite a bit for it.

During one particular physical training session, he shattered the unit’s record for pull-ups—completing 340 of them under the scorching sun.

By the time he came down from the bar, the squad leader had to carry him back.

His hands were covered in bloodied blisters.

Both of his hands had been wrapped up for more than a month before they fully healed. But ever since then, there wasn’t a single person in the entire company who didn’t submit to him.

After neatly folding his blanket and getting dressed, Lu Xiao got down and did 150 one-handed push-ups, then sit-ups and squats — the so-called “three sets of a hundred” in the military, a basic physical training routine.

Just as he finished his training, the wake-up bugle sounded right on time. Lu Xiao grabbed his enamel cup, did a quick wash-up, then ate breakfast with the company soldiers before leaving the infantry regiment under everyone’s watchful gaze.

The ones who had just eaten with him were a few squad leaders from the company.

As soon as he was out of sight, the second squad leader breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Our Brother Lu is finally going to get some rest. When he’s around all the time, I don’t even dare to breathe too loudly. If he notices me, it’s more extra training for sure.”

The first squad leader gave him a thump. “Come off it, Old Two. You’re the closest to the captain in the whole company. Don’t you just love it when he trains you? Otherwise, how would you have improved so much?”

“Ha! And you’re any better? You’re always dragging Brother Lu over to your squad for guidance the moment you get the chance. You’ve annoyed him to the point of exhaustion. If you ask me, next time just call me over instead — I’m way easier to invite than Brother Lu.”

The two kept bickering non-stop.

The other squad leaders just ignored their antics — they were used to it.

Even though they were joking about relaxing now that Lu Xiao was gone, in reality, the Third Company was the strongest unit in the entire regiment. Every single one of them was top-tier, fiercely competitive. When the regiment held its big competitions, each squad would secretly push their members to train even harder.

This was also one of the reasons why Lu Xiao was willing to hand over training duties and accept the regimental commander’s arrangement to be temporarily assigned to the cultural troupe — he trusted the men under his command.

After arriving at the cultural troupe, Lu Xiao first reported to their leader, Chen Hong’an. Zhang Weidong had already informed them ahead of time about Lu Xiao’s temporary transfer, so after a brief conversation, Chen Hong’an had Yang Xin take Lu Xiao away.

It was Lu Xiao’s first day there, and he wasn’t familiar with the troupe yet, so Yang Xin first brought him to the large rehearsal hall where the performance soldiers were practicing.

The moment Lu Xiao walked through the door, he drew a lot of attention — no surprise there. In an era where most people weren’t very tall, he stood nearly 1.9 meters tall, a whole head taller than Yang Xin. And Yang Xin wasn’t short — she was about 1.6 meters herself, but she only reached his shoulder.

That aura of his, forged from countless military drills and competitions, was like a sheathed blade — restrained, yet still sharp enough to keep people at bay.

Yang Xin was a busy woman. She had to coordinate work between the dance team, the music team, and every other department. She didn’t have the time to give Lu Xiao a full tour, so she planned to find someone in the troupe to help him get acquainted with the environment.

Sweeping her gaze around the rehearsal hall, she noticed the young women sneaking glances at Lu Xiao, while the male soldiers had more varied reactions.

Yang Xin had been young once — she knew what it was like at that age, full of restless curiosity and budding feelings. But with a performance approaching, she didn’t want them getting distracted and delaying progress.

Her eyes suddenly landed on someone — Sang Miao.

The girl was one of the few who wasn’t sneaking glances at Lu Xiao. She was focused on stretching and doing leg presses. Sang Miao had looked at the male lead just once before withdrawing her gaze and going back to her warm-up. Just seeing the male lead reminded her of the tragic ending in the novel, so she decided to avoid what she couldn’t bear to see.

While the female performers were secretly watching Lu Xiao, most of the male soldiers were staring at Sang Miao.

Sang Miao leaned against the ballet barre, her body bending like it might snap in half. A light layer of sweat shimmered on her arms and face after the warm-up. She looked like a dewy peach — soft, glowing, and beautiful.

Yang Xin nodded slightly. A girl like this had probably grown up surrounded by admiration and attention from boys. No wonder she wasn’t easily swayed.

With that, Yang Xin had made her decision. Letting Sang Miao show Lu Xiao around couldn’t be more suitable.

So, Yang Xin led Lu Xiao through the room and walked up to her. “Sang Miao.”

Sang Miao was leaning on the barre, her eyes lowered. Suddenly, a pair of long legs in military trousers appeared in her field of vision. She looked up and stood up straight when she realized Yang Xin had brought the male lead over. “Teacher Yang, is there something you need?”

Seeing her stand up, Yang Xin continued, “This is Captain Lu. You probably saw him last time. It’s his first day temporarily assigned to our troupe, and he’s not familiar with things here. I want you to show him around and get him up to speed with our training routines and the environment.”

Then she added for Lu Xiao’s benefit, “If you have any questions about the dance routines or progress in the coming days, you can ask Sang Miao. She’s the female lead of our current dance drama, so feel free to offer any suggestions or feedback.” This last part was just polite talk.

Lu Xiao replied in a deep voice, “Understood.”

Sang Miao looked up at Lu Xiao, whom she’d only met once before, a little dazed. Why was the male lead being sent to her? Wasn’t this something the female lead should be doing?

What she didn’t know was that in the original book, Yang Xin had also chosen Zhao Weiwei to guide him because she was the only one among the female performers who hadn’t openly reacted to Lu Xiao.

The original Sang Miao, upon seeing a young, promising man like Lu Xiao, couldn’t help but try to charm and flirt with him — which left him rather displeased.

Seeing that, Yang Xin certainly wouldn’t have let her lead him around.

But the reborn Zhao Weiwei had been in her thirties in her past life. Even though she still felt a bit flustered in the presence of an outstanding man like Lu Xiao, she was far more composed than the younger girls.

That’s how she ended up leading Lu Xiao around — their first encounter in the book.

Sang Miao now felt a faint reluctance. Thinking of the tragic ending of her original self, she was nervous around them, afraid of getting involved with the male lead.

But since Yang Xin had spoken so publicly, she couldn’t very well refuse, so she had no choice but to accept this big walking trouble.

Thankfully, Captain Lu wasn’t actually that hard to get along with. Though he looked cold and stern on the surface and didn’t say much, whenever Sang Miao spoke, he would tilt his head slightly and listen quietly. He was a bit distant, but not rude — keeping just the right kind of distance that made people feel comfortable.

From a young age, Sang Miao had always been surrounded by a fair share of annoying admirers. They were always racking their brains trying to win her over. On the surface, she looked like a proud little swan, but in reality, her temperament was quite soft—she wasn’t the type who could say hurtful things easily, which only made it harder to shake off unwanted attention.

Because of that, Sang Miao was especially sensitive when it came to the attitude of men around her. The moment she sensed intentions that went beyond friendship, she would immediately retreat, not giving them the slightest chance.

As a result, someone like Lu Xiao—calm and composed—actually made her feel more at ease. So Sang Miao gradually relaxed around him.

The two strolled around the cultural troupe. Although she said she was showing Lu Xiao around to help him get familiar with the troupe, in truth, Sang Miao herself wasn’t that familiar with the place either. So she just took him to find the canteen and the troupe’s training field. The troupe’s main activity areas were the rehearsal hall and the large outdoor stage used for dress rehearsals. While there was also a training ground like those in combat units, it wasn’t used much.

After circling around, Sang Miao said, “Captain Lu, that’s pretty much it. Is there anywhere else you’d like to go?”

Lu Xiao replied, “Where’s the cultural troupe’s training ground?”

Sang Miao found the question a little odd, but since he asked, she led him to find the training field. On the way, she almost took a wrong turn but fortunately remembered in time.

Lu Xiao glanced at Sang Miao as she led the way. There was something strange—she didn’t seem familiar with the route here? Maybe it was just that the troupe didn’t use the training field much. Though it was a little unusual, he didn’t overthink it. After all, a soul-swap wasn’t something most people could imagine.

“This way is our training field, Captain Lu. But not many people from the troupe come here,” Sang Miao explained.

Lu Xiao looked around the field. Although it wasn’t frequently used, the setup was nearly identical to the ones at his unit. “Alright. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. No need to thank me,” Sang Miao replied with a smile. This Captain Lu was actually quite alright.

Her introduction hadn’t been very detailed—just a brief walkthrough of a few spots. But she figured she’d fulfilled her task.

Fortunately, Lu Xiao was highly adaptable. After one lap around the area, he already had a clear understanding of the layout. This was far easier than navigating desolate mountain forests.

After the tour, Sang Miao led Lu Xiao back to the rehearsal hall.

“Captain Lu, I’ve finished showing you around. If there’s anything else you don’t understand, feel free to come find me. Aside from our different training content, our schedule here is the same as the infantry regiment’s. You can observe our rehearsal first.”

“Alright,” Lu Xiao responded.

Looking at the unexpectedly agreeable and easy-to-handle male lead in front of her, Sang Miao couldn’t help but curve her lips into a faint smile.

From a distance, Zhao Weiwei couldn’t hear what the two were saying. She only saw Sang Miao and Lu Xiao standing close together and talking. She didn’t know what they were discussing, but Sang Miao actually gave him a deliberately sweet smile, while Lu Xiao seemed patient, lowering his head slightly to listen to her.

The two of them standing together—both good-looking—one tall and upright, the other slender and delicate—they looked remarkably well-matched.

Zhao Weiwei felt a sharp pang of jealousy. Why did Yang Xin assign Lu Xiao to Sang Miao? Was it just because she’s pretty? The thought made her feel deeply indignant.

Sang Miao, you again! Everything good falls into your lap. Why is it always you competing with me!

Meanwhile, Lu Xiao, who had been left behind by Sang Miao, suddenly swept his sharp gaze around the room. He seemed to sense a vague, unpleasant hostility.

Zhao Weiwei quickly looked away when she saw Lu Xiao’s eyes shift in her direction, lowering her head to hide the resentment in her eyes.

Lu Xiao furrowed his brows but said nothing and looked away.