BSS - Chapter 54
Chapter 54
The air around her was hot and dry. The stairwell was quiet. On the phone, both of them fell silent for a moment. Deng Chuan lowered her head, unconsciously tracing patterns on the floor with her foot. Listening to the sound of Xu Wei's soft breathing, she felt quite shy, her face burning.
It was Xu Wei who chuckled first, teasing from the other end of the line, "Shy already?"
Deng Chuan hummed in embarrassment.
Through the phone, she couldn't see the other's expression, only hearing her whisper, "All bark and no bite. No wonder you're a little fool."
Her voice was light and soft, with a crispness like pearls falling onto a jade plate. Deng Chuan's heart stirred, and a bit of courage materialized from nowhere. She replied cheekily, "I'm just not used to it yet. If you say it a few more times, I'll get used to it."
Xu Wei huffed, not falling for her line. "You can say it to yourself, then."
The two of them went back and forth on the topic for a while. This is what being in love is like; even talking nonsense feels especially interesting.
The conversation actually wasn't short. Deng Chuan noticed a thin layer of mist gradually forming in the night sky outside the window. From time to time, the sounds of laughter and chatter from people returning from the basketball court drifted up from the campus path. But every minute and every second also clearly passed exceptionally quickly. So quickly that by the time Deng Chuan had gotten used to the stuffy heat and the mosquitoes, Xu Wei was already telling her to go rest, before she even had a chance to savor the moment.
"I was tired, but talking to you makes me not tired."
"Don't say things like that," Xu Wei said seriously. "Those kinds of words don't work on me."
Deng Chuan, holding back a smile, heard the sound of a wrapper being torn on the other end. "What are you eating?"
"Mm-" Xu Wei mumbled. "A milk candy."
"Where'd you get it?"
"I went out to throw away the trash just now, and the neighbor's kid gave it to me."
"How nice," Deng Chuan said. "Sister, I want one too."
"You..." Xu Wei paused. "I'll give you one next time. Stop being so clingy. Hurry up and go back."
There was a hint of embarrassment in her tone, and she had urged her to return to the dorm several times. Deng Chuan didn't want to make things difficult for her, so she said softly, "Okay- I'm going back then. You shouldn't stay up too late either."
"Mm."
"Bye-bye-"
"Bye."
They had said their goodbyes, but the call continued. Neither spoke, both waiting for the other to hang up. After a moment of stalemate, Xu Wei spoke up quietly, "I'm hanging up now."
"Okay."
Another heart-tickling, unbearable silence followed, and then the call was gently disconnected.
Deng Chuan clutched her warm phone and pushed open the fire door of the stairwell, only to run into Zhou Zhi, who was on her way to the laundry room at the end of the hall. Holding a basin full of clothes, Zhou Zhi glanced at her casually. "On the phone with your girlfriend?"
Deng Chuan froze for a second, realizing her expression after the call must have given her away. But she didn't feel particularly flustered, just surprised. How could she tell it was a girlfriend?
Perhaps sensing Deng Chuan's astonishment, Zhou Zhi chuckled and pointed to her own face. "Your expression. It's very different." She added, "You wouldn't look like that with a boy."
Deng Chuan unconsciously raised an eyebrow. Although coming out to her roommate on the first day of school was a rather bizarre thing to do, she still smiled at Zhou Zhi's words. Before she could speak, she heard her say, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
She could only go with the flow and pat her on the shoulder. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
When Deng Chuan returned to the dorm, Li Mingtang was, as expected, sitting at her computer, commanding the world. She was wearing headphones, her keyboard clacking away. On the screen was what looked like a dungeon in a martial arts game. She was muttering about who wasn't following orders, who was slacking off, and who was playing so badly it was like a side dish to a meal, making her full just by watching. Xie Yao, meanwhile, was watching videos with her headphones on. The atmosphere was inexplicably harmonious and cheerful.
"Deng Chuan, you're back." Li Mingtang managed to spare a bit of attention to greet Deng Chuan while playing her game. "Want some fruit? I washed some plums."
"No, thanks," Deng Chuan replied, thanking her before heading into the bathroom for another quick shower.
When she came out again, Zhou Zhi was also back, standing beside Li Mingtang's seat watching her play. After a few minutes, she shook her head and said, "I'm full. I'm out." This angered Li Mingtang so much that she freed up a hand to swat at her.
The next afternoon, the entire class gathered downstairs from the dorm and was led by their senior student advisor to a simple matriculation physical exam. In the finance department's class, the number of male and female students was about the same. Since it was the first time everyone was meeting, they were all quite reserved, mostly chatting with their own roommates.
After the physical, they went to pick up their military training uniforms and changed in the locker room by the sports field. P University had always taken military training seriously; it would last for about two weeks, with a short break on the weekend.
The uniforms were one-size-fits-all. Deng Chuan's last military training had been a few years ago, at the start of her first year of high school. She had grown quite a bit since then. The loose, baggy uniform was a passable fit.
Zhou Zhi had also changed, the belt making her stand especially straight. The slightly shorter Li Mingtang and Xie Yao were still struggling with their pants. Zhou Zhi squatted down and helped Li Mingtang roll up her pant legs a few times. "Is that better?"
"It's so ugly." Li Mingtang cinched her belt tightly and restlessly kicked at Zhou Zhi's calf with her leg. "Look, the pant leg falls right back down."
Zhou Zhi ignored her, grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her around to face the exit, then called to Deng Chuan, "Let's go. Soon we'll be the only ones not ready."
This afternoon was just the initial meeting with the drill instructor and didn't count as part of the fifteen days of training. The class straggled out after changing into their uniforms. The drill instructors were already assembled on the field, being addressed by the lead instructor.
The group found a shady spot under a tree and watched from a distance.
After a while, the instructors' formation broke, and they walked toward their respective classes. The instructor assigned to Deng Chuan's class was in his early twenties, with deeply tanned skin and a taut, unsmiling face that looked intimidating.
He glanced at the shade and had them assemble right there, not making them stand under the hot sun. He counted them, then arranged them in formation according to height. Deng Chuan and Zhou Zhi were tall, so they were placed at the front of the line, separated from Li Mingtang and Xie Yao.
The instructor gave a brief speech. The main point was to emphasize the meaning and importance of military training. He also specifically stressed that anyone with a pre-existing medical condition should report to him now, and that if anyone felt unwell during training, they shouldn't try to tough it out but must report it immediately.
After saying this, the instructor fell silent, his oppressive gaze sweeping over the students in the formation one by one. After a moment, he ordered flatly, "Stand at attention for twenty minutes."
In the dense green canopy overhead, the buzzing of cicadas boiled over, replacing the scorching sunlight with waves of clamor.
On the distant tennis courts, people were playing tennis. The dull, rhythmic sound of the ball hitting the rackets carried through the air.
Deng Chuan was in decent physical shape, but she couldn't stand the heat. Before long, sweat from her temples was sliding down her cheeks and over her fair neck. Deng Chuan kept her eyes lowered, staring at a fixed point in the air before her.
The group stood as if frozen, enduring the difficult twenty minutes.
After what felt like a long time, so long that even the cicadas' buzzing seemed to fade into the distance, the instructor glanced at his watch and announced, "At ease. Five-minute break in place."
Deng Chuan let out a sigh of relief and moved her stiff legs, feeling the blood gradually flow back into her limbs. Zhou Zhi pulled a tissue from her pocket and handed it to her. Deng Chuan took it but said, "I have some too."
Zhou Zhi said casually, "Then I'll ask you for one when I run out."
The two of them looked at each other and smiled.
Deng Chuan wiped her sweat, but then saw Zhou Zhi looking off to the side. She followed her gaze and saw Li Mingtang and Xie Yao standing over there drinking water. Cases of mineral water and large jugs of mung bean soup had been prepared by P University and placed nearby, but they had been sitting out for a long time and were now lukewarm, doing little to relieve the heat. Deng Chuan didn't want any. Seeing Zhou Zhi staring blankly in that direction, she asked her, "Do you want some water?"
Zhou Zhi shook her head and pulled her gaze back, instead asking Deng Chuan, "Were you and your girlfriend high school classmates?"
Deng Chuan was taken aback for a moment. "Huh?... Sort of."
"Don't get me wrong. I don't mean any harm," Zhou Zhi said. "We're the same kind."
Deng Chuan's eyes widened even more as she realized what she meant. "Ah..."
Zhou Zhi gave her a frank smile.
Just then, the instructor blew the assembly whistle. After they returned to formation, it was another round of standing at attention.
They didn't stop until sunset, when the instructor finally announced their dismissal.
After an entire afternoon of standing at attention, the group was exhausted. But today was nothing. The official opening ceremony tomorrow would mark the real start of the fifteen days of military training. Li Mingtang complained with a pained expression that her feet hurt, but then her face lit up as she thought of something. "At least we don't have to train at night. In high school military training, we had to train at night too. Our whole class was punished with squats back then; our legs were about to fall off."
Deng Chuan asked casually, "Why were you punished?"
Zhou Zhi answered for her, "Because she kept talking during the movie."
Li Mingtang said indignantly, "That instructor was awful; he was always targeting me. Everyone was talking, but he only ever yelled at me."
The more she spoke, the more worked up she got, gesturing with her hands. "I was really short in high school, so that instructor banished me to a corner. Every day during breaks, he would single me out, saying I was still talking even when I was standing in the corner."
A campus shuttle drove by. Zhou Zhi subtly pulled her to the side, then let go, quietly listening to her tragic military training history. "On the last day, it was time for the final review performance. He pulled me out, saying I was ruining the overall image. I was so mad I could have died. While everyone else was marching, I was on the field just watching. And get this, when he was about to leave the base, he even asked me, 'All the other students want my autograph, why don't you?' I wanted his autograph my ass! What bad luck."
She repeated indignantly, "Such bad luck!"
Her pretty eyes held unconcealed irritation. Zhou Zhi patted the back of her head. "Alright, let's think about what to eat for dinner."
It was the first day of the semester, and the cafeteria was crowded. It seemed all the students from the School of Economics and Management were back. The lines at the windows were long, so the four of them found an empty table to sit at first, resting and waiting for the crowd to thin out before getting in line.
Deng Chuan was messaging Xu Wei. Last night, she had bought several bags of milk candies and mailed them to Xu Wei without telling her. Unexpectedly, the delivery logistics seemed to have sourced the items locally, because Xu Wei received them today. She called her childish on WeChat.
Deng Chuan sent a childish message back: "Eat one whenever you miss me."
Xu Wei couldn't stand this level of childishness and replied with a sticker of a cat covering its mouth.
Then she added, "Well, that's it for me then. I'm going to get cavities at my age."
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