"Oh right, I have something for you." As if suddenly remembering something, Lin Jiayu took a small box out of her bag.
Lu Huai'an took the box, opened it, and saw a tube of sunscreen inside.
"The sun during military training is so harsh, and you don't even pay attention. What are you going to do if you get sunburned?" Lin Jiayu's tone carried a hint of reproach, but it was filled with even more care.
"I... I'm a grown man, why would I need something like this...?" Lu Huai'an said awkwardly.
"What grown man or small man? It's very uncomfortable if your skin gets sunburned."
Without a word of objection, Lin Jiayu picked up the sunscreen and squeezed a bit onto her palm. "Come here, I'll help you put it on."
"N—No need, I can do it myself." Lu Huai'an quickly refused. He certainly didn't want Lin Jiayu to help him apply sunscreen; that mental image was too much for him to even imagine.
"Don't move," Lin Jiayu scolded softly, leaving no room for refusal.
Lu Huai'an didn't dare move again and stood obediently in place.
Lin Jiayu's fingers gently spread the sunscreen across his face, the cool, refreshing touch bringing him a wave of comfort.
Her movements were light and slow.
With his head lowered, Lu Huai'an could clearly catch the faint scent of gardenias coming from Lin Jiayu.
The sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting a golden halo over Lin Jiayu and making her look even more breathtakingly lovely.
Lu Huai'an's heartbeat grew faster and faster. He felt his cheeks growing warm, unsure whether it was from the glare of the sun or because Lin Jiayu was standing so close.
"All done." Lin Jiayu finally finished applying it. She looked at Lu Huai'an with satisfaction and said with a smile, "There, now you don't have to worry about getting sunburned."
Lu Huai'an looked at Lin Jiayu's smiling face, right there inches away, and for a moment he felt a little dazed.
Noticing Lu Huai'an's gaze, Lin Jiayu asked, "What are you staring at? How is it, do I look good today?"
"...You look good."
"So you mean I only look good today?" She blinked and raised her eyes to meet his.
"Uh..." Lu Huai'an was about to speak when he saw Lin Jiayu cover her mouth with a soft laugh, instantly realizing she was teasing him again.
"You're teasing me again," he said with a hint of helplessness.
"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Who told you to be so innocent?"
"Thank you," she replied softly, a trace of hard-to-detect tenderness flashing in her eyes.
"I have to head back. Training isn't over for a little while yet." Lu Huai'an didn't dare meet her gaze directly anymore.
"Okay." Lin Jiayu nodded.
Just as Lu Huai'an walked back to the parade ground, Instructor Ou's voice suddenly rang out.
"Lu Huai'an! Hurry up and fall in!"
The students of Fifth Platoon had already gathered. If it weren't for Lu Huai'an's prolonged absence, training would have started long ago.
After all, Instructor Ou was someone who had been through it all, so he didn't scold him too much and directly assigned the next training task.
"Old Lu, you have no idea. After you pulled that senior sister away, Zhāng Yáng's face turned the color of pork liver. Hhahahaha."
Jiang Chuan said to Lu Huai'an, barely holding back his laughter, "Still, who on earth was that girl? You'd better honestly confess, kid."
After Lu Huai'an had pulled Lin Jiayu away, Zhāng Yáng had dismissed his own girlfriend. He had originally planned to show off, but instead, he ended up getting slapped hard across the face by Lu Huai'an.
"Didn't I tell you guys before? That's Lin Jiayu."
Seeing Jiang Chuan's gossip fire burning fiercely, Lu Huai'an quickly said, "Shut your trap. I don't want to run laps again."
Jiang Chuan: "You're treating me like this just because you've got a senior sister?"
"Jiang Chuan! It's you again, step out of line!"
"Instructor, I..."
"Say another word and give me ten laps!"
......
At six o'clock in the afternoon, the military training finally drew to a close.
"That's it for today!" Instructor Ou finally spoke up. "There's a review performance in a few days, so none of you better embarrass me! Perk up and practice properly! Did you hear me?!"
"Understood!" The students' response was weak and scattered.
"Alright, dismissed!" Instructor Ou gave a wave of his hand and turned to leave.
The formation instantly collapsed, and everyone slumped onto the ground, panting heavily.
Jiang Chuan plopped down right next to Lu Huai'an and nudged him with his elbow: "Old Lu, not bad, running another five laps. I'm impressed!"
Lu Huai'an gave him a sideways glare. "You still have the nerve to say that? If it weren't for you, would I have had to run five laps? Besides, you still have the mind to gossip about me? Have you sorted out your own mess?"
"Me? Old Lu, how can you say that? I'm wronged!" Jiang Chuan instantly put on a grievance-stricken expression, raising his voice by an octave. "What kind of person am I, Jiang Chuan? Don't you know by now? I just want to bring warmth to every single girl out there!"
"Oh, give it a rest!" Lu Huai'an exposed him mercilessly. "I think you want to give every girl a home, don't you? Careful you don't capsize!"
"Aish, Old Lu, how can you think of me like that?" Jiang Chuan continued to play the pitiful card. "This is what I call... call... seeking true love!"
"I'd say you're seeking thrills!" Too lazy to deal with him, Lu Huai'an stood up and patted the dust off himself.
"Hey, Old Lu, where are you going?" Jiang Chuan quickly asked.
Without looking back, Lu Huai'an said, "To find Sister Jiayu." While running laps earlier, he had noticed that Lin Jiayu hadn't left and was sitting by the side of the field.
"Go on, go on. A married son is like water poured out." Jiang Chuan waved his hand and lay back down on the lawn; he was truly exhausted.
Lin Jiayu was sitting under the shade of a tree, surrounded by quite a few people.
"Sister Jiayu!" Seeing this lineup, Lu Huai'an hurried over and called out.
The face Lin Jiayu had been keeping cold broke into a smile the moment she saw it was Lu Huai'an: "Training over?"
"Yeah." Lu Huai'an nodded, walked up to her, and waved at the people around them. "Scat, scat. What, is training too easy that you guys aren't tired enough?"
The people nearby who had still wanted to strike up a conversation with Lin Jiayu dispersed once they heard Lu Huai'an say that. After all, everyone on the parade ground had seen Lin Jiayu bring water to Lu Huai'an this afternoon and get pulled away by him...
"Are you tired?" Lin Jiayu handed him the bottle of mineral water she was holding.
Lu Huai'an took the water and chugged a few big mouthfuls. "Not bad, just a bit hot."
"Here, wipe your sweat." Lin Jiayu took a wet wipe from her bag and handed it to him.
Lu Huai'an took the wipe and wiped the sweat from his face, instantly feeling much fresher.
"Why haven't you gone back yet?" Lu Huai'an asked.
"There was nothing to do back at the dorm, so I wanted to watch your training." Lin Jiayu said with a smile.
"What's so interesting about watching me train? It's just tiring and boring." Lu Huai'an felt a bit self-conscious.
"Who says? I think it's quite interesting." Lin Jiayu blinked and said mischievously, "Especially when you were being punished by the instructor to run laps."
"......"
Lu Huai'an was speechless. Why did he feel like Lin Jiayu was gloating over his misfortune?
"Alright, I won't tease you anymore." Seeing his gloomy expression, Lin Jiayu couldn't help laughing out loud. "Wanna grab dinner together tonight?"