Chapter Forty-Six: Are You Out of Your Mind?

Chapter Forty-Six: Are You Out of Your Mind?

“Hurry, hurry, hurry. Four bottles of iced green tea,” Hua Ming tapped the counter, signaling the staff at the campus supermarket to quickly hand him the drinks. Since the refrigerator was behind the cashier, they couldn’t grab the drinks themselves.

“No iced drinks,” Tang Zhong intervened, saying, “Just four bottles of room-temperature mineral water will do.” As he spoke, he had already placed four yuan on the counter. He then explained to Hua Ming, “After being exposed to the sun, when your body temperature is extremely high, it’s best not to drink cold beverages—it’s very damaging to your health.”

“Hey, I used to do that all the time. Every time after playing ball, I’d down a bottle of iced green tea or herbal tea—that’s the real pleasure.” Though he said this, Hua Ming still took the mineral water handed to him by the staff, twisted off the cap, and gulped it down.

Tang Zhong said nothing further, took his own bottle, opened it, and sipped it slowly.

Today’s sun was merciless, even Tang Zhong felt dizzy and muddleheaded from the heat.

He knew his own stamina well; even he felt his body might collapse if this continued, so the other students would be even less able to endure it. Take Li Yu, for example—she still couldn’t speak normally, only opening her mouth to pour in mineral water, drinking so fast she choked and tears streamed down her face.

It was precisely for this reason that Tang Zhong risked the instructor’s punishment and called out “dismissed.” He hadn’t expected some people to refuse his gesture—since that was the case, Tang Zhong saw no reason to insist.

He had already told them feces stinks, yet if others still chose to eat it instead of meat, that was their own affair.

After drinking some water, the four of them sat beneath the shade at the school gate for a while, finally feeling a bit more comfortable. Li Yu recovered enough to speak normally.

Hua Ming, craving something sweet, went to buy four boxes of bird’s nest ice cream. This time, Tang Zhong did not refuse and joined them, taking a box and eating alongside his friends.

“Should we go check on them?” Liang Tao said anxiously. “We’ve been away so long, what if the instructor came already?”

Hua Ming grew nervous too, saying, “We won’t get punished by running twenty laps around the field, will we? I’d rather he stabbed me on the spot—I just can’t run anymore. If he tries, I’ll collapse and pretend to have heatstroke. You guys help carry me to the hospital, okay?”

“Let’s go take a look,” Tang Zhong stood and said.

Of the four in dorm 307, Tang Zhong was the second oldest, but he was the absolute core of the group. Usually, once he made a decision, the others wouldn’t object.

The four, carrying their ice cream, ate as they walked toward the training field. When they arrived, they found Instructor Li Tieshu still absent. Many of the boys, just like Tang Zhong and his group, had long since reached their limit. Some bought drinks and ice cream to enjoy, others sat beneath distant trees, resting in the shade—

But Lu Yifei and a dozen students still stood in the blazing sun, like a few bright poplars on the Gobi Desert.

Tang Zhong glanced at them, then walked straight to the shade at the edge of the field. He wasn’t foolish enough to stand out there again.

The other boys saw Tang Zhong approach and gathered around him to chat.

“Tang Zhong, where’s the instructor? Why hasn’t he showed up yet?”

“Yeah, you think he’s hiding somewhere, spying on us? Is he going to jump out and make us stand for another two hours?”

“—You’re the class leader, always more impressive than the rest of us—”

———

Because Tang Zhong was the first to call “dismissed,” he had become the “benchmark” in these students’ minds. Perhaps they hadn’t consciously noticed the shift, but subconsciously, they had begun to follow his lead.

And since they were all “escapees”—meaning they were all in the same boat—if the instructor showed up, they would all be punished. So, naturally, they united with Tang Zhong.

They thought Lu Yifei’s behavior was fake and pretentious, not blending with the masses. If the instructor came and saw them resting while Lu Yifei obeyed orders and held his ground, wouldn’t that make their own actions look even worse?

Tang Zhong chatted and laughed with them, but didn’t join in criticizing Lu Yifei.

Lu Yifei’s choices were his own. Tang Zhong had no right to interfere in others’ lives.

Seeing Tang Zhong eating ice cream, sitting in the shade with a group of boys, some even eagerly offering him seeds and fruit—almost celebrating with beer—Lu Yifei’s mood worsened, jealousy burning fiercely in his heart.

Lu Yifei was almost at his limit, his calves weak, barely able to keep from collapsing.

But he had to persist.

He had to hold out until Instructor Li Tieshu arrived.

He wanted everyone to know his choice was the right one.

He wanted to witness Li Tieshu punish Tang Zhong’s group, making those who followed Tang Zhong’s “escape” suffer together—then they would realize following Tang Zhong was a mistake, and they should have stood with him.

Time passed, and Lu Yifei grew weaker. He felt dizzy, as if countless flies buzzed around his ears—

“Thud—”

He heard something fall.

Then he heard Tang Zhong shout.

“Someone’s fainted. Help—”

Someone fainted?

Lu Yifei wondered. Who was it?

He tried to look, but as he turned, his body collapsed to the side.

Darkness enveloped him, and he lost consciousness—

———

———

When Lu Yifei opened his eyes, he saw the light overhead.

“So it’s already night,” he thought. Looks like I slept a long time.

He tried to speak, but his throat was parched. He wanted to say something but couldn’t make a sound.

“Want some water?” It was Counselor Li Qiang’s voice.

He nodded.

Quickly, Li Qiang poured him a large cup of warm water. Supported by two male students, he sat up and gulped down several mouthfuls.

His dry body soaked up the water, and the burning anger in his heart subsided. At least his throat no longer felt like it was on fire.

“What happened to me?” Lu Yifei asked.

“You had heatstroke,” Li Qiang said, expressionless. “We gave you a few bottles of water, replenished some fluids and salt. The doctor said you’re fine now, but you need to rest.”

“What exactly happened?” Lu Yifei asked, thinking, Why hasn’t Teacher Li Qiang praised me yet? I braved the sun, didn’t desert, obeyed the instructor’s order to the last moment, until I collapsed—what spirit is this? What awareness? They should make me a model for the freshmen.

Lu Yifei decided to steer the conversation that way, saying, “Where’s Instructor Li Tieshu? He gave the order to stand at attention, then disappeared—”

“Instructor Li Tieshu fell ill. Acute gastritis,” Li Qiang said. “He’s already fine now.”

Li Tieshu suddenly felt stomach discomfort, thought he needed to use the toilet. After giving the students the order to stand at attention, he rushed to the library restroom beside the field. Unexpectedly, once he squatted, the symptoms did not ease; instead, his stomach began to cramp violently.

Soon, the cramps turned into unbearable pain. A teacher working in the library entered the restroom, heard the instructor groaning, and called for help to take him to the hospital—

Because of this, he couldn’t return to tell the class “standing at attention is over.”

Lu Yifei, wanting to use the situation against Tang Zhong, led a group of students to suffer under the sun.

“Acute gastritis?” Lu Yifei was stunned. They had guessed the instructor might be spying on them in the shade, but it turned out this was the real reason he never appeared.

“Yes,” Li Qiang said. “Besides you, two other students also had heatstroke. They’re awake now, resting in their dorms.”

“As long as everyone’s fine,” Lu Yifei said with ‘relief’. Looks like that reward won’t come any time soon.

“Are you Lu Yifei, the class leader of Class One?” a burly voice suddenly called out.

“Yes,” Lu Yifei replied, looking at the big man in uniform standing behind Li Qiang.

“Tell me, are you out of your mind?” the big man scolded bluntly. “The instructor wasn’t there, and as class leader, you didn’t call for dismissal? Instead, when a student did, you led a bunch to tough it out—have you studied yourself stupid? Can’t you use your brain? How was it, did being a hero feel good?”

Li Tieshu’s sudden stomach pain was an emergency—no one could blame him, not even military officials. But because of Lu Yifei’s “foolish” behavior, three students in his class fainted from heatstroke. And the reason they fainted was that Instructor Li Tieshu hadn’t issued the dismissal order—

Now, Li Tieshu not only had to endure his illness, but also take responsibility for the students’ heatstroke.

The big man was Li Tieshu’s comrade, sent by the unit to check on the sick students.

But having learned the full story, he couldn’t bring himself to treat Lu Yifei kindly—

Thinking of what Li Tieshu might face, anger welled up, and he couldn’t help but curse at the boy.

“I—” Lu Yifei felt infinitely wronged, wanting to explain. His eyes stung, and tears flowed.

Li Qiang patted his shoulder, saying, “Don’t be upset. You didn’t want this to happen—”

He continued, “Tang Zhong said to dismiss, why didn’t you listen? If you had, none of this would have happened.”

“—”

Lu Yifei knew that Li Qiang, though he didn’t say it outright, was blaming him too.

Thinking this way, he cried even harder.