Eat Less Fish in the Future - Chapter 5
The atmosphere had shifted.
It couldn’t be contained anymore.
Even the company commander couldn’t control himself and started laughing along with them.
Someone stirred things up. “First bow to heaven and earth, second bow to parents… All that’s missing is a veil, quick, cover her up!”
“The bride and groom bow to each other and lift the veil!”
“If I keep going… will it become inappropriate for minors?”
“Hahaha, damn, this military training is interesting. Good thing I didn’t skip it.”
Liang Yu glanced at her with a smile, ignoring the chaotic commotion behind him.
He said softly. “The ceremony is complete.”
Zheng Yimian suddenly looked up. “…What?”
Liang Yu shook his head and said, “I said, you can sit down now.”
Finally sitting down, everyone had laughed enough and began to restrain themselves.
Zheng Yimian sat cross-legged with her head down, meditating without desire.
In her mind: “Buddha is merciful… entering your door of longing, knowing your suffering of longing…”
Bah, where did that come from?
She started over.
Li Min was diagonally behind Zheng Yimian and patted her shoulder. “What are you mumbling about, wedding vows?”
Zheng Yimian wrinkled her nose, but before she could speak, the opposite side started singing.
[When your beautiful hair brushes past my steel gun
Don’t blame me for maintaining a cold expression
Actually, I have both iron bones and a soft heart
It’s just that the fire of youth needs to be temporarily stored away]
…….
It was torturous.
Too torturous.
Zheng Yimian randomly pulled at the threads of her clothes hem, feeling a gaze fixed on her face, not daring to look up at all.
The sun was too strong today, baking people’s ears until they were burning hot, scorching.
Never mind, she’d check just once.
She looked up, and Liang Yu was staring at her.
His eyes were smiling as he softly sang along.
Zheng Yimian lowered her head and started rolling up her pant legs.
He was just looking because he had nowhere else to look, she thought. Zheng Yimian, narcissism is an illness that needs to be cured.
…
Later, the male formation attracted a lot of attention.
Those who particularly wanted to show off stretched their necks in the ranks and kept trying to look cool.
Seeing that the teasing had gone far enough, the company commander finally relented, letting them stand up and continue practicing.
Although he led them away, they didn’t go far. The two formations were still quite close to each other.
Finally, after two hours, they had a break. The male formation appeared relaxed and casual, while the female formation was much more disciplined and organized, uniformly applying sunscreen in the shade of the trees.
Zheng Yimian rotated her elbow, comparing how much darker she had become.
It was only the first day, but she felt she had visibly tanned already.
Li Min came over and whispered to her. “Mianmian, I just found out some people got excuse notes, they don’t have to come to military training tomorrow…”
“Excuse notes?” Zheng Yimian asked, “Is that real?”
Li Min said, “Of course it’s fake. I heard you just need to say you’re not feeling well and get some medicine, or say you’re on your period. Look, that row sitting down there on the field, they’re all avoiding military training.”
Although they still had to come even with an excuse note, sitting in the shade was better than being exposed to the scorching sun.
Zheng Yimian looked at them enviously and sighed. “I don’t want to do military training either.”
Just as she finished speaking, a company commander walked to the front of the formation.
The company commander asked, “Are there any students here who can draw?”
Everyone laughed sporadically, “Commander, this is the Art College formation, of course we can all draw.”
The company commander said seriously, “I know this is the Art College. I mean, is there anyone who’s especially good at drawing?”
Li Min raised her hand and pushed Zheng Yimian forward. “Here, she’s the best in the whole school!”
Everyone’s gaze fell on Zheng Yimian, and someone even exclaimed in surprise. “So this is Zheng Yimian!”
Now it was impossible to keep a low profile. Zheng Yimian stood up and asked, “Is there something you need?”
Company commander: “We’re making a bulletin board about military training and we’re short one person. Come with me, you won’t need to attend the afternoon class.”
Li Min waved goodbye to her enviously.
When Zheng Yimian arrived, the senior students had already drawn most of the bulletin board, but there was still a blank space. The seniors were struggling. “This copy is too difficult, I can’t draw it.”
Zheng Yimian took a quick look and realized it was a cartoon style she was good at. She volunteered. “I can draw this, let me do it.”
“Really? That’s great.” A senior handed her the draft. “You’re a freshman, right? Are you still doing military training?”
Zheng Yimian took the draft and started sketching with chalk. “Yes, the sun has been so strong these days.”
Seeing that it would take some time to finish, and that this was the only part left of the entire bulletin board, Zheng Yimian turned to those who were yawning and said, “Is this all? You can go back first, I’ll leave when I’m done.”
The seniors praised her repeatedly, and after making sure she could manage alone, they all left.
They discussed among themselves and expressed great interest in the freshmen’s military training. On their way back to the dorms, they deliberately passed by the main field.
As they passed by, they were still discussing the bulletin board.
Zhao Yuan overheard and whispered to Liang Yu. “Did you hear that? Those people were talking about making the bulletin board. They said that the junior sister was beautiful and kind-hearted, willing to stay behind alone to finish up.”
That afternoon, the weather started to change. By evening training, the wind had picked up, mixed with a bit of cold drizzle.
Everyone was learning the military boxing routine. Liang Yu took out his phone from his pocket to check the weather.
There would be a heavy rain soon.
He looked up at the clouds, put away his phone, and only said “I’m leaving first” before directly leaving the formation.
Someone nearby looked at Zhao Yuan in disbelief. “He’s just leaving like that?”
Zhao Yuan: “Yeah, what else?”
“Without asking the company commander for permission? Isn’t he afraid?”
Zhao Yuan chuckled. “Have you ever seen him afraid of anyone?”
Perhaps because Liang Yu left with such confidence, it really seemed like he had permission. No one stopped him along the way.
After leaving the field, he began to recall where they had said the bulletin board was being made.
He bought two umbrellas at the school’s supermarket, then stared at the umbrellas in his hand, falling silent.
As Liang Yu stood holding the umbrellas, he pondered:
If he just left the umbrella at her door, would she take it?
If he gave it to her directly, should he say he came specifically to bring her an umbrella?
He remembered a rainy day in high school when she didn’t have an umbrella. He had walked behind her and placed a library umbrella on the steps behind her.
She thought he just didn’t want to return it, so she took it, said thanks, and returned it to the library after using it.
Liang Yu twirled the umbrellas in his hand and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
As he touched his roots, he vaguely recalled that his hair wasn’t originally this dark brown. Afraid of startling her, he had chosen a different dark color to cover it.
Zhao Yuan had once laughed at him, asking “What are you trying to achieve?” What was he trying to achieve? He didn’t know.
He walked to the classroom. From a distance, he could see her drawing through the window. She had one hand on the blackboard, the other raised to draw, the chalk in her hand a blinding white.
Concentrating, she was biting half of her lower lip.
Liang Yu waited at the classroom door. After finishing his first cigarette, he reached for a second one, but then considered that she might be almost done.
He loosened his hand, not taking out the second cigarette, letting the pack fall back into his pocket.
The weather forecast was indeed accurate. Soon, the sky darkened. With a “boom” of thunder, the day’s stifling heat finally found its release in a heavy downpour.
A cold wind gusted into the classroom.
Cheers and complaints could be heard from nearby – military training must have been dismissed, but no one had umbrellas.
Sure enough, when Zheng Yimian came out stomping her feet, she rubbed her arms and looked blankly at the heavy rain outside the classroom. “How did it get so heavy…”
Liang Yu reached out, offering her the umbrella in his hand.
Zheng Yimian reached out to take it, but halfway through she looked up at the person beside her. “…Liang Yu? Why are you here?”
He pointed to one side and said, “Just bought umbrellas, didn’t expect you to be here too.”
He couldn’t think of a better excuse.
Zheng Yimian immediately looked around. “Is there a supermarket nearby? Maybe I should go buy one too.”
As she took a couple of steps, Liang Yu frowned and reached out to stop her. “No need, I bought two.”
There was no supermarket nearby, it was just a lie to create a chance encounter.
She froze. “Why did you buy two?”
“Zhao Yuan asked me to bring one for him, for tomorrow.”
The irritable mood brought on by the rainy weather dissipated in an instant. For some reason, Zheng Yimian seemed to have a warm aura around her. Just standing next to her, looking at her, made him inexplicably happy.
He lowered his head, revealing an unconscious smile, and handed the umbrella to her before opening his own.
When Liang Yu got to the dorm, Zhao Yuan had just finished showering.
He shook the water from his hair and asked, “So, did you go deliver an umbrella?”
Liang Yu didn’t reply, just frowned at him. “Dry your hair.”
Liang Yu gathered his clothes and went to shower. Just as he entered, his phone on the table rang.
Seeing that Liang Yu wouldn’t be out anytime soon, Zhao Yuan called towards the bathroom. “Your phone’s ringing, I’ll answer it for you, okay?”
As soon as he answered, a soft female voice came through.
“I’m back at the dorm. The umbrella you bought for Zhao Yuan, does he need it tomorrow? Should I bring it over tonight?”
Before Zhao Yuan could speak, Liang Yu came out of the bathroom wearing trousers, his expression visibly irate. He shot Zhao Yuan a cold glance.
Zhao Yuan: ??
Liang Yu took the phone and put it to his ear. “Hello?”
As they talked on the phone, Zhao Yuan felt hurt.
He shook another roommate: “Did you see that? Your brother Yu looked at me like that just because I answered his girl’s call! He’s even jealous of this! I’m hurt!”
The roommate patted his head. “You’re such a sensitive woman.”
Zhao Yuan: “Get lost!”
Liang Yu completely ignored the situation here, patiently explaining. “No need, he found his own umbrella.”
“Okay, bring it to me when you have time.”
“…Goodnight.”
After hanging up, his expression still held a layer of displeasure.
Her first call to him, and Zhao Yuan answered it.
The first words she said on the phone, Zhao Yuan heard them too.
Zhao Yuan: Afraid he might not survive the night…
To save himself, Zhao Yuan changed the subject. “Hey, how does sister-in-law have your number?”
Liang Yu: “Left it to return the umbrella.”
The roommate next to Zhao Yuan asked, “But, didn’t brother Yu say he went specifically to deliver the umbrella? Why did he bring up Yuanyuan?”
“He must have said he brought it for me when she asked why he had an extra umbrella,” Zhao Yuan knocked him, “Don’t be stupid.”
“But why didn’t he say he went specifically to bring her an umbrella? Wouldn’t that move the girl?”
Thinking of various high school incidents, Zhao Yuan concluded. “The time isn’t right yet, can’t confess.”
“Damn.” The roommate slapped his leg, “So it’s a secret crush? Our boy brother Yu’s secret crush complex? Wow, that’s eye-opening.”
“…”
The next day at military training, they found they had a new instructor – the battalion commander.
New leader, new rules. The battalion commander frowned and said, “Starting today, I’m in charge of both your formations!”
We are currently recruiting. CN/KR/JP Translators/MTLers are welcome!
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/HGaByvmVuw