September 1st, Jiangcheng.

It was the first day of the school year at Jiangcheng High School, and also the start of military training for the junior class.

Evelyn Cameron overslept that morning and rushed downstairs to grab a quick bite. Just as she stuffed half a youtiao into her mouth, she spotted her brother, Liam Cameron, at the door putting on his shoes.

“Hey! Wait for me!”

Liam was a senior at Jiangcheng University, which sat right next to the high school. He usually stayed in the dorms, but now and then he'd drive home. Catching a ride with him would’ve meant no chance of being late.

Leaning against the shoe cabinet, Liam toyed with his car keys, glancing at her lazily.

“I'll give you ten seconds.”

Evelyn: “???” Are you seriously kidding me right now?

Ten seconds was clearly not enough.

With her cheeks full of youtiao, Evelyn shot him the most pitiful look she could manage, hoping their sibling bond could buy her a little more time.

Unmoved, Liam started counting down, “Ten, nine...”

Evelyn choked trying to swallow, stars almost spinning in her eyes.

“Seriously? Ten seconds? Guys really are fast and heartless!”

Liam paused, rolled his eyes, then just skipped half the count altogether,

“Eight, seven, three, two, one.”

Evelyn: “???” Where did the rest of the numbers go?

She looked up, planning to protest, but with a loud slam, the door was already shut. The heartless guy was gone without a trace.

Evelyn: “...” And you still dare say you’re not fast?

...

Picking a fight with her brother’s sarcasm led to the obvious result: being late on the very first day.

Since the high school's soccer field was under renovation, the juniors were using Jiangcheng University's stadium for training.

The summer sycamores stretched wide, their thick leaves buzzing with endless cicadas. The dappled sunlight slipped through the branches and scattered over a patch of green-uniformed students, standing out under the trees.

Dragging the oversized camo pants up, Evelyn tiptoed behind a tree, glancing around cautiously. Eventually, she spotted her class near the basketball court.

No sign of the instructor yet, but the formation was already lined up.

Teenagers aged sixteen or seventeen were buzzing with energy, grouped in little clusters chatting away, swapping gossip and jokes.

Evelyn breathed a sigh of relief.

No officer meant no one would catch her sneaking in.

She tugged her cap down low and slipped into the back row next to her friend, Sophie Bell, trying to look like she’d always been there.

Sophie turned around and nearly jumped at the sight of a mushroom-headed soldier standing straight like a statue.

There were 41 students in Class 1, divided into four rows. Evelyn’s extra spot jutting awkwardly out from the back made her really stand out.

But since no one had assigned fixed spots yet, the rows were uneven and messy.

Evelyn wasn’t too bothered. Being late meant she was already the odd one out anyway.Sophie Bell nudged Evelyn Cameron's elbow as soon as she saw her, leaning in and whispering excitedly,

"Hey, did you hear? This year our drill instructors are seniors from Jiangda, not actual military guys anymore..."

Evelyn pulled off her cap and smoothed back her sweat-damp hair, answering with a distracted "Oh."

She honestly didn’t care who the instructor was. It’s just one week of boot camp—how close could anyone really get with someone they’ll probably never see again?

Noticing how obviously out of place she looked, she subtly edged closer to Sophie, trying to blend into the neatly lined squad.

Hearing their chatter, Autumn Ray in the front row turned around, equally pumped.

"I just heard some of the seniors from the med school are total heartthrobs! I think a couple super good-looking ones showed up today..."

Med school?

Evelyn froze mid-motion while fixing her hair, eyes lifting in surprise, a strange unease creeping in.

If she remembered right... Liam Cameron was from the med school.

But come on, the med school had like two hundred new students this year, and at least half of them were guys.

There’s no way, right?

Just the thought made a chill run down her spine.

Before she could dwell on it, a shadow suddenly loomed over her.

And then—smack! A thick stack of training material slammed right into her face. She yelped, clutching her nose in pain.

Looking up, her jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Wha—"

She almost cursed out loud, but froze when she made eye contact with Liam Cameron’s smirking face. Swallowing hard, she forced a grin and said,

"...Well, hello there! Good morning... sir."

Liam had on the army-green, short-sleeved instructor uniform that fit him way too well—snug enough to make him look even taller and more intimidating.

He casually tapped the dazed girl’s head with the very same training folder, voice lazy but clear.

"Morning, students. I’m Instructor Cameron and I’ll be in charge of your training this week."

As he strolled to the front of the group like nothing happened, Evelyn stood frozen, practically blown to bits inside.

Instructor Cameron, my ass...

She nearly choked on her own breath.

How did this even happen? Just that morning, he was being all smug counting down ten seconds. Now here he was, decked out and ready to torment her as her drill instructor.

She hadn’t even recovered from the shock when his voice rang out again.

"Anyone who came late, step out. Twenty push-ups."

Evelyn: "..." Oh, come on. He’s definitely doing this on purpose.

He knew she was running late this morning. He totally could’ve given her a ride—and now he’s making her pay for it here?!Evelyn Cameron was fuming inside, but still kept her head down guiltily. She thought to herself, Maybe Liam came late too and didn’t spot me sneaking in… maybe he’s just bluffing to scare me…

But after a few seconds of dead silence, his annoying voice came again from above.

“Girl, first on the left in row four, still not stepping out?”

Evelyn: “....”

Are you kidding me right now?!

Her faint hope that her lateness had gone unnoticed was instantly dashed like cold water to the face. She tried to shrink deeper into the line, trembling a bit, but her best friend Sophie Bell wasn’t having it. With zero hesitation, Sophie shoved her right out, like tossing a pillow onto the floor.

Boom—direct eye contact with Liam Cameron.

Evelyn let out another horrified yelp on the spot.

Liam didn’t even flinch, stared straight at her with a laid-back, almost amused look in his eyes.

“What’s your name?”

Evelyn: …Did you hit your head this morning? Go ask Mom if you’re really that forgetful.

But clearly, now wasn’t the time to be sassy. She was the lamb, he was the butcher. Swallowing her pride for survival, Evelyn hesitated, then stammered out:

“...Eve...Evelyn Cameron. Want me to spell it out for you too?”

Liam scoffed softly, curling his lips like he was entertained, then turned away from her, voice dropping into command mode.

“The rest of you, turn right. Run two laps.”

With that, forty curious necks craning to watch the show were sent jogging out of sight. Only then did Liam lazily shift his eyes back toward his dear little sister, a smug drawl in his voice.

“Miss Cameron, twenty push-ups. Sound fair?”

Evelyn: “???” Are you seriously throwing me under the bus like this?!

If she had the strength, she swore she’d jump him and wrestle him right here on the training field.

But given she clearly didn’t, and with Liam shooting her a death glare, she could only mumble in defeat, crouching down as slow as a buffering video. Her pale slim hands pressed onto the grass as she got into a textbook push-up stance.

“Then go ahead,” Liam said, glancing at her with a deadpan expression.

Knowing there was no getting out of it this time, Evelyn let out the loudest mental groan and bent her elbows to lower herself.

And... that was about it.

She couldn’t push back up. Not even a little. So she simply flopped face-first onto the grass, lying there in perfect stillness—like it was nap time.

She didn’t have to wait long before the sound of combat boots stomped up beside her and a shadow loomed overhead.

Liam squatted down next to her, his piercing black eyes studying the girl practically glued to the ground, voice laced with mockery.

“What’s this? Should I get you a blanket so you can go ahead and call it a nap?”

Evelyn’s entire face was buried in the grass. Her muffled voice came out weakly:

“Reporting in, sir… I did push-down, just not the push-up.”

Liam: “....”

He squinted at her, visibly speechless and annoyed, about to shoot back something witty—when suddenly, a lazy chuckle came from off to the side.

Evelyn, still face-planted in the dirt, blinked in confusion at the unfamiliar voice and slowly looked up.

What came into view was a pair of long legs, wrapped in olive-green camouflage fabric. Even though the pants were loose, they couldn’t hide the toned, clean-cut muscle lines underneath.