Volume 1 / Chapter 51: First Day of Military Training Begins

Because the military training was scheduled to last only five days, there was no such thing as a full day of rest. The moment lunch ended on day one, the official training began.

Maybe it was because it was still the first day, but the lunch scene was rather chaotic. Everyone just sat wherever they liked, gathering in groups of friends to enjoy the meal together.

The dishes were mostly vegetarian, with just a few meat options. The overall spread looked plain and not overly greasy.

Each table seated ten people, and there were only two meat dishes: one was hóngshāo shīzitóu—braised lion’s head meatballs, and the other was a plate of braised pork belly that looked especially greasy.

As soon as Mò Xuěyáo took her seat, her eyes locked onto the two meat dishes like a guided missile.

For someone like her, who rarely had the chance to eat meat, this was a rare and precious opportunity.

Still, she held back, waiting until everyone had started eating before she politely picked up a lion’s head meatball and placed it atop her bowl, which was already heaped with rice.

“I wonder if our military training instructor will be male or female,” said Wáng Jiālè, who was seated beside Xuěyáo. Her comment sparked a round of speculation among the other girls.

“Hopefully a guy,” Mo Xiǎoxiào said with a smile, as she picked up some leafy greens for her bowl.

“Why a male instructor? What’s wrong with a female one?” Huā Yínyín asked in confusion.

“I think a male instructor would be better too,” Chálí, who sat on Jiālè’s other side, agreed with Mo Xiǎoxiào. Xuěyáo noticed she had switched the side of her ponytail again.

“Why though?” Huā Yínyín remained puzzled. “You all just want to look at cute guys? That female instructor we saw earlier was gorgeous too!”

“It’s not about looks...” Chálí shook her head. “It’s just that male instructors tend to be more gentle.”

“Exactly,” Mo Xiǎoxiào nodded. “At the very least, they treat girls with more care.”

“That's true” Wáng Jiālè said emphatically. “Male instructors are more likely to be soft-hearted. A female instructor wouldn’t care at all about sparing the flowers and cherishing the jade.”

…Using that idiom on yourself doesn’t feel a little shameless?

Xuěyáo muttered inwardly while finishing off the lion’s head meatball.

The table had a large rotating tray in the middle, and a big communal bowl of rice was placed on it. Anyone who wanted a refill could just serve themselves.

The bowls were about the same size as those used at home. For most girls, one bowl would be plenty.

Normally, one bowl would be enough for Mò Xuěyáo too, but today, she figured she’d probably need more.

After all, just that single lion’s head had already gone through nearly half her rice.

She’d probably gotten used to being frugal. Every time she got to eat meat, she instinctively tried to eat more rice with it to stretch it further.

It seemed the other girls still had no intention of touching the meat dishes. Xuěyáo felt a little too self-conscious to reach out for more, so she settled for picking up a few strands of shredded potato instead.

“Ahh—I want a lion’s head too!” Wáng Jiālè stretched out her arm, but the plate was too far from her side of the table.

“Just spin the tray,” Chálí said, and gave it a turn for her.

“This thing’s heavy... I can barely move it,” Jiālè grinned goofily as the plate came her way. “Hehe, lion’s head~”

“Come on, everyone have some meat,” Mo Xiǎoxiào encouraged the other girls. “We can share it. The meat looks like it’s portioned just right.”

The braised pork belly came in big chunks—about ten pieces in total. Enough for everyone at the table to have one.

But Chálí shook her head. “You all go ahead. I’m not eating meat. I’ll gain weight.”

“You, fat?” Jiālè asked through a mouthful of rice.

Chálí pinched her waist and thigh. “Look, all this is fat! Even my thighs and tummy have it. There are so many boys thinner than me!”

“That’s just being curvy,” Huā Yínyín said, picking up a piece of pork. “Being as thin as a bamboo pole isn’t attractive at all.”

“Exactly,” Mo Xiǎoxiào added seriously. “Girls are supposed to have a bit of subcutaneous fat. It’s normal.”

“Nope, nope. You all eat the meat. I’ll just stick to the veggies,” Chálí insisted as she picked out a few chili peppers from the stir-fried pork and chili dish in front of her.

That dish technically counted as a meat dish, but since it was basically all peppers with a bit of minced meat thrown in, no one really treated it as such.

It felt like calling it meat would be an insult to meat.

The other girls, whose names Xuěyáo couldn’t remember, also chimed in, saying they weren’t eating pork either.

Even one lion’s head was being split between two girls.

Xuěyáo couldn’t help herself anymore—she reached out and grabbed a piece of braised pork for her bowl.

After finishing that, she picked up another.

“Um... Xiaoyáo, aren’t you worried about gaining weight?” Jiālè whispered.

“Not really,” Xuěyáo replied casually.

Which, of course, wasn’t entirely true.

But for someone who hardly ever got to eat meat, how could she worry about gaining weight from a rare indulgence?

The boys’ side finished eating much faster than the girls. Before long, Liú Xiǎowěi came over with his bowl: “Hey, you girls not eating the meat?”

“Yup,” Mo Xiǎoxiào glanced at Xuěyáo and noticed her bowl was already empty—she’d had two bowls—so she said, “Go ahead, take it. Better than wasting it.”

“Eh...” Mo Zhúyōu  glanced at her sister, a bit disappointed.

She hadn’t eaten much meat either.

Or maybe... she was just holding back for the sake of appearances?

Xuěyáo glanced back at Zhúyōu. She’d been about to stand and grab another lion’s head, but now she hesitated.

Was it really embarrassing for girls to eat too much?

Still not entirely used to this new world, Xuěyáo felt a bit unsure of herself. She didn’t want to lose face, but she really wanted another one.

When the boys finally reached for the last lion’s head, she couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Uh, hey, I wanted that one...” she said awkwardly. The boy reaching for it—Zhōu Yǒng, an average-looking guy—just nodded and shifted his chopsticks to the remaining pork.

The boys didn’t seem to find it strange at all.

Lǐ Hóngrǎn even picked out every single morsel of minced meat from the stir-fried chili dish and ate it clean—no one batted an eye.

In fact, some of the boys even gave him a thumbs-up. “Damn bro, you’re a beast. Even managed to pick all that out.”

But some of the girls’ gazes drifted toward Mò Xuěyáo, making her squirm.

The lion’s head in her bowl didn’t taste nearly as good anymore.

Or maybe... she was just being too sensitive?

Maybe the girls were just curious about how much she could eat.

Half an hour after lunch, the real military training finally began.

When a male instructor walked up, the boys collectively sighed, while the girls were visibly excited.

“Yay! A male instructor after all!” Wáng Jiālè quietly nudged Xuěyáo’s hand.

“Ah… yeah.” Xuěyáo was still recovering from the awkwardness at lunch, and her response was a beat too slow.

Statistically, getting a male instructor was far more likely.

There was only one female instructor, after all.

She was assigned to Class 3, which was right next to their Class 2. The boys who landed the pretty female instructor were already making faces and flaunting their luck at the neighboring class.

“You lot! Still grinning like fools after training has started?” the female instructor barked. Turns out she wasn’t nearly as gentle as they had imagined. “Back row boys, ten laps around the square! Now!”

“Hey! I didn’t even do anything!” one guy protested.

“You’re one team. Doesn’t matter who did what—everyone runs.”

“Hahaha—” the Class 2 boys laughed, relieved it wasn’t their class in trouble.

“Ahem, alright, stop gawking. Do I look less handsome than her?” Class 2’s instructor coughed to draw attention back. “Hi everyone, I’m Instructor Huáng . Just call me Instructor Huáng.”

“Hello, Instructor Huáng—” the class responded with scattered enthusiasm.

“You’re handsome alright, but she’s pretty. Totally different leagues,” Gāo Yuán joked.

“You were the cockiest one just now,” Instructor Huáng chuckled. “What, you like pretty instructors? Want me to put on a skirt and act like one for you?”

“I’d be down for that!” Zhōu Yǒng egged him on.

“Fine! Let’s make it fun—whoever performs the worst today gets to wear a skirt. Deal?”

“Deal~!” The girls were delighted.

“I think that chubby one’s got a good chance,” Instructor Huáng teased. “Maybe he likes cross-dressing?”

“That’s not me! I didn’t say anything!” Gāo Yuán stood up straight in protest.

“Well, let’s see if you can keep it up.” Instructor Huáng blew his whistle and looked around at the other classes warming up with light jogs. “Look at that—everyone else is jogging already.”

“Then let’s run too!” Gāo Yuán said, eager to please.

“Nope. Why follow the crowd? Just because they run doesn’t mean we have to.” Instructor Huáng grinned mischievously. “See that sunny patch over there? It's so cold today-let's grab a good spot to sunbathe!”

“Ugh, we’re gonna get tanned...” The girls pretended to complain while clearly enjoying the break.

Mò Xuěyáo thought this instructor might actually suit her temperament.

And despite the complaints, most of the girls seemed to like Instructor Huáng right off the bat.

Standing beside her, Wáng Jiālè whispered, “This instructor’s kinda fun, huh?”

“Right? Pretty interesting guy,” Instructor Huáng said suddenly, having overheard her whisper. He even winked at her.

Startled, Jiālè jumped in place.

“Haha, what are you so scared for? Just teasing. Not like I’m making you run laps,” Huáng laughed heartily. “Also, you’re shorter than the girl in front of you, right? You should move to the front.”

“Um... okay...” Jiālè nodded meekly and returned to her spot. She’d stepped back earlier just to chat with Xuěyáo.

Among all the girls, Wáng Jiālè was the shortest at about 150 cm, followed by Huā Yínyín at 155 cm, and then Mò Xuěyáo at 158 cm.

Most of the other girls were over 160 cm—though few reached 170—clearly separating them from the three petite ones.