The Military Queen-Chapter 70 - 61: Cafeteria Commotion

Longzhi Academy, although famous for cultivating military officers as a higher military institution, not every graduate qualifies to enter the Rand Military District, let alone those spoiled scions who were there to muddle through their days.

The Volvo closed in several feet more, and on the empty mountain road, the previously cursing voice of the female student drifted downwind into the ears of the soldier sitting in the car. His hand rested on the steering wheel, rhythmically honking the horn.

The female student, whether frightened or overawed by the two massive vehicles, hesitated for a moment before hurriedly turning the steering wheel. Normally responsive, the wheel was suddenly uncooperative, and the rear of her car carelessly brushed against the Volvo. As the two vehicles came close, a crunch of metal was inevitable. Without a doubt, the lighter car got the worse of it, and the dent on the blue body stood out clearly. The female student was on the verge of tears but dared not make a sound, obediently pulling over to let the intimidatingly large vehicle pass first.

The owner of the Volvo didn’t get out to inspect the damage but simply pressed down on the accelerator and sped past. The serpentine mountain road, under his handling, seemed as straight and smooth as a highway.

Xia You’s hair was whipped up by the wind created by the speeding car, and as the vehicle passed, she seemed to catch a scrutinizing gaze. Almost at the same time, she looked back. Behind the tinted windows, the scrutinizing look turned away. The car drove on, and she continued her walk.

Longzhi Academy is a modern institution built of reinforced steel. It would take half a day to traverse the entire campus on foot. Xia You, with her admission notice in hand, entered Longzhi smoothly. As soon as she entered Longzhi, she felt as if she had stepped into an illusion of Rand. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The outskirts of Longzhi featured a spacious earthen drill ground, with a 400-meter track extending in every direction, the largest playground Xia You had ever seen. Under the scorching sun, the college’s gardeners were watering the grounds.

Several school buses were parked near the playground, and not far off, three or four gray-green academic buildings stood. It was about a twenty-minute walk to the student apartments. From the foot to the top of the mountain, Xia You had walked a total of three hours. Mountain roads were more physically demanding than flat terrain, yet Xia You didn’t feel particularly tired. Since leaving "Military Road," she found that the dizziness she felt after excessive training and studying had markedly decreased, and even walking had become much lighter.

The apartments were designed for four people, equipped with air conditioning and desks for computers. Aside from Xia You, the other three female students had all been admitted through regular high school exams. As soon as they entered, they greeted one another warmly. Xia You thought to herself that she was essentially a seasoned returnee from college overseas. Deciding it was best to be cautious with her tone and choice of words, she simply introduced herself briefly without engaging in much conversation with them.

Female students of the same age tend to get acquainted very quickly. After a brief exchange of names, one of them, the nominally oldest girl from the Northeast named Li Xi, called everyone to go eat. (At this time, the high school graduate "Xia You" that Xia You was impersonating was 18 years old, born in August, while Li Xi was born in April.)

Although Longzhi Academy had admitted some young scions, the school and its campus discipline still adhered to the style of a traditional military academy. Entering the cafeteria, portraits of well-known generals, both domestic and international, hung on the walls. There was not a whiff of cooking fumes in the cafeteria.

According to the regulations, returning students were due back at the end of September. Those who arrived a month earlier were all new students. Before starting school, new students had to undergo a month of military training. What Lin Yi had arranged for Xia You was precisely this month-long military training.

"As long as you can endure this month of military training and achieve at least a PASS in the later stages, you will be awarded the military rank of an NCO," Lin Yi had said at the time.

Students in line to buy food and cafeteria workers responsible for distributing meals moved in an orderly fashion. Xia You noticed that next to the dining tables, there were several dozen water faucets. Some of the new students who had finished eating dutifully went to the faucets to clean their bowls and plates thoroughly before handing them to the cafeteria worker in charge of organizing the dishes.

Within the campus of Longzhi, everything followed one principle: self-reliance. Upon arriving here, one had to improve their self-care abilities in all aspects of life and study. Xia You and the other female students had no objection to this. Xia You often helped wash the dishes and plates in her own family restaurant too, handling everything quite adeptly.

The dining process was both fast and quiet, surrounded by silence, with no one daring to leave behind any leftovers. As the four of them finished eating and were just about to get up.

Suddenly, an extra set of bowls and utensils appeared in front of Xia You, then another set, and in the blink of an eye, a small mountain had piled up before her.

Accompanying this small mountain was the female student who had caused trouble earlier. She, like Xia You, was a new student, and as soon as she entered the cafeteria, she noticed Xia You seated to the side.

Behind the female student followed several other students, dressed similarly and just as arrogant, who were indeed the sports car group that had thrown beer bottles from their car earlier. "You smashed my car and then ran off. You think it’s that simple. These dishes here, leave them for you to wash," the blonde female student, without daring to seek out the owner of the military vehicle from earlier, naturally blamed the big dent on the car on Xia You.

The cafeteria remained quiet; students turned to look, even those who had been serving food earlier.

The few female students beside Xia You exchanged glances; they also knew these individuals were deliberately provoking, but judging by their appearance, these were not ordinary students one could easily mess with.

On the dishes with leftover food, there were also a few used tissue papers tossed in, smeared with who knows, snot or saliva.

Beside them, Li Xi was just about to speak out but was held back by the other two roommates. There were many who were upset by the scene but no one dared to make a sound.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go," the students behind the blonde girl yelled aggressively, banging on the tableware, making it clatter loudly.

Xia You slowly stood up, with a strange smile on her lips, and said a few words, "Are you sure, you want me to wash these?"

Xia You stacked the plates, one by one, with practiced and careful precision.

The blonde female student watched with pride, thinking this was surely a poor soul’s fate – perhaps she used to wash dishes somewhere. Longzhi Academy is nothing special after all, look at what kind of people they’ve admitted.

With a "crash," all the plates were spilled on the floor.

"Who allowed you to form cliques and bully fellow students on campus? Get out and run ten laps around the field," the voice of the newcomer carried a touch of irritability, his foot stepping on several of those plates. The school’s younger students nowadays seemed a bit too arrogant, barely here for a day and nearly causing a scene in the cafeteria.