Chapter 15

The sea waves surged, casting a hint of duck-egg yellow. Soon, the daylight brightened, and the golden sands sparkled. The sunrise on the island always came early. Ever since Qin Yao arrived on the island, she hadn't been particularly attached to her bed.

She rose early, and there wasn’t much to pack from the night before. She was set to attend a nursing training program where clothes and various daily necessities would be provided by the authorities. All she needed to bring was herself.

Chen Baozhen felt a deep sense of reluctance. Qin Yao would be away for at least two or three months for the training, and Chen could only visit her every once in a while. Despite being on the same island, her husband Gao Jianguo and her best friend Qin Yao could only see each other every few days. It was truly frustrating!

With the large group, Qin Yao obtained her medical checkup form at the hospital. Nurse Ge, the head nurse, pulled her aside and spoke gently, “The training is tough. The physical training isn’t as intense as the new recruits’, but you’ll also have medical classes. It’s not just physical exhaustion but also mental and cultural challenges. The schedule is tight. If you can’t handle it, there’s no shame in quitting.”

“Doctor He asked about you yesterday. If you were to marry Doctor He, you’d become a military family member. When there’s an opening, we could arrange an administrative position for you at the hospital…”

Nurse Ge had already calculated in her mind that Qin Yao wouldn’t last. There were easier paths, so why endure such hardship?

Qin Yao shook her head. “Nurse Ge, I will persevere. Wait and see me at the hospital.”

Nurse Ge looked at her in surprise.

The young girl stood there, still plump and fair, but slightly thinner than before. Her soft, white cheeks, tinged with a light pink, were lustrous and beautiful.

Ge had assumed Qin Yao had a pampered personality and wouldn’t be able to handle the hardship, expecting her to cry for her parents after just a few days of fatigue. But the determination and fearlessness in her eyes now made Nurse Ge think of a spirited young woman galloping on horseback, full of vigor.

Hadn’t this girl come to the island to visit her friend and find a good match? Why was she so focused on her work now?

After submitting her medical report, Qin Yao boarded a bus with a group of young girls to a communal dormitory. The dormitory, as large as a classroom, had more than a dozen connected bunk beds, accommodating over thirty people, all young girls.

There were twenty-six of them, leaving a few empty beds that were used for storing luggage.

Soon, a stern woman in her twenties, wearing a military uniform, entered. She was their instructor, surnamed Li. She emphasized that unnecessary items couldn’t be piled on the empty beds, and the rest of the luggage was locked away in another room.

Though they weren’t female soldiers, they would undergo the same training as the female recruits for a period.

Qin Yao chose a middle upper bunk. The girl in the next bed, with a striped short haircut, a diamond-shaped face, short and dark, greeted Qin Yao proactively. “You’re also from the island? Your skin is so fair.”

“I’m not from the island. I’m from the north.”

Qin Yao’s skin was exceptionally fair. Zhou Jingjing extended her arm to compare, and the contrast was striking.

“Qin Yao.”

“Zhou Jingjing.”

They exchanged names and finished organizing their belongings, preparing to head to the cafeteria together.

Zhou Jingjing, who had grown up on the island, with her parents working in the rubber plantation, was a cheerful girl around the same age as Qin Yao.

“We train with the female soldiers, and the male soldiers are nearby. Though the boundaries are clear, we can still see them. People from all over... I’ve seen some who are tall and handsome…” Zhou Jingjing whispered to Qin Yao, as an unmarried girl would, unable to help but notice the handsome young men.

At the cafeteria, Qin Yao spotted Tian Shuyun, who had also signed up to be a nurse. Tian Shuyun saw her but snorted and didn’t greet her.

After the meal, they each received two sets of new clothes: blue and white sailor training uniforms. The blue pants, white tops with blue-and-white striped sleeves, and caps with a white top and blue bottom, along with brown leather belts, made them look very spirited.

“The clothes are so big and loose.”

While the other girls remarked on the size of the clothes, Qin Yao had already quietly put hers on. With her braids hanging in front of her chest, her delicate eyebrows, clear peach-blossom eyes, and bright red lips, she looked both youthfully handsome and captivating.

“Qin Yao, you… you’re so beautiful.” Zhou Jingjing stared, amazed. The loose, oversized clothes blurred her figure, but Qin Yao’s full, fair cheeks were extraordinarily beautiful.

The other girls in the dormitory also shifted their gazes to Qin Yao.

“She’s so fair.”

“She’s so chubby. Her arms are so thick and white. They’re twice the size of mine.”

“That’s because you’re too thin!”

Instructor Li frowned when she saw Qin Yao. Her appearance, which seemed like she couldn’t handle hardship, made her a person of concern. She would need extra attention during training.

The training days were tough. They woke up before dawn for morning exercises, endured the grueling five-kilometer run, stood at attention, and marched in formation. By midday, when the sun was high, they returned indoors for classes. The island sun was too intense to stay outside for long; it could be deadly.

They also had to raise pigs and grow vegetables.

After a week, Qin Yao had noticeably slimmed down, her figure more toned, as if she had been in a weight-loss boot camp. Chen Baozhen visited her once, bringing many delicious treats, which Qin Yao shared with Zhou Jingjing and a few others.

Qin Yao didn’t find the training particularly hard. She planned to lose weight over the next month or two, so the change wouldn’t seem abrupt. When she was with Chen Baozhen, she had benefited from a "goodwill" system cheat, eating without gaining weight, but her slowly slimming figure had raised suspicions among those around her.

Losing weight with the cheat was comfortable, but it also drew too much attention.

“Qin Yao, come this way. Let’s watch the male soldiers run.”

Zhou Jingjing pulled Qin Yao outside to watch the male soldiers train. In the evening, as the sun half-sank into the sea, the male soldiers ran towards the setting sun. The golden light bathed them, making them look like solemn statues.

These young men, around seventeen or eighteen, with their short hair, were undeniably pleasing to the eye.

“What are you looking at? Want to be soldiers too?” Two female medical orderlies, chins raised, walked past them with a hint of pride.

In those days, joining the military was no easy feat. It required quotas and a good family background. Being assigned to the navy was even harder.

The female medical orderlies trained alongside them, but there was a clear distinction.

Their nursing auxiliary team was essentially temporary staff trained by the large hospitals. The female medical orderlies, on the other hand, were regular staff who would be assigned to various battalions after training.

Thus, they felt a sense of superiority over the nursing team.

Zhou Jingjing was about to retort, but Qin Yao pulled her back. After the two medical staff left, Zhou Jingjing grumbled, "What’s there to be so smug about?"

"Yeah, we’re doing just fine. They might even be envious of us."

Zhou Jingjing was taken aback. "Ah, why?"

"After our training, we’ll start working at the Military Hospital. They don’t even know where they’ll be assigned yet." Qin Yao didn’t have any grand ambitions for now; she just wanted to secure a job on the island first. Even if it was a temporary position with slightly worse benefits, she’d have more freedom to come and go.

In a low voice, Zhou Jingjing whispered in her ear, "I heard that the male soldiers’ head instructor is incredibly handsome and still unmarried. I’d like to meet him too."

"They probably came over to see the head instructor too."

"Do you think we’ll run into him?"

Qin Yao shook her head. "If he’s already the head instructor, he must be quite old. I don’t like mature older men."

Zhou Jingjing asked, "Don’t you find mature men more charming?"

Qin Yao replied, "I like someone who calls me ‘sister.’”

"Oh my god, Qin Yao, how old are you? Someone calling you ‘sister’ would be ridiculous, just some young kid."

Qin Yao clicked her tongue. "Look at that big guy running over there. He might be only sixteen or seventeen."

A man’s age can’t be judged by his appearance, just like how before she transmigrated, a thirteen-year-old boy dealt with a broken heart in pediatrics. After transmigration, she mistakenly thought of an older man as a young hunk.

Comrade Qin Yao refused to admit her own mistake in judgment, entirely blaming Senior Captain Gu for it.

All the good-looking guys have been handed over to the country.

As Qin Yao and Zhou Jingjing walked around, they saw new soldiers of varying heights and appearances. There were some handsome ones, but as Zhou Jingjing said, they were too young. Even at 1.8 meters tall, they still looked like kids.

None of them had that “young hunk” vibe. To find someone truly exceptional, it would have to be the one they saw that day… the one who matched her ideal type.

Zhou Jingjing said, "I wish we could meet the head instructor."

Qin Yao nodded in agreement.

She was indeed very curious about the charming mature man the others were talking about.

However, the next day, when she saw the real person, Qin Yao wished she could lower her hat and stare at her feet.

"Chin up, Qin Yao, what’s going on with you?" Instructor Li called her name.

Qin Yao stood in the female formation, tall and not very noticeable in the back of the line. But when Instructor Li called her name, all eyes drifted toward her.

Qin Yao straightened her body, resigned to her fate, and looked at the military-uniformed man in front of her. That stern face was as familiar as ever. Was there anything more awkward than seeing a former match-making partner in this situation?

She should have guessed it was him, the so-called head instructor.

Gu Cheng was already used to people’s gazes falling on him. Instructor Li was surprised to see him and actively tried to strike up a conversation. Although Gu Cheng wasn’t in charge of their auxiliary team, he couldn’t let their training results be too embarrassing.

His gaze swept over Qin Yao like a swallow skimming water. The chubby girl had slimmed down, her skin a bit darker. Even though she had been hiding in the formation, head down, her striking appearance was undeniable.

Captain Gu’s mood lifted. Lately, he couldn’t quite figure out his true feelings for this chubby girl. It was a mix of love and hate.

If he didn’t like her, why had he bothered to go on that match-making date? But if he did like her, why had he dreamt of kicking her into the sea to feed the fish recently?

In his dream, after fishing her out, she clung to him desperately, saying she wouldn’t dare do it again.

Gu Cheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he withdrew his gaze, chatted with Instructor Li for a few more sentences, and then left.

"Qin Yao, the head instructor is so handsome and so young. What kind of woman do you think could catch his eye?" After the formation dispersed, Zhou Jingjing pulled Qin Yao to chat under the shade of a tree.

Qin Yao opened her water bottle and took a few sips to calm her nerves.

"He seemed to look over here a few times. Who do you think he was looking at?"

Qin Yao said coolly, "Maybe he was looking at me."

Tsk, there you go again, little spy.

Zhou Jingjing laughed and opened her water bottle. "Qin Yao, you’re dreaming."

Qin Yao, with a complicated expression, said, "Jingjing, you might not believe me, but I’ve been on a match-making date with him."

And I even called him 'brother.'