Xia Xiaolan couldn’t even sense Wang Jianhua and Xia Ziyu watching her!

Among the countless people in the alley, the streets had already been sealed off and secured, while the honor guard continued their final rehearsal. They’d been brought here by school bus at 2 AM to prepare, though the official parade performance wouldn’t be until 10 AM.

Those intervening hours couldn’t be wasted – they had to continue practicing intensively.

Someone shouted through a megaphone:

“Huaqing honor guard, listen up! You’re right after the national flag, emblem, and anniversary year vanguard! The ceremony officially starts at 10:00. Huaqing’s honor guard will be followed by Beijing University. Maintain our usual training pace and movements. Everyone, let’s run through it once more. Don’t slack off – treat this as the actual performance…”

Indeed, no one dared slack off.

In Beijing’s October, even Mount Xiang’s maple leaves had turned red, with autumn’s chill especially noticeable in the early morning.

But at this moment, no one felt cold.

Everyone’s hearts were burning with excitement.

Huaqing’s honor guard was positioned nearly at the front, and the attention they received was predictable.

The honor guard’s precise movements made the parade contingent look amateur – one side maintained strict discipline while the other had students from different schools chattering and milling about. Xia Xiaolan stood at the edge of the front row, a prime position that Huaqing’s supervising teacher had carefully deliberated before finally assigning to her.

The wide shots aside, for close-ups, whoever stood on Huaqing’s outer circle was guaranteed to catch the eye!

Beijing University’s contingent leader looked glum – this was too calculated!

Where had Huaqing found so many male and female students with flawless height and bearing? Especially the front row, filled with beautiful girls. Fresh-faced without makeup, radiating youth, their white uniforms embodying student vigor.

It seemed almost unfair – as brother institutions, everyone knew each other’s situations.

How could Beijing University’s leader have known that Huaqing, to gather enough “presentable faces,” hadn’t spared even the newly-enrolled ’84 freshmen, pulling them straight from military training camp with just minimal preparation?

Stage fright?

Nonexistent!

The supervising teachers had drilled it into them repeatedly: “You are the elite, showcasing Huaqing students’ character. No one marches better than you. This is pride, a tribute to our nation’s 35th anniversary!”

A line of long legs, straight backs, and squared shoulders, uniformly dressed in white, standing in perfect formation – a sight for sore eyes!

Paying tribute to the motherland, showing the whole nation how magnificent the new generation of university students was!

The teachers had moved themselves to tears, and the students were equally excited.

Xia Xiaolan knew her position was deeply envied by Yang Yonghong, her dorm head.

But envy wasn’t jealousy – the senior encouraged her not to let down Room 307!

This sentiment echoed the Architecture Department’s hopes for Xia Xiaolan and Ning Xue. Though they had few female students, their quality was high. Out of just over 20 female students selected from the ’84 class, Architecture claimed two spots – remarkable considering they only had 15 female students total!

Shan Yujun from the freshman welcoming committee was also in the honor guard.

Senior Shan had been training from the start, also positioned near the outside but not in the front row – she was carrying a placard.

Many were carrying placards, small pieces that would form a giant map of the motherland.

Whether in the front row or not, everyone felt equally proud and honored. Their class had coincided with this grand occasion – the first major National Day celebration since the 10th anniversary in 1959, 25 years ago. The honor guard was just the prelude, followed by the grand military parade… They had lucked into such a momentous event, something they’d still feel excited about decades later!

Xia Xiaolan felt something surging in her chest.

A seed planted since military training had taken root and sprouted, now ready to bloom. Standing beside her wasn’t Ning Xue, but Liu Huazheng from Economics, a cultural icon known for her graceful figure, singing, and dancing, highly popular among freshmen.

After one round of practice, Liu Huazheng’s excited face glowed: “Good thing I didn’t go to the Dance Academy, or I wouldn’t be in the honor guard…”

Xia Xiaolan’s cheeks twitched, reluctant to chat with these academic stars. Like Su Jing, who loved painting and dreamed of the Central Academy of Fine Arts but came to Huaqing instead. And Liu Huazheng, who’d considered the Dance Academy but also chose Huaqing – talented in many ways and brilliant too. Xia Xiaolan truly admired them.

Liu Huazheng’s outgoing personality and artistic romanticism had made her more familiar to Xia Xiaolan in three days of training than classmate Ning Xue, who rarely spoke. Of course, Liu Huazheng knew Xia Xiaolan neither danced nor sang well, disappointing her hopes of recruiting Xia Xiaolan for the university’s cultural troupe. The troupe included a military band, folk music, accordion, choir, dance, and drama teams, but unfortunately, Director Xia excelled at none of these.

Though she had sales experience, she’d never needed to sing karaoke with clients – being less attractive, customers had never requested it.

She’d never had the opportunity to learn.

Getting an education was hard enough – could she expect her aunt to send her to the children’s palace for arts training?

Xia Xiaolan hadn’t been that greedy.

As the final rehearsals continued and dawn approached, the scattered parade contingent was gathered together. Students from different schools had even exchanged bouquets, frustrating their supervisors – why couldn’t they maintain discipline like the honor guard?

Xia Xiaolan and Liu Huazheng adjusted each other’s ceremonial caps. Youth was indeed wonderful – they remained energetic despite staying up all night.

Liu Huazheng nudged Xia Xiaolan’s arm, “Look at the parade contingent – those two have been watching you for ages. Are they from your hometown?”

Standing at the prominent edge position, Xia Xiaolan mostly faced away from the parade contingent. With no one on her other side, she could only turn to talk with Liu Huazheng. At her prompting, she finally looked – what hometown folks? It was just Wang Jianhua and Xia Ziyu!

So they were participating in the Tiananmen celebration too?

Looking at their pitiful state – too bad Normal College didn’t organize an honor guard, forcing Wang Jianhua and Xia Ziyu to eat dust behind her.

Never mind how well Xia Xiaolan was doing at Huaqing, compared to Wang Jianhua and Xia Ziyu… wait, why should she lower herself to their level?

Xia Xiaolan flashed them a smile, not even bothering with contempt.

Wang Jianhua’s roommate exclaimed, “The most beautiful one in Huaqing’s formation, the one who looks like a movie star, just looked this way!”

Xia Ziyu nearly ground her teeth to powder.

Wang Jianhua wondered how Xia Xiaolan could be doing so well.

He had previously thought Senior Liu Shan resembled Xia Xiaolan somewhat, but upon this reunion, he realized even that slight resemblance was his imagination.

Xia Xiaolan was doing too well, seeming to have left him far behind!