The freshmen spent an entire day completing a 40-kilometer march carrying 15-kilogram loads!

Upon returning to the base, everyone felt a deep attachment to the place. Even the male students weren’t finding it easy after walking 40 kilometers on mountain paths with heavy loads. Blisters had burst and stuck to socks, feet were so swollen they couldn’t remove their shoes… these were common sights after the trek!

The most unfortunate were certainly Ji Jiangyuan, Xiong Baiyan, and their companion – while others could rest and eat after returning to base, they still had to run 20 laps around the track!

Could they skip the running?

No way.

Leaving the group without authorization was wrong – there was no room for argument. If they had snuck back without being caught, that would have been one thing, but being caught red-handed and having to be rescued by the instructor left Ji Jiangyuan and Xiong Baiyan with nothing to say. Zhou Cheng hadn’t reported this to the school and only made them run 20 laps… perhaps this was a lenient punishment?

The three dragged their heavy feet around the track, showing some conscience by not trying to hide it from the school while letting Zhou Cheng take the blame. If they said the chief instructor had punished them with running, others would certainly be curious about the reason. If they refused to explain, wouldn’t it seem like the chief instructor was taking revenge for their previous challenge?

To keep it from the school, they had to say they chose to run voluntarily.

When asked, they gave the unified response: “To forge an iron will!”

After all, Ji Jiangyuan and Xiong Baiyan were already famous among the freshmen for challenging Zhou Cheng – they were considered the notable figures of the ’84 freshman class. As such figures, it was natural for them to have unique ideas, like feeling that a 40-kilometer-loaded march wasn’t challenging enough.

Military training was a process for freshmen to get to know each other, and standouts emerged among both male and female students. Besides the obvious freshman representative Ning Xue, there was Liu Huazheng from the School of Economics and Management, known for her artistic talents, and Xia Xiaolan, remembered for her looks – though Miss Xia strongly resisted this last point. Su Jing consoled her:

“Inner qualities are discovered gradually!”

Being beautiful wasn’t a fault, though it easily led to being labeled as eye candy. Since people hadn’t gotten to know each other well yet, Su Jing believed that if Xia Xiaolan had real ability, she would eventually shed that superficial image herself.

Take the military training “Outstanding Graduate” selection – it was based on performance during training.

With few mistakes, frequent praise from instructors, and excellent results in various training assessments – Su Jing thought Xia Xiaolan had a chance to compete for it.

Su Jing wasn’t jealous; some talents you either had or didn’t. She found aiming a rifle harder than solving problems – she just didn’t have that athletic ability!

Su Jing and Zhou Limin helped strategize, constantly discussing it with Xia Xiaolan, who had grown quite invested in the “Outstanding Graduate” selection. However, while she knew about the selection, she didn’t know the exact criteria.

Zhou Cheng had said that due to their relationship, he wouldn’t participate in the selection process for Outstanding Graduate.

If Xia Xiaolan was selected and their relationship came to light, it might be seen as manipulation.

The basic process was that each training company’s instructor would submit nominations for the school to decide.

Xia Xiaolan could only focus on doing her best, giving her all in every assessment. What she didn’t know was that with two days of training remaining, the list of Outstanding Graduate candidates had already been submitted to the school.

Among the female architecture students, Xia Xiaolan and Ning Xue’s overall scores were far ahead.

Their candidacy sparked discussion among the department’s teachers.

This year, the architecture department had only admitted 15 female students, yet the military training unit had put forward two candidates.

“Surprising that student Xia Xiaolan… performed so well in military training.”

“She’s quite attentive in class and has the right attitude toward studying. I heard she wants to transfer departments. Who spread that irresponsible rumor!”

“Oh? Teacher Lin, I thought you had issues with Xia Xiaolan.”

The English teacher, Lin, looked puzzled, “Why would I have issues with her?”

The questioner felt awkward, “People say you never call on Xia Xiaolan to answer questions in class. I wondered if there was some misunderstanding about this student. From my observation, she’s very serious about her studies. She ranked third nationally in the college entrance exam, right? This year’s national champion and third-place winners both chose Huaqing’s architecture department – that’s unprecedented!”

She was only 4 points behind Ning Xue’s total score.

While her architectural foundation might not match Ning Xue’s, her basic knowledge certainly wouldn’t be inferior. Entrance exam scores couldn’t completely judge a person’s ability, but between two students with a 40-point difference, there would be a significant gap. But 4 points? That’s just two multiple-choice questions – hardly worth mentioning!

Teacher Lin felt quite complicated hearing her colleague’s misunderstanding:

“I call on students to answer questions to gauge their English level… Student Xia Xiaolan got a perfect score on the English entrance exam, I already know her level!”

Beyond just entrance exam scores, the essays submitted showed that Xia Xiaolan’s English level was well above the average freshman.

Teacher Lin quickly turned to the calculus teacher, “Old Wang, you’re not doing the same thing, are you?”

Teacher Wang’s expression stiffened:

“She got a perfect score in math too. You’ve heard how difficult this year’s math exam was – barely anyone in the country got a perfect score.”

For assessment purposes, they already knew her abilities.

English and advanced mathematics were subjects where high school performance had direct continuity.

Teacher Wang needed to gauge everyone’s foundation in calculus to make detailed teaching plans. These teachers were all very responsible, not just lecturing from textbooks regardless of student comprehension. Understanding skill differences quickly would help avoid detours in planning. With limited class time, Teacher Wang could only call on a few students.

He felt Xia Xiaolan’s foundation was solid. Though Ning Xue’s total score was 4 points higher, it wasn’t from individual subject scores.

Ning Xue’s math score was notably lower.

With limited opportunities to call on students, Teacher Wang had temporarily put Xia Xiaolan at the back of the line. Her homework was always correct – what was the point of having her stand up just to give the right answer? Teacher Wang wanted to analyze cases where mistakes were made. Well, he might have paid extra attention to student Ning Xue.

But he certainly didn’t have anything against Xia Xiaolan!

Teachers Wang and Lin exchanged glances, proving their years of colleagueship with similar thinking.

“How could there be so many baseless rumors among new students? We need to investigate the source of this – we can’t let unfounded speculation continue!”

If their attitudes had lent credibility to these baseless rumors, both teachers would feel quite guilty.