Qingyue University’s military training lasted half a month, starting on September 7 and ending on September 21.
On the night of the 21st, there would be a closing ceremony, and once it concluded, the military training would officially be over.
Afterward, the freshmen would be given three days of rest to familiarize themselves with the campus environment and learn about various clubs.
The selection for the new members of the Student Union would also take place during this period.
On the third night, there would be a college-level freshman welcome gala before formal classes finally began.
‘I have to endure another half a month,’ Su Yichen thought, feeling the area where his glasses rested starting to ache.
Staying in a dormitory didn’t just make things uncomfortable for him because of the glasses; his roommates would eventually find it strange too.
‘How much does someone have to love their glasses to wear them even while sleeping and showering? It’s not that he has glasses on his face, but that his glasses grew a face.’
‘As soon as military training is over, I’m moving out.’
***
That night.
In a certain female dormitory building of the College of Liberal Arts at Qingyue University, Dorm 502.
Luo Yueli stared at her phone. This was the first time in many years that she had not received a “goodnight” from Su Yichen.
She had to admit that “habit” was a terrifying thing. A sense of loss welled up in the young girl’s heart once again. But along with that feeling came a quietly creeping sense of relief.
‘I finally stopped being a coward today.’
While Luo Yueli was scrolling through short videos on her phone, a *ding* sounded as a VX message popped up.
[Lizi: I’m off work! Come play a game with me!]
Luo Yueli froze for a moment before her lips curled into a faint smile. The person who sent the message was Mu Qianqian, a good friend she had met through gaming.
Back in high school, Luo Yueli was the goddess in many boys’ hearts, but she wasn’t particularly good at talking.
Coupled with her awkward relationship with Su Yichen during that time, those who did not know her well viewed her as an ice goddess who could only be admired from afar.
Consequently, throughout her three years of high school, Luo Yueli did not have many friends.
Among the opposite sex, there was Su Yichen. Among the same sex… there was only this Mu Qianqian, whom she had met online.
The other girl had a great personality—both lively and cheerful. Not only did she have a pleasant voice, but she could also always find something to talk about.
Her temperament was somewhat similar to Tong Ya’s bright personality. As a result, the two of them had become close friends who shared everything.
[Luo Yueli: You’re off work so early today?]
Mu Qianqian worked at a nightclub, specifically Jinyue City’s largest establishment, Guanghan Palace. Usually, this was exactly the time she would be working.
At some point a few months ago, when the friendship between the two girls had just reached its honeymoon phase, Luo Yueli had asked persistently until Mu Qianqian sheepishly revealed her place of work.
When she heard the word “nightclub,” Luo Yueli had almost dropped her phone.
Scenes that would make any innocent girl blush immediately flooded her mind. Her impression of nightclubs was limited to descriptions in movies and novels.
However, Mu Qianqian explained that while she did work at a nightclub, she was just a regular waitress. She had never once done anything like hostessing or accompanying guests for drinks.
She did not want to do that, and even if she did, she could not. Mu Qianqian had a mild allergy to alcohol and could not touch it.
Initially, Luo Yueli did not entirely believe her, but she did not openly express her doubt.
After all, such a workplace was difficult for any girl to talk about unless she had been doing it for so long that she was used to it. The fact that Mu Qianqian told her showed enough trust.
Luo Yueli felt that even if Mu Qianqian really was that kind of girl… she was still her friend. She had no right to interfere with how others chose to live.
But after spending more time together, Luo Yueli realized that Mu Qianqian was telling the truth.
She played games on her phone every day after work, and her daily life followed a simple routine.
She was frugal and calculating even when buying a game skin that cost a few dozen yuan, only purchasing it after Luo Yueli persuaded her for a long time. She never ate anything expensive either.
The only luxury she had ever bought was a new fruit phone last year during Double 11, purchased with coupons and a twelve-month interest-free installment plan because her old phone was too laggy for gaming.
She had to save as much money as possible while taking care of her sick sister. She did not seem at all like the kind of girl who would trade her body for money.
Because of this, Luo Yueli would occasionally find excuses to gift pretty skins to Mu Qianqian—the kind that came in matching sister or “couple” styles that felt a bit like a “girls’ love” vibe.
Although she was not wealthy herself, she was slightly better off than Mu Qianqian.
[Mu Qianqian: I have a day off tomorrow, so we can play all night today!]
[Luo Yueli: I can’t stay up all night.]
Luo Yueli replied: [Military training starts tomorrow.]
[Mu Qianqian: Oh, military training…]
‘Military training…’
In a rental house not far from Qingyue University, Mu Qianqian sat up from the sofa. She poured a glass of water quietly so as not to disturb her sister resting in the bedroom.
The streetlights shone through the nearly transparent glass window, casting light onto her beautiful collarbone.
The girl ran her fingers through the chocolate-colored curls falling naturally over her shoulders, her pink fingertips rapidly tapping the phone screen.
[Mu Qianqian: If it’s military training, then I guess we can’t. Lizi, I heard military training is really hard. You have to stay under the sun for so long that you’ll get all tanned. Is that true?]
Mu Qianqian hugged her knees and stared blankly out the window. She heard that there was military training when entering both high school and college… She wondered what it was like.
‘Lizi will probably share it with me. I’ll know once I see it then.’
[Luo Yueli: It is hard, but I’ll wear sunscreen. I’m not that silly.]
Luo Yueli thought for a moment and edited another message: [Qianqian, once my military training is over, how about we meet up?]
Mu Qianqian’s fingers rose and then hovered. She lowered them, then raised them again.
She had never attended university; she had not even gone to high school. She had come to Jinyue City to work right after graduating from middle school to earn money for her sister.
And Lizi, the friend she met in the game, was a student at Qingyue University.
To Mu Qianqian, Luo Yueli was a favorite of heaven.
Although she had never taken the college entrance exam or attended high school, she had heard others talk about Qingyue University, the most famous school in Jinyue City.
Mu Qianqian had seen company recruitment ads where graduates from Qingyue University often had a starting monthly salary of 10,000 yuan.
Their work was easy, and they were respected. Even among the conversations of successful men at the nightclub, “graduated from Qingyue University” was a synonym for being superior.
The name “Qingyue University” was almost equivalent to having high-society blood recognized by the world.
Mu Qianqian felt flustered and did not know how to answer for a moment. She knew Luo Yueli’s status. A girl as pure and noble as Luo Yueli was someone she could never normally reach.