If it had been her who was the elite killer back then, she would never have admitted defeat! But now... Hedy was struggling.
' This body's physical fitness was truly awful!'
She was about to collapse when, unexpectedly, Arthur slowed down first. Hedy was surprised.
Was he looking down on her? Or... was he trying to spare her feelings?
Hedy slowed down, turned her head, and shot Arthur a sharp look, but he remained completely expressionless. it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Well... just this once, she would accept being looked after.
The morning sun flooded the entire training ground. Sweat rolled down her cheeks as Hedy ran, feeling unexpectedly happy.
By the time she stopped, Arthur and the Captain had already left.
"Hedy! Hurry back!" Chloe called, waving at her.
A faint smile appeared on Hedy's face. She waved in response and ran back quickly.
Early the next morning, Hedy was the only one who came out to run. She had just finished warming up when Arthur appeared.
On the huge training ground, there were only the two of them.
After running half a lap, Hedy couldn't help but look back. He was following her at a steady distance not too far behind.
At her current pace, she was moving as slowly as a snail compared to him, yet he didn't overtake her.
'Gentleman?'
This guy was really strange.
Hedy couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at?"
His voice suddenly sounded close behind her, startling her.
"It has nothing to do with you!" Hedy snapped, quickly straightening her expression.
He saw through her lie easily but didn't call her out.
"The Captain is telling you this for your own good. You should listen to him," Arthur said.
She realized he was talking about what had happened after yesterday's run: some recruits hadn't been able to make it through afternoon training. The training for the new recruits was already tough, and the added early-morning practice had been too much.
The Captain had immediately told everyone in Third Squad that the extra training was counterproductive and banned them from continuing it.
That was why everyone else was sleeping in today, only Hedy had run out alone.
Hedy glanced at Arthur and muttered, "I know what I'm doing."
If she trained like a normal recruit, she might never recover her elite-killer level of fitness. She had endured worse before and knew exactly what she needed.
"Stubborn," he said, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"None of your business!" Hedy huffed and ran away from him.
But after a moment, she circled back and asked, "Are you here to record the 'teacher's grade'?"
He looked at her and, mimicking her earlier tone, replied, "It has nothing to do with you."
Hedy glared at him and actually wanted to kick him.
"You want to know your grade?" he asked.
"Give me whatever score you want. I'll take responsibility for trying to desert. But I heard you're using this as an excuse to drive our squad leader away. That's unfair. He's a responsible leader."
When she finished, she turned to look at him. Arthur was still expressionless. She couldn't tell if he'd heard her at all, let alone if her words had made any difference.
Annoyed, she sped up, leaving Arthur far behind.
Watching her go, Arthur couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curl up slightly.
That evening, the squad leader arrived at the study room looking excited. Everyone was curious.
Chloe asked, "Squad Leader, what's the good news?"
"The grade is just to assess the overall training situation," he said in a hushed, mysterious tone. "It doesn't affect your individual future much. But..."
He leaned in, lowering his voice further, "The Captain leaked some confidential information. In the next few days, the new recruits will have a very important opportunity!"
His eyes swept across the group, finally resting on Susan.
"We have to seize this opportunity, it's far more important than the teacher's grade!"
The room buzzed with excited chatter as they speculated about what the opportunity could be.
Hedy didn't join in. Instead, she asked the squad leader quietly, "Did the Captain mention the division commander's grading?"
The squad leader nodded, unable to hide his goofy smile.
"Yes. The Captain told me personally that the division commander's grading and your desertion attempt won't affect my evaluation in the company at all. Whether I stay or not has nothing to do with it. So, Hedy, don't listen to the nonsense others say. Just train hard and try to seize this opportunity."
Hearing this, Hedy finally understood.
This must have had something to do with Arthur and those few words she'd said to him that morning.
The next morning, when they met again, Hedy said, "Thank you."
Arthur replied flatly, "You're welcome."
He hadn't promised anything beforehand, nor did he expect anything afterward. Hedy found this style surprisingly appealing.
"The matter of spanking is canceled," she declared generously.
Unexpectedly, Arthur replied, "That's really a pity."
'A pity?'
Hedy frowned.
"You helped me once. I'm not going to hold a grudge. What's there to regret? Or did you 'want' to be spanked?"
Arthur didn't answer. He simply bypassed her and continued running.
Hedy thought for a moment, then sprinted forward, raised her hand, and smacked him hard on the butt.
'Smack!'
Arthur stopped, covering his backside and looking at her in confusion.
Hedy smiled triumphantly. "Satisfied now?"
Then she ran off.
Arthur smiled too.
'This woman is trouble.'
He didn't chase after her. She was already darting away like a rabbit and had quickly made it back to the dormitory.
Even though their accounts were now settled, Arthur felt a little regret.
He'd have to find another reason to keep her on his mind.
In the middle of the night, the assembly call suddenly blared, jolting everyone in the recruits' dormitory awake.
"Hurry up! Don't leave anyone behind! Is Hedy up?" Chloe yelled as she rushed to get her things together.
"She's up!" someone replied.
Chloe looked over in surprise. Hedy was actually up and moving.
"Laura! Don't forget to pack Hedy's backpack!"
But Laura ran over to Hedy's bed, froze, and then shouted back in shock, "She packed it herself!"
Everyone turned to stare at Hedy, astonished to see she was completely ready faster than anyone else.
'God!'
In previous emergency drills, Hedy had always been the last one out, getting scolded by the Captain until she cried.
What was going on with her today?
Even the third squad leader hadn't expected his squad to be the first ones lined up for this sudden middle-of-the-night assembly!