Chapter 7: The Twin Military Blanket-Você, um loirinho qualquer, como é que já abriu uma árvore genealógica só pra você?(Sundae de sorvete com enguia cozida)

As the final word left his lips, Xu Guoqing’s expression turned stern and serious, radiating a palpable fighting spirit.

As for Lao Hei, he was completely bewildered!

What kind of luck was this? He had hoped to pick a recruit with good physical fitness, train him carefully, and finally win some face for himself at the recruit company’s grand examination. Instead, the moment this kid arrived at the company, he was challenging the company commander directly!

This... even if he wanted to swap him with another squad, no one would be willing to take him now, right?

"Speak up, how do you want to compete?" Xu Guoqing snatched a quilt from one of the recruits in the first squad and asked coldly.

Qi Tian did not hesitate, responding straightforwardly: "I would like to ask the company commander to join me at the back of the company area. We will each fold a military quilt, and no one in the company is allowed to look back. In the end, we will have everyone vote by a show of hands. If my quilt is judged to be worse, I will submit to whatever punishment the company commander sees fit. But if I win, I ask that the company commander answer me one question!"

"It seems you have great confidence in your quilt-folding skills. Very well, I accept your terms. However, there is no need for a vote by show of hands. Lao Hei! Go invite the regimental commander and have him serve as our judge!"

*Thump!*

In an instant, Lao Hei felt as if the sky were collapsing! His subordinate was showing no respect for his superiors, acting arrogant and conceited, and daring to question the company commander’s proficiency in internal affairs. If this news got out, he, Lao Hei, would be nailed to the pillar of shame right alongside him!

Seeing Lao Hei frozen in place, Xu Guoqing roared, "What are you standing there for? Go!"

Since ancient times, there has been a saying in the military: "A sapling must be pruned to grow straight; a man must be disciplined to avoid being crooked."

Lao Hei now understood Xu Guoqing’s intention. This was clearly meant to make an example of Qi Tian, to crush him thoroughly and show the others the consequences of being a troublemaker!

With no other choice, he braced himself and replied to Xu Guoqing, "Yes, sir!"

With that, Lao Hei immediately set off to find Regimental Commander Li Yunfei. Meanwhile, Xu Guoqing and Qi Tian simultaneously unfolded their quilts and began to fold them in accordance with the internal regulations.

***

At the regimental headquarters, on the top floor of the office building.

After hearing Lao Hei’s report, a smile bloomed on Li Yunfei’s face. Xu Guoqing was quick to act. He had only been sitting down for a few minutes, and already he was preparing to move against Qi Tian. Moreover, it seemed he intended to discipline Qi Tian severely in front of all the new recruits!

"Regimental Commander, Qi Tian is my soldier. It is my fault for not guiding him well, but this situation is truly..."

"Enough. We’ll discuss this once we get down there!"

Before Lao Hei could finish, Li Yunfei rose and walked toward the door with a mysterious, inscrutable smile. Seeing this, Lao Hei could only follow behind him with a grim face, silently praying that Qi Tian wouldn’t lose too miserably. Otherwise, his status as a negative example would be set in stone!

The two moved quickly and reached the training ground before long. However, Lao Hei suddenly noticed that the atmosphere in the ranks seemed extraordinarily strange. All the recruits were staring toward the back with faces full of shock and disbelief, as if they had seen something truly incredible. Even the other eight squad leaders of the recruit company were no longer standing at the sides of their respective squads; they were all gathered at the back of the formation, observing something with bewildered expressions.

"Good day, Regimental Commander!"

It was unclear who noticed Li Yunfei first, but they shouted the greeting. Immediately, the entire recruit company snapped to attention.

Xu Guoqing frowned, ran up to Li Yunfei, and saluted: "Regimental Commander!"

"Little Xu, competing with a green recruit on folding quilts and asking me to judge—what are you thinking? Do you think it’s glorious to win against him? It’s one thing for an ignorant recruit to act out, but how could you, a veteran company commander, lose your sense of propriety?"

Li Yunfei feigned annoyance, reprimanding Xu Guoqing before heading toward the back of the formation. On the surface, he was criticizing Xu Guoqing for lowering himself to compete with a recruit, but in reality, he was laying the groundwork for Xu Guoqing to target Qi Tian later. To break a recruit completely, one always needs a suitable pretext. Especially in a case like this, where Qi Tian had handed him the opportunity on a silver platter—it would be a waste not to use it!

However, Li Yunfei was perhaps too confident. Or perhaps he simply hadn't expected any surprises in this contest. This led to his own shock when he reached the back of the formation and saw the two perfectly sharp-edged, identical-looking quilts.

"Two standard military quilts? Little Xu, what are you playing at? Where is the recruit’s quilt?"

"Reporting, Regimental Commander... these two quilts were folded by Qi Tian and me simultaneously. I asked you to judge because I wanted you to decide which one was folded better!"

Xu Guoqing replied with a bitter, strained expression. Hearing this, Li Yunfei immediately understood the situation. Subconsciously glancing at Qi Tian, he swallowed hard, sensing that something had gone wrong. With just one look, Li Yunfei could tell that both quilts were flawless. Once pressed flat, they would be textbook-perfect.

But now, he was forced to declare a winner, which gave him a splitting headache. He examined them closely several times, but he truly could not distinguish any difference between the two quilts. In fact, not only him, but everyone present was unable to spot any disparity. They were like twins; there was no visible difference from the outside.

Recalling his earlier words, Li Yunfei’s face darkened. He had never expected that his own remarks would unintentionally dig a pit for him. Now, not only could he not use this as an excuse to discipline Qi Tian, but he would also seemingly have to praise him in front of the entire recruit company!

Looking at Lao Hei, who had followed him, he saw him staring at Qi Tian with astonishment, his pupils visibly constricting. Lao Hei had noticed the strangeness in the ranks earlier, but he had assumed it was because Qi Tian’s quilt was so poorly done that everyone had flocked to watch the spectacle. He never imagined that Qi Tian would bring him such a massive surprise!

To be able to fold a quilt so perfectly that even the regimental commander couldn't find a fault—this recruit was quite interesting!

"Xu Guoqing, you’ve really handed me a tough problem today."

After a long silence, Li Yunfei slowly stood up and said to Xu Guoqing with a straight face: "I cannot judge this. Since the two quilts are identical, we shall call it a draw!"

*Hiss...*

As soon as Li Yunfei finished speaking, a wave of gasps echoed through the ranks of recruits. Clearly, everyone was stunned by the regimental commander’s verdict!

At the same time, Xu Guoqing quickly saluted. As if he had anticipated this outcome, he nodded helplessly and agreed: "Yes, Regimental Commander."

Once the commander left, Xu Guoqing stepped forward to stand in front of Qi Tian, his lips twitching violently: "Qi Tian, your quilt was folded to standard. I shouldn't have said your work was worthless. You’ve won this wager. Speak—what is it you want to ask me?!"