As an experienced translator of Chinese web novels, I can tell that the phrase "集合！" (Jíhé!) in this context means "Gather!" or "Assemble!".

The loud blow of the whistle from the instructor interrupted their conversation. Lin Yu, standing in the formation, had not fully recovered from the previous topic. He mechanically performed the same actions as his "comrades." Fortunately, the large brim of his hat concealed the fact that he was slacking off, and the instructor did not notice his absent-mindedness.

Before noon dismissal, the instructor explained that there would be no more training in the afternoon. Instead, there would be a military exercise to observe. So everyone could refrain from wearing their military uniforms and bring a few more bottles of mineral water. After all, sitting under the scorching sun to watch the exercise would also be something that would make people sweat profusely.

Lin Yu and Gao Yuan bought their meals at the cafeteria, and also bought one for Su Yi. They walked east along the cafeteria corridor, and Gao Yuan stopped in front of the convenience store department. "Lin Yu, the instructor said we should bring water. Let's buy a few bottles to take back."

"You can buy it, I have a large water bottle in my dorm room."

Lin Yu stood in front of the convenience store in a daze. As he got closer to the dormitory, the things Gao Yuan had mentioned seemed to be getting closer to him too. Because of his childhood experiences, Lin Yu was actually quite timid and particularly afraid of ghosts and similar things. He felt that if there was another power outage at night, he wouldn't be able to sleep as peacefully as he did last night.

"Little fresh meat, how do you know I'm hungry?"

The object in his hand suddenly became lighter, and Lin Yu snapped back to reality. The meal that he had bought for Su Yi seemed to have ended up in Jiang Hai's hands somehow. The patch of blond hair on his head had also turned back to black, but his hairstyle remained just as unique.

"This wasn't bought for you." Lin Yu reached out to snatch back the lunchbox.

Jiang Hai smiled greasily and grabbed Lin Yu's arm, saying, "We're in on it together, whoever sees it."

Lin Yu remembered the last time when Jiang Hai approached her in the cafeteria, she instinctively wanted to hold her breath because of the foul body odor, but only then did she realize that today there was only a faint scent of shower gel on Jiang Hai's body.

"Don't you have body odor?"

Jiang Hai was taken aback, furrowing his brow as he glanced sideways at him. "Who told you I have body odor?"

"Do you not have it?"

"I rely, how could I have something like that?" Jiang Hai forcefully grabbed Lin Yu by the neck and said, "Take another careful sniff, would you?"

Lin Yu's face turned red as Jiang Hai trapped her under his arm, "Hey, I got it, you can let go now."

Gao Yuan had just bought some water and snacks when he walked out and saw this scene. His eyes widened, but before he could speak, a chilling voice floated over from the side.

"What are you doing?"

Su Yi stood not far from them, watching their ambiguous posture and feeling displeased in her heart. "Mr. Jiang, I warned you before, stay away from my people."

Jiang Hai let go and Lin Yu chuckled softly, "Are you his person, little fresh meat?"

Lin Yu stood still, at a loss for what to do. What in the world were these two grown men up to? After all, she wasn't a woman, so what was the point of fighting over something like this?

"You two, stop arguing. Su Yi, Jiang Hai was just joking with me."

"Tsk." Jiang Hai turned his head away and tossed the lunchbox he had just snatched from Lin Yu's hands to Su Yi, saying, "This fresh meat is for you. Can't be bothered to fight with you."

Watching Jiang Hai walking away, Su Yi looked at Lin Yu in surprise, holding the lunchbox in her hand and asked, "Did you give this to me?"

"Yeah." Lin Yu nodded, then quickly lowered her head and pulled the bewildered Gao Yuan by the arm, running out through the nearest door.

Gao Yuan kicked a pebble along the way and looked at Lin Yu with a mix of belief and doubt. "Lin Yu, are you really not involved with Senior Su? Well, don't worry, I don't discriminate against same-sex relationships. Even if you two are a couple, I'll keep it a secret for you."

"Gao Yuan, have you been reading too many boys' love comics?" Lin Yubai glanced at him and said, "I'm very straightforward, haven't you noticed?"

Gao Yuan shook his head, clearly indicating that the atmosphere now was full of affection.

After that farce just now, BenYin had forgotten about all those messy things. However, when he arrived downstairs at the dormitory building, Lin Yu's gaze was once again involuntarily drawn to the abandoned building behind him.

Gaoyuan, are you lying about the things you said?

"Of course not. Lin Yu, how about tonight... we go take a look?"

"Go by yourself then," Lin Yu turned her head away and walked away.

"Hey, aren't you scared?" Gao Yuan laughed and quickly caught up.

"Who's afraid?"

"If you're not afraid, then go."

Lin Yu looked at Gao Yuan's smug expression, clenched his teeth and said, "Fine, I'll go!"

Following Gao Yuan back to his dormitory, they didn't take long to finish their meal before joining the rest of the group to the stadium to watch the military exercise. Su Yi was once again the student representative this time, but Lin Yu also noticed others, such as Jiang Hai, who was standing on the teaching building not far away and blew a loud whistle towards Lin Yu.

Lin Yu lowered her head and muttered in her heart, "Wasn't Jiang Hai the one who hated going to class? Then why did he dye his hair back to its original color these past two days and obediently attend classes? Could it be that the weather forecast will go haywire and it will rain starting tomorrow?"

Lin Yu didn't hear a word of Su Yi's speech. Sitting on the playground, his mouth was dry and his tongue parched. He picked up his large water bottle and gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, but the coolness only lasted for a short while. Before long, the moisture was expelled through his sweat glands, leaving him once again with a dry mouth and parched tongue. It felt as if a layer of skin had been peeled off his throat, and he needed a continuous flow of water to rinse and moisturize it in order to feel comfortable.

"Lin Yu, drink your water slower. We still have the entire afternoon ahead of us, and your water bottle is already halfway empty," Gao Yuan pushed Lin Yu's arm gently.

Lin Yu squinted his eyes, put down his water cup, and leaned toward Gao Yuan's direction. Worriedly, she asked, "Tonight... are you really going?"

"Is that even a question?" Gao Yuan seemed very excited. "Those few people from our dormitory also want to go together."

"It would be nice to go together," Lin Yu swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "It's lively with many people."

Who knows what kind of excitement it is to go to a haunted house with a bunch of people in the middle of the night.

The crowd suddenly burst into applause. Lin Yu and Gao Yuan finished their whispered conversation and straightened their backs, appearing to be listening attentively. They clapped in sync with Su Yi's final speech.

The exercise officially began with climbing and firefighting. This tense and exciting scene fascinated the students, who rarely witnessed such excitement. The girls couldn't help but stare in amazement, praising how handsome the participants were. Some arrogant boys, however, mocked them for being ignorant.

Deep down in Lin Yuxin's heart, there was also a surge of enthusiasm. If she had the same skills, she wouldn't feel so scared and uneasy about the haunted house trip tonight.

Thunderous applause erupted, marking the grand finale of an extraordinary military drill. Tomorrow would be the last day of training, and after that, these freshmen would officially become students, embarking on their new journey of life.

Su Yi sat in the shade next to the podium, his gaze constantly following Lin Yu. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he counted the days. It had been almost half a month since he arrived at his own dormitory.