How far had she run?
How long had she been running?
How many laps had she circled around this damned camp?
Lin Yu couldn’t count how far, how long, or how many circuits she had completed, much less how many muscles in her body were throbbing with a dull ache.
It felt as if her very life had merged with this long-distance run; to stop would be to melt away like summer snow.
Everyone else had already dispersed, leaving her alone to continue her endless loops, her pace barely more than a walk.
Just how much longer, how much further, did she have to go? How much more time until the grueling ten laps of walking finally ended…
As Lin Yu passed that familiar tree for what felt like the hundredth time, a distant whistle pierced the air.
For a moment, she was transported back to the day she had been forcibly conscripted (TL Note: ‘Lā zhuàng dīng’ refers to being forcibly drafted into military service), kicked into a trench, and urged by some unknown sergeant, whistle clenched between his teeth, to launch a counter-charge.
“That’s enough. You’ve finished your ten laps.”
The Lieutenant’s voice seemed to descend from heaven itself; Lin Yu nearly collapsed, but before hitting the ground, she stumbled into someone’s arms.
She vaguely registered a more distant voice: “Help her to rest. Afternoon training will continue.”
Lin Yu, on the brink of unconsciousness, promptly fainted.
****
Regaining consciousness, she opened her eyes to utter darkness… or rather, she hadn’t opened them yet, which explained the blackness.
The sky was still bright; she lay beneath a canvas of blue and white, a soft object cradling the back of her head.
‘This is…’
Lin Yu sat up, pressing a hand to her forehead, bewildered by her current situation.
Within her line of sight, active figures moved, each clutching a rifle, repeatedly vaulting over various obstacles.
‘And me…’
‘Am I being placed under a tree?’
Turning her head, Lin Yu saw that the soft object beneath her was a neatly folded uniform jacket, emblazoned with an officer’s insignia.
The Lieutenant, now in short sleeves, stood with his hands behind his back in the distance, supervising soldiers as they leapt and bounded through the obstacle course.
It was clearly his jacket, placed there for her head.
‘That guy, so ruthless when making me run, and now he’s showing concern…’
She shook her hazy head, preparing to stand, but the moment she put weight on her leg, it cramped.
“Aghhhhhhh!”
An excruciating pain immediately shot through her calf, causing her to arch her back as she desperately tried to straighten her left leg to combat the agony.
Then her right leg began to ache as well.
Had anyone ever experienced both legs cramping simultaneously? The pain was so intense she wished to faint on the spot, yet she knew the agony would only jolt her awake again.
She wished desperately to vanish from the world then and there, to feel no more pain.
Ah, of course, it was nowhere near as painful as the gunshot wound she’d once sustained in her shoulder. Cramps wouldn’t truly kill a person, but bleeding profusely from a bullet wound certainly could.
Amidst her agony, which made her wish for death, a distant shout reached her ears: “Medic! Medic…”
‘Who’s calling for a medic? I’m just… wait, wait, wait? He seems to be calling for a medic for *me*?’
A large face abruptly entered Lin Yu’s field of vision, gently guiding her body back into a supine position.
“Are you alright, Lin Yu! The medic is coming right away!”
“…Yang Xi, are you an idiot? I merely have a cramp…”
The air suddenly grew thick with silence.
Soldiers practicing lateral jumps in the distance turned their gazes towards them, and the Lieutenant overseeing the training began to approach.
Jiang Yuan, the medic she had just met, sprinted towards the tree, clutching her surgical kit.
Meanwhile, Yang Xi, who had so loudly called for a medic, was now being pummeled by Lin Yu’s fists: “You made me embarrass myself in front of everyone! It’s all your fault, all your fault, all your—ow!”
Mid-pummel, her calf, which had only just begun to recover, cramped again, causing her to gasp sharply in pain.
“What did you say?”
Only then did Yang Xi realize that Lin Yu was not injured at all, merely suffering from muscle spasms in her calf.
Upon understanding the situation, he was compelled to explain it to the approaching Lieutenant and apologize to the medic who had been hastily summoned.
“I’m sorry, I overreacted. You can go back now.”
“Since I’m already here, couldn’t I just give her a massage to relax her muscles?”
This minor farce quickly concluded. Under the skilled hands of the senior medic, Lin Yu’s aching legs ceased to cramp.
The Lieutenant’s jacket returned to him, while Yang Xi was ordered back for additional training.
He had only been permitted to rest after passing his assessment, and during his break, he had found himself by the unconscious Lin Yu, witnessing the entire cramping episode after she awoke.
Lin Yu, leaning on Jiang Yuan, approached the Lieutenant and quietly posed a question: “What will I be training for later?”
“Looking at you now, any training would be a struggle. You can temporarily skip today’s session.”
“Thank you…”
‘Was it wrong to thank the officer who had just made her run ten laps?’
He waved Lin Yu off, allowing her to return to the barracks, before immersing himself once more in the arduous task of supervising training.
Lin Yu, supported by Jiang Yuan, limped back to her small quarters.
Just as she was about to collapse onto her bed for a much-needed sleep, Jiang Yuan caught her sleeve, admonishing, “You’re so dirty. Are you really not going to shower and change before you sleep?”
‘Ah, indeed. This bed was so comfortable and clean; lying on it with her sweaty, muddy body would certainly soil it.’
Mustering her strength against her utterly exhausted body, Lin Yu found a change of clothes and staggered out of the barracks.
“Wait a moment! Do you know where the bathhouse is?”
“…”
Once again, she was led elsewhere.
Nangong had once instructed the medic, who was taller than her, to show her around the area, but Lin Yu had been called for training before she could even begin.
During those ten laps around the camp, she certainly hadn’t possessed the leisure or inclination to observe the purpose of the surrounding buildings.
Where the bathhouse was, whether it was for men or women, or shared… she had no idea.
Honestly, if it were a co-ed bathhouse, she would rather go to bed without washing.
Fortunately, the engineers had the foresight and time to construct a separate bathhouse specifically for the medics and nurses.
The women of the field hospital frequently used this building, so it was situated on the side of the camp closest to the hospital; even now, a few nurses could be seen entering and exiting.
“You can go in by yourself. I won’t accompany you. Do you remember the way back?”
“Yes.”
“Enjoy your shower. Also, the bathhouse provides hot water.”
“Mm…”
Having been utterly exhausted and overheated earlier, Lin Yu felt little enthusiasm for a hot shower, even though the weather had grown considerably colder since her last visit to Commander Yang’s quarters to use his bathroom.
‘A bathhouse…’
In her previous life, during her university days, it was a place she wouldn’t dare to enter. Even paying for half a bucket of hot water to mix with cold for a toilet shower was preferable to going there.
Yang Xi’s words had been quite accurate: she was a Southerner, unaccustomed to the large, communal bathhouses common in the North.
This was on the night the shelling occurred, before darkness had fully fallen.
He had foolishly “invited” Lin Yu to shower, and after being rejected, was idiotic enough to assume her refusal stemmed from customs of the Shan’nei Province (TL Note: A fictional province, likely implying conservative or private bathing customs).
While that was indeed a contributing factor, the primary reason was his utter idiocy in failing to recognize Lin Yu’s gender—was being a little flat-chested really cause for such hurtful words?
Silently fuming, Lin Yu pushed open the door to reveal a long row of shelves for clothes. She walked to the furthest corner and began unbuttoning the top of her collar.