“Wait a moment,” Ye Qingyang said, stepping into the dormitory. He opened his suitcase and took out some snacks. “Let’s go.”
Dong Yu, sitting on the bed across from him, watched curiously. “You brought all that food—are you planning to sell it on the side?”
Ye Qingyang shot him a disapproving glance. “Sell? What do you mean ‘sell’? Among classmates, giving stuff like this isn’t selling—it’s called spreading warmth.”
Dong Yu: …
“Let’s go,” Ye Qingyang said cheerfully, grabbing the plastic bag and following the others out.
Dong Yu waited until Ye Qingyang left, then closed the door and walked over to Lu Jingcheng’s bed. “Jingcheng, is Ye Qingyang’s family not well off?” he asked.
His question drew the attention of the others in the room, who instinctively looked at Lu Jingcheng.
Leaning against the wall, Lu Jingcheng answered calmly, “Why do you ask?”
“I just noticed he seems pretty interested in making money,” Dong Yu explained. “And since we’re friends now, I thought—if he needs help, I could buy more from him.”
“You two are friends?” Lu Jingcheng frowned. “Since when did you two hook up?”
“Aren’t you friends with him?” Dong Yu argued. “Friends of friends are friends too, just like enemies of enemies. Makes sense, right?”
Lu Jingcheng thought about it—well, that did make a little sense.
But this wasn’t something Dong Yu needed to worry about.
Is he dead or something? He’s not going to starve Ye Qingyang!
Besides, Ye Qingyang wouldn’t want someone helping him like that anyway.
He waved his hand, dismissing Dong Yu’s concern. “No need to go out of your way. If you want to buy something, fine; if not, no worries. Ye Qingyang’s capable—he’ll sell that whole box before military training ends.”
After all, who would’ve thought of selling belts during military training? Ye Qingyang could!
Who else could make a career out of folding blankets during military training? Ye Qingyang could.
Lu Jingcheng admitted to himself he couldn’t have done it and wouldn’t have thought of it, so he appreciated Ye Qingyang’s little knack for making use of advantages—careful, strategic, and prepared.
No wonder his secret admirer was clever.
He also realized that if Ye Qingyang weren’t smart, he wouldn’t have singled him out among all the students in the school.
Truly excellent taste!
Lu Jingcheng felt proud and pleased with himself.
Little did he know that the person Ye Qingyang had fallen for was currently dazzling everyone with his blanket-folding skills.
One dorm finished, and the room erupted with cheers.
After folding a dorm’s blankets, Ye Qingyang collected his red envelope and sold a few snacks before moving to the next dorm.
By around 1:30 p.m., he had folded the blankets for three dorms and quietly returned to his own room.
Lu Jingcheng was still awake. Seeing him back, he called out, “You’re back.”
Ye Qingyang came over and asked, “Why aren’t you napping?”
Lu Jingcheng glanced at him. “Weren’t you awake too?”
Ye Qingyang smiled. “So, you’re staying up with me?”
Lu Jingcheng kept up his tough act. “No way! What are you thinking? Ridiculous!”
Ye Qingyang, not getting him to admit it, pulled a candy from his pocket. “Want some?”
“Are you treating me like a child?” Lu Jingcheng scoffed.
“How about some yogurt?” Ye Qingyang offered a small bottle.
“Did you sell the leftovers?” Lu Jingcheng asked.
Ye Qingyang grinned. “I saved these just for you.”
He placed the candy and yogurt beside Lu Jingcheng’s pillow. “Here.”
Then he turned to go back to his bed.
Lu Jingcheng tugged on his hat.
Ye Qingyang turned around, whispering, “What’s up?”
“You’re done already, right? Why are you going somewhere else?”
“I’m just going to lie down on my bed for five minutes,” Ye Qingyang said. “Then you’ll have to get up and fold your blanket.”
He leaned closer, softening his voice. “Lu Ge, you rest a little longer—I’ll fold your blanket last.”
Lu Jingcheng: …
His heart instantly felt like a soft gummy.
He looked at Ye Qingyang, overwhelmed by how much he clearly cared.
He hadn’t slept all afternoon, yet Ye Qingyang was still considerate, making sure he got extra rest.
This wasn’t just care—this was complete selflessness!
Lu Jingcheng released his hold and asked, “Aren’t you going to lie down too?”
He immediately felt awkward for sounding too forward, quickly adding, “You said your bed’s cold, right?”
Ye Qingyang, seeing through him, couldn’t help smiling. Normally, he’d have gladly climbed onto the bed to tease Lu Jingcheng, but time was tight. “Just five minutes—too much trouble to climb up and down. I’ll lie here.”
Lu Jingcheng, incredulous, couldn’t believe Ye Qingyang actually refused to sleep with him!
Was the sun rising from the west today?
Refusing him now—was this a tactic?
He thought to himself, “My little secret admirer is really active with his schemes!”
“Go ahead then,” Lu Jingcheng said, still playing his own game of strategy.
Ye Qingyang lay down for four or five minutes, then checked the time and started waking the others to fold their blankets.
Lu Jingcheng opened his yogurt, watching Ye Qingyang work.
Chen Wei, just waking and standing up, saw his close friend drinking yogurt.
“You brought yogurt too? Give me one.”
Lu Jingcheng shot him a look of disdain. “Did I need to?”
Chen Wei: … Got it.
He turned to Ye Qingyang. “Little Ye, I’ll buy a bottle of your yogurt.”
Ye Qingyang, folding the blanket for his bunkmate Liu Ning, replied, “The yogurt’s sold out. Want a drink?”
Chen Wei hadn’t expected more drinks, so he hurried, “Yes, yes!”
Ye Qingyang set the blanket aside and retrieved a bottle for him.
Others followed suit, buying drinks and snacks.
“This is a treasure chest! You’ve got everything!”
“How else could I be your little angel~” Ye Qingyang smiled.
He quickly finished folding all the blankets and finally went to fold Lu Jingcheng’s.
“All done?” Lu Jingcheng asked as he saw his blanket neatly in place.
Ye Qingyang nodded. “All finished—um…”
Before he could finish, Lu Jingcheng unwrapped the candy and shoved it into Ye Qingyang’s mouth.
“Hardworking people deserve rewards—this is your reward,” he said, smiling.
Ye Qingyang, candy in his mouth, chuckled helplessly. “This candy’s for you.”
“It’s mine now, so giving it to you is no problem,” Lu Jingcheng said.
Ye Qingyang considered it—indeed, there was no real issue. Borrowing a flower to present a gift, essentially.
“Alright then.”
“That’s better.”
Lu Jingcheng let him go first, then got down himself, preparing to head downstairs for assembly.
The instructor checked the time, and seeing that their class had finally arrived just before the last second, he nodded. “Good.”
“Class leader, take attendance,” he instructed.
Ye Qingyang had everyone report in order and relayed it to the instructor.
“Alright, everyone’s here. Let’s start inspecting the dorms.”
The students groaned.
“Don’t worry—if it’s not up to standard, you’ll run laps. No big deal,” the instructor said with a smile.
The students were on the verge of tears.
The commander of the seventh company came over, smiling. “Company leader, what’s with your students? Why are they afraid of a dorm inspection?”
“Yours aren’t?” the instructor shot back.
“Not really,” the seventh company commander replied. “Our dorms are fine.”
He suddenly remembered something. “Weren’t we going to have a little competition between our classes? Perfect—let’s start with dorm inspections. See whose pass rate is higher.”
The instructor, remembering that most of his class had failed yesterday, hesitated: …
“Maybe another day,” he said cautiously. “We just learned to fold the ‘tofu blocks.’ We haven’t practiced much yet.”
“Really?” the seventh commander said. “We just learned too.”
“Commander, you’re lying,” a boy in the front row said. “You’ve been teaching for two days and organized extra practice. I heard about it.”
“You didn’t practice?” the seventh commander asked.
“Nope,” the instructor admitted. “The past two days were for military training. I’ll wait for rainy days to practice dorm folding.”
“No problem—we just practiced casually too. Today’s inspection works. Or do you think your students aren’t as good as ours?”
Lu Jingcheng sneered. “Are you crazy?”
He glanced at the seventh company. “If you want to compete, fine. Let’s see who wins.”
The instructor rolled his eyes at Lu Jingcheng—this kid was too impulsive.
The seventh commander looked at him. “Not bad, handsome boy. Brave words.”
Lu Jingcheng smiled faintly. “Thanks for the compliment.”
The seventh commander, enjoying the banter, turned to the instructor. “Your students dare to compete—you don’t?”
The instructor sighed. Private rivalries among trainees were inevitable. Last time, his students had been better than the seventh’s. Now the seventh commander wanted revenge.
Fine—let them have it.
“Alright, let’s compete,” the instructor said.
“Great—we’ll start the inspection,” the seventh commander agreed.
“Inspection together!” the instructor added, giving Lu Jingcheng one last glare.
Lu Jingcheng: …
He knew how little his instructor understood his own students.
Today, Ye Qingyang had folded blankets for four dorms—32 students. Their class had only 54 students. That meant a pass rate over 50%. Could the seventh company match that?
He knew his class well. Folding perfect ‘tofu blocks’ required skill.
Even with two extra days of practice, the seventh company couldn’t guarantee their quality.
Folding ‘tofu blocks’? More like folding crumbling tofu. At best, barely passable, but nowhere near Ye Qingyang’s standards.
They were guaranteed to win!
“Don’t worry,” Lu Jingcheng said confidently.
The instructor chuckled at his certainty. “You know your own level, don’t you?”
Lu Jingcheng shook his head, muttering, “You don’t even know what your class leader is capable of.”
The instructor looked at Ye Qingyang and saw him smile.
He felt a spark of hope.
“Class leader, spill the secret,” the instructor said.
Ye Qingyang just smiled. “Better not—consider it a blind box.”
The instructor was about to probe further when the seventh commander called, “Let’s go, inspect the dorms.”
“Alright,” the instructor replied.
He glanced at his students. “Let’s see if today’s ‘tofu’ passes inspection.”