Military Training

The military training was taking place on the first floor.

After the Business Administration Class 1 gathered, everyone changed into loose short-sleeved shirts—after all, under such intense sunlight, wearing uniforms would undoubtedly leave them drenched in sweat. It seemed that because the training period was short, they hadn’t even prepared military uniforms and were instead instructed to wear their gym clothes for physical education class.

Even though summer vacation had ended, the weather remained sweltering. The students stood scattered across the open area, with some girls even holding small handheld fans to cool themselves.

"It's so hot," Tang Keke complained, missing the comfort of the air-conditioned classroom.

Meanwhile, Bai Yuyou seemed particularly listless, as if enveloped in a cloud of low energy.

"Yuyou, what's wrong?"

"Not replenished… Ye Shuang energy," Bai Yuyou murmured, her eyes downcast. "Is the strategy… really working?"

"It doesn’t seem to be having much effect on Brother, huh…" Tang Keke scratched her head, beginning to doubt the effectiveness of playing hard to get. But shouldn’t it work, according to shoujo manga logic?

Could it be because Brother is a special case?

"Hey there, you two! Did you guys advance directly from this school’s junior high?" Three male classmates approached, having been eyeing Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke for a while now. As students who had transferred from other regions, they couldn’t help but hope for a romantic connection in college.

Bai Yuyou, still in her low-energy state, merely glanced at them with her cool, distant eyes before lowering her gaze again, showing no interest in conversation.

Tang Keke, however, answered their questions. "Yeah, we advanced from third year here."

"I heard the internal advancement exams are pretty easy. Like, anyone with a normal IQ could pass without much effort, right?" one of the boys joked with a grin.

Tang Keke’s expression immediately darkened, and she averted her gaze. "Oh, so anyone with a normal IQ can breeze through it, huh? Maybe."

One girl remained cold and unresponsive, while the other seemed to have stepped on a landmine, unwilling to engage further. The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.

The boys exchanged glances. Had they said something wrong?

"I—I didn’t mean it like that. Uh, the exams must still be somewhat challenging," the boy quickly backtracked with an awkward smile. "You must have pretty good grades, right?"

Tang Keke: "…"

"Sure, maybe they’re good." She crossed her arms, now completely unwilling to entertain him.

"…"

"Hm?" The next moment, Tang Keke noticed a short-haired girl in a short-sleeved shirt walking over, wearing cat-ear headphones.

"An Shiyu!" Tang Keke waved at her.

An Shiyu, who had just arrived at the open area, spotted the two and sauntered over. "Why are you two in my class?"

Tang Keke: "…"

"Is there a possibility that we’re also students in this class?" Tang Keke asked, exasperated.

"Impossible. I didn’t see you here yesterday." An Shiyu blinked blankly.

"You weren’t even here yesterday, were you?" Tang Keke was nearly speechless.

"Oh, right… I think I was in the infirmary all day." An Shiyu tilted her head in thought.

"Don’t just 'think' it!"

An Shiyu glanced around before her gaze settled on the boys. "These guys… your bag-carrying servants?"

"Your taste is terrible."

The boys clutched their chests as if struck by an arrow and quickly retreated.

"That’s not it," Tang Keke said, though she was secretly pleased to see them leave.

An Shiyu then noticed Bai Yuyou’s gloomy aura and tilted her head. "What’s wrong with her?"

"Uh, it’s a long story." Tang Keke struck a thoughtful pose, tilting her head at a 45-degree angle.

"The strategy… failed."

An Shiyu: "?"

Just then, the instructor arrived, accompanied by murmurs of surprise from the students.

"Wow, the instructor’s so handsome! But why isn’t he wearing a uniform?"

"None of us are wearing them, so it’s not weird if he isn’t either."

"He looks so familiar… Have I seen him somewhere before?"

"Damn, high quality."

As the students buzzed with chatter, Tang Keke and the others looked over—and immediately recognized the figure.

"Brother?!"

"Ye Shuang."

Standing before them was none other than Ye Shuang.

As for why he was here?

That could be traced back to a phone call ten minutes prior.

"The school didn’t even hire proper instructors? This military training is way too half-hearted," Ye Shuang sighed internally. Fortunately, he could choose which class to oversee, and as the relatively free school nurse, he naturally picked Bai Yuyou’s class.

"Alright, line up by gender and count off," Ye Shuang instructed, having substituted as a P.E. teacher before.

Might as well treat this like a regular gym class.

As he took attendance, he noticed an especially intense gaze from the crowd.

Following it, he saw Bai Yuyou staring fixedly at him.

Since this was technically a class, Ye Shuang couldn’t respond directly. He simply smiled and continued counting.

Being ignored, Bai Yuyou’s usual perky ahoge drooped listlessly.

"You can talk to Brother after training," Tang Keke reassured her.

"Mm."

The next activity was standing at attention. Ye Shuang thoughtfully had the students stand in the shade—a move that instantly boosted his popularity.

Nearly an hour passed before the scheduled break, where students could hydrate and rest.

Ye Shuang was feeling a bit tired himself but didn’t want to sit down while supervising.

"Report!" a student suddenly called out.

"Yes?" Ye Shuang turned to him.

"Isn’t military training supposed to temper our willpower? Why are we standing so comfortably?" the boy declared earnestly. "I propose we stand under the scorching sun to forge our ironclad resolve!"

"My entrepreneur father taught me this!"

The other students all turned to look at him.

The boy seemed pleased with himself, basking in the perceived sophistication of his statement—even sneaking a glance at Bai Yuyou from the corner of his eye.

Ye Shuang raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"To think you’d have such dedication…"

One minute later—

The boy stood alone under the blazing sun while the rest of the class remained at ease in the shade.

…