Ten-Year Loyal Dog’s Road to Chasing Her Wife (GL) - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

“What are you laughing at?”

A deep, thick voice of an adult male suddenly came from behind.

Qiao Wan’s heart skipped a beat, as if she were the one who had been caught. But after holding her breath for a long while and still not hearing the instructor tell her to stand up, she slowly let her heart settle back down; it turned out she hadn’t been discovered.

That made sense; Qiao Mei was sitting right across from her. If the instructor had come over, Qiao Mei would have definitely seen him. How could Qiao Mei see him and not warn her?

Though, to be fair, that girl had a face that looked like she’d lived on a bland, ascetic diet for years.

Perhaps because that person hadn’t stood up yet, the instructor’s voice became even more severe: “I’m asking you, what are you laughing at? Did I not say you aren’t allowed to laugh while eating?”

“Yes, Instructor.”

“Say it again!”

“Reporting to the Instructor, you did say so!” The girl’s voice sounded very aggrieved, as if she were about to cry.

“Then what were you laughing at? What’s so funny? Say it out loud so everyone can have a laugh together!” The instructor was indeed very nice when he was in a good mood, but when he was fierce, he was truly a terrifying demon. Especially in a situation where one had done something wrong first, any slight increase in someone’s tone would make a person want to back down, let alone dealing with such a fierce instructor.

The girl was so scared her legs were practically trembling. “It was nothing funny…”

But in that kind of situation, you just want to laugh.

The more it’s forbidden, the more you want to laugh is that so hard to understand?

“Reporting to the Instructor!” Even without turning her head, Qiao Wan knew that casual, roguish voice came from An Xiaolei. “I was making funny faces to tease her. If there is a punishment, please let me take it!”

“Very good!” The instructor’s voice was likely as dark as his face. “What is your name?”

“An Xiaolei, Instructor!”

“800 meters! Come back to eat once you’ve finished running!”

“Yes! Instructor!”

From the corner of her eye, Qiao Wan glimpsed a thin figure running out, plunging into the night outside and quickly disappearing.

Perhaps someone had come over to calm the instructor’s anger, because when he spoke to Ao Manshan again, he sounded much calmer: “Someone else is taking the blame for you; can you really continue sitting here eating in comfort?”

Ao Manshan thought about it, then also trotted out.

Then followed the people at their table, eventually spreading to the entire Class 11. After all, no one dared to say they hadn’t laughed just now.

Even at night, there was still a trace of dry heat in the air. With just a bit of movement, sweat would pop out from various places, and then their clothes would be completely soaked.

Moreover, they hadn’t eaten yet; they were so hungry they could have eaten an elephant. Soon, these people felt weak. Qiao Wan was even more miserable; her night vision wasn’t very good to begin with, and the playground was uneven. Several times she nearly tripped over small stones.

“Are you okay?” A person suddenly drew close to her side. Under the reflection of the moonlight, she saw that person’s skin glowing with a faint, lustrous sheen.

Qiao Wan: “…”

It was Qiao Mei, that thing that was like a human-shaped reflector.

But Qiao Mei’s appearance was undoubtedly her salvation. She told Qiao Mei to run a bit faster but not to move too far out of her sight. Qiao Mei didn’t know what her intention was, but she did as she was told.

With the two of them one behind the other, Qiao Wan could only see Qiao Mei’s slender back. The emerald green bracelet on her left hand had been taken off at some point.

Right, this was military training; if she accidentally fell and smashed it, the pieces might even stab into her skin.

After finishing two laps, those with better physical stamina were gasping for breath, while those with poorer stamina nearly fainted. Qiao Wan’s stamina wasn’t necessarily bad, but after all, she was the eldest daughter of a wealthy family; usually, if a place was even slightly far away, she was chauffeured. Being suddenly told to run such a long distance really made it hard to catch her breath. During the last half-lap, she nearly planted herself directly into the ground, but fortunately, Qiao Mei reached out and grabbed her, dragging her through the rest of the way.

“The instructor is watching from up there,” Qiao Mei said, pursing her lips. “I’ll pull you, don’t stop.”

She could tell that Qiao Mei wasn’t usually someone who liked exercise either; right now, her physical strength was exhausted and she was wavering, finding it difficult even to support herself through the run, let alone pulling Qiao Wan. If Qiao Wan suddenly stopped, she might even bring Qiao Mei down with her.

“Who… who asked you… to mind… other people’s… business…”

“We are… deskmates…”

I give up, I give up. Qiao Wan thought to herself, but she still obediently moved her legs again.

Back when school first started, they’d had PE classes. Qiao Wan knew that Qiao Mei’s strength lay in short-term bursts, not long-term endurance. During that short-distance sprint test, she had been in the same group as Qiao Mei fifty meters. She didn’t know where this thin person squeezed the power from, but she was like an agile black cheetah. As soon as the teacher’s whistle blew, she was two or three meters ahead of everyone else; it was practically like teleporting.

In complete contrast to the sprinting situation, when it came to running the 800 meters, Qiao Mei was only at a middle-tier level.

And this “middle-tier” was mainly achieved by sprinting the final 200 meters; otherwise, she would have been dead last.

Qiao Wan had every reason to believe that if it weren’t for her, Qiao Mei could have sprinted to the front this time too.

But Qiao Mei really seemed to have mind-reading powers, telling her: “It’s dark now so I can’t sprint. I’ll just stay with you and run slowly.”

Qiao Wan: “…Who the hell wants you to stay with them?”

“Shh.” Qiao Mei smiled, her eyes crinkling. “The Master did not speak of strange forces or chaotic spirits.”

“I’m not Confucius…”

Qiao Mei continued to smile and didn’t speak.

Qiao Wan had to admit that having Qiao Mei pulling her indeed made it feel a bit better whether it was physically better or just psychological. It had to be said that Qiao Mei really was like those gentle young ladies of the gentry from ancient times; with her around, Qiao Wan always felt there was nothing to be afraid of.

From this perspective, Qiao Mei seemed like a knight guarding the princess.

Absolute tenderness, absolute loyalty.

But saying that made Qiao Wan feel a bit shameless. Speak properly, who is your knight?

By the time they finished running and returned to the cafeteria, the people there had mostly finished eating and were dispersing in groups of two or three. The people of Class 11 silently ate the rice that had already gone cold, grateful that the temperature was high so it didn’t matter much if the food was cold. Besides, they had missed the mealtime and had run an 800-meter dash comparable to the Long March; right now, never mind a communal meal, they could have swallowed bread hard enough to break teeth without a drop of water.

This time they had learned their lesson and didn’t dare to laugh or speak again.

When they had mostly finished eating, Instructor Wan Dou, who had been pacing nearby, found an empty spot and sat down. Stretching out his legs, he asked in a slightly softened voice: “Is it good?”

The students’ eyes filled with tears as they said honestly: “It tastes terrible.”

Instructor: “…”

Instructor: “You guys aren’t playing according to the script, huh?”

Students: “It really is terrible; we have to be honest.” By now, many of them were full. This was the worst-tasting meal they had eaten in their lives, yet it was also the most satisfying; under the drive of hunger, everyone had lost the interest to actually taste it.

Wan Dou stretched out his long legs and took his hat in his hand. “I said you shouldn’t laugh and everything would be fine. You guys didn’t just laugh, you laughed so loudly. Instructor Lotus was watching from over there; I felt it would be a bit embarrassing if I didn’t give some punishment.”

Students: “…”

What is up with this flamboyant Instructor Lotus?

Can young people these days not even pick proper codenames anymore?

The instructor continued, “Originally, tonight was for you to get familiar with the playground, but it looks like you are already very familiar with it, especially the two who caused you to be punished with running. You must hate them to the bone now.”

Students: “We aren’t that petty.”

At most, they just wanted to pick them up and give them a beating. Isn’t it good to live well? Why must you insist on seeking death?

During military training, punishing one person is roughly equal to punishing everyone.

But who dared to say they truly hadn’t laughed?

No one. They had all actually laughed; it was just that they weren’t as unlucky as Ao Manshan to be caught.

“Running more is good. Back when we were still in the units, five kilometers was nothing,” Instructor Wan Dou said calmly. “If you don’t believe me, ask Instructor Lotus from the 12th Platoon later.”

“You guys are colluding in private.” Seeing the instructor was joking, some students also loosened up.

“It shows we have a good relationship.” The instructor pulled out his phone to check it, then turned off the screen and put it back in his pants pocket. “Training starts tomorrow. Those of you with phones, don’t bring them; give up on the idea, there won’t be time for you to play with them. Besides, your pants pockets are quite shallow; you can’t carry them.”

After a while, he said: “There was supposed to be a meeting tonight, but seeing as there aren’t really any activities, basically after the meeting you can go back to the dorms to shower. Remember to check if your clothes fit. The pants might be a bit loose; the teacher told you to bring belts, right? What we issued isn’t called a belt, it’s a ‘waistband’ meant for tying around the waist; it’s only for decoration. If you don’t bring a belt, don’t cry tomorrow when your pants fall down.”

The students all laughed and answered one after another that they had brought them.

A few boys had faces that turned pale: “The canteen should have them, right?”

The instructor glanced at them with surprise and said with schadenfreude: “They used to have them, but the previous batch of students just left not long ago, so I don’t know if there are any left.”

Sure enough, the evening meeting was just a few simple words before they were all released back.

Qiao Wan tested the four faucets in the bathroom and found they were all cold water; she was immediately even more confused. Isn’t the training base mistreating the students?

At that time, Qiao Mei came over carrying two large thermoses and asked her, “Washing your hair?”

Qiao Wan said: “Yes.”

Qiao Mei then opened the cap of one of the thermoses, faint white steam swirling around her: “Bring your bucket over. You have to go down to the hot water room downstairs to get water to mix for heat.” Once she had poured out a small portion of a bucket, she pointed to the thermoses placed there and said, “They’re both yours. When they’re empty, just put them out; I’ll go down and fill them again. Be careful not to scold yourself.”