Eat Less Fish in the Future - Chapter 4

The company commander was still shouting commands. “Halt–“

“One, two!”

As soon as the boys stopped, they reverted to their original state, straightening their backs but lowering their heads and laughing casually.

This was so fucking exciting.

During military training, there were always some instructors who, unsatisfied with simple drills, always wanted to create some jokes and moments of levity.

— Zheng Yimian knew this clearly.

She had encountered it in middle and high school too.

But the problem was, why did she have to encounter Liang Yu again?

The girls in the class had already started whispering shyly.

“What is the company commander going to do…”

“He’s really coming over, oh my god…”

“What’s going on…”

“We’re not going to have to stand at attention facing each other, are we? I…”

The next second.

The company commander for the girls’ side, “All female students, attention!”

“Right — face!”

…

……

It came true.

Zheng Yimian thought as she lowered her head.

Alright, now she was really face to face with Liang Yu.

No one knew each other, and now they were just a few meters apart. The girls were a bit red-faced, while the boys kept laughing.

After a while, everyone seemed to discover something and started laughing.

Zheng Yimian was stunned for a moment before she realized —

Because there was one extra person in this line, she was the only one standing out from the rectangular formation.

Coincidentally, Liang Yu was too.

So the current situation was —

From the two square-like formations, one person each had stepped out.

These two people were now facing each other under everyone’s gaze.

“All female students, stand at attention! Ten minutes!”

Zheng Yimian straightened her body and began to stand at attention.

…

The company commander stood in the center of the formation and said intentionally, “The girl who stepped out, chest out, head up — what’s wrong, afraid to look?”

Scattered laughter came from both sides, with the boys’ side being even worse, some even laughing out loud.

Zheng Yimian gritted her teeth and looked up.

Unexpectedly, she met Liang Yu’s eyes.

Liang Yu was wearing camouflage, standing straight, but lowered his eyelids and smiled at her casually. His lips curved carelessly, yet it seemed premeditated, with a mischievous light in his eyes.

Fine highlights hung on his hair, the deep brown strands dyed with a faint tinge of gilded color by the sunlight.

The sun behind him converged into a dazzling white point, making this scene look like an overexposed film.

As soon as Zheng Yimian looked away, the company commander from the boys’ side walked up to her and asked with a smile. ” –He’s quite handsome, isn’t he?”

At this, the atmosphere couldn’t be contained anymore. The boys laughed wildly and even started whistling.

“Handsome, handsome! Liang Yu–how’s the view over there?”

The girls on this side also started to suppress their laughter.

“What’s going on, I actually find this a bit sweet…”

“I want to stand in the first row, it must be so blissful to be able to make eye contact with a handsome guy.”

“Mianmian,” Li Min called from behind, “How is it, exciting?”

Only Zheng Yimian didn’t dare to move, forcing herself to hold it together, her face as red as a cooked shrimp.

In the commotion, she naturally didn’t hear Liang Yu’s low “Mm.”

“What, funny?” The company commander put his hands on his hips and said frankly, “Then I’ll give you one minute to laugh!”

A burst of laughter erupted from the opposite formation.

But the company commander immediately stopped them. “Alright, no laughing! Attention!”

Zheng Yimian had just barely adapted to the company commander’s rhythm and was relaxing a bit when she looked forward and again met Liang Yu’s gaze.

He had phoenix eyes that were alluring when not smiling, and when he smiled casually, he exuded a clean and proper youthful air, like a landscape painting with carelessly splashed ink, possessing a kind of effortless beauty.

It wasn’t until someone on the opposite side who couldn’t hold it in started to stifle their laughter, making “pfft” sounds, that Zheng Yimian realized she had been making eye contact with Liang Yu for a long time.

…

Why could she see him every time she looked up? Had he been looking at her the whole time?

As soon as this thought occurred to her, Zheng Yimian immediately pinched herself.

If she kept rounding up like this, it would soon be equivalent to the troublemaker having a secret crush on her.

Thinking of this, she lifted her eyelids again and secretly glanced at Liang Yu.

He raised his eyebrows at her, as if asking why she was looking at him again.

She looked away with a headache, but it felt like the more she tried to cover it up, the more obvious it became.

The girls behind her were still discussing Liang Yu enthusiastically, and even wanted to include Zheng Yimian.

“Hey, don’t you think when a bad boy type of guy puts on a school uniform or camouflage, it gives off a maximum boyfriend vibe?”

“You mean like hormones overflowing?”

“Yes, yes, exactly that feeling!”

“Being so good-looking, he must have a girlfriend already, right?”

…

The saving bell for class dismissal finally rang. The company commander cheerfully called for everyone to disperse, and Zheng Yimian hurriedly ran back to the shade to get her bag.

Li Min ran over. “You don’t know, the girls next to us were all crazy jealous of you.”

Zheng Yimian put up her umbrella and asked, “Jealous of me for what?”

“Jealous that you were standing in front of Liang Yu. They said Liang Yu was looking at you the whole time…”

Zheng Yimian smiled. “Maybe there’s a hidden reason.”

Li Min: “What?”

Zheng Yimian: “Him looking at me, there might be another hidden reason.”

Li Min: “Like what…”

Zheng Yimian: “Maybe he’s nearsighted and was just staring blankly ahead.”

“…..”

Li Min laughed at her joke. “Can we not be so lacking in confidence? What’s wrong with him looking at you? It’s very normal, many boys were looking at you.”

Zheng Yimian waved her hand and said, “Let’s go eat.”

The cafeteria was packed with new and old students. Zheng Yimian stood on the outskirts of the battle zone, feeling overwhelmed.

She was standing there looking at the menu boards when Zhao Yuan spotted her.

He nudged Liang Yu with his elbow. “Finally they’re here after waiting so long. I’m telling you, are all girls this slow?”

Liang Yu looked at him. “You stay here, I’m going out for a bit.”

After saying this, he walked towards Zheng Yimian.

Zheng Yimian was looking up at the menu when she heard someone nearby shout. “Hey, make way!”

She didn’t have time to dodge, but someone used their elbow to protectively pull her inside. The person carrying soup and dishes while wearing roller skates then glided away like the wind.

To think someone would come to the cafeteria wearing roller skates at this time… Luckily she avoided them, otherwise if they had collided, she would have been splashed.

Zheng Yimian didn’t even look up, but recognized who this person was by the hand that moved away from her waist.

Because the two were so close, the smell of food was no longer clear. The only distinct scent made its way into Zheng Yimian’s nostrils.

It was a fragrance of fresh grass wrapped in handfuls of leaves in the snow, initially cold, but upon closer sensing, it became inexplicably gentle.

Liang Yu said in a low voice. “Be careful.”

She nodded and asked, “You didn’t get splashed, did you?”

“No,” he said, taking the meal card from her hand. “My friend happens to be in line. What do you want to eat? I’ll get it for you while I’m at it.”

His voice had a lingering huskiness to it.

Zheng Yimian: “Sweet and sour ribs, I guess.”

“Mm,” he responded. “Wait for me outside, it’s very crowded in here.”

After squeezing out of the narrow gap between people, Zheng Yimian still couldn’t figure out how she had inexplicably had her meal card taken and successfully broken through the army of food buyers.

She turned to look and saw Liang Yu coming out of the cafeteria carrying her meal.

His voice was softened by the sunlight, lazy and relaxed.

“Eat well, we still have training this afternoon.”

At noon, she managed to squeeze in a nap, only to be woken up by the alarm after half an hour. Zheng Yimian resignedly put on her clothes, got out of bed, applied more sunscreen, and continued to go to military training.

Sure enough, the afternoon didn’t bring anything good either.

The boys’ formation from the morning was not far from them, and the training content could be heard clearly.

Company commander: “Once you’ve mastered marching in step, you can rest. I’ll teach you how to sing.”

The singing condition wasn’t very tempting, but the rest was.

When Zheng Yimian and the others on their side started to stand at attention, the other side had already sat down on the ground.

Company commander: “It seems only when standing on the girls’ side can you get motivated.”

Everyone laughed.

The company commander clapped his hands and said, “Alright, next I’ll teach everyone to sing — ‘When Your Beautiful Hair Brushes Past My Steel Gun’.”

Zheng Yimian: “…………”

Indeed, the girls on this side also started whispering among themselves.

“I knew he wasn’t a proper company commander.”

“Originally a company commander, but with a heart of a matchmaker — is he trying to set up a couple?”

“We’re not going to have to do a duet next, are we?”

…

They guessed right.

When the girls’ formation finished standing at attention and started to rest, the company commander from the other side directed the boys to come over.

He said to the girls’ company commander, “Our side has learned very well, why don’t you listen?”

The girls’ company commander smiled. “Sure… let’s hear it.”

The other company commander started to direct. “All male students, at ease, attention, sit down! Get ready to sing.”

The commands from this side’s company commander also came.

“All female students, right face — sit down!”

Now the two formations were very close to each other.

There was barely a step’s distance between Liang Yu and Zheng Yimian.

She tugged at her trouser legs, preparing to sit down.

However, the girl behind her sat down in a carefree manner, first plopping down on her bottom, then pulling her legs back.

So when that girl retracted her legs, she swept past Zheng Yimian in a sweeping leg motion. Zheng Yimian stumbled and almost fell over.

Liang Yu, quick-eyed and deft-handed, steadied her in time.

Since Zheng Yimian had just bent her legs preparing to sit down, and was then disrupted like this, her whole body ended up in a posture close to kneeling.

And Liang Yu, in order to pull her, had also bent down quite a bit.

In the eyes of the onlookers, the two were facing each other with bent knees and waists, creating a somewhat inappropriate atmosphere.

Zhao Yuan slapped his thigh and laughed cheerfully. “You two…is this a wedding ceremony?”