The next morning, everyone was woken up by the alarm clock.
After hurriedly washing up and getting ready to leave, they realized Qin Ruo was still laying in bed.
"What should we do about her?" The three of them looked at each other.
In the end, it was Fang Jing who stepped forward and knocked on Qin Ruo’s bed frame, saying, "Ruoruo, get up quickly, or we’re going to be late for the military training!"
The latter simply covered her ears and complained, "So noisy, can’t you all be quiet? I don’t want to go today."
"You’re not going to the military training?" Fang Jing stared, surprised, at the other’s bunk.
Qin Ruo shouted back, "That’s right, I’m not going. Stop annoying me. If you have the guts, let Instructor Gu come to the dorm to find me himself."
After the humiliation she suffered yesterday, she didn’t want to go today at all. It was just for credits, she could do without.
Fang Jing turned her head to look at Shen Weiyi and Yan Xiaoyue, unsure of what to do.
Shen Weiyi said, "Let her be! We’ve already called her. Whether or not she goes is her business." If Instructor Gu really pursued the matter, it had nothing to do with them.
The three of them jogged all the way to the parade ground where most people had already arrived.
With the sound of a whistle, another day of military training began.
"Start the roll call!"
"Why is there one missing?" the instructor asked coldly, looking at the formation with a stern face.
"Reporting to the instructor, Qin Ruo didn’t come," Fang Jing said meekly.
"Why didn’t she come?" the instructor’s piercing gaze turned to her, making her feel faint-hearted.
"She, she’s not feeling well," Fang Jing replied, bracing herself.
Instructor Gu: "If she’s not feeling well, why didn’t she ask for leave?"
"Because..." Fang Jing was at a loss for words.
Instructor Gu’s face grew colder, and he asked in an increasingly stern voice, "Are you in the same dorm as her?"
"You, step out!" the instructor ordered.
Fang Jing nervously stepped out in front of the formation.
The instructor then looked toward the formation, "Is there anyone else who is from the same dorm as these two?"
Shen Weiyi and Yan Xiaoyue exchanged a glance and stepped out together.
"You three, run two laps around the field as punishment," Instructor Gu stated coldly.
Surprised, the three of them looked up at each other.
"Report to the instructor, why?" Yan Xiaoyue asked instinctively.
Instructor Gu: "No reason."
Yan Xiaoyue: "Reporting to the instructor, I don’t accept this."
"Don’t accept? Then run three laps."
As Yan Xiaoyue was about to say something else, Shen Weiyi grabbed her and shook her head at her.
The three of them began to jog slowly along the field track.
Yan Xiaoyue, puzzled, turned to ask Shen Weiyi, "Why did you stop me from speaking just now? How can the instructor punish us without any distinction, it’s clearly unfair."
"The instructor obviously didn’t want to hear excuses, and even if we explained, it wouldn’t have made any difference," Shen Weiyi said flatly.
"But what does Qin Ruo not coming to training have to do with us? Why should we be punished?" Yan Xiaoyue grew increasingly indignant.
"Forget it, after all, the instructor is the instructor," consoled Shen Weiyi.
"Yeah, Xiao Yue, don’t be angry. Running is pretty good; at least we don’t have to stand at attention," added Fang Jing, trying to find a silver lining in the situation.
"But still..." Yan Xiaoyue still felt resentful, it was all Qin Ruo’s fault.
Their class wasn’t the only one on the field; there were also freshmen from other colleges.
Under the gaze of thousands, the three of them completed their four laps. They felt more embarrassed than tired.
Having finally finished the four laps and returned to the formation, they heard the instructor ask, "Now do you understand why I punished you?"