"Let me introduce myself first!"
The soldier stood at attention and said solemnly,
"My name is Zheng Qiancheng. I'm the instructor for Platoon 3-4 of Company 1. Starting today, your life in the barracks will be under my guidance, arrangement and control. You'll get to know what kind of person I am gradually."
In the spacious dormitory, there were scattered "oh's" in groups of three or two.
Another bugle call rang out.
Qin Wei, standing far away, felt a little buzzing in her ears.
"There are rules here that I'll explain in a bit.
Right now, you have three minutes to open your suitcases, take out the necessary personal items notified by the school, and hand over everything else including the suitcases. Time starts now!"
Everyone had confused looks on their faces again.
"Two minutes and thirty seconds left!"
"Two minutes and twenty seconds!"
The crowd then realized that Instructor Zheng was serious. They hurriedly opened their suitcases and started taking things out.
Instructor Zheng walked around with a timer in hand, inspecting—
"No snacks allowed!"
"Valuables put away properly!"
"Only three skincare products left! Take whatever you want!"
"No makeup allowed!"
His voice was very loud. Those at the door could still hear him clearly.
...
When he got to Qin Wei, seeing that she had left everything from her bag and suitcase there, Instructor Zheng couldn't help frowning. But after a simple look around, it seemed that everything she left behind was allowed.
He had to admit, Teacher Qiao was wise. Everything she had sent over was a necessity. If she had brought what Li Yao had prepared, two-thirds would have been confiscated by now.
Luckily she had decided to swap it out at the last minute!
"Aren't these luxuries and valuables? If so, they can't be kept."
Qin Wei looked in the direction he was looking. She replied,
"That's a watch."
Watches were allowed... Even if it was a 500,000 yuan watch, it was still a watch...
"That's a Hermes, I recognize it, that's Hermes..."
"It's a blanket..."
Although it was summer, the barracks were located in the mountains where there was a big difference between day and night temperatures. So the school required everyone to bring an extra thin blanket, just in case.
That seemed okay too.
Instructor Zheng's gaze fell on another small object again:
"I can let the rest slide, but did you really bring a doll here?"
This remark drew quite a few looks.
"It's a...flashlight..."
Qin Wei picked up the "doll". It was palm-sized, a fluffy strawberry bear.
It had on a small backpack and was wearing a strawberry bear sleeper.
Although small, it was quite exquisite.
Qin Wei squeezed its belly and the bear's eyes lit up.
It was an LED light.
Instructor Zheng almost couldn't hold back his laughter.
But at the earlier meeting, it was said that he must be strict at first, or it would be hard to control them later.
They were allowed to bring flashlights, so there was no problem.
Instructor Zheng rubbed his nose and glanced at the timer.
"Time's up!"
Everyone reluctantly put down what was in their hands and stood up. Many still hadn't finished sorting through their things.
"Next, turn off your cell phones! Take out the acrylic boxes from the drawers, put in your phones and hand them all over!"
"You can't be serious..."
"It's just military training..."
"How do we buy things without our phones..."
"They'll be returned after training ends! Thirty seconds, countdown starts now!"
Following Instructor Zheng's whistle, many people followed his instructions in distress.
This point did surprise Qin Wei a little. It seemed that the so-called "major changes" to military training mentioned previously were true. It looked like they wouldn't be giving back their rest time either. That meant she wouldn't be able to use her phone at night...
There was no other way. Although unwilling, she still followed along.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. It was only a week anyway.
Instructor Zheng brought over a box and collected all the phones.
After everything was handed over, Instructor Zheng nodded in satisfaction. He then said,
"You now have five minutes to change into your uniforms. I'll come do an inspection in five minutes..."
Someone protested:
"We're all girls here. What if we're not done changing? Is it appropriate for you to come in?"
Instructor Zheng was taken aback for a moment. He had only ever trained male troops before, and hadn't thought of this issue...
"I'll be here in five minutes."
A female voice rang out. Looking in that direction, a woman in camo workout clothes walked in.
She had prominent and elegant features, short hair, and a tall, slender figure giving off an extremely competent vibe.
She walked to Instructor Zheng's side and said to everyone, "My name is Song Huan. I'll also be your instructor this time, additionally responsible for the female troops' living matters. My room is next door. Feel free to come find me for anything."
No one could argue with that.
After the two instructors left pushing carts full of luggage, everyone started changing. Many couldn't help letting their eyes drift towards Qin Wei as they were busy with their hands.
Qin Wei: "......"
Perhaps also realizing it was rude of themselves, they quickly turned back to mind their own business.
Right when the five minutes were up, a whistle sounded from outside the door.
The door opened, and as expected, only the female instructor Song walked in.
Walking further inside and seeing everyone's sloppily or hastily put on uniforms, Song Huan sighed.
Yet Qin Wei...
Instructor Song stopped in front of her, perhaps also curious about the celebrity. Having heard she was coming, Song admitted she was rather looking forward to it as well.
This year, the military district's propaganda department would be filming a movie. It wasn't the first time, last year's military-themed film "Fire Line" was also produced by them to great success. So they decided to continue filming, aiming for a release the year after next.
It hadn't been announced yet, but Song Huan heard bits of inside news from her captain – during casting there were people who brought up Qin Wei, yet there were also doubters questioning if she could endure hardship. After all, the female lead of this movie had many fight scenes, high in both difficulty and intensity, to the point where even some actresses specializing in action found it too exhausting, much less someone like her.
It just so happened she had to come for military training this year, so it was a good opportunity. Relevant personnel had private discussions with her agency. If she was interested, there would be some pressure testing during training, with the prerequisite being that she could not know about it.
Li Yao and his team were responsible for this matter. Although curious why she couldn't know about it, they decided to accept for her based on trust in Qin Wei's stable performance.
If it failed, there was no loss. If she managed to get the role, it would allow their artiste to expand into a new area.
Of course, blessings raining from the sky were not without a price – they had to help out with some extra busywork the company didn't know about.
As a member of the special forces squad, Song Huan had certainly gone through life and death situations countless times, always resolving missions with her fists and weapons. But training a group of kids years younger than her was the first.
Her captain comforted her that it was similar to when they were first assembled to train new squad members, only she had to be careful about the intensity since they were students. The main focus still had to be on Qin Wei.
Originally a squadmate was supposed to come, but something suddenly came up at the last minute. Song was only left piles of documents.
She was at a loss, looking through the materials her squadmate gave her enroute. There was no time to come up with her own plan anymore, she could only follow the one laid out.
...
Song Huan looked Qin Wei up and down. She had fully changed into her uniform – the shirt, pants and shoes all fit her perfectly. These were allotted to everyone according to their heights after all.
Yet...
"You have to buckle your belt..."
Song pointed at the belt left on the bed.
Qin Wei had one hand holding up her pants. They wouldn't exactly fall down, but were loose indeed.
"The belt is too big."
Qin Wei said.
The customized female belt was too big for her? What Versailles-esque rhetoric?
Song didn't believe her. She glanced at Qin Wei, then picked up the belt intending to buckle it for her.
She hadn't even touched the celebrity when she saw Qin Wei's brows furrow slightly as she took a step back.
"I'll do it myself."
Qin Wei said. She took the belt from Song's hand and buckled it on, then showed her.
Indeed, her waist was truly slender. Buckled to the last hole, it was still loose.
"Wait here."
Song said before turning to leave again.
Qin Wei's heart thudded. She thought Song was about to get physical just now, so she shrunk back in fright. What, was she going to beat someone up now?
She sounded a little fierce!
Soon Song returned, now with another belt in hand.
"I added an extra hole. Try this one."
So that was it.
Qin Wei silently put on the new belt, then told Song,
"Fits perfectly now."
Song huffed and walked away.
After making sure all female troops were properly dressed, Instructor Zheng walked back in and said to everyone,
"You now have three minutes to quickly head to the washrooms to remove your makeup!"
If everything before could still be endured, this request now made everyone feel it had gone overboard. None of those present had caked their faces in heavy makeup, only light makeup!
Military training my ass! They were really treating them as new recruits!
Instructor Zheng only cared about carrying out orders, blowing his whistle and counting down.
Complaints were ignored. They could only resign themselves to their fate.
Looking at the students walking by, one by one unhappy, Song Huan and Zheng Qiancheng looked at each other helplessly and shrugged.
Song Huan said, "The one inside is an actress, doesn't seem very nice."
Zheng Qiancheng: "The meeting said that many actors nowadays have problems with their ideology and style. I will keep an eye on her."
Neither of them named names, but they both knew who the other was talking about.
Qin Wei sighed and sat on the bed to think.
Too many people, too noisy, things kept happening one after another. It hadn't even been an hour since she arrived here, and she already felt tired.
"Qin Wei, you go too!"
Instructor Zheng called to her.
"I don't care who you are! Here I need you to obey orders. Now, immediately, go take off your makeup!"
Qin Wei was a little annoyed by his shouting and retorted:
"Why do I have to take off my makeup?"
Instructor Zheng was also somewhat angry. He walked over to her and said as he approached:
"There are no privileges here, no celebrities in the barracks. Your task is to obey orders!"
"But I'm not wearing any!"
Qin Wei rubbed her eyebrows.
Zheng Qiancheng: "I don't believe you!"
Qin Wei: "..."
Qin Wei to herself: I don't care if you believe it or not...
"Your mouth is red! Go now! Otherwise you may receive a notice of criticism!"
Qin Wei: "???"
Somehow, Song Huan had already walked over to her side. She leaned in, her whole body close to examine Qin Wei.
Fair skin, beautiful features, she really was good looking.
Previously, she had only felt that celebrities were only pretty because of their makeup. But seeing one in person, she realized ordinary people couldn't compare.
At least the one before her was like this.
Song Huan smiled at her - truly a natural beauty without any makeup.
Finally, she even used her finger to smudge Qin Wei's lips.
"Instructor Zheng, it seems we misunderstood her. She really isn't wearing any makeup."
Song Huan said,
"But don't use perfume anymore...anyway, you handed it over already, no use for it now."
