Chapter 431: Living Together

It was Gu Qingjiu's first time staying at a six-star hotel.

And also the first time she was sleeping on the floor of a presidential suite.

Even she herself didn't dare believe it.

But this was the truth.

With Persian velvet carpets laid on the floors, it felt very soft. Add a layer of blanket and it actually wasn't much different from sleeping on Simmons bedding.

The only distinction was that one was a bed and this was the floor.

But since this was her first time sleeping in the same room with the Chief Instructor after all, she felt rather nervous.

However, the Chief Instructor behaved perfectly decent at night. After taking a shower, he went straight to bed and fell asleep.

And this was after sleeping the entire afternoon today!

She guessed he must be really exhausted.

He said that he hadn't rested at all yesterday. But Gu Qingjiu wasn't sure if he had a good rest over these few days he was away on mission.

It was common for soldiers to go without sleep for a few consecutive days and nights when they were on missions.

Donned in the white pajamas offered by the hotel, Gu Qingjiu hugged her knees to her chest and went into a daze staring at the Chief Instructor.

Although the lights in the room were switched off, it was still brightly lit outside.

The bright lights of the city made her unable to fall asleep.

She was a light sleeper to begin with. Plus with the Chief Instructor sleeping in the same room as her, all the more she wasn't able to get to sleep.

After preparing to sleep for quite a while, Gu Qingjiu finally started to feel sleepy as it approached 11 p.m.

She could hear He Niancheng's even and steady breathing, who was sleeping facing her on the bed.

It seemed like he was sound asleep.

"Chief Instructor..."

Gu Qingjiu shouted to test, but He Niancheng showed no reaction.

With a tinge of nervousness, she edged closer to him.

With her arms resting on the side of the bed, she gave He Niancheng a kiss. She then laid back down contentedly and started to sleep.

Though, she didn't see that the instant she laid down, the person behind her had already opened his eyes.

In the darkness, all that could be seen was a pair of deep eyes sparkling.

...

Very early in the morning, the dazed Gu Qingjiu could hear movements beside the bed.

Next, she felt a wet sensation on her face, and she heard a deep and raspy 'Good morning' right next to her ears.

Usually, if she didn't get enough sleep, she would still be incredibly groggy. She merely responded with a hum and continued with her sleep.

She only heard a low chuckle.

By the time she woke up, she looked at the clock and saw that it was already eight!

If she was in school, she would already have trained for two hours at this time.

This was perhaps because she hadn't slept in such a comfortable place in a long time...

Then, Gu Qingjiu realized that she was sleeping on the floor!

Opening her sleepy eyes, her vision swept over her surroundings, and didn't see the Chief Instructor anywhere.

She instantly crawled to her feet and went to the bathroom to wash up.

After she was more or less done washing up, He Niancheng came in with a cup of coffee.

He was donned in a white sweater of extremely thin fabric, giving off the elegant vibe of a graceful young master.

A good-looking person would look good in anything.

Looking at Gu Qingjiu who was brushing her teeth, he shouted to her, "Come over and have breakfast."

Gu Qingjiu speedily finished brushing her teeth and casually ran a comb through her hair. She then sped over to join him for breakfast.

When she saw the spread they were having for breakfast, she couldn't help exclaiming in her heart how extravagant it was.

There was Western and Chinese variety of dishes plated on small plates, filling the two sides of the long table.

If they couldn't finish it, they could only toss the remaining food away.

He Niancheng had already gone over first and was elegantly starting to eat.

Feeling hungry, Gu Qingjiu went over and started eating as well.

She wasn't too particular about what she ate, and she ate very fast.

So after finishing the food off three plates, she was more or less done.

Although He Niancheng ate in an elegant manner, the speed at which he ate was comparable to Gu Qingjiu.

Chapter 432: The Chief Instructor Looked At the Online Forum

After the two of them finished eating, He Niancheng wiped his mouth and said, "Is there any place you'd like to go today?"

Gu Qingjiu thought for a moment, then shook her head and replied, "No. Let's go back to school earlier today. I need to head to the Shooting Department for training today."

She was supposed to train this week as well.

But because Yu Bao'er had asked her out, Gu Qingjiu applied for leave and went out of the school.

Who knew that Yu Bao'er would bail, and at the same time, He Niancheng returned.

Naturally, she continued to frolic outside.

Since He Niancheng was back, Gu Qingjiu felt that it didn't matter where they stayed. Hence, she prepared to go back and train.

"Alright."

He Niancheng didn't stop her. If he wanted to see her, he could do so any time in school.

After breakfast, he and Gu Qingjiu packed up, and then returned to the military school.

Just as they were about to reach the school, Gu Qingjiu got out of the car some distance from the entrance of the school.

It was a Sunday, so there were plenty of people at the school entrance. Gu Qingjiu didn't wish for anyone to see them.

He Niancheng let her be and drove back first, for he still had to tend to some matters in school.

When Gu Qingjiu reached the school, she first went to the canteen to eat.

Since the two of them came back early, she made it just in time for lunch.

When she reached the Shooting Department, Gu Qingjiu went straight for the hundred-meter moving target.

She had more or less mastered the fifty-meter target. Although she wasn't perfectly confident of hitting the bullseye 100% of the time, she wanted to give the hundred-meter target a shot.

If the results proved she couldn't handle the hundred-meter target, she would go back to practicing with a fifty-meter target.

While she was practicing, Lu Yimei came by to watch her train.

"Qingjiu, you're back from your leave?"

"Mm!"

Gu Qingjiu turned her head and kept away her gun to salute Lu Yimei upon seeing her enter. "Commander Lu."

Lu Yimei nodded. "Mm. You're practicing with the hundred-meter target now. You've more or less mastered the feel of the fifty-meter target?"

"More or less." Gu Qingjiu said honestly, "But I can't guarantee I'll hit the bullseye 100% all the time. I merely came to try out this target. If I can't handle it, I'll go back to practicing with the fifty-meter target."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yimei paused for a moment. "You're different from us. It's not that you can't practice this way. But based on my experience, you probably ought to practice with a fifty-meter target until you feel more sure of it. But let's look at your results today first."

Gu Qingjiu nodded. "Okay!"

She turned away and continued to practice. By her side, Lu Yimei said with a smile, "Qingjiu, do you remember the post on the forum?"

"Mm? What post?"

"The post that said you and Yin Ruoyi ought to be a couple."

Lu Yimei laughed out loud. "But Qingjiu, you don't have a boyfriend, do you? Yin Ruoyi doesn't have a girlfriend either. You can't blame the students for being too nosy."

Gu Qingjiu was speechless.

What was she to say!

Gu Qingjiu merely regarded that as a joke. But it suddenly occurred to her—the Chief Instructor wouldn't have seen those stuff, would he?

If he saw that...

Just as Gu Qingjiu was thinking about this, He Niancheng who had just returned to his office started tending to the matters at hand.

But before this, just like he always did, he first took a look at Gu Qingjiu's detailed information this week.

After seeing the lass shoot to fame from the competition, he felt pretty proud of her. Then he saw something about an online forum. Because he paid special attention to Gu Qingjiu, he went to check it out.

Then he saw those comments about how Yin Ruoyi and Gu Qingjiu actually looked pretty compatible.

'Crack!'

He Niancheng instantly crushed the mouse in his hand.

There was a dark glow in his eyes.

'Compatible?'

Chapter 433: Was... She Crying?

Gu Qingjiu, who was faraway training at the Shooting Department, shivered for some reason.

Following that, she then said with a smile, "Commander Lu, how can you take a joke like this seriously?"

"Of course you won't take it seriously since you don't even know him yet. But who knows..."

"I have a boyfriend."

Seeing as Lu Yimei was keen on continuing this topic, Gu Qingjiu ended it with this revelation.

Lu Yimei instantly raised a brow and gazed meaningfully at Gu Qingjiu. "Ah, I see. I was just thinking..."

She then asked with a smile, "Is your boyfriend from this school as well?"

Gu Qingjiu nodded. However, she didn't say more.

Seeing that she wasn't willing to divulge more information, Lu Yimei wisely stopped asking.

"Continue with your practice then, I'll get going first."

Lu Yimei left after speaking with Gu Qingjiu and didn't bother her anymore.

In the vast shooting range, Gu Qingjiu was the only one practicing.

Compared with the fifty-meter target, the hundred-meter target was a little harder.

Gu Qingjiu's aim was worse than when she was training with the fifty-meter target.

However, she had never entirely missed the target, not even once.

After training for an entire afternoon, Gu Qingjiu felt that training with a hundred-meter target was much more beneficial to her. Hence, she decided to continue training with the hundred-meter target.

She continued training until about 6:30 in the evening, then packed up and went to the canteen for dinner.

After dinner, Gu Qingjiu returned to the dormitory.

She originally wanted to go look for the Chief Instructor. But it had just been a day since they parted, so Gu Qingjiu felt that she might seem too clingy if she went to look for him now.

Hence, she returned to the dormitory first. Even while she was showering, she was still hesitating.

After she came out from the shower, she saw Chu Lian and Gu Qian discussing the latest branded goods.

Gu Qingjiu suddenly felt that they didn't have anything in common.

She gazed at the upper bunk above her bed and saw that Qi Xiaoran was also in the dormitory, which was pretty rare.

She was lying on her belly. No idea if she was asleep or what.

"Qingjiu, we're going out for a moment. Do you want to go out for a stroll with us?"

Gu Qian and Chu Lian, who were about to head out, called out to Gu Qingjiu.

Gu Qingjiu shook her head. "You guys go ahead. I need to do some revision."

"Aiyoh, you're so smart and yet you need to revise? What are lousy students like us to do?

Gu Qian sighed pretentiously, making Gu Qingjiu let out a chuckle.

After the duo left, only Gu Qingjiu and Qi Xiaoran were left in the dormitory.

Gu Qingjiu opened her laptop and started revising her work over the past week.

"Oh!"

Suddenly, Gu Qingjiu heard Qi Xiaoran vomiting from above.

Next, she looked up and saw Qi Xiaoran covering her mouth with her hand and running towards the toilet.

She heard Qi Xiaoran puking in the toilet.

Gu Qingjiu paused for a moment. But then she got up and asked, "Xiaoran, are you not feeling well?"

After Qi Xiaoran came back, she didn't seem unwell. Why was she vomiting now?

"No."

Qi Xiaoran gagged first and then replied to Gu Qingjiu.

When she came out of the toilet, her face looked rather pale.

Even though it wasn't obvious from her complexion, it was clear from her pale lips that Qi Xiaoran was feeling unwell.

Gu Qingjiu furrowed her brows. She probed, "Haven't you recovered from your fever from last time?"

"No, I just feel a little psychologically unwell."

Qi Xiaoran shook her head, then crawled back to her bed and continued lying face-down.

Only then did Gu Qingjiu realize that when Qi Xiaoran walked past her, there seemed to be tear streaks at the corners of her eyes.

Was... she crying?

Chapter 434: Not Even A Name

She couldn't wrap her head around this situation at the moment.

It was incredibly rare for a girl like Qi Xiaoran to cry.

But to be able to reduce her to tears, it must be an incredibly miserable matter.

Gu Qingjiu didn't have a hobby of poking at people's wounds, so she kept her doubts to herself.

But after a short while, she heard Qi Xiaoran's low voice as the latter was lying down. "Gu Qingjiu, has anything thrown you into utter despair before?"

"..."

That startled her. Instead of answering, she asked instead, "What's the matter?"

After a moment of silence, Qi Xiaoran said, "Can you answer my question?"

Numerous flashbacks blinked across Gu Qingjiu's mind. Her lips curled up coldly. "Of course."

So many things from the past – each of them enough to drown her in despair.

"Even you have those too?"

Qi Xiaoran mumbled under her breath as if Qingjiu's answer was unexpected.

Gu Qingjiu looked at the upper bunk. "What happened to you?"

Since Qi Xiaoran had already asked her, she took the chance to ask as well.

"I did something... that went against my principles... I can never go back."

Her words were doused with misery.

Gu Qingjiu didn't know what it was about. She kept silent, thinking if she should continue to probe.

In the next moment, Gu Qian and Chu Lian returned.

Qi Xiaoran stopped speaking.

Besides the few short conversations she shared with Gu Qingjiu, Qi Xiaoran never talked to the rest.

But there was no bad will amongst them, though.

"Qingjiu, it's really strange. Someone removed the post about you on the forum. I wonder if it was because they found the anonymous user and silenced them."

Gu Qian excitedly talked about it.

Meanwhile, Gu Qingjiu raised an eyebrow. "Removed?"

"Yeah, I wonder who did it. That post was so entertaining. There are already people shipping you and Yin Ruoyi together. It's such a pity that it was removed!"

Gu Qingjiu was speechless.

'Great thing it got removed!'

She glared at Gu Qian. It wasn't as if they didn't know that she had a boyfriend. For them to gossip about this showed that they didn't see the scale of the problem.

But posting was a student's freedom. It was unexpected that it was removed.

It was probably because the sharpshooter felt that it ruined his image and got someone to remove it.

It was a good thing since it would prevent people from starting needless rumors, anyway.

If the Chief Instructor heard the rumors, she wouldn't need to stay here.

"Haha, but on this topic, I wonder if your boyfriend knows about this. If he knew, he would definitely not feel good about it."

Gu Qian showed a smile of glee at her misfortune.

Gu Qingjiu thought about the Chief Instructor immediately.

That was true. She had no idea if the Chief Instructor already heard about this. 'Please Gods, don't let him know about it!'

Gu Qingjiu uttered her prayers. Meanwhile, in the office, He Niancheng was restless.

He Niancheng sat at the desk, with his arms leaning on the table, rubbing at his brows as he looked at the documents in his hands.

After a while, his cell phone rang.

He peeked at it and answered immediately.

Before he even made a single sound, a voice spoke from the other end. "Young Master, the forums have been settled. All related posts have been removed as well. Is there anything else that needs to be done?"

"Just about is fine."

He wasn't an overbearing person, but he would definitely not allow any taunting words to appear between her girlfriend and another man.

Even if it was online.

Chapter 435: If She Wasn't the Last Place, Who Would Be

"Then Young Master, please let me know if there's anything else."

"Joker."

He Niancheng called lightly.

Joker on the other end of the phone immediately straightened his back.

Young Master's tone was a little dangerous.

He wondered which unlucky fellow would suffer again.

"Go to the Qin family and settle Qin Huai."

"Qin Huai?"

Although Joker had no idea who Qin Huai was, he still had to find out and complete the task.

He answered, "I understand, Young Master. I will do it now and complete the task satisfactorily."

"Mm."

After hanging up the call, He Niancheng's furrowed brows finally relaxed a little.

Although he wouldn't help Gu Qingjiu to settle with the Yu family, he would deal with these random stray problems.

To dare bully his people, they were simply seeking for their deaths.

...

Monday. Training as usual.

It was the day for the dueling segment for their physical combat lesson.

Feng Yumeng sat with Gu Qingjiu.

The previous week, the instructor had mentioned that he would let Feng Yumeng and Gu Qingjiu participate in actual combat, so Feng Yumeng felt utterly perturbed.

She swallowed. Looking at the fearsome battlefield, she lowered her voice and whispered to Gu Qingjiu, "Gu Qingjiu, I've already followed your advice and went back to practice, but I couldn't even defeat my weakest dorm mate..."

"..."

Gu Qingjiu didn't know how she should reply to that.

She simply comforted, "Don't worry. It will be fine as long as you try your best. Different people have different things which they are good at. There's no need to force it."

Feng Yumeng shyly fiddled with her sleeves. "But I will drag you down and that would affect your score as well."

"It's okay. My shooting practice can pull my grades up, so you don't have to worry."

She was already practicing on hundred-meter moving targets, while their class lessons were still focused on hundred-meter stationary targets.

That way, the entire class's shooting results were incomparable to Gu Qingjiu's.

She naturally didn't have to worry about it.

But Feng Yumeng still felt sorry.

This was only Gu Qingjiu. If it was any other person, they would not be able to carry Feng Yumeng.

Feng Yumeng's classmates were all teasing her about how she was hugging someone's thigh to victory.

But knowing that she was indeed dragging Gu Qingjiu down still didn't feel good inside.

The more pressure she felt, the worse she would perform.

Her combat skills were originally poor. If she couldn't even do the basics, it would be disastrous.

"Don't be afraid."

Gu Qingjiu had repeated this statement so many times that she didn't want to anymore.

Feng Yumeng pressed on some pressure upon herself, so there was no way Gu Qingjiu could alleviate it for her.

The instructor called for the students in the class to prepare.

"Today's lesson will be free form combat. There will be no differentiation between offense and defense. As per our previous lessons, you shall duel. The first group please prepare."

The moment Feng Yumeng processed the instructor's words, she tugged uneasily at Gu Qingjiu's sleeves. "It's starting..."

Gu Qingjiu was speechless.

Within just a week, she almost had a complete grasp of Feng Yumeng's character.

She came from a rural background which explains why she had the courage of a sparrow – the sort of girl who was pampered by her family.

Because of her timid personality, her family sent her to train at the military school. However, actual combat was her death trap.

She was afraid of being hit by people.

And even without much strength, some of those hits would definitely end up on her.

Feng Yumeng was afraid of that.

When she first started practicing fighting, she would shrill when people hit her.

If she wasn't the last place, who would be?

Chapter 436: Gu Qingjiu, Actual Combat 1

It was about to start.

Feng Yumeng became more nervous.

If it was a structured practice, she would either be on the offense or defense.

But this was free-style, so she would only be hit.

For fighting, there wasn't any point system. However, in order to prevent accidents from happening, holding down the opponent for three seconds would be considered a victory.

Feng Yumeng was the kind that others would hold down on the ground.

After a short rest, the first group would start.

The dueling session was 2 vs 2.

One person would fight with their opponent from the other team before changing people.

And that meant both Gu Qingjiu and Feng Yumeng had to duel.

Since there were more males in the military school, these practices usually meant selection would be segregated by gender.

And because the female population was less, girls from the same specialization would have to fight.

While for the guys, they would have an inter-class duel session.

Gu Qingjiu's opponents were a pair of sisters from Class A.

And what a pair of sisters! Not only did they get into the same specialization, they even managed to get into the same group.

How strange.

But Gu Qingjiu didn't care about that.

The moment the duels started, Feng Yumeng visibly looked nervous while Gu Qingjiu focused on analyzing these students' moves and fighting instincts.

She already had her observations from before. These students were probably not as strong as the soldiers from the army but that was back when she was just a new recruit and she hadn't yet fought with veterans.

So everyone's skills were probably around the same level.

She looked for a while before her expression relaxed a little.

If she said that she had complete confidence, wouldn't that be too arrogant?

But she had strong innate instincts for dueling, so she should do fine at these.

After a few groups finished, the instructor called for them.

"Next group, Class A's Long Xiaowen and Long Xiaohe against Class C's Gu Qingjiu and Feng Yumeng."

At the instructor's call, Feng Yumeng's fingers curled tightly.

Long Xiaowen and Long Xiaohe were from the same class as Feng Yumeng. Seeing how nervous Feng Yumeng was, they couldn't help but chuckle. "Yumeng, rest assured. No matter who fights against you, we will use less strength so it wouldn't hurt as bad."

They all knew that Feng Yumeng was afraid of pain.

The moment those words were out, people around them laughed.

These people held no ill intentions and simply found it funny.

Feng Yumeng could only laugh awkwardly in return.

They spoke of the truth after all.

The instructor looked at the name list before he continued, "Long Xiaowen against Feng Yumeng and Long Xiaohe against Gu Qingjiu. I will give you three minutes to prepare."

"As expected, I would go first!"

Feng Yumeng felt despair.

Who dueled first was determined by the order in which the instructor spoke. Since he called Feng Yumeng first, she would have to go first.

"But that's a relief since Long Xiaowen's skills are not as good as her younger sister's."

Feng Yumeng forced herself to relax, but she looked at Gu Qingjiu uneasily. "Qingjiu, Long Xiaohe is really strong."

Long Xiaowen was the older one, but in terms of combat skills, Long Xiaohe was the stronger one.

Feng Yumeng was worried about Gu Qingjiu because she had only attended the theory lessons for dueling. This meant that this would be her first live practice.

Before she dueled, no one knew how Gu Qingjiu would fare.

If Feng Yumeng lost and Gu Qingjiu lost as well, it would be considered as a loss for the team.

For the team to lose, they would lose a point in the lesson.

And the total points was only twelve!

Chapter 437: Gu Qingjiu, Actual Combat 2

As per normal universities, grades were the bane of students.

This caused Feng Yumeng to not only worry about herself but also Gu Qingjiu.

Gu Qingjiu pat Feng Yumeng on her shoulder. "Just do your best. It's okay to lose. I won't blame you."

She knew that Feng Yumeng gave herself immense pressure, but she didn't know her skills.

She needed to see her fight before she could tell if she still had hope.

Three minutes blinked by.

Long Xiaowen and Feng Yumeng approached the stage.

Gu Qingjiu looked on. Solely based on their expressions, Feng Yumeng already lost.

Long Xiaowen was imposing and her fighting pose seemed strong as well.

While Feng Yumeng seemed like she was shrinking.

Looking at this, she was definitely going to lose.

As expected, the moment the instructor said to start, Feng Yumeng started to panic.

The moves she learned were wiped cleanly from her brain in that instance.

Just like how you would suddenly recall song lyrics in the middle of an examination...

When Long Xiaowen came at her, she had no idea how to react.

She forcefully brought her arms up to block the punches, but Long Xiaowen's feet still brought her down with one sweep.

Thud.

Although it was soft mat below, tears welled up in Feng Yumeng's eyes as she fell.

Three seconds later, the instructor announced Long Xiaowen as the victor.

Seeing the tears in Feng Yumeng's eyes, Long Xiaowen felt sorry. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Feng Yumeng shook her head but with those tears, she appeared pitiful.

She moved out of the arena and looked at Gu Qingjiu.

Her expression reminded Gu Qingjiu of her neighbor's pug when it did something wrong.

She couldn't find it in herself to scold her.

Gu Qingjiu caressed Feng Yumeng's head. "I've already said that it's okay to lose but after this lesson, let's stay a little longer."

"Ah?"

It stunned Feng Yumeng.

But Gu Qingjiu didn't explain further since her match was about to begin.

This was her first duel session ever since she entered military school.

Perhaps because of that and her nickname as a sharpshooter, many people had their attention on this match.

Long Xiaohe and Long Xiaowen discussed with each other softly while Gu Qingjiu prepared herself.

When she was almost done preparing, she moved to the center of the field.

Long Xiaohe stood on the opposite side of Gu Qingjiu, smiling lightly at her.

Gu Qingjiu returned it with a light smile.

The instructor looked at the two of them. When he was about to announce the start of the match, Long Xiaohe readied her stance while Gu Qingjiu remained unmoving.

The instructor was befuddled by her lack of reaction but continued, "Begin!"

The moment the word left his lips, Long Xiaohe leaped into action, jumping at her with a kick.

As expected, she was different from Long Xiaowen. Long Xiaowen's fighting style was more restrained, especially when she was against Feng Yumeng.

Long Xiaohe's fighting style was more aggressive.

If it was any other normal girl, Long Xiaohe's kick would have probably caused her opponents to crumble.

People around gasped, but it didn't fluster Gu Qingjiu.

She narrowed her eyes. In the instance the girl dashed over, she quickly dodged the blow.

Gu Qingjiu's response speed was indeed fast.

Long Xiaohe's reaction was not slow either. The moment she touched ground, she used the momentum to kick her other leg upwards.

Her target was Gu Qingjiu's neck!

Chapter 438: No One Liked Dragging Others' Back

Gu Qingjiu saw this as an opportune time.

Before Long Xiaohe reached her, Gu Qingjiu swiftly grabbed the girl's shoulders.

Gu Qingjiu's knee pushed forward to take advantage of her opponent's current weakness, which was her lack of balance, to force her onto the ground.

Thud!

Long Xiaohe fell to the ground while Gu Qingjiu followed the motion and pushed her down further, elbows against her shoulders.

No matter how much Long Xiaohe struggled, she couldn't struggle free.

Three seconds later, the instructor announced that Gu Qingjiu won.

Long Xiaohe dejectedly collapsed onto the ground.

Gu Qingjiu stood up, putting out a hand to help Long Xiaohe up. "Sorry about this."

Long Xiaohe raised her head and narrowed her eyes at her. In the end, she reluctantly took Gu Qingjiu's hand and stood up.

The people around them were all stunned.

Although the move which Gu Qingjiu executed looked easy, it actually required an insanely fast speed.

Long Xiaohe's kick was a split second motion and yet Gu Qingjiu could take that chance to force her down.

It was beyond shocking.

The instructor looked surprised as well. He did not expect Gu Qingjiu to do so well on her first duel.

But unlike others, the roots of the instructor's experience ran deep. He could tell that Gu Qingjiu was still holding back.

During Long Xiaohe's first attack, she already had the chance to force her down.

He did not say much, lightly praising Gu Qingjiu for her performance.

The moment Gu Qingjiu went out, Feng Yumeng couldn't suppress the excitement in her heart. "Qingjiu, you're so powerful! Really and truly!"

She thought that her combat skills were bad, but she didn't expect Gu Qingjiu to be so proficient at it.

Long Xiaohe's skills were already considered good, but Gu Qingjiu defeated her in a single move.

Gu Qingjiu was not arrogant, opting to show a humble smile instead. "I just got lucky and caught her at a good time. Long Xiaohe is strong."

Her performance shone a ray of hope into Feng Yumeng's heart. "Could it be that I have a chance to not be in the last place for this dueling module?"

"Of course!"

Gu Qingjiu immediately replied, "From today onwards, let's practice together. I will be your dueling partner."

"Ah? I'm scared!"

Feng Yumeng shook her head like a rattle-drum.

Gu Qingjiu frowned. Her tone became stern, unlike her usual self. "Feng Yumeng, I know you don't want to drag me down but for that to happen, you have to at least show that you've tried your best. Your reaction speed in a duel is not bad, but you let your fear overcome you and so you don't dare to take the initiative to attack."

Although Gu Qingjiu was not thoroughly well-versed in the arts of dueling, she could tell what Feng Yumeng's problems were.

The instructor already pointed this flaw out to Feng Yumen back then, but tears fell when she heard it.

However, since it was Gu Qingjiu this time, she was embarrassed to cry.

So she sucked it in, not daring to utter a single sound.

There were still many people around, so Gu Qingjiu didn't want to say too much. She sighed. "You need to know, no one likes losing. If you want to prove yourself, you'll have to work harder. You can't retreat just because you're afraid. If that's the case, entering the military school would be meaningless."

"And now you are fighting on my side. You're not alone anymore!"

The reason Gu Qingjiu phrased it that way was so for Feng Yumeng to pull away from her guilt.

She knew that Feng Yumeng wanted to work hard but could not overcome the obstacle which was herself.

But Gu Qingjiu would definitely not allow that to happen. She would help her overcome it.

Just like what she said, no one liked to lose.

Similarly, no one liked dragging others down.

Chapter 439: Combat Training Ground

Gu Qingjiu didn't despise Feng Yumeng.

But if Feng Yumeng admitted defeat just like that, she would feel displeased.

No one was perfect, and to be thinking this way was perfectly normal.

Especially if Feng Yumeng's desire to back out of this after discovering that Gu Qingjiu's combat skills weren't too bad. That wouldn't do.

After Gu Qingjiu had said those words to her, she stopped talking.

After all, girls were thin-skinned. After being lectured, she felt too embarrassed to talk to Gu Qingjiu.

She merely kept her head bowed low and didn't say anything. Nobody knew what was going through her head.

When the combat class ended, they each returned to their respective classes and went on with their courses.

After the afternoon training ended, Gu Qingjiu didn't head to the Shooting Department to practice.

She told Feng Yumeng that she would go to the combat training ground. Whether or not the latter turned up was up to her.

If she didn't turn up today, Gu Qingjiu would give up on Feng Yumeng.

She would continue to let Feng Yumeng be her partner, but she wouldn't have any more interaction with her.

There was a training ground for every activity, and combat was no exception.

Moreover, the management of the combat training ground wasn't as strict as that of the shooting range. There would usually be a lot of people practicing in the combat training ground in the afternoon.

When Gu Qingjiu returned to the dormitory, she merely retrieved her phone.

She was afraid that the Chief Instructor would call her.

Indeed, as she was walking, her phone suddenly rang.

And the caller was indeed the Chief Instructor.

"Where are you?"

The same old question, as always.

Gu Qingjiu's mouth twitched. "Heading to the combat training ground."

"Why?"

"My partner's combat skills are too lousy. I need to give her additional training for her not to remain at the bottom of the level, at the very least."

"You mean you're an instructor now?"

He Niancheng chuckled. "So you can't come over today?"

Gu Qingjiu instantly understood what he meant. He was asking if she wasn't going over to his office.

She did wish to go, so she wasn't anxious to say no for now. "Depends. I usually train until about 7:30 pm. When I'm done training I'll head over to your office."

Of course, before that, she had to go back to the dormitory to take a shower.

She just felt too embarrassed to say it out loud.

"Mm."

He responded, then hung up.

After the call with the Chief Instructor, Gu Qingjiu felt her mood improve greatly.

She headed to the combat training ground with a jovial heart.

When she reached, she saw that there were plenty of people there.

There was quite a lot of training equipment in the combat training ground that students could utilize.

When Gu Qingjiu came, many people noticed her arrival.

Well, that was because she was somewhat already famous. The way everyone was staring at her was just like the way she was staring at everyone back in high school.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the present Gu Qingjiu was one of the legendary figures at school.

But this legendary figure was too low-profile. Other than hanging out at several training venues, she didn't participate in many other activities.

Naturally, she only knew a few people. There weren't many that she recognized around.

In fact, she wasn't even familiar with her classmates in the same class.

Add to the fact that she tended to behave aloofly in front of others, there weren't many people who dared to come up to talk to her.

Gu Qingjiu found a spot to train, then sat down and looked at the time.

5:30 pm.

If by six Feng Yumeng still didn't come, she would leave.

Gu Qingjiu was a rather patient person, but her patience depended on the situation.

After sitting there and waiting for several minutes, she figured Feng Yumeng likely wouldn't be showing up.

Then, she saw a figure slowly walking in the entrance.

It was Feng Yumeng.

Chapter 440: Qin Huai Who Was Sent Out of the Country

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Seeing Feng Yumeng show up, Gu Qingjiu felt a bit better.

Feng Yumeng walked in the door and saw Gu Qingjiu. She had her lips pursed and looked rather a little embarrassed.

She slowly walked towards Gu Qingjiu. "Qingjiu, I'm here."

"Mm, good that you're here."

Gu Qingjiu gave a rare friendly smile and patted Feng Yumeng on her shoulders. "Then let's start training here starting today. According to our rest schedules, every day after class ends and after your dinner, come here at six to meet me, then we'll train until 7:30."

Although Feng Yumeng had made up her mind to come, she still felt kind of sad to hear such an intensive training schedule. "How long are we going to train for?"

"Depends. When you no longer rank bottom in the entire level, we can halt our training for some time."

Feng Yumeng was speechless.

Halt for some time.

Merely hearing this made one feel a sense of despair.

Feng Yumeng had always reckoned that Gu Qingjiu was a beautiful and kind-hearted girl.

It was because all this time, Gu Qingjiu had been treating her in an affable manner.

But that day's training made Feng Yumeng realize just how naïve her thinking was.

The girl who was usually warm and gentle to her spared no mercy during that day's combat training.

She didn't spare any mercy in tossing Feng Yumeng at all.

If it wasn't for the soft cushion underneath, Feng Yumeng reckoned her butt would have turned swollen from all that tossing.

Every time Feng Yumeng couldn't take it anymore, Gu Qingjiu would say this: "This is weird. You can endure all sorts of other training in the military school, but not combat? Fear of pain is no excuse. You simply have to get used to it."

Get used to it!

How brutal!

Feng Yumeng felt that she wouldn't be able to survive a week under Gu Qingjiu.

When Gu Qingjiu struck at her, Feng Yumeng had to block her move. And if she failed to, she would 'get thrashed.'

When Feng Yumeng struck at Gu Qingjiu, the latter would always be able to fend herself and even retaliate.

Oftentimes, Feng Yumeng would tear up from the great pain she suffered.

When 7:30 pm finally came, Feng Yumeng was in so much pain she thought her body would fall apart.

She felt both aggrieved and upset. But when Gu Qingjiu supported her as she walked back to the dormitory, she felt too embarrassed to unleash that aggrieved feeling in her heart.

After all, Gu Qingjiu was sacrificing her own training time to help her.

After sending Feng Yumeng back, Gu Qingjiu returned to her dormitory and prepared to take a shower.

Upon seeing her return in the dormitory, Gu Qian immediately came up to Gu Qingjiu and told her something that rather surprised her.

"Qingjiu Qingjiu, you know what? That Commanding Officer Qin who kept picking on you left our university today. I heard he was sent overseas by his family. What do you think happened? The heavens are finally opening their eyes?"

Gu Qingjiu was astonished to hear this. "Commanding Officer Qin was sent out of the country?"

"Right!"

The excitement was written all over Gu Qian's face. Next to her, Chu Lian added, "I heard his family made the decision. We didn't hear of the details, but someone figured he had offended some bigshot."

Gu Qian asked, perplexed, "Bigshot? Other than offending our Qingjiu, who else has Qin Huai offended?"

"Since we don't know of anyone else, that means this bigshot must be Qingjiu."

When Chu Lian spoke, she cast a meaningful glance at Gu Qingjiu.

Gu Qingjiu shrugged her shoulders. "I don't have that capability."

Although she was shocked to hear that Qin Huai was sent out of the country, she wasn't much concerned.

It was none of her business!

Of course, to have an eyesore disappear from her life did give her quite a kick.