Shi Lu specifically sought out Le Xi's homeroom teacher to explain Le Xi's situation. Teacher Zhang was a very kind middle-aged woman who had taught Shi Lu during his university days. After Shi Lu explained the situation to her, the teacher communicated with the military training instructors, who were very understanding and appropriately reduced the intensity of Le Xi's training.
There's a saying that good intentions can lead to bad outcomes, and this can also be applied to Shi Lu's "backdoor" treatment of Yao Lexi. Here's what happened: the instructor was angry because the students were being lazy while standing at attention, so he punished the whole class by making them stand at attention for an hour. But as soon as he announced it, the instructor immediately said, "Yao Lexi, you don't have to stand."
Lexi looked at the instructor strangely, and at this moment some students started to jeer, saying that the instructor was biased.
"Why don't I have to stand anymore, instructor?" Lexi asked.
The instructor waved his hand and said, "If I tell you not to stand, then you don't need to stand. Just obey orders."
Lexi pouted: "All the other students are standing, I don't want to be special."
Someone whispered among the crowd: "Exactly! Everyone should stand together. Why should we get special treatment?"
The instructor looked at the students standing in formation and shouted, "Stand still! You don't listen to commands at all, you have no manners whatsoever, what kind of new generation of college students are you?!"
“If you want to be a new generation of college students, then go for it. But with your looks, if you could get into college, would you still be just an ordinary soldier?” a fearless student whispered.
The instructor was furious and decided to ignore Lexi, thinking, "Since he wants to stand, let him stand. Anyway, they're all a bunch of spoiled brats who don't know what's good for them; it's good for them to suffer a bit."
Although Lexi wanted to be treated the same as everyone else, a single remark from the instructor sparked a variety of reactions among the students. Some thought he was a good friend and a loyal friend. Others thought he was resourceful, managing to "smooth things over" even with the instructor. Still others thought he was hypocritical and pretentious. But most people still wondered: What's so special about him?
Standing ramrod straight under the blazing sun for an hour, unable to move, and constantly being corrected and reprimanded by the instructors at the back, was pure torture for the pampered students of Xingzhi Academy. Le Xi stood in the front row, the scorching sun overhead making it hard to even open his eyes, sweat pouring down like a tap turned on. Le Xi felt his body sway slightly, but aside from the blinding sun, he felt no discomfort; perhaps the overly upright posture was making him uncomfortable. He took a deep breath, adjusted himself slightly, and suddenly felt someone standing behind him. He tensed up: Oh no, had the instructor noticed his movements?
"Yao Lexi, if you can't hold on, you must say so. Don't try to be brave." The instructor corrected his posture from behind and whispered in his ear.
Le Xi smiled awkwardly and nodded in response. Looking around again, he saw that his classmates were all enduring their "torture" and no one was paying attention to him. Thank goodness, otherwise his classmates would have used it against him again; he breathed a sigh of relief.
Less than twenty minutes later, one of the girls couldn't hold on any longer and fainted. Lexi heard a dull thud behind her as someone collapsed, followed by cries of "Ouch!" from those around her. But after a while, everyone seemed numb. Someone would faint, and those around them would lift them up and drag them to a shady spot, all in tacit agreement, without saying a word. After being tormented like this for most of the day, when it was finally time to disperse, Lexi felt like she was about to fall apart.
Chrysanthemums bloom along the path, their beauty shared across the land. This is from Dianqianhuan's *A General's Conquest*. I think Dianqianhuan is truly a master of subtly tormenting readers… Compared to him, I'm definitely too much of a doting mother…
Zijie
At lunchtime, the students, who are usually picky eaters, almost all wolfed down their food, and even the girls who claimed to be on a diet finished their meals completely. The instructor smiled and said, "This is the kind of sweetness you can only appreciate after you've tasted hardship."
The main dish for lunch was steamed buns, which was almost impossible for Lexi, who grew up in the south and always preferred rice, to swallow. After military training, Lexi felt nauseous. When she got her food at the canteen and sat down at the table, the smell of the food made her stomach churn. She covered her mouth and ran to the water room to vomit before she felt better.
"Could it be this bad?" Le Xi frowned, leaning against the sink, extremely frustrated. "She's already like this after just standing for a while. What will a week of closed military training do to her?"
"Are you alright? Yao... Yao... um... Yao classmate..." Someone patted his shoulder from behind and asked with concern, feeling a little embarrassed because he had forgotten Le Xi's name.
"Hmm...it's alright." Le Xi wiped her mouth, turned around, and smiled. The person who spoke seemed to be called Pan Ge. He was tall and strong, fully embodying the forthright and enthusiastic personality of people from Northwest China. He was a local, and it was said that he had the highest score in the entire college entrance examination.
"You might have heatstroke. Are you feeling nauseous after eating?" Pang looked at Le Xi's face and reached out to touch his forehead. Le Xi hesitated for a moment when his hand reached out and instinctively pulled away. Seeing Pang awkwardly withdraw his hand, Le Xi smiled apologetically.
“I have some Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid. Drink a bottle later and have a good rest at noon.” Pan Ge smiled and said, “You’ve never been to L City before, have you? This is the climate here. There’s a big temperature difference between day and night, but it’s unbearably hot at noon. You’ll get used to it after staying here for a while.”
"Okay, thank you," Le Xi replied politely. Actually, she felt much better after throwing up, but she felt embarrassed to refuse Pan Ge's kindness. This guy was being so enthusiastic it was almost overwhelming. After talking for a while, he followed Le Xi back to her dorm and insisted that she drink a bottle of Zhengqi Liquid before he would stop.
"You didn't eat lunch, did you? You have military training this afternoon, you can't skip it. Here, I have some food, have some first." Pang pulled out a bag of food from under the bed, took out a bag of biscuits and handed it to Le Xi: "Hey, this is something my mom specially asked someone to bring for me, don't tell the instructor. In this godforsaken place, there's nothing to buy, so we'll just have to make do."
Lexi didn't want to eat anything; her stomach was empty, but she had no appetite. However, thinking about the military training in the afternoon, she forced herself to eat a few bites. After eating, she took a short nap, and when she woke up in the afternoon, she really felt much better.
For the next few days of military training, Le Xi, having undergone surgery, was required by doctors to absolutely avoid strenuous repetitive movements of the affected limb, shoulder loads, and jumping from heights. Therefore, he couldn't participate in the remaining training sessions. He had originally hoped to participate in the training like everyone else, sharing the hardships and making sure his university life wasn't filled with regrets, but unfortunately, he missed out on a lot. However, he was comforted by the fact that the instructors agreed to let him participate in the final performance.
A week later, Lexi and her classmates returned to school and saw Shilu waiting for them under the shade of a tree after getting off the bus.
"Why are you here?" Le Xi ran over with a smile. After Shi Lu took the bag from his hand, she was looked up and down by him before she spoke again, "How are you? Any changes?"
Shi Lu took a good look at Le Xi. The week of military training had indeed been effective; Le Xi had clearly gotten a tan. Her face and arms were red from the sun, especially her face. The bridge of her nose and cheekbones had peeled from the sun, so those areas now looked pinkish. Shi Lu couldn't help but laugh: "Hmm, you've become ugly. You look like a little African refugee." Then she wrinkled her nose and sniffed: "And you smell of sweat, it stinks."
Lexi frowned, raised her arm and sniffed it, muttering to herself, "No, I shower every day!"
Shi Lu laughed heartily and put his arm around his shoulder: "Alright, alright, I was just teasing you! Let's go, Mom's still cooking at home. She made something delicious especially for you since you're coming back!"
"What do you mean, 'our mom'...you..." Le Xi protested, her face flushed, "Don't talk nonsense, okay?"
"What, you don't want my mom anymore? Where can you find such a good mother-in-law these days? She even cooks delicious meals for her daughter-in-law when she gets home, huh?" Shi Lu quietly leaned in and quickly kissed Le Xi, startling her so much that she covered her face and jumped aside. She looked around frantically, making sure no one was around before punching Shi Lu in the chest: "Are you crazy! In public..."
"Ouch, you're trying to murder your husband! How did you get all strong after only a week of military training?" Shi Lu cried out, clutching his chest. "My heart hurts so much! It hurts like hell!"
"Hey, hey, stop pretending!" Lexi jumped up and protested.
"Who's faking it? I came to pick you up myself, my husband. I've been missing you so much I'm going crazy, and this is what happens. Waaah, I'm so pitiful..." Shi Lu simply squatted down on the ground, covered his face, and pretended to cry.
"You...you...why are you acting like a child...get up! We're still at school! It's not good if your students see this!" Le Xi tried to pull Shi Lu up in a fit of anger, but Shi Lu started acting like a spoiled child and she couldn't be dragged no matter what.
"So what if they see? Let them see how a teacher is bullied by his wife, let everyone sympathize with my plight." Shi Lu pretended to be worried, but inwardly he was genuinely happy to see Le Xi's anxious expression. For a week, he had been constantly worried about whether Le Xi's body could handle it, whether he was eating well, whether he was getting along well with his classmates, whether he was unhappy, whether he missed him. So many worries made Shi Lu feel an unprecedented sense of attachment and that each day felt like an eternity. He really wanted to hug him right away and kiss him, but he was also afraid, afraid that the feelings they had just established would fade because of such a long separation. This contradictory feeling suddenly struck Shi Lu, and his eyes actually stung with tears. He watched as Le Xi stared at him, his gaze slowly changing from slight anger to surprise, then to calmness, and finally to tenderness, until Le Xi also squatted down in front of him and gently said, "What's wrong? Why are your eyes all red all of a sudden..." His fingers hesitated as he touched his eyes, "Why are your eyes all red?"
"It's nothing, hehe..." Shi Lu suddenly stood up, suppressing his overly enthusiastic emotions, and pulled Le Xi to urge him to hurry up, "Let's go, my mom is waiting! If we don't go back soon, she'll throw a tantrum!"
As Lexi approached the building where she lived, she saw a boy sitting on a suitcase in the distance. Lexi stopped, causing Shilu behind her to bump into him.
"Huh?" Shi Lu glanced at Le Xi's surprised expression, then followed his gaze to the boy. He was a very handsome boy with somewhat long hair, who was rapidly typing on his phone with one hand while smoothing his hair. His bangs obscured his eyes; he blew on them and then tossed his head with an extremely dashing air.
"Yao Lexi! Where have you been! I've been waiting for you for so long!" The boy jumped up when he saw Lexi and shouted angrily at her.
"Zi...Zijie...you...why are you here?" Le Xi was clearly still in shock. Shouldn't this person be all lovey-dovey with Chen Song in City C? What's going on?
"Hey!" Zhang Zijie rushed up to Le Xi, waved his hand in front of his eyes, and said to himself, "What's wrong with you? What, you're not happy about my surprise? My flight was today, and I came straight here to find you as soon as I arrived. See how good a friend I am!"
Le Xi's eyes widened, and after a long while she said, "Surprised? I think it's more like a shock! Ha, what's wrong with you now? Did you have a fight with Chen Song?"
"We broke up." The person on the other end waved their hand dismissively. "Never mind, it's disgusting. Oh, by the way, who's this?"
Shi Lu glanced at Le Xi somewhat uncomfortably as Zhang Zijie pointed at her. Le Xi chuckled, about to speak, but Zijie interrupted her, crossing his arms and scrutinizing her: "Hmm, let me guess. Judging from your atmosphere, he's your new boyfriend, right?"
Lexi glanced at Shilu and saw him looking at her as if awaiting a verdict. She lowered her head and smiled, "Yes, that's right."
Hearing this, Shi Lu felt a little embarrassed, scratched his head, and gave a silly grin as a greeting. Zi Jie remained scrutinizing, his gaze almost as if he could see right through Shi Lu.
"Oh, right! You said you came here right after you got off the plane, so that means you haven't found a place to stay yet, right?" Le Xi frowned.
“Yes, that’s why they came straight to you.” Zijie glanced at Lexi, then continued to scrutinize Shilu.
"Hey, how can you be so brainless? Didn't I tell you my apartment is a small studio? It's too small for you!" Le Xi shook her head helplessly. "Why do you threaten to run away from home every time you argue with Chen Song? Can't you come up with some other ideas?"
"I don't care, I even brought my luggage, you have to take responsibility for me~~~" Zijie suddenly said in a coquettish voice, grabbing Lexi's arm and shaking it incessantly, making everyone's skin crawl.
"Don't shake him." Shi Lu grabbed Zi Jie's An Lushan claw and pulled Le Xi over to protect him behind her.
"Oh, I didn't realize, Lexi! He's so nice to you. I just tugged on your arm and he got all nervous." Zijie winked at Lexi playfully, his smile rather strange.
“No, that’s not what I meant!” Schru said seriously. “He just had surgery, and the doctor said that shaking his arm like that could be bad for the pacemaker!”
"Oh dear, look at me, I forgot about that!" Zijie ignored Shi Lu as if he were invisible, nimbly bypassed him, and darted in front of Le Xi. She grabbed him and looked him over carefully, even starting to tug at his clothes. "How was it? How was the surgery? How are you feeling now?"
"Very good, very good!" Le Xi was forced back a few steps by Zi Jie, and used her hands to block his groping. "I'm almost like a normal person now, haha... Don't, don't scratch me..."
My brother is back
"Hmm..." Zijie sat at the barbecue stall, frowning like a constipated patient, his thumb and forefinger propping up his chin as he studied the menu. He playfully told Lexi that he was starving after such a long flight and demanded that she treat him to a meal. After picking and choosing for a while, he was only interested in the roasted lamb, insisting on dragging Lexi to eat barbecue, and even kicking Shilu aside, telling him to go home and eat by himself. Shilu was helpless. He had originally thought that the two of them could get intimate in private after Lexi returned, but this unexpected obstacle was too formidable, so Shilu had no choice but to slink back home alone.
After hesitating for a while while holding the order, Zijie finally made up his mind: "20 skewers each of lamb, lamb kidneys, lamb tripe, lamb tendons, and lamb tail bones! Grill them well, and add lots of chili!"
"Hey!" Le Xi blocked the waiter who was writing down the order and whispered to Zi Jie, "Can you eat that much?"
"Why can't I? Even if I can't eat it, you're still here."
"Do you think I'm your Chen Song? That's how much you can eat?" Le Xi ordered the waiter to bring 10 skewers of each kind first, then lectured Zi Jie, "When are you going to stop causing trouble like this? I'm fed up. Just because Chen Song went out on a blind date, you're already threatening to run away from home again. Sooner or later, Chen Song will have a nervous breakdown."
"Who cares, it would be best if he died. This is so annoying! Can you please stop talking about this?" Zijie was almost driven to the point of plugging his ears by Lexi's lecture.
"That's true, you..."
"Alright!" Zijie shouted, finally losing his temper. "I came here not to be lectured by you! I have very important news!"
"What?" Lexi said, dissatisfied.
"You really want to hear this?"
"You...didn't you say you had important news to tell me 'specifically'?" Le Xi pretended to faint, feeling that even her rich language and imagination would be defeated by Zi Jie's incomprehensible leaps of thought.
"Hey, you're the one who said you wanted to hear it! Don't regret asking me!" Zijie patted Lexi on the shoulder, picked up the meat skewers the waiter brought to the table, and started eating heartily, exclaiming as he ate, "Mmm, the roasted lamb from the Northwest is still the most authentic! I really didn't make a mistake coming here!"
"Hey, just say it!" Le Xi pushed him impatiently and refused the roasted meat that Zi Jie offered. Lately, perhaps because of the weather, she felt nauseous at the smell of greasy food.
“Okay, then I’ll tell you!” Zijie ate another skewer of meat and slowly said, “Qi Hui, he’s back in China.”
Le Xi sat there blankly for a long time until Zi Jie grabbed his hand and shook him, which brought him back to his senses.
"Are you alright, Lexi?" Zijie looked at his pale face with concern, not expecting that the news of Qi Hui's return would have such a huge impact on him. Recalling what had happened to Lexi over the past year, those absurd and decadent past events, it all seemed like a dream.
"No, what could be wrong with me?" Le Xi smiled, but found his expression quite stiff. To hide his emotions, he grabbed a skewer of meat from the plate and started eating it, but his hands began to tremble again.
“Le Xi…” Zi Jie frowned as she looked at him, “I’m sorry… if I had known… if I had known, I wouldn’t have said anything.”
"What are you talking about? He's back, so what? It's none of my business anymore, is it?" Le Xi continued, forcing a smile. "Besides, aren't you in a precarious situation yourself? You haven't even resolved Chen Song's matter yet, so why are you bothering with me?"
Upon hearing anything about Chen Song, Zi Jie became furious. His anger immediately flared, pointing to Chen Song's "outrageous" crimes. He grew increasingly enraged and began to drown his sorrows in alcohol. He drank and talked until he was completely drunk, laughing and crying at the same time. Le Xi, helpless, could only listen to his rambling accusations. But a pang of sadness welled up inside him. He silently apologized to Zi Jie, realizing he was a despicable person who, to alleviate his own pain, had resorted to reopening old wounds and using others' suffering to ease his own sorrow. Yao Le Xi, you truly are a complete and utter scoundrel!
She called Zijie to book a hotel and then called a taxi to take him there. While helping him into bed, she heard him repeatedly muttering Chen Song's name, and Lexi couldn't help but smile bitterly. They clearly loved each other deeply, yet they had to hurt each other like this—was this what love was supposed to be?
After settling Zijie in, Lexi received a call from Shilu.
"Lexi, why aren't you back yet?" The voice on the other end sounded anxious, especially since it was hard to hear clearly due to the poor signal, making Lexi feel as if it were coming from a dream. This feeling of communicating by phone reminded him of the days he had spent waiting. Back then, his brother was abroad, and he would go home almost every day after school to wait by the phone, afraid of missing any call from his brother. But those days would never come back.
"Le Xi?"
"Huh? What did you just say?" Lexi gathered her memories and stood by the window to make the phone call. Her reflection was in the window, and Lexi reached out and gently stroked her own silhouette. When she heard Shilu say, "I'm worried about you," she couldn't help but smile broadly.
But why does that shadow, those eyes, still look so sorrowful?
"I'll be right back. Zijie got drunk just now, I'll take him to the hotel and settle him in before I come back."
"Do you need my help?"
Lexi turned to look at the restless guy rolling around on the bed and sighed, "Fine, come over here. I really can't handle it all by myself."