Little Sweetheart

In the cafeteria, Xia Zhijun and his friends were sitting at a table, waiting for Gu Siyi to return with her food.

It's not just girls who gossip, boys do too!

Lu Jiaye asked, "What kind of gift did your sister give you?"

Su Han guessed, "Maybe a glass jar filled with origami cranes, little stars, or something like that?"

Zhou Xiao added, "Maybe a hand-stitched pillow? A handmade cup?"

Lu Jiaye turned to Xia Zhijun, who had been silent, "Azjun, what do you think it is? Aren't you curious?"

Xia Zhijun said calmly, "It doesn't matter what it is, as long as the thought is there."

Lu Jiaye clasped his hands together and bowed repeatedly, "Look at him, acting all cool and collected. As expected of a high-ranking official's son, I'm speechless!" Su Han and Zhou Xiao chuckled.

Gu Siyi arrived at the cafeteria, walked to their table, and placed a bag in front of Xia Zhijun. "I heard you like this a lot, so I prepared it especially for you."

"Wow, what is it? I don't even know what Azjun likes!" Su Han, who was sitting next to Xia Zhijun, immediately reached for the bag.

When several jars of spicy garlic sauce appeared before their eyes, everyone looked at each other. Lu Jiaye was the first to laugh.

He said while laughing, "This is so typical of Sister Yi, always so unconventional!"

"As long as the thought is there…" Su Han said, patting Xia Zhijun on the shoulder.

Zhou Xiao asked seriously, "Azjun, do you like to eat sauce?"

Xia Zhijun only ate these things at home and rarely outside because he was worried about having bad breath.

He really didn't expect Gu Siyi to bring him a few jars of sauce to school.

Gu Siyi said seriously to Xia Zhijun, "This was made by my aunt. The ingredients are all grown in the yard back home, with no pesticides or preservatives. The whole process is very clean."

Xia Zhijun nodded, "Thanks."

His tone was indifferent, and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

Gu Siyi observed his expression and asked, "You don't like it?"

Lu Jiaye quickly interjected, "Give it to me if you don't like it! I love it! For my dear sister, I'm willing to be a chili sauce boy! I'll eat everything with chili sauce, life is great!"

Gu Siyi ignored him and looked at Xia Zhijun again. "If you don't like it, I'll take it back. I like it."

Xia Zhijun looked at her with a half-smile, "Are you waiting for me to say I like it?"

"No, I just thought…don't force yourself." If someone didn't want it, it was better to keep it for herself. Besides, the food at school wasn't to her taste.

"I'm not forcing myself, I like it."

"Oh."

Xia Zhijun watched as the girl's face lit up and a smile touched his lips, "Happy now?"

"I'm always happy." Gu Siyi retorted, feeling inexplicably embarrassed.

Xia Zhijun noticed the slight redness of her earlobes beneath a few strands of hair and found it inexplicably cute.

It was breakfast time, and students were coming and going in the cafeteria. Many people secretly glanced towards Xia Zhijun's table.

Those students sitting further away whispered, "Unbelievable, Xia Zhijun actually eats with girls."

"Doesn't he hate it when girls get close to him?"

"Yeah, he wouldn't even drink the water offered by girls when he played basketball. Why is this girl an exception?"

"Could she be his new friend?"

"Impossible! Xia Zhijun even rejected the school beauty back then, saying he wanted to focus on his studies. He wouldn't date so soon."

"Then who is this girl? Could she be a friend of Lu Jiaye or Su Han?"

"No way! Jiaye is so handsome, and my Han is so gentle, why would they be with a girl like her?"

"Don't even think about it! My cool and arrogant Xiao Ge would never be with her either…"

…

Because there weren't many students in each class, several classes were combined for military training and divided into different platoons based on gender.

Gu Siyi was tall and stood at the very end of the girls' platoon.

Standing at attention under the scorching sun, more and more girls couldn't stand it as time went by.

Only Gu Siyi stood firm and steady. This wasn't just because of her good stamina, but also because she was preoccupied with Xu Na's matter and was a little slow to react.

It wasn't until the instructor walked over and praised her as an example that she snapped back to reality.

As the instructor walked away to talk to another instructor, Gu Siyi heard dismissive sneers from the ranks.

"She's from another school, showing off."

"So arrogant, fighting with senior sisters and acting innocent in front of Xia Zhijun."

"Isn't that right? Acting cute and clinging onto those boys…"

"Just relying on her looks…"

The girls in the front row whispered amongst themselves, and it was unclear who was speaking. Suddenly, Gu Siyi smiled and said to the air, "Just admit that I'm pretty, why be so obviously jealous?"

Soon, the instructor returned, and the training resumed.

The logistics team had prepared two boxes of mineral water for each platoon. When the instructor announced a break, everyone rushed towards the water like fish out of water.

Gu Siyi stood at the back of the line, waiting for everyone else to get their water before going over.

To her surprise, the two boxes were completely empty, not a single bottle left.

She glanced around, everyone was drinking water, how could she know who took more?

Gu Siyi let out a long sigh, a little irritated.

The training ground was quite a distance from the small shop near the cafeteria…

Having to run back and forth to buy water during the precious break time would tire her to death.

Enduring her thirst, she found a shady spot under a tree and sat down. A few girls who were originally sitting there glanced at her and moved to other places.

Gu Siyi sat cross-legged, her hands resting on her knees, silently hypnotizing herself.

I'm not thirsty, I'm really not thirsty, I'm not thirsty at all…

I'm really not thirsty at all!!

"Little Sis, are you chanting scriptures? Your skin looks terrible…"

Gu Siyi looked up to see Lu Jiaye squatting down, his eyes level with hers, looking at her curiously.

Her gaze moved upwards and landed on a bottle of mineral water.

And that bottle of water was being held in Xia Zhijun's hand.

"…Can I have some water?" Gu Siyi asked, her voice hoarse.

"This?" Xia Zhijun shook the bottle of mineral water in his hand.

"Yes." Gu Siyi nodded, her eyes shining.

Xia Zhijun hesitated for a moment, about to speak, when Gu Siyi quickly added, "Please, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I'm dying!"

Xia Zhijun: "…"

Taking the life-saving water, Gu Siyi unscrewed the cap and tilted her head back, gulping it down.

She finished the remaining half bottle in one go.

Looking at the girl's cherry-like lips, a hint of…embarrassment flickered across Xia Zhijun's eyes.

As Xia Zhijun was immersed in this indescribable emotion, Lu Jiaye noticed something was wrong and asked, "Didn't you get any water?"

"By the time I went to get it, it was all gone." Gu Siyi said helplessly. With her thirst quenched, her voice sounded clearer, not as dry and hoarse as before.

"Wait, Brother Lu will get you another bottle." With that, Lu Jiaye got up and left.

"Hey, no need…" Before Gu Siyi could finish her sentence, Lu Jiaye was already far away.

Xia Zhijun looked at Gu Siyi and said, "Next time this happens, come to us for water."

"Okay." The gloom from before was swept away, and Gu Siyi smiled, "Thank you for that half bottle of life-saving water just now. You saved me twice, I can't thank you enough."

He cleared his throat and said indifferently, "It's nothing."

By the time Lu Jiaye came back with the water, the break was almost over, and everyone returned to their respective platoons.

After replenishing her fluids, Gu Siyi was once again full of energy, standing out as the straightest little poplar in the ranks.

Whether it was standing at attention, saluting, or goose-stepping, she was the most standard, her posture tall and straight, her spirit full.

The instructor was very satisfied with her and praised her many times, even asking her to demonstrate in front of the platoon.

When the instructors gathered for a meeting, he instructed Gu Siyi to step out and lead everyone in training.

Facing these students, Gu Siyi said, "Everyone is a classmate in the same grade, let's get to know each other. We'll introduce ourselves by our numbers."

As the temporary little instructor, although the students were not convinced, they had to obey her commands. So, one by one, they began to report their names.

Gu Siyi's eyes scanned their faces one by one, listening carefully to their voices.

She clearly identified that the third and fourth students in the fifth row were the ones who had been whispering and badmouthing her earlier. Their names were Xu Jie and Shu Yu.

After everyone finished reporting their names, Gu Siyi arranged for them to practice goose-stepping row by row.

Those two girls' postures were really bad, and Gu Siyi felt that she was justified in picking on them.

Gu Siyi gave the order, "Xu Jie, Shu Yu, step forward."

The two were unhappy and hesitated.

"If you don't obey orders, I will report it to the instructor later."

The instructor was very strict in training, and the two were a little scared. They stepped forward while snorting disdainfully.

The weather in early September was still very hot, and even the occasional breeze carried a stifling heat.

The sun hung high in the sky, baking the students below.

After Gu Siyi had the two girls step forward, she ordered them to stand at attention.

One of them glared at Gu Siyi and muttered, "You did this on purpose! You're deliberately making things difficult for us!"

Gu Siyi didn't deny it, "If you're not convinced, go complain to the instructor."

Ignoring them, Gu Siyi walked to the front of the platoon and said, "The sun is too strong, let's move to a cooler place."

The students cheered with delight. No one dared to say anything when the instructor was there, enduring the scorching sun. The military training at Longxing was known for its strictness, designed to cultivate students' perseverance. Everyone was mentally prepared and could only endure it. They didn't expect that because of Gu Siyi, they would have this unexpected happiness.

Gu Siyi led everyone to a cooler place and said, "Relax on the spot, just keep the formation."

Then, she went to Xu Jie and Shu Yu, "Now I'm going to teach you how to goose-step."

These two were about to explode with anger. The other students were all resting in the shade, but they had to practice goose-stepping under the scorching sun.

Just as the two were about to lose it, Gu Siyi said with a cold face, "I don't care who you hang out with, I even dared to hit Xu Na, would I be afraid of you? The instructor asked me to lead the training, I have the right to give you orders. I also have the right to punish you if you disobey."

The two girls gritted their teeth and stopped talking.

So, Gu Siyi professionally found faults and amateurishly instructed, leading them through the goose-step over and over again.

In the distance, the other students were all watching this scene.

Someone whispered, "Seriously, Gu Siyi is not someone to be messed with, think twice before you offend her."

"I think Gu Siyi is pretty cool…"

"I was about to pass out from the heat, it's a good thing Gu Siyi brought us here."

"Gu Siyi is so bold, giving us a break like this, isn't she afraid of the instructor criticizing her later?"

"She seems to have a good relationship with Xia Zhijun? I saw her drinking his water earlier."

"If someone bullies her, Xia Zhijun will back her up, right?"

"Definitely, today the homeroom teacher made Gu Siyi stand as punishment, Xia Zhijun was helping her."

Gu Siyi had worn the two classmates out, but it was effective.

When the instructor returned, he saw the three girls practicing goose-stepping under the scorching sun. Gu Siyi explained that because the two girls were particularly bad at it and were affecting the entire platoon, she had singled them out for training.

All three were drenched in sweat, and the instructor encouraged them a few words before letting them rejoin the ranks.

At the end of the day's training, the instructor gave the order to dismiss.

Everyone dragged their tired bodies and dispersed.

Gu Siyi drank mineral water and slowly walked towards the cafeteria.

Xu Lin had already made herself clear, so naturally, she wouldn't embarrass herself by talking to them again.

When their eyes met occasionally, they simply looked away, treating each other as air.

Gu Siyi was carefree, but Xu Lin felt very awkward.

"Hey, Gu Siyi, are you going to the cafeteria?"

Gu Siyi stopped and looked at the two girls who were approaching. They were her classmates, Xiang Li and Zhang Xinyi, who lived in another dorm room and were also from another school.

"Yes." Gu Siyi nodded.

"Let's go together, we're going there too."

"Okay." Gu Siyi readily agreed.

Teenage girls like to hold hands even when going to the bathroom. Naturally, they were happy to have someone to eat with.

But because of what Xu Lin had said, Gu Siyi was a little worried. During the meal, she gave her phone number to her two classmates and said, "You know Xu Na, the senior student, right? She doesn't like me and might cause trouble for my friends. If anything unexpected happens, call me immediately."

The two girls were flattered and nodded repeatedly, feeling from the bottom of their hearts that this girl was so nice.

Xiang Li said with certainty, "Gu Siyi, I knew you were a good person."

Zhang Xinyi was a little angry, "We students from other schools must stick together so that we won't be bullied by their local forces."

Gu Siyi laughed, "It's not that exaggerated, some of the students here are very nice." Like Xia Zhijun and his friends.

That night, before going to bed, Gu Siyi deliberately put her phone next to her pillow and set three alarms in a row.

The next day, when the alarm clock on her phone rang, Gu Siyi was forced awake from her sleep.

She picked up her phone in a daze and saw that it was not even six o'clock yet. The morning jog was at six-thirty, it was still early…

She turned off the alarm, tilted her head, and fell asleep again.

Not long after, her phone rang.

It rang persistently, refusing to give up.

Gu Siyi picked up the phone, put it to her ear with her eyes closed, and mumbled with a thick sleepy voice, "Hello…"

Her voice was soft and sweet, with a hint of annoyance and grievance from being woken up.

A few minutes ago, as the boys were leaving the dorm, Lu Jiaye said, "I wonder if Little Sis is up yet, being late for military training means extra laps."

He took out his phone and dialed Gu Siyi's number, but before the call went through, the phone was snatched away by Xia Zhijun.

Then, Xia Zhijun heard the voice on the other end, like a kitten retracting its claws, gently pawing at someone with its soft pads.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

Love what you read?