Chapter 46: Was It Xu Qiao Who Did It?

Chapter 46: Was It Xu Qiao Who Did It?

This bet was undeniably unfair to Xu Qiao. Letting them be the judges was tantamount to letting the opponents referee the match.

Yet Xu Qiao hesitated only briefly before nodding firmly. "No problem. If you think I’m not good enough, then I lose. But… you have to agree to wash my clothes for a whole week, alright?"

If the uneasy feeling just now was merely Cheng Yifei's subconscious reaction, then seeing her now smile like that made the atmosphere even more unsettling.

Hastily, someone said, "You can bet all you want, just don’t drag me into this!"

That admission of defeat surprised everyone present, and they all looked over in astonishment.

"Cheng Jie, you’re acting strange today..." Han Yuqi looked at her oddly but didn’t press further. "Fine, no backing out. We’ll place the bet."

With that, she turned and strode outside.

Not only were they surprised by Cheng Yifei’s reaction; Xu Qiao herself was a bit taken aback. Since the quarrel with the neighboring class, Cheng Yifei hadn’t bothered her again, but Xu Qiao never expected her to avoid them so deliberately at a time like this.

Seeing her behave this way, Xu Qiao glanced down at herself instinctively. She seemed no different—was it really necessary to keep such distance?

Cheng Yifei clearly didn’t want to explain further. She returned to her desk, wearing an expression of detached amusement.

Cheng Yifei cast a sidelong glance at her. "Why do you think I said I wouldn’t participate? What do you think my reason is?"

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Xu Qiao picked up a brush, dipped it lightly in ink, and began to write neat, delicate characters one by one on the paper.

Amused, she smoothed out the sheet—a special calligraphy practice paper, not rice paper, but still a fine substitute. No one knew where she had gotten it.

"Come on, show us what you’ve got. Let’s see your skill," someone said, placing the paper and brush on the table.

The company commander sighed helplessly. "What else can we do? You can’t have them show up and then have our people not even know how to fire a gun properly—that’d be shameful."

Hearing their exchange and seeing Xu Qiao’s reaction, an uneasy premonition settled over the group.

Guan Yuqi thought along the same lines and quickly agreed, "Alright, got it."

The communications company usually trained, but genuine military drills were infrequent.

Not only was Xu Qiao’s handwriting beautiful and swift, but there wasn’t a single crossed-out mistake. This unsettled the group, especially since most of them struggled even when writing with hard pens and had to make several corrections.

Looking back at the copies of the confidentiality regulations she had written over and over, they decided to stop.

By then, the clothes involved were far more than just a bit sweaty or dusty. Add a full day of intensified training, and no one could guess how exhausted they’d be by nightfall—washing one set wouldn’t suffice; it might be several sets. They wondered if the others would regret this bet then.

Xiao Yu was even more surprised. "You trust her that much? That’s unlike you."

Given their current training, even changing clothes daily wouldn’t result in them getting very dirty—at most, just sweaty.

"Of course, brush calligraphy is definitely in traditional characters," Xu Qiao said as she changed her script style while writing.

Xiao Yu, who was usually less hostile toward Xu Qiao, quietly moved closer to Cheng Yifei. "Cheng Jie, are you and Xu Qiao… getting along better?"

"Go back and quietly inform each class to start extra training in their spare time early on. Put aside technical drills for now and focus on this," the company commander said, his expression darkening.

Thinking this over, he added, "Our communications company can’t afford to lose that person."

Han Yuqi suddenly realized something and looked at Xu Qiao and then back at Cheng Yifei, her eyes widening. "Did you get burned by her before, so you’re not falling for this?"

But with Cheng Yifei’s withdrawal, the waiting atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Perhaps it was their natural talent; they might not be able to write well, but they certainly could recognize characters.

Besides physical training, most of their training revolved around technical skills.

Cheng Yifei shook her head without hesitation. "No way. I just don’t want to wash clothes for her."

She snorted coldly. "I’m not saying you’ll definitely win. I just know your sly and cunning nature won’t let others take advantage of you so easily."

Xu Qiao smiled and put down her brush. "I’ve finished washing today’s clothes. Starting tomorrow, it’s on."

This was clearly an effort to strengthen their military skills.

While they were busy trying to outwit each other, the squad leader had already reported the situation to the company commander, who by now was the one with a headache.

Cheng Yifei’s expression shifted slightly, but she didn’t argue—just gave Xu Qiao a helpless look.

At this moment, no one wanted to admit defeat. They exchanged glances, opened their mouths, but didn’t know what to say.

What they didn’t know was that Xu Qiao fully understood. Even if the training didn’t start immediately, Guan Yuqi wouldn’t miss the opportunity.

Xu Qiao glanced at her with a faint, knowing smile. "Have you really thought it through? A whole week’s worth of dirty laundry."

Looking at her delicate, clean handwriting with a personal style, the words "not good" hovered on their lips but couldn’t be spoken.

Cheng Yifei, who hadn’t joined in, laughed happily—her expression was more joyous than if she had won.

Within moments of their skepticism, a sheet full of brush calligraphy was completed.

The adjectives used were ambiguous—it was hard to tell if they were compliments or criticisms.

They all knew the condition of their soldiers—military skills were at the level of a fresh recruit.

Guan Yuqi was taken aback. "Just military training?"

"Also, copy the confidentiality regulations fifty times, preferably in one handwriting style," Xu Qiao added.

Hearing this, Cheng Yifei was helpless, while Xu Qiao couldn’t help but laugh. "You’re so sure I’ll win?"

Han Yuqi finally understood and sighed in resignation.

Xu Qiao’s confident writing alone was enough to surprise them.

"Cheng Jie, that’s not fair. You knew she would do this… why didn’t you warn us?" Han Yuqi said with some dissatisfaction.

But Han Yuqi didn’t give them a chance to regret it; she had already found the brush and ink and returned.

Xu Qiao gave her a helpless look. "I’ll take that as a compliment."

"What is this… why is it still in traditional characters?" someone asked instinctively upon seeing the writing.

"But Company Commander, what about the firing range..." someone started.

Seeing Cheng Yifei’s expression, Xu Qiao realized she understood why Cheng Yifei avoided the bet—she knew she wouldn’t do anything uncertain.

The company commander waved his hand. "I’ll take care of the arrangements. Just hand me your training plans when they’re ready."

At this point, simplicity was key. It might be impossible to reach their standards immediately, but at least things wouldn’t be as bad as they were now.

Guan Yuqi realized this too and didn’t hesitate to turn and leave.

"Wait," the commander suddenly called after her, "Was this information intercepted by… Xu Qiao?"

(End of Chapter)