Chapter Twenty-Six: The Ferocious Instructor
Chapter 26: The Ferocious Drill Instructor!
There were one hundred and twenty freshmen in the Department of Psychology, all present and accounted for without a single absence. Among them were twenty-two girls and ninety-eight boys. Because there were so few girls, their platoon was merged with the similarly girl-scarce School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.
The ninety-eight boys were conveniently split into two platoons, each with forty-nine members.
All majors were mixed together, so Tang Zhong, Li Yu, Liang Tao, and Hua Ming ended up in the same platoon.
Before the military training began, there was a brief orientation meeting, during which the university leadership and military officers would give speeches.
Thus, under the guidance of Lu Yifei, the temporary class monitor appointed by Li Qiang, the forty-nine members of Platoon One lined up in three horizontal ranks on the sports field, waiting for the arrival of the drill instructors and university leaders.
Freshmen from other departments had also gathered, ready to receive the leaders’ inspection and “spiritual encouragement.”
At eight o'clock, the reviewing stand began to fill with leaders. Military officers in caps and university administrators took their seats on the platform one after another.
A middle-aged man with glasses stepped up, tested the microphone, and then announced loudly, “Students, let us welcome President Wang Chiguo with a warm round of applause.”
The freshmen, curious about everything and a little excited to see the president of Southern University, were more than happy to offer their enthusiastic applause to the head of this prestigious institution.
An elderly man with a square face and commanding presence stood up, waved to the audience, and walked to the microphone set on the stand. With great authority, he declared, “Students, welcome to Southern University.”
Applause thundered through the crowd.
President Wang Chiguo gestured for silence and continued, “This year’s entrance exam was difficult, and the admission scores for Southern University were very high. The fact that you stand here today proves you have worked harder and sweated more than most. However, this does not mean that from now on you can rest on your laurels and sleep soundly. This is a new beginning. Only through even greater effort can you avoid falling behind your equally outstanding peers standing beside you. Today, I am proud of Southern University; tomorrow, Southern University will be proud of you. I hope each of you will achieve results that make Southern University proud.”
“Physical fitness is the foundation of revolution. It is also the foundation of learning. Military training is not just a test of your body, but also of your spirit. I hope that, under the instruction of these outstanding drill instructors we have specially invited, in a month’s time you will have gained not only a strong body, but also a fearless, resilient, and confident heart.”
“Once again, welcome to all of you.”
Another wave of applause washed over the assembly.
President Wang Chiguo then invited the military officer to speak.
When the officer finished his address, the month-long military training officially began.
A row of instructors in uniform strode onto the field. Their upright posture, handsome faces, and rugged demeanor drew wave after wave of squeals from the girls in the ranks.
After a stern talk from the military leader, the instructors quickly dispersed, each making their way to their assigned platoon.
Standing before the first platoon of the Psychology Department was a dark-skinned man, thin but clearly strong.
His eyes swept over the group as he barked, “Platoon One, all present—attention!”
Involuntarily, everyone straightened their backs at the command.
“At ease!”
Everyone relaxed again.
“Attention,” the dark-skinned man shouted once more.
Bodies tensed.
“At ease.”
Bodies relaxed again.
“Attention.”
——
Some of the students at the back began to grow impatient. Was the instructor just toying with them? He said nothing else, didn’t introduce himself, just kept repeating “attention” and “at ease.”
“Attention.”
“At ease.”
“Attention.”
“At ease.”
——
At first, everyone tried to cooperate, but soon the boys stopped moving. He shouted, but they just stood there lazily.
“It seems you know nothing about the military,” the dark-skinned man yelled. “As men, how can you not even stand properly at attention or at ease? At ease doesn’t mean you become limp noodles!”
“Instructor, you haven’t taught us yet,” someone called from the back.
“Instructor, as men, do you know anything about psychology?”
“Instructor, do you know about sexual psychology——”
The dark-skinned man flew into a rage. “Who said that? Step forward!”
No one moved. No one made a sound.
Clearly, the first encounter between instructor and students was far from pleasant.
“Fine. No one wants to admit it? No one wants to speak?” The instructor sneered. “All present—about face!”
Everyone turned their backs.
“Target: basketball court. Move out.” The instructor took the lead, and the forty-some boys in Platoon One were marched out to the bare concrete of the basketball courts, with not a tree in sight.
“My name is Li Tieshu. From today on, I am your instructor,” the dark-skinned man announced, standing before the platoon, his stern gaze sweeping over them.
A snicker escaped from someone.
Li Tieshu? What a rustic name.
“Laughing? What’s so funny?” the instructor snapped. He pointed at a boy in the middle of the second row. “You, step out.”
The boy tried to compose himself and walked carefully to the front.
“Was it you who laughed just now?”
“Instructor, I wasn’t laughing at you——”
“Silence,” Li Tieshu barked. “Now, I will teach you your first rule. When the instructor asks a question, your answer must be yes or no. Understood?”
“Yes, Instructor!” the round-faced boy called out loudly.
“Good. Since you love to laugh so much, you’ll do it in front of everyone for five minutes—timing starts now.”
——
The boy did not laugh.
“I said, the clock is running—laugh!” Li Tieshu’s hawk-like eyes fixed on him as he shouted again.
The boy’s eyes turned red and he began to cry.
“Pathetic,” Li Tieshu reprimanded. He didn’t let the boy rejoin the ranks just because he was crying. Instead, he watched his stopwatch intently. Only after five minutes did he shout, “Return to ranks.”
The boy hadn’t laughed, but he’d been made to cry in front of all his male classmates for five minutes.
When Li Tieshu swept his gaze over the platoon again, the boys deliberately avoided his eyes.
They realized now—this guy was a demon. He had countless ways to torment and provoke them.
“Now, I’ll teach you the second thing—rules,” Li Tieshu said in a low, stern voice.
Just then, several boys rushed over, trying to slip unnoticed into the ranks, causing a commotion.
Li Tieshu’s face darkened. He strode into the middle of the group, grabbed one boy by the shoulder and barked, “You. Step out.”
“You—, you—, and you—step out.”
With eagle eyes, he picked out all five boys who’d tried to sneak in late. Among them were Tang Zhong’s roommates, Hua Ming and Liang Tao.
Tang Zhong had shouted for them to wake up before leaving, told them not to be late. He hadn’t expected they’d sleep so long and miss even the orientation.
“Why are you late?” Li Tieshu barked.
“I woke up late——” one boy replied with a sheepish grin.
“I—, I was waiting for the bathroom——” another stammered.
“Report, Instructor, I was wrong,” Hua Ming replied, standing straight and answering loudly.
Li Tieshu gave Hua Ming a surprised look. “Excuses are not reasons for being late. You’re to run fifteen laps around the track.”
He then turned to the rest of the platoon. “Who are their roommates? Step forward.”
Thus, Tang Zhong, Li Yu, and five other unlucky boys stepped out.
Li Tieshu fixed his gaze on them. “As their roommates, why didn’t you wake them when you left? Is this the depth of your friendship? Now, you’ll join them—fifteen laps around the track.”
The three boys grumbled, trying to explain that they had called their roommates, but it was their own fault for not getting up and the instructor shouldn’t punish them.
Tang Zhong didn’t bother with such pointless arguments. He’d already started running with Li Yu, Liang Tao, and Hua Ming.
Tang Zhong understood well enough: a soldier’s only rule is to obey orders.
(P.S.: What I’m writing is about the little things that happen or might happen on campus. I quite like it, and I hope you will too. This is the third chapter today, dedicated to those who enjoy these mild-flavored stories. Of course, there will be stronger flavors to come.)