Qiu Xiaotong was the class monitor of Class 3, Grade 12 at Wuhu No.1 High School. Although summer vacation had begun, since they had just entered their senior year, none of the students in this grade could truly enjoy the break. After barely ten days at home, they were called back to school for classes.
As a girl who grew up in a military district, Qiu Xiaotong had a sun-kissed, healthy complexion—basically, she was tanned dark—and a carefree, straightforward personality! She didn't mind her classmates gossiping behind her back about her dark skin, calling her fierce and prone to hitting people, or saying she was tall and slender but had no boyfriend, destined to never marry...
After all, she was too blunt. When helping the teacher enforce discipline, she was rigid and by the book. Whenever she saw something wrong or unfair, she had to step up and uphold justice. This often made her offend others, turning her into a public enemy among the female classmates!
Why didn't that include the male classmates?
Because Qiu Xiaotong wasn't just tall; she was also a strikingly handsome girl with a spirited, heroic air! Even if she was a bit fierce, the boys couldn't bring themselves to dislike her...
During a break today, Qiu Xiaotong noticed something new. A few boys were huddled together, whispering about something—sometimes excited, sometimes dejected, and then suddenly fired up with indignation.
Qiu Xiaotong frowned. This scene reminded her of the time before the Qingming Festival break, when these boarding school boys had plotted to sneak off to an internet café to play games. Back then, Qiu Xiaotong had happened to pass by while buying sanitary pads for the girls, caught them red-handed, and threatened to tell the teacher, forcing this reckless bunch to go back and study properly.
"Hey, Geng Li, Jing Guisen, what are you up to?" Qiu Xiaotong walked over and snapped, "You're not planning to sneak off to the internet café to play games again, are you?"
Geng Li's body trembled, and he shrank his hand, trying to hide whatever was in it.
Jing Guisen, in perfect sync with him, stood up to block Qiu Xiaotong's view and said with a sheepish grin, "Sis Tong, how could we? Why would we still want to play games? We're almost seniors now! We need to study hard."
"We're discussing literature," another boy nearby chimed in, quick on his feet.
"Yeah, discussing literature, that's what we're doing!" Jing Guisen and Geng Li quickly echoed.
"Discussing literature?" Qiu Xiaotong furrowed her brows. She didn't believe their nonsense for a second. If they really liked literature, would their Chinese grades be such a mess?
Suspicious, Qiu Xiaotong scrutinized them closely and immediately spotted something off: "Geng Li, what's that in your hand?"
"Huh? Nothing..." Geng Li wore a pained expression.
"Hand it over! Or I'll call the teacher to confiscate it!" Qiu Xiaotong threatened.
Geng Li had no choice but to reluctantly pull out the smartphone he had been hiding. He knew that while Qiu Xiaotong was tough, she was actually quite kind-hearted. If she confiscated it, she'd just scold them and return it after school with a warning not to do it again. But if the teacher took it, their parents would likely be called in!
"You're using your phone to play games?" Qiu Xiaotong grabbed it, frustrated. "What time is it, and you're still not focusing on your studies?"
"Sis Tong, we really were discussing literature!" Geng Li argued pitifully. "If you don't believe me, look! We were talking about a novel!"
"What novel?" Qiu Xiaotong opened it skeptically. "...'Bright Sword'? What kind of novel is that?"
"You don't know 'Bright Sword'? This book is huge right now!" another boy couldn't help but say.
They seemed to open a floodgate, chattering all at once: "'Bright Sword' is a war novel. Li Yunlong is so awesome, he..."
Amid their chaotic descriptions, Qiu Xiaotong got a sense of how "huge" this novel was. If it could get these boys this excited, it must have some unique brilliance.
"I think you should check it out, Sis Tong!" Jing Guisen's voice boomed, drowning out the others. "Sis Tong, your family members are soldiers too, right? You'd love this kind of military novel!"
"I don't think Sis Tong would like it. The author killed off the female lead!" Geng Li said weakly.
"But isn't there another female lead later?" a boy beside him countered.
"But girls don't like such a fickle male lead," Geng Li said. "Last time I told Lele about this book, she really didn't like it!"
"Our Sis Tong isn't like ordinary girls!"
They started arguing among themselves again...
Admittedly, even though she hadn't read it yet, their bickering had planted the name "Bright Sword" firmly in Qiu Xiaotong's mind.
...
That night, Qiu Xiaotong returned to her home in the Jiangnan Military District. She was indeed born into a military family; her parents were serving on the frontier, so she lived with her grandfather. Though retired, her grandfather, as a high-ranking officer, still enjoyed the privileges of his rank—a small house with a garden and dedicated guards.
After finishing her homework, Qiu Xiaotong couldn't help but think of the "Bright Sword" the boys had mentioned. Curious, she turned on her computer and opened the link Geng Li had given her.
"Bright Sword," author Yang Yi.
Qiu Xiaotong noticed that this author had also written a novel called "Soldiers' Sortie."
She didn't dive into the book right away. Instead, she first browsed the review section.
It was a bad habit, really, because the review section was prone to spoilers and misleading comments. But the review section for "Bright Sword" was oddly fascinating—fans were flooding it with posts begging, "Don't let Li Yunlong suffer persecution."
{PS: Regarding the later plot of "Bright Sword," Xiaohan won't describe it further—it's a bit of a minefield... Suffice it to say, it's deeply moving and heart-wrenching... For those who've only seen the TV series and not read the book, I suggest checking it out; the show cut out nearly half the content!}
This only made Qiu Xiaotong more curious. From the reviews, she knew the book was nearing its end, but why were fans tearfully pleading with the author?
Shrugging off her doubts, Qiu Xiaotong started reading from the first chapter.
...
The next day, Qiu Xiaotong showed up at school with dark circles under her eyes. As soon as she arrived, she gritted her teeth and gave Geng Li and Jing Guisen a good beating.
"Sis Tong, why are you hitting us?" Geng Li yelped.
"It's all your fault for recommending that book! I lost track of time reading it and didn't sleep until the middle of the night!" Qiu Xiaotong fumed.
It wasn't that "Bright Sword" was bad—it was too good. The tightly paced battles in each chapter had her utterly captivated. She couldn't bear to put it down, but by the time she snapped out of it, it was already very, very late!
Even so, she had only read half of it by midnight, and there was still more to go!
So, after school that afternoon, Qiu Xiaotong didn't stay for the evening self-study session with the boarding students. Instead, she went home early, quickly finished her homework, and continued reading.
What Qiu Xiaotong didn't know was that today marked the grand finale of "Bright Sword." Yang Yi hadn't dragged it out—he released the final chapter and epilogue together.
But Qiu Xiaotong couldn't help herself. She read for hours straight, all the way to the end.
"Wah..." When she reached the scene of Li Yunlong shooting himself, Qiu Xiaotong, a tough girl who never cried, burst into tears.
"Xiaotong, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Her grandfather, Qiu Weiguo, knocked on her door with his cane and asked in a booming voice, "Who upset our Xiaotong? Tell Grandpa, and I'll send someone to beat them to a pulp!"
"Wah... wah, it's Yang Yi... he's a jerk!"