Chapter 5: Training Zhuang Yan

"This is a division-wide competition for the new recruits. Every platoon will send representatives to compete in the events we’ve been training on for the past three months."

"If you place well, it will be a huge advantage for your future assignment to a good unit. I’ll go over the specific events with you later."

Zheng Sanpao spoke with serious intent. Su Yang listened, finally understanding the old squad leader's intentions. He immediately patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, Squad Leader, I will give it my all." Since such an opportunity had presented itself, he had no intention of missing out.

"Good, get back inside." Seeing Su Yang's enthusiasm, the old squad leader finally revealed a rare, long-lost smile. As a squad leader, he naturally wanted his recruits to participate in the competition and bring back some honor, so he was pleased by Su Yang’s commitment.

The time for tidying up the barracks passed quickly. At the sound of the assembly whistle, the new recruits began their formal training.

"Su Yang, how much longer do we have to stand? My feet feel like they’re about to break." In the biting cold wind, the new recruits were being forced to maintain their military posture by their squad leaders. In the First Squad's formation, Xi Wa, feeling quite miserable, muttered quietly when he thought the old squad leader wasn't paying attention.

"Ask the squad leader yourself. How would I know? I don't feel like talking right now." Su Yang stood motionless, helplessly retorting. Xi Wa was a decent guy, but he was a chatterbox, and Su Yang sometimes worried that this fellow would get caught by the squad leader.

After standing in the military posture for so long, Su Yang felt okay, but he didn't want to stand any longer. In the freezing cold, with snowflakes falling like feathers and the temperature hovering a few degrees below zero, everyone was turning stiff.

Xi Wa immediately shut his mouth and said helplessly, "I wouldn't dare!"

Zheng Sanpao, who was standing nearby, walked over. Looking at the recruits whose faces were flushed red from the cold, he asked calmly, "Are you all holding up?"

"Do your feet hurt?"

The recruits didn't dare answer. Zheng Sanpao raised his voice, "I asked you a question! Are you deaf?"

The men of the First Squad could only shout in unison: "No pain!"

Zheng Sanpao let out a sinister chuckle. "Good! Since there’s no pain, stand for another half hour!"

"..."

Xi Wa and the others sighed, making audible sounds. As expected, this bastard was just looking for an excuse to mess with them. With no other choice, the men of the First Squad kept their mouths shut and continued to endure.

Scanning his recruits, the squad leader walked over to Su Yang. Seeing that Su Yang hadn't been affected by his tactic—standing there as still as a wooden post—he gave him a firm shove. Su Yang didn't budge. The squad leader was slightly surprised, nodding with satisfaction before letting the matter go.

"Thud!"

Some time later, other squads had finished their military posture drills and moved on to other tasks. Just as Su Yang and the others were gazing longingly at the horizon, a recruit standing next to Yu Wei suddenly went limp and collapsed onto the concrete floor.

Su Yang and the others instinctively moved to help, but the squad leader roared, "Stop! Stand your ground! Leave him be."

After stopping the First Squad, he walked over to the unconscious recruit, checked his pulse, and called for an veteran soldier to take him to the medic.

"Su Yang, Xiao Zhuang, will he be okay?" Xi Wa asked, watching the retreating figure with worry.

Su Yang comforted him, "Don't worry. The medic is there, and the veteran soldiers are experienced." Su Yang wasn't overly concerned; anyone who could join the army was physically fit, and this was likely just low blood sugar or physical exhaustion from standing for too long.

"Bastard!" Zhuang Yan stared at the squad leader's back, gritting his teeth in hatred.

Zheng Sanpao seemed to sense the glares. He checked his watch and said with a sneer, "Fifty minutes. Any cowards? If you’re a coward, step forward!"

"No one? You all think you're tough guys? Wrong. You're all cowards—worse than cowards."

Provoked by the squad leader's words, Zhuang Yan finally snapped. He stepped out, echoing the squad leader's insult back at him. The squad leader became the laughingstock of the recruits; even Su Yang couldn't help but smile.

Zheng Sanpao, being a rough man, couldn't find a retort. He suppressed his urge to lash out and turned his gaze toward Xi Wa, who was still grinning. "Do you find this funny?" he asked, his eyes cold.

Xi Wa felt as if his throat had been grabbed, and he dared not make another sound.

"Everyone, military posture for one hour! Prepare!" Zheng Sanpao roared, clearly furious. Zhuang Yan, still defiant, prepared to walk away. The squad leader didn't stop him, but instead turned to the rest of the squad and replaced their hour of standing with one hundred push-ups.

Su Yang didn't object. He dropped to the ground and started his push-ups; he knew there was no point in arguing at this moment. Eventually, seeing his comrades punished on his behalf, Zhuang Yan compromised and joined the line.

...

A few days of training passed. In the barracks, the recruits were so exhausted they couldn't stand straight, yet they didn't dare sleep on their beds, opting instead to sit on the floor and lean against the walls to doze off.

Zhuang Yan walked in with Xi Wa and collapsed onto his bed, ignoring the rules the squad leader had repeatedly emphasized. Xi Wa remembered the regulations and quickly reminded him, while the others, including Su Yang, looked at Zhuang Yan with deep resentment.

*You troublemaker. You just got everyone punished, and now you're causing more trouble.*

"I can't get up. Even if you held a gun to my head, I couldn't get up," Zhuang Yan said weakly.

"If you can't hack it, get out and go home. The army is no place for losers!" hearing Zhuang Yan's infuriating words, Su Yang frowned and retorted sharply.

Zhuang Yan looked at him, unhappy. "Who are you calling a loser?"

"What do you think? You can't even stand in a simple formation, and other brothers who fainted didn't complain. If you're not a loser, then who is?" Su Yang didn't back down. When he watched the show in his past life, he had always despised this version of Zhuang Yan.

"I was just standing up for what's right. This idiot squad leader has been targeting me since I got here. And you've all seen it—why are other squads treated so well, while this moron trains us into the ground?" Zhuang Yan argued.

Su Yang, not wanting to be dragged down again, frowned. "I don't care how much you hate him. Since you joined the military, you follow orders. This is the army. If you don't want to be here, don't drag everyone else down with your damn attitude."

He really didn't want to be implicated. If someone failed due to lack of ability, he wouldn't mind, but he had no patience for someone like Zhuang Yan, who looked for trouble where there was none. Training was training, and punishment was punishment—they were two different things.

"Bah! 'Follow orders.' That bastard is a jerk. Why should I listen to him? If he told me to go die, should I just do it?" Zhuang Yan said excitedly. However, knowing he had indeed caused trouble for everyone, he got up from the bed.

"Obeying orders is a soldier's duty. As long as the order protects the people's interests, even if it means dying, we must do it!" Su Yang said, staring at Zhuang Yan solemnly.

"You... are you sick?" Zhuang Yan was stunned for a moment, left speechless.

"I'm telling the truth. So, Zhuang Yan, you must change your personality. Don't bring your school habits into the army. The army is a collective; we value collectivism, not the individualistic pursuit you art students love. Otherwise, you're going to have a very hard time here."

Su Yang understood what Zhuang Yan was thinking—that he was just putting on an act. But Su Yang didn't see it that way. If the opportunity arose, he would gladly sacrifice himself for the people. In his previous life, he had been raised by the community, supported by the Party and the state until he finished university. Without that, he would have dropped out and been homeless long ago.

Zhuang Yan’s expression froze, and he gradually fell into deep thought.

Outside the window, Zheng Sanpao was leaning against the wall, listening to the conversation. He glanced around thoughtfully and then walked into the building.

"Attention!"

As Zheng Sanpao entered, Su Yang and the others stood up quickly. The squad leader ignored them, walked to the beds, and immediately fixed his eyes on the bed Zhuang Yan had just sat on. He frowned.

Su Yang looked in the direction of the squad leader's gaze and sighed. He knew they were doomed because even though Zhuang Yan had gotten up, he hadn't fixed the wrinkled sheets.

Sure enough, Zheng Sanpao looked up at them. "Whose bed is this? Why is it such a mess?"

As he spoke, he grabbed the bedding and threw it onto the floor. Su Yang suspected that if the latrine weren't so far away, the bedding would have ended up in there.

Zhuang Yan's face fell, and he stepped forward, looking miserable. "Report, it's mine."

Zheng Sanpao glared at him. "You again. Haven't you memorized the regulations? Don't you know sheets aren't allowed to have wrinkles?"

"I just sat on it for a moment and hadn't tidied it up yet," Zhuang Yan defended.

"Sat on it for a moment? Who gave you permission to lie down?" the squad leader barked.

Su Yang covered his face, thinking, *here we go again.*

Zhuang Yan’s explanation was useless. The squad leader punished everyone with a five-kilometer run. Facing the punishment, Zhuang Yan chose to take the blame himself, deciding to run the distance for everyone.

"Dismissed!" Zheng Sanpao said and left.

"Should we run with him?" Xi Wa asked tentatively.

Su Yang looked at the others. Some wanted to run, while others avoided eye contact, clearly unwilling. They had been exhausted all day and were starving.

"Run? Why run? If he wants to be a hero, let him do it alone! Let's go eat." Su Yang walked toward the mess hall. He wasn't going to follow the original script—why should they suffer for Zhuang Yan's mistakes? Even if they were a collective, he had no interest in being punished for Zhuang Yan's antics.

"..." Su Yang's attitude left the First Squad confused. Zheng Sanpao, who was watching from the shadows, was also stunned; he had expected everyone to follow Zhuang Yan.

"Su Yang, isn't this a bit harsh?" Xi Wa and the others took a few steps, hesitating.

"What's harsh about it? It’s his own problem; he should take responsibility. When he was breaking the rules, did he think about us?" Su Yang said pointedly.

Yu Wei gritted his teeth and pulled Xi Wa along. "Let's go. Why care about him?"

After running about a kilometer, Zhuang Yan looked back at the dormitory building, feeling disappointed that his comrades hadn't followed. "They really are letting me run alone!" He was frustrated, but his pride kept him running.

In the mess hall, everyone felt a bit guilty. "Should we bring Xiao Zhuang some food later?"

Su Yang looked up. "We need to teach him a lesson, otherwise, we won't be able to handle his personality. How about this: we each take two steamed buns and bring them back to the dorm..."

Back in the dorm, Su Yang read for a while. Once he felt his meal had settled, he went to the training ground to practice on his own. Zheng Sanpao saw Su Yang doing pull-ups and walked over, frowning.

"Su Yang!" Zheng Sanpao called out, his expression unreadable.

"Squad leader!" Seeing him, Su Yang hopped off the bar.

"What are you doing? Why are you training during break time?"

"Squad leader, you said there was a competition. I want to place, so I have to start training extra now." Su Yang wondered why the squad leader was here instead of watching Xiao Zhuang.

"That's not how you train on the pull-up bar in the army. You'll get hurt that way!" Zheng Sanpao took off his hat, handed it to Su Yang, and demonstrated the correct form.

"I understand now." Su Yang nodded, tried it again, and earned the squad leader's approval.

"Squad leader, did you need something from me?" Su Yang asked, sensing there was more on the man's mind.

"I wanted to ask why your squad didn't go run with Zhuang Yan. Are you having a conflict?" Zheng Sanpao asked.

"No, it was my idea not to go!" Su Yang finally understood.

"Why? Don't you know you're a collective? If one comrade is punished, everyone shares the burden. Besides, he's running for you all." Zheng Sanpao was confused; Su Yang had seemed so helpful and team-oriented lately.

"Squad leader, I understand what you mean, but Zhuang Yan broke the rules on his own. I warned him not to provoke you and drag us down. Since he insisted, we shouldn't have to run for him. If we don't challenge his personality, he'll keep getting us into trouble. But don't worry, we have a sense of proportion. We saved him some food."

The squad leader was relieved. "Alright then. Be careful when you train; don't get hurt."

"Yes, sir!"

That night, when Zhuang Yan dragged his aching body back to the dorm, he saw everyone chatting and laughing. There was no food on the table. Disappointed, he asked weakly, "Is there no food left in the mess hall? Do you have any snacks?"

Just as he spoke, the whistle blew, followed by the squad leader's voice: "Lights out!"

Everyone turned off the lights and got into bed, leaving Xiao Zhuang to fumble in the dark.

"Guys, does anyone have food?"

He asked again, but received no answer.

"I..." Zhuang Yan felt his heart sink. He lay down hungry, but just as he was about to fall asleep, something hit his head.

He was about to sit up and yell, but realized it was a steamed bun next to his pillow. He quickly took a bite, the sweetness almost bringing him to tears. Just as he finished it, several more buns were tossed his way. He realized his brothers were looking out for him after all, and the bun tasted even sweeter.