Chapter Twenty-Eight: Embracing the Gold Brick

The formation stood still, near and far, shrouded in utter silence.

Almost every recruit’s gaze followed Zhou Zhong’ai, landing upon the west side—on the figure of Du Huaishan from Squad Eight.

There was no helping it.

After all, the name “Du Huaishan” shone too brightly.

On the very first day of enlistment, he’d led the new recruits in a brawl against the veterans. Most impressively, he’d taken on four at once and emerged victorious, fiercely avenging the fresh recruits’ grievances.

Thus, among the 173rd batch of recruits, Du Huaishan’s status was essentially unrivaled—he was “the first among them.”

“Du Huaishan’s got great skills; he’ll definitely make it!”

“We’re all counting on Du Huaishan to win back some pride for us male recruits!”

“How I envy Du Huaishan! To be singled out by Instructor Zhou herself—if someone as beautiful as her remembered my name, I could die happy!”

“If you could beat that many veterans, you’d be remembered by the instructors too!”

“Don’t get your hopes up. If Du Huaishan really had it, he’d have gone up already—why wait for the instructor to call him?”

“If even Du Huaishan fails, then we men will lose face for good!”

…

Among the male recruits, opinions abounded, but the consensus remained: Du Huaishan was highly esteemed.

His prowess alone commanded respect.

Hearing his name called, Du Huaishan was a little taken aback, but he straightened his back and answered with a loud “Here!” Stepping out from the ranks, he made his way forward.

“Huaishan! Go for it!”

“You’ve got this, Brother Huaishan!”

…

His Squad Eight comrades cheered him on from behind.

Reaching the training apparatus, Du Huaishan met Zhou Zhong’ai’s gaze. She regarded him with special interest, her smile enchanting. “Do your best! In you go!”

Suppressing the acrid taste of bile, Du Huaishan ducked into the iron cage opened by the soldiers.

To be honest, he wasn’t completely confident in his success.

He was a professional martial arts fighter, not an all-around athlete.

Though he trained regularly in wrestling and stand-up fighting, giving him excellent stability and balance, he’d never practiced spinning exercises.

Still, Du Huaishan had one advantage: he’d trained in taking hits.

That meant letting sparring partners strike his head and jaw, building resistance to dizziness and blackouts.

His willpower and focus were thus stronger than most.

“Begin!” barked Zhou Zhong’ai, and two soldiers started spinning the cage.

A low hum rose—growing, whirling.

Whether by design or accident, the recruits sensed that Du Huaishan’s turn was faster than the others’, the wind almost whistling around the bars.

Inside, Du Huaishan gripped the cage tightly.

At first, he could maintain his sense of direction, but as the spinning accelerated, his vision blurred; his judgment faltered.

When the cage finally stopped, a wave of vertigo crashed over him—like being adrift in a sea of clouds, or a willow catkin carried by the wind, rootless and lost.

Clenching his jaw, Du Huaishan forced his mind to wakefulness by sheer will.

His dark, reddish eyes, fierce as a panther’s, took in his surroundings.

Once he was sure of his bearings, he slowly stepped out of the cage. Without waiting for Zhou Zhong’ai’s prompt, he moved straight to the balance beam.

Suppressing the urge to vomit, he set his foot on the beam.

But as soon as his foot landed, his leg went limp as a noodle; it was like treading on cotton. The spinning sensation returned, and his balance wavered.

It’s over! The male recruits saw his first shaky step and their hearts sank.

But then, in the next instant, something astonishing happened.

Du Huaishan closed his eyes.

What was he doing—crossing the beam blind?

Yes. He really closed his eyes. The spinning in his vision was too overwhelming, interfering with his steps; it was better to shut it out and let his body take over.

Don’t forget—Du Huaishan had trained in Chinese wrestling and sanda. His lower body was solid, and he was confident in his balance.

Steadying his breath, he began to cross using only the feel of his feet.

With the dizziness of sight eliminated, he moved with remarkable steadiness. He wasn’t as light-footed as the second female recruit with the braided hair, but far better than the first short-haired girl.

In less than six or seven seconds, Du Huaishan reached the end of the beam.

“Yes! He did it!”

“Amazing! Du Huaishan really made us proud! He crossed faster with his eyes closed than the girls did with their eyes open!”

“Girl, I take back what I said—Du Huaishan’s definitely handsome. Especially when he’s so focused; he’s more charming than all those boy recruits!”

“This guy is something else!”

…

With Du Huaishan’s success, the ranks of recruits erupted in cheers. Not only the men, but even some of the women were smitten by Du Huaishan’s feat—crossing the beam with his eyes closed.

“Careful.”

As Du Huaishan stepped forward, eyes still closed, he heard the warning. Opening his eyes, he leapt down from the beam—only to collide with something soft, fragrant with roses. Looking up, he found himself face-to-face with Instructor Zhou Zhong’ai.

“Du Huaishan, are you alright?” Concerned he might fall, Zhou Zhong’ai supported his arms and waist, nearly embracing him, her voice gentle and enchanting.

Seeing this, the same male recruits who’d just been cheering suddenly turned green with envy, instantly regarding Du Huaishan as a rival.

“Thank you, Instructor Zhou. I’m fine.”

By now, Du Huaishan’s vision had returned to normal.

“Good. You did well. Go back now.” Zhou Zhong’ai laughed softly in his ear and patted his shoulder a few times.

“Yes, Instructor Zhou!”

Du Huaishan straightened up and returned to the ranks.

Tan Hai, Wu Ming, and his other bunkmates immediately crowded around, shaking his arms in excitement. “Way to go, Huaishan! You’ve really outdone yourself this time!”

“Brother Huaishan, with all my years of experience, I’m telling you—Instructor Zhou is totally flirting with you. Has she taken a liking to you?”

“An instructor interested in a recruit? Not impossible, especially with someone as outstanding as Huaishan!”

“Huaishan, let me smell your arm! I want to know what Instructor Zhou’s perfume is like!”

…

As Wu Ming jokingly leaned in, Du Huaishan hurriedly shoved him away. “Get lost! Cut it out, or Instructor Zhou will see and we’ll be punished again!”

At the mention of “punishment,” the Squad Eight boys immediately quieted down.

None of them wanted to end up vomiting up their lunch in front of everyone.

Perhaps Zhou Zhong’ai’s gentle attitude toward Du Huaishan had sparked a competitive fire among the men, because suddenly many more volunteered for the test.

They, too, wanted a sultry hug from Sister Zhou.

But Du Huaishan understood—there was no way Zhou Zhong’ai was interested in him.

There’s a saying: “Three years older, a woman’s worth gold.” But how many bricks of gold was this?

From the moment she’d introduced herself, Du Huaishan knew Zhou Zhong’ai belonged to the same unit as Chang Sui’an.

Whether it was Chang Sui’an, Company Commander Chen, or Zhou Zhong’ai, their keen attention to him had only one purpose:

To recruit him into the Cavalry Reconnaissance Regiment.