Chapter 241: Change
She returned around nine o’clock, stretched lazily, and found some clothes to take a shower. There was still the damn military training tomorrow; she couldn’t sleep late. This period of time had really worn her out. Outdoor activities were definitely not for her. As soon as military training was over, she was determined to become a shut-in and not go anywhere.
“Linna, you’re back?”
When Fang Jiangning and the others saw her return, they all had strange expressions on their faces, their eyes filled with gossip.
“????”
Yu Linna couldn’t understand. What were these people up to?
“I say, that young master you went out with just now… your boyfriend?”
Xiao Yanhan coughed twice and asked.
Fang Jiangning glared at her, her eyes asking why she had to be so direct.
“Boyfriend? No. He’s a friend I met through work, I guess.”
Yu Linna denied it without hesitation, opening her closet to get her clothes. She wanted to take a shower. It was too uncomfortable to go out with someone without showering.
“Work? You mean you met him at a part-time job?”
“Something like that. Anyway, we’re not in that kind of relationship. You’re all thinking too much.”
Xiao Yanhan still didn’t believe it and wanted to ask more. Unfortunately, it was too dark at the time, and she hadn’t gotten a clear look at the young master’s face. If she had, she would have cried out, “Bai Chen-sensei!”
She was a die-hard fan of Wenqing.
“Linna, that’s not nice of you. How could you say he’s not your boyfriend?”
“I said I’m not dating. He’s just a friend I know. Besides, he’s not my type.”
“…”
Seeing her deny it without batting an eye, Xiao Yanhan wondered if this girl really didn’t have a boyfriend.
Yu Linna couldn’t be bothered with all that and went straight to take a shower. Why were these people so gossipy? How could she have a boyfriend? She didn’t even like guys.
“It seems she wasn’t lying. We were just too nervous.”
Lan Ranyan said.
…
Warm water flowed from her head to her toes, slowly covering her entire body. She lathered shampoo in her hands and washed her hair. As a girl, long hair was hard to manage, but loving beauty, she was unwilling to cut it. This resulted in her having to spend a long time managing her hair every time she washed it.
She looked at her hands, at the mirror in the bathroom, its surface already fogged up by the hot steam. She found that she couldn’t even see her own face clearly. She had lived here for eighteen years. She was used to what she should be used to, and had learned to get used to what she shouldn’t. But these years of life had made her heart lean more and more towards that of a girl. Sometimes, she almost forgot that she used to be a boy.
Look at her now. She didn’t mind wearing skirts, was willing to grow her hair long, felt that using skincare products was a normal thing, and even wearing female underwear and using sanitary pads felt normal to her, never feeling it was inappropriate. If it were her previous life, it would surely have been hard to accept.
But in her previous life, she had only lived for ten years. She didn’t even understand the basic concepts of gender differences, the distinction between men and women. What’s more, she had lived longer as a girl than as a boy. Wasn’t it normal for her mentality to lean more towards that of a girl?
It was precisely because of this that she would be pained and troubled by some insignificant things, just like a real girl.
If only she could forget about the matter with Ye Zhiyun. But that was obviously impossible.
…
Military training continued. On Weibo, there were more and more comments about which university Shion-sensei was attending and where he was undergoing military training. People were eager to know the true identity of this god-tier author who never showed his face. Shion-sensei had achieved a lot. In terms of his novels, he was already at a god-tier level, and in the future, he would surely become a supreme god. Plus, he himself had written a script for a TV series for a company, and was also responsible for the illustrations. With so many duties, he wasn’t distracted by them. This was already quite incredible.
Xiao Yanhan also often left comments on Weibo, and even messaged Shion-sensei, but Shion-sensei was the same as before, never replying to anyone.
“Sigh, when can I meet him in person?”
During a break, Xiao Yanhan sat under a large tree to cool off. The strenuous training these past few days had made her want to die. There wasn’t a single part of her body that didn’t ache. These drill instructors were all devils. If this punishment continued, she would die before school officially started.
Thinking about the people in their dorm, the only one who didn’t flinch when being trained by the instructor, or even when given extra punishment, was Lan Ranyan from Beijing. Not only was this girl’s military posture standard, but after a few days of training, she even walked with a soldierly air. According to her, she had often gone to the Children’s Palace to study as a child and had also exercised frequently, so these things were not difficult for her.
Next was Fang Jiangning. Although her training wasn’t as good as Lan Ranyan’s, it wasn’t bad either. The key was that she was great at performing her talents, and her singing was also good. It was said that this was because she was a popular streamer.
Then, there was Yu Linna and her. She and Yu Linna were both physical idiots. They had both fainted from heatstroke on the first day. And after a few days of training, they had been punished quite a few times. At the end of each day, they wished they could just lie in bed and not get up. But Yu Linna had one characteristic: she never complained of being tired or in pain. No matter what the instructor punished her with, she would grit her teeth and finish it. Once, she was punished to stand at attention under the sun. She actually stood there motionless for an hour. Although she fainted from heatstroke afterwards, she never told the instructor that she couldn’t hold on. Yu Linna later explained that she was used to hardship, and this punishment was nothing.
Thinking about it, she was the most useless one.
Poor stamina, weak body, can’t sing, and not strong-willed. Always complaining of being tired, always saying, “Reporting to the instructor, I can’t hold on.”
Sigh, I really am the most useless one in the whole dorm. Xiao Yanhan’s heart was filled with bitterness.
During breaks, she could only scroll through Weibo, looking at her idol’s posts to alleviate the pain in her heart.
Yu Linna sat next to her. She wasn’t looking at her phone, but her gaze was directed elsewhere, as if she were looking for someone. Following her line of sight, there was nothing there, just a new student class from another department undergoing military training.
“What are you looking at?”
“At a person.”
“Who?”
“Someone you don’t know.”
“Why are you looking at him?”
“To see if she’s there.”
“And what if he is?”
“I’m just looking.”
She had looked many times these past few days, but she had never seen her shadow. She had also wondered if she would come to military training. But in fact, she hadn’t. She should have known. This young miss had no need to undergo military training. With her family background, she could get into a good university abroad even without taking the gaokao. Did she need military training? Not at all.
But she was always so foolish, wanting to see if she was there, even though she knew it was impossible.
She had looked enough and was finally willing to avert her eyes. She no longer held any expectations.
The past will always become the past. The most important thing is to look straight at your own future. The past cannot represent everything, but the future can be changed through hard work.
During military training, there would naturally be a few ill-intentioned boys who would come up to chat, especially the boys from the same class, who were more obvious. They saw that the blonde Yu Linna was very beautiful, giving them a sense of déjà vu, like watching a female actress in an American drama. This made them eager to make a move.
“Hello, Yu-tongxue. I’m your classmate, Zhang Chunan.”
“Hello.”
“This damn military training is really tiring. The sun is so strong. It’s quite annoying, right?”
“Yeah.”
“After military training is over, I’ll take you to a cool place. I know a place with particularly delicious ice cream.”
“I appreciate your kindness, but you should go with your girlfriend.”
“It’s fine, take your time to consider. How about this? Let’s add each other on WeChat first and get to know each other slowly.”
She always politely refused them, but there would always be thick-skinned people who would pester her. These people were nothing more than interested in her appearance. How many of them truly liked her? She didn’t believe it.
Humans are just animals, animals that judge by looks. If you’re good-looking, you can have anything. If you’re ugly, then there’s nothing to say.
“Thank you, I didn’t bring my phone. I won’t add you.”
“Don’t be so cold. We’re classmates, after all. We’ll get to know each other sooner or later.”
“I said, no. Do I have to make it clear for you to understand? I don’t like persistent guys. If you want to get to know me, can’t you find another way? Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking?”
Yu Linna was a little angry and rebuffed him, making the boy holding the phone extremely embarrassed. He stood there, not knowing what to say. The other boys behind him were all laughing at him.
Yu Linna ignored them and sat back down under her tree. None of these people had sincere intentions towards her. They were nothing more than interested in her looks, wanting to get their hands on her. She wasn’t a fool; she could see it. She had said it before: she wouldn’t trust anyone, no one.
Fang Jiangning was taken aback by this. In her impression, she didn’t seem to be someone who would do such a thing. What’s more, with so many people here, to not give him any face at all, her tone was so direct. It wasn’t like her.
“Linna, are you in a bad mood?”
“No. I’m in a pretty good mood.”
“You’re lying again.”
Fang Jiangning sighed and sat down next to her. The Yu Linna of the past didn’t seem to lie much. She could be lured away with a cup of milk tea. But now, it seemed it wasn’t so simple anymore…
Compared to before, she smiled less. Although she would still smile occasionally, it always felt like the smile was forced.
“Have you changed, Linna?”
The blonde girl was stunned, then laughed self-deprecatingly. Perhaps. She had almost forgotten what she was like in the beginning. She had changed so much that she almost didn’t recognize herself.
“Maybe,” she said.
Yu Linna stood up and patted her clothes. At this moment, the drill instructor’s whistle blew, and everyone had to gather. The petite figure in the military uniform became more and more blurry. Fang Jiangning saw the familiar back that she knew slowly become a stranger.
During military training, Yu Linna still acted very ordinary, no different from everyone else. Besides being a little cold and having a gloomy look in her eyes, there didn’t seem to be anything special. Only Fang Jiangning knew that she had changed, had stopped loving to smile. She didn’t even know when it started, but this person had gradually become a stranger in her eyes.
But Yu Linna never felt there was anything wrong with her being like this. After all, people have to grow up.
