Nine

As soon as the coach bus entered the mountain road leading to the military training base, Astragalus began to gaze out the window, scanning the scenery with eager eyes. After winding along the mountain road for another ten minutes, they arrived at a flat valley nestled between two peaks; the camp was built here. The dormitory buildings, flowerbeds, lawns, and synthetic sports ground within the compound looked no different from those at school, but the guards standing rigidly at the gate, rifles in hand like statues, and the distant, muffled echoes of gunfire reverberating from the mountainside quickly silenced the chatter and excitement of the freshmen, replacing it with curiosity and awe.

The students from the Vocational High arrived first, already dressed in camouflage uniforms and assembled in dense rows on the concrete square between the dorms, their faces a sea of humanity. Astragalus pressed her face against the bus window, eyes wide, wishing she had the compound eyes of an insect to take it all in. The camo uniforms dazzled her, countless boys’ faces arranged side by side, and the bus swept right past the lineup.

But the moment she remembered that Xiao Ying was among them, just a few meters away, joy flooded her heart and soul.

The Number One High had fewer students—eight classes with just over four hundred, girls making up a minority, all assigned to the smallest two-story dormitory. The Vocational High boasted over a thousand students, mostly boys, filling several large dorms nearby. The boys from Number One High were housed in two smaller buildings on the outer edge, far from the girls.

"You all say Vocational High students are unruly and the school atmosphere is chaotic, but I think they're fine. The instructors told them to stand at attention and they did so obediently, looking very serious—not at all like those... delinquent youths," Bai Luyao, a classmate, remarked as they returned to their assigned dorm after collecting bedding and uniforms.

Wu Ziqing, the class monitor, replied, "Don’t idealize them. On the way here, countless boys were leering at you, eyes fixed on your chest—bad intentions all around. These nearby dorms are full of Vocational High boys, so be careful and stick together. Don't wander off or look back; otherwise, they'll think you’re interested!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than several whistles sounded from the opposite building, prompting Bai Luyao to quickly lower her head and slip into the dorm, closing the door behind her.

Bai Luyao was the class beauty, with fair, delicate features, like a little princess. What was rare was that she was not only pretty, privileged, and academically strong, but also sweet-natured, lovable, and a bit absent-minded. The girls secretly envied her, but never felt jealous or resentful. She had started school early and was one or two years younger than her classmates, so the other girls treated her like a little sister.

Yet this pure, innocent little sister's body had developed remarkably, with a pair of voluptuous breasts. As later internet slang would have it, she was a "baby-faced bombshell." It was common for boys to steal glances at her as she walked by, cheeks flushed, and the girls often teased her about it.

Her parents truly doted on her like a princess. Because her looks drew attention, and she was young and scatterbrained, her father was among the parents opposed to sending her to the mountains for military training with Vocational High. But Bai Luyao insisted, saying if her classmates could go, so could she; why should she be more delicate than other girls? She managed to persuade her father herself. This made Astragalus look at the dainty girl with newfound respect.

Yet Bai Luyao had one flaw—Wu Ziqing joked she moved with "the languor of a seductress," but really she was just slow. Whenever the girls walked together, she lagged at the back; while everyone else had finished tidying their dorms and changed into camouflage, ready to assemble for dinner, she was still painstakingly untying the ribbons on her lace princess blouse.

Wu Ziqing, blunt as ever, lounged on the metal bunk and joked, "Your mom bought you this blouse on purpose—layers upon layers, buttons and ribbons. Just look at your chest, like little bunnies wanting to hop out but can't. Makes people want to tear it open—tempting them to commit crimes!"

Bai Luyao blushed, hurriedly tugging at the ribbons, and indeed, her chest bounced out like little bunnies. Wu Ziqing slapped the bed, laughing loudly, and the other girls giggled too. Astragalus burst out laughing, then worried it was impolite and might embarrass Bai Luyao, so she quickly covered her mouth and turned to look out the window.

Across the way was the Vocational High boys' dorm. The boys had finished their lineup and returned to their rooms to rest before dinner, groups strolling along the corridors. Astragalus couldn't help but search for Xiao Ying among them. The sunlight reflected off a third-floor window, catching her off guard and dazzling her eyes; tears streamed down her face as she covered her eyes and cried out.

Wu Ziqing immediately came over. "What’s wrong? Did something get in your eye?"

Astragalus quickly replied, "It was the glare from the glass—I'm fine, it'll pass soon."

Wu Ziqing glanced across and nearly exploded with rage. "Those bastards! That gang of thugs is using binoculars to spy on the girls’ dorm! Quick, cover Luyao!"

The girls instantly pressed Bai Luyao down, covered her with clothes, and formed a shield around her. The boys opposite seemed to be peeping at Bai Luyao changing, and soon let out disappointed hisses and lewd laughter.

Wu Ziqing stormed out, returning shortly with teachers and instructors. The homeroom teacher, a young woman, was used to dealing with the obedient students of Number One High and had never encountered such sordid behavior; aside from being angry, she didn’t know how to proceed. Eventually, the grade director, vice principal, and lead instructor were called, along with teachers from Vocational High. Negotiations dragged on. The Vocational High teachers seemed inured to such incidents, apologizing repeatedly but unable to control the boys.

In the end, the instructors rearranged the dorms, moving some Number One High boys to the girls’ building, and the girls to the top floor of the boys’ dorm, separating them from Vocational High. Teachers were stationed at either end of the stairs to supervise, finally settling the matter.

This commotion meant they missed dinner, and the cafeteria had only cold buns and leftovers left. On the way, they ran into several groups of Vocational High boys who had just finished eating, pointing and smirking at them. The girls were furious, but meals in camp were silent, so they vented their anger on the buns.

Bai Luyao, however, took it well. Seeing her roommates angry on her behalf, she comforted them on the way back: "I didn’t really suffer any loss; I was wearing underwear under my blouse, so they couldn’t see anything. Besides, being stared at doesn’t hurt—so many female celebrities wear plunging necklines for everyone to see! And the outcome isn’t bad; thanks to this little incident, we got safer dorms. Now there’s nothing to worry about."

"Dressing sexy and being spied on are not the same thing!" Wu Ziqing retorted furiously. "Vocational High really is full of scum! Thugs! Social trash! Absolutely rotten!"

Astragalus said nothing, silently thinking: No, there are good people at Vocational High, like Xiao Ying. Xiao Ying would never do such a thing.

During the lunch break, she wandered alone beneath the Vocational High boys’ dorms and ran into a teacher she recognized from earlier, apparently their supervisor. Summoning her courage, she asked, "Excuse me, do you know a student named Sha Zhouyin? Which building does he live in?"

The teacher glanced at her. "You’re from Number One High, right?" The uniforms made it obvious—Number One High wore yellow camo, Vocational High wore blue-green.

"We went to the same middle school, and now we’re both here for military training, so I came to look for him."

The teacher thought for a moment. "Sha Zhouyin, huh? Doesn't ring a bell. Which section is he in? High school, vocational, or college division?"

Astragalus was stumped. "I... I don’t know."

The teacher said, "That’s tricky. Vocational High isn’t like your school, with three or four hundred per grade. We get over a thousand new students every year, I can’t remember them all. I’ll ask the other teachers for you, okay? Or maybe he’ll come find you—there are only about a hundred girls from Number One High, much easier to find than here."

He hurried off, leaving Astragalus to walk slowly back to her dorm, pondering his words. As she entered, she asked, "Has anyone come looking for me?"

The first bed by the door, the lower bunk, belonged to Bai Luyao, placed there so she wouldn’t delay emergency assemblies at night. She looked up and said, "Nope. Who would be looking for you?"

Astragalus answered distractedly and climbed to her own bunk. The teacher had been right—there were only so many girls from Number One High, all on one floor, and Xiao Ying knew which class she was in. Why hadn’t he come looking for her?

In the afternoon, military training officially began: practicing formations, attention, at ease, marching, standing posture—drilling all afternoon. Though it was late autumn, the temperature was still high, and the sun beat down, making everyone sweat.

Number One High’s training ground was the basketball court, far from the Vocational High’s field. Astragalus glanced over at first but soon realized it was impossible to pick anyone out, so she focused on training.

During breaks, the girls sat at the edge of the court to rest and drink water. Bai Luyao immediately pulled out her sunscreen and reapplied it meticulously to her face, neck, hands, and even the bit of ankle exposed below her pants when kicking.

Astragalus watched her careful, fair face and was reminded of Ms. Zhou. The first time she’d heard of sunscreen was when she saw a bottle on Ms. Zhou’s desk. Bai Luyao really was like Ms. Zhou—both refined, city girls. She wondered if Xiao Ying, like his father, preferred girls like that.

Bai Luyao noticed Astragalus watching and offered the sunscreen, "Do you want some? Your face is turning red from the sun."

Astragalus quickly waved her off. "No, it’s fine. If I get tanned, it’ll fade by winter."

"Not at all. My mom says ultraviolet rays are terrible for your skin—they don’t just tan you, they age you. You have to start sun protection early to keep your skin healthy." Bai Luyao patted her own face. "Next break is another hour, I’ll need to put on an even thicker layer."

Astragalus admired Bai Luyao. If it had been anyone else, getting spied on while changing would leave a psychological scar, but Bai Luyao acted as if nothing had happened, calmer than even Wu Ziqing. She couldn’t decide if it was mental resilience or simply naivety.

Had she observed more closely, she’d have noticed Bai Luyao’s hand trembling as she applied sunscreen, and that she’d already rubbed her chest and neck three times.