Chapter Seventeen: Setting Off for Military Training

Sunday afternoon, September 4th.

Lu You and Li Yu were pushing a cart, casually wandering in front of the supermarket shelves.

Li Yu glanced at the dazzling array of goods around them and asked, “Have you decided what to bring tomorrow?”

“Yeah, my mom has pretty much prepared everything for me.”

“What are you bringing?”

“Two pairs of boxer shorts, a bottle of Six Gods herbal lotion, a bottle of medicated oil, a bottle of sunscreen, two 20,000mAh power banks, a small fan, a lunchbox, slippers, a water cup, toothbrush, toothpaste, facial cleanser, shampoo, body wash, tissues, two towels, a wallet, oh, and a box of anti-inflammatory painkillers. That’s all,” Lu You listed off.

“That’s so thorough? Why bring medicine? Are you sick? What about clothes, aren’t you bringing any?” Li Yu asked curiously.

Lu You rolled his eyes at him. “Do you expect me to wear my own clothes for military training? Wear the school uniform there and back. As for the medicine, I’m not sick—it’s just that my mom’s worried I might get sick over there, so it’s for emergencies.”

“Got it.” Li Yu nodded, then picked up a container of scallion-flavored pork rib noodles and asked, “Are you going to bring instant noodles and stuff?”

Lu You shook his head. “No, I’m just taking a travel backpack. As for food, money is enough; I’ll buy from the convenience store over there. Bringing food is too much trouble.”

“Alright then, I won’t buy food either, just some daily necessities. Let’s go.” After speaking, Li Yu put the instant noodles back and pushed the cart away.

…

Back in his room, Lu You took out the travel backpack he hadn't used for a while. He unzipped it, about to put in the items his mom had prepared, when he saw a little cutie crouched inside, staring at him with big eyes.

“Meow~”

Lu You’s heart melted. He reached out and picked it up. “I’ll finish packing and come play with you. You watch nearby for now.”

Little Bao buried its head in Lu You’s arm, making soft “woo woo” sounds, snuggling deeper into his embrace, refusing to get down.

Lu You stroked the soft fur on its back gently. “Alright, I know I haven’t spent much time with you lately, but your owner is still a high school student and has to attend school.”

Finally, after feeding a few small fish treats and rubbing its belly for a while, Little Bao released its claws and climbed down from Lu You’s arms.

Watching the little one circle around him on the floor, acting spoiled, Lu You felt a pang of guilt. The original self hadn’t planned to attend high school and had plenty of time to play with it. But now, he had his own pursuits and not much time to spare.

A cat’s life lasts at most a dozen or so years, and the next seven or eight years of Lu You’s life would be focused on studies.

“Bao,” Lu You squatted down, gently stroking its head, speaking softly, “Take good care of your little sister. I won’t have as much time to play with you anymore.”

At that moment, another little cutie appeared at the door, looking at Lu You with big, bright eyes like black grapes, sweetly saying, “Brother, cat, play together.”

“Okay! After I finish packing,” Lu You glanced at his little sister, then patted Little Bao’s rump, “Go, your sister is looking for you.” After sending the two little ones upstairs, he returned to his room to continue packing.

…

Li Yu was in his room, silently stuffing the daily necessities bought earlier into his suitcase. He didn’t plan to bring much, just a few more pajamas than Lu You.

A knock came from outside the door. “Xiao Yu, can I come in?”

Li Yu didn’t stop his packing, replying calmly, “Come in.”

A middle-aged woman walked in, carrying a plastic bag, which she placed on Li Yu’s bed.

“These are the sunscreen and floral water you wanted.”

“Thanks, I’ll put them in the suitcase later.”

The woman hesitated a moment, then continued, “If you encounter any problems during military training, you can ask the teacher to call either of us.”

Li Yu paused briefly, then replied, “Okay, I will.”

“I’ll leave now. Keep packing,” she said, then left the room, closing the door behind her.

After she left, Li Yu stopped packing as well. He sat on the bed, took out the delicately packaged sunscreen from the plastic bag, and stared off into space.

…

The woman stood outside the door, not leaving, smiling faintly as she looked at the closed door.

Since high school began, Li Yu had sought their help twice already, which could be said to mark the beginning of a warming relationship between him and his parents.

…

Tang Wan’s room.

Tang’s mother went through the list of things her daughter was taking, finally adding, “Is there anything else to bring?”

Tang Wan scanned the clothes and daily necessities in her suitcase. “That’s all for now. If I bring anything more, the suitcase won’t close.”

“You’re about to start your period. Remember to take care of yourself over there. Lie down when you need to. Don’t be like in ninth grade, pushing yourself too hard. That’s no good,” Tang’s mother said worriedly.

Tang Wan recalled that time in ninth grade: forcing herself to participate in physical training for the sake of her sports grades, even though she was in pain and breaking out in cold sweat.

Quickly shaking her head, Tang Wan said, “No way. Military training doesn’t have any grading requirements. I’ll do what I need to; that suits me fine. Watching others train is way more interesting than participating.”

…

The next morning, Lu You and Li Yu got out of a taxi.

Military training would take place at the training base for a week. Since they both had luggage and bicycles would be inconvenient, they took a taxi directly.

On their way back to the classroom, they saw many students carrying suitcases.

“Feels like going on a trip,” Lu You looked around.

“Our school does organize trips every year, in the second semester,” Li Yu replied.

“Huh? That’s a thing?” Lu You became curious, turning to Li Yu. “Do you know where they go?”

Li Yu shrugged. “Not really. The teacher mentioned it once on the first day. The destination changes each year.”

They returned to their respective seats in the classroom.

Meng Yi noticed Lu You only had a backpack and asked, “Is that all your luggage?”

Lu You glanced at Meng Yi’s suitcase and stuffed backpack, his mouth twitching slightly.

“It’s not like we’re going on a trip. No need to bring so much stuff.”

“Still, shouldn’t you bring some food? Didn’t you do military training before in elementary and middle school? The food there is horrible, and the convenience store prices are higher than usual. Without instant noodles or something, it’s hard to get by.”

The original Lu You never went to the training base; he trained on campus and went home at night, basically just going through the motions.

“Just buy what you need at the convenience store there. It’s not that expensive,” Lu You said casually.

Meng Yi’s eyes lit up. “Boss! Can you sponsor me? I’ll do anything!”

Lu You looked at Meng Yi with disdain and said contemptuously, “You? Come back when you look half as good as me.”

Meng Yi felt wounded and said softly, “You’re so aggressive.”

“Heh, just stating the facts,” Lu You replied with a cold smirk.

“By the way, how do you keep your skin so good and acne-free?” Meng Yi looked at Lu You’s fair, clean face enviously, compared to his own dark and acne-prone skin.

Lu You thought for a moment, then said, “Probably genetics. Everyone in my family has good skin. Plus, my mom takes me for skincare treatments sometimes.”

“Your mom takes you for treatments?” Meng Yi couldn’t believe it.

“Only occasionally. When her friends don’t have time, she brings me along.”

Meng Yi wanted to ask more, but the homeroom teacher entered the classroom, and the restless atmosphere settled.

Teacher Zeng scanned the class, seeing all the students present, then began: “Everyone’s here, so I’ll explain the arrangements for the military training at the base. All first-year students depart in two batches: one in the morning, the other in the afternoon. Our class is in the first batch. Around nine o’clock, the bus will arrive, with 55 students per bus. The class leader will take four people to join the buses of the two classes downstairs, and the deputy class leader will stay to manage order on our bus…”

Meng Yi poked Lu You with his finger and whispered, “Let’s sit on the same bus later.”

“Sure, but you’ll have to walk at the back of the line.”

…

It was now half past nine.

Most of the first-year students lined up by class on the playground, all carrying luggage and waiting for the bus.

Lu You stood at the back of their line, chatting casually with Meng and Meng Yi.

At that moment, Li Yu pulled his suitcase and walked over from Class Two’s line.

“I’ve never been to the training base before. Feeling a bit excited.”

Lu You smiled in response. “It’s okay. I heard the conditions there are pretty bad.”

Meng Yi chimed in, “More than bad! When I went in middle school, they didn’t even have fans. The bathroom doors were broken, and there were a dozen or twenty people in one dorm.”

Li Yu looked at him and asked, “Are you Lu You’s deskmate?”

Meng Yi nodded. “Hello, yes, I’m Meng Yi.”

Li Yu smiled. “I’ve heard about you from Lu You. I’m Li Yu. Let’s play games together sometime. I’ll carry you.”

Lu You gave him a disdainful look. “You? Carry? Really?”

Li Yu kept smiling at Meng Yi. “Don’t listen to him trash-talking me. I’m the one carrying when we play. He’s bad and arrogant, all mouth, no skill.”

“Why don’t we skip the training and go home to play games now?” Lu You sneered.

The three were chatting happily when an untimely voice interrupted.

“Li Yu, please return to your position and stand properly.”

They looked toward the source of the voice.

A short, thin boy wearing glasses approached them, expressionless, staring at Li Yu. He completely ignored Lu You and Meng Yi.

Lu You smiled politely and asked Li Yu, “Who’s that? Even your dad doesn’t control you like that.”

Li Yu glanced at the boy and said to the others, “Forget it. Just know this guy’s a real jerk. I’m going back to my class now. Talk later.”

With that, Li Yu returned to his class line. The boy followed behind, never once looking at the two others.

“Damn, this guy is so arrogant, and so naturally confident, no hint of awkwardness. How does he pull that off?” Meng Yi exclaimed.

Lu You nodded in agreement. “I’d only heard rumors about the badass class leader in Class Two before, but now I’ve seen him for myself. He makes me feel like we’re not even on the same level. Even speaking to him feels like dirtying my mouth.”

Meng Yi felt enlightened and asked, “Is this the legendary top dog? What does his family do?”

Lu You searched his memory of various kids he’d seen with his parents but couldn’t match anyone to the boy. He shook his head. “I’m not sure. Since he’s temporary class leader of Class Two, his grades must be pretty good, and he probably has a good relationship with the teachers.”

“Really envy those who have good grades and get along with teachers,” Meng Yi sighed.

“Envy that kind of person? Don’t you find it disgusting?”

“If I were him, you’d only see my nostrils!” Then Meng Yi suddenly laughed, “But this jerk is really disgusting. I need to find a chance to disgust him back.”

“Forget about the nostrils—he’s not even taller than me.” Lu You recalled the boy’s appearance and found it amusing.

“Hahaha…”