I put you in charge of those rebellious female soldiers, how come they all became top special forces

Jiang Nan's eyebrows twitched involuntarily as she looked at the overflowing soy milk.

"Take it."

Chen Zheng stuffed one of the bowls into her hands, and also gave her a freshly fried dough stick, and thoughtfully dipped it in the soy milk a few times.

"this……"

Jiang Nan stared at the twisted fried dough stick in her hand, completely frozen in place.

She had never eaten anything like this before, even in military school.

"Eat up, what are you standing there for?" Chen Zheng took a big bite and ate with relish.

Jiang Nan hesitated for a moment, then tentatively brought the fried dough stick to her mouth and took a small bite.

Click.

The crispy outer layer crumbles between your teeth, followed by the soft, fluffy interior.

The warm soy milk slid down my throat, dispelling the chill of the morning.

"Well……"

Jiang Nan was stunned.

She subconsciously took another big bite.

This time, she used too much force, and a drop of soy milk splashed up, landing with a splat on her pristine white dress.

Jiang Nan froze, her hand instinctively reaching out to wipe it away.

But just then, a large hand reached out.

Chen Zheng didn't wipe it for her; instead, he simply wiped his oil-stained fingers on the other side of her skirt.

Two yellow oil stains, one on each side, were surprisingly symmetrical.

"Look," Chen Zheng said with a smile, pointing to her skirt, "it's symmetrical now, are you comfortable?"

Jiang Nan stared blankly at the two oil stains, at a loss for what to do, and burst out laughing.

She simply ignored the dress and, imitating Chen Zheng, took a big bite of the fried dough stick.

……

After eating and drinking their fill, the two strolled over to a flower and bird market.

This is truly an indescribable place.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of bird droppings and cheap feed, along with the cacophony of calls from various birds.

As soon as Jiang Nan stepped in, her brows furrowed, and she instinctively raised her hand to cover her ears.

But soon, a large hand reached out and pulled her wrist off.

Chen Zheng didn't say anything, but simply gestured with his chin to those around him.

Jiang Nan nervously withdrew her hands, forced to listen to these sounds.

Mynah birds were mimicking human speech, thrushes were calling, and vendors were shouting through loudspeakers about clearance sales. You could even hear the flapping of wings of two fighting roosters in the distance.

As I passed a stall filled with iron cages, a large macaw suddenly poked its head out of its cage and blurted out:

"You idiot! What are you looking at!"

Jiang Nan stood there, stunned, her eyes widening involuntarily.

In the past, such words would have been enough to get her locked up in solitary confinement for a whole day.

But now, looking at the parrot with its head tilted to the side, she couldn't help but twitch her lips twice, and actually burst out laughing.

"It's insulting me!" Jiang Nan pointed at the parrot and turned to look at Chen Zheng.

"If you're going to curse me, then curse me back." Chen Zheng casually grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the stall and tossed them into the cage. "Don't spoil them."

The two made their way through the crowded streets and finally stopped in front of a secluded bird shop.

The store was dimly lit and filled with dust.

The boss was a bald, middle-aged man, sweating profusely as he directed his employees to move things.

"Move! Move it all out!" The boss kicked a wooden crate. "This junk is taking up space, throw it away!"

It was an upright piano.

More accurately, it was the corpse of a piano.

The lid of the zither was nowhere to be found, revealing the rusty strings inside.

Several of the black and white piano keys are missing, and the remaining ones are badly yellowed.

There was a birdcage on top, and half a bag of uneaten millet.

Jiang Nan's feet felt like they were nailed to the ground.

Her gaze was fixed on the piano.

That's the same brand as the piano she practiced on since she was a child.

"Could you...?"

Jiang Nan took a step forward and asked softly, "Could I play it for a bit?"

The irritated boss turned around, looked her up and down, and waved his hand impatiently.

"Get out of here! They're going to be used for firewood anyway, what are you doing playing with them? They're broken!"

Jiang Nan didn't move; she just stood there stubbornly.

Snapped.

A hand reached over Jiang Nan's shoulder and slapped two red bills onto the counter.

Chen Zheng leaned against the birdcage rack by the door and pointed to the piano in front of the shopkeeper.

"Ten minutes."

The boss swallowed the profanity that was on the tip of his tongue, quickly stuffed the money into his pocket, and laughed:

"Wow, the boss is so generous! Please!"

Jiang Nan turned around and glanced at Chen Zheng.

Chen Zheng didn't look at her, but instead played with a Java sparrow in a cage nearby.

Jiang Nan took a deep breath, walked over, and slowly sat down.

Her white skirt fell to the cement ground, and as she raised her hand, her back straightened perfectly.

This is a habit she has cultivated for many years.

The wrist is suspended in the air, the fingertips are drooping, and the posture is quite standard.

thump.

The first note fell.

The voice was muffled and severely out of tune.

Jiang Nan's brows furrowed instantly.

wrong.

The pitch is off.

She instinctively tried to correct herself, her fingers dancing rapidly across the keys, trying to find the correct pitch.

The melody of "Moonlight Sonata" flowed from her fingertips, but on this broken piano, every note seemed to be working against her.

Jiang Nan played with increasing urgency, and sweat broke out on her forehead.

She tried to fix the piano's flaws with skill, but it didn't work.

The more one strives for perfection, the more noticeable the jarring off-key singing becomes.

Jiang Nan's breathing quickened, her fingers began to tremble, and her face gradually turned pale.

Just when she was about to give up.

Pop, pop, pop.

A round of applause suddenly broke out.

Chen Zheng remained leaning against the birdcage, clapping slowly with no expression on his face.

Jiang Nan's finger suddenly stopped in mid-air.

She turned her head and looked at Chen Zheng with some confusion, but he remained calm.

In a daze, she seemed to see the audience members who had applauded for her back then.

Jiang Nan slowly turned her head, looked at the broken piano keys, and took a deep breath.

boom!

She raised her hands high and then slammed them down hard.

A muffled sound came from the low register, followed by the high register.

Jiang Nan completely let loose and embraced her true self.

She poured out all the repression and fear of the past twenty years.

The days and nights spent in the reflection room, the fake smiles forced to please his parents, all turned into energy, which he poured onto this dying piano.

There is no melody, only emotion.

The strings were groaning, the wood was vibrating, and some of the old strings had even broken, making a clanging sound.

The birds in the shop were terrified; hundreds of them flapped their wings and screamed at the same time.

The sounds of a zither, a broken string, and birdsong mingled together.

The big strings are like a rain, and the small strings are cut like a whisper.

Cut the wrong bullets, and the big beads are falling into the jade plate.

Chen Zheng looked at the girl who was completely absorbed in the moment, and a slow smile crept onto his lips.

That's more like it.

"Make it louder!"

Jiang Nan seemed to hear Chen Zheng's thoughts. She stood up and slammed her fist down on the middle of the keyboard with all her might.

Boom!

Several piano keys collapsed completely and were never played again.

The sound gradually stopped.

Jiang Nan remained in the downward-slamming posture, her chest heaving violently, sweat dripping from her chin onto the piano keys.

She slumped onto the piano bench, panting heavily.

Suddenly, everything fell silent; even the birds were too frightened to sing.

Jiang Nan looked at her trembling hands, which were in pain.

She suddenly laughed.

First he chuckled softly, then he burst into loud laughter, laughing so hard he was doubled over and tears streamed down his face.

A ray of sunlight pierced through the gaps in the birdcage and fell on her sweaty face.

Chen Zheng walked over, took a tissue out of his pocket, and handed it to her.

"You played well."

Jiang Nan took the tissue and looked up.

This time, she truly smiled like a twenty-year-old girl.