You've already received a first-class merit award, why are you pretending to be a new recruit a

When I came back from washing up in the evening, the dormitory was too quiet, which was a bit strange.

Chen Jingxing carried the washbasin into the room, originally intending to say a few sarcastic remarks to the red banner hanging at the entrance.

He stopped before he could speak.

Sitting on the edge of the bed was Liu Hai, who was taking off his shoes.

I pulled down my socks, and two blisters popped out from the soles of my feet.

The heel was also rubbed raw and red.

The joke stuck in Chen Jingxing's throat; he didn't dare to let it slip out.

Liu Hai noticed the commotion and quickly pulled his feet under the bed.

"N-nothing."

Li Lei hung up the towel and glanced back at it.

Chen Jingxing lowered his voice.

"Dude, you're still okay? Your feet are all blistered like this."

Liu Hai didn't reply, but lowered his head to put his socks back on and then touched his shoelaces.

Take it apart and tie it back together.

Take it apart again, then tie it back together.

Three times back and forth.

Chen Jingxing wanted to lighten the mood a bit.

"Let me tell you, blisters hurt even more if you leave them untreated. Look at me~"

Li Lei raised his hand to stop him.

"Stop fooling around."

The dormitory fell silent again.

Wang Dashan hadn't returned yet, and the new recruits in the platoon were still standing in the same spot.

No more poverty, Chen Jingxing.

There was no urging; it was Li Lei.

Xiao Longteng hung the kettle back by the bedside and walked to Liu Hai's bedside.

"How many times did you check the shoelaces?"

Liu Hai's throat moved.

Six times.

"The more we investigate, the more chaotic things become."

Liu Hai had his head down, his hand still resting on his shoelaces.

After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"Brother Xiao, I might... not be able to finish running."

Chen Jingxing suddenly became anxious.

"Don't overthink it. You made it through three kilometers, didn't you?"

"That's because you were all waiting for me."

Liu Hai's voice was even lower.

"I ran like that in three kilometers, and I still have to carry a backpack for five kilometers. The second squad is watching us closely now. If I fall behind, we'll lose the red flag, and the squad leader will lose face too."

No one responded.

Liu Hai gripped his shoelaces tightly, his hands tense.

"I'm not afraid of punishment."

He paused for a moment.

"I'm afraid I'll drag you along."

Once those words were spoken, there was no joking around, not even for Chen Jingxing.

He said he could finish the race, but that's too much to ask.

Saying nothing's wrong is even more of a lie.

Li Lei closed the notebook and put it back next to his pillow.

Xiao Longteng didn't speak immediately.

The bangs weren't for hiding from training.

What he feared was becoming the weak link in the class.

Wang Dashan's voice suddenly rang out from the doorway.

"Who says you can't finish running it?"

Several people in the class immediately stood up.

"Class monitor!"

Wang Dashan stood at the door, holding a training registration book in his hand.

The one standing the fastest was Liu Hai, whose shoelaces were still sticking out.

"Reporting, squad leader, I..."

"What do you mean, 'me'?"

Wang Dashan walked in and first glanced at the shoes on the ground.

"Your feet hurt?"

"Report: There are blisters."

"Blisters are not a punishment, so there's no need to hide them."

Liu Hai pulled his feet back half an inch.

Wang Dashan neither comforted nor scolded.

He slammed the registration book on the table.

"Personal extra practice registration will be done 10 minutes before the wake-up call tomorrow morning."

Several people in the dormitory looked up at the same time.

Wang Dashan continued to make arrangements.

"Liu Hai, the first one."

"Yes."

"Xiao Longteng, you're in charge of taking notes."

"Yes."

"Chen Jingxing and Li Lei are volunteering. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be made to carry a backpack and clean the stairwell."

Chen Jingxing quickly stood at attention.

"Reporting to the squad leader, I genuinely want to improve."

Wang Dashan glanced at him sideways.

"You should really shut up first."

"Yes."

Wang Dashan then turned to Liu Hai.

"We'll talk about not finishing the run tomorrow on the training field. Now, take care of your foot, wash up, and turn off the lights."

He finished speaking, turned around, and went out.

Outside in the corridor, Sun Ming was passing by with a cup in his hand.

What I overheard were the words "bangs," "endless running," and "practice a few more words."

He stopped walking, and the water in the cup sloshed out.

Wang Dashan came out of the door.

Sun Ming immediately straightened his back.

"Hello, class monitor."

Wang Dashan stopped.

"From Class Two?"

"Report, I'm passing by while fetching water."

"The water room is over there."

Sun Ming paused for a moment.

"Report: My sense of direction is improving."

"Go back and improve."

"Yes."

Sun Ming picked up the cup and left, walking faster than usual.

In the dormitory of Class Two, Chen Fei was flipping through the training plan.

As soon as Sun Ming entered the room, he put down his cup and lowered his voice.

"Squad leader, there's really something going on with Class One."

Chen Fei didn't stop writing.

"Eavesdropping again?"

"Just passing by, nothing more."

"Is the water room right outside Class 1?"

Sun Ming felt a little embarrassed and quickly got back to the point.

"Liu Hai himself said he couldn't finish the five kilometers, so Squad Leader Wang told him to do extra training tomorrow morning, and Xiao Longteng was in charge of recording it."

Chen Fei stopped writing.

"Did you hear me?"

"I can't speak for anything else, but this statement is accurate."

Several new recruits in the second squad pricked up their ears.

Liang Zhi muttered something under his breath.

"Then the five kilometers will be a sure thing, right?"

Chen Fei looked up.

"Stability depends on your legs, not your ears."

Liang Zhi immediately shut up.

Chen Fei closed the notebook.

"The outer track will run as planned tomorrow morning. Anyone who dares to make a fuss about this will have points deducted from their team's score."

Sun Ming nodded.

"Yes."

"Especially you."

Sun Ming, stand at attention.

"……yes."

Before lights out in the dormitory, Xiao Longteng walked to Liu Hai's bedside.

"Shoes off."

Liu Hai was stunned.

"what?"

"examine."

Liu Hai quickly sat down and took off his shoes.

Chen Jingxing lay on the edge of the bed.

"Brother Xiao, can I learn?"

"Speak less."

"I probably won't pass this course."

Li Lei added a comment from the side.

"You've consistently failed."

Chen Jingxing was convinced.

"Li Lei, you're getting better and better at finishing off enemies."

Xiao Longteng ignored them.

He picked up Liu Hai's shoes and examined the wear on the tongue, eyelets, and heel. He then asked Liu Hai to turn his socks inside out.

Socks are trendy.

The heel area was the most worn.

"Change your socks."

Bangs are in a bit of a dilemma.

"I only have two pairs, and this pair was just washed today."

"Let it air dry tonight, wear the dry clothes tomorrow morning, and change after the run."

"Yes."

Xiao Longteng untied his shoelaces and put them back on.

"Don't tighten the lower three holes too much, the instep should be able to move, press down on the top, and the ankle should not wobble."

Liu Hai stared intently at his hands, afraid of missing a single step.

"Tuck the ends of your shoelaces inside, don't let them stick out, and don't let them get caught on your trouser legs."

"Yes."

"Stride length shortened."

Her bangs didn't follow.

"shorten?"

"When you're in a hurry, you take big strides, pull your backpack back, and your breathing becomes chaotic."

Xiao Longteng put the shoes back at his feet.

"Change your socks, tighten your shoelaces, shorten your stride—just change these three things."

Chen Jingxing raised his hand.

"Brother Xiao, what should I change?"

"Shut up."

"The class monitor just said the same thing."

"This clearly illustrates the problem."

There was finally some laughter in the dormitory.

Liu Hai smiled slightly, then quickly looked down to check his shoelaces.

Xiao Longteng handed him the training book.

"Bring it with you tomorrow morning."

"What should I remember?"

"Qi, legs, feet."

Liu Hai only half understood what he was hearing.

"Do I have to remember this too?"

"want."

After the lights-out signal sounded, the dormitory fell silent.

Liu Hai placed the shoes by the bedside, pressing the ends of the shoelaces flat.

The next day, before the reveille sounded, the corridor duty lights were still on.

The first one to get out of bed was Liu Hai.

The movements were slow, but not chaotic.

Xiao Longteng was already standing by the bed, without a backpack, only carrying a small notebook and a pen.

Chen Jingxing opened his eyes and sat up groggily.

"Was I there voluntarily?"

Li Lei had already put on his shoes.

"You said last night that you've really made progress."

Chen Jingxing rubbed his face.

"Sometimes I really want to stay in bed."

Outside the door, Wang Dashan's voice was muffled.

"Come out and register."

When we got downstairs, Wang Dashan was standing by the playground, holding a registration book in his hand.

"No rushing today."

Wang Dashan clipped the pen to the notebook.

"400 meters per group, five groups at most. Report your status after finishing. Anyone who tries to be brave can go back to the dormitory."

Xiao Longteng took the notebook.

"At the end of each set, take fifteen seconds to count your breaths, and check the condition of your legs and feet."

Chen Jingxing raised his hand.

"Excuse me, I'm bad at math. How do you calculate fifteen seconds as one minute?"

Li Lei answered quickly.

Multiply by four.

Chen Jingxing sighed.

"Can you guys please stop making extra practice feel like an exam?"

Wang Dashan raised his chin slightly.

"You can skip it and just practice until you can do it."

"Report, I suddenly got it!"

In the first group, Liu Hai started off too quickly.

After running 200 meters, my shoulders started to hunch upwards, and my hands gripped the backpack straps tightly.

Xiao Longteng was pressed down beside him.

"Short steps".

Liu Hai heard it, but his body was still chasing ahead.

He broke out in his breath twice during the last 100 meters.

After running 400 meters, Liu Hai bent over and wanted to support his knees.

Stand up straight.

Xiao Longteng opened the notebook.

"Fifteen seconds, count down."

Liu Hai, panting, counted off.

Thirty-eight.

"leg."

"My calves are tight."

"foot."

"My heel hurts."

Xiao Longteng noted: The first group started fast, but the later stages were chaotic, and his heels hurt.

In the second group, Liu Hai was afraid of moving too fast, and his steps were too fragmented.

The backpacks were shaking more violently than the first group.

Chen Jingxing was getting anxious and almost shouted out.

Li Lei grabbed his sleeve.

"Don't shout."

The second set is over. Liu Hai took thirty-five breaths.

The numbers are fewer, but people are even more upset.

My legs are numb.

Xiao Longteng closed the notebook halfway.

"The steps are too short and there's no propulsion from the feet."

Liu Hai got anxious.

"So, is it big or small?"

"Don't chase people, chase voices."

Before the third group started, Xiao Longteng stood half a step to his left.

Listen to my feet.

Liu Hai nodded.

"Left."

The two started.

"Exhale."

"call……"

"Spit it out again."

Follow along with the bangs.

Chen Jingxing and Li Lei didn't shout, but also followed the end of the line.

The four people ran a lap around the track.

This time, Liu Hai was the one who didn't scramble in the last fifty meters.

After stopping, he was breathing heavily, but he was still able to count the numbers completely.

"Twenty-nine."

Xiao Longteng noted it down.

"leg."

"My calves are tight, but I can handle it."

"foot."

"My heel hurts, but it's not numb."

Chen Jingxing leaned closer.

"Brother Xiao, write one down for me too. I feel like my breathing is very layered."

Xiao Longteng turned the page.

Report.

Chen Jingxing actually counted them carefully.

"Thirty-two, my legs are sore, and my mouth is tired."

Wang Dashan cursed from a distance.

"If your mouth gets tired, just sew it up!"

Chen Jingxing swallowed the second half of his sentence.

Li Lei also handed over his notebook.

"I rub my right heel unevenly, I want to remember that."

Xiao Longteng nodded.

"remember."

The fourth group consists of four people running together.

The speed is not fast, and the formation is smoother than the first group.

Liu Hai was the last one, but he wasn't left behind.

Chen Jingxing wanted to turn back, but Li Lei reminded him.

"Look ahead."

"Okay, you're really starting to act like a vice class monitor now."

"run."

The fourth group has ended, and Liu Haibao has scored twenty-eight.

He was stunned for a moment.

"I... am not that confused anymore."

Xiao Longteng wrote down the numbers.

"To be continued tomorrow."

Liu Hai nodded, this time without stuttering.

On the other side of the playground, Zhou Zhengguo walked to Wang Dashan's side with his record folder.

"Aren't you going to say a few words of praise?"

Wang Dashan flipped through the registration book.

"If I praise you too early, you'll get cocky tonight."

Zhou Zhengguo glanced at the record.

Liu Hai, Group 4, 400 meters.

Xiao Longteng, who recorded the training session, did not substitute for anyone.

Chen Jingxing and Li Lei participated voluntarily.

Zhou Zhengguo added a few strokes to his notebook.

"Liu Hai must have been under a lot of pressure last night, I'm making a watchlist."

Wang Dashan immediately looked up.

"Don't put a patient label on him."

"I feel too much pressure writing about patients, and I'm afraid of dragging the team down, so I won't write about sick patients."

"Okay then."

Zhou Zhengguo turned another page.

"Xiao Longteng's method can be kept."

Wang Dashan snorted.

"He only knows these kinds of delicate tasks."

Zhou Zhengguo put away his pen.

"If Chen Fei heard this, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight."

Wang Dashan closed the registration book.

Whether he sleeps or not is none of my business.

As the reveille sounded, more and more people gathered on the playground.

Class 1 returned to their dormitory to tidy up their belongings.

Liu Hai sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled out the page from last night's training book.

The target field originally contained two words.

Finished the run.

Xiao Longteng stood to the side.

"Cross it out."

Liu Hai paused for a moment.

"Not writing down the run-through?"

"Completing the run only counts as reaching the finish line."

Xiao Longteng handed him the pen.

"Only by not falling behind can you be considered to have arrived together with the group."

Liu Hai gripped the pen and crossed out the words "ran all the way."

Li Lei took out his notebook and wrote the same words next to it.

The five-kilometer goal is to not fall behind.