At the back of the freshman formation below the stage, Song Ze sat with the Computer Science Department, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the cool, graceful figure at center stage. Even when his roommate nudged his arm and teased him, he only turned around in a fluster before his attention immediately drifted back.
It was not until Zhang Yanyan bowed and stepped offstage, disappearing behind the curtains, that he slowly withdrew his gaze. He unconsciously clenched the hem of his clothes and gave an awkward little cough, the tips of his ears quietly turning red.
“Song Ze, what are you staring at? Your soul practically left your body.” His roommate Wang Hao leaned over and teased him, bumping his shoulder. “That’s the freshman representative from the Finance Department, right? She’s really gorgeous. She said her name was… What was it again?”
“Zhang Yanyan, Class One of Finance,” Song Ze replied. Having been caught, he gave another quiet cough. His voice held a hint of awkwardness as he tried to cover up his embarrassment, though a boyish crush was hidden in his eyes.
“Not bad, Song Ze. You remember her name that clearly?” another roommate, Li Yang, said with a laugh, nudging him with his elbow. “What, have you fallen for her?”
Song Ze glanced sideways at the group, looking a little embarrassed but making no attempt to be coy. He nodded directly. “Yeah, I have. Got any advice on how to pursue someone? Give me some pointers.”
Wang Hao slapped him on the back, his voice rising slightly. “That’s easy. Just make sure she sees you often. We’ll help you out. Once you win her over, you’d better treat us to a good meal!”
The others from their dorm chimed in one after another. Song Ze agreed with a smile, already quietly making plans in his heart.
He remembered Zhang Yanyan’s appearance and class. Tengyuan University was only so big; creating a few chances to run into her shouldn’t be difficult.
By the time the opening ceremony ended, it was already four-thirty in the afternoon.
Zhang Yanyan picked up her bag backstage and followed the flow of people outside. The three girls—Lin Yue and the others—had been waiting under the Chinese parasol tree by the exit. The moment they saw her, they linked arms with her and began chattering excitedly, praising how commanding she had been during her speech. They then changed the subject, mentioning that Teacher Liu had sent a message in the class group chat instructing everyone to collect their textbooks and military training uniforms from the main building, then go straight to the classroom to meet her.
“Let’s go together. We’re headed the same way anyway.” Zhang Yanyan nodded, and the girls walked toward the main building together.
The first-floor lobby of the main building had been divided into different collection windows according to each department. While Zhang Yanyan stood in line with Lin Yue at the Finance Department window, she failed to notice that Song Ze was in the Computer Science Department line diagonally ahead of them. Using his conversation with his roommates as an excuse, he kept glancing in her direction, his stare practically fixed on her.
Following his gaze, Wang Hao chuckled. “Song Ze, she’s right there. Why don’t you go talk to her now? At least get acquainted.”
Song Ze immediately waved him off, his face reddening. His voice was flustered. “No, no. What’s the rush? Going up to talk to her right after the semester starts would look too deliberate. She might find it annoying.”
Even as he said that, his gaze remained glued to Zhang Yanyan. He did not deliberately slow down his own turn to collect the materials until she had picked up her textbooks and military training uniform and turned to leave. He even reminded his roommates, “Walk slower. Don’t lose sight of her. Find out which classroom she goes to.”
Class One of the Finance Management Department was in Room 302 on the third floor. By the time they arrived, quite a few students were already seated inside, all of them carrying the textbooks and military uniforms they had just collected.
At exactly five o’clock, Teacher Liu entered on time with the class roster and the military training schedule. After a brief introduction, she immediately handed out the forms.
“Tomorrow morning, everyone is to assemble on the field at six o’clock for military training. It will last two weeks. This is the schedule and training content, so memorize the times. No unexcused absences. Your military training results will count toward your credits.”
A wave of quiet groans rose from the room. No one liked military training. It was dull and exhausting. High school military training had already been bad enough, and now they had to go through it again at university. Just thinking about it made their whole bodies ache.
Teacher Liu smiled and then handed out the course schedules one by one. She organized the election of temporary class officers and went over the various matters they needed to note at the start of the semester. By the time everything was finished, it was already six in the evening.
“Yanyan, want to go to the second cafeteria with us? I heard they’re serving your favorite sweet-and-sour ribs today.” Lin Yue finished packing her things and came over to ask.
But Zhang Yanyan shook her head. “No, I have something else to do. You guys go ahead.”
She was not a particularly talkative person, nor did she need to stick with them every moment of the day. Being together constantly would only make things troublesome. It was better to keep some distance and enjoy the peace.
Besides, she wanted to return early to organize her military training supplies. So she left alone with her bag, first stopping by the library to familiarize herself with the route before heading to the underground parking lot. Mr. Li was already waiting in the usual spot.
The next morning at six, the athletic field at Tengyuan University was packed with freshmen in camouflage uniforms. Students from each department stood in orderly formations, while the morning sunlight stretched their shadows long across the ground. The instructors stood erect at the front of the groups. With a single whistle, military training officially began.
Zhang Yanyan stood with Lin Yue and the others in the formation for Finance Class One, wearing the same utterly miserable expression as everyone else.
No one could feel even the slightest bit enthusiastic about two full weeks of military training. Standing at attention, practicing formations, marching in step—the same monotonous exercises repeated over and over. Just thinking about them was enough to make anyone feel bored.
She raised a hand to smooth the loose strands of hair from her forehead and kept her gaze level with the front. Before long, sweat slowly seeped down her back.
In the Computer Science Department’s formation not far away, Song Ze was also standing properly at attention. Every now and then, when the instructor was not looking, he would sneak a quick glance toward Zhang Yanyan. Realizing that it was not an appropriate time, he would hurriedly turn his gaze away, straighten his body, and dare not move again.
Wang Hao stood beside him and caught the little movements from the corner of his eye. When the instructor turned around, he whispered, “Song Ze, stop looking around. If the instructor catches you, you’ll be punished with extra laps.”
Song Ze nodded when he heard that and quickly focused his attention, taking the training seriously.
The moment the whistle signaling a break sounded, Zhang Yanyan and Lin Yue leaned against the railing beside the athletic field to wipe away their sweat. Sweat trickled down from her temple along her cheek. She had just pulled out a tissue and wiped herself twice when a figure walked over.
Song Ze was approaching with half a bottle of mineral water in his hand. His features were fresh and clean, and beneath the sunlight, he looked especially handsome and well-groomed.
When he reached Zhang Yanyan, he took a packet of tissues from his pocket and held it out to her. His voice was bright and natural, carrying a hint of youthful energy.
“Looks like you’re almost out of tissues. Use these.”
Zhang Yanyan lifted her eyes. Her gaze swept over the packet he was offering before returning to his face.
Although she had inherited the original Zhang Yanyan’s memories and knew what would happen later, those experiences still felt unreal to her. She could not truly empathize with them.
That said, Zhang Yanyan had no intention of responding to him.
The fact that she had not gone over and slapped him twice already was a testament to her restraint.
Judging solely by his appearance, Song Ze was indeed fairly attractive. Otherwise, Tang Tang would not have become entangled with him in her previous life despite knowing that he already had a girlfriend.
Zhang Yanyan shook her head without stopping what she was doing. “No, thank you. I have my own.”
Lin Yue moved closer to Zhang Yanyan, casting a scrutinizing look at Song Ze. She said nothing, but her guarded posture made her attitude perfectly clear.
Song Ze did not mind. He withdrew his hand and slipped it into his pocket, smiling as he spoke in the same easy, natural tone.
“I’m Song Ze from the Computer Science Department. I saw you give a speech as the freshman representative at the opening ceremony. You left quite an impression.”
"Hello," Zhang Yanyan responded in a faint, detached tone, showing no intention of indulging in small talk. She twisted open the lid of her water bottle and took a sip.
Song Ze did not crowd too close, stopping half a meter away from her. He picked up the topic of military training to keep the conversation going: "The drill instructor for this round of military training looks super strict, but he's actually pretty easygoing. The only real hassle is that standing at attention for long hours makes your wrists ache. I brought an extra pair of ice arm sleeves, you can take them if you need. They block sun and protect your wrists at the same time."
As he spoke, he pulled a pair of ice arm sleeves out from the side pocket of his canvas bag and held them out to her.
"Thanks, but no need. I already brought my own ice arm sleeves and sunscreen," Zhang Yanyan turned him down bluntly, leaving not even the tiniest opening for him to push further.
Song Ze's hand holding the ice arm sleeves paused for a second. He did not press the matter, and instead took out his phone, turning the screen to face Zhang Yanyan. A WeChat QR code was displayed on the screen.
"Then let's add each other on WeChat. We're all freshmen at Tengyuan, it'll be nice to be able to say hi when we run into each other on campus later. If you need any help with anything during military training, you can also reach out to me."
"There's no real need to add WeChat with people I barely know," Zhang Yanyan waved her hand directly, not even glancing at the QR code. Her tone was calm, but her stance was completely unambiguous.
