Ten-Year Loyal Dog’s Road to Chasing Her Wife (GL) - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The instructors at the military training base were mostly active-duty soldiers; they were simply off-duty and had the time to lead students. Because they came from the military, their requirements were often quite strict.

However, they were aware that the group of students they were leading were just high schoolers and not formal military cadets, so they would often show mercy. But usually, by the time they realized this and started showing mercy, “the lily was already wilted” (it was too late).

The students’ hearts had already grown cold, and they no longer believed in any “teacher-student sentiment” from the instructors.

Everyone assembled downstairs, and the instructors of each class took their groups away to open areas for integration training. In the summer, it gets dark relatively late, but that didn’t mean their stomachs can forget about eating. All the students were feeling hungry, but since the instructor hadn’t spoken, they didn’t dare say anything. They could only follow the instructor to the open playground with heavy steps.

They were most afraid of the instructor suddenly getting upset and making them run a few hundred meters; it didn’t need to be several thousand; just a few hundred meters was enough to terrify them.

The instructor assigned to Class 11 was a tall, stout man.

Actually, he wasn’t truly that fat, just a bit “prosperous” compared to his companions; it seemed the military food was too good. His dark gray short-sleeved training uniform looked soft and comfortable, enough to contain his slightly protruding belly. Naturally, he looked very refreshed.

Qiao Wan heard a boy behind her whisper: “I really wish our training uniforms were short-sleeved too.”

It wasn’t hard to understand the boys’ prayer. After all, it was still the tail end of summer. Even if the temperature dropped slightly in the evening, it was still frighteningly hot. Just moving a bit resulted in a body full of sweat, let alone training under the big sun it was going to be so stifling.

“What are you saying? You guys talk too much, yapping away like little machine guns.” No one knew how the instructor’s ears were constructed; in such a noisy place, he could accurately pick out even a tiny sound. Once the boy lowered his head in admission of his mistake, the instructor tugged at his camouflage-blue military belt which looked close to Navy style if it wasn’t exactly that and said slowly: “You’ve entered the base, so now you are considered half a soldier. A soldier must obey orders. Any problems?”

“None!” Everyone answered in unison.

“Louder, I can’t hear you! Did you not eat? Is that why your voice is so small?”

The students thought aggrievedly, We really haven’t eaten.

But at the military training base, the instructor is king. Whatever the instructor says goes; even the homeroom teacher who came along to watch them sometimes had to listen to the instructor.

They took a deep breath and forced out a bit of strength: “No problem! Instructor!”

Instructor: “Did I tell you to speak?”

Everyone: “…”

Was the one who told us to be louder just now a ghost?

“Platoon, attention! Right dress!” Once the students’ movements were in place, the instructor personally went into the field to adjust them into four horizontal rows of roughly equal length. “You aren’t called Class 11 anymore; you’re called the 11th Platoon. In the future, if I call ’11th Platoon” The instructor had already moved to the back of the formation, ” you must remember to answer me. Don’t be silly and let me stand there calling while you act like you didn’t hear. That would be so embarrassing for me, your instructor.”

After saying this, he suddenly called out loudly: “11th Platoon!”

The students were stunned for a moment, not quite registering that they were being addressed. It took about a second or two before people started responding sporadically: “Here.”

“11th Platoon!” The instructor wasn’t angry; standing at the end of the line, his voice was steady. He knew this group wasn’t used to it yet; after all, no one is adapted at the start. Formal training wouldn’t begin until tomorrow; it wouldn’t be too late to start being strict then. For now, he would coax them along a little.

“Here!”

This time it was slightly more synchronized.

“11th Platoon!”

“Here!”

“11th Platoon?”

“Here!”

“11th Platoon.”

“Here!”

No matter what tone the instructor used to call them, the students answered with the same voice, the kind of shouting that breaks one’s throat.

Later, seeing they were starting to adapt to this new title, the instructor began appointing a platoon leader and squad leaders. One platoon leader, Gongxi Bitong, would be responsible for headcounts and various chores. There were four squad leaders, the person at the far right of each row: Squad 1 Leader An Xiaolei, Squad 2 Leader Xia Hanyin, Squad 3 Leader Yuan Tianci, and Squad 4 Leader Bao Shengrui. They were responsible for the discipline of their respective rows.

And also for matters regarding eating.

By this time, it was completely dark. The instructor took them to collect their training uniforms, then told them to take the uniforms back to the dorms to wash them, then bring their mess tins down to eat. Of course, they couldn’t wash both sets, as they had to wear one the next day. They didn’t have washing machines here and had to wash by hand, so the clothes wouldn’t dry by morning. Only washing one set saved time. By now, the students were so hungry their eyes were glazed; they only thought about eating quickly, so the washing time was exceptionally short. When the whole group had come down with their mess tins, only twenty minutes had passed since the previous “dismissal.”

At that time, the instructor was squatting at the base of the girls’ dormitory building playing with his whistle and talking. They were in groups of two or three, looking like a bunch of old Northeast farmers squatting on the field ridges discussing this year’s harvest. It was a strong sense of déjà vu, if only these “old farmers'” spines weren’t so perfectly straight.

Seeing the students arrive, the instructors patted their backsides and dispersed, whistles in their mouths as they sauntered toward their respective platoons. The instructor for Class 11 was more casual than the others, tugging his waistband: “Pretty fast today, huh?”

Students: “…”

I’m hungry!

Gazing at this group of students whose eyes were turning green from hunger and filled with resentful looks, the instructor rubbed his nose. He also felt that things couldn’t continue like this; if a student starved to death, the blame would be on him. Besides, he was a bit hungry himself. Although the instructors had quietly eaten dinner while the students were tidying their quarters, that didn’t stop them from wanting a midnight snack.

Leading students was practically like a leisurely vacation.

“Alright. Squad leaders, step out. Everyone else stands here and waits for me to come out; Platoon leader, keep watch.” With a wave of the instructor’s large hand, the four squad leaders stepped out of the formation with dazed faces. Didn’t we agree to go eat? Why are we being singled out now?

Aside from Yuan Tianci, the other three squad leaders were in a state of continuous bewilderment. Being singled out was scary enough, let alone being singled out alone. As for Yuan Tianci, it wasn’t that he wasn’t bewildered, it was just that his bewilderment wasn’t obvious.

“Let’s go.” The instructor tugged his belt again.

Xia Hanyin finally couldn’t help it: “Instructor, is your belt very loose?”

Instructor: “…” Classmate, have you ever heard of ‘acting cool’?

Yuan Tianci’s eyes were very sharp. He saw that there were words embroidered on the belt. They were small, but not to the point of being illegible:

Wan Dou (Wan Pea).

They were spaced a bit far apart.

But it was indeed the Wan from Qiao Wan’s name, not the character for “pea.”

Yuan Tianci: “…” What does it feel like to know the instructor also has the heart of a young girl?

As luck would have it, the instructor for Class 12 also came over: “Wan Dou, let your class go first, then it’s my turn.”

“Got it, thanks, Lian Hua (Lotus).” With that, the instructor led them inside.

The students: “…”

So the Class 12 instructor is called Instructor Lotus?

But soon their attention was captured by the aroma in the cafeteria. Even though they knew the cafeteria food wasn’t good, they were currently so hungry their “chests were touching their backs.” When Yuan Tianci had seen the words on the instructor’s belt, he had felt the urge to swallow, wanting to jump up and bite the instructor. So it went without saying what he felt now that he could actually smell the food.

“Go and carry the dishes to these tables.” The instructor pointed to several nearby tables. “Four tables is enough, one for each squad.”

Yuan Tianci: “Ah?”

Sixty people sitting at the same table to eat?

Instructor: “…”

You’ve probably lost your mind.

Yuan Tianci: “Oh.” He forgot that the concept of a “squad” now was fifteen people.

“In the future, when it’s time to eat, you leaders must come in first to find seats and bring the dishes. Then, when the others come in, you serve the rice for them. A squad leader is supposed to take good care of their team members,” the instructor said slowly. His training uniform was loose and baggy, making him look like a bit of a rogue soldier. “From now on, this group of people will be with you all the time.”

“Yes,” the four answered in unison.

“Send one person out to bring them in,” the instructor said. Just then, Instructor Lotus came trotting back in: “Wan Dou, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up, my students are so hungry they’re about to eat me.”

“What’s the rush?” The instructor pushed the thin Class 12 instructor: “Go out, and bring my Class 11 in while you’re at it.”

There were many rules during military training. Fifteen people could sit at each table. The squad leader was responsible for serving the rice, and no one was allowed to move until the instructor gave the permission to start eating. No moving, no laughing; they had to sit with shoulders back and chests out, looking solemnly at their classmates across from them. Sometimes, looking at each other made them really want to laugh.

The more they were told not to laugh, the more they wanted to. But fearing punishment from the instructor, they could only desperately suppress the corners of their mouths, which made the expressions on their faces even more strange and distorted. When others saw this, they also wanted to laugh, and soon the whole table was filled with people whose eyes were crinkling.

Qiao Wan happened to be sitting across from Qiao Mei. Usually, Qiao Mei’s expression was faint, and Qiao Wan was used to it. But today, for some reason, even though Qiao Mei’s face showed nothing and she maintained that solemn expression, the more Qiao Wan looked, the more she wanted to laugh.

Since the instructor was still present, she didn’t dare make a sound.

Qiao Mei seemed to be in a very, very long daze. Finally, she came to her senses just as Qiao Wan couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. She looked at her and silently curled the corners of her mouth into a faint smile, like a gentle breeze blowing over a mountain ridge.

Those light-colored eyes curved slightly, reflecting the cafeteria lights as if the stars of the sky had fallen into them.

But it was also as if she were asking with extreme tenderness.

What are you laughing at?

Qiao Wan was slightly stunned and lowered her head.

What was she laughing at? She didn’t know.

But when she saw Qiao Mei, she just wanted to laugh.