The three people behind him also stopped. Looking at his back, their discussion reached Zhou Li’s ears—
"Brother Li is so cool!"
"What’s there to talk about? This is what they call a true master showing no trace!"
After they had walked some distance, Zhou Li finally looked at Huai Xu, feeling both annoyed and amused. "What happened? Tell me."
Without hesitation, Huai Xu first cleared himself of responsibility. "You can’t blame me! It was the instructor who went too far, and he even encouraged me to hit him! Ah, right, that’s it! He was the one who encouraged me! After I hit him, the Black Company Commander praised me for being powerful and talked with me for a long time. He asked where I learned martial arts and said that the instructor was useless and that he, the Company Commander, would go back and teach the instructor a lesson!"
He had more than one reason. "Plus, I avenged you for yesterday too!"
"Alright, blame him then. Just tell me exactly what happened so I know how to handle things later."
"Why would the teacher still punish you?" Huai Xu didn’t understand. "Wasn’t I called in for a talk by the company commander yesterday? I even ran laps! Why isn’t it over yet?"
Huai Xu sneakily glanced at him, feeling guilty.
Zhou Li added, "Don’t embellish. Just tell me the plain truth, exactly as it happened. What’s done is done. The fight already happened; it’s not a huge deal."
Through his description, a picture formed in Zhou Li’s mind—
Yesterday was exceptionally hot.
That’s how it is in Chunming. Although the weather is spring-like all year round, the sun can be scorching during the day. And at night, by Dian Lake, you still need a blanket.
According to Huai Xu’s speculation, the instructor had likely been looking for an excuse to pick on him all day. This might have been because Zhou Li had offended him the previous day, or perhaps because the instructor was jealous of Zhou Li’s good looks—after all, though they were about the same height, the instructor was nowhere near as handsome as Zhou Li.
Zhou Li automatically dismissed this speculation.
In the morning, because Huai Xu was training earnestly and meticulously, the instructor couldn’t find an opportunity.
But Huai Xu is inherently active and playful, a match for Li Daimao in that regard. So, in the afternoon, he inevitably gave the instructor an opportunity—and for the same reason as yesterday: peeking at Li Daimao.
The instructor immediately reprimanded—
"What’s your name again?"
"How much do you want to join the girls’ squadron? Shall I give you a recommendation?"
A "Sure!" almost slipped out of Huai Xu’s mouth.
The instructor then started making him do push-ups, though he didn’t make him do them in front of the girls’ squadron.
Huai Xu did them with ease.
The instructor nodded. "Pretty standard, huh? Don’t get up yet. Give me thirty more!"
"Oh, still pretty good, huh?"
"Add fifty more! What are you looking at? If you’re not satisfied, you can come spar with me. If you don’t dare, then stop dawdling!"
The instructor was good at sizing people up. If there had been a real troublemaker in the company, he wouldn’t have dared to speak . If the matter blew over quietly, it would be fine. But if it escalated, the students wouldn’t face much trouble, while he, the instructor, would definitely be severely punished.
From his observation, this ’Zhou Li’ seemed to have a very mild personality.
Sure enough, ’Zhou Li’ obediently started doing them again.
Fifty push-ups, with movements that didn’t falter in the slightest and maintained the same rhythm. The instructor was quite surprised.
"Not bad, Zhou Li! Keep going. Do another forty to bring the total to one hundred and fifty, and I’ll make you squad leader!"
The movie playing in Zhou Li’s mind paused. He found it somewhat hard to understand. "So, you just beat up the instructor?"
Huai Xu nodded earnestly.
Then he continued narrating vividly—
The instructor, with his slight build, would have been child’s play for San Zheng. Huai Xu, demonstrating similar ease, casually knocked him down, causing a commotion. Afterwards, he was ’subdued’ by several other company commanders who rushed over. Then, their company’s training was halted, while he, Huai Xu, used the excuse of going to the restroom to instinctively look for Zhou Li.
Brother Nan, seeing the situation, also reported that he needed to go and accompanied him.
"Li Daimao was laughing so arrogantly!"
"She said, ’Hahaha! I never expected you, Zhou Li, to actually hit an instructor! Hahaha, that’s hilarious, it killed me!’ He mimicked her perfectly, capturing not just the tone but even the sound of her voice."
"You could go become a ventriloquist!" Zhou Li said.
"Stop interrupting! You’re so annoying!"
"Then she told me not to worry, that these were minor issues. As long as it didn’t involve a matter of principle, there wouldn’t be any major problems. At most, I might receive disciplinary action, and it would most likely just be verbal. She said that them telling me it would go on my permanent record was just a scare tactic."
"I asked her what constituted a matter of principle. She said it referred to serious character flaws, the kind the school couldn’t tolerate or correct. My issue, she said, was as minor as could be."
"She said she was a professional."
"I thought about it and it sounded reasonable. I figured I should listen to the professional. So, although I still came to find you, I didn’t disturb you while you were eating your ice cream."
"And that wasn’t disturbing my ice cream time?"
"Hong Ran must still have some!"
"No more, that was the last one."
"Why do you keep interrupting!" Huai Xu cut him off and continued, "After that, the Black Company Commander arrived, staggering drunk. He called both me and the instructor over. He basically said we were both at fault, that I was young and impetuous, and made us both run twenty laps. Heh, by the time I finished, that instructor had only run ten!"
"Exactly! I thought it was all over and you wouldn’t find out. Who knew you still had to go see the teacher! What if the teacher makes you run laps again? I’ll run them for you!"
It took Zhou Li some effort to find the Life Sciences Institute’s administration office. On the way, he received a call from Brother Nan. Brother Nan told him that Zhou Qianqian had a straightforward personality and advised him to act more obediently. He said trying to get on Zhou Qianqian’s good side at appropriate times would be beneficial, not just for this incident but for his future as well.
Zhou Qianqian was sitting in her office. Zhou Li heard her telling risqué jokes to other teachers. After Zhou Li knocked and entered, her eyes brightened. "Well, well, look at this handsome fellow! Who are you looking for? Come on in!"
"Hello, Teacher, I’m Zhou Li."
Immediately, Zhou Qianqian’s expression darkened. Her face, already not particularly attractive, became even more intimidating as she sized him up and down. "Quite capable, aren’t you! Beating up an instructor on the second day of military training. Our school hasn’t had news in many years! I’m somewhat impressed, you know!"
"Has it happened before?"
"Give me a hundred push-ups, right here."
Zhou Li got down on the floor.
Because he was strong, his movements were particularly standard and smooth.
Only after Zhou Li had done about fifty did Zhou Qianqian ask, "Why did you fight with the instructor?"
"He was picking on me."
"How was he picking on you?"
"He told me to do push-ups."
"PFFT! How many have you done now?"
Zhou Li stood up. "I realize I was wrong."
Zhou Qianqian was still assessing him. "Got any chest muscles?"
"AHEM. Alright then. Regarding this matter, our institute has considered it and also discussed it with the instructor’s side. Considering you’re young and impulsive, and it’s not really that big of a deal... So, you go back and write a self-criticism report. Make it profound. Five thousand words... hmm, that seems a bit much. Eight hundred words. Hand it to me tomorrow, alright?"
"Don’t post it online! It’s not worth bragging about!"
"Thank you, Teacher."
Zhou Li left the office as calmly as he had entered.