No One Admitted It!

Chen Tianjian's brows, which had just relaxed, immediately furrowed again.

He seemed unable to believe anyone could be so clueless as to take his camouflage uniform!

He'd only washed it yesterday. Since it was new, he hadn't attached his rank insignia or anything like that yet.

Who could have guessed that after just one day, someone would take it?!

Damn it! This was unforgivable!

"Duty Soldier! Go get the duty soldier!"

Chen Tianjian barked at the veteran standing duty for the company, his face dark.

"Uh, yes, Company Commander!"

"What's going on? Why's the company commander so angry today?"

The veteran muttered under his breath, then hurried off to get the duty soldier.

A little while later, the duty soldier came rushing down the stairs, a look of deep confusion on his face.

"When everyone gathers this morning, ask them if one of the recruits collected the wrong clothes and took my camouflage uniform."

"Huh? These recruits took the company commander's uniform?"

The duty soldier froze, then nodded vigorously to show he understood.

"These recruits are really getting out of hand. They're even taking the company commander's clothes! I'll give them a good talking-to in a bit."

Just before breakfast, the duty soldier faced the recruits from all ten squads and asked them sternly:

"Who collected clothes yesterday? Did someone take the company commander's uniform?"

The recruits below stared in surprise. They hadn't expected that the duty soldier's stern expression was over something so trivial.

They all shook their heads without thinking.

One recruit standing in the formation glanced back at Lü Qinglong, his eyes full of worry.

I'm screwed! Yesterday I wondered why those clothes looked so new and felt so much finer than our uniforms. Turns out they belonged to the company commander!

Lü Qinglong noticed the recruit's gaze and simply shook his head at him.

As long as they didn't say anything, the recruit who had taken the wrong uniform would be squirming with unease!

He was probably thinking:

Damn, I'm screwed! I took the wrong clothes—they belong to our company commander!

So all he had to do now was stay calm and act like he knew nothing.

Fortunately, the recruit in his squad understood what he meant and stood there without saying a word.

"What? You've got the guts to do it but not the guts to admit it?!"

When nobody responded for a while, the duty soldier flew into a rage and shouted at the recruits.

The recruits felt a little afraid, and more than a little bewildered.

They really hadn't taken anyone's clothes. Who was the disgusting thief who'd taken someone else's uniform and didn't even dare admit it?

"Forget it, Duty Soldier."

The company commander shook his head, then called the duty soldier over and spoke to him quietly.

Lü Qinglong clearly saw the duty soldier's pupils contract, as if he'd been reminded of some unpleasant memory.

After a while, the duty soldier nodded and returned to stand in front of the recruits.

"The company commander just told me this: go eat breakfast first. Afterward, if anyone took the wrong uniform, just find a chance to hang it back up at the drying area. The company commander won't hold you responsible."

"The deadline is before this morning's training."

"Right, everyone, turn right! Forward, march!"

The recruits were led to the mess hall for breakfast.

As they ate, Ji Baichang quietly brought up the mix-up with the camouflage uniform:

"Seriously, I wonder who had the nerve to steal the company commander's uniform!"

"There really are all kinds of people in the army. If you ask me, we should keep a close eye on our own stuff. Otherwise, we won't even know who took it."

The recruits nearby nodded in agreement.

After all, stealing from someone was disgusting no matter where you did it.

"Couldn't someone have taken it by mistake?" asked the recruit who'd lost his uniform yesterday, quietly.

"Taken it by mistake? That's possible too, I guess. Whatever, it's got nothing to do with me. I'm going to write my name on my uniform with a marker later, so nobody takes mine by mistake," Ji Baichang muttered, taking a big bite of his steamed bun.

He'd finally gotten used to the army's food. He knew to eat a little more when he could, so he wouldn't be hungry and run out of strength during training.

"Eat up. We've got training this morning, and you'll need your strength."

Lü Qinglong took a steamed bun from his big metal tray and put it on the tray of the recruit who'd lost his uniform the night before. He gave him a nod.

He meant for him to swallow the bun—and the secret along with it.

The recruit took the bun and started eating. It wasn't clear whether he'd understood what Lü Qinglong meant.

After breakfast, everyone was getting ready to return to their squad rooms, clean up, put on their caps and belts, and begin formation training, when a whistle sounded from downstairs, followed by the duty soldier's shout:

"All recruits, when you head downstairs, don't put on your caps or belts. Just bring your own yellow washbasins. There'll be no training this morning. We've got a work detail."

"A work detail?"

The recruits were curious about the unfamiliar phrase the duty soldier had used.

"I think my cousin, who was discharged, told me that a work detail means helping someone with a job."

Song Si stepped forward and offered his understanding.

"Work? That's still better than formation training. Formation training's so boring. All we do is stand at attention every day. My back's about to break!"

"Exactly! A work detail is way better than training!"

The recruits quickly reached a consensus: a work detail was much better than training!

"What do we need yellow washbasins for on a work detail?"

Lü Qinglong was puzzled. A vague sense of foreboding crept into his heart.

"Um, Lü Qinglong, you stay behind. Come with me to tidy up the equipment storeroom. Then I'll pick one more person to help us."

"Some of the stuff might be a little heavy, so I need someone strong. Anyone volunteer?"

Squad leader Chen Ting suddenly spoke up, saying he wanted someone to stay and help organize the equipment storeroom.

"Squad leader, I volunteer."

Xue Daochao raised his hand, offering to help.

"Okay, Xue Daochao, you're in. You two won't have to join the work detail."

Squad leader Chen Ting nodded, then left the squad room and went to the washroom to get a cup of hot water.

"Seriously, Xue Daochao, what are you thinking? This is hard labor. How's that better than going on the work detail?"

As soon as the squad leader left the room, Ji Baichang couldn't help complaining.

He looked pleased with himself, as if he could already picture Xue Daochao toiling away miserably.

He felt so twisted. Seeing Xue Daochao do more work than him made him feel great.