Military training is meant to toughen college students’ minds, unify them, and help them quickly integrate into university life.

It’s very tiring and difficult, like basic training for new recruits.

Cen Huai’an’s eyes turned red.

Although he missed Chu Xia when she went to Liangzhou, he wasn’t worried about her suffering.

But military training was so grueling, and his mom’s health wasn’t good.

He was very worried about her.

“Dad, can you take me to see Mom?”

Cen Zhengnian had never seen Cen Huai’an look at him so pleadingly.

Cen Huai’an was usually stubborn and rarely showed such vulnerability, so Cen Zhengnian’s heart softened instantly, and he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

“Wait until the day after tomorrow, on the rest day. I’ll take you.”

Cen Huai’an asked, “Can’t it be tomorrow?”

Cen Zhengnian patted his head. “Mom wouldn’t want to see you delay your studies for her.”

Cen Huai’an could only lower his head and count how many more days until he could see his mom.

The day after tomorrow was Sunday, so just one more day to wait.

That evening, Chu Xia returned to the dormitory, reluctantly boiled some hot water to freshen up, and lay in bed, not wanting to move.

The roommates who had looked forward to military training were now all feeling down, no longer speaking eagerly about it.

Yang Jin lay on her bed, lamenting, “Why is our instructor so strict? It’s so exhausting. Who decided that college students must go through military training?”

Liang Wenwen on the upper bunk opposite Chu Xia weakly replied, “The country.”

Yang Jin fell silent.

The next morning, everyone woke up with sore backs and waists.

Going downstairs was a struggle, and even the most beauty-conscious girls couldn’t maintain their appearances, unable to stop grimacing in discomfort.

Chu Xia was no exception.

But if they could endure the first day, they could endure the second.

By the third day, everyone had gotten used to military training, automatically going to the playground to drink anti-heat tea and waiting for training to start.

In contrast, everyone’s skin was getting darker from the sun.

Chu Xia had given up on looking in the mirror.

Each day, she meticulously applied face cream, just hoping not to get sunburned.

On Sunday morning, as usual, Chu Xia was called out by the instructor to demonstrate the exercises.

She didn’t see it, but outside the playground, Cen Zhengnian was leading Cen Huai’an, watching her intently.

“Dad, Mom is so beautiful!”

Cen Huai’an thought that his mother now looked very energetic and different from before.

He wouldn’t use the term “impressive” but would simply say she looked pretty.

Cen Zhengnian’s gaze was completely fixed on Chuxia, and he responded with a smile and a nod.

Just as An’an said, Chuxia, performing military training moves seriously, looked beautiful.

The two stood outside, watching until the instructor called for a break.

As Chuxia was about to get some water, she heard a familiar voice.

Thinking she might have heard wrong, she looked up and saw Cen Zhengnian and Cen Huai’an waving at her from outside the field.

Chuxia’s face immediately brightened with a smile as she walked towards them with her water bottle.

“Why are you here?”

“Mom, you have sweat on your face.” Cen Huai’an pulled out his handkerchief and handed it to Chuxia.

Even though his mom looked pretty in her military uniform, he knew it was tough for her.

Dad wouldn’t let him stand in the sun, but Mom had been under it all this time.

“An’an is worried about you.”

Chuxia wiped her sweat, and hearing Cen Zhengnian’s words made her smile even more.

Looking down at An’an, she felt an overwhelming happiness.

Cen Huai’an, a bit embarrassed, turned his head slightly.

“Only An’an, aren’t you worried?”

“Worried.” Cen Zhengnian took the handkerchief from Chuxia and wiped the spots she missed. “I’m proud of you too.”

Chuxia’s eyes curved with happiness, and the fatigue from the military training seemed to vanish, leaving only joy.

The break was only ten minutes, and Chuxia felt she hadn’t spoken much to Cen Zhengnian and Cen Huai’an before the instructor began blowing the whistle to assemble.

She quickly told them, “Wait for me! We’ll have lunch together!”

Then she hurried back to her group.

Several classmates had seen Chuxia with Cen Zhengnian and Cen Huai’an and were now extremely curious, eager to know the relationship between Chuxia and the handsome man with the child.

Since Chuxia was beautiful, stood at the front during training, and often received praise from the instructor for her correct movements, her attractiveness and excellence naturally drew interest.

It wasn’t just the boys who were curious; the girls, especially Chuxia’s roommates, were also very interested.

However, only Mao Xiaolan knew who they were.

But Mao Xiaolan was introverted and hadn’t shared any information about Chuxia’s family.

Many students, unable to resist their curiosity about Chuxia, ended up getting punished by the instructor for not controlling their eyes.

The instructor then ordered Chuxia to stand at the very front and said, “Since you want to look, now you have the chance. Everyone look straight ahead. If you move your eyes, you’ll do ten push-ups! If you move twice, it’ll double!”

Now no one dared to move their eyes.

Ten push-ups were manageable, but doubling the count was too painful, and push-ups were as exhausting as the training itself.

After the training, Chuxia waved to her roommates and, without waiting for their questions, ran to Cen Zhengnian and Cen Huai’an who had been waiting.

“Are you hungry? I’ll take you to the cafeteria. There’s a window with some really delicious dishes.”

As Chuxia walked away with the two, Yang Jin rubbed her chin and asked, “Who are that man and child to Chuxia? Could they be her brother and younger brother?”

“Doesn’t seem like it,” Liang Wenwen said. “It’s not usual for a brother and sister to look so different. The child does look a lot like Chuxia though.”

The roommates were discussing their guesses when Mao Xiaolan suddenly spoke up, “They aren’t.”

Yang Jin immediately turned to her, “You know?”

Mao Xiaolan nodded but then looked down and fell silent.

Despite Yang Jin’s questions, she wouldn’t say more and only quietly suggested, “You should ask Chuxia.”

She instinctively felt that Chuxia wouldn’t be pleased if she revealed this and was afraid of upsetting anyone.

As they were all in the same dorm, Mao Xiaolan hoped to get along with everyone and didn’t want to cause any discord.

When Chuxia returned to the dorm in the afternoon, she was very happy.

Although she had spent only a short time with Cen Zhengnian and Cen Huai’an and sacrificed her lunch break, she was still very glad.

She didn’t have Cen Zhengnian and Cen Huai’an wait at school for the afternoon as she had a singing activity in the evening and couldn’t accompany them.

Besides, by the time her military training ended, it would be quite late.

Expecting that her roommates would be asleep, Chuxia was very careful when entering the dorm.

But just as she gently placed the pears and grapes Cen Zhengnian had brought on the table, Liang Wenwen, who was on the upper bunk, leaned over and asked, “Chuxia, tell us honestly, who was that man and child just now?”

Yang Jin also sat up and asked, “Is he your brother and younger brother?”

Other roommates also sat up.

“Or is he your partner and brother?”

No one dared to speculate about Chuxia being married, mainly because she looked too young.

She could easily pass for someone who had just graduated from high school.

Chuxia looked at their inquisitive expressions and felt helpless.

It was surprising that they stayed awake just to find out the answer.

She glanced at Mao Xiaolan, who hadn’t shared anything with the others.

“They’re my husband and son.”

Except for Mao Xiaolan, all the roommates were stunned, eyes wide with disbelief.

“Husband?”

“Son?”

“You’re married?!”

Chuxia nodded, “I got married a long time ago.”

Yang Jin was a bit dazed, “How old were you when you got married? Your son is already that big, and I didn’t notice at all.”

“I got married right after high school. I’m 26 this year.”

Her roommates stared at Chuxia’s face, which had no wrinkles and was as smooth and tender as a peeled egg.

It was hard to believe she was 26; she could easily pass for 18.

The news shocked them greatly.

Everyone had assumed Chuxia was the youngest, but it turned out she was the oldest in the dorm.

However, Yang Jin and the others soon accepted the news and started asking Chuxia how she persuaded her husband and son to let her come to school.

Chu Xia washed some grapes and shared them with everyone, saying, “There was no persuasion; they fully supported me going to university.”

Hearing Chu Xia speak so openly about her happiness, the others didn’t know what to say.

They had just entered university and were filled with idealistic dreams of love, hoping to experience a romantic relationship.

However, Chu Xia not only started dating early but also got married.

At this moment, they deeply felt the differences between people.

As for why Chu Xia didn’t attend university immediately after high school, everyone knew it was because the college entrance exams hadn’t resumed yet.

The military training passed quickly. Although it felt incredibly tough at first, it seemed to fly by, and the end was almost here.

The training’s climax was the final performance, where Chu Xia was the team leader for her class.

Marching in front of the leadership seats, Chu Xia shouted out the slogans, and the whole class shouted together.

This was their chance to showcase their military training results, so everyone put in a lot of effort.

Some classes were too nervous and their leaders made mistakes, but no matter what, this unforgettable military training was coming to an end.

At the beginning, everyone hated the instructors, but now everyone was reluctant to part ways, except for Chu Xia, who hadn’t been home for over a week and just wanted to finish up and go home to see An’an and Cen Zhengnian.

During the final award ceremony, the result of their class being treated sternly by the instructors was very pleasing: their class won first prize, and Chu Xia was awarded the Military Training Model.

Holding the certificate, as many students and instructors said their reluctant goodbyes, Chu Xia boarded the bus home.

When she arrived home, it was still before noon, and Cen Huai’an hadn’t finished school yet.

Chu Xia could hardly stand her own discomfort.

With daily evening activities and exhaustion from military training, she had only managed to wipe herself down with hot water, not taking a proper shower.

Her military uniform was washed in the evening when the weather was good and hung up to dry overnight, but washing the clothes didn’t make her feel any better.

Now, Chu Xia felt like she was getting smelly all over.

She quickly went into the bathroom to take a shower.

When she came out, she saw Cen Huai’an sitting in the living room, looking both hopeful and nervous, staring at the bathroom door.

“Mom!”

Seeing that it was really her mom, Cen Huai’an’s eyes reddened a bit.

He slid off the chair, ran to Chu Xia, and hugged her around the waist.

He tilted his head up, his eyes fixed on his mother’s face, filled with affection and longing.

“I’m back now,” Chu Xia said, patting his head.

A smile naturally appeared on her face. At school, the thing she missed and worried about the most was An’an.

But now, seeing that Cen Zhengnian had taken good care of An’an, he hadn’t lost weight and looked energetic, Chu Xia felt relieved.

“Mom, Uncle Biao said the dates in the courtyard are ripe.”

Cen Huai’an couldn’t wait to share what Jiang Zhida had told him.

He had been looking forward to picking dates from the courtyard since spring!