September 13, 1999, Monday.
"Soupy, the view over there looks great. Let's go check it out." As he spoke, Gao Xinglang took Guan Xuchen's hand and they strolled along the beach lined with coconut trees.
"Sure, Lang..." Guan Xuchen's cheeks flushed faintly, his heart racing, as he let Gao Xinglang lead him forward.
They walked for a while when suddenly, Gao Xinglang pulled Guan Xuchen under a coconut tree. He placed both hands on the trunk, trapping him in his embrace, and fixed him with an unyielding gaze.
Guan Xuchen felt his cheeks burning, his heart ready to burst out of his chest. He forced himself to stay calm and asked softly, "Lang, wh—what's wrong?"
Gao Xinglang didn't reply. Instead, he wore a smile warmer than the sun and leaned gently toward him.
Guan Xuchen closed his eyes...
Suddenly, he heard a commotion and felt someone give him a couple of light pushes.
Reluctantly, Guan Xuchen opened his eyes. Through the haze, he saw a clean-cut, bespectacled boy standing by his bed. Guan Xuchen spoke in a lazy voice, "Wen Yuwei (pron.: won yoo way), why are you guys up so early?"
The boy named Wen Yuwei smiled and replied, "Early? It's already half past five!"
"Huh? Half past five already?" Guan Xuchen quickly jumped out of bed. He instinctively reached for his military training uniform, only to realize he was already wearing it.
He then remembered that the night before, he and his roommates had discussed how they would have to gather at 5:45 a.m. for roll call and dorm inspection, and time might be tight. So they had all agreed to just sleep in their military training uniforms. The dorm windows had mosquito screens. And since it was still quite hot, mosquito nets and quilts were mostly unnecessary. So they had folded them up beforehand, planning to leave them that way for the next ten days or so.
Just then, Guan Xuchen saw a burly guy striding toward the door and asked curiously, "Shan Kai (pron.: shan kai), aren't you going to brush your teeth and wash your face?"
"Already did my morning stuff. Hurry up! We'll get ten push-ups for each minute late!" Shan Kai replied, flustered, and strode out of the dorm without looking back. The other guys followed right after.
Upon hearing that, Guan Xuchen rushed to the sink on the balcony, quickly brushing his teeth and splashing water on his face. He returned to the room and saw Wen Yuwei was still there, so he asked in confusion, "Wen Yuwei, why haven't you left yet?"
"Waiting for you. Hurry up," Wen Yuwei said, a little anxious.
"Thank you," Guan Xuchen said, then hurried out of the dorm with Wen. They went downstairs and ran toward the School of Foreign Languages (SFL).
When they reached the open area next to the SFL building, most of the other male students from the 1999 cohort were already there—and their six dormmates had arrived long before. The boys were chatting softly, while Instructor Ji Yunfei (pron.: gee yhoon fey), who was in charge of military training for the SFL male students of the 1999 cohort, and Counselor Fang Baochang (pron.: fang bow chang) from the SFL, were standing nearby with stern looks.
"Good morning, Instructor. Good morning, Counselor." Guan Xuchen and Wen Yuwei greeted them, then joined the formation to meet up with their six roommates.
Shan Kai said with a hint of schadenfreude, "Why are you two so late? Bet you'll end up doing push-ups as punishment."
Guan Xuchen pouted but said nothing. Wen Yuwei glanced at the instructor and counselor, then smiled nonchalantly and said, "Punishment or not, we're only a minute or two late. Might as well call it a workout."
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Love Me in Another Universe
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