By the time they reached Gu Mang’s side, the counselor had already left. Su Jiaying glanced in the direction the counselor had left in, then turned back to Gu Mang and spotted a piece of paper in her hand. “What’s that, Gu Mang?”
Tang Xiaoxiao leaned in to take a closer look. “Is that the speech the Freshman Representative is supposed to give?”
Gu Mang hummed an acknowledgment, which caused Zheng Miao to widen her eyes in surprise. “The university is so considerate that they prepared a speech for you?”
There was no one more suitable than Gu Mang to give this speech, so Tang Xiaoxiao and Zheng Miao were not too surprised by the university’s decision.
As Gu Mang folded the paper, she simply said, “It’s from last year.”
Hearing that, Tang Xiaoxiao’s lips twitched in amusement. “As expected of Capital University. Even a small speech is fully utilized.”
Su Jiaying’s eyes remained fixed on the sheet of paper as she eked out a small smile.
…
Later that evening, Su Jiaying ate together with her high school friend from another major at the cafeteria. Her friend had a hand propped up on the table as she ate her meal, speaking between bites. “I heard that those who perform well during the upcoming military training will be signed. It’s like being a national defense student. The chosen ones will become military doctors and receive automatic promotions in the military upon graduation.”
She had inquired about this matter before entering the university, so she knew all about it. Her eyes drooped low as she became lost in her thoughts
“Unfortunately, there’s only one spot for each major. The competition is really stiff,” said her friend as she wrinkled her nose. When she noticed how quiet her friend was being, she looked up and laughed upon seeing Su Jiaying’s strained expression. “Jiaying, are you worried that you won’t get a spot?”
“There’s no lack of outstanding students in Capital University,” Su Jiaying said lightly.
Her friend could not refute her point. “But you have the highest score in your major and you were voted as class rep. I heard that the Freshman Representative will be chosen from the medical school. Have you written your speech?”
The speech was a great opportunity to get noticed by the faculty.
With her lips pursed, she looked down and whispered, “I’m not the Freshman Representative.”
“What?” Her friend’s eyes bulged wide in surprise. “Who else can they choose but you?”
“Gu Mang.”
The other girl frowned, having heard of Gu Mang’s reputation. “Shouldn’t the Freshman Representative be someone with good conduct and academics? She—”
Su Jiaying tugged at her lips. “It was the school’s decision, so the spot probably will go to her.”
The other girl knew that her friend had bagged nearly every award that their high school offered. This was likely the first time that she had ever been bested by someone else. At the thought of this, she told a white lie in a bid to comfort her friend. “Actually, it’s just a speech. Even if one manages to make their presence known at the start, what really counts is our performance during the later part of the military training, so don’t give up.”
Su Jiaying gave no response.
…
The next day, all the freshmen gathered in the square at 6.30 pm. There were more than two thousand people present, all of them top students from the various provinces. They were not allowed to bring luggage and other unnecessary items. Still, the huge backpacks on their shoulders were filled to the brim. Everyone was in the same attire: camouflage training uniforms with distinct belt buckles.
Army green off-road trucks, sent by Red Scorpion, were parked at the roadside in a row. The huge vehicles made people feel somewhat nervous. After giving brief instructions, the counselors from the different schools got the student union members to get the freshmen to board the vehicles in a strict and orderly fashion.
…
Upon arriving at the training base, the freshmen disembarked from the trucks and looked around their unfamiliar surroundings with blank looks. Red Scorpion’s iconic, mysterious yet classy flag, which had the word ‘Lu’ printed in black in the bottom right corner, could be found everywhere.
On both sides of them were rows of large wooden huts, which were probably their dorms. Right in front of them was a two-storey wooden hut, which served as the instructors’ office. On the staircase leading up to it stood the instructors in camouflage military uniforms, arranged in neat rows.
Just then, a man in a unique set of black camouflage uniform came out from the hut with a few other men in similar clothing in tow. The students instinctively looked over and when their gazes landed on the man’s face, they could not help but hold their breaths.
Gu Mang’s presence was equally dazzling as she stood amid the sea of students. The other Red Scorpion leaders, who were following Lu Chengzhou, noticed her right away, even though they had only seen her once. Her face was very distinctive. They stared dumbly at her just as the students had at Lu Chengzhou.