After getting used to the routine of classes, the student council office, and home, life suddenly shifted on Friday beneath the blazing morning sun—the start of the freshmen's military training.
The vast football field was filled with students in identical camouflage uniforms, most of their faces etched with misery.
There was no orientation meeting beforehand. The instructors simply handed the students off to the drill sergeants, then strolled back to the shade of their tents, sipping water and relaxing.
Still, Yuyang University had a credit-earning program: senior students with excellent grades and conduct could volunteer to accompany and assist during training.
But who would willingly give up the comfort of watermelon in the shade just to suffer under the scorching sun for two whole weeks?
Answer: plenty of people.
The reason? The Academic Office offered five credits to these volunteers.
At Yuyang, five credits were so valuable that the slots became fiercely contested. In the end, though, it was usually third-year students scrambling to make up missing credits who won the spots.
The Broadcasting Department had only two classes, but because enrollment was so high, some freshmen were split into other groups. Ji Yu and another girl, by sheer bad luck, ended up assigned to the Sports Department squad.
And because this was the Sports Department, filled with tall, muscular guys, the strictest drill sergeant was naturally assigned to them. When the two girls were marched in, everyone had no choice but to accept it.
The seated boys erupted into chatter at the sight of the two newcomers. But as Ji Yu stepped closer, one boy suddenly froze, staring.
Under a sergeant, all are equal.
The phrase popped into Ji Yu's head after just one morning. The man shouted at everyone—freshmen, even upperclassmen alike. His booming voice made Ji Yu's head spin.
"Doesn't his throat hurt from yelling so loud?" Ji Yu muttered after dismissal at noon. The Sports Department's voices had been the loudest, and the louder the cadets shouted, the louder the sergeant bellowed back.
She glanced around for the other girl assigned to her squad, but the girl was already hand-in-hand with new friends, disappearing into the crowd.
Helpless, Ji Yu turned toward the front of the formation, where a familiar figure stood.
"Tang Li!"
He was chatting with the sergeant, but the moment he spotted the fresh-faced girl walking toward him, he stopped.
"Your girlfriend?" the sergeant asked, scrutinizing Ji Yu from under his cap.
Then, with a nod, he added, "Did you tell your mom yet?"
Tang Li didn't answer. Sometimes silence said more than words. His eyes had gone wide the moment Ji Yu was assigned to his squad. And Ji Yu, catching sight of him, looked just as stunned.
"Mutual feelings. Not sure what you're waiting for," the sergeant muttered under his breath.
Tang Li didn't hear. His eyes were fixed only on Ji Yu, fanning herself with her cap.
Sweat beaded her face, but instead of making her look messy, it gave her a lively glow. Droplets slid down her neck, vanishing beneath her collar, teasing the imagination.
"Ji Yu, aren't you going to lunch with your classmates?" Tang Li asked.
"Cough…" Ji Yu cleared her throat awkwardly. "I… haven't really gotten close to anyone yet. Most of them live in the dorms, and the girls already have their little cliques. I don't really fit into their topics."
"Then what about showers?"
"What else? I'll go to yours."
Tang Li flushed red, though under the blazing sun Ji Yu didn't notice.
"I can't just barge into my classmates' dorm to use their hot water, right? That'd be awkward for them and for me."
She tapped her cap against her leg, smiling sheepishly. "So really, you're my best option. I'm sticky all over—it's unbearable."
Seeing that her social instincts were still very much male-oriented, Tang Li actually felt reassured. His smile broadened. "Alright then. As long as you don't mind a rough guys' dorm, you're always welcome."
Ji Yu laughed, then suddenly frowned.
"But… can girls even go in your dorm? Won't that look bad?"
"Pfft. So you do know it looks bad? And you still want to come?"
Ji Yu glanced up at him, blushing. "Then maybe I should just—"
"But as long as it's not at night, the old man downstairs doesn't care. Just a quick shower, no big deal."
Disappointment flickered briefly across her face. Before she could finish, Tang Li had already offered the "unspoken rule" of the dorms.
"Then I won't hold back!"
Freshmen didn't need to report to the student council office during training.
At noon, Mo Yachen lounged on the office sofa, a movie playing on his phone. But his eyes kept straying toward the guitar in the corner.
On the table lay two copies of Ji Yu's personal file. Identical—except for the "Gender" line.
One said Male.
One said Female.
It was giving him a headache. The latest record had been pulled straight from the authorities—there was no way it was wrong.
And yet, in his memory, there was that boy who had arrived late to the first student council meeting. Had Ji Yu really been a boy? Or had he… undergone surgery to become a girl?
He knew what this feeling was. He liked—no, he admired—this girl named Ji Yu. From her natural, unpretentious attitude, to her bright eyes, to her sharp sense of style… everything about her had drawn him in.
But now… if she had once been a boy—if she had changed into a girl…
Honestly, he couldn't accept it.
Holding his nose, he walked over to the guitar. Every little decoration on the body, every mark—it screamed of its owner's affection.
"Just like her," he sneered. "Always covering instruments with disgusting little things."
His voice dripped with disdain, his eyes behind the glasses flashing with hatred.
Checking the time, he grabbed a book and left for the library. At Yuyang, as long as you had enough credits and passed exams, you could skip classes. Professors required attendance only for special sessions.
And as Yuyang's star student, Mo Yachen almost never appeared in classrooms. For him, real learning happened only in the library.
On his way, passing a small store near the girls' dorms, he stopped.
Ji Yu stood at the checkout, holding two packs of sanitary pads, glaring at Tang Li, who was completely absorbed in picking out more in the women's aisle—utterly oblivious to the stares of the girls around him.
"You've got to be kidding me. Do you really need that many? You're not building a footrest out of them. Standing a bit longer won't kill you—you're an athlete, for crying out loud."
"You don't get it," Tang Li replied without looking up. "I've seen this plenty of times. If you don't stack enough, you'll regret it once you're standing for hours. Better to buy everything for the next two weeks now. Oh—what brand do you usually use? I'll grab some for you too."
Every trace of Ji Yu's expression vanished. Embarrassment had been burned away—by sheer exasperation.
"Who talks like that?!"
Her sharp, girlish voice rang out in the store. Tang Li turned, baffled, only to find her face flushed scarlet, even her earlobes red.
Around them, groups of girls giggled behind their hands, shooting sympathetic looks at Ji Yu while eyeing the handsome but hopelessly clueless boy beside her.
"Enough! Pick them yourself!"
Ji Yu slapped two packs onto the counter and rushed to the cashier. Even the cashier was laughing, making her cheeks burn hotter.
"Wait, wait, I'll pay, I'll pay—"
Tang Li draped an arm over her shoulder with a sheepish grin, quickly flashing his payment code before she could.