Tempering 1

The "training debt" incurred by rest must be repaid.

Today was a full day of basic physical training: ten kilometers of weighted running plus ten kilometers of steady-paced running. By the time most people had finished and dispersed to the cafeteria for meals, Xu Lingqu was still running.

She still owed five kilometers of weighted running and eight kilometers of steady running, and she decided to knock out the eight kilometers first.

Xu Xiqin had brought her a box of food from the cafeteria, but Xu Lingqu didn't even have the strength to chew. Fortunately, Tang Muwen showed up with a nutrient supplement, which she drank, resting a few minutes before continuing.

"Quite considerate," Xu Xiqin muttered under her breath.

"Miss Xu, since I'm here to help, you can head back to rest and wash up," Tang Muwen said softly. "I can assist her with whatever she needs. When you're free, you can come back and I'll take my leave."

Xu Xiqin had grabbed food from the cafeteria right after training and come straight over, so she hadn't eaten or washed up yet, not to mention there might be an emergency assembly later. This Tang Muwen seemed reliable enough, so she accepted the suggestion and left.

Tang Muwen watched Xu Xiqin go, then turned to look at Xu Lingqu on the track, moving slowly but without pause.

Her smartwatch's cumulative kilometers kept ticking up, slowly but never stopping.

She kept running, the wind brushing her face, sweat soaking her entire body, looking even more disheveled than she had after the midnight rescue.

Students filtered in after meals, many stopping to watch Xu Lingqu run. Some openly mocked her; others whispered amongst themselves.

Although commanders and analysts had acquired the stereotype of being physically frail, these students had at least applied to the six major military academies. Being "frail" was relative to those inhuman combat-direction students; they all had basic physical training under their belts.

This level of physical training—they couldn't match the combat-direction students' standards, but they could at least finish on time. Hand-to-hand combat was their true weakness.

Yet Xu Lingqu's basic fitness was abysmal, but she had taken down seven combat-direction students in hand-to-hand combat. It was completely topsy-turvy, defying all logic.

"Did you really not let her win?" a friend from the same academy as Wang Qihu in Star System No. 2 asked, curious. "How did she take you down so easily? Did she pay you?"

"Get lost! Your dad here has never thrown a match in his life." Seeing that it was almost dark and Xu Lingqu was still plugging away like a little snail, Wang Qihu was genuinely puzzled, suddenly unable to figure out how he'd lost to her. He suspected he'd be mulling over it for the next month and a half.

It was around 10 PM when Xu Lingqu finally finished the day's training. Tang Muwen and Xu Xiqin came up together to support her, letting her walk slowly and recover.

Xu Lingqu looked utterly wrecked, like some ghoul, quite frightening.

The training field lights hadn't come on that night, but a head of red hair still stood out starkly in the darkness. Jin and Shen Shouli, who was scowling, had arrived at some point. They said nothing until Xu Lingqu and the other two reached them.

"Commander Xu, you look like you've lost half your life," Jin said. In just two encounters, he'd learned how sharp Xu Lingqu's tongue could be, and since she was too tired to talk now, he wanted to get in a verbal jab while he could.

Xu Lingqu couldn't speak, but she gestured at her shoulder with a nod toward Jin.

Jin followed her gesture and looked down at his shoulder, where he spotted a large flying insect.

"Ahhhh!" He shrieked and jumped. The insect, startled, flew toward Shen Shouli, who went rigid.

In the end, it was Xu Xiqin who dealt with the bug, grumbling as she did: "What are you two even here for? There were tons of bugs in the woods yesterday, and you weren't scared then!"

Jin said, indignant: "There were lots, sure, but they didn't crawl on my shoulder! And this one's obviously terrifyingly huge!"

"Scaredy-cat," Xu Xiqin said bluntly, hitting Jin where it hurt.

"You're the scaredy-cat!" Jin remembered why he'd come. "Shen Shouli and I had a bet, okay? We bet on whether the instructors would call an emergency assembly tonight, so we came here to wait. But the instructors never showed—and our commander is still here."

"Pay up," Shen Shouli said, holding out his hand. Clearly, he was the winner.

"I don't have money on me right now. I'll give it to you when we get back... Hey, you, you're not short on cash. Why do you have to hound me for such a small amount!" Jin was reluctant about losing. "Besides, it was your idea to come wait here, wasn't it?"

Xu Lingqu pulled her arm free from Tang Muwen's support. She'd recovered a bit and could walk on her own now. It was late, and she needed to hurry back to wash up.

Tang Muwen nodded, politely took his leave, and headed toward the boys' dormitory. Jin and Xu Xiqin, for some inexplicable reason, decided to have a competition—instead of sleeping at this hour, they went off to do pull-ups.

Xu Lingqu walked toward the girls' dormitory and noticed someone following her like a bound spirit, taking a step each time she did.

"Student Shen, is something the matter?" She turned back with a helpless look.

Shen Shouli smelled faintly of gardenias—he'd probably showered after training. The wind played with his soft, fluffy hair, which occasionally brushed over his light brown eyes.

His expression was odd.

"I know you said that on purpose back then. You didn't want me to fall behind with you," he mumbled, but he was close enough that every word landed clearly in Xu Lingqu's ears.

No, actually, it's because you'd just get in the way. She thought to herself but said nothing, adhering to the principle of provoking him once and leaving it at that—pushing too hard might make him bristle, which would be even more troublesome.

Shen Shouli pulled something from his pocket and handed it to Xu Lingqu.

Thinking it was something important, she took it and looked down—it was a nutrient supplement. She had no idea why he was giving her this now, but when she looked up to ask, he was already walking away.

What was Shen Shouli being so awkward about?

Xu Lingqu found it utterly baffling, but the question zipped through her mind and was quickly dismissed. Right now, what mattered more was washing up, resting, and figuring out whether the Siraec coagulant in the medical room could ease her muscle soreness.

Decoding the hearts of troubled boys could wait.

Xu Lingqu dragged her exhausted body back to the dorm. Lin Xiao and Liu Zheng weren't there, so she went into the bathroom to wash up herself. She got clean, but the soreness from overworked muscles was torturous.

After drying her hair, Xu Lingqu headed for the medical room. This time, Doctor Li only glanced up at her before immediately looking away: "Are you making this your home now?"

"Mm," Xu Lingqu said matter-of-factly.