Going back to 18, demanding 30,000 yuan in compensation from the school beauty.

The freshman orientation was rather uninteresting; it was just a series of welcomes followed by a reiteration of military training discipline.

The thousands of new students didn't take it seriously at all.

Shanghai University of Science and Technology is a 985 and 211 university. Its admission scores in most provinces are above 580, and even 600 is not enough for key majors.

The students who can stand here were all top students in high school.

Although they may not be among the top tier, they are definitely the kind of students that teachers have high hopes for and give special attention to.

Now, standing on a university campus, these high achievers still maintain the same mindset, believing that the principal's words about "cultivating an iron will and developing youthful vigor" are just the teachers' habitual exaggeration.

"I've already been admitted to a top-tier university (985 Project), I'll be a national talent from now on! How could the school possibly target us?"

Nine out of ten people in the audience held this attitude and were dismissive of the strictness of the military training.

However, the afternoon's military training drills were a wake-up call for everyone!

Military training begins at 1 p.m.

Several thousand freshmen stood at attention for four hours straight on the parade ground under the scorching midday sun of Shanghai in September, with temperatures reaching 37 or 38 degrees Celsius.

The break time should not exceed half an hour.

This afternoon felt longer than the entire sprint of burning the midnight oil during my senior year of high school.

The moment the instructor announced the dismissal, everyone let out a sigh of relief, as if they had been given a new lease on life.

Complaints followed one after another.

"Damn, it's just military training, does it really need to be this strict?"

"Is this drill instructor a hothead?"

"My arms are all sunburned. If I stay in the sun like this all day tomorrow, they'll definitely get chafed!"

"..."

Everyone was complaining bitterly, but no one dared to relax.

Because today isn't over yet.

The school only gave us an hour and a half of rest time. We were dismissed at 5 p.m. and had to assemble again at 6:30 p.m. for training in the evening.

Upon hearing this devastating news, the students' hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, finally died completely.

……

We still had to stand at attention at night.

The instructors shattered everyone's expectations of "strict during the day and relaxed at night," maintaining the same standards and requirements, and they practiced diligently for another two hours.

By the end of the day, all the freshmen were completely exhausted, not even having the energy to complain.

On the way back to the dormitory.

Lin Zhao looked at the sea of ​​people in camouflage uniforms, but they were all walking silently, and very few people were talking.

The spectacular sight almost made him burst out laughing.

"The school's sudden show of force is really something!"

Lin Zhao was also tired, but she could still hold on.

Because his father was a high school homeroom teacher, Lin Haidong knew that health was the foundation of everything. While keeping an eye on his son's studies, he also supervised his exercise, so his body was in very good condition and he rarely got sick.

Lin Zhao herself has an exceptionally resilient personality, which has been honed in the entertainment industry, especially in the fast-paced world of short dramas.

The hardships of military training are nothing compared to this.

That night, the dormitory was unusually quiet; no one even had the energy to chat.

The training intensity remained at its maximum for the next three days.

The students' faces turned dark, but their spirits improved, and they had the energy to chat and joke again.

During the evening break, Zhou Rui specially bought ice cream for the whole class and also brought some for the instructor.

Geng Ziye's face turned sour as he watched: "Zhou Rui's desire to be class monitor is so obvious, he even bought popsicles to win people over... Does anyone need a popsicle?"

He whispered these words in He Ruiqi's ear.

But He Ruiqi either didn't have the energy or found him annoying, so he completely ignored him.

Geng Ziye then went to pry into Lin Zhao's clothes.

Lin Zhao smiled but remained silent.

Having goals and taking action, without harming the interests of others, is actually quite admirable.

On the contrary, Geng Ziye, who clearly wanted to be the class monitor but didn't dare to take any action, treated others as his rivals and kept talking behind their backs, feeling jealous and resentful.

Lin Zhao's assessment was: Not a good bird!

Out of consideration for being roommates, he didn't confront them and changed the subject.

Just then, Tian Kepeng shouted from the side, "I've really mastered it now! I don't feel tired at all. Standing at attention for an hour is a piece of cake!"

Gao Bo threw his hat at him: "You hillbilly, you report to the toilet eight times a day, what have you developed? Prostatitis!"

The whole class burst into laughter.

Joking aside, the students all agreed that their physical condition was indeed much better than on the first day.

Lin Zhao didn't want to dampen everyone's spirits, but she still said, "It's not that you've all trained hard enough, it's that the instructors are secretly letting you get away with it!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's smiles vanished.

"Lin Zhao, I don't agree with what you said!"

Substitute squad leader Zhou Rui chuckled and said, "The instructors have always been strict. The only difference is the frequency of breaks compared to the first day, but the training standards remain high. If you make a mistake, you have to run laps or do push-ups as punishment. There's no leniency!"

Most of the students had a good impression of Lin Zhao, but at this moment they all sided with Zhou Rui, since who would want to admit that they were inferior?

Lin Zhao shook his head helplessly. These young people are really arrogant!

"Making you run laps while you're lying in the house is called corporal punishment! Is standing at attention and running laps under the blazing sun considered corporal punishment? That's just rest!"

After those words, the students fell silent, realizing what was going on.

Zhou Rui's expression darkened, and he said sternly, "Lin Zhao, being an instructor isn't easy either. You're dedicated and responsible. I don't think it's right to talk about her like that!"

One sentence labeled Lin Zhao as having a "petty mind".

Most people might not notice it, but Lin Zhao, who had seen all sorts of strange and monstrous things, immediately sensed the substitute squad leader's targeting and malice.

He was a little confused.

"Of course the instructor is dedicated to his duties, but have you ever considered that letting him go easy on you is also part of his job?" Lin Zhao said with a gentle smile.

"How is this possible!" Zhou Rui exclaimed excitedly.

"How is that impossible?"

"If the instructors are allowed to go easy on the instructors, then the first day should be the one they go easy on the instructors. After all, everyone has been relaxing for three months during the summer vacation, and their bodies simply can't handle such strict training right from the start."

Zhou Rui retorted earnestly and logically, "But everyone saw the result. The first day was completely ruthless; we had to stand at attention for four hours straight from the start. I saw some other formations even faint... How do you explain that?"

Zhou Rui raised his voice a few decibels, making the students sense a tense atmosphere.

Lin Zhao remained calm and smiled, saying, "The strictness on the first day was a result of what many parties needed. The instructors needed to establish their authority, the school needed the students to adopt the right attitude, and there were waves of leaders coming to inspect, so there was no time for a gradual transition; we had to get into the swing of things as quickly as possible."

"The reason they gradually relaxed later was because the establishment of authority had worked; the students had given up any侥幸心理 (a sense of侥幸, or a belief that they could get away with something) and their attitudes had become more serious. At that point, they didn't need to be so strict! Otherwise, with Tian Kepeng going to the toilet eight times a day, it would be obvious to anyone that he was slacking off. Wouldn't the instructors have noticed?"

A few words were enough to quickly bring the students back to their senses.

"That's true, I've been taking much more breaks these past two days."

"Yeah, they're not training at night anymore, they've started teaching military songs!"

"I saw a lot of people sitting in the audience; apparently, they were all sick and had gotten sick leave certificates..."

"Anyway, I saw Gao Bo constantly fidgeting in the formation, but the instructors didn't seem to take him out for punishment!"

"Damn it, who's been making those little moves? I'm just too tall and my center of gravity is off..."

As everyone chimed in with their own opinions, they gradually realized something was amiss and eventually came to agree with Lin Zhao's words.

Zhou Rui's face darkened, and he refrained from speaking.

Zhang Luoyan then added with a smile, "Lin Zhao is not only handsome, but also very thoughtful..."

She sat in the crowd, her fair face glowing.

As the undisputed class beauty, the boys clearly stirred up as soon as she opened her mouth.

Lin Zhao glanced at her, said nothing, and then turned her gaze to Xing Zhou beside her.

This was completely different from the restless atmosphere at the scene.

Xing Zhou was completely on another level, oblivious to the commotion around him, his eyes and mind focused entirely on the Chocliz in his hand.

She held the popsicle in one hand and supported it with the other, lowered her head slightly, opened her small mouth, and carefully sipped off a piece of the puff pastry.

The pastry entered her mouth, and the next moment, her tanned face was filled with boundless bliss, as if she had entered a realm of ecstasy.

"puff--"

Lin Zhao burst out laughing, then quickly pursed her lips and stopped herself, looking away.

"This food tastes so good..."