Raise Love

In the morning, they were woken up by a harsh military bugle. The four of them were startled awake and simultaneously sat up like carp leaping out of water.

"Shit."

The four girls looked dazed, with blatant confusion in their eyes: "?"

"What's going on?"

Aria hadn't fully come out of her dream yet. She sat there blankly for a while, rubbed her eyes, grabbed a handful of her hair with squinted eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, "It's probably time. We have military training today."

This is pure devilry.

The wake - up bell they used for military training in junior and senior high school was also this one.

"Ah!!" Sophie went crazy and instantly lay back down like a corpse, losing her soul. "SOS! I'm so sleepy. I played games until midnight yesterday. Why is it so early?!"

Olivia: "Sleepy, I'm so sleepy, so sleepy."

Oli: "Forcing a smile here."

"If a person doesn't get enough sleep, they'll die! Help, I'm really going to die..."

"..."

Aria was also sleepy. She picked up her phone to check the time and found it was still early, so she indulged herself and was in a daze for a while longer.

When she was more or less awake, she rolled out of bed, shuffled into the bathroom in her slippers like a ghost, washed up with her eyes closed, and then cruelly woke up the other three.

Sophie held onto the quilt tightly, not opening her eyes. "Five minutes, just let me sleep for five more minutes, please!"

Seeing that the other two had already struggled to sit up, Aria smiled gently. "No can do. We'll be late, Yueyue."

Asking new college students who have been indulging for three consecutive months after the college entrance examination to get up at around five o'clock is simply torture.

The girls supported each other and stumbled to the cafeteria. After taking the first bite of breakfast, they finally regained their senses and started chatting casually.

Apartment No. 7 was close to the cafeteria. Knowing that it was impossible to meet Ryder here, Aria didn't even look up much and focused on her meal, occasionally responding to her roommates.

In the cafeteria, everyone was wearing the big and baggy, emerald - green military training uniforms, looking like they were about to go rice - transplanting. The military training uniforms at Harvard University had an old - fashioned style, not even having a belt, and their quality was abysmal.

However, there were still people who could make it look good and eye - catching.

For example, Aria.

The girl's face, with sunscreen applied, was two shades whiter than her usual bare faced self, making her features even more exquisitely delicate. She didn't even need makeup.

She was a gentle - looking beauty with a natural face.

Pure and pretty, and the mole under her left eye was the finishing touch. Against her snow-white skin, it was even more prominent, adding an alluring charm. She was undoubtedly a stunning presence at first sight.

But she was cold and indifferent, completely ignoring those who tried to strike up a conversation.

Olivia propped her chin with one hand and sighed. "My dear Ri - Ri, what on earth did you grow up eating?"

Sophie, munching on a scallion pancake, said, "She grew up eating fairy food."

"Oh, come on. It's not that exaggerated," Aria said, both amused and annoyed. "We all have one nose and two eyes. There's no big difference."

The expressions of the others were hard to describe.

Now even Oli couldn't help but sigh and said earnestly, "Honey, you really don't know how lucky you are."

Aria smiled.

She actually envied others.

For example, Sophie. She was beautiful, with bright and attractive features, a great personality, and was good at playing games. She got along well with her boyfriend when they played games together.

That was something Aria had always wanted.

Olivia was cute and lively, and Oli was gentle and graceful. In comparison, Aria really couldn't pick out any outstanding points of her own.

The weather today wasn't very good. Dark clouds loomed overhead, covering the sky as far as the eye could see. There was no sign of the sun.

Aria had checked the weather forecast for the next few days in advance. Most of the days were either overcast or rainy, with few sunny days.

An overcast day isn't a good weather in general, but for the freshmen in military training, it was exactly what they hoped for. The temperature in the morning was low, and they didn't feel hot even wearing long - sleeved military training uniforms.

The clothes were all one size too big, and the sleeves were long. After putting their used plates in the dish - collection area, they picked up their folding stools and water cups and walked out. Aria struggled to roll up her sleeves, and Oli took the things from her.

"I'll carry them for you," Oli said with a smile. "Look at how clumsy you are. You don't even ask for help."

Aria smiled at her with curved eyes and said as they walked, "I saw you were holding things too, so I thought it might not be convenient for you."

"It's not about being convenient or not..."

Her roommates were all straightforward. After just two days of getting along, Aria knew they were all nice people. It's just that she was really slow - to - warm - up and couldn't be overly friendly right away.

It might be a bit embarrassing to ask for help in a short time, but it would get better as they got to know each other better. Aria thought, tilting her head back.

She squinted her eyes slightly, looking at the not - so - blue sky. Her mood was somehow good, with an indescribable sense of anticipation and longing.

Harvard University.

The place where he was.

The future she had finally managed to embrace.

It was about to officially start today.

**

On the first day of military training, the training didn't start immediately. The mobilization meeting was held on a large open space not far from the Animation Base. Each class was assigned a position and was to sit down according to the coordinates on their own.

Aria was not in the same class as her three roommates, and she didn't know anyone in her class yet. She felt a bit lost.

Subconsciously, she raised her eyes to look for Ryder's figure.

However, whether it was because there were too many people or he wasn't there today, Aria searched for a long time. She even stood on tiptoe slightly, scanning the crowd several times.

She still couldn't find him.

Ryder was good - looking and had a unique temperament. If he was there, it would be impossible not to notice him. Moreover...

He had a natural allure for her.

Even in a huge crowd, she could recognize him at a glance just by looking at his back or the way he walked.

It seemed he wasn't here.

Aria pursed her lips, finally gave up searching, and after a few more seconds of daze, she remembered to sit down along the line.

In this short time, quite a few people had already sat down. She held her folding stool tightly and walked backwards. Suddenly, she felt someone tugging at the hem of her clothes.

"Hmm?" She looked down subconsciously.

The one pulling her clothes was a chubby - faced little girl. The broken hair on her forehead had a natural curl, and she had big eyes. She was very cute, looking at Aria expectantly.

"Hello."

Aria blinked subconsciously, looked around, saw nothing unusual, and asked cautiously, "What's wrong?"

The little girl was obviously stunned by her somewhat serious expression. Looking at the girl's face, which combined coldness and softness, her face suddenly turned red.

She stammered, "N - nothing. I just wanted to ask, are you from Class 4 of Financial Management?"

Aria nodded and looked at her in confusion.

The little girl pointed to the empty seat beside her. "If you don't have a companion, you can sit here," she said in a low voice. "I'm alone too."

...Huh?

Aria lowered her eyes to look at the empty seat, then understood. Looking at the little girl's already blushing face, she realized she might have scared her.

She tried to soften her expression and said gently, "Sure."

"Thank you," she opened the folding stool, placed it properly, and sat down, then whispered to explain, "I'm sorry. I didn't react just now. Did I scare you?"