Chapter 105: Contradictions and Friction

  After hearing Zhang Xiaoxue's experience, the rest of them, whether they were willing or unwilling to come to this military school, now feel less resentful. At least they still have the right to choose or be passively chosen.

  Zhang Xiaoxue and her sister, however, were willing to pay such a high price just for the opportunity to study, and the military academy became her lifeline. The few people present suddenly fell silent.

  "Xiaoxue, everything will pass, just like your teacher said. Military school not only doesn't cost money, but also provides a monthly allowance. As long as you're willing to work hard and persist for four years, after graduation, you'll become an officer. Not only can you let your brother go to college, but after becoming an officer with a high salary, you can also let your sister continue her studies and find a good job, letting your parents live a better life. Everything will get better." Ji Xin'an had heard of such things before, but now they were really happening in front of her, and she couldn't help but feel sympathy for Xiaoxue.

  "I also think so, when I really become an officer in the future and have the ability, I will definitely let my loved ones live a good life and let my sister enjoy the happiness that belongs to her." After hearing Ji Xin'an's words, Zhang Xiaoxue's heart was warm, and her tone was firm when she spoke.

  "Xiaoxue, you will definitely succeed." The others who heard her words were deeply moved and nodded in agreement.

  "Then let's work hard together and on the day of graduation, we'll become officers together." Zhang Xiaoxue's words made everyone laugh, now they at least have a common goal.

  "Then we must be the most beautiful female officers." Lu Ziyuan said with a smile.

  Several people who heard her words laughed and said she was being arrogant, but Lu Ziyuan didn't mind.

  "Alright, everyone hurry up and change your clothes, or you might not even have time for breakfast." Ji Xin'an reminded them as he saw that several people were still chatting and hadn't even put on their uniforms.

  Several people looked at the time and it was already after six o'clock. At this hour, the old comrades might have finished eating, so they quickly took out their new military uniforms and changed into them. If they didn't go to the cafeteria soon, there wouldn't even be porridge left.

  "Do you think I look good in military uniform?" Lu Ziyuan stood in front of the mirror, admiring herself from left to right, and asked for opinions from people behind her.

  "Get out of the way after taking the photo, stop being a nuisance, we haven't taken ours yet." Yán Tíngtíng pulled her to one side and started adjusting her own uniform in front of the mirror.

  "Ugh, I'm not done taking pictures yet." Lu Ziyuan pouted in dissatisfaction and then began to primp her hair again.

  Everyone put on military uniforms and looked completely different at once. Especially the twins, who now look like they were cast from the same mold, with a particularly spirited air about them.

  Putting on her summer uniform, Jing Xin An felt that although it wasn't as good-looking as the 07-style new military uniform, wearing it made her feel like she was wearing the most beautiful outfit she had ever worn so far.

  When wearing a hat, I touched my long hair, and my hand gently stroked it through the strands, feeling a bit melancholic. Today should be the day to cut it, after all, it's been five years since I've had it. I should be content with that. Even if I still like it, it's not worth giving up my own tools for its sake. After thinking about it, I tossed my hair behind me and put on the hat.

  "Ji Xin'an I thought everyone would look the same in uniform, but why do you still look so good in it? I think I'm not bad-looking either, but standing next to you makes me feel like a green leaf immediately." Yan Tingting said this, but her expression didn't show any jealousy, instead she was very open-minded.

  "You're still comparing yourself to Ji Xin'an, you're just a green leaf standing next to me." Lu Ziyuan stood in front of her with an arrogant attitude, as if asking others who was more beautiful between the two.

  "Hmph, what are you comparing with me? You're just a green leaf compared to Ji Xin'an." Yan Tingting snorted and stood beside Ji Xin'an instead.

  "I wouldn't compare myself to her, that's just self-inflicted frustration. If I'm going to compare, it'll be with someone like you, only then can my beauty shine through." Lu Ziyuan didn't get angry, but instead smiled at her, as if she had found confidence in herself from Stern Tiantian.

  "Alright, none of you are plain, each with your own unique beauty. You're all lovely, it's just that you've looked at yourselves for too many years and can't see it anymore. Don't believe me? Just go out and take a look at the eyes of those old men, they'll definitely be stuck on you and won't be able to look away." Ji Xin'an smiled as she gazed at the two pouting young girls, feeling that this was quite good.

  "What's the use of this broken school, with so few girls that it's pitiful. I guess maybe they're all girls and they'll take a good look at each other." Lu Ziyuan didn't become happy because of her words.

  "It's like that, and we're walking with you, they must be 100% looking at you, and will treat us as if we don't exist." Yan Tingting actually stood together with Lu Ziyuan this time.

  "Ji Xin'an, you're really amazing. You're so much younger than us, yet your studies are still going so well and you look so pretty." Zhang Xiaoxue listened to their conversation and also said with a face full of admiration.

  "Xiao Xue, that's a strange thing to say. It's true that she's great at studying, but being pretty doesn't seem like it's her doing, should be thanks to her parents." Lu Ziyan heard Zhang Xiaoxue's words and burst out laughing.

  "I... I didn't mean that, what I meant to say is that An An looks good in military uniform too." Zhang Xiaoxue felt that her words were indeed somewhat inappropriate after being said by her, but she didn't know how to explain.

  "Little Snow, it's okay, she was just teasing you." Ji Xin'an noticed Zhang Xiaoxue's embarrassment and knew that she wasn't used to joking around, so he smiled and helped her out of the awkward situation.

  "What's the use of being handsome? In the army, it's all about ability. No matter how good-looking or well-educated you are, if you can't pass military training, you'll be discharged." Several people were chatting and laughing when Luo Jia-yi suddenly spoke up.

  Actually, with her personality, she wouldn't have participated in this topic, but seeing how happy they were, she thought they were too naive and wanted to make them realize the reality that being a military school student isn't easy.

  Ji Xin'an couldn't help but admit that she indeed had a talent for ruining the mood, and one sentence completely changed the atmosphere that was just so good.

  "You're just jealous of others." Yán Tíngtíng originally looked down on her for not fitting in, and now the good atmosphere was ruined by her one sentence, making her even more unhappy.

  "What's there to be jealous of, I'm telling the truth. When it comes to military training, you'll know what's going on. Three months of military training isn't something that can be passed by just messing around in a local university. Even if your studies are good, if you can't pass this, you'll be sent back. You guys have never been in contact with the army before, you don't know how to suffer." Luo Jingyi was talking to them but didn't even lift her head, she had already packed up and since there was still time, she sat down and started playing PSP.

  "How do you know we can't, you're not the instructor who says who's eliminated and who's not. Besides, maybe by then we'll all be stronger than you." Lu Ziyuan said this with great confidence, outsiders would even think she was really capable, but only she knew the real situation.

  "I don't know if I'm stronger than you, but one thing's for sure, your hair doesn't meet the standards. Have you ever seen a female soldier with long hair?" Luo Jia-yi glanced at them and then continued playing, her head lowered.

  "What's the big deal, since we're already in military school, of course we've been prepared for this, just cut it off then." Indeed, in this room, except for Su Jingyi, everyone else's hair was either long or short, with various hairstyles, but one thing was certain, none of them met the standards. Yan Tingting said so, but in her heart, she couldn't bear to part with it.

  But then Yinyin said a sentence and everyone else fell silent instantly. Which girl doesn't like long hair?

  Of course, as far as Ji Xin'an knew, when the beauty of neutrality was popular in later generations, short hair was in vogue. However, now that it's mentioned to cut one's hair, everyone is reluctant.

  "You say we look good with long hair and military uniforms, why do we have to cut it short? When we wear the uniform, you can't even tell if it's a boy or girl from behind." Lu Ziyuan pulled her hair forward, wondering how ugly she would look after cutting it.

  "It can't be helped, military discipline, since you've joined the army, you have to follow it. Besides, it's just a hairstyle, no new ideas, occasionally changing hairstyles and images makes oneself and others look good." Ji Xin'an has already opened up, what's the big deal about hair anyway?

  "It's okay, short hair can also be cut into a good-looking hairstyle." He Yixuan said with a smile, in fact they all knew, it was just that they were reluctant to part with it for the time being.

  "I hope so, but if they mess up my hair, I'll go after them." Lu Ziyuan could only grit her teeth and threaten, calming herself down.

  Everything was in order, and when the whole team gathered, Ji Xin'an saw Zou Ze wearing his military uniform, staring at her.

  "An An, you look really beautiful in your military uniform." Zou Ze couldn't help but size her up from head to toe as she approached.

  "So you're saying I wasn't pretty before?" Ji Xin'an's face stiffened.

  "It's not... it wasn't, it was beautiful before, but now it looks even better." Zou Ze hurriedly waved his hand to explain, but saw that Ji Xin'an had already smiled, "Alright, you fooled me again."

  "What have I cheated you of?" Ji Xin'an said with a smile.

  Zou Ze was speechless for a moment, he had already gotten used to her being unreasonable.

  "You look quite handsome too, and wearing this uniform makes you look like a real person." Looking at him wearing his military uniform, standing straight, he suddenly seemed to have some semblance of a master.

  "Why doesn't it sound like you're complimenting me?" I was originally happy to hear her say that she's handsome, but the more I listened, the more I felt something was off. What does "looks just like a person" mean? Is it saying that before, I didn't even look like a human being?

  "How can it not be boasting about you? Isn't this saying that you're handsome?" Ji Xin'an looked at him with a bitter face and laughed out loud.

  "Hey, you're always right." Zou Ze shook his head helplessly.

  "Alright, I'm going back to the girls' team now, bye bye little handsome guy." Ji Xin'an batted her eyelashes coquettishly.

  Although talking to Ji Xin'an always seems suspicious of being bullied, the mood can always get better. Seeing Ji Xin'an return to the girls' team, she also smiled and returned to the few people she knew.

  When the two of them were talking, actually, whether it was the boys' team or the girls' team, everyone was staring at them with gossiping eyes. Especially the boys, who were both envious and jealous. Originally, there weren't many girls on their team, and finally a beauty like Ji Xin An appeared, and as soon as she arrived, everyone's attention was focused on her.

  But Zou Ze was chatting with her without batting an eyelid, even making her laugh heartily, how could this not make a group of people jealous.

  "Zou Ze, who is that girl? You two seem to be quite familiar with each other." Zou Ze had just returned and his roommate was already looking at him with ill intentions.

  "Our relationship is complicated." Zou Ze said mysteriously.

  "Tell me about your relationship." Another hand rested on Zou Ze's shoulder, gazing at him with a ambiguous expression.

  "I'm telling you." Zou Ze's words made several people lean in, "It's... confidential."

  Several people were instantly disappointed.

  "Zou Ze, just tell me if she has a boyfriend and what kind of boys she likes, you don't have to say anything else." His hand was still on his shoulder, but he looked at Ji Xin'an.

  "Li Ming, I can tell you that I don't care how you treat other girls, but you are not allowed to bully her." Zou Ze immediately dropped his hand and pointed at him, saying this to him, but also to everyone else.

  "What's wrong with her? She's not even related to you. You say no and it's no, but I'll just keep an eye on this." A boy standing nearby said with a sarcastic tone.

  "Look at you, Wang Xiaorui, I'm not saying you're not good enough, but if you go chasing after someone, they won't even give you a second glance?" Zou Ze wouldn't bully others, but he also wouldn't be bullied by others and still manage to keep his cool.

  "Zou Ze, what do you mean? You want to fight or something?" Wang Xiaorui glared at Zou Ze after hearing that.

  Wang Xiaorui was always the best in his high school class, with everyone revolving around him, and he had grown accustomed to this sense of superiority. However, when he entered university, all the students who were admitted to this school were not inferior to him, so it was impossible for them to revolve around him like they did in high school. Especially in their dormitory, Zou Ze's humor and wit made him the center of attention wherever he went, which made Wang Xiaorui feel very unbalanced and resentful towards Zou Ze.

  So the one who had always been mocking Zou Ze was not bothered by those trivial matters, so he never responded to him. But today it's about Ji Xin'an, this is his reverse scale, no one can touch it, of course, it won't end like this.

  In front of so many people, Wang Xiaorui, who was already unhappy in his heart, jumped up suddenly after being defeated by Zou Ze.

  "If you have the ability, come on and see who falls down first." Zou Ze didn't show any weakness either.

  "Alright, alright, we're all from the same dormitory, don't let outsiders laugh at us." Li Ming saw that the two were about to come to blows and quickly stepped in between them, separating them.

  "Hmph, you'd better be careful, if I see you having any ideas about hitting her, you'll be the one who's sorry." Zou Ze turned around and gave him a cold glance.

  "You think I look good? Let's see what you can do to me." The two were separated by Li Ming, but their mouths didn't stop.

  It wasn't until they were separated by their dorm mates that it was finally over.

  Ji Xin'an had no idea that the boys were on the verge of starting a war because of her.

  At this time she was being intercepted and interrogated by several people.

  Because there were only seven girls and they all knew each other, so their conversation became more casual.

  "Ji Xin'an, come clean quickly, what's your relationship with that little handsome guy? I'm telling you, honesty is the best policy, resistance will be met with severity." Lu Ziyuan had a curious expression on her face as she and Yan Tingting pulled Ji Xin'an from both sides.

  "What's the big deal, we were classmates in junior high and high school, and even took the train together, so we're pretty good friends, that's all." Ji Xin'an glared at her two curious roommates.

  "You guys are also considered childhood friends, I don't believe there's no ambiguity between you two. And the way he looks at you is absolutely not the way an ordinary classmate would look at you. From my years of experience, it's either he likes you or has a secret crush on you." Lu Ziyuan was very dissatisfied with her answer, so her imagination began to run wild, but also not entirely unfounded.

  "If you two put your minds on other things, the top two in our class will definitely not be anyone else's." Ji Xin'an sighed helplessly.

  "What's the use of that? Our family's peaceful emotional life is more important, don't you think?" Yan Tingting surprisingly asked Lu Ziyuan.

  "Being first has its uses, but what Anan is telling us now is much more important than being first." Lu Ziyuan nodded in agreement.

  "You two should stop now, if Captain sees you, he'll take it out on both of you first." Ji Xin'an had no choice but to use the captain as a shield against these two gossip-loving girls.

  "We'll continue when we get back." The two of them saw that Luo Min really was coming over and still didn't forget to warn her.

  Luó Mǐn and the instructor walked over, and the crowd quieted down a lot. However, Luó Mǐn glanced at the messy lineup in the second row and imperceptibly furrowed her brow.

  "Everyone line up, I'll take roll call, and those who are called must respond." Luo Min picked up the attendance sheet in her hand.

  After everyone had signed their names, Luo Min stood up straight.

  "I think many of you have already met us, I am your captain Luo Min, this is your instructor Pang Kai. In the next four years, the two of us will live, study and train with you all. So if there's anything difficult in the future, feel free to come find us, but I also hope that no matter whether it's training or studying, everyone will do their best. If because of your own performance not meeting the requirements and being eliminated, then no one can help you." Luo Min started speaking and immediately lifted up the hearts of these proud students, after finishing she looked at Pang Kai.

  "As your instructor, first of all, I would like to welcome you to the military academy and admire your courage in putting down your pens and taking up arms. You are all top-notch students who have given up on famous universities to choose this military school, which is already worthy of respect. However, although you have arrived here and put on this uniform, you are not yet true soldiers. As Captain Luo said, for those who do not meet the standards, the military academy will expel them. But don't worry too much, the military academy won't easily ruin a student's future either. As long as you study and train diligently, I believe that with your exceptional talents, you will graduate smoothly."

  "I and your instructor both hope that the 45 people we received today will still be the same 45 people four years later, without a single person dropping out." Luo Min was strict but didn't want to scare them off either. Sometimes encouragement is necessary.

  "Do you have any questions? You can ask us directly now." Pang Kai looked at them whispering to each other below, and smiled.

  "Teacher, look at other universities, as long as you get in, there's no way you'll be expelled. But our scores are much higher than theirs, yet we still have the risk of being expelled. Isn't that unfair?" A somewhat frail-looking boy asked, seemingly lacking confidence in himself.

  "I know you think it's a bit unfair, but this is not an ordinary university, we are a military academy, the best in the country, and our mission is to cultivate officers for the army. Our army is here to protect the nation and its people, if we can't even produce qualified officers, how can we talk about defending the country and its people? So, our military academy has to be different from ordinary universities, with stricter requirements on you, in order to cultivate the best officers for the army, and make our army stronger and stronger." Pang Kai's voice became more and more passionate.

  Seeing that everyone's emotions have been stirred up, he continued, "You all came here to become professional soldiers, don't you want to become the best officers?"

  "Think." The crowd responded in unison, with a somewhat awkward tone.

  "Do you have confidence that you can graduate from this national top military academy and become an excellent officer?" Pang Kai asked.

  "This time there's more."

  Ji Xin'an turned around to look at a group of excited freshmen, and at this moment, she could also feel their enthusiasm. She couldn't help but think that being young was great. She admitted that she wasn't like them, getting excited over just a few words from the instructor. One reason was that she wasn't the type of person who got easily excited, and another reason was that compared to them, her mental age had really gotten old, and she was no longer the type of person who would forget herself because of just a few words.

  But when she heard that after graduating from here, she could become a truly excellent officer, she couldn't help but feel a sense of longing. However, since she had never lost confidence in herself, she didn't need others to encourage her.

  Looking at the classmates who were still worried just now, they became confident because of the instructor's few words, and couldn't help but admire the instructor's ability.

  At this time, several soldiers walked over neatly from the other side, still holding things like hair clippers in their hands. The group of people below were okay with the boys, but the girls' faces turned white because those few people were also students and had them cut their hair. It's easy to imagine what the final result was like.

  Ji Xin'an glanced at the few people and immediately saw that one of them was Zhao Fan, whom he had met when picking him up. He thought to himself, "This guy is either capable and can be used anywhere, or he's just a errand boy who does all sorts of tasks. And if he were to cut his own hair, would he end up with a dog-eaten hairstyle?"

  Ji Xin'an's hands involuntarily reached for her hair, and she really started to worry about them.