A Young Woman's Heart

In the mountains, where the temperature is significantly lower than in the city, the sunlight, which would still feel somewhat scorching in the city, suddenly makes one feel warm.

Moreover, the spot illuminated by the sunlight was just big enough for one shift of people to stand, instantly giving people the feeling of being chosen by heaven.

But what happened next was not so pleasant.

That is... standing at attention.

Almost every military training session involves practicing standing at attention, which seems to be the most basic thing.

Even with something this basic, most students can't stand up properly.

At most, it will just remain still.

Even simply staying still is quite an uncomfortable thing.

It's even more uncomfortable than running.

When you stand still, your senses become very sharp, and sometimes you may feel an itch somewhere for no reason. The more you don't scratch, the more it itches.

Therefore, standing at attention is truly a test of willpower.

"Head up, chest out, stomach in, don't slouch, especially girls!" Instructor Huang walked up to Wang Jiale and patted her on the shoulder. "What's wrong with you? You don't even have breasts, you can't possibly be that heavy, can you?"

Wang Jiale blushed and tried to straighten her chest, but after a while she couldn't hold on any longer and returned to her previous state.

"Legs straight, fingers together, hands flat on thighs!" Instructor Huang swung the rope with the whistle attached, scrutinizing the group. "The boys in the back, you're all the tallest, don't think I can't see you just because you're slacking off!"

Mo Xueyao had already prepared herself mentally, so compared to the other girls who were frowning, her expression was the most composed.

She even found it quite amusing.

It's like taking on some kind of challenge.

The golden sunlight slanted down on her, revealing the pale golden down on her small face.

She tried her best to stay still, but she couldn't help but tremble slightly. Even in such cool weather, large beads of sweat kept dripping down her face.

Her long eyelashes were damp with sweat, making her eyelids feel heavy.

She imagined herself holding a weapon, defending the border, with soldiers from other countries a few hundred meters away, both sides staring at each other with solemn expressions.

She began to fantasize again about what she would do as a soldier if war broke out.

Holding a rifle, they charged into battle, killing countless enemies...

Every boy has probably had this kind of fantasy at some point.

Mo Xueyao, who had been a boy for sixteen years, was no exception.

This is actually a way to divert attention.

At least this will make the time pass less unbearably.

"Hmm, very good, very good. What's this girl's name? Her posture isn't perfect, but at least she's standing very seriously and has met the basic requirements." Instructor Huang looked at Mo Xueyao with great appreciation, patted her arm, and asked.

"Mo... Xueyao."

"Great job, everyone should learn from her! Especially those boys! If you keep laughing, go hang out with the pretty instructor from the next class!"

As time went on, the students finally became unsteady on their feet, and the whole line began to sway and stagger.

There are very few people who have the perseverance to stick to it.

Among the girls, Mo Xueyao was one, and among the boys, Mr. Xue was still standing straight, as was the handsome An Ruosu, who also persevered.

"Alright, rest where you are now!" Instructor Huang's command made the students breathe a sigh of relief, but because they had been standing for too long, their bodies were stiff and they felt a little restricted in their movements when they wanted to sit down.

Having persevered until now, Mo Xueyao let out a long sigh of relief and swayed as she sat cross-legged on the ground.

—At this point, it doesn't matter whether the ground is clean or not.

Anyway, these clothes are going to get dirty sooner or later.

And by the fifth day, it will definitely be extremely dirty.

"I'm exhausted. We've been standing for half an hour, haven't we?" Wang Jiale looked completely drained. If she hadn't been supporting herself with her hands, she probably would have collapsed onto the ground right now.

The instructor answered her: "Half an hour? Hahaha, if you really stood for half an hour, someone like you would have to be taken to an ambulance! You've only been standing for five minutes."

"Only five minutes?" Mo Xueyao was a little surprised. She thought at least fifteen minutes had passed.

"Yeah, five minutes is enough to tire you out. Do you think standing at attention is really that easy? Take a ten-minute break, and then we'll do some warm-up exercises," Instructor Huang said with a smile. "By the way, didn't any of you bring water bottles? Remember to bring them tomorrow and fill them with water, or you'll all die of thirst."

"I hope it rains tomorrow..." Although military training has only just begun, Wang Jiale has already started praying like this.

"It's alright, we can still train in the rain," the instructor said with a smile. "Practice in your raincoat."

"Ah... are you a devil..." Wang Jiale said weakly.

Five minutes of standing at attention feels like a long time, but ten minutes of rest feels like a short time.

When the instructors asked everyone to stand up, the students were somewhat reluctant.

Mo Xueyao stood up quickly. She stretched her body and the sweat on her body had cooled down. The breeze was cool and made her feel a little cold.

"Next, march in place. Let me see how many of you are marching with the same steps." Instructor Huang blew his whistle with a relaxed smile. "Start—go!"

Everyone started walking on the spot. The boys in the back row seemed to have a lot of strength, and they deliberately stomped their feet on the ground, making a loud slapping sound, as if they wanted to collapse the asphalt road.

"Hey you little fatso in the back! You're moving your arms and legs in unison!" Instructor Huang shouted.

He was referring to Gao Yuan.

"Really?" Gao Yuan himself hadn't noticed yet. He looked at the people around him, trying to adjust himself, but found that he couldn't adjust himself no matter what he did.

So much so that even the people around him were thrown off their rhythm by his pace.

"Don't move." Instructor Huang stopped Gao Yuan and then grabbed one of his hands. "Okay, start walking now, swing your arms."

"Is that so?" Gao Yuan was a little unsure.

"Okay, just keep this pace. Be quicker, you're always a beat slower than the others."

"oh oh!"

"Almost half a beat away again."

Gao Yuan was covered in sweat, feeling that walking in place was really difficult...

Instructor Huang looked around, then his gaze fell on Mo Xueyao.

This made Mo Xueyao feel very uncomfortable. She secretly glanced at the people around her out of the corner of her eye to make sure that she hadn't stepped out of step or walked with the wrong foot.

But Instructor Huang kept staring at her, then walked up to her and kept staring into her eyes.

Mo Xueyao tried her best to pretend she couldn't see him and seriously strode in place.

"Mo Xueyao...right?"

“…Um…yes…” Mo Xueyao answered weakly, feeling as if she had done something wrong even though she hadn’t made any mistakes.

Are you mixed race?

"Huh?" Mo Xueyao was taken aback, wondering why he suddenly asked this question.

"Because when I look into your eyes in this sunlight, I realize that your eyes are not dark brown, but deep blue."

"Huh... really..." Mo Xueyao was a little embarrassed because the people around her looked at her after hearing this, and Gao Yuan, who was bolder, even left the group and moved forward.

Of course, he was immediately caught by Instructor Huang: "Little Fatty! Why did you run out! Trying to run away, huh?"

"No, no!"

"So you want to see girls, right?"

"Ahem!" Gao Yuan coughed awkwardly. "Instructor! Everyone has a love for beauty."

"So you like wearing skirts too, right?"

"No, absolutely not!"

"You like watching? No problem. Come on, everyone stop." Instructor Huang said with a wicked smile, then put his arm around Gao Yuan's shoulder and led him to the girls' group in a very intimate yet irresistible manner.

Then Gao Yuan stood next to Mo Xueyao, and Hua Yinyin and Wang Jiale moved aside to make room for each other.

"You'll practice standing here, okay? Now let's start again—start—go!"

The instructor shouted, and the students started moving again.

Gao Yuan was also forced to remain stagnant among the girls.

He's usually incredibly mischievous, but when he's actually practicing in front of a bunch of girls, he gets as shy as a red-skinned duck.

"Hey, Huang Gou, why is there a boy standing among the girls in your class?" Another instructor came over during a break and asked jokingly.

"Nonsense, she's a girl too, just a little ugly," Huang Gou replied seriously.

The students couldn't help but laugh.

It's not just because of the joke, but also because of Instructor Huang's name.

Many people, including Mo Xueyao, were wondering how the character 'gou' was written.

It couldn't possibly be the 'dog' in 'wolfhound', could it?

The first afternoon of military training already felt incredibly long.

They were either standing at attention or marching in place.

Even the boys who were full of energy at the beginning didn't have the strength to stomp on the ground anymore.

4:30 p.m. is the end of the day's military training.

The students, exhausted from a long day, were finally free. They slumped their shoulders listlessly, eager to go back, take a shower, and go to sleep.

Of course, there were also those who were extremely hungry. For example, Li Hongran, who had been shouting for a long time, claimed that he could eat a whole cow right now.

However, the ordeal was far from over.

When the group arrived at the canteen, the instructor surnamed Tian, ​​or rather the chief instructor, began to demand that the students sing military songs, and only those who sang loudly were allowed to eat.

"Okay, our class will sing too. Everyone sing louder so we can eat earlier. Here I go, I'll start—'Sunset over the western hills, rosy clouds fly!'"

The students' expressions froze for a second.

Having listened to so much pop music, the crowd couldn't immediately recall how to continue singing this song.

Fortunately, at that moment, Mr. Xue's gentle voice rang out: "Soldiers, return to camp after target practice..."