NOVEL WEB Ch. 7
Chapter 7
“Xiao Lin, who knew you were the one hiding the biggest secret? Turns out you’ve got yourself a girlfriend that cute.”
By the next morning even Liu Xuefei and Han Xinglong—those two loudmouths—had heard that the ice-cold beauty from yesterday’s mixer was Lin Zhe’s girlfriend.
They couldn’t quite figure out why the pair had pretended not to know each other, but the dorm head had already told them the two made up yesterday afternoon.
Lin Zhe didn’t deny it, so by default he and Chen Zhijing were now officially “a couple.”
Truth be told, what bothered him most was how he was going to face all the other girls he’d once pursued and then conveniently forgotten.
So far he’d already run into three of them:
Zhao Ge, Chen Zhijing, and Yunxiao.
Weighed down by that messy tangle of feelings, he wolfed down breakfast with his roommates and headed for the drill ground.
Today was day one of military training.
Under the instructor’s strict, no-nonsense drilling, the sluggish freshmen were slowly getting used to the collective punishment.
The square-jawed instructor clicked his pocket watch and barked,
“Break! Bathroom, water—ten minutes, starting now!”
At the blessed word “rest,” the recruits who’d been hanging on by their fingernails collapsed onto the grass.
A whole morning of standing at attention and squat-drills had turned their legs to jelly.
Off-duty from his instructor persona, the man relaxed and started chatting with Third Company, First Platoon.
“Kids these days,” he teased. “Skip PE for years and one morning of light exercise knocks you flat.”
“What we did today wouldn’t even count as a warm-up in the army.”
Groans rose in stereo.
While everyone was bantering with the instructor, a random male voice yelled from somewhere in the back,
“Yo, there’s a gorgeous senior sister checking us out!”
Heads snapped around so fast you could hear the wind.
Even the guys from Second and Third Platoons swiveled in unison.
Just outside the chain-link fence stood a girl with long, straight black hair. Her eyes—clear and cold as fresh snow—swept the crowd as if searching for someone.
A breeze lifted the stray strands beside her face, and every freshman guy forgot how to breathe.
Lin Zhe took one look at that familiar silhouette, yanked the brim of his cap lower, and stared at the ground.
Zhao Ge—who’d pried his platoon’s location out of his counselor—had come to the edge of the field with her heart already in her throat.
She tucked the wind-teased hair behind one ear, and the perfect side view sent another wave of whistles and gasps across the yard.
The attention made her frown.
If she didn’t need to find Lin Zhe, she’d never set foot in this noisy fishbowl.
Yet in the sea of identical camouflage she couldn’t spot him.
Probably the uniforms, she figured—everyone looked the same.
Ready to bail, she turned—only to be stopped by a bold freshman.
“Excuse me, Senior. Can I help you with something?”
Catcalls erupted.
Zhao Ge’s expression chilled two degrees.
One glance from those winter-sky eyes and the kid’s courage melted.
Still, she kept her manners—barely.
“Is there a freshman named Lin Zhe here?”
The guy wiped sweat from his forehead, grateful for the exit line.
“Anyone named Lin Zhe? The senior here wants you!” he shouted, then bolted.
“Sergeant, bathroom break!” he added as he fled, drawing another round of laughter.
Lin Zhe, still staring at the dirt, exhaled.
So the reckoning had arrived; no point hiding.
Yang Zhen beside him elbowed his ribs.
“Xiao Lin, pretty sure you’re the only Lin Zhe in this whole company.”
Recruits started craning their necks.
“Which one of you is Lin Zhe? Don’t keep the senior waiting!”
“Yeah, step up, man!”
Even the instructors joined the circus.
First Platoon’s sergeant raised his megaphone.
“Who’s Lin Zhe?”
Another instructor flipped the roster.
“Found him—Third Company, First Platoon.”
“Lao Feng, your boy.”
The megaphone blared again.
By now Lin’s two roommates from Second and Third Platoons were pointing.
Liu Xuefei: “Lin Zhe’s right there!”
Han Xinglong added, finger wagging,
“Dirty traitor, Xiao Lin—cute girlfriend AND a stunning senior? Unforgivable!”
There was nothing left to do.
Lin Zhe stood up, the whole field watching, and walked forward.
When she looked at Zhao Ge, she realized two faint washes of pink had risen on the other girl’s cheeks at some point—delicate as plum blossoms opening in the last snow of winter.
Whether it was the teasing of the crowd around them or the sight of Lin Zhe himself, no one could tell.
The instructor glanced at his watch and grinned.
“Five minutes till the break ends. Get back here on time, or the whole company will squat with you.”
His deep, ringing voice sent the Third Company’s freshmen into a chorus of groans and theatrical hisses.
The instructor paced the drill ground, spine ramrod-straight, and laughed.
“I’m the biggest boss here. I can play any game I like. Keep whining and we’ll end the break early.”
“Obey the order—that’s part of your training.”
Under the silent, pleading stares of the freshmen, Lin Zhe walked toward Zhao Ge senior sister, who was standing just beyond the edge of the field.
Right now, whether they would all be punished depended on him, and the weight of all those eyes made his skin crawl.
Zhao Ge said nothing.
She simply turned and led him to a small grove where the onlookers’ glances couldn’t reach.
She had never liked noisy crowds.