"He Zhilan! Come on, step on my shoulders! Go for it!" When He Zhilan finally walked up to him, Tan Heqian immediately squatted down, allowing He Zhilan to step on his shoulders to overcome two obstacles as tall as herself.
"Gentleman of the Foreign Language Department, thanks!" He Zhilan didn’t hesitate to take Tan Heqian’s assistance. The surface of the obstacle was smooth, and it was twice her height. If it weren’t for his help, her jumping ability would fall short of overcoming it. For her, this obstacle was as formidable as a mountain.
Tan Heqian was a typical southern boy. He didn’t possess the height and bulk of the northern boys. However, because he was fond of sports, he was fairly sturdy. Yet, clad in clothes that made him look frail, He Zhilan stepped on him with a slight worry that she might squash him.
"Step on me all you want, your weight won’t flatten me. I’ve carried the heaviest girl in the team before!" Tan Heqian didn’t quite comprehend the meaning of "Gentleman" that slipped out of He Zhilan’s lips, but seeing the smile on her face, he knew they were words of praise. So, he gleefully accepted them.
He Zhilan giggled softly. Her face was so flushed that when she laughed, showing her teeth, they were the whitest and most beautiful part of her face.
"He Zhilan, whenever you get a chance, introduce me to your husband. I’ve got to pay him my respects! The training we’re undergoing is probably a piece of cake for him. Have you ever witnessed your husband training? Did he scale the over two-meter high obstacle as if he were performing movie stunts, zipping across quickly, much like a shadow?"
"I haven’t visited his troop, so I haven’t seen him training. But, if Lin Deng, who is just a military academy student, can easily overcome such obstacles, then my husband who has served for twelve years and trains relentlessly every single day, surely, must be much more skilled than Lin Deng!" As He Zhilan held onto the surface of the obstacle, Tan Heqian stood up slowly beneath her. She then gradually reached for the top edge and, upon obtaining a firm grip, pulled herself up forcefully.
"That was awesome!" Tan Heqian exclaimed as He Zhilan managed to surmount the obstacle effortlessly.
He Zhilan lay flat on the obstacle, panting heavily. She tossed a smile at Tan Heqian, waved a hand, and then, just like sliding down a slide, she slid off the smooth panel, landing on the ground to continue her journey.
Despite the grueling training - which would’ve seemed a matter of life or death to others - He Zhilan enjoyed herself. This bolstered her desire to witness He Teng’s training as soon as National Day arrived. She was eager to see if he was as impressive as she imagined him to be.
By the time the training ended, the sun had lost its scorching heat. To everyone’s amusement, all the competitive boys who hadn’t offered any help were punished with a hundred push-ups each.
Tan Heqian and a few other boys sat on the ground with the girls, loudly counting the number of push-ups that the punished boys had to perform. And there was no way these revengeful folks would help them keep count. Each person counted individually, and if anyone made a mistake, they had to start over. This effectively exhausted the punished boys, who collapsed onto the ground.
He Zhilan, Jiang Biyun, and Tan Heqian were sitting close to each other. Seeing Tan Heqian deriving a malicious delight from the punishment, she teased him, saying, "God always tends to favor the kind-hearted boys like you!"