Chapter 242 - 240: Villain?

Chapter 242: Chapter 240: Villain?

The first day of military training at Tsinghua was no different from any other university. Besides standing at attention under the sun, it was just practicing "at ease," "attention," and various stationary turning drills.

If some unlucky soul kept messing up, the drill instructor would pull them out of the formation to demonstrate the exercise in front of everyone.

As for any initial excitement about the training, it had long since vanished during the hour-long session of standing at attention. Countless people whined incessantly. Even for someone like Jiang Xia, who had stuffed three layers of sanitary pads into his military-issued sneakers, his heels were aching intensely.

Luo Peng probably had it the worst. He was a beefy guy, so the training was already several times harder for him than for others, and on top of that, he had to constantly endure the drill instructor’s "special attention"—

He couldn’t stand steady at attention and couldn’t kick his legs straight. When others got to relax in place, he had to drop and do push-ups. His form had to be perfect, too; if the instructor wasn’t satisfied, he’d add another twenty reps.

By the end of the afternoon, while everyone else’s head was covered in sweat, his entire body was drenched. The sweat soaked through his clothes, then quickly evaporated under the sun, leaving behind distinct salt stains.

Jiang Xia joked that while others were shedding sweat, Luo Peng was sweating pure oil.

Luo Peng inwardly cursed. He just hoped that this high-intensity training might help him shed a few dozen pounds.

As the sun dipped west, the scorching rays softened into a gentle glow. The afternoon’s training was about to end. Under the expectant gazes of the entire platoon, the drill instructor finally shouted the word "Dismissed."

The freshmen, who had been tormented all afternoon, instantly collapsed onto the ground as if all their strength had left them, trying to recover even a little bit of energy.

"You holding up okay?"

Su Qing looked over. He felt today’s training intensity was manageable. In fact, his form was so perfect that the instructor had even made him the file leader.

"Hah, I’m fine. My feet are just a little sore. You should be more worried about Old Luo." Jiang Xia sat on the ground, rubbing his calves.

The two of them turned their heads to look. Luo Peng was lying on the ground like a dead weight, gasping for air, a look of utter despair on his face from the instructor’s torment.

Su Qing couldn’t help but chuckle. He was nearly six-foot-three but weighed only 165 pounds. For someone of Luo Peng’s weight, military training was indeed a trial.

Luo Peng lay on the ground for a few dozen seconds before slowly propping himself up, leaving a visible, human-shaped patch of sweat on the rubberized surface.

"Alright, Nanny Su, you keep an eye on Old Luo. I’m going to find my wife," Jiang Xia said as he climbed to his feet and headed toward the girls’ formation on the opposite side.

Although the training wasn’t officially separated by gender, the instructors were noticeably gentler with the girls. Each drill was a bit shorter, rest periods were longer, and there were almost no platoon-wide physical punishments, which made the boys in the neighboring formation incredibly envious.

"Are you tired?"

Lin Yanwan handed him a bottle of mineral water. She had seen Jiang Xia’s platoon doing push-ups several times that afternoon, starting with 50 reps each time.

Jiang Xia took the bottle, tilted his head back, and chugged a few large gulps. Wiping the water from the corner of his mouth, he gave a wry smile. "I’m okay for now, but I’ll probably be really sore tomorrow."

"Soak in a hot bath for a while when you get back to the dorm. It’ll help your muscles relax," Lin Yanwan said, reaching out to gently squeeze and knead his arm. The sight made many of the other boys burn with envy.

Song Qingshu shot a deep glance in their direction. Earlier, he and some other guys had been quietly discussing which girls on the other side were gorgeous at first sight. After all, the uniform could hide a portion of someone’s looks, but Lin Yanwan was one of the rare few who still looked stunning in her training fatigues.

Who wouldn’t like a girl who was beautiful, had a great figure, and a gentle personality?

He had been planning to go over and strike up a conversation, maybe ask her to get a meal together and become friends, but it looked like someone had beaten him to it. And their relationship seemed very intimate.

He slowly walked over to Su Qing and asked casually, "Brother Su, that’s Jiang Xia, right? Who’s the girl next to him? They seem pretty close."

Su Qing glanced over and replied flatly, "That’s Jiang Xia’s wife. Of course they’re close."

Wife?

Song Qingshu froze, then said in disbelief, "No way. School just started."

The subtext was that even getting to know each other should take some time. How could they possibly be dating already?

Su Qing saw right through him. ’He just saw that his bro’s girl was good-looking and wanted to get to know her.’ But he didn’t call him out on it.

"You think it’s been a few days? They’ve known each other for over a decade, since they were kids."

The implication was clear: ’Give it up. She’s long been taken.’

Song Qingshu understood the message. He hadn’t expected them to be childhood sweethearts. A couple getting into one of the country’s top universities together—that was pretty rare.

"I see," Song Qingshu said with a slight nod, then turned and walked away.

After he had walked a dozen meters, a few other guys hurried to catch up with him.

"How’d it go, Brother Shu? What’s the situation with those two?"

"Forget it. They’re childhood sweethearts, and the couple is thick as thieves."

"So what if they’re childhood sweethearts? If you’ve got enough game, you can even poach another man’s wife. Besides, that girl is an absolute knockout."

Song Qingshu glanced at him, let out a soft scoff, and then quickly walked off.

Su Qing slowly retracted his gaze. He hadn’t gotten a good impression of Song Qingshu during self-introductions. ’It’s true what they say,’ he thought, ’character has nothing to do with academic performance. No matter how high your test scores are, you can’t hide your true scumbag nature.’

Looking up, he saw Jiang Xia walking over, laughing and chatting with four girls. Su Qing tapped Luo Peng, signaling it was time to go.

As the group headed to the cafeteria, he leaned in and said quietly to Jiang Xia, "Song Qingshu came over just now and asked about your relationship with your wife. I told him you two were childhood sweethearts. He just nodded and left. But I watched for a bit and noticed a few guys with him were all talking about your wife."

Jiang Xia’s eyes narrowed. It was a common habit for guys to secretly discuss girls’ looks, and he’d even seen plenty of them openly fantasize about certain women. But when it was about his own girl, it definitely made him uncomfortable.

’I just hope he was only asking and won’t try any disgusting moves like trying to steal someone’s girl.’

"Got it." He nodded slightly, committing the matter to memory.

Sometimes, he thought it was incredibly foolish for those people to have ideas about his wife. He and Lin Yanwan shared a bond that spanned two lifetimes, a relationship that had been intertwined like a double helix countless times. In a situation like this, trying to poach her wasn’t just asking for humiliation?

Once they reached the cafeteria, almost no one had an appetite. A few sips of porridge were enough to make them feel full.

Jiang Xia scanned the hall and actually managed to find Song Qingshu and his crew. They were laughing and talking, occasionally glancing in his direction.

Jiang Xia’s eyebrow twitched slightly. ’As a reincarnator, do I really have to run into a moronic villain like this?’

’But my wife and I are both reincarnators. How the hell are you going to win?’