Chapter 19: You Can’t Go Wrong Following Your Brother

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The scorching September sun blazed relentlessly, its fierce rays mercilessly baking everyone on the training ground. Occasionally, a slight breeze drifted by, but instead of bringing relief, it seemed to lift the lid off a steaming pot, carrying the sweltering heat rising from the ground right into the crowd.

“One! Two! Three! Four!” hoarse shouts echoed in waves as the freshmen mechanically repeated their marching steps. Many of their camouflage uniforms were already soaked through with sweat, clinging uncomfortably to their bodies, making every lift of the leg and swing of the arm a struggle against the drenched fabric.

In Wang Can’s understanding, this was typical—just endure the hardship without overthinking, follow the crowd, no need to take it too seriously.

After about one class period, Instructor Zhang Huan noticed a few girls’ cheeks flushed red from the fierce sun and called out a command for the students to move to the shaded area under the podium to rest, preventing any heatstroke mishaps.

After giving the instructions, Zhang Huan walked over to Counselor Zheng Jun and lowered his voice. “Counselor Zheng, I’m truly sorry. I had that student take the blame for me just now.”

Zheng Jun smiled slightly. “You’re new here. If you lose your authority over such a small mistake, you’ll have a lot of troublemakers cropping up during training, and that’ll give us both headaches.”

“As for that student, I’ll make it up to him in other ways.”

Zhang Huan’s expression grew serious, and he nodded solemnly. With Zheng Jun’s guidance, he finally realized the stakes behind this matter. Scholars really do think more deeply.

Zhang Huan’s gaze involuntarily shifted to Yang Shuang, who had just finished running and plopped down heavily on the track. A flicker of gratitude passed through his eyes.

Zheng Jun’s eyes also landed on Yang Shuang. When the student had approached him yesterday to ask for contact information, he had only thought the young man clever. But today’s incident revealed an emotional intelligence far beyond his years.

Knowing how to proactively ease a superior’s burden—this kind of student was certainly worth nurturing.

Yet Zheng Jun was also puzzled. Yang Shuang’s tone and the casual manner in which he carried himself were starkly different from the worldly wisdom he had just shown—a strong sense of dissonance.

Meanwhile, having just completed five laps, Yang Shuang collapsed onto the track, chest heaving violently, large beads of sweat rolling down from his hairline. He gasped for breath, his throat feeling stuffed with cotton, and only after a long moment did he recover.

“Exhausted to death…” he said hoarsely, raising his sweat-drenched face toward the gathering Wang Can. “Does this really work?”

Wang Can crouched down, smiling. “Just trust me.”

Then he lowered his voice. “From now on, as long as you don’t mess up, you’ll definitely secure at least one of the class leader or youth league secretary positions.”

“Is it really that magical?” Chen Xiaobei, who was idling nearby, also came over to ask.

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“Opportunities like this—where you only lose face but get to take the blame for the leadership—don’t come often.”

Wang Can’s lips curled into a meaningful smile.

Guo Wanwan approached Shen Hongge with a puzzled look. “When did Counselor Zheng let Yang Shuang handle the list?”

Shen Hongge’s gaze remained fixed on Wang Can and his group not far away. “That list has nothing to do with Yang Shuang. I saw Counselor Zheng personally retrieve it from the Academic Affairs Office.”

“Ah?”

Guo Wanwan was clearly stunned. After a long pause, she asked, “Then why would he take responsibility for it? And why would Counselor Zheng even help him put on that act...”

Shen Hongge glanced sideways at Guo Wanwan, suddenly feeling rather disheartened. Aside from her pretty face, she truly lacked any qualities to be a teammate.

...

After the break, the scorching sun continued to blaze down on the training ground. The students, dragging their weary bodies, reassembled into formation.

After completing another round of marching drills, Instructor Zhang Huan scanned the entire formation, singled out several students whose movements were not standard, and formed a temporary correction squad.

“Yang Shuang.”

“Yes!” Yang Shuang immediately straightened up and responded.

Zhang Huan nodded slightly. “I’ll correct these few one by one. Your posture is very standard. Go take the rest of the class to practice under the podium.”

This appointment stirred subtle unrest throughout the team.

Not only was Yang Shuang surprised, but many students also showed confused looks.

Hadn’t he just nearly embarrassed the instructor publicly for miscopying the list?

How did he suddenly become the instructor’s assistant?

Guo Wanwan frowned unconsciously as she stood in the line. She was beginning to understand why Yang Shuang had taken the blame for the instructor voluntarily.

If Yang Shuang played this “deputy instructor” role throughout the week, his image as class leader would become deeply rooted in the minds of all classmates.

When the class leader election took place after the military training, the outcome would be self-evident.

A wave of anxiety surged in her heart.

In contrast, Shen Hongge, who had anticipated this result long ago, appeared much calmer.

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Though his expression was no better, it was not enough to arouse suspicion from others.

“Wow, Old Wang, you really have some skills.”

Chen Xiaobei, though still sorting out the twists and turns, was already amazed by the outcome.

Wang Can casually brushed off some non-existent dust on his clothes, speaking lightly, “Naturally. Learn more from now on, follow me, and you won’t go wrong.”

“Damn, just keep pretending.”

...

During military training lunch breaks, there were also strict rules. After everyone had served their food, they had to stand upright by the table, hands pressed tightly against their trouser seams, and could only sit and start eating upon the instructor’s command.

Many instructors often ordered “Sit,” only to immediately find fault with their posture and command everyone to stand again, repeating this until they were satisfied.

Sometimes, if they caught a student’s gaze wandering elsewhere in the cafeteria, the whole class had to stand and punish the distracted student until the unfortunate person realized their mistake. Only then would the instructor leisurely give the “Sit” command.

Repeated “stand-sit” cycles sometimes triggered verbal clashes between ill-tempered students and instructors.

Yet, despite all this, the instructors remained enthusiastic.

Because of the name list incident in the morning, Zhang Huan didn’t make things difficult for the students of Management Class Two.

He glanced over, found the formation reasonably neat, and promptly gave the order to start eating.

This earned envious glances from students of other classes nearby.

“Tch, why is it always Management Department? Class Two gets to eat so quickly?”

In the lineup of Management Class One, a boy whispered to his companion.

“Right? Look how easygoing their instructor is. Maybe they bribed him.”

His companion glanced toward the already open Class Two.

“Huh? Makes sense!” The first boy suddenly perked up. “Old Huang, help me buy two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes later. This afternoon, I’ll personally deliver them to the instructor.”

“Got it, Brother Zhou! You really know how to work the system. Smart move!”

“That’s natural. Learn more from now on, follow me, and you won’t go wrong.”