Qiao Huaiyao shook his head, “No, I’ll just go straight back in a while.” He had a late lunch and had another drink at the shop, so he didn’t feel hungry at all.
Bai Jinyan checked his watch and noticed it was getting late, “If you get hungry later, send me a message.”
Qiao Huaiyao felt like he wouldn’t get hungry, but he still obediently replied, “Okay.”
“By the way, Brother, give me your autograph,” Qiao Huaiyao suddenly remembered that he hadn’t asked Bai Jinyan for his autograph, as promised to Qiu Shufeng.
“Sure,” Bai Jinyan agreed without asking what it was for.
He took the promotional photos from Lu Lu and signed them one by one.
After signing all the photos, he handed them to Qiao Huaiyao.
Bai Jinyan got up and said, “Let’s go. I’ll walk you back to the school to avoid the rush hour traffic.”
Qiao Huaiyao declined, “No need, I’ll manage. You guys have dinner. It’s crowded now, and there might be queues.”
Qiao Huaiyao kept the signed photos and walked out shoulder to shoulder with Bai Jinyan. He returned to the school half an hour earlier than expected.
Qiu Shufeng, lying on his bed, looked down from above and asked, “You came back so early? I thought you’d be scouting the place.”
“I was afraid of traffic on the way back,” Qiao Huaiyao replied. “Where are the others?”
“They went to the cafeteria. It’s crowded now; they might be in a queue. I’m not hungry, so I stayed in the dorm,” Qiu Shufeng said.
Qiao Huaiyao placed the autographed photos on his bed and asked, “Are these enough? His assistant only brought these.”
Qiu Shufeng hadn’t realized what it was yet, but when he saw the autographed photos, he immediately sat up from the bed, his head hitting the ceiling with a thud.
Qiao Huaiyao winced, feeling like that was a hard hit.
But Qiu Shufeng casually touched the back of his head as if nothing had happened, “Brother, from now on, you’re my real brother!”
“You’re too polite! Ahem…” Qiu Shufeng tried to calm down his excitement.
He only expected to get one autograph, but Qiao Huaiyao gave him so many and even asked if it was enough.
These autographs were rare treasures that were hard to come by outside.
Qiu Shufeng sniffed, “Brother, I’m almost moved to tears by your kindness.”
Qiao Huaiyao: “…” That’s a bit too much.
“I’ll send it to my friends now…” Qiu Shufeng’s voice trailed off as he opened the group chat and then suddenly stopped, “Wait, quickly change into the military training uniform! They said to gather earlier in the group chat.”
Qiao Huaiyao had muted the group chat and hadn’t paid attention, “Okay.”
Luckily, he came back early; otherwise, he would have been late if he had to scout the place first.
He thought to himself that things were different from his past life, probably due to different trajectories. Some things had already diverged from his past life.
The path to the military training ground had been lit by streetlights since it wasn’t dark yet. When Qiao Huaiyao arrived at the designated spot for his class, there weren’t many people around.
There must be some people who couldn’t make it back in time.
Being gathered earlier was an unexpected event.
Yu Luofan and Wang Zhan, who went to the cafeteria to buy food, were a bit late, let alone those who were outside.
Just as Qiao Huaiyao was thinking, the instructor at the front shouted, “Quiet! Now the class leaders will check attendance. Report any missing students, and give me a list.”
Although the instructor’s voice wasn’t too loud, it was full of authority, making the already quiet queue even quieter.
“On the first day of military training, let me explain the rules. The dormitory area will be locked at 9 PM, and you are not allowed to go in or out. Overnight stays are not required, so if you want to stay outside, remember to leave before 9 PM. If there’s night training, and you can’t come back, it’ll be considered as missing training, and you’ll be penalized.”
Military training was a matter of probability. If the training happened to coincide with you being outside, then it was a matter of luck.
As the class leaders started to submit the attendance list one by one, Qiu Shufeng sighed, “My God, finally, we’re dismissed. My feet are numb from standing.”
Qiao Huaiyao saw him swaying, “Can you walk?”
“No problem,” Qiu Shufeng stretched lazily and moved his arms, “Should we go back to the dormitory or go to the cafeteria?”
Qiao Huaiyao had experienced the cafeteria food in his past life, and there were no dishes he liked. Also, probably to provide the students with quick energy supplements, the menu was mostly meat dishes, and even the light dishes had shredded meat stir-fried in them.
Not really to his taste.
“I’ll go back to the dormitory,” Qiao Huaiyao said.
Qiu Shufeng nodded, “Do you need anything? I can bring it back to the dormitory for you.”
“It’s okay,” Qiao Huaiyao politely declined his offer. “I’m not hungry. I’ll buy something for myself later.”
The crowd on the training ground had mostly dispersed by now, leaving only a few people. As Qiao Huaiyao was about to head back to the dormitory, his phone kept vibrating.
Seeing the incoming call from Bai Jinyan, he was a bit surprised, “Brother?”
Bai Jinyan asked, “Where are you?”
“I’m at the training ground. I just finished the training,” Qiao Huaiyao replied, walking in the direction of the dormitory. “Is there something you need?”
Bai Jinyan replied calmly, “Come to the back door.”
Qiao Huaiyao’s steps paused momentarily, suddenly realizing the implications of Bai Jinyan’s words. He raised his eyebrows, turned around, and walked towards the back door. His pace quickened subconsciously.
Bai Jinyan seemed to have sensed something and said, “Take your time; don’t rush.”
“Okay,” Qiao Huaiyao responded quickly but didn’t really listen. He was already walking briskly towards the back door.
The military training ground was not far from the back door. As he approached, the number of people on the road decreased. In the end, there were only streetlights, and not a single person in sight.
Having just finished training, some were having dinner, and some were returning to their dorms to rest. The small path had not been crowded to begin with, and now it was even quieter.
Qiao Huaiyao walked over, and in the dim light next to the guardrail, Bai Jinyan was standing there, holding a thermos bag
. “Brother!”
“Yeah,” Bai Jinyin handed the thermos bag over, “I bought some food you like. Take it back to the dormitory to eat.”
He didn’t ask if Qiao Huaiyao was hungry or not. From noon until now, he hadn’t eaten anything.
Even if Qiao Huaiyao didn’t feel like eating, he would probably get hungry.
Bai Jinyan just bought the food and brought it over.
Qiao Huaiyao would surely take a few bites, which was better than going hungry until tomorrow’s breakfast.
Qiao Huaiyao widened his eyes suddenly, “I…brother, don’t worry. I can go to the cafeteria to eat.”
“The menu for the cafeteria here is available online,” Bai Jinyan opened the thermos bag casually. “I know you can’t get used to those dishes.”
The gap between the railings was small, and the bag’s height couldn’t pass through. Bai Jinyan had to unpack it box by box and hand them over one by one.
Qiao Huaiyao never expected Bai Jinyan to pay attention to the menu in the training area.
He felt a warm feeling inside him. Even such small matters were thoughtfully taken care of by Bai Jinyan. He smiled subtly.
Even such small matters were thoughtfully taken care of by Bai Jinyan. He smiled subtly.