Chapter 72: Military Training

If one word could be used to describe Jiang Shi’s mood, it would be regret, extreme regret.

He woke up again in the afternoon. The curtains were still drawn tightly. Compared to the slight discomfort from last time, this time it was truly severe discomfort.

Jiang Shi wasn’t a broken rag doll, but he was very tattered. There wasn’t a good spot on his entire body. Even his outstretched forearm had two rose-red marks on it.

He turned over with difficulty, the movement making a sound. Cheng Ye came in.

He squatted in front of Jiang Shi, touched his forehead. It was a little hot, but fortunately, he didn’t have a fever.

“Is there anything uncomfortable?”

Jiang Shi was uncomfortable everywhere. He limply let Cheng Ye help him up, his head resting on his shoulder. He had no strength, and his voice was thin when he spoke.

“I feel like you’ve stabbed me through.”

“How could that be…” Cheng Ye laughed, his palm on his thin stomach, his fingertips pressing on his navel. “It can only reach here at most.”

Jiang Shi shivered sensitively. When their skin touched, some memories immediately flooded his mind.

Cheng Ye had learned so much during this time, and his skills had indeed improved greatly. It was truly pleasurable, but it was too pleasurable, which was a little scary.

He didn’t know what Jiang Shi was thinking. He applied medicine to him and looked at his powdered-pink eyelids. He couldn’t seem to get enough of looking at them, holding his face and kissing him again and again.

Jiang Shi’s face was covered in saliva from the kisses before he was carried out to wash up. The chair was covered with several layers of thick, soft cushions. The pot in the kitchen was bubbling, and he didn’t know what was being stewed.

He watched for a while, then held his waist and asked Cheng Ye, “Didn’t you go to register today?”

Cheng Ye replied, “I’ll go tomorrow.”

Military training was about to begin, yet he had rolled around in bed with Cheng Ye. Thinking about it, Jiang Shi found it absurd.

The next day, he returned to the dormitory with a still somewhat sore waist and met the other two roommates besides Zuo Hui.

One of them should be a social phobic. As soon as he came back, he climbed onto the bed and drew the curtain tightly. The other was wearing a full set of famous brands. When he saw Jiang Shi, his eyes lit up. He scanned him up and down and took the initiative to greet him. “Hello, Wang Zekai, from the city next door.”

His gaze made Jiang Shi a little uncomfortable, but he didn’t say anything and still extended his hand to shake his. “Jiang Shi.”

Jiang Shi didn’t like socializing and didn’t want to bother with people he didn’t have a good impression of. After saying these two words, he turned to pack his things.

He didn’t know what to bring for military training. Fortunately, Cheng Ye had already packed a separate package for him before, and had also listed the rest for him, marking where they were placed.

Jiang Shi followed the markings and found them one by one.

Behind him, Wang Zekai quietly approached him. “Are you looking for something?”

Jiang Shi turned his head and almost bumped into his chest. He frowned and took two steps back. “Sorry, I don’t like people getting too close to me.”

“Ah, sorry…” Wang Zekai shrugged. “I saw you were too focused and was afraid you wouldn’t hear me.”

He asked curiously, “Are you a local of Jiangcheng?”

Jiang Shi didn’t want to bother with him, but thinking that he would have to live with him for a year, it was better to have one less thing than one more.

“No, Lin Cheng.”

“I can’t tell,” Wang Zekai said with a meaningful laugh. “Lin Cheng is quite far from here, right? I saw you made your bed on the first day, but you didn’t sleep in the dormitory. Where have you been these two days?”

Jiang Shi turned to look at him. “You seem to be very interested in my private life?”

When the young man looked at people coldly, his features were even more vivid. In every move, there was a charm that even he himself didn’t know. Like a ripe peach, its juice squeezed out by someone.

After speaking, Jiang Shi turned around and ignored him.

Wang Zekai stood behind him, looking at the delicate white of the young man’s neck. Under the collar, in a place that one would almost not notice, there were a few red marks that had not yet faded, blatantly displaying ownership.

He raised his eyebrows and revealed an ambiguous smile.

…

The location for the military training was in the mountains. They would take a bus in batches. Although it was closed, the school was not so crazy as to confiscate their phones.

In Jiang Shi’s class, there were only the four boys from their dormitory. As soon as they got on the bus, it was filled with the chirping sounds of girls, as if they had entered a country of women.

Zuo Hui sat next to him, looking left and right, his face full of excitement. “Damn, so many beautiful girls. With so many girls, do I have a chance of getting a girlfriend?”

Having changed beds, Jiang Shi didn’t sleep well. He leaned against the chair and yawned listlessly. “I wish you luck.”

Zuo Hui was a little shy. “The girl in the second row in front of you, the one with big eyes, she’s so cute, I…”

Before he could finish, an even louder noise came in.

Wang Zekai didn’t know what he had bought. Several large bags were placed in front of the bus. His voice was very loud and easily carried into the bus.

“Everyone, we will be classmates for four years from now on. I bought some snacks for everyone to eat on the road. I hope you don’t mind.”

Cheers immediately broke out in the crowd.

A few girls went down to untie the bags. “Wow! Their snacks are so expensive. Wang Zekai, you’re so capable.”

Wang Zekai flicked his carefully styled hair. “I usually eat from their place too. I think the taste is alright, not too many additives, so I brought some for you to try.”

In the car, Zuo Hui pouted. “What a show-off.”

After speaking, he sighed again. “But who can blame him for being capable? Look at what he’s wearing. They’re all branded goods, at least ten thousand. I chatted with him before you came yesterday. It seems his family is in business, with a little money.”

Jiang Shi was not interested in these things. He took out a hat from his bag and put it on. “I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up when we get there.”

He hadn’t had a chance to sleep yet when Wang Zekai got on the bus. He had his hands in his pockets, and behind him were two enthusiastic girls distributing snacks to everyone. He walked to Jiang Shi and looked down at the young man’s long and thick eyelashes.

“Classmate Jiang Shi, what do you like to eat? As a roommate, I’ll give you a special treat.”

In fact, Jiang Shi had attracted a lot of attention as soon as he got on the bus. When he didn’t smile, his features were very cold, and he didn’t seem to talk much. He looked very distant, and no one dared to strike up a conversation with him.

Seeing Wang Zekai take the initiative to talk to him, many pairs of eyes glanced over covertly.

Jiang Shi pulled down the brim of his hat, covering most of his face. His well-shaped lips parted, and he spat out two emotionless words.

“Don’t want it.”

The smile on Wang Zekai’s face froze. Immediately, he put on another smile. “You don’t like it? Or do you think it’s cheap?”

Being in a bad mood from not sleeping well, and with someone buzzing around like a fly, Jiang Shi’s face became even more sour.

“I don’t want it. You can give it to someone else.”

After speaking, he didn’t care what others thought, completely pulling his hat down to cover his face, curling up in his chair and closing his eyes.

Zuo Hui quickly came out to smooth things over. “He didn’t sleep well yesterday. He probably has a bad temper from waking up. If he doesn’t want it, give it to me. I haven’t eaten such high-end snacks before.”

The smile on Wang Zekai’s face faded a little. His gaze lingered on Jiang Shi for a while. When he withdrew it, he glanced at Zuo Hui next to him, a hint of undisguised disgust in his eyes.

“It’s okay, take as much as you want.”

The car was very noisy, and Jiang Shi didn’t sleep very soundly. His head hurt even more when he got off the bus than when he got on.

The dormitory at the training camp was much worse than the one at school. Ten people to a room, and it was a large common bunk. There were only four boys in their class, so they had to live with the boys from class two.

Zuo Hui ran fast and grabbed the two spots by the wall. He looked at Jiang Shi and took the initiative to ask him, “Why don’t you sleep in the innermost spot?”

Anyway, he had many brothers at home and was used to sleeping with a group of people. But Jiang Shi looked different from him.

Jiang Shi coughed dryly at the musty and damp smell in the air and didn’t refuse Zuo Hui’s kindness.

“Thank you.”

The bedding was provided by the school. They hadn’t gone to get it yet. There was only a thin bed board in front of Jiang Shi. He put his luggage on the bed board, and as soon as he unzipped it, his phone rang.

It was Cheng Ye’s call.

Jiang Shi took his phone and went outside. Outside the dormitory building, besides a few empty training grounds, were towering mountains. The arrival of the students broke the silence of the mountains, and birds flew past the treetops.

“You’re here?”

Jiang Shi found some steps and sat down. “Just arrived.”

Cheng Ye said, “Look to the side.”

Jiang Shi was stunned for a moment, then looked to the side. Not far from him was a wall, about two meters high, which an ordinary person couldn’t climb. But Cheng Ye jumped onto the wall with his hands.

He squatted on the wall. In Jiang Shi’s surprised gaze, he raised his eyebrows and gave a smile, like an agile wolf, leaping down from the high wall.

He walked to Jiang Shi’s side and pulled him up. “Don’t sit on the ground, it’s dirty.”

It took Jiang Shi a long time to come back to his senses. “No… why are you here?”

“There’s another training camp next door. Our school is there. Have you gotten your bedding?”

“Just arrived, haven’t had time yet.”

“I’ll go get it…” Cheng Ye reached into his pocket and took out a few bags of meat jerky and spicy strips. “We’re about to have a hard time. Let me give the young master a little treat.”

Jiang Shi followed him to the place where they got the bedding. “Weren’t they all searched when we got off the bus? Where did you get the snacks?”

“I secretly hid them. There are only these few bags. They’ll be gone after we eat them.”

Jiang Shi tore open the package of meat jerky and took a bite. “Then how did you know I was here?”

Cheng Ye had arrived early and had already gotten his military training uniform. He had changed into camouflage pants and a black short-sleeved shirt, the hem tucked into his waistband. With his broad shoulders and long legs, he was very eye-catching.

“I just randomly found a hidden place to climb over the wall. I didn’t expect to be so lucky to be right at your dormitory entrance.”

The sun was glaring, and people were coming and going. The air was filled with the smell of dust. Looking at Cheng Ye’s broad back, Jiang Shi felt that the twenty days of military training didn’t seem so hard to endure anymore.

The young master’s ability to do housework was almost zero. Cheng Ye had to get the bedding and make the bed for him. Halfway through, Zuo Hui came back.

He was also holding bedding in his hands. He was stunned when he saw Cheng Ye. “Why is your younger brother here too?”

Jiang Shi said, “He’s from A University next door. He’s also here for military training, just a wall away.”

As long as Cheng Ye wanted to, he could get along well with anyone. In less than a few minutes, Zuo Hui had a big smile on his face and had become brothers with him.

“So you’re from the same village. I thought you were biological brothers. You don’t look alike at all.”

Cheng Ye said something to him again, and the two exchanged contact information. Zuo Hui patted his chest and promised, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely take good care of Jiang Shi. We’re all in the same dormitory. I won’t let him be wronged no matter what.”

As they were talking, a group of people came in noisily through the door.

The leader was Wang Zekai, with several people following behind him. He was stunned when he saw a stranger standing next to Jiang Shi. He suppressed the expression in his eyes and put on a friendly smile.

“Jiang Shi, is this your friend?”

As soon as he got close to Wang Zekai, Jiang Shi felt uncomfortable. He had felt this way with many people before.

He ignored him.

Zuo Hui took the initiative to introduce, “Him? Jiang Shi’s friend, from the same place.”

“So you’re from the same hometown…” Wang Zekai extended his hand to Cheng Ye in a friendly manner. “Hello, Wang Zekai, Jiang Shi’s roommate. But he doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

Cheng Ye narrowed his eyes and looked at the hand extended in front of him for a few seconds. He then extended his hand, his tone flat.

“Cheng Ye.”