Chapter 42: A One-to-One Draw p1
The military training mobilization meeting was incredibly solemn and enthusiastic.
Perhaps it was because of the military green camouflage uniforms, but the boys and girls were excited and spirited, as if the training were an incredibly sacred matter, and everyone should obey unconditionally.
“During the military training, I hope all of you will consider yourselves soldiers. And as soldiers, you must obey the rules and follow orders,” the instructor of First Year, Class Three, Wu Zihe, said, his skin tanned and his face serious.
Looking at the students whose faces were flushed from the sun, the moment he saw someone scratch an itch or slouch, he would immediately rush over and roar, “Don’t move!”
It was as if the instructor shouted slogans every day, his voice was so loud.
The students were wearing training uniforms, long pants and long sleeves. They had to keep their clothes neat, and were not allowed to roll up their sleeves or open their collars. In a short while, everyone was dripping with sweat.
Their calves were tight, almost cramping. They had never felt that standing on two legs could be so painful.
The moment the instructor turned around, they would immediately take the opportunity to bend their knees, not daring to be too obvious, but just moving a little made it better.
Zhou Wanfeng felt the sweat drip down her face. She kept her eyes down, looking at the tip of her nose. The process of standing was not pleasant. If she didn’t distract herself, it would be even more painful.
She was thinking of the words in the first unit of her English textbook. She had copied them a few times during the lunch break, and now she was concentrating on recalling them in her mind to pass the time.
A whistle blew, and the instructor, Wu Zihe’s, stern face relaxed a little. “Alright, time’s up. Take a break and have some water.”
The moment the word “alright” came out, they didn’t even hear the rest. The line instantly collapsed. Some were squatting, some were sitting, and a few boys were even lying flat on their backs.
“Although it’s a break, you should still pay attention to your image,” Wu Zihe said, though his tone was not strict.
During the break, they could drink water and go to the restroom.
Boys of fifteen or sixteen were at the age where they were most interested in the army and the military. They were asking questions nonstop.
Zhou Wanfeng sat down cross-legged and happened to hear a boy ask the instructor, “Instructor, how many years have you been in the army?”
“Instructor, how old are you? Are you thirty?”
Suddenly, there was a commotion.
“Twenty? Impossible! You look old enough to be my dad,” a boy exclaimed, immediately drawing a lot of laughter from his classmates.
It seemed that everyone was curious about the mysterious life in the army. The class next door, Class Two, was now performing a talent show. The applause was thunderous, attracting all the nearby classes.
It was a solo dance by a girl. There was no music, no dance dress, and no smooth wooden floor. Even the training uniform she was wearing was loose and baggy, but it still couldn’t hide the light of youthful confidence.
“Good!” a boy cheered, followed by the scattered applause of the other classes.
Wu Zihe looked at the liveliness of the other class, then at his own class’s lazy and sloppy appearance. “The class next door is performing a program for their instructor. What about you?” he said, sitting down to the side, and for once, a smile appeared on his lips as he encouraged them, “Do any of you have any talents you want to come up and perform?”
This question interrupted the students who had been asking questions just now. It was a new class, and they were not very familiar with each other. To perform a talent in front of everyone was a little embarrassing.
Yun Jingya looked at the girl dancing in the class next door. If the talent show on the other side had been singing, she would have wanted to go up and perform. Unfortunately, the dance on the other side was already over. It would be a little boring for her to go up and dance now. So she hugged her legs and sat on the ground, looking like she was waiting to see others perform.
“Instructor, I heard that soldiers all practice military boxing. Can you show us a few moves?” a boy in the back row shouted. He was a clever one. To ask the instructor to perform, he was really something.
Zhou Wanfeng was familiar with this voice. It was the male student in the classroom who had been shouting that he was a red belt in Taekwondo and had fantastically wanted to spar with the instructor.
“Instructor, Kong Xiaoxu actually wants to spar with you,” another male student poked his head out, which made Kong Xiaoxu go over and cover his mouth.
Unfortunately, the two of them were wrestling, and he couldn’t cover his mouth. “Instructor, he said in the classroom that he’s a red belt in Taekwondo and that he can take you down in three moves.”
“Nonsense! When did I say that? I just said I could last a few rounds with you,” Kong Xiaoxu was tall for a first-year high school student, and he was strong.
Hearing that a male student wanted to spar with him, Wu Zihe was happy and beckoned, “Come, come, come over here.” Kong Xiaoxu immediately chickened out and now hid behind the boy from before. “Instructor, I was just kidding. Don’t take it seriously.”
“It’s fine. I’ll give you a chance. If you can last a few rounds with me, you win. The reward is that the rest of the training time will be halved. The other classes will be training while you rest.”
Hearing that the painful training time would be halved, and that they could rest while the other classes were training, the whole class was suddenly energized. They sat up straight and looked at Kong Xiaoxu in the back.
The class president, Wu Junfeng, even asked directly, “Kong Xiaoxu, are you really a red belt in Taekwondo? Don’t be a liar.”
“I’ve been practicing Taekwondo since elementary school. The red belt is real. The coach at the dojo even praised me and recommended me for a competition. I was too busy with my studies to go,” Kong Xiaoxu said with a proud look on his face, clearly a little tempted by the instructor’s words. His eager eyes couldn’t be hidden.
Without even thinking, he got up and walked over.
Wu Zihe watched him walk over. The boy was almost 1.75 meters tall and was sturdily built. Seeing him get into a stance as soon as he came up, he raised his hand to stop him. “Wait a minute. Let’s make it clear first. If you lose within three moves…” He looked at the students of Class Three sitting on the ground and said with a smile, “If you lose, all of you will have to run five kilometers, which is about 12 laps around the playground. But I’m not that cruel. I’ll just have you run ten laps.”
Hearing that if they lost, they would have to run ten laps,
two boys from the back row immediately came up and dragged him back. Both the girls and the boys in the class shook their heads. “Forget it, forget it. Ten laps? In this weather, I’d want to die after one lap. I’d rather continue practicing the goose step and the turns in the afternoon.”
“Kong Xiaoxu, get down here quickly.”
Wu Zihe smiled, raising the stakes. “How about this? If he can last three moves with me without being defeated, all of you can rest for the rest of the training time in the afternoon.”
Hearing this, Kong Xiaoxu slapped his thigh and tried to rally his classmates. “Classmates, that is to say, as long as I can last three moves, we’ll be free in the afternoon. It’s a good deal.”
“A good deal, my ass! If you lose, we have to run ten laps.”
“I’ve been practicing for six or seven years and paid so much in tuition. And I can’t even last three moves? I’ll go back and ask my coach for a refund. Think about it, no more training, all rest.” Kong Xiaoxu was now like an old gambler, trying to win big with a small stake.
Jiang Chen glanced at the instructor. He was sitting there calmly, smiling at Kong Xiaoxu as he tried to fool his classmates. He suddenly remembered the instructor’s age. He stood up and clapped his hands. “Classmates, listen to my analysis. The instructor just said he’s twenty this year, right? According to our country’s military service age for men, it should be 18. Even if he’s twenty-one this year, that’s only three years. And I heard that new recruits have a three-month training period, and I don’t know what else. Anyway, what I mean is that he’s only practiced for a little over a year at most, plus he’s in good physical condition from being in the army. But Kong Xiaoxu has been practicing for five or six years. He’s tall and strong, and he has strength. It’s normal for him not to be able to beat the instructor, but can’t he even last three moves?”
Jiang Chen’s fair face was flushed from the sun, and his face was covered in sweat. As he spoke, he had to use one arm to fan his back, which was also covered in sweat.
The military training was a living hell. He thought his analysis was very thorough. “So, I think our chances of winning are very high. This damn weather is like a big steamer. Don’t you want to rest while the other classes are training?”
The analysis sounded very reasonable.
That’s right. The instructor had said himself that he was only twenty and had just joined the army not long ago.
Many of the classmates began to hesitate, their gazes fixed on Kong Xiaoxu, as if they were picking out a prime cut of pork.
The class president, Wu Junfeng, even went over and felt Kong Xiaoxu’s arms and legs, then turned to the class and said, “Yes, they’re hard. He has muscles.”
Kong Xiaoxu rolled up his sleeves and gritted his teeth, and his arms did show some definition.
Zhou Wanfeng looked at the instructor, Wu Zihe. He was leisurely taking a sip of water, not in a hurry at all. “Well, have you decided? If you last three moves, you rest in the afternoon. If you don’t, you run ten laps.”
The temptation was too great. After Jiang Chen’s analysis and the class president’s muscle confirmation, the students in the class gritted their teeth and took the bet. “If Kong Xiaoxu can’t even last three moves, remember to ask for a refund when you get home.”
“It’s up to you, Kong Xiaoxu.”
Wu Zihe stood up, dusted off his pants, and his expression changed. His tone was serious. “A promise is a military order. You can’t go back on it.”
Zhou Wanfeng looked at Kong Xiaoxu, who was being patted on the shoulder and having his legs massaged by his classmates, like a boxer about to enter the ring.
There were even students cheering him on from the side.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. She raised her hand and stood up, shouting, “Reporting!” All eyes immediately focused on her.
She completely ignored them and looked at Wu Zihe, asking directly, “Instructor, can I not participate?”
“Why? Look at how confident he is. And a classmate has analyzed that his chances of winning are very high,” Wu Zihe said, pointing at Kong Xiaoxu.
“Then can I bet on the instructor to win?” Zhou Wanfeng said, and immediately, a classmate exclaimed, “Can we do that? Then I want to choose the instructor too.”
“Me too. I have a feeling the instructor looks very relaxed.”
Wu Zihe looked at Zhou Wanfeng and refused directly. “No. You are all soldiers of the same class now. You are a collective. We are on opposite sides now. Are you going to betray your own teammates and defect to the enemy?”
Zhou Wanfeng snorted coldly and sat down.
In the end, the class president, Wu Junfeng, in order to be fair, held a show of hands. The majority wanted to take the bet.
Jiang Chen secretly slipped over to Zhou Wanfeng’s side. “You think he’ll lose?” If someone else had said he would lose, he might not have cared. But the moment Zhou Wanfeng spoke, he immediately hesitated.
Zhou Wanfeng stared at Jiang Chen with a cold gaze. “Is your head full of sweat right now? What are the basic moves of Taekwondo? Side kick, whirlwind kick, turning kick. Do you think the coach will just stand there like a wooden post and let him kick?”
The moment Jiang Chen heard this, his face turned pale. He stood up and was about to call a stop.
But it was too late. The contestants were in their positions, and the enthusiastic cheers of the classmates were getting louder.
“Go, Kong Xiaoxu! Hold on for three moves!”
“Go! Whether we have to train in the afternoon depends on you!”
Jiang Chen squatted down again, his heart filled with guilt. “He… he should be able to last three moves, right?”
Zhou Wanfeng sneered.
The much-anticipated spar began. All they saw was Kong Xiaoxu taking small steps on the spot, his upper body swaying…
“Kong Xiaoxu… go…”
Thud. Not to mention three moves, it hadn’t even been three seconds. In the blink of an eye, Kong Xiaoxu was thrown to the ground by the instructor. Of course, the instructor had used his foot to cushion the fall, so it didn’t hurt.
But Kong Xiaoxu was stunned. He hadn’t even done anything.
“Is it over?”
“I don’t know.”
A few students in Class Three who had been looking down and fiddling with their hair hadn’t seen it and asked curiously.
A few seconds later, especially the male students in the back row, they all held their heads and fell to the ground. “Ahhh, Kong Xiaoxu, you go home and ask for a refund!”
With that shout, the girls in the class and the boys who hadn’t reacted yet knew that the match was over and they had lost.
Run ten laps around the playground?
They were all dumbfounded.
Wu Zihe pointed at the playground and said with a smile, “You don’t have to run it all at once. As long as you complete the total number of laps. But you can’t walk.”
“Ahhh, Kong Xiaoxu, you bastard! I thought you could last three moves! You didn’t even last a second!”
A boy rushed over and pinned Kong Xiaoxu to the ground to vent his frustration.
Jiang Chen nudged Zhou Wanfeng and leaned over. “You save the day. Have another match with the instructor,” he said. He really didn’t want to move a single step.