Chapter Ninety-Eight: My Aunt Misses Me

The next morning, Luo Yixia woke up unusually early, for once not indulging in a lazy sleep-in. Only one or two people in the dormitory had gotten out of bed. Luo Yixia had already packed her things the night before, so all she had to do this morning was wash up and have breakfast.

She moved as quietly as possible. By the time she was ready to leave for the cafeteria, more of her roommates were waking up.

“Yanyan, I’ll go wait for you in the cafeteria. What do you want to eat?” Luo Yixia called out to Gan Yanyan, not wanting to be late and miss out on a seat.

“Just get whatever you think is good,” Gan Yanyan mumbled from her bed, still heavy with sleep and not wanting to get up.

Luo Yixia headed out toward the cafeteria. Standing outside, she stretched and breathed in the fresh morning air.

“Waking up early really does feel good,” she murmured lazily, standing outside the girls’ dormitory. She turned to head toward the cafeteria, but as she did, she noticed someone not far away, standing with one hand in his pocket, leaning casually and looking at her.

She glanced around—no one else was there—then bounced over to him. “Good morning!”

“You’re up so early?” Song Chengyi reached out to ruffle her hair.

“I just washed my hair last night. Don’t touch it, you’ll make it greasy,” Luo Yixia evaded his hand.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked.

“Very well! I went to bed early like I promised. See? I keep my word.” She smiled sweetly.

“Good girl.” Song Chengyi squeezed her cheek with a smile.

“Are you coming for breakfast?” she asked.

He nodded.

The two of them walked to the cafeteria one after the other. It was still early, so there weren’t many people. After buying breakfast, Luo Yixia sat a little distance from Song Chengyi—not too close, not too far.

He ate with his head down as usual, indifferent to everything else. Luo Yixia, on the other hand, seemed almost silly the way she ate, gazing at his profile and smiling to herself. Occasionally, Song Chengyi would look up, and their eyes would meet. Luo Yixia was undaunted, returning his gaze with an even wider smile.

He looked back at her calmly, his eyes telling her to hurry up and finish breakfast.

By the time Gan Yanyan arrived, the cafeteria was gradually filling up. She found Luo Yixia, who had just finished eating. As Gan Yanyan ate, she watched Luo Yixia leaning on the table, grinning foolishly in one direction. She didn’t even need to look to know exactly who was sitting that way. Shaking her head in exasperation, she thought, This girl has fallen so deep.

Around eight in the morning, all the students assembled. They lined up by class and set off on a long-distance march. The scene was much like their camping trip in the woods before.

But before long, Luo Yixia noticed she wasn’t feeling well—her back ached and she was sore all over. She thought to herself that things weren’t looking good; she did the math and realized it was about that time of the month, but she couldn’t believe her luck was so bad…

She jogged to the first assembly point with the group, where they began setting up camp, just as before, according to their assigned teams.

Once again, Luo Yixia ended up in the same group as Song Chengyi.

As soon as they reached their destination, she couldn’t wait to crouch down.

“Xiaxia, are you alright? Are you tired?” Gan Yanyan crouched beside her, concerned.

Luo Yixia whispered in her ear, “I think my period’s about to start.”

“No way…” Gan Yanyan looked at her, feeling that she really was having the worst luck.

“Did you bring anything?” Luo Yixia asked.

“I didn’t. Wait, you knew and still didn’t bring anything?” Gan Yanyan stared at her, almost exasperated.

“I’ve just been so out of it these days, running to the hospital and all… I only realized just now on the way here,” Luo Yixia said mournfully.

“I’ll go ask around, see if anyone’s got some,” Gan Yanyan said loyally.

“I don’t need it just yet. I usually get aches for a couple of days before it actually comes,” Luo Yixia replied, not too worried. She was used to feeling sore and uncomfortable for a day or two before things settled down.

“You’re such a weirdo. I’ll ask around anyway, just in case,” Gan Yanyan said, getting up to make inquiries.

Luo Yixia kept her head down, crouching a while longer.

“Are you not feeling well?” Song Chengyi walked over from a distance.

“No, I’m just not used to so much activity after being idle so long,” she replied, forcing a smile and standing up despite her discomfort.

“If you’re not feeling well, tell me, alright?” Song Chengyi said, seeing nothing amiss in her expression—though she had a few beads of sweat on her forehead, he just assumed she was tired from running.

This time, the school was more considerate; aside from pitching tents, they didn’t make the students cook for themselves. After all, last time many students didn’t know how to cook, and some even got sick from eating unsanitary food, causing a lot of trouble for days. The school didn’t want to risk it again.

Gan Yanyan asked around but only managed to get two sanitary pads. Luo Yixia accepted them and put them in her backpack.

This time, the school issued two-person tents, so Luo Yixia and Gan Yanyan had to set up theirs together.

Luo Yixia wasn’t very handy to begin with. Seeing others already well on their way, she took out the instruction manual while Gan Yanyan, who had never done this before, grew anxious.

The two girls huddled together, comparing the diagrams to the tent’s pieces.

Song Chengyi was pitching his own tent and, seeing the two of them still fumbling, shook his head.

“Just leave it, you two. Chengyi and I will help you set it up,” said Yu Bin, who couldn’t watch any longer and spoke up before Song Chengyi could.

“Thank you so much,” Gan Yanyan replied at once, relieved.

But Luo Yixia stubbornly kept her head down, reading the instructions and even starting to assemble the frame herself.

When the two guys finished their own tents and turned to check on the girls’, they were faced with a mess: poles in the wrong places, the back in the front, and the zipper installed backwards.

Luo Yixia stood off to the side like a child waiting to be scolded, watching as the boys took apart her botched work and rebuilt the tent, hoping to learn something.

Song Chengyi and Yu Bin worked quickly; within ten minutes, the tent was up.

“All done. You can move your things in,” Yu Bin said, knocking on the tent.

“Thank you,” Luo Yixia replied, biting her lip.

“No need for thanks,” Yu Bin smiled.

Lunch was boxed meals handed out to everyone. By the time they ate, the food was cold. In the summer, it wasn’t a big deal for most, but for Luo Yixia, it was a bit harder. At that moment, all she wanted was hot food and a sip of warm water.

In the afternoon, smoke signals were lit along the route. The medical students now had to treat “patients”—the school had brought in many dummies for practice. Luo Yixia, though she still had much to learn, could at least handle the basics: CPR and artificial respiration.

She spent nearly the whole afternoon kneeling on the ground, pressing down again and again, practicing CPR.

By the end, she could barely stand; her legs were numb from kneeling so long.

After dinner, Luo Yixia had little appetite, managing only a few bites before giving up. She drank a lot of cold water, though—she was just so thirsty.

That evening, everyone sat around the campfire. Luo Yixia leaned listlessly against Gan Yanyan, eyelids drooping as if she could barely stay awake.

“Don’t worry, take a nap. I’ll keep an eye out for the instructor,” Gan Yanyan said, patting her on the head.

“Okay.” Luo Yixia nodded and closed her eyes, trusting her friend.

The others sang military songs, but it did nothing to disturb Luo Yixia’s sleep.

After ten o’clock, it was time for night watch; everyone drew lots. This time, Chen Nan got the first shift, with Song Chengyi on duty after midnight.

Luo Yixia didn’t even say goodnight to the group—she just slipped into the tent, crawled into her sleeping bag, and fell asleep almost immediately. Gan Yanyan followed, turning off her flashlight after checking Luo Yixia’s temperature. It was normal, so she didn’t wake her. She crawled into her own sleeping bag as well.

The night passed peacefully.

When Song Chengyi swapped shifts with Chen Nan in the middle of the night, they didn’t exchange a word.

The next morning, Luo Yixia was the last in her group to wake up. She really didn’t want to get up, just wanted to sleep in for once, but remembering she was outside, she forced herself awake.

After washing up, everyone gathered for the morning run, which was required before breakfast.

Luo Yixia joined the line. Song Chengyi noticed her pale face. “Are you not feeling well? You look terrible.”

She shook her head, lacking energy. “I just didn’t sleep well last night—the ground was too hard.”

In truth, she’d slept well enough. After a bit of running, she felt more awake, but when she returned, she found her period had come early.

She felt even worse now—her back ached, her stomach hurt, and despite the summer heat and glaring sun, she felt chilled.

At lunch, Luo Yixia forced herself to eat a little. In the afternoon, the boys practiced with mock firearms while the girls listened to theory.

By evening, Luo Yixia’s face was as pale as if she’d dusted it with powder. Gan Yanyan asked several times if she was alright, but Luo Yixia kept insisting she was fine.

At night, when the campfire was lit, Luo Yixia sat as close as she could, wanting to warm herself.

That night, Gan Yanyan and Yu Bin had night watch. Luo Yixia gave a few instructions before heading into the tent, eager to sleep.

Gradually, everyone else drifted off too.

Song Chengyi glanced at Luo Yixia’s tent, frowning. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he went into his own tent, filled a military steel cup with water, and set it beside the campfire to heat.

Gan Yanyan watched his every move curiously.

“I’m going to check on her,” Song Chengyi said quietly.

“She’s not been well these past couple of days,” Gan Yanyan hesitated before confessing, though she knew Luo Yixia wouldn’t want others to know.

“Thank you.” Song Chengyi entered Luo Yixia’s tent.

Inside the small tent, with blankets layered beneath, Luo Yixia was curled up tightly, mumbling about how cold she felt.