Serenade

"Try...holding my hand."

His fingers were slender, his hand fair with a few faint blue veins that traced up his arm.

As he spoke, Bo Yan's head was turned slightly to the side, too embarrassed to look at her. His thin lips were pursed into a line, as if he were trying to suppress a smile.

Jin Xi didn't notice the sly look in his eyes. She was focused on her task, trying to inhale deeply and reach for Bo Yan's hand.

Just as the soft cotton ball was about to touch his fingertips, Bo Yan suddenly pulled his hand back and patted her on the back of her head.

"You're silly," he said.

Jin Xi let out a sigh of frustration, her small body jolting forward from the pat. She looked up at him with round, puzzled eyes and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Weren't you doing what I told you?" Bo Yan replied with a hint of exasperation.

Jin Xi let out an "ah" of understanding, but still looked confused.

Bo Yan cautioned her seriously, "This is the wrong way to do it. No one should have you do this, not even your instructor."

Jin Xi nodded, mumbling, "Oh, then what's the right way?"

Bo Yan stood behind her and placed his hands on her slender shoulders, nudging her back a bit. "Let your hands hang naturally and don't hold your breath," he instructed.

His hands then fell to the small of her back, and he pressed her back and buttocks against him. Jin Xi could feel her back pressed against his firm abs, and through the thin fabric of his shirt, she could sense that his body temperature was much higher than hers.

Sweat began to bead on Jin Xi's forehead.

Bo Yan looked down and saw her small ears turn red.

He let go of her and said, "Just like when you leaned against me earlier. Stand against the wall for half an hour every day and your posture will improve in no time."

"Really? So I'll walk like you guys in the future?" Jin Xi asked.

"This is just for standing posture and to make you more elegant. As for walking, just do it naturally, otherwise it will look strange," Bo Yan replied.

Jin Xi thanked Bo Yan and left with her bucket.

Bo Yan looked up at the two military uniforms on the wire fence, feeling satisfied with their appearance.

**

On the second day of military training, Jin Xi was nervous and kept her head down, afraid to make eye contact with Xu Chaoyang, for fear of being singled out for punishment.

Fortunately, that didn't happen.

Today, Xu Chaoyang was gentle throughout the training, not punishing any of the students. If someone did something wrong, he would just scold them lightly.

Yesterday, he had made two or three girls cry, so it was likely that he had reflected on and reviewed his actions. Today, he was like a different person.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Bo Yan appeared on the playground.

He wore a black T-shirt with a cartoon panda logo on the back, rolled-up seven-eighths pants that revealed a fair ankle, and sporty sneakers. He looked relaxed and casual.

He carried his drawing board and walked straight through the playground, without looking around, until he found a shady spot under a Chinese parasol tree. There, he set up his drawing board.

Xu Chaoyang noticed that all the girls in line were staring at Bo Yan.

"Attention!"

No one paid attention to him. The girls whispered to each other, "It's Senior Bo Yan!"

"Oh my god, he's so handsome!"

"His eyes are so beautiful, like our cat at home."

"Is he drawing? Is he drawing me?"

"Ah, he's looking at us! Stand up straight and look pretty!"

Xu Chaoyang was speechless. He had been practicing for so long, but the girls had never stood at attention as seriously as they did for Bo Yan. He felt a little jealous and said, "If you all like Bo Yan so much, I'll give the instructor position to him. Let him teach you."

"Good idea!"

"Totally okay!"

Xu Chaoyang felt a pang of pain. He had lost his voice yesterday from shouting, and now he had to deal with these clueless freshmen.

At that moment, a soft voice spoke up. "Xu Instructor is very good."

Xu Chaoyang's eyes lit up as he looked at the girl who spoke. She was standing in the line, with a few strands of hair covering her eyebrows, and a short hairstyle like Mathilda in "Leon: The Professional". She smiled at Xu Chaoyang.

He remembered her as Chu Zhao, his neighbor from the dormitory across the hall.

Truly, there is no place like home. Especially during difficult times.

"Really? Chu Zhao."

"Are you trying to get out of standing in line by flattering the instructor?"

Chu Zhao was straightforward and serious. "When Instructor Xu calls you out of line, he always calls you by your name, not just your row and column number."

After hearing her words, the students realized that it was true. Whenever Xu Chaoyang called out their names, he always used their full name.

It had only been two days, yet he had memorized the names and faces of all the students in the class!

Not everyone could do that.

During the break, Jin Xi and her friends went to the rest area to get some water, and sat under a shady tree for a while.

Bo Yan had been waiting for her for a long time, but she hadn't come over yet. He looked up at her.

Jin Xi sat on a small stone chair, exchanging sunscreen with her friends. A thick layer of cream covered her face, making her sweat-free face look white and clean.

Bo Yan patiently waited for a few more minutes.

She didn't seem to know what she was talking about, laughing uncontrollably, and nearly choking on her water.

As the break time was about to end, Jin Xi still hadn't come over to say hello.

Bo Yan patiently waited, squinting his eyes as he watched her for a long time. She glanced at him unintentionally, and their eyes met from a distance.

Bo Yan's heart was in chaos, like a burst of sparks.

This girl... was a little bit intriguing.

Jin Xi raised her hand and gave him a little wave before turning back to continue chatting with her friends.

Bo Yan: ...

Is this it? Is it because we're not close or because I'm not charming enough?

Just as Bo Yan was about to give up, Jin Xi finally took slow steps towards him.

"Oh, are you sketching, senior?"

Bo Yan gruffly opened his sketchbook and showed it to her. "Find yourself."

On the clean white pages were several sketches of squares, with each student drawn inside them. They were of different heights and sizes, almost reproducing half of the playground from his perspective.

The students' faces were not drawn, only their outlines blurred.

Jin Xi leaned in closely, searching for herself among the figures.

Her hair fell onto his shoulder, and as Bo Yan looked up, he could see the skin under her neck due to the sun's exposure, making her normally fair complexion slightly red.

He gently pushed her hair aside and rubbed it in his palm for a moment.

Jin Xi, absorbed in her search, murmured, "I'm in this square, and this person is Instructor Xu. Oh no, maybe Instructor Xu is over here, then I should be..."

She couldn't find herself, and with so many people in the sketch, she was one of the most inconspicuous figures, without even a face drawn. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Can't find yourself?" Jin Xi looked at him. "Is there a correct answer?"

Bo Yan gave a faint smile. "There is, but it comes with a condition."

Jin Xi pouted her pink lips. "There's a condition?"

"Of course."

"Well, tell me then."

"Come closer."

Bo Yan motioned for her to lean in, and Jin Xi obediently pressed her ear against his finger.

Her earlobe was round and full, glistening with a rosy hue, making her look very cute.

Bo Yan brushed her hair behind her ear and whispered, "When everyone takes a break later, they will call some kids to perform. You can volunteer to sing or dance for me."

Jin Xi: ...

Who are the kids?

"I don't want to know," Jin Xi muttered. "Don't try to make me look bad."

"You haven't even gone on stage yet, how can you assume you'll embarrass yourself?"

"I definitely will," Jin Xi insisted. "I just don't have that talent, you know. Everyone will laugh at me."

"Maybe you just lack courage, you little coward."

"Say whatever you want."

Jin Xi stood up, brushed the grass off her pants and said, "I'm leaving, bye."

"Hey." Bo Yan suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Jin Xi looked down. "What?"

"I won't laugh at you."

She shook off his hand gracefully.

As Bo Yan had said, not long after, under the direction of the instructor, several squares sat down and began singing.

Xu Chaoyang shouted loudly, "Any volunteers from the second row to perform?"

Of course, the students in the second row were extremely united and all shouted in unison, "No!"

Xu Chaoyang: ...

Do they have to make it so easy for me?

"Ahem, then I'll call someone out."

In the crowd, Jin Xi looked at Bo Yan with horror. Bo Yan was leaning against a tree trunk, casually sitting on the grass and looking at her from afar. He made a gesture with his mouth, "Come on."

Jin Xi hurriedly shook her head, "No way!"

Xu Chaoyang said, "Oh, it seems like Jin Xi has some ideas. Let's give her a round of applause, everyone!"

Jin Xi: ...

What the hell was he thinking?

The enthusiastic applause had already started, and Jin Xi reluctantly stepped forward, blushing.

Jin Xi tugged at Xu Chaoyang's sleeve and whispered, "I don't have any talent!"

Xu Chaoyang asked, "Then what can you do?"

Jin Xi replied, "I can break a rock with my chest, how about that?"

Xu Chaoyang said, "Okay, Jin Xi will sing a song for us. Let's give her a round of applause!"

Jin Xi: ...

"Then... I'll sing a song by Jay Chou called 'Drunken Red Cliff.'"

Xu Chaoyang asked in surprise, "Does Jay Chou have this song?"

Jin Xi replied, "Huh?"

Looking at her small face, which was so red that it could drip blood, with a very vacant expression, Xu Chaoyang knew that she was so nervous that her soul was about to leave her body.

"Through my intuition, I met the right person..."

When Jin Xi finished singing this line, she made eye contact with Bo Yan again. Her voice trembled, and the melody went off track, causing laughter from the audience.

She swore that this was the darkest moment of her life.

The last time Jin Xi sang was at the first-grade children's festival in elementary school. She wore a bug suit specially prepared by her stepbrother, with two puffy red cheeks and a beauty mark on her eyebrows, looking like a little white worm with wings, standing stupidly on stage singing "Flying Bugs."

At that time, Shen Pingchuan was standing closest to her in the audience and clapped vigorously after she finished singing. He was so moved that tears almost welled up in his eyes, eagerly telling people around him, "That's my sister, my sister is so cute!"

The expression of their father's face, full of satisfaction, was still fresh in Jin Xi's memory.

This time, her melody was still all over the place, causing constant laughter from the audience.

"To be honest, even Cao Cao's coffin can't hold it down!"

"Jay Chou would shed tears if he heard this."

"The girl is a bit cute."

...

Of course, it was all harmless teasing, and Jin Xi had anticipated it, so she didn't take it to heart and persevered in finishing the song.

Her classmates applauded her, and she returned to her team with a red face, once again looking at Bo Yan.

Under Bo Yan's broad eyebrows, his eyes were full of smiles. He reached out his hand, lazily clapping twice, as a way of giving her applause.

Jin Xi made a mouth gesture at him, and said angrily, "Thank you."

That night, she walked back to the dormitory carrying an empty bowl and found a piece of paper at the door. Jin Xi picked it up curiously, opened the thin paper pad, and found a drawing inside, which was the one Bo Yan drew while sitting under the tree today.

There was something different about the scene, as everyone was depicted in a monochromatic black and white tone, except for one girl who stood out with her clear complexion and beautiful colors, instantly becoming the center of attention.

She stood with her small chest held high, arms tightly against her sides, glasses perched on her nose, and her brow furrowed in a serious and solemn expression.

In the top left corner of the painting were two smooth and vigorous characters in small script:

Courage.