“Ha, Jiang Xiao, you jerk!”
“Who are you calling stupid?!” Song Qiuyu gritted her teeth, finally getting a clear look at the previous messages.
The follow-up message read: “I remember you liked shooting games too. I also remember you said that if you ever got the chance, you’d cosplay Tifa for me. There are many Tifa cosplayers, but you’d definitely be prettier than all of them.”
“Huh?”
Had she really said that in junior high? Song Qiuyu suddenly suspected she’d made a lot of empty promises to Jiang Xiao back then.
In the messages from those three years, the phrase “I remember” did indeed appear with high frequency.
But Jiang Xiao was so smart; he wasn’t someone who could be fooled by empty promises.
She probably did fulfill her promises in the past.
Song Qiuyu was drenched in sweat.
She just wanted to find a time machine and dive right in.
She bit her lip lightly, her eyes fixed on Jiang Xiao’s phone like a cat eyeing a mouse, wishing she could just open her mouth and snatch his phone away…
That phone must hold many things she no longer remembered.
Jiang Xiao moved his large hand away from his face, and Song Qiuyu’s ears caught his sneering voice, “Is it good?”
Hearing that, she froze, instinctively wanting to shake her head, but feeling that as someone who had sneakily read his chat, she should say something else.
For example, what was the current situation between Jiang Xiao and this ‘Xi’er’? Why did his words imply a sense of remembering a deceased wife? Had something happened to Xi’er?
The residual warmth from Jiang Xiao’s large hand still lingered on her face.
She just laughed awkwardly, hiding her guilt, shaking her head and pretending nothing was wrong, shifting her attention to the instructor explaining firearms knowledge.
She no longer cared about catching him in the act or scolding him for calling her stupid.
“Student Song…”
Sang Tian noticed she seemed a bit odd and looked thoughtful.
Song Qiuyu didn’t hear the voice; she just felt a slight relief that Jiang Xiao wasn’t looking at her, but also an inexplicable nervousness.
Because of this incident, she couldn’t focus on listening anymore.
After the explanation, they began to practice goose-stepping under command.
At this moment, Jiang Xiao’s gaze suddenly locked onto Song Qiuyu.
Song Qiuyu felt terrible but forced herself to calm down and practice her goose-stepping diligently.
Even if Jiang Xiao stared a hole through her, he couldn’t possibly discover she was Shen Xi just by looking.
The three years they spent together in junior high became her best protective shield.
Looking at “focused” Song Qiuyu practicing her goose-stepping, Jiang Xiao’s eyes narrowed slightly.
It was the first time he’d broken his rule since then.
It was the first time he’d sent a second message to Shen Xi on the same day.
He couldn’t understand what was going on in Song Qiuyu’s mind, but she had already seen the message he sent.
Perhaps she might notice something, like, Xi’er was already…
“Good! Very spirited!”
An unfamiliar squad instructor walked over, hands behind his back, nodding and evaluating them.
This instructor was tall and robust with a very round face.
He was specifically there to pick people from their group for square formation performances and military formation rehearsals.
As long as one was chosen, they wouldn’t have to practice goose-stepping there anymore, so everyone unconsciously straightened their backs and practiced their steps even better.
Then, the round-faced instructor immediately spotted Jiang Xiao and had him step out.
“Excellent, our special forces squad needs talent like you!”
Song Qiuyu wasn’t surprised by this result at all.
It was just Jiang Xiao, as expected; his looks and physique were indeed top-notch.
And he could do everything so well.
“He just picked the best student from my squad.”
Instructor Bian Lianhai feigned disdain.
Compared to the round-faced instructor, their squad’s Instructor Bian seemed thinner.
“Hahaha!”
After the round-faced instructor laughed heartily, his gaze fell on Song Qiuyu, and his eyes immediately lit up.
So Song Qiuyu stepped out.
“Alright, alright, you come with me to the dance performance squad. We’re just short one person over there; the female soldiers haven’t found anyone satisfactory for a long time.”
“Ah.”
Song Qiuyu was stunned.
“What’s wrong? You’re not willing? If you come with me to dance, you won’t have to practice goose-stepping or stand at attention.”
The other students were all very envious.
“Report, instructor, but I’m a boy!”
Song Qiuyu saluted.
The round-faced instructor was clearly taken aback, and someone in the class let out a suppressed chuckle.
Song Qiuyu glanced in the direction of the sound; it was Xu Tongtong laughing.
That smile seemed to carry a hint of mockery.
The round-faced instructor sized Song Qiuyu up and down in disbelief.
Seeing that others also agreed, he couldn’t help but ponder.
After a short moment of contemplation, he recovered and, showing no concern, tempted her, “It’s fine even if you’re a boy, just come with me. Participating in a special formation earns you academic credits. If you come with me, I’ll even help you get an ‘Outstanding Student’ award and give you two more credits. How about that?”
Song Qiuyu pursed her lips, thought for a long while, then shook her head and said, “It sounds like a lot of benefits for me, but instructor, if possible, I’d like to join the special forces formation!”
Jiang Xiao subtly glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
Beside her, Xu Tongtong looked at her, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.
“Since Song Qiuyu doesn’t want to go, Instructor, why don’t you consider our class monitor, Xu Tongtong? She’s also practiced very hard!” a boy seized the opportunity to say.
Several boys echoed his sentiment.
The round-faced instructor’s gaze swept over them and he saw Xu Tongtong’s face flush slightly.
She lowered her head, remaining quiet, seemingly shy because of everyone’s support.
Song Qiuyu also noticed.
She genuinely hoped the other girl would get what she wished for.
“Going to the special forces formation? You’re a bit too short for that, not quite suitable. You’re naturally talented for the dance performance formation!” the round-faced instructor said, unfazed, looking back at her, exceptionally stubborn about what he had decided.
“As for Xu Tongtong, she needs more practice, and her height isn’t suitable either.”
With that, he took both Song Qiuyu and Jiang Xiao, whom he had chosen, one in each hand, without further explanation.
As Song Qiuyu left, she looked back at Xu Tongtong.
Sure enough, the people beside Xu Tongtong were comforting her, telling her not to be too upset.
And sure enough, a momentary chill flashed across Xu Tongtong’s face before being instantly concealed—that shy look was an act.
Her judgment was correct; Xu Tongtong wasn’t a simple woman.
But now, Jiang Xiao was under Song Qiuyu’s wing!
Besides, this little trick…
Hehehe.
It was just child’s play, something she had outgrown.
When she was toying with Jiang Xiao, that innocent little virgin, Xu Tongtong was probably still playing with dolls.
Hmph, Xu Tongtong, you won’t trick Jiang Xiao.
Song Qiuyu had originally thought that being in the same special forces formation would make it easier to look after Jiang Xiao.
However, to her surprise, the dance performance formation was right next to the special forces formation, and there were two familiar faces in the dance formation.
Song Qiuyu smiled back at Sang Tian who greeted her, then vigilantly glanced at the JK girl who was staring intently at the special forces formation, silently sweating for someone.
Most of the people in the dance performance formation were from the dance department.
As a new student from the directing department, she was unsurprised to be targeted by the formation instructor upon her arrival.
This instructor had a square face and seemed even more serious than the previous one.
The dance they were practicing was the Mongolian dance from the vlog in last night’s military training theory class.
New students in the dance department had extensive dance experience before enrollment, but Song Qiuyu naturally had no prior foundation.
Fortunately, her body coordination was high; even if her mind didn’t react quickly enough, her body kept up.
The square-faced instructor guided her patiently, his eyes gradually brightening with admiration.
He couldn’t help but applaud.
“Goodness, I’ve never seen anyone with such good body flexibility! Are you truly a complete beginner? You’ve never learned to dance before?” the square-faced instructor looked at Song Qiuyu in disbelief.
Song Qiuyu nodded honestly.
The square-faced instructor clicked his tongue twice, shook his head, and suggested, “It’s really a waste of your talent to be in the directing department. How about you try transferring to the dance department?”
“Reporting, Instructor, my heart is in the directing department!” Song Qiuyu saluted without hesitation.
The dance department students nearby cast envious glances at her.
After hearing her words, they all felt somewhat regretful.
Such a beautiful person, it was truly a bargain for those in the directing department.
Sang Tian felt the same way.
She was quite keen on practicing dance with this newly acquainted good friend.
The JK girl, however, bit her lip, her eyes brimming with jealousy.
She knew a lot about Song Qiuyu, though it was all hearsay.
She’d heard that this guy was overly doting on Jiang Xiao.
Most likely a “gay”!
She recalled earlier when she tried to talk to Jiang Xiao, only to be interrupted by Song Qiuyu who cut in, dragged Jiang Xiao away, and ran off.
This made her even more convinced.
The dance performance formation’s practice was easier than the previous formation training; even after a long session, it wasn’t too tiring.
However, over at the special forces side, the intensity was much greater.
The JK girl would periodically glance at Jiang Xiao, then notice Song Qiuyu also looking, and her eyes would inevitably turn cold.
During the break, she saw Sang Tian and Song Qiuyu walking towards the restroom, chatting and laughing, so she quietly followed them.
“Student Song, let’s talk later.” Sang Tian said, then entered the women’s restroom.
“Okay,” Song Qiuyu stopped.
She seemed somewhat troubled, looking at the women’s restroom door, then at the men’s restroom door, a small hand lightly scratching the back of her neck.
The JK girl was about to step forward when a cold scent of cedar mixed with soapberry suddenly passed by her, causing her to pause.
The person, of course, was Jiang Xiao.
Jiang Xiao didn’t greet Song Qiuyu, heading straight past her, but the latter keenly noticed him.
Song Qiuyu gritted her teeth, then, after a brief moment of internal struggle, she went for it, bravely chasing him into the men’s restroom.
At that moment, only Jiang Xiao was outside the stalls in the men’s restroom.
After she chased him in and saw the situation in the restroom, she couldn’t help but lower her head in relief.
Thankfully, no one else was there.
Looking up, she then saw Jiang Xiao standing at the urinal, performing a movement she was all too familiar with.
With a “zzzzz” sound, her vision was filled with a sight she shouldn’t have seen, her body froze in place, and her heart was struck with terror.