Chapter 20: Late-Night Writing Is Exhausting

Time seemed to drag on endlessly during the military training.

Especially when standing in a military posture, it was agonizing for everyone.

Fortunately, with someone like Xun Liang in the ranks, the military training was a lot more fun.

When practicing movements, if someone slacked off and was caught, the instructor would drag them out of the formation for extra training alone, and everyone else would happily watch the show.

Xun Liang was unafraid and joked around with the instructor with a grin. And he ended up being sent to run laps around the sports field.

Halfway through, his indecent insoles flew out from his shoes and fluttered over to the side of girls from another class.

This guy walked over without blushing and picked up his sanitary napkin.

The next day, there was a message on the confession wall of the School of Business. “Confession to the guy who dropped his sanitary napkin in the afternoon!” Xun Liang became famous with this incident.

Wang Xin still maintained a calm and composed demeanor. Every day, he participated in the military training steadily and cooperated with the class committee members to manage the class.

After returning to the dorm room after the military training at night, he used his time before bed to continue studying his textbooks.

Then it was time for a shower, cleaning, and organizing various items.

His meticulous management of the room even improved Chen Haoshang’s attitude towards him, though he still didn’t treat anyone friendlily.

Speaking of Chen Haoshang, this roommate was undoubtedly the most eccentric person in the room.

He was also the least sociable.

He would wake up at around five o’clock in the morning and slip out alone without anyone knowing what he was up to. It was the same for noon and evening. As soon as the military training ended, he was gone.

After returning to the dorm room at night, he would play games until early in the morning without saying anything. Xun Liang tried to tease him for two days but didn’t receive any response, so he gave up communicating with him for the time being.

As for Jiang Miao himself, he only felt that he was about to die.

During the military training, he had to wake up at six o’clock every morning and spend most of the day on the sports field.

He barely had enough time to grab a quick bite for lunch and dinner breaks, leaving no time for writing.

After dismissal at 9 p.m., he would rush back to the dorm room without stopping. After taking a quick shower, he got into bed with his laptop and wrote until one or two in the morning.

This routine was utterly exhausting.

However, with his new book in such a critical phase, he had no choice but to push through.

If he missed a chapter release at this crucial time, it would at the very least negatively affect his results from the recommendation spot, or even worse, it would affect his qualifications to advance.

With the same results, editors were undoubtedly more inclined towards authors with consistent releases.

But Jiang Miao only lasted for three days before his body couldn’t take it anymore.

Standing under the sun in broad daylight, he felt as though his back was breaking out in cold sweat, as though his body was completely hollowed out.

Just as he squinted his eyes and felt he couldn’t hold on any longer, the whistle of the chief instructor sounded on the sports field.

“Everyone, rest in place!”

After taking a deep breath, Jiang Miao walked towards where the water bottles were. But after taking two steps, he felt his head suddenly swell, and a flurry of golden dots flashed before his eyes, causing him to stop in his tracks.

“What’s wrong?” The observant Wang Xin saw Jiang Miao rubbing his forehead and noticed his abnormality.

“… It’s nothing.” Jiang Miao took a few deep breaths and felt a little better before continuing forward. Once he came to a shady spot away from direct sunlight, he finally felt a bit better.

“Brother Jiang.” Xun Liang poked Jiang Miao with his elbow and pointed at the entrance of the sports field. “It’s Senior Sister!”

Jiang Miao was sitting on the ground resting. From afar, he saw Su Huaizhou and Qi Lianyue walking over, carrying something.

As they got closer, he saw that it was two cups of bubble tea.

“Here, we’re treating you.” Su Huaizhou smiled and handed over the two cups of bubble tea to Jiang Miao and Wang Xin.

Xun Liang looked dumbfounded. He licked his lips and pointed at himself. “Senior Sister, what about mine?”

“Sorry, we didn’t prepare your share.”

“Why not?!” Xun Liang exclaimed while eyeing Jiang Miao’s cup of bubble tea. “Brother Jiang, can I have a sip?”

“Get lost.” Jiang Miao protected the bubble tea in his hand, refusing to let him touch it.

Xun Liang turned his gaze to Wang Xin, but someone with mysophobia like Wang Xin would obviously not give him a chance to dirty anything of his.

He rejected him with a look.

“I didn’t buy the boba. It’s from Senior Sister Qi.” Su Huaizhou pulled Qi Lianyue over and said with a smile, “Aren’t the two of you thinking about joining the debate team? She wanted to treat you to some bubble tea, hoping you won’t give up halfway.”

“They haven’t even joined yet,” Xun Liang muttered.

“That’s because you don’t know that our department’s debate team has always been short on boys.” Su Huaizhou spread her hands. “Apart from the captain, everyone else this year is a girl, so any boy interested in the debate team is practically a national treasure.”

Qi Lianyue crossed her arms and nodded in agreement, though she was feeling helpless inside.

Who knew what it felt like to be dragged along as an excuse to deliver bubble tea?

Well, it’s fine as long as Zhouzhou is happy.

“Senior Sister, I think debating is a great way to build skills. Is it still possible for me to join?” Xun Liang asked, looking serious and earnest.

“Of course it’s not too late. During the association recruitment event this weekend, the debate team will hold a competition for new students. Just remember to sign up.”

“Ahem… Then bubble tea…”

“Once you join the competition, you’ll get some then.”

Xun Liang: “…”

Jiang Miao drank two mouthfuls of his bubble tea while sitting on the ground, watching Xun Liang’s unsuccessful attempt. But instead of feeling better, the cold drink made him feel worse.

He braced himself against the ground, his head throbbing again. Rubbing his temples, he felt it might be a problem if this continued.

“Senior Sister, can we talk?” Jiang Miao walked over to Su Huaizhou, rubbing his brows.

“What’s the matter?” Su Huaizhou looked at him doubtfully. “Is the bubble tea not to your liking?”

“It’s not that…” Jiang Miao frowned, enduring his discomfort. “I’m not feeling well. Can I take leave?”

“You really don’t look too good.” Su Huaizhou leaned closer to Jiang Miao and examined him with narrowed eyes. “Is the military training too tiring? Or did you not sleep well?”

“Uh… I’ve been staying up a little late these past few days…” Jiang Miao admitted, feeling embarrassed.

Su Huaizhou immediately understood what was going on. “Alright, I’ll write you a leave slip. Get some rest today.”

A few minutes later, Jiang Miao reported to the instructor and followed Senior Sister out of the sports field, thinking that he could finally catch his breath.

At this moment, Senior Sister Qi happened to receive a call and said she had something to do and had to leave first, so Jiang Miao naturally ended up walking back to his dormitory with Senior Sister Su.

“What are you staying up late doing?” Su Huaizhou asked, fulfilling her duty as a class assistant to check up on him.

“Not much…” Jiang Miao replied weakly. It was impossible for him to say that he was writing a novel. “Just watching some videos and reading novels and didn’t realize how late it got.”

Su Huaizhou, of course, knew what this guy was really doing late at night, but she hadn’t expected it to take such a toll on his body.

Looking at his weak and exhausted appearance, she felt slightly distressed, but she couldn’t tell him not to stay up too late.

After all, they had known each other for so many years, so she knew how crucial the early stages of a new book were to an author.

With this thought in mind, Su Huaizhou’s eyes flickered with an idea. “By the way, Junior Brother, do you know how to copywrite?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Um?”

“The Political Work Group happens to need someone who can copywrite. Are you interested in giving it a try?”