Chapter 142

The facilities at Enhua University were really great, very extravagant.

At that moment, there were images of the new military trainees sitting on the ground appearing on the big screen on the wall.

One by one, they were wearing camouflage uniforms with flushed red faces.

Xiao Qi thought they were just here to take shelter from the sun in the Indoor Gymnasium, and didn't expect the cameras to be on.

From various angles, it seemed one could even see their own reflection on the big screen if they looked up.

Wei Cheng next to Yu Qinshu was so nervous she didn't even dare to look up.

Xiao Qi was quite curious, looking up to see where the cameras were placed. They were probably in every corner, continuously changing positions. Were there special photographers?

If Liang Jiajia were to see this scene, she would definitely be very excited.

Xiao Qi watched for a while but couldn't figure it out. However, she saw another huge oil painting hung on the wall beside the gymnasium.

It was several meters tall and wide.

It was very eye-catching. It seemed like the designer of this school really liked oil paintings.

The painting depicted a patch of iris flowers with blue petals, looking like butterflies. Xiao Qi had those kinds of flowers in her hometown, and had even picked them before. They could be used as medicine with anti-inflammatory effects.

Usually in Xiao Qi’s eyes they were just ordinary wildflowers.

However, a whole patch of iris flowers in an oil painting hanging on the wall looked very different, giving off a particularly beautiful feeling.

She saw the signature was Van Gogh’s.

Xiao Qi also knew he was very famous, best known for his sunflower paintings. In the end, he committed suicide.

She wondered if he had painted irises before.

The painting on the wall was a replica, but she still thought the irises were beautiful. As she looked at it, it seemed as if a breeze was blowing, giving off a carefree feeling that made people want to run, or as if someone had run through the flower bushes but was not in the painting.

Chen Mier saw her deskmate staring blankly at the wall and gave her a nudge, whispering: “The instructor is giving a speech!”

Xiao Qi was jolted out of her reverie.

She then heard the instructor assigning tasks for Information Management Class 1 and Class 1 of English Majors to have a sing-off.

The two classes happened to complement each other well. Most students in their class were boys while Class 1 of English Majors was almost all girls.

And after entering the Indoor Gymnasium, many students had taken off their hats, making the divide even clearer.

It was too hot. The hats could block a bit of sun outdoors but weren’t needed indoors.

However, some students didn’t want to take off their hats because of their hairstyles.

Everyone knew wearing hats for a long time could flatten the hair. It would look bad if they just took them off.

Some girls headed straight for the bathroom upon entering, to fix their hair first.

Xiao Qi didn’t care much about her looks. In high school, she had a crush on Liu Shaowei in her class. Every day she would check herself in the mirror hundreds of times before going out, and would linger in front of the mirror in the bathroom during breaks. She just wanted to see more of herself and check if she looked good. But in the end...

Those who don't care about you will still not care, no matter how many times you look in the mirror.

Those who do care will find you cute even with messy hair.

It's best to have an open mind and rely on your own efforts.

So Xiao Qi took off her hat and put it aside.

It was much cooler.

For convenience, her bangs were tied up in a little ponytail away from her eyes so as not to obstruct her vision. It was refreshing and comfortable.

Because the two classes were having a sing-off, their sitting positions changed slightly to face each other.

Especially when spotting campus belle Wu Xinyue from Class 1 of English Majors, the boys from Xiao Qi’s class became fired up.

Hearing the instructor say they would have a sing-off, they were not shy at all and eagerly started looking for songs on their phones.

Usually in the military, there were some set songs for sing-offs. Sometimes the singing didn't have to sound nice. Even if it was out of tune, as long as it was loud and bold, they could "drown out" the other side by singing songs the opponents didn't know. It was quite similar to dance battles, but sing-offs involved the collective, giving everyone a greater sense of strength and passion. The newcomers were still quite enthusiastic without any signs of indifference. Everyone was discussing what songs to sing.

Wu Xinyue didn't come in the morning. She actually didn't want to come in the afternoon either, but she was very sociable. While the others didn't dare chat with the instructor, she had already become quite familiar with him over WeChat.

When the instructor said there would be a sing-off activity in the afternoon, she came.

After getting the instructor's opinion, she took out her phone to start filming.

She was 1.66 meters tall with waist-length hair. She didn't know what settings she had used, but in her TikTok videos she basically had the figure of a siren - very tall and slender, with a tiny waist and ample bosom, sharp chin and big eyes.

Of course, she was also very young at 18 years old. She was considered a mini internet celebrity, occasionally earning a few thousand yuan from sponsored TikTok ads.

They weren't given much preparation time before the instructor signaled the start. The first boy from Xiao Qi's class boldly stood up. He was quite good-looking and tall, loved to show off, and wasn't shy at all. He opened his mouth and sang loudly: “The sunset glows red over the western hills, soldiers come back from target practice happily, red flowers on their chests reflect the rosy clouds, their joyful singing voices fill the sky, Misolamiso, Lasomidaore, their joyful singing voices fill the sky..."

His voice was loud, his singing mediocre, but it was resounding enough. When it got to the Misolamiso and Lasomidaore chorus, many classmates chimed in to sing along, even Xiao Qi couldn't help but hum softly. Suddenly the chorus became much louder and fuller. She didn't expect such a cheesy song like "Coming Back from Target Practice" to be so catchy and pleasant to sing.

Later Xiao Qi found out the handsome and tall boy who sang first was called Cai Yu, and he became their class monitor.

University was truly a place where you could shine as long as you dared to.

With the first lead singer paving the way, the English major class was not to be outdone. Their choice of song was even more populist - "Unity Is Strength". A girl started them off, and though there were more girls, their singing was even better. With someone leading, their chorus flowed more smoothly, as melodious as a choir of girls.

Their voices actually drowned out Xiao Qi's class who were singing “Coming Back from Target Practice”.

Those not participating much initially were now bellowing at the top of their lungs: “We soldiers, what makes us different, just because we all wear, plain military uniforms... We soldiers, what makes us different, since leaving our hometowns, seldom seeing parents...”

Chen Daen, the skinny boy who persevered crawling to the coach yesterday despite exhaustion, stood up. He was petite but had an extremely loud voice.

He shouted: “Us soldiers!”

His voice was so loud and his stretching neck so amusing that some girls from the English major class couldn't help laughing. Some were even startled into momentary silence, forgetting to continue singing.

Just like that, Xiao Qi’s information management class regained the upper hand. Right then, those not participating much also joined in yelling out: “Us soldiers, what makes us different...”

Chen Da'e stood holding his phone, following the lyrics even though he was frequently out of tune. So everyone started singing out of tune together.

He was tone deaf but made up for it in guts... Later Chen Da'e became the class publicity chair... Nicknamed Chen Da'e (Chen the Goose).

The instructor listened on, trying hard not to laugh. Not having the heart to stop it, he shouted out a line or two but evidently Chen Da'e's voice remained uniquely loud, continuing to lead everyone off pitch until they collapsed again.

After being overpowered for a while, the English major class quickly regained advantage leveraging their strength - unified female voices with stronger penetration. And this time, it was campus belle Wu Xinyue who stood up to lead:

“So much joy,

Left behind in your tent,

The first love's melody,

Stirring avalanches over and over,

Why didn’t the young me understand heartbreak,

Turning back abruptly,

Time has passed like the wind...”

Seeing the long-haired beauty stand up, the boys from Xiao Qi's class turned red and conceded defeat...

The song was called "Plateau Red". Actually it wasn't the kind for loud shouting, but watching the opposing long-haired girl, the two classes weren't very near and they couldn't make out facial details clearly. Just seeing her standing out from the other girls was enough to set hearts racing.

The information management class stopped singing just to listen and ogle.

Instructor Zhang Tianwei was also helpless about it. A sing-off was a sing-off, but the opponents had used their feminine charms.

The atmosphere was passionate and fiery, but was suddenly doused, though the feminine side evidently remained unaffected.

Chen Mier was happily following and shouting along with the loud voice, but the boys in her own class wilted, and there were only a few girls who could follow the singing without going off key.

She was impulsive, and suddenly stood up without thinking what to sing.

It did give the boys in her class a fright, though.

"Xiao Qi, help!" At that moment Chen Mier's mind went completely blank, and she could only think of her mighty abnormal roommate, looking at her pleadingly, with only that sentence in her eyes.

Xiao Qi wasn't the type of person who liked to stand out. Her family upbringing meant she always felt that birds that stick their heads out get shot, and keeping a low profile is better.

But looking at her new deskmate now, she had no choice but to stand up too.

She had been singing along with the others just now, but eventually the tuning got so bad that she couldn't keep up, so she took out her phone and searched for some songs.

She stood up without thinking about it further, not even looking at the others as she started singing:

"The cold wind blows, the leaves fall,

The army is a green flower, Dear comrades, don't miss home,

Don't miss your mother,

My heart calls out sentence after sentence day and night,

Don't let tears fall when we part,

The barracks are our warm home..."

You can tell as soon as someone starts singing whether they can sing or not.

Xiao Qi had learned the singing skills of Liu Rushi, the famous courtesan of ancient times, reaching specialized level +. Usually she didn't have much chance to show off her skills, and used them mainly to learn English and Japanese, singing English and Japanese songs as a way to learn the languages.

So she usually just sang in private.

But a singing voice has the power to move people. Even in the professional music industry, very few singers reach specialized level +. The goddess singer Wu Xinyue from the English department across from them at most reached beginner level.

The boys from the information management class were stunned. Who was this girl from their class? How could there be someone so amazing in their class that they didn't know about? If only they had got her to sing at the start instead of their tuneless caterwauling, she could have brought the house down!

Without realizing it, even the big screen was showing this singing girl.

Her voice had too much penetrative power, too much ability to inspire others.

Everyone echoed along, even the students from the English department couldn't help but join in.

Xiao Qi belted it out, still feeling a bit nervous. She closed her eyes and imagined the people in front of her as rows of cabbages and watermelons, and just continued singing along to her feelings.

As she sang, she suddenly missed her parents deeply.

"Mother don't worry,

Your child has grown up,

Being on sentry duty guards the country,

Wind and rain don't scare me.

I sincerely wish you well, mother,

Good health and long life to you,

I'll come back to see you when we celebrate victory."

She still remembered her parents slapping the glass wall outside the train station to wave her off as she left on the train.

Endlessly waving goodbye.

Thinking of it now, it seemed the tears began rolling down her face.

"....There's a nice girl in my hometown,

I often dream of her,

Soldiers have feelings too,

Wanting to spend my life with you,

But duty comes first,

Love must be put aside,

White clouds drift carrying my love,

Barrack's green flower sent to her..."

There were so many lovely things in her hometown. She'd only just got to university and didn't even have time to dream yet before she had to leave, realizing she must leave, leave her hometown, leave her parents, study hard and improve herself, then go back and see her parents after getting her degree.

By the end of the song, Xiao Qi was misty-eyed.

The instructors there felt it particularly strongly, like Zhang Tianwei from the north thinking of his elderly father at home, remembering the heated brick bed, thinking of cucumbers dipped in sauce, missing home.

The newly enrolled students had only been at military training for two days, suddenly realizing that they had left home and come to campus alone without even having had the chance to express their longing for home, yet their faces were already covered in tears.

With just one song, "Barrack's Green Flower", the singalong reached a climax, even the instructors couldn't help joining in the chorus.

"....Good health and long life to you, mother

I'll come back to see you when we celebrate victory,

To visit you again, dear mother...."

On the big screen, countless students had red-rimmed eyes.

The girl standing there singing carried on.

Tears hung on her long eyelashes, glistening brightly.