In the afternoon training, the focus was mainly on everyone’s adaptability and manual skills. The whole afternoon was spent on the sandy ground, under the scorching sun, and everyone felt as if they were going to be sun-dried like sausages the next moment.
Instructor Lin Deng held a long whip, occasionally whipping the sandy ground, while urging everyone to overcome obstacles and move forward.
Although the whip looked frightening, it never landed on anyone. At most, the dirt whipped up would fall on the head of someone who happened to be passing by. Even so, everyone was still scared, having never faced such a situation before.
The training was the same for both men and women. Within a team, there were physical differences between the sexes. The faster male students would dash to the front in the blink of an eye, while quite a few, like Tan Heqian, would stop occasionally to help the female students, extending a hand to pull them up when they couldn’t climb over an obstacle, or offering their shoulders for them to step on.
It was only the first day of military training and Tan Heqian was already in tears. He was glad his mother had forbidden him from applying to military school after much crying and cajoling. This was merely training for new university students. He could only imagine how much tougher actual military training would be. Tan Heqian was struggling with just this level of training. If this were military school, he wondered if he would survive long enough to get married.
Looking at the instructor, Tan Heqian naturally thought of He Zhilan’s husband. Unconsciously, his gaze would often rest on He Zhilan.
In the south, He Zhilan was considered tall, but in this university where students from all over the country gathered, she was only average. Despite coming from the countryside, she had delicate skin. Her upbringing was no different from that of a pampered lady.
The figure lagging behind the group of female students was full of defiance, her teeth gritted as she continued to push forward. Her fair face, flushed either from the sun or heat, was covered in sweat. This made it hard for her to blink, as every time she did, sweat would stream down her face like a small river. Sweat getting into her eyes would cause great discomfort and dryness.
The excessive training had left many of the female students in tears, but despite being frail, He Zhilan bit her lip and persisted.
At this moment, as Tan Heqian watched He Zhilan refusing to give up, he had the illusion that her husband was waiting for her at the end of the race set by Instructor Lin Deng. This was why she was able to summon energy mismatched with her small frame. Time and again, she would grit her teeth, fall, stumble, then rise and continue. She repeated this cycle until she crossed the obstacle and continued to charge forward.
Suddenly, a phrase came to Tan Heqian’s mind - ’Share weal and woe.’ Was it because her husband was a soldier, enduring this every day, that, even if it was hard and tiring, she found it worthwhile and even sweet to do the same?
Probably, among all the new students, He Zhilan was the only one who could wipe away sweat nonchalantly, allowing the sandy hand to wipe her face, yet still manage to raise her head high, revealing a faint smile to greet those in front.