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墨書 Inktalez
"Let's eat, back to the army," I said without thinking.
"The food in the army isn't that great, right? Brother, how about I treat you to a meal, and then I'll take you back," she turned her head and smiled.
"I don't usually let girls treat me!" I blurted out.
"Hehe, then you should treat me!" She immediately giggled.
Why should I treat you? I frowned, but I swallowed that thought. I tend to be easygoing and am not used to being too blunt in refusals. After hesitating for a moment, I thought of a reason and said, "Isn't that a bit inconvenient? We're not that familiar, and it wouldn't look good if your boyfriend saw us."
"I don't have a boyfriend; I'm only a junior!" she replied. "Then, let's say it's my way of thanking you!"
"There's no need to be so polite; it's nothing," I felt that pushing back any further would be pretentious. "Alright then, you take me back to the army, and I'll treat you to a meal. We'll call it even."
"Hehe, sounds good!" She smiled brightly as she turned on the car and drove toward my base. Soon, we arrived at the street next to the army base. After parking the car, I took her to a restaurant where they served home-cooked dishes. The food was quite good; I often ordered takeout from there for late-night snacks.
At first, I thought a girl like her wouldn’t care for such a place or these dishes, but to my surprise, she ate with great enthusiasm. As soon as the dishes were served, she grabbed the chopsticks and bowl from the restaurant and started eating. This made me see her in a new light; it seemed that her lack of pretentiousness was one of her strengths. She never hid her likes and dislikes, which was much better than some hypocritical people.
Just as I was thinking about this, she tilted her head and asked, "Have you really decided to compete?"
"I'm not completely sure yet," I thought for a moment before answering.
"Actually, I was thinking seriously just now; you shouldn't go," she said earnestly.
"Why not?"
"Your injury hasn't healed yet! Have you forgotten?" She looked at me in surprise.
"Oh, right." I lifted my arm; thankfully, my shoulder wasn't too painful. The triangular bayonet had pierced through the trash can lid before hitting me, so it didn't go in too deep. It would take some time for it to heal completely, but it didn't hinder my movements much.
"Not bad, right? There's still some time before the competition, isn't there? I heard from Old Ma earlier that this is just a supplementary event. We have to wait until all the Reconnaissance Soldier Competition participants finish before we can gather those who want to sign up for this supplementary event. It should take a while, I guess?"
"Oh." Xu Zengjing replied thoughtfully. After a moment, she suddenly asked, "Can I watch you compete?"
"You'll have to ask Old Ma about that; I don't know if it's open to the public." I glanced at her and continued eating.
After finishing lunch, it was already noon. Xu Zengjing insisted on visiting my Unit, which surprised me greatly. What if she went to the Unit? At least she got my phone number before leaving happily. I then passed by the Medical Unit through the side door to get some bandages for my wound before returning to my Unit.
Once back, I greeted everyone and collapsed into bed. Last night had been exhausting, and I slept straight through until the afternoon when Sheng Xiong called me; it was the Operations Training Staff Officer asking for me.
Looking at the clock, it was already past four in the afternoon. I quickly changed clothes and washed my face, feeling much more refreshed, though my left shoulder wound still hurt a bit. As I stepped out into the office area, the Training Staff Officer saw me and smiled, saying, "Wang Lian, you've made quite a name for yourself!"
I was a bit confused and didn't understand what he meant until he handed me a fax paper. Looking closely, I realized it was on Provincial Military District letterhead. A quick glance at the content revealed that it was indeed about my match with Maliao this morning.
"It's already reported to the Commander. The Commander wants you to take this invitation letter to him. Wow, you're really something now! You even know Old Ma from the Provincial Military District? Those Brothers are quite impressive!" The Training Staff Officer chuckled.
"Well, it's not that big of a deal! We met at the hospital," I casually replied while looking at the invitation letter.
"The hospital?" I looked up and met the Training Staff Officer's questioning gaze. Oh no! I couldn't let anything slip; otherwise, my little escapade at the bar would be exposed.
I quickly played it off and turned around to head out to the third floor. After knocking on the Commander's office door and reporting in, I heard him call from inside, "Come in." Only then did I push the door open and enter.
"Leader!" I greeted respectfully. I felt a sense of awe towards the Commander—not just because he had looked after me but because he sometimes seemed as deep as the ocean; I could never quite grasp what he was thinking.
"Wang, have a seat."
I sat on the sofa by the door, sitting up straight and waiting for the Commander’s instructions.
"I know the content of that invitation, Wang. I want to ask you, if the team allows you to participate, how confident are you about placing? Remember, I'm talking about placing."
I understood what Commander meant. I had just seen the invitation, which stated that the martial arts competition would award first, second, and third places, along with a participation prize for those ranked from fourth to tenth. The total number of participants was expected to be around forty.
After thinking for a moment, I decided to be honest. "Leader, honestly, I have no confidence at all."
Commander was taken aback but quickly composed himself and gestured for me to continue. "I'm good with equipment, but most of the time I practice alone in a small circle. It's hard for me to gauge how I compare with others outside. All I can say is that I will do my best, but I can't guarantee that I'll place."
I met Commander's gaze sincerely. He looked at me for a while before suddenly laughing. "Haha, Wang, I really like your character! Alright, I won't put any pressure on you. Just go and compete; show your true level and don't let those combat units look down on us Engineers."
"Yes!" I stood up and replied solemnly.
"Wang!" Commander leaned back in his chair, an unusual casualness about him that I hadn't seen before.
I remained silent, waiting for him to speak again. "I'm planning to retire at the end of the year." What!? I was taken aback and was about to say something when Commander waved his hand dismissively. "I'm getting older; it's time to step down. I can't stay in this position forever; it's better to move on sooner rather than later."
He smiled again and continued, "You're a good Buddy. I've done my best to look out for you. But remember, not every leader will appreciate you or give you time to grow. This competition has many rewards; it’s also an opportunity for you to showcase yourself in front of more people and higher leaders. You might find broader horizons ahead—make sure to seize it!"
Hearing Commander say this stirred something within me unexpectedly. Just as I was about to respond, Commander added, "Work hard; if you do well, it will bring fame to our unit and serve as a parting gift for me in my final days here. But I knew from the beginning that I didn’t misjudge you."
"Leader, rest assured, I'll give it my all!" Looking at Commander, I suddenly felt he lacked the usual authority he held in front of others; instead, he seemed somewhat aged. I realized that this generation of leaders was indeed getting older; it was just surprising that Commander hadn’t reached a promotion before deciding to retire.
What could I do for him? As I pondered this, Commander suddenly smiled again. "By the way, your injury won’t affect your competition performance, will it?"
"It won't!" I blurted out without thinking. As soon as I finished speaking, it dawned on me—how did Commander know about my injury? Could it be Old Bi who spilled the beans? No way! I quickly dismissed that thought; Old Bi wasn’t that kind of person! But then who told him? Old Tang? The Unit knew about my injury but didn't know the details; they all thought it was just a fall.
Seeing my puzzled expression, Commander seemed to read my mind and chuckled. "Are you holding a grudge against Bi Lianzhang?"
“Leader, I…”
Commander interrupted me with a smile, “What’s wrong? Yameng hasn’t told you that I’m his uncle?”
“Ah!” This time, I was truly taken aback. No wonder Old Bi seemed to have so much insider information about the team, whether it was about personnel or the atmosphere; he knew everything so well. It turned out they had this connection! This made me think—was Commander indirectly assessing me during my interactions with Old Bi? Suddenly, I felt strange about my feelings towards Old Bi. If my performance didn’t meet Commander’s expectations, did that mean I was still just a Military Doctor or a Squad Leader? A wave of sadness washed over me. The roles of Military Doctor and Company Commander were completely different paths in the military. My shift to leading troops was also due to an order from Commander. The feeling of having my life altered by someone else's choice was unsettling. No, I needed to take control of my own destiny, starting now! I clenched my fists tightly.
“Haha!” As I was lost in thought, Commander stood up with a smile and walked over to the window, looking out with his hands behind his back. “To be honest, when I first saw you, I thought you had great potential, but you were a bit too student-like. Whitened seemed a bit immature and bookish; that’s a common issue among you Local University Students. That’s why I asked Yameng to take you under his wing and spend more time with you, hoping you’d adapt to the military quickly. I didn’t expect that later on, Yameng would hold you in such high regard. He’s quite discerning; I’ve never seen him evaluate someone like this before. However, it seems like having you as a friend is good luck for Yameng. You pick things up quickly, adapt well, and have high comprehension; sometimes you even surprise me. There are things that Yameng still needs to learn from you.”
“Hehe.” Listening from behind, I felt embarrassed and could only chuckle awkwardly.
“Young people need to grow up. Wang, the path ahead will be yours to walk,” Commander said meaningfully as he turned around.
“Alright, off you go. But remember, even though I’ll be leaving in six months, I will still hold you to high standards. Don’t think you can get by without putting in the effort; do you understand what I mean?”
“Yes! Leader! I understand!” I replied sharply.
After bowing respectfully once more, filled with gratitude and confusion, I left the office and returned to the Unit. Still, I needed to make sure to brush up on my skills during my spare time! But before that, I had some scores to settle with Old Bi!
(To be continued; tomorrow will be even more exciting!)
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