The Federal Military Base offered the production team a courtesy by arranging for all the male guests to share a single dormitory, while the two female guests were given separate quarters next door.
After days of exhausting travel, the accommodations were far from ideal, but no one had the energy to complain. They tidied up briefly and collapsed into bed. Physically and mentally drained, everyone slept soundly—everyone, that is, except for Liulan.
Liulan had never in his life shared a room with anyone else. The rock-hard bed frame, the abrasive duvet cover, and the poorly shaped pillow were each an affront to his senses. Most unbearable of all, however, was Xie Ti, who snored! Liulan didn't manage to drift off until well past midnight.
The base ran on a strict, uniform schedule, and the show's guests were no exception. At exactly 6:00 AM, the bugle sounded. The guests, caught completely off guard, were jolted awake by the broadcast and sat in a daze. Fortunately, the squad leader in the next room was a kind-hearted soul; knowing they were newcomers and unfamiliar with the routine, he rushed over to knock on their door and wake them up.
It was only when they heard the knocking that they realized they had truly arrived at a Federal Military Base. Recognizing the call as a wake-up signal, they scrambled out of bed, threw on their clothes, and sprinted toward the washroom.
The other dormitories were already empty. Lü Shi and Zhu Yiyi from the women's dorm greeted them briefly before heading to their own washroom. Xie Ti was in a frantic rush to pack his things and, just as he was about to head out, he glanced back and noticed a large, mound-like shape under the blankets on Liulan’s bed.
Xie Ti hesitated for a moment, walked over with a look of skepticism, and reached out to give it a poke. Feeling the warmth of the "mound," he immediately broke down and shouted, "Ahhh! Liulan! Get up! We're going to be late!"
Liulan was dead to the world and didn't even twitch. Seeing how tight their schedule was, Xie Ti grabbed him and started shaking him violently, trying to jolt him out of his "comatose" state.
"Wake up, for heaven's sake!"
Only after Xie Ti exerted all his strength did Liulan finally manage to crack one eye open a tiny sliver, while the other remained stubbornly clamped shut.
"Xie Ti, shut your mouth," Liulan groaned, his brow furrowed.
Having endured a whole night of Xie Ti’s "ear-piercing demonic noise," the mere sound of his voice now made Liulan want to scream. His brow was knitted tightly, and the aura of resentment radiating from him was almost tangible—he wanted nothing more than to slap him twice.
Xie Ti had no idea what he had done wrong and simply assumed it was morning grumpiness. Tears welling in his eyes, he pleaded, "Ancestor, look where we are! We're in a military camp. If you don't get up now, who knows how many kilometers they'll force us to run as punishment for being late!"
Xie Ti's words stirred a shred of reason in Liulan. He opened his eyes, bleary and unfocused, and gradually registered his surroundings.
The corridor outside was already deserted. Seeing that Liulan was finally conscious, Xie Ti scrambled to his feet and sprinted toward the door. "I'm heading out! You hurry up!"
"Mm..." Liulan mumbled instinctively.
***
There was a morning drill before breakfast, and everyone rushed to the outer parade ground after washing up. Several other squads were already drilling there. This was the first time the guests were acting as true members of the troops, training alongside them. Although those squads were also made up of new recruits, most were graduates of military academies, and their military bearing was impeccable, making the guests look even more lackluster by comparison. Influenced by their presence, the guests instinctively straightened their backs, trying to mirror the soldiers.
Nanwei arrived on the parade ground on time and immediately noticed something was off. He frowned and asked, "Where is the other one?"
Xie Ti’s heart skipped a beat. When the others looked his way, he had to bite the bullet and explain, "Um... well... Liulan is..."
Seeing him stutter without managing a coherent sentence, Bailin seemed to remember something and said loudly, "Reporting to the instructor, when we left, Liulan didn't seem to have woken up yet."
"He's up! He definitely got up!" Under Nanwei's scrutinizing gaze, Xie Ti scrambled to make amends. "He really did get up; he probably just lost his way or got held up brushing his teeth."
Gong Yu looked troubled. "Are you sure, Xie Ti? I think I saw him still in bed... Should we go back and check? Maybe he’s ill."
Prompted by Gong Yu, Xie Ti recalled the dark expression on Liulan’s face when he’d tried to wake him, and he suddenly hesitated. It really was possible that he was feeling unwell...
"Who's ill?"
A slow, slightly amused voice drifted over from a distance. The group looked over instinctively to see a tall officer in a black training uniform striding toward them. The officer’s lips were curled upward, though not necessarily with joy; rather, he carried an air of mockery that suggested he knew exactly what was going on.
Nanwei, seeing him arrive, stepped back a pace and saluted.
"Chief Instructor."
The person who had arrived was Xu Jiangxing.
The guests stared at him in surprise, never imagining their Chief Instructor would be so young. While the front lines were indeed the main battlefield for young people in the military, those holding positions of command at a base were usually veterans. This Chief Instructor looked barely over twenty, which was a far cry from the image they had conjured in their minds.
Before Xie Ti could process the sudden appearance of the Chief Instructor, the man turned his gaze directly toward him. "The man is ill, you're sure?"
Xie Ti realized he was being addressed. He swallowed hard and hesitated, "I... I don't know."
The vague answer caused Nanwei to frown, but before he could say anything, Xu Jiangxing interrupted him. He gestured for Nanwei to take the others for their morning drill, then turned and walked away, saying, "I'll go 'look after' the patient."
Xie Ti dared not stop him, only thinking with a grimace: *Good luck, Liulan!*
***
Liulan woke up on the floor beneath his bed; his legs were numb and cold. He rubbed his acupoints while scanning the empty dormitory until his legs began to feel warm again, at which point he braced himself against the bed frame and stood up.
Realizing something was wrong, he asked aloud, "What time is it?"
His bracelet emitted a prompt: "The time is 6:38 AM, Federal time."
Liulan remembered the morning drill was scheduled for 6:30 AM—which meant he was late.
Liulan was silent for two seconds, then clicked his tongue and walked to the wardrobe to take out his training uniform. The base mandated a wake-up time of 6:00 AM, but even back in his student days, Liulan had never once woken up before 9:00 AM. Just the thought of having to endure this misery every day made him irritable. This wasn't a military camp; it was hell!
Since he was already late, Liulan didn't bother with modesty. He stripped off his clothes right there in the dormitory to put on his training uniform. Whether by coincidence or design, his bracelet started chirping the time every single minute starting from 6:40 AM, and there was no way to turn it off. Every chime made Liulan more impatient.
With the bracelet constantly broadcasting the time, he was so distracted that he didn't notice the noise outside, nor did he hear the knocking at the door.
Just as he was standing there bare-chested, struggling to pull on his trousers, the dormitory door suddenly burst open with a deafening crash. Liulan snapped his head around to see the entire door lying flat on the ground, and a lone figure standing in the doorway, looking utterly bored.
The man took him in with a glance, seemingly not finding his intrusion during someone's change of clothes in the least bit offensive. Instead of backing out immediately, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Need some help?"
Liulan’s temper flared: *Help with what? Pulling up my pants?*