After placing the insoles, Qin Tian stood up, took two steps in place, and looked at Xia Nuannuan beside him with a hearty smile.
"It's much more comfortable, thank you."
"You can buy them yourself later."
Xia Nuannuan turned her head away and said, her face blushing.
"Huh? I'm a grown man, going to the supermarket to buy these? Isn't that inappropriate?"
"What's inappropriate about it? The shop owner will know what you're buying, and besides, when others have inconvenient moments, their boyfriends still go and buy them for them!"
"Then I can too, but buying them for myself... cough cough, I mean as shoe inserts, it still feels a bit strange."
"Anyway, you figure it out yourself, I'm not carrying them anymore. Look over there, Shen Siqi and the others are laughing at me."
"They're just a bunch of singles, just ignore them!"
Qin Tian said dismissively.
Xia Nuannuan playfully rolled her eyes at him, and then the two walked towards their classmates.
"Good afternoon, instructor."
As Qin Tian approached, he greeted them with a smile.
"Good afternoon!"
Qi Hong nodded, then glanced down at the shoes on his feet, a playful smile appearing on his face.
"My girlfriend taught me, it's more comfortable this way," Qin Tian said with a slightly awkward smile. He wasn't surprised that the instructor noticed, as he had trained many batches of university freshmen and naturally knew this little trick.
"Mm, it's indeed a good method, but they tend to come out easily when you run," Qi Hong said with a smile, speaking from experience.
"Did you use them too, instructor?" Qin Tian suddenly asked.
Qi Hong's smile froze for a moment, and he flatly denied, "No, only you students use this during military training. It's not allowed in our army."
"Is that so?" Qin Tian looked at him, unconvinced.
"Cough cough..." Qi Hong placed his fist by his mouth and cleared his throat, saying sternly, "It's almost time, you gather the formation!"
"Yes!" Qin Tian responded with a smile, stepped forward, and first asked everyone to put their phones aside. Then, in sync with the instructor's assembly whistle, he quickly organized the class formation.
"We'll review the morning's movements, then stand at attention for ten minutes. If everyone performs well, we'll have a break directly." The instructor, with his hands behind his back, first stated the plan and then issued instructions.
Stand at ease, attention, look left, look right, turn front, back, left, and right. After a set of movements, the formation became more orderly.
"Alright, ten minutes of standing at attention, begin timing now!" As the instructor gave the order, he pressed the stopwatch on his wrist to start the timer. The classmates immediately stood up straight, chest out, and held a rigid posture, motionless.
The afternoon sun baked the training ground fiercely, making the entire area feel like a low-power oven. Everyone could feel the heat from the ground through their military training shoes. Drops of sweat appeared on everyone's foreheads, tracing paths down their cheeks and noses, causing an itchy sensation that made them instinctively want to raise their hands to scratch.
"Don't move! I can see anyone who moves. For every movement, two minutes will be added!" Instructor Qi's eagle-sharp gaze swept across everyone, making those who were about to make small movements immediately abandon their intentions, forcing themselves to endure the discomfort.
The surrounding formations soon entered the state of standing at attention. The vast training ground was silent, save for the sharp cicada chirps from the trees in the summer afternoon. A gentle breeze blew, but it offered little coolness. Instructor Qi also stood facing the students, his posture as straight as a pine tree rooted in the ground, unmoving.
The short ten minutes, which would normally feel like a brief break, now seemed extremely long and arduous for many students. Their minds were filled with the same thought: How could ten minutes be so long? Had the time already passed?
Qin Tian, standing slightly to Xia Nuannuan's right, remained motionless and cast a concerned glance at her.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, not tired."
"Amazing, keep going, keep going!"
"Don't worry, I can do it."
The two exchanged silent glances with perfect understanding. This, however, was torture for the girls on Xia Nuannuan's left and right, who were not only physically tired but also mentally tormented by the pair.
Most of the students present had not experienced military training in high school. Standing at attention for the first time, they found it unexpectedly tiring. Coupled with the heat, it intensified the physical and mental exhaustion. After just five minutes, some began to falter, especially with the throbbing pain in their heels, which made some secretly shift their feet.
"You, third row, fifth boy from the right, step out." Instructor Qi glared at a certain male student and reprimanded him sternly. The boy's face paled in surprise. The surrounding classmates instinctively wanted to look at who it was, and even more so to take the opportunity to move.
"Me?" The boy pointed at himself, feigning a look of bewilderment.
"That's right, it's you. Why are you moving? Step out!" Instructor Qi intensified his tone and commanded loudly.
"Instructor..."
"This is the third time. I don't want to hear any explanations, I told you to step out!" Instructor Qi shouted expressionlessly, directly interrupting the boy who was trying to argue. Including the boy, all the students felt a tremor of fear. The boy stepped out with his head down, walking nervously towards Instructor Qi.
"Fifty push-ups, begin!" Instructor Qi cut to the chase and directly administered the punishment. The boy said nothing more, immediately prostrated himself, and began doing push-ups with visible effort.
"I told you, I can see your little movements very clearly. So don't try to get lucky."
"Also, I'll reiterate, and this is the last time: obedience to orders is paramount for a soldier. During future training, whatever instructions I give, your only responses will be 'yes' or 'no'."
"Even if I happen to be wrong, you will carry it out first." After speaking, Instructor Qi raised his wrist and glanced at the timer. The moment the ten minutes were up, Instructor Qi immediately announced a ten-minute break for everyone to rest, drink water if needed. The classmates immediately slumped over with sighs of relief. Some boys even sat directly on the ground, unconcerned about the hot surface.
"I can't, I can't anymore. My feet hurt so much, they feel like they're going to break."
"Me too. Standing at attention is this tiring? It's more tiring than the morning's movements!"
"Nonsense, standing at attention is definitely the most uncomfortable."
"The sweat on my face was so itchy, thankfully I held back."
"I really want to go back to the dorm and cool off in the air conditioning. This is just the first day, when will it end!"
... Many students complained with crestfallen faces, one after another. Beside Instructor Qi, the boy who was punished was still doing push-ups, his movements becoming more labored and slower.
"Tian Ge, do you want some water?" Xia Nuannuan, holding the pink water bottle she had brought, asked loudly towards Qin Tian after rehydrating herself.
"Yes, give me some, I didn't bring water!" Qin Tian nodded with a smile.