Although Jiang Nian had already silenced the gossipers, Song Jici glanced at the displeased Fu Zhenzhen in the crowd and still decided to explain things to everyone:
"Everything you've been saying is completely unfounded. Fu Zhenzhen and I are nothing more than friends, and Nian hasn't done any of those disgraceful things."
He paused, his voice growing low and dangerous.
"I hope you won't spread any more false rumors. If anything like this happens again, I won't let it slide as gently as Nian did."
Whether or not Fu Zhenzhen had started the rumors, Song Jici had indeed sensed her malice toward Jiang Nian.
He had clearly seen the delight in Fu Zhenzhen's eyes as she watched everyone point fingers at Jiang Nian.
Was she really still the kind, sweet girl he remembered?
Beside him, Shen Hui regarded the crowd with a faint, ambiguous smile. He cast a casual glance at Fang Qiu, who stood among them staring blankly at him, and spoke coldly:
"And whoever's spreading rumors about me and Jiang Nian, come at me if you have a problem. Don't take shots at someone innocent."
Seeing the mocking smile in Shen Hui's eyes as he looked at her, Fang Qiu hastily lowered her gaze. She clenched her hands, her nails digging deep into her palms.
Why? She'd only been doing it for Shen Hui's own good!
Amid the silence, the instructor teaching their class walked in.
Seeing the students so unusually quiet, he looked a little puzzled.
Why were these kids so quiet today?
After the hour-long military theory class, the instructor took them to the shooting range for their live-fire lesson.
Jiang Nian followed the group to the range. There was no one else in the wide-open grounds.
A row of targets stood upright in the earthen berm in the distance, while a row of Type 56 Semi-Automatic Rifles lay along the firing line.
These weren't ordinary toy guns or teaching models. They were real firearms.
The training involved shooting at fixed targets from a supported prone position at a distance of 100 meters.
The instructor gathered everyone together, explaining the fundamentals of firing the Type 56 rifle and the requirements for their later assessment.
"The guns we use for live-fire practice are this row of Type 56 Semi-Automatic Rifles. Although the Type 56 is an old model, it has a long sight radius, which generally gives it the highest accuracy."
"Ammunition is limited. Each of you will get only ten rounds a day, with three days to practice. On the final day of military training, you'll take a graded assessment. Your final training score will be the combined total of your results in live-fire target shooting, field marches, formation drills, and the other assessments."
"Now, everyone will take turns stepping forward for live-fire practice."
The students split into orderly groups of ten. Each group took its turn shooting, with an instructor supervising every student to prevent any safety incidents.
When Jiang Nian's turn came, she lay down in the required position, listened to the instructor's detailed reminders, and carefully aimed at the target 100 meters away. Bang, bang! She fired five shots.
She felt the rifle's powerful recoil against her shoulder. The repeated gunshots even left her ears ringing a little, yet the sound seemed to set her blood pumping.
She touched the still-warm grip, savoring the thrill of shooting. Jiang Nian felt ready to sling the rifle over her shoulder and go fight the Japanese invaders, but the instructor's merciless words shattered her fantasy.
"Jiang Nian, three misses, one eight, and one five. Total score: thirteen."
Jiang Nian: "..."
All right, you invaders, I'll give you a chance to walk straight into my line of fire.
Three days slipped quietly by amid the training.
They weren't quite as exhausted as Jiang Nian had described-not to the point of falling asleep the instant they hit the bed every day and forgetting what the person in the upper bunk looked like-but it was close enough.
At least Jiang Nian couldn't be bothered to look at Fang Qiu and the others.
On the morning of the final day of military training, the sun shone brightly and the weather was clear. All the students stood ready to face their final assessments together. Once they were finished, they could take the bus back to school.
During the group formation assessment, Jiang Nian wore camouflage fatigues, her gaze firm and sharp, her steps vigorous and strong.
During the physical fitness assessment, sweat dripped down Jiang Nian's forehead and soaked her clothes. But she didn't stop. She merely gritted her teeth and kept running.
In the final live-fire assessment, she raised her rifle, aimed at the target, and pulled the trigger in one smooth sequence. Gunshots echoed across the open training grounds. Her gaze remained steady, without the slightest wavering.
"Number fifty-six, Jiang Nian. Eight, seven, eight, nine, nine. Total score: forty-one."
The assessments ended one after another.
Only when the head instructor announced that training was officially over did Jiang Nian finally relax completely.
She was exhausted.
All the students had thought they would be wildly excited when military training ended and they headed home. In reality, everyone slept so deeply on the bus that they lost all sense of time.
Only when their homeroom teacher, Tan Zhuishi, woke everyone and told them with a smile that they had reached the school did being back start to feel real.
Tan Zhuishi had everyone return to the classroom for a brief meeting, reminding them of what they needed to know for the official start of school in three days. By then, students from all three grades would return to begin classes.
Seeing that it was about time, he let everyone go home.
As Jiang Nian left, she happened to see that Class 1 next door had also been dismissed. Several students instinctively lowered their heads and hurried away the moment they saw her.
Jiang Nian shrugged and strolled toward the school gates.
Fang Qiu walked at the rear of Class 1's crowd, glaring hatefully at Jiang Nian's retreating figure. She bit her lip, leaving a string of teeth marks.
The girl beside her noticed and gently reassured her. "It's all right, Fang Qiu. Shen Hui's grandfather's seventieth birthday celebration is next month. Jiang Nian will definitely be there. We can deal with her then."
Before Fang Qiu could respond, a puzzled voice suddenly came from behind them. "Jiang Nian, why did you come back?"
Fang Qiu and the girl froze. Only after waiting a while without hearing Jiang Nian's voice did they realize something was wrong.
They turned around and saw Tong Chuhe watching them with a mocking smile. Only then did they realize they had been tricked.
Tong Chuhe didn't bother saying anything more to them. She walked straight past them toward the school gates, leaving Fang Qiu with just one warning as she passed:
"Mess with Jiang Nian again, and don't blame me for getting nasty."
Hearing that, the girl was about to curse, but then seemed to remember something. She glanced warily around and only resumed whispering with Fang Qiu once she was sure Jiang Nian wasn't there.
Thank goodness Jiang Nian wasn't around.
She was afraid Jiang Nian would drag her straight to the police station.
After all, Jiang Nian's mind didn't seem to work quite like a normal person's.
Her mental state was practically a hundred years ahead of theirs.
Before you continue