It was the start of yet another day. Wen Xinya was again jolted awake from her dreams by the alarm. She instinctively got out of bed, put on her clothes, packed her bed, washed up and headed out to assemble with the rest.
The rest of the military training squad did the same.
The skies were cloudy and gloomy in the cold morning and the cool air engulfed the energetic freshmen.
Xu Zhenyu stared at Wen Xinya who still seemed a little sleepy, like a little beast who had lost its direction. He burst into laughter, thinking to himself, I’ve been too busy with training lately. I haven’t gotten the time to spend some time alone with her yet.
Xu Zhenyu’s powerful and loud voice seemed to penetrate through the gloominess of the morning. “Stand at attention!”
As soon as he shouted the command, Wen Xinya swiftly scurried out of the crowd and stood in front of the squad without hesitation. They stood in a neat group in front of Xu Zhenyu.
Everyone was dumbfounded!
Someone snorted with laughter, unable to contain his amusement.
Everyone could not help but laugh along, as the tension in the air disappeared and was replaced with boisterous fun.
Xu Zhenyu smirked at the sight of Wen Xinya who seemed a little bewildered. At last, he chided. “Are you dreaming? You must still be sleepy.”
Wen Xinya finally snapped back to reality and turned as red as a tomato.
Oh my god! How embarrassing.
She glared at Xu Zhenyu angrily and gritted her teeth. This is all Xu Zhenyu’s fault for calling me out during training all the time. Whenever I hear my name, I’ll instinctively…
Everyone guffawed uncontrollably.
Xu Zhenyu rubbed his throbbing temples and tried to stop himself from laughing. He said benevolently with a tinge of affection, “Why are you still standing there, silly? Hurry and fall in.”
Wen Xinya returned to the squad, still blushing in embarrassment.
The sudden episode lifted everyone’s spirits and made them less depressed about the arduous military training. Hence… they indulged in joy.
The result of Xu Zhenyu’s plan to let them vent their anger was marvelous. Not only did it help the freshmen break the ice and get closer to each other, it even made them view him in a different light. Xu Zhenyu would also often sit together with the freshmen during mealtimes and talk to them about his past experiences in the military.
He recounted the past events and told them about how he evolved from a spoiled heir to a disciplined soldier. His stories never failed to entertain them.
At the same time, he also told them a lot about the army and unknowingly helped them relieve stress. His stories would also sometimes put them in a better mood.
The military training seemed to have become less unbearable after they relaxed.
They were doing rather well.
However, the freshmen of the other teams began to experience various problems that arose because of fatigue and mood swings. Some of them began to get injured while others developed slight depression. Hence, the problems led to animosity and conflicts between the freshmen, who often argued with each other. Some of them even got into physical brawls.
Wen Xinya could not help but take her hat off to Xu Zhenyu for his impeccable leadership skills.
The training for the day ended at 9:30 PM. However, Wen Xinya had to stay back to run. Due to her poor stamina, she could only manage five rounds.
Si Yiyan often complained about her poor stamina and endurance.
She did not want to be punished by Xu Zhenyu because of her lack of stamina. Hence, for the past week, she had been running extra rounds every night and only stopped when she was completely exhausted. She felt that her stamina would only improve if she pushed her limits.
Wen Xinya had depleted all of her energy by the fifth round and had begun to find it harder to run. She pushed herself through the fifth round and was left with no energy to go on.
At this moment, a voice sounded in her ear. “Keep going. If you don’t push yourself through your limits, you’ll forever be stuck at managing only five rounds.”
Xu Zhenyu ran beside her and cheered her on.
Wen Xinya held her breath and crossed the white line to begin her sixth round.
Xu Zhenyu continuously ran beside her and matched her pace. “Wen Xinya, don’t keep looking down at your feet. You must look up at the track ahead of you.”
Wen Xinya took a deep breath, looked up and moved her sore and aching legs.
Xu Zhenyu overtook her a little and said, “Wen Xinya, look… you’ve already crossed the line and begun on your sixth round. That’s a hundred meters further than your previous record. You still have 200 meters to go before reaching the finish line. Press on and keep going… you can do it for sure.”
Xu Zhenyu’s voice gradually drowned out the other noises around Wen Xinya. She instinctively chased after Xu Zhenyu in a bid to catch up with him. Soon, her desire to overtake him overpowered her thoughts of giving up because of her fatigue.
Her exhaustion seemed to have faded.
“Keep going, Wen Xinya, you can definitely do it…” Xu Zhenyu cheered.
When she finally crossed the finish line again, she collapsed onto the ground and let her fatigue overwhelm her. She opened her legs and arms. Panting heavily, she said, “I managed to finish running six rounds at one go. I finally did it.”
Xu Zhenyu took a seat beside her and opened a bottle of mineral water before handing it to her. “Yes, you did it.”
Wen Xinya lied down feebly on the ground like a dehydrated fish. She was completely parched and felt an immense pain in her chest as if she had been cut by a knife.
Xu Zhenyu said, “Sit up and drink some water.”
“Thank you!” Wen Xinya finally sat up straight and grabbed the water bottle from him. She began drinking it slowly.
After she finished chugging half the bottle of water, Xu Zhenyu snatched it away from her and said, “Finish the rest later.”
Wen Xinya glanced at Xu Zhenyu and said abruptly, “Xu Zhenyu, did you have such a tough time too when you first joined the military?”
For the past few days, they had been through tremendous hardship and torment which caused many of them to break down and weep under their blankets every night.
Back then, Xu Zhenyu was a notoriously spoiled brat who was infamous for sponging off his parents and being a good-for-nothing who wasted his life away having fun with his friends. Hence, he definitely had a hard time adjusting to military life.
Xu Zhenyu chuckled and said, “Gosh, I had it way worse than you guys. You guys are practically living in heaven compared to the living hell I was in back then. Do you know how dangerous it is in the Northwest region? It’s nowhere as warm and safe as the camps here in Capital city.”
Xu Zhenyu proceeded to ramble on about the blood, sweat, and tears that he shed when he was in the army. However, he would often manage to make his stories sound interesting and playful.
Wen Xinya felt extremely sympathetic towards him. In her previous lifetime, Xu Zhenyu had never been through such hardship before. She asked, “Do you like being part of the army?”
Actually, she knew to a certain extent that Xu Zhenyu enjoyed being in the military and had even given all of his passion to the army. The other commanders merely took it as a mission that they had to complete, but he… really treated the freshmen like his soldiers and put in his heart and soul to train them while paying attention to their feelings.
She was rather glad about that.
Xu Zhenyu grinned and said, “Everyone who stays here for long enough will grow to like it!”
The army was a battlefield for men, for it was full of challenges and enthusiasm.
