Chapter 10

The beginning of military training was tedious. We had to learn, over and over again, how to fold quilts and organize our living quarters. Even the toothpaste and toothbrushes on the table had to be aligned in the exact same direction.

Many girls in the dormitory had never lived in a dorm before, let alone folded a quilt at home. It was their first time, and no matter how they tried, they couldn't get it right. The platoon leader provided guidance repeatedly, yet they remained flustered and helpless. Meng Shengsheng noticed several girls’ eyes turning red; they were on the verge of crying right there on the spot.

Xie Jieyu clearly struggled with folding the quilt. With the platoon leader’s help, she finally managed to fold it, but she didn’t dare unfold it at night to sleep. Instead, she would just take a jacket from her luggage to get by for the night. She wasn't the only one doing this; fortunately, it was early September, and the weather wasn't too cold yet, with the daytime sun still burning hot, so the students managed to avoid catching colds.

The next day, when the morning whistle blew, Meng Shengsheng quickly got up to dress and fold her quilt, while the rest of the dormitory hummed and groaned, unwilling to move. By the time they finally got up, they realized they were running out of time, leading to a chaotic scramble to wash up, dress, fold quilts, and rush downstairs.

When everyone finally assembled, the instructor, with a stern face, looked at his watch. They had been given fifteen minutes, but they were more than half an hour late. Many of the girls came down with their hats crooked and their uniforms in disarray. Naturally, the morning jog was canceled, and they were punished by standing in military formation instead.

When it was finally their turn for breakfast, only steamed buns and cold porridge remained. Many couldn't stomach such a bland meal and left, throwing their chopsticks down while grumbling. Having experienced hardships in the countryside in her previous life, Meng Shengsheng found the buns and cold porridge perfectly satisfying.

The full day of training that followed exhausted the pampered students. Upon returning to the dorm, they were all so tired they could have slept through the night immediately. Luo Shu, a girl who couldn't survive without her phone, immediately picked it up upon returning.

"Wow! The camp next to ours actually has students from the Central Academy of Drama! Someone even took photos of Geng Xin; he’s so handsome!"

Several girls who had been lying on their beds half-dead immediately stood up. "Really? Really? Let me see, let me see!"

"It really is Geng Xin. He is handsome! I’ve watched that campus drama he starred in several times; I love the male lead he played..."

Geng Xin? The name sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere, but she couldn't quite place it for the moment. Unable to figure it out, Meng Shengsheng didn't force it. Other people’s business had nothing to do with her; after a long day, she would rather wash up and get some rest.

A week of military training had passed, and they were still practicing marching, standing at attention, and marking time in place. Just these simple movements were enough to exhaust everyone to the brink. Sometimes, if one person failed to complete a task, the whole group was punished with standing, even through mealtimes. The instructor wouldn't dismiss them until everyone else had finished eating. By then, all the good food was gone, leaving only the unappetizing scraps, which was unbearable.

They were all growing teenagers who would howl if they missed a single meal. Unable to stomach the cafeteria food, they would buy snacks from the convenience store outside through the fence. Business at the store had been unprecedentedly good, with sales multiplying several times over.

One day, Meng Shengsheng and the other three girls from her dorm went out. After buying snacks and charging their power banks, they saw a small truck drive into the adjacent camp, followed by a leader leading people inside.

That night, the incident hit the campus forum: a fan of that Geng Xin character had come to the training camp to "support the troops."

Meng Shengsheng thought: Supporting the troops by visiting a student training camp—fans will go to any lengths for their idols.

A month of military training is neither long nor short. It rained for four or five days in between, and the planned shooting practice was canceled, replaced by indoor military theory classes, which disappointed many.

Xie Jieyu told her three roommates, "It’s okay, we can go to a shooting range in the future. I’ll cover the costs." She wasn't short on money, after all. Luo Shu and Zhang Yu were cheered up and began asking Xie Jieyu if she had ever shot a gun before.

The month flashed by. After the final report performance, they all had to return to school. The students felt a sense of relief, finally going back to a life without early wake-up calls and with the freedom to eat whatever they wanted. They had arrived fair-skinned and tender, but they returned several shades darker.

When the bus arrived at the school, the students scattered like released chicks, running off in every direction. Those living nearby went home, while those from further away returned to their dorms. Meng Shengsheng also brought the socks and clothes she had accumulated over the week to her rented apartment.

She hadn't been back for a month. There were many new things in the house, and the wardrobe was filled with seasonal women’s clothing. Meng Shengsheng guessed that Wang Chuanze had stopped by. She took her laundry to the bathroom, washed up, changed, and stuffed the dirty clothes into the washing machine. Then, she opened her computer to check the performance of the stocks she had bought. They had made a profit, but not much; she would have to wait a little longer.

The salary for the movie Wang Chuanze was filming had already been deposited into his card. Meng Shengsheng also received a text message. Since he was a newcomer with no fame, he had to split his earnings with the agency. To other actors, the amount might be small, but to a poor student like her, it was more than enough for five years of tuition and living expenses, with even some left over.

Just then, Wang Chuanze called to ask if she had arrived home safely. Meng Shengsheng replied that she had, and asked how the filming was going. Wang Chuanze didn't have the habit of gossiping behind people's backs, so he said everything was going smoothly and shared a few fun anecdotes from the set. Meng Shengsheng listened with interest, finding it quite amusing.

After dinner, feeling truly exhausted from the month of military training, she fell asleep on the sofa and didn't wake up until past eight o'clock.

Xie Jieyu called, "My dad bought me a place right next to the school. Zhang Yu and Luo Shu are about to make hot pot. Are you coming?"

Meng Shengsheng asked, "Yes, what's the address?"

Xie Jieyu gave her the location. Coincidentally, she and Meng Shengsheng were in the same residential complex, just a few buildings apart; it would take only two minutes to walk there. Meng Shengsheng changed her clothes, grabbed a small bag with her keys and phone, and headed out.

When Meng Shengsheng arrived, the three of them hadn't started eating yet; they were still washing vegetables and peeling garlic. Xie Jieyu opened the door and her eyes lit up when she saw Meng Shengsheng, "How did you get here so fast?"

Meng Shengsheng replied, "I rent an apartment in this complex too, but I'm in the two-bedroom building."

Xie Jieyu beamed, "Really? That’s great! Come in, come in. Zhang Yu is stir-frying the hot pot base right now. It smells so good! We didn't make it very spicy—do you eat spicy food?"

Having grown up with the bland food of the orphanage cafeteria, she had gotten used to it over the years. "That’s perfect, I don't really eat spicy food either."

As soon as Meng Shengsheng arrived, she joined in to help wash and prep the vegetables. Luo Shu began gossiping with her three roommates, "Did you hear? They say the person who came to our camp to 'support the troops' was a 'big fan' of Geng Xin, and she's actually pursuing him! It even hit the trending topics, but it disappeared after a few minutes. I bet his agency paid to have it removed."

Meng Shengsheng paused, suddenly remembering who Geng Xin was. Come to think of it, this guy was a total sucker, though it was entirely his own doing. In the book she had read, the protagonist’s older sister not only had a business-fiancé who loved her, but also various men who were attracted to her, liked her, and were willing to throw money and resources at her. Geng Xin was one of them.

However, she seemed to recall that eventually, a fan who liked him very much discovered he was dating and threatened to jump off a building to force him to break up with his girlfriend. Whether it was an accident or a genuine suicide attempt, the woman really did fall and die. The incident caused a huge uproar. The male lead fanned the flames to drive Geng Xin away from the female lead. In the end, Geng Xin had to leave the entertainment industry, and the female lead, who had chosen to be with Geng Xin out of spite toward the male lead, returned to the male lead's side...

It was a very melodramatic plot. As long as she didn't get involved, she wouldn't mind watching from the sidelines. But could that crazy fan be the same one who followed them to the training camp?

The three of them were busy eating hot pot and didn't notice Meng Shengsheng’s reaction as they moved on to other topics. Luo Shu said, "A senior told us that someone in their class was practicing acupuncture and almost paralyzed themselves... If it weren't for Teacher Tong and Professor Li being on-site, that person would have spent the rest of their life in bed. It’s so scary."

Hearing this, the other three made horrified expressions.

"Hiss..."

"Really? I’m timid, don't scare me!"

"Oh no, if we don't learn this properly, we’ll become quacks! Before school started, my mom told me that Traditional Chinese Medicine is different from Western medicine. If you prescribe the wrong Western medicine, it can cause trouble, but with TCM, even if you get it wrong, at least it won't kill anyone... Well, it might not kill them, but it can paralyze them!"

Zhang Yu looked worried, "...I kind of want to change my major. It hasn't officially started yet; is it too late to apply?"

Luo Shu popped a meatball into her mouth, "Shengsheng, I think if you didn't go to this school, you could go into the entertainment industry. You’d definitely make a lot of money."

Meng Shengsheng replied, "No interest. I’m actually quite interested in TCM." After all, she had her own "golden finger" (cheat); she certainly wouldn't paralyze herself.

"Where are you guys planning to go for the National Day holiday?"

Just as they were dreaming about how to spend the seven days, a phone rang. Meng Shengsheng picked it up and saw the link for the CET-4 and CET-6 registration sent by the study committee member. Registration was open from late September to early October, and the exam was in early December.

Their school’s policy was that as long as you passed the CET-4, you didn't have to take the compulsory English classes for freshman and sophomore years. Well, forget about traveling; she should take advantage of the fact that the knowledge from the college entrance exam hadn't faded yet and register for the CET-4 first.