The Scorching Sun

The awkwardness should have belonged to all three of them, but with Yu Qingjiang taking the full force of it up front, the other two roommates quietly took a step back and pretended nothing had happened, withdrawing from the battlefield.

Every hair on Yu Qingjiang's body seemed to stand on end as though she'd been electrocuted. In those few silent seconds, the entire story of her life had already flashed before her eyes.

So this was how short life was, and yet there were countless ways to die.

Fortunately, Yan Lie's expression was far too disarming to suggest any danger of coming after her for an explanation. Yu Qingjiang forced out a dry smile, trying to bluff her way through it.

Fang Zhuo lightly nudged Yan Lie with her foot. Taking pity on her, he said, "I'm kidding. I'm taking Fang Zhuo to the cafeteria for dinner."

Yu Qingjiang breathed a sigh of relief and, without thinking, blurted out, "Please, go right ahead. We don't need you to wait on us."

Fang Zhuo: "...?"

Yan Lie slipped an arm around Fang Zhuo's shoulders and laughed. "All right, then. I'll go take care of our Zhuo Zhuo and get her some dinner. I'll bring her back later."

Learning to control one's mouth was always a long and difficult process. After humiliating herself this thoroughly, Yu Qingjiang had nothing left to fear. Instead, she calmly tried to salvage the final remark. "Actually, when I said scumbag, I didn't mean you... Not you like this."

"Thanks," Yan Lie said politely.

Once they'd gone far enough away, Yu Qingjiang let out a long breath and said gratefully, "Thank goodness I have an ordinary face. He probably won't remember me."

The other two roommates: "..." Was that realistic?-

Yan Lie chose the Third Cafeteria near the east gate of the residential area, one of its chefs knew how to make Sichuan food. The spicy fried tofu and spicy chicken were clearly exactly something Fang Zhuo would love.

Two of Fang Zhuo's roommates were locals who couldn't handle spicy food and preferred the food court upstairs in the First Cafeteria. Most of the stalls there were operated by outside vendors, which made them relatively expensive. As a result, Fang Zhuo had been eating rice bowls for several meals in a row since the semester began.

Yan Lie ordered her a bowl of noodles and several small side dishes, arranging them over the noodles until the seven-yuan bowl looked surprisingly lavish. He raised his head and studied her face suspiciously. "Have you not been eating properly lately?"

Fang Zhuo rubbed her eyes. The cafeteria's air-conditioning was making her sleepy. "I have. It's just too hot. Summer's a good time to lose weight."

The cafeteria had air-conditioning, but the smell wasn't particularly pleasant. A cleaning auntie walked past carrying a bucket, adding another faint layer of disinfectant to the already-stagnant air.

Yan Lie rested an elbow lightly on the table, chopsticks in hand, his eyes never leaving the person across from him. Watching her bury herself earnestly in her food, he murmured, "I hope you get to eat something you like every day."

Fang Zhuo's gaze drifted toward him from the corner of her eye before she quickly looked away again. Yan Lie's thoughts had already taken off in another direction, he immediately added, "And I hope you get to see someone you like every day too!"

Fang Zhuo: "..."

She knew it!

Yan Lie was thoroughly amused with himself.

They sat together in a corner that was anything but quiet, eating the dinner they'd been unable to share for far too long.

After leaving the cafeteria, Yan Lie walked her back to the entrance of her dormitory.

Fang Zhuo was about to swipe her card. She'd just slipped a hand into her pocket when she turned around and came back.

Seeing her approach, Yan Lie took a step backward. "Don't hug me. I haven't showered."

"I haven't showered either."

Yan Lie gave a low laugh. "So is this what they call birds of a feather?"

Fang Zhuo gave him a light hug, and Yan Lie murmured beside her ear, "Still my favorite smell."

So disgustingly sweet. Why was he always like this?

Fang Zhuo let him go without looking at his face and hurried back to the dorm.

Her roommates were sitting around the room eating snacks. The moment Fang Zhuo pushed open the door, their conversation stopped.

Several pairs of eyes turned toward her in perfect unison. For a moment, time itself seemed to freeze. Then their barely contained excitement erupted, and the gossip squad began firing questions at her in a chaotic chorus.

"When did you and Yan Lie get together?"

"Why did I hear that he was still single?"

"Do you know how embarrassing today was? If you'd given your sisters even the slightest hint, none of this would've happened!"

"Answer my first question!"

Fang Zhuo picked up the cup from the table and walked over to the water dispenser, answering calmly, "Over the summer."

"Ohhh..." The others reacted with exaggerated cries of realization.

Fang Zhuo had just finished filling her cup and straightened when the three of them surrounded her.

One question after another followed, rapidly becoming less innocent.

"Is Yan Lie's body good?"

"What are his abs like?"

"How far have you two gotten?"

"Do you need any resources in the technical department?"

Fang Zhuo lifted her cup and took a small sip.

Yu Qingjiang gave a muffled laugh and said smugly, "Hah. So what if Yan Lie is amazing? I'm still the one sleeping in the same room as his woman."

Fang Zhuo: "..." This woman had pretty much lost it.-

Near the end of military training, the heavens took pity on them and sent down a spell of rain. It lasted less than half a day, but it was enough to bring the temperature down to something comfortable.

The training groups were disbanded and reorganized into units based on their classes. Their original instructor was transferred to the group next door, and in his place came a young instructor with a pleasant smile and the look of someone with a very mild temper.

Unfortunately, that friendly smile lasted less than two days before their goose steps drove him speechless with rage. In a tone that suggested he couldn't believe his terrible luck, he said, "You really are the worst class I've ever trained. And I'm not just saying that to be polite!"

After trying unsuccessfully to salvage their goose steps, the instructor resigned himself to reality and shifted his focus to the group singing competition instead, hoping they could at least win some sort of award. That way, when he filled out their evaluations, things wouldn't look quite so embarrassing.

That afternoon, the instructor led them around campus, practicing their goose steps and searching for another group of fellow trainees.

There were quite a lot of girls in their class, and the instructor was quick to catch on. He wanted to find them a group with plenty of handsome guys for a little singing showdown, just to get everyone's enthusiasm going.

On the way from the gymnasium to the Student Activity Center, a shadow cast by one of the teaching buildings sheltered a group that consisted almost entirely of boys.

The male standard-bearer at the very front was especially striking. Unlike the sunburnt guys they'd encountered earlier, he'd spent nearly half a month under the sun and still had a healthy complexion.

The instructor stopped and subtly gestured toward them. One of the girls called softly, "Instructor."

The instructor rubbed his chin with an knowing smile. "Got it."

With his hands clasped behind his back, he walked over to the fellow instructor standing on the steps and struck up a conversation, grinning. "How about a singing battle? We've got loads of girls over here."

"Trying to set up a mixer?"

The other instructor glanced back and asked his students what they thought.

The boys immediately caught on and enthusiastically started applauding.

Most of the instructors were quite young, some not even twenty. They were at exactly the age when any excuse to join in the fun was welcome. Seeing the reaction, the instructor cheerfully said, "Come on, come on."

The two classes gathered together and sat facing each other in the shade.

Fang Zhuo was on the far left of the third row, while Yan Lie happened to be at the opposite end of the formation.

They were a little too far apart for her to know whether he'd seen her.

The instructor leaned against the wall and got things started, having the two sides take turns singing at each other.

After they'd played for a while, the other instructor spoke up and had the Computer Science students sing a song together.

Normally, that should have been the end of it.

But with no more ideas and the atmosphere beginning to cool, the instructor wasn't quite ready to call it a day. He bent down and asked, "What time is it now?"

"Ten minutes until we're dismissed for dinner."

"Then let's stop training. Sing one more song." The instructor egged them on. "How about one of you students gives us a talent show? Sing a duet, dance, anything."

His fellow instructor folded his arms and asked coolly, "Well? Anyone want to come up?"

No one answered.

"Come on, be a little bolder. What are you doing? Don't lose face in front of the girls. Do I really have to ask you?"

The students whispered among themselves, but no one stepped forward.

"No volunteers? Fine, then I'll pick someone myself." The instructor took off his hat and spun it once in his hand, quickly locking onto Yan Lie in the crowd. With a cheerful grin, he said, "You there. Come up and show everyone how it's done. Do whatever you want. You can even just salute. Come on."

Laughter and whistles of encouragement rippled through the crowd.

Yu Qingjiang stretched out an arm, snatched Fang Zhuo's hat off her head, and gave her an exaggeratedly meaningful look.

Fang Zhuo took the hat back without a word. As she lowered her head to straighten it, she overheard the whispers beside her.

"He's from A High, right? I've heard of him. I think he's the freshman representative this year."

"He's really handsome up close."

"A guy who looks like that probably isn't short on girlfriends."

Yan Lie had been called out, but he remained seated, using his index finger to push the brim of his hat upward and reveal his sharply defined features. Smiling, he declined, "Instructor, I have a girlfriend."

The instructor's smile froze. His eyes widened. "What does having a girlfriend have to do with me?"

He stared in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me. He actually told me!"

Apparently unable to let it go, the instructor added, "Was he mocking me for being single? Do all of you have girlfriends?"

Everyone burst out laughing and shouted, "No!"

Yan Lie remained perfectly composed. "Given my current status, I can't exactly go around selling my looks. Your intentions are pretty obvious, Instructor. I can't accept."

A guy in the formation shouted, "Why not? You gotta practice male chastity or something?"

Everyone found that hilarious. But Yan Lie didn't even blink before replying, "Yeah. Otherwise my girlfriend might get upset, and then what would I do?"

The entire crowd erupted. "Holy crap!"

The instructor clutched his chest as though he'd taken a direct hit.

He twisted his hat tightly in his hands and used the last of his patience to persuade him. "It's fine. Your girlfriend isn't here. We won't tell her."

"She is." Yan Lie raised a hand and pointed frankly toward the corner opposite them. "She's right over there."

His gesture wasn't particularly precise. Everyone looked around, their eyes sweeping across the crowd before finally landing in Fang Zhuo's direction. Her expression was so calm that, for a moment, they couldn't be sure.

Yu Qingjiang was nearly dying of laughter, clapping her hands and repeatedly exclaiming, "Well, damn!"

The instructor was thoroughly convinced. He gave a fist toward Fang Zhuo's side, laughing helplessly. "My apologies. I didn't mean to cause trouble between you two, miss. Forget I said anything."

He turned sideways, then said meaningfully amid the surrounding clamor, "You're something else, kid. No wonder I thought you had such high moral standards."

Yan Lie answered solemnly, "That's usually a matter of self-discipline."

The instructor was furious and amused at the same time. "Shut up."

The atmosphere became even more raucous.

"We don't have much time left. I'll call one more person up," the instructor said. "I refuse to believe everyone in your class has a girlfriend. And I won't accept any excuse that's less impressive than male chastity."

This time, a boy finally volunteered. "How about I sing a song for everyone? I'm single, so I won't cause anyone any harm."

The crowd applauded him warmly.

Fang Zhuo took out her phone and secretly sent Yan Lie a message.

Little Sun: What are you doing?

They Call Me Lie: Nothing much. Just wanted to tell everyThe awkwardness should have belonged to all three of them, but with Yu Qingjiang taking the full force of it up front, the other two roommates quietly took a step back and pretended nothing had happened, withdrawing from the battlefield.