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

Wang Dashan closed the roster, turned around, and pushed open the dormitory door of Class 1.

There was someone in the room who wasn't fast asleep.

Hearing the door open, Chen Jingxing pulled the blanket up to his chin.

Wang Dashan walked to Xiao Longteng's bedside and paused for half a step.

Xiao Longteng lay on the lower bunk, breathing evenly, his hands resting on either side of the blanket. His military boots were neatly arranged under the bed, the toes pointing towards the edge.

Wang Dashan looked down for two seconds.

"Xiao Longteng".

"arrive."

Xiao Longteng opened his eyes and sat up.

Wang Dashan lowered his voice.

"Has anyone from Class Three been here?"

"I've been here before."

"Did you suffer a loss?"

"no."

Wang Dashan snorted, it was unclear whether he believed it or not.

"You certainly know how to make things easy."

Xiao Longteng did not respond.

He simply sat there, his back ramrod straight. Abroad, impulsiveness can cost you your life; he was used to not retaliating.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Wang Dashan pointed to the towel on his bedside table, which was folded up like a brick.

"The items were packed quite neatly."

"Habit."

"Tomorrow morning, you are not allowed to compete with the third shift."

"clear."

"I didn't tell you to play the coward." Wang Dashan lowered his voice even further. "If they really make a move, follow the rules. Report to me, call me, find an officer. Don't try to handle it yourself, and don't try to clean up the mess yourself. Understand?"

"I heard you."

Wang Dashan turned to leave, then stopped.

"besides."

"Yes."

"Don't turn this class into your own. I haven't been discharged yet."

Chen Jingxing almost burst out laughing in bed, but he managed to suppress the sound.

Xiao Longteng answered very quickly.

"Yes, squad leader."

Wang Dashan closed the door and went out.

The room fell silent.

A few seconds later, Chen Jingxing poked his head out from under the covers.

"Brother Xiao, was the squad leader jealous just now?"

"sleep."

"His statement, 'Don't turn Class One into your own class,' was absolutely right!"

"Chen Jingxing".

"arrive."

"Close your eyes."

"Yes."

Chen Jingxing pulled the blanket back over his head.

Xiao Longteng lay down, looking at the upper bunk. In the corridor, Wang Dashan's footsteps faded away, and Zhao Hai's deep voice came from the direction of Class Three.

My grandfather's words echoed in my ears again.

Watch out behind you.

He pulled his right hand out from under the covers and placed it on the outside of the bed.

It's just a habit.

-

As the reveille sounded, Chen Jingxing jumped out of bed and rushed to Xiao Longteng's bedside.

"Brother Xiao, last night, that Li Qiang, the way he came in, it was like he was going to tear our dorm apart!"

Xiao Longteng lifted the blanket and began folding it with his hands.

"First, tidy up the house."

"No, I need to talk to them." Chen Jingxing turned to Li Lei and Liu Hai. "You didn't see the whole thing. The moment he put his hand on Xiao Ge, he didn't even flinch, and he chickened out! Seriously, I saw it all clearly!"

Li Lei, clutching the blanket, stopped what he was doing. Liu Hai, wearing only one sock and holding the other in his hand, stammered, "Re-really chickened out?"

Chen Jingxing raised his hand to gesture: "Of course! Brother Xiao was just sitting there, and his hand let go."

Xiao Longteng looked up.

"Chen Jingxing".

"arrive."

"Quilt."

Chen Jingxing glanced down at his unfolded blanket and pursed his lips: "It's folded up."

"Check in ten minutes."

"The class monitor hasn't arrived yet."

"The rules are in place."

Hearing this, Chen Jingxing fell silent and went back to wrestle with the blankets.

Li Lei didn't say anything, but pulled a small wooden ruler out of the crack in the bed board and began to measure the side of his quilt.

Liu Hai was still looking for his socks when Xiao Longteng kicked a wad of cloth out from under the bed: "Left foot."

Liu Hai quickly picked it up and put it on, saying, "Thank you, Brother Xiao."

"Put on your shoes first, then fold the blankets."

Chen Jingxing, still lying under the covers, was indignant: "But this can't just be left like this! He even came to our door to provoke us!"

Xiao Longteng hung the kettle in its usual spot by the bedside: "It's not our responsibility to handle this."

"Then who will handle it?"

"Class monitor."

"What if the class monitor doesn't do anything about it?"

"The company has its own rules."

Chen Jingxing looked at him: "Aren't you angry at all?"

Xiao Longteng picked up his hat and dusted it off.

Li Qiang isn't an enemy; he's just a sore loser. If you argue with him, the whole platoon will suffer.

Getting angry doesn't solve anything.

Chen Jingxing threw the blanket down: "Then how do we solve this?"

Xiao Longteng looked at the corner of the blanket in his hand.

"Fold it neatly."

Chen Jingxing paused for two seconds, then deflated, and bent down to smooth out the blanket again: "Brother Xiao, you really have a way with words."

At this moment, Li Lei spoke up: "He's right."

Liu Hai nodded, "I...I don't want to sleep in the hallway."

Chen Jingxing sighed and pressed his hands forcefully onto the blanket: "Fine, let's stay alive first."

The dormitory door was pushed open, and Wang Dashan walked in carrying a small wooden ruler.

"They all look quite energetic."

He walked to Xiao Longteng's bedside, glanced at him, and didn't take any measurements.

"Xiao Longteng".

"arrive."

"Take them downstairs. They are not allowed to run around, not to go to other classes, and not to argue with anyone."

"Yes."

Wang Dashan then glanced at Chen Jingxing: "Especially you."

Chen Jingxing snapped to attention: "Yes, sir!"

---

In the dormitory of Class 3, Li Qiang was doing push-ups on the ground, and the back of his training uniform was soaked with sweat.

"One hundred and six, one hundred and seven..." The new recruits next to him squatted down and counted.

At the dormitory entrance, Zhao Hai, the squad leader of the third squad, stood with his arms crossed, saying nothing.

"One hundred and fifteen." Li Qiang had only managed to hold on for half the distance when his arms began to tremble, and his movements became distorted.

Zhao Hai spoke up.

"stand up."

Li Qiang forced himself to do another one, but his knee hit the ground.

He sat up abruptly, panting, "Squad leader, I can still do it."

Zhao Hai walked up to him and squatted down, his gaze level with his: "Did I ask you to do it?"

Li Qiang lowered his head.

Zhao Hai continued, "Did you go to Class One last night? Did you fight someone? Did you get beaten up?"

"no."

"Then why are you in such a hurry?"

Li Qiang was breathing heavily: "I didn't lose!"

"Then why did you let go?"

This question left Li Qiang speechless. The dormitory fell silent.

Why did he let go? The other person just sat there watching him, completely still. He felt incredibly stupid for grabbing him like that.

Zhao Hai stood up: "Whether you lose or not isn't something you can just talk about. The whole company is here for training today. If you're so capable, stand there and show them what you're capable of, walk there and show them what you're capable of."

Li Qiang got up from the ground and splashed cold water on his face.

"yes!"

---

On the playground, the nine classes gradually assembled.

The first shift had just taken their positions when the third shift arrived.

"Attention!" Zhao Hai commanded.

"Report! 3rd platoon assembled!" Li Qiang stood at the head of the line and shouted loudly.

A commotion broke out in the first class's queue.

Wang Dashan glanced back and said, "What are you doing? You panic just because they're making a lot of noise?"

He walked to the front of the class and said in a low voice, "Everyone stand still! Whoever moves first gets ten extra minutes!"

After saying that, he walked to Xiao Longteng's side: "You, don't need to set an example for them, stand according to the new recruit standard."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Longteng relaxed slightly.

Wang Dashan nodded, but cursed inwardly: This kid, even his leniency is so precise.

Squad leader Chen Fei leaned over and said with a smile, "Old Wang, this soldier of yours is a treasure."

Wang Dashan didn't even turn his head: "I'm afraid you won't understand how to steal it."

During the break, Li Qiang brought two people over and stopped two steps away from Xiao Longteng.

"Xiao Longteng, you assembled pretty quickly last night. You woke everyone up early and even had them sound the whistle?"

Chen Jingxing stepped forward: "What do you mean?"

Xiao Longteng raised his hand, placing the back of his hand across Chen Jingxing's chest. It wasn't heavy, but Chen Jingxing just couldn't move forward.

"Go back to your original position."

Chen Jingxing gritted his teeth and took a half step back.

Li Qiang took a half step forward: "Just asking, did you hold back during the three-kilometer run? For a veteran like you, being a recruit must have been pretty easy, right?"

Xiao Longteng turned around and said calmly, "Running. Start after the starting gun. Assemble. Go downstairs after the whistle. All classes should be able to hear your footsteps."

Li Qiang raised his voice: "How could I hear you if I was asleep?"

Xiao Longteng looked at him and took a half step outward with his left foot.

He spoke, not loudly, but everyone around him heard him clearly.

That's your problem.

The surroundings fell silent. Chen Jingxing almost burst out laughing, and quickly lowered his head and coughed violently.

Li Qiang's face flushed red: "Are you lecturing me?"

"I'll answer you."

"What are you pretending for, a retired corporal?"

Chen Jingxing was about to explode again, but Xiao Longteng raised his hand to stop him once more, saying only one word: "Retreat."

Chen Jingxing returned to the queue.

Li Qiang felt a lump in his throat, neither able to breathe nor able to calm down. He wanted to cause trouble, but the other party wouldn't give him the chance.

In the distance, Zhao Hai walked over and stopped three steps away: "Li Qiang, are you done talking?"

Before Li Qiang could speak again, Zhao Hai asked, "Did you win?"

Li Qiang gritted his teeth: "No."

"Then back to the queue."

Li Qiang picked up his water bottle and said, "Xiao Longteng, see you at drill training."

Xiao Longteng replied, "See you at the training ground."

As soon as the commotion subsided, Company Commander Lei Zhan walked to the front of the company and closed the notebook in his hand.

"gather!"

The nine classes quickly lined up.

Lei Zhan scanned the entire room, his voice devoid of any warmth.

"Having the energy to argue means you haven't been training enough."

"The scheduled basic drill training this morning has been changed to a basic drill assessment!"

"We'll score by class. Anyone whose movements aren't up to standard, who's slow to respond to commands, or who moves around randomly will have points deducted from their class!" He looked at the class leaders.

Squad leaders Wang Dashan, Chen Fei, and Zhao Hai responded in unison, "Yes, sir!"

Suddenly, no one spoke on the playground.

Lei Zhan handed the notebook to the instructor.

He raised his right hand and stopped in mid-air.

"Attention, all classes!"

"stand at attention!"