The Guide to Faking Innocence to Win His Wife - Chapter 48

Every September, the sunlight was always absurdly scorching. Heaven knew which immortal had decreed military training, but the moment the camouflage uniforms were distributed, a crowd of students who spent their days bitterly studying in classrooms were turned into special forces.

The current Xunyang University was no exception. Although it was not as strict as other institutions that threw students into the middle of nowhere for training, it was not much better either. They still had to train on campus for two weeks. The freshmen, who had been welcomed in like treasures just two days ago, were now all lined up under the sun to be parched.

Jiang Zhongmu’s platoon enjoyed slightly better luck. Their instructor was kind-hearted and led them to occupy half a patch of cool shade. The end and the head of the line swapped positions from time to time. Although it could not be described as immense happiness, compared to the other platoons, it was considered comfortable.

“At ease, attention.

“Whoever moves again will stand for another ten minutes,” the leader shouted aloud, his voice strict and cruel.

The students standing in place wore even more bitter expressions, staring blankly ahead, the light completely gone from their eyes.

Jiang Zhongmu, who was among them, felt slightly better. After all, she had helped her family work the fields since childhood, so her physical stamina was superior to the crowd. Furthermore, her usual carving tested her patience, as she typically sat for four or five hours at a time. Therefore, standing in a military posture was merely changing to a different position to space out for her.

However, spacing out was also divided into meaningful and meaningless types. The little leopard carved more than a dozen pendants in her head, and in the end, she still felt this military training was boring and unnecessary.

Finally, they endured until that person uttered a word for rest, and a crowd of people, like deflated balloons, collapsed directly onto the ground.

Jiang Zhongmu also sat down with her legs crossed, letting out a slight sigh of relief.

Tang Li beside her looked even more listless. Moving a few times, she leaned against her, her face exceptionally pale.

Jiang Zhongmu was not quite accustomed to others leaning against her, so she could not help but knit her brows, wanting to shift further to the side.

However, the other party spoke with a dying breath, “Sister, Sister Jiang, I truly cannot make it. I beg you to let me lean on you for a moment.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she leaned directly against Jiang Zhongmu’s shoulder and lost all movement, surprisingly falling asleep in an instant.

Her physical constitution seemed extremely poor. Jiang Zhongmu could see her stealthily climbing out of bed every night to hide on the balcony and light a cigarette, only willing to return late in the night, and then playing with her phone for half the night. With little sleep combined with the high-intensity training of these past few days, Tang Li could not even swallow her food upon returning to the dormitory, her steps drifting.

Unable to refuse, Jiang Zhongmu instantly tensed her spine. Although she was sitting cross-legged on the ground, she stood as straight as a small green bamboo, drawing the attention of the people nearby.

The instructor standing in the distance stared at the two of them for a moment, then turned around to speak with the counselor nearby.

That was a woman of approximately twenty-five or twenty-six years of age, possessing a delicate countenance and carrying a scholarly aura. She smiled continuously while speaking, appearing to be an exceptionally easygoing person.

“Director Zhao, the physical stamina of the students in your class is too poor. On the first day, two fainted, and another collapsed this morning. Looking over there, I estimate that a few more people are about to fail as well.”

“Sigh, you also know that students nowadays are busy with their studies, so who has time to exercise?” Zhao Yueke rubbed her brows, her expression sorrowful.

Previously, she knew that being a counselor was difficult, but she had not expected it to be so troublesome. This student collapsed, and that student fainted, and she had to hurry over to check on the situation. She had intended to watch how the freshmen endured their punishment, but as a result, she was even busier than the freshmen being punished.

“Instructor Yang, I think we still need to give them two more rest breaks this afternoon. The temperature has been so high these past two days, and it will be troublesome if a few more collapse.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” the instructor nodded helplessly.

Zhao Yueke let out a sigh of relief, thinking that nothing should happen this afternoon, and she could finally catch up on sleep. Consequently, she accompanied the training until noon, waiting for the formation to disperse before slowly returning to her dormitory. Ordering a delivery and opening a drama, she lay back on her bed completely relaxed. Just as her eyes closed, another phone call came in.

Her heart turned cold. Lifting her phone to look, she saw it was the instructor’s number again, and she answered it with a face completely devoid of any desire to live.

“Director Zhao, someone in your class has fainted again.

“Who is it this time?” Zhao Yueke gritted her back teeth.

“It is that girl in your class who possesses quite a personality.” The instructor had not memorized the names yet, usually calling out rows and columns, so now he could only describe her by her characteristics.

“What?” Zhao Yueke instantly lost all her drowsiness. With a shift in her thoughts, she immediately thought of that girl in the class who possessed wheat-colored skin.

Two days ago, when she had a meal with Xie Zhiyi, the other party had specifically mentioned her twice, saying Jiang Zhongmu was a kid she had inadvertently met who was quite talented in jade carving, and asking her to help look after her.

In truth, there were quite a few girls in the class who possessed distinct personalities, but having been entrusted with this task, Zhao Yueke paid a few more measures of attention to Jiang Zhongmu. Upon mentioning this matter, her first reaction was Jiang Zhongmu.

She spoke hurriedly, “Has she been sent to the infirmary? I am still in the dormitory, and I will hurry over in a moment.”

“She has been sent. Do not worry, I had her roommate accompany her,” the instructor replied quickly.

“All right. Thank you, Instructor Yang,” she let out a sigh of relief.

The call was hung up, and Zhao Yueke hurriedly lifted the quilt to stand up. Hesitating for a moment while putting on her shoes, she picked up her phone once more, flipping open her contacts to dial a number.

“Zhiyi?

“The kid you asked me to look after last time fainted during military training.”

The body of the woman sitting in the office chair簡體字 stepped. The hung-up phone was slowly lowered, and a sliver of panic flashed across her watery eyes.

She was situated in a modern, minimalistic office. On the pristine desktop were chaotic papers and pens, along with lush green plants.

The knuckles tightening around the phone flexed, the translucent rounded bone almost protruding from the thin skin. She leaned back against the back of her chair in silence.

The bright sunlight peered in from the window, and an uncapped fine-liner pen slid across the desktop. The line drafts on the paper were disorganized, barely revealing a shape, and the gold-rimmed glasses were discarded carelessly to one side, askew.

She was clearly the person who had chosen to give up first, yet she could not be the first to break free. She also understood that fainting from heatstroke during military training was an incredibly normal occurrence, yet she was ultimately worried.

Unable to continue with her previous drafts, Xie Zhiyi lifted her hand, covering her eyes with the back of her hand to hide all the emotions within them. Her exquisite, gentle jaw pulled a clear line as it tilted upward.

She remained silent, with only her hurried breathing and tightly pressed lips exposing her fluctuating emotions.

Ultimately, she still had no way to ignore it completely.

As if finally making some sort of decision, she lowered her hand and stood up abruptly. Taking her phone and car keys in one hand, she walked outward with hurried steps.

The employees sitting outside the room noticed her departure and stood up hurriedly. Before they had time to speak, they heard Xie Zhiyi speak quickly, “I have a matter to attend to and must go out. If I am not back by six o’clock, you may leave work on your own.”

As her words fell, the woman wearing the white suit disappeared behind the door, leaving behind only the entirely bewildered employees.

At Xunyang University, inside the second-floor infirmary, Jiang Zhongmu took a high stool and sat accompanying the patient beside the bed.

Tang Li, who was lying on the sickbed, was currently closing her eyes to rest. The hand resting beside her was connected to an intravenous drip, her face pale and her pink hair devoid of any luster, appearing highly disheveled.

Jiang Zhongmu had not expected this person to collapse so suddenly. After the midday dismissal, she had lain on her bed and fallen asleep the moment her eyes closed. Upon waking, she had appeared vibrant and full of life, once causing everyone to think she had recovered quickly. In reality, she had merely drained all her energy, and before she had even stood for a few minutes, she began to collapse to the side.

Unluckily, Jiang Zhongmu happened to be standing in the direction she fell, immediately catching the person and running toward the infirmary. Consequently, her afternoon training turned into accompanying Tang Li.

On the cabinet beside her were placed two cups of warm water, and her camouflage hat was also discarded inside. Her slightly damp black hair clung to her forehead. Because she had no use for sunscreen, she had darkened significantly over these past two days, transitioning from a wheat color toward a chocolate color. If her grandmother were to see this, she would likely sigh and nag a few words again.

Thanks to her handsome appearance, which was not the gentle beauty of traditional women but rather a unisex elegance and handsomeness, her skin tone grew increasingly special the darker it became. Combined with her tall stature, she was highly eye-catching.

Over these past few days, quite a few people of both the same and opposite sex had actively stepped forward to ask for her contact information. However, they were all directly refused by Jiang Zhongmu, even those who tried to obtain it through her roommates in a roundabout manner.

She did not love playing with her phone or socializing. Even while sitting here now, guarding her roommate with nothing to do, it did not occur to her to pull out her phone to take a look. She did not know what those people wanted her contact information for anyway, and the only senior she had added had not replied to her for an entire day.

The surroundings were empty. Perhaps because everyone had grown accustomed to the military training, the grand spectacle of people collapsing one after another on the first day was no longer present. Four or five beds were lined up from left to right, with only two patients and one Jiang Zhongmu.

The other person was also closing her eyes to rest, and earlier the doctor had asked her to help watch the IV drip fluid.

Jiang Zhongmu sat for a moment, lifted her paper cup, drank the completely cold water in a single gulp, and walked over to the water dispenser to fill another cup.

The water trickled loudly.

The summer wind outside blew across the green treetops, raising layer after layer of waves. A parched scent permeated the air, and even the hurried sound of footsteps was melted away.

However, Jiang Zhongmu perceived it keenly. Her ears, which were sunburned red and peeling, twitched, and in the next second, she turned around to look outside.

The sheer curtain was lifted by the wind, and outside the glass window, there remained only the hem of a white suit.

The paper cup filled to the brim with water began to overflow, soaking her entire hand.

The footsteps in the corridor were disappearing hurriedly.

With a snap, the paper cup fell onto the ground, splashing crystal-clear water, and in the next instant, it was crushed by her canvas shoe. The tightly closed door was pushed open, and Jiang Zhongmu took two steps as one, her long legs striding as she ran directly outward.

The figure of that person was already gone from the corridor, but a few sounds still lingered in the empty stairwell.

A rare panic appeared on Jiang Zhongmu’s face, and the wind scraped past her ears, raising a whistling sound.

The staircase, which she usually felt was just a short floor, now made her wish she could cut it in half, fearing she would not catch up to the person ahead. She held onto the railing directly, striding down two or three steps at a time.

However, she forgot that she had been participating in military training for these past two days. Even if her physical stamina was excellent, her legs and feet were aching terribly from these past two days.

The ankle of the leg she used to stride downward twisted to the side, and Jiang Zhongmu instantly tilted forward. Although the hand grasping the railing pulled with all its might, she still could not avoid falling on the steps.

With a thud, a huge sound echoed in the empty stairwell, and immediately afterward, the young girl wearing the camouflage uniform rolled down from the stairs, falling down two flights before she remembered to lift her arms to protect her head.

Her calf collided against the railing, and her slightly curved spine slammed against the sharp corner of a step.

With another thud, Jiang Zhongmu slammed directly onto the ground.

Perhaps because she was dazed by the pain, she surprisingly failed to react for a moment, her entire body curled up, a hollow ringing rising in her ears, and her brain completely blank.

Only after a good while did she move sluggishly, instantly drawing in a cold breath. From her head to her toes, from her bones to her muscles, there was not a single place that did not hurt. The little leopard, who was usually the best at enduring, knit her brows tightly, and a bloody wound was gouged out on her brow bone.

Beads of blood splattered onto the ground one after another, mixing together with the dust on the floor.

“Hiss.”

Jiang Zhongmu did not even possess the strength to stand up, so she could only lie on the ground with difficulty. Another bout of piercing pain surged from every part of her body, and cold sweat broke out instantly.

Those footsteps that had disappeared rang out once more.

Jiang Zhongmu, however, did not wish to pursue her any longer. Her back teeth were tightly clenched, her breaths coming one after another, not knowing how much pain she was enduring.

After all, she was usually a taciturn fellow who did not love to voice her grievances, and she would not complain when she suffered injustices. Her grandmother had even scolded her as a silent gourd because of this, saying she feared Jiang Zhongmu would not even let out a grunt if a knife were at her neck. However, she was currently panting from the pain, yet no one would feel pained enough to stay their steps.

Jiang Zhongmu’s eyes grew hot. Who could constantly be refused without feeling wronged and sad? A person who had lost her parents from childhood was merely less prone to crying and causing a fuss than other children, but that did not mean she was truly iron-hearted.

She lay face up on the icy floor, her body aching from the hard surface.

This time she had truly fallen, and she could not climb back up either.

The little leopard, who had persisted all along, began to doubt her choice for the very first time.

It would be better to simply stop studying, return to Jiang Town, and spend a lifetime with a pile of broken stones. It would even spare a certain someone from running away and resigning just to avoid her.

Jiang Zhongmu inexplicably gave birth to this thought, an impotent anger, even feeling that the pain on her body was entirely her own fault. If she had not insisted on chasing that person.

Until a shallow shadow fell, Jiang Zhongmu lifted her eyes to look over, and the person who was supposed to have disappeared appeared before her.

This scene was truly a bit awkward, after all, the contrast was simply too vast.

The older woman was dressed exquisitely in a loose, casual white suit. Unlike the formality of other jackets, this garment discarded conventional buttons entirely, fastened only with a waist belt. Within the V-shaped neckline was a white undershirt, and she also wore a thin silver chain.

Her long curly hair was brushed to one side, and her exquisite features, enhanced with light makeup, were lowered. Her thin lips wore a lipstick of an unknown color, moist and shimmering with light.

She did not need to do anything. Merely standing right there was enough to be framed and admired by others with astonishment.

However, the kid lying on the ground was disheveled to the extreme. Her camouflage uniform was torn in several holes, her sun-darkened skin was red, and her brow bone, cheeks, wrists, and knees were everywhere scraped skin and bleeding wounds.

A faint scent of rust diffused through the air.

Jiang Zhongmu’s eyes instantly turned red. With a tremble of her eyelashes, a mist of moisture covered her pale amber eyes, turning into a blurry expanse.

She spoke with a trembling voice, completely resembling a child who had failed to snatch a piece of candy throwing a tantrum, her crying tone obvious, “Xie Zhiyi, run again.

“If you run again, I will not like you anymore.”

The moisture at the corners of her eyes gathered into droplets, sliding down her cheeks mixed with blood.

“Do you know that there are many people pursuing me? Are you afraid that I will agree to them in a moment?”

Jiang Zhongmu was truly aggrieved to the extreme. Her brain had been knocked half-silly by the fall, and the thoughts she usually could not think of and the words she usually would not say were all rushing outward. Her voice with its crying tone was indistinct and pitiful to the utmost.

“Xie Zhiyi, you are truly detestable.”

She was like an abandoned puppy barking on the street. In truth, it did not need to be so aggrieved. After all, the puppy was so cute that everyone wanted to hold it and bring it home. However, it would only bark at the master who had abandoned it, pretending to be very fierce, when in reality, the moment the other party turned their head, it would begin to wag its tail.

Xie Zhiyi did not know what she should say. She seemed to possess a mountain of words she wanted to speak, yet they were all stuffed inside her chest, making her throat tighten, feeling both suffocating and bitter.

However, her lowered features concealed her emotions. She merely bent her knees to crouch down, her voice so light it felt as though it would be scraped away by a single blow of the wind.

“Why are you so foolish?” She let out a soft sigh.

She did not know what was best to do. Clearly, she had already made the most mature and rational choice, yet she still had no way to walk toward that direction with composure.

Jiang Zhongmu, conversely, stopped making a sound, the corners of her lips pressed tightly into a straight line, her blurry eyes resembling gemstones soaked by the rain.

“Does it hurt?” Xie Zhiyi had just opened her mouth before pausing. This question was truly unnecessary. When Jiang Zhongmu fell, she had already finished walking down the stairs to the corridor, only hearing a few massive sounds of collision.

With such a loud sound, how could it possibly not hurt?

She took back the remaining words. Her thin lips parted slightly, yet she said, “Can you sit up? The ground is cold.”

In the end, what exactly had occurred to make her feel this person was gentle? She was clearly cold and ruthless.

Jiang Zhongmu did not speak. She merely bit her teeth and propped her hands against the ground, attempting to sit up. As a result, she seemed to pull at a certain wound again, letting out another hiss.

Xie Zhiyi appeared somewhat at a loss, lifting her hands wanting to help yet not knowing where she should support her. In the end, Jiang Zhongmu actively extended her hand, letting her support her.

With effort, she supported Jiang Zhongmu to sit against the wall. Cold sweat had already covered her entire body, and Jiang Zhongmu panted heavily. The wounds on her face had already begun to scab, turning increasingly disheveled.

“Wait a moment, I will go find the doctor to come over,” Xie Zhiyi finally recovered a bit of her intellect, beginning to think of a solution.

“No need,” Jiang Zhongmu refused, merely saying, “I will be fine after resting for a moment.”

Her forced voice still carried a tremor.

“No, this of yours is too severe.”

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted as Jiang Zhongmu spoke directly, “It is merely a superficial injury. It will be fine after going to disinfect it in a moment.”

“You fell down from the stairs,” Xie Zhiyi did not agree, and even her tone rose slightly.

“I know my own body best,” Jiang Zhongmu gritted her teeth, confronting her with red-rimmed eyes.

Suddenly throwing a stubborn tantrum, she simply refused to yield.

It should be said that she possessed exactly this temperament. From childhood to adulthood, she had always been a stubborn bull, frequently making her grandmother so angry that she would scold her. It was a mistake for her father to name her Zhong, meaning bell. Now look, she had truly become a massive bronze bell that would not make a sound no matter how one struck it.

Only Xie Zhiyi could make her compromise, and she was only willing to be struck into resonance by Xie Zhiyi.

Xie Zhiyi fell silent for a moment, softening her voice to compromise, “Then you rest for a moment first, and we will go to the infirmary to take a look afterward, all right?”

Jiang Zhongmu lacked backbone and had always possessed no temper against this person. The moment the other party’s attitude turned good, she could no longer remain hard, her voice following suit and turning weak, “Rest for a moment first.”

“And then go to the infirmary?” Xie Zhiyi was not someone who could be brushed off so easily.

Jiang Zhongmu pouted her lips, saying mutely, “Fine.”

The bright sunlight fell from the corridor, landing upon the two of them, as if enveloping them in a thin layer of golden gauze. The dust that had been raised just now danced and settled in mid-air, and the surroundings were completely peaceful, with only the sound of the wind striking the plane trees.

“Xie Zhiyi, I hurt so much,” someone spoke mutely.

“I am sorry,” the other person apologized in a low voice.

“I do not wish to hear this.”

Xie Zhiyi hesitated for a moment, yet she still said, “I am sorry.”

The stairwell fell completely devoid of sound, and the blood droplets that had fallen onto the ground fractured and coagulated, becoming disgusting and unattractive after being covered by dust.

In the distance, the sound of whistles and slogans traveled over, yet the massive campus was empty to the point of silence.

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