The Scorching Sun - 66
Once formal military training began, it felt almost like a show of force. Even though the hottest stretch of summer had already passed, A City was still sweltering under temperatures of 38°C, the sun so fierce it left people dizzy and light-headed.
For the first part of military training, the groups were divided by gender. Later, as the military parade approached, everyone would be reorganized according to their classes and majors.
The instructors were fairly rough with the boys. Anyone who failed to meet the standards was dragged out into the sun to bake, while anyone who made a mistake was sent running laps around the field.
With the girls, however, they had far fewer principles. They were constantly given special treatment, often being led into the shade to rest after less than five minutes of standing at attention. Even when their goose steps were sloppy and dragging, the instructors would clap from the sidelines and encourage them.
Even so, the students, most of whom weren't accustomed to much physical activity, were still struggling to hold up.
Fang Zhuo's stamina was fine, but she sweated far too much. By the time they were dismissed each day, she looked like she'd just been fished out of a pool. Within a few short days, the weight she'd put on over the summer had melted right back off.
Then she thought about how expensive everything at university was, and she couldn't help feeling even more miserable.
In fact, she had money.
The money she'd earned from her summer job had left her with several thousand yuan after paying her tuition. The twenty thousand yuan Grandma had saved for her remained completely untouched, and Ye Yuncheng had insisted on stuffing another two thousand into her hands before the semester began. Strictly speaking, she was richer than she'd ever dared imagine.
She simply hadn't gotten used to the reality of suddenly having money. She was always afraid some unexpected crisis would come along and shake a family that had almost no financial cushion to begin with.
More importantly, she was desperate to save.
Fang Zhuo had asked around and learned that mechanical prostheses for the lower leg were relatively inexpensive. The most basic models cost only a few thousand yuan. But she wanted something a little better, with enough range of motion and a good enough fit to keep up with Ye Yuncheng's needs. That way, he could travel farther on his own without finding it too uncomfortable. They wouldn't know exactly what he needed until he went to the hospital for an examination.
She'd mentioned it to Ye Yuncheng twice, and both times he'd flatly refused.
Ye Yuncheng was even more cautious than she was. In his view, a family with a student couldn't pour all its savings into something that wasn't necessary. Prostheses needed maintenance and replacement, which meant a substantial long-term expense. He had Xiao Mu to help him now and could handle the amount of physical labor required in daily life. There was no pressing need for a prosthesis.
He said he wouldn't consider it until they had fifty thousand yuan in savings.
So Fang Zhuo's goal now was to save fifty thousand yuan.
During the lunch break, Fang Zhuo received a call from Uncle Liu.
The moment the connection went through, the other end didn't speak. All she could hear was the rustling sound of papers being used as a makeshift fan.
After waiting a moment, Fang Zhuo called out, "Hello, Uncle Liu."
"Oh, Fang Zhuo!" Liu Qiaohong immediately broke into a laugh. "Have you started military training?"
"Yep."
Liu Qiaohong said cheerfully, "Good. I asked an alumnus about it, and I've sent the scholarship information you can apply for to your email. He also said A University has quite a lot of scholarship slots every year, and given your situation, you're eligible to apply for a work-study position. I asked him to help you find something relatively easy. Maybe a job in the cafeteria. It won't take much time. You can arrange the shifts with the staff yourself according to your class schedule. You can even get some nutritional milk and a small stipend every month. It's much more flexible and less exhausting than working outside."
"Thank you."
"What are you thanking me for?" Liu Qiaohong said. "You and Ye-ge are both far too polite. Seriously."
Just as he was about to hang up, Fang Zhuo remembered something and casually asked, "Uncle Liu, how's that short-video account of yours doing?"
Liu Qiaohong fell silent. After a moment, he gave her the account name and told her to take a look herself.
Fang Zhuo opened the app, searched for the user, followed the account, then switched over to the videos.
It didn't look like things were going very well. Most of the videos had fairly low engagement.
She picked one at random. On screen, a middle-aged man with a plain face and deeply tanned skin spoke in a thick rural accent as he introduced the product to his audience. "Super sweet! These oranges are grown right here in our village. They're big, they're sweet, and the premium ones are only three yuan a jin! Come buy some!"
Fang Zhuo: "..." ???
This type of video was actually among the more popular ones. They'd probably deliberately gone for that rustic, deliberately tacky internet style.
Fang Zhuo scrolled down a little farther and came across a video Liu Qiaohong had filmed recently. He was a host, livestreaming a seasonal festival event.
The editing style here was much more serious, almost documentary-like.
Fang Zhuo watched with interest for a moment.
She couldn't say for certain whether Liu Qiaohong had actually used the anti-hair-loss product she'd given him, but one thing was obvious. He'd definitely dyed his hair.
He'd already had a somewhat baby-faced look. With his thick, glossy black hair and neat, well-tailored suit, he suddenly looked years younger. Even the people in the comments were saying that this poverty-relief official looked like he'd had plastic surgery just from dyeing his hair.
Fang Zhuo scrolled back, wanting to see when he'd dyed it, and came across an older short video of Liu Qiaohong standing on a dirt ridge in an utterly disheveled state.
She opened the comments. Near the top, she spotted a viewer's complaint: "This guy is only in his thirties? He looks over forty. And that brown jacket is so tacky. He doesn't look like a township official at all."
Someone had replied angrily beneath it: "I think you don't look like a human being either, so what exactly are you?"
"Brother, if you don't know how to talk, donate your mouth to charity."
"You think he dressed like that on purpose, went down to the countryside with a fancy degree, and started farming just for fun?"
Fang Zhuo felt a little sad. She knew Liu Qiaohong had definitely seen those comments.
Even if a hundred people came to his defense, it would still be hard to withstand that one vicious stab.
She scrolled back, took a screenshot of a particularly handsome photo, and sent it to Liu Qiaohong.
Little Sun: This one is super handsome. Such a fine young man.
Liu Qiaohong: Of course. I'm only in my early thirties. [Shy]
Little Sun: [Hug]
Liu Qiaohong: Hehe, I've got some good news. I'll tell you once it's confirmed.
Little Sun: [Curious]
Liu Qiaohong: Don't be curious. Hurry up and go to military training. When you've got nothing to do, go wander around the library. Don't waste your four years of university, okay?
A University deliberately chose an overcast day for its opening ceremony.
Even the instructors showed an unusual amount of mercy. That morning, they let everyone stay in the shade and practice military songs. In the afternoon, they took them to the gymnasium to make fools of themselves.
Rows upon rows of freshmen roared out the songs together. It wasn't exactly pleasant to listen to, but it was certainly impressive.
Once the university leaders began their speeches, everyone hunched down in their seats and secretly played on their phones.
The instructors weren't allowed to carry phones while they were in the military, so they sat off to the side, gazing at the students' phones with open longing.
The more outgoing boys willingly shared theirs with them, occasionally raising a hand to clap in order to demonstrate their enthusiastic support for the opening ceremony.
When the freshman representative took the stage, Fang Zhuo strained to see him. Unfortunately, he was too far away, and she couldn't make out Yan Lie's face.
The applause around her was noticeably more enthusiastic than usual, there was even a hint of cheering mixed in. It only gradually died down after the young man spoke a couple of sentences.
Once several distinguished alumni who had been invited to speak came onstage and shared their experiences to inspire the students, the opening ceremony finally came to an end.
Each class filed out in an orderly fashion before being dismissed on the spot.
Fang Zhuo stood in the shade outside the gymnasium, looking down as she replied to Yan Lie's message and told him where she was.
Yu Qingjiang took off her hat and fanned herself with the brim as she walked, turning her head back to ask, "What do you guys want to eat tonight?"
"I'm eating with someone else," Fang Zhuo replied.
Yu Qingjiang stopped in her tracks and asked suspiciously, "Your boyfriend?"
Fang Zhuo gave a quiet "Mm."
Yu Qingjiang immediately became interested. Along with the other two roommates, she stationed herself beside Fang Zhuo, determined to see what the legendary handsome guy actually looked like.
The crowd hadn't completely dispersed yet and was still milling around in a chaotic mass.
With one arm draped over Fang Zhuo's shoulder, Yu Qingjiang lazily flicked the brim of her hat back and forth like a fan, her eyes constantly scanning the faces of the passing boys.
When her gaze landed in a certain direction, her eyes flickered. She leaned toward Fang Zhuo and whispered, "That's the freshman representative."
The other two roommates immediately became excited. "Where?"
Yan Lie was tall enough to stand out even in the crowd, and after several days of military training, his skin still hadn't tanned. He was walking toward them through the crowd, impossible to miss. The two girls didn't even need Yu Qingjiang's detailed directions. Somehow, they picked him out immediately, and since he was still some distance away, they shamelessly looked him over from head to toe before nodding approvingly. "He really is pretty good. I mean his build."
"He's changed quite a bit since middle school."
"He was just a kid back then. Of course you can't compare."
"With some people, you just look at them and think, How is that even possible? It's like they've got everything. Girl, I asked my friends at A High about him. Yan Lie was single throughout high school."
Fang Zhuo said, "He's not single anymore."
All around them stood rows of students in green military uniforms. Yan Lie scanned the crowd but couldn't find her, then was stopped by several friends he knew.
Fang Zhuo was in the middle of typing him a message when Yu Qingjiang grabbed her cheeks and forced her face upward.
"See that, Missy? Now that's what I call extremely handsome."
Fang Zhuo shifted her eyes toward her face and hesitated, couldn't help feeling a little sympathetic.
She was trying to figure out how to preserve Yu Qingjiang's dignity so that, three minutes from now, she wouldn't feel compelled to move to another city.
Yan Lie finally spotted Fang Zhuo. After politely turning down a girl who had asked for his contact information, he headed straight toward them.
The four of them stood where they were.
One of the roommates sensed that something was off and asked strangely, "Is he coming over here?"
Yu Qingjiang warned her, "The three great illusions of life."
Her illusion shattered when Yan Lie stopped less than half a meter away.
Yan Lie looked at her with a smile, and somehow that smile made her scalp prickle.
Yu Qingjiang thought, No way, right? Could Yan Lie actually be into her type? If so, there had to be something wrong with him.
Yan Lie amiably raised a hand, took hold of her wrist, and gently removed it from Fang Zhuo's shoulder.
Every word he said afterward sounded a little like the final declaration before a hanging.
"My girlfriend's shy. Don't pinch her cheeks."
It took Yu Qingjiang a long moment to process what he'd just said. She stared at him, completely dumbfounded.
"He's actually my boyfriend," Fang Zhuo said after a pause. "You guys kept talking about him, and I didn't know how to tell you."
Yu Qingjiang: "??" So now you know how?
Fang Zhuo added, "But I didn't tell him any of the things you said."
"What did you say about me?" Yan Lie asked with a bright smile. "That I'm a scumbag?”
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