Chapter 179 : Chapter 179
Chapter 179. At the Award Ceremony, Everyone Saluted Me
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Yichen had relaxed in the dormitory for a while, and before he knew it, it was already two in the afternoon. There was only one hour left before the award ceremony.
Just as he was taking it easy and planning to arrive right on time, a knock sounded at the door.
After sensing who was outside, the corners of Jiang Yichen’s lips curved slightly upward, and he opened the door.
The petite and adorable Su Linyu greeted him with that gentle, healing smile of hers the moment they met.
“Brother Yichen, you’ll be going on stage to give a speech soon. Have you prepared your speech yet?”
She blinked her lively eyes as she asked.
Jiang Yichen looked perfectly relaxed. “No. I’m planning to improvise and just say whatever comes to mind.”
“Huh?” Su Linyu’s eyes shifted, and her cheeks puffed out slightly. “But the military district commander and people from all ten military districts of East China will be there. Don’t you want to put on a good performance, Brother Yichen?”
Hmm...
Jiang Yichen thought about it for a moment. It really was a chance to show himself. After all, no one could ever fully escape vanity.
Trying to understand it was a much easier way to live than hiding it.
But he truly did not want to rack his brain preparing some speech. It was far too exhausting.
Besides, with the system reward in hand, even a few casual words from him would become priceless golden sayings, so why bother preparing anything at all?
Just like that successful entrepreneur from the books who had casually said that he was not interested in money, and that the happiest time in his life had been when he earned ninety-one yuan a month as a teacher...
Those simple, blunt words had created a legendary scene that people never stopped quoting.
“There isn’t enough time. I can’t prepare one properly, so I’ll just improvise on stage later.” Jiang Yichen pinched Su Linyu’s little cheek, telling her not to worry.
Su Linyu’s eyes shifted slightly. From lunch until the afternoon ceremony, the time really was tight. She could not blame Brother Yichen for that.
But...
A mischievous smile spread across her lips. She took out a sheet of A4 paper from her Spatial Bag and looked at Jiang Yichen. “Brother Yichen, I already prepared one for you.”
She clasped her hands together, her eyes full of anticipation. “I really want to see Brother Yichen shine brilliantly in front of everyone. He’d be so handsome.”
Hm?
Jiang Yichen’s gaze fell on the A4 sheet in Su Linyu’s hand. On it was a neatly written speech in elegant handwriting.
He was slightly stunned. How could this girl be so thoughtful?
“What about you? You have to go on stage too. Let me see your speech,” Jiang Yichen said.
Su Linyu’s sweet smile slowly faded, and a troubled look appeared on her face.
“Well... Brother Yichen, I didn’t prepare one for myself. There wasn’t enough time.” She spoke cautiously.
Jiang Yichen looked helpless and tapped her forehead lightly. “You... can’t you think a little more for your own sake?”
Like a child who had done something wrong, Su Linyu lowered her head and said, “It’s okay. As long as I can see Brother Yichen happy and smiling, I’m already satisfied.”
Jiang Yichen froze for a moment. So this was what a Warrior of Pure Devotion was like?
Holding the speech in his hand, he smiled faintly. “All right, then thank—”
“Brother Yichen, you’re not allowed to be polite with me. This is what a fiancée should do,” Su Linyu cut in.
Jiang Yichen blinked and smiled, then nodded.
Getting along with someone so pure and devoted really was both comforting and moving.
For the rest of the time, Jiang Yichen began reading the speech. As an Eighth-Realm Martial Emperor, one read-through was enough for him to recite it perfectly from memory.
As for the speech itself, it followed the proper format without becoming stiff or bloated with empty flowery language.
It even contained many lines adapted from local dialect expressions.
Although Jiang Yichen did not like stiffly reading from a prepared script, this was still her heartfelt effort, and he could not bear to let it go to waste.
After reading it once more, the two of them left the dormitory building together and headed for the military district assembly hall to attend the award ceremony.
Inside the hall, ceremonial guards stood on both sides of the aisle with rifles in hand, their white gloves contrasting sharply with their olive-green uniforms.
At the center of the venue, a red carpet stretched all the way from the entrance to the award podium, like a road of honor laid out before them.
They had arrived rather late. The hall was already filled with the upper ranks from all ten military districts of East China, every one of them bearing insignia on their shoulders and decorations on their chests.
Even for Jiang Yichen, who had lived two lives, the scale of it all was startling.
A Special Class Merit truly was worthy of being the highest honor in the military. Even the award ceremony was grand and imposing, which only further proved how weighty that distinction really was.
Jiang Yichen and Su Linyu stepped onto the red carpet and, under the guidance of the ceremonial guards, took their seats below the award podium.
The eyes of the entire audience immediately turned toward them, those gazes filled with amazement and envy.
“Brother Yichen, why did you come so late? Look at them. They’ve been sitting in the hall for an hour already,” Tang Long asked from his seat nearby.
Jiang Yichen shrugged indifferently. “I’m not late. The fact that I didn’t arrive exactly at the last second already counts as respect.”
Tang Long froze.
There was only one word for that: unbelievable.
Brother Yichen’s life of slacking off had already reached the absolute pinnacle.
Tang Long truly envied him. All Jiang Yichen did every day was play around and enjoy himself, yet he was still this strong.
Tang Long trained hard every day, and on top of that, he even did extra training with Chu Xingchen. But when the final results came out, their group still placed second from the bottom.
If Jiang Feng had not been there to rank below him, Tang Long felt he would have cried himself to death.
Yet the more Brother Yichen slacked off, the more absurdly powerful he became. The gap between people really was as vast as a chasm.
Tang Long shook his head, then turned to Jiang Feng and draped an arm over his shoulder. “Jiang Feng, there’s a reason you can’t become the Heir. I understand now.”
Jiang Feng: “...”
“Silence!”
At that moment, the host of the ceremony, dressed in military uniform, spoke, and the hall instantly fell so quiet that a pin drop could have been heard.
“Honored leaders, dear comrades...”
After a string of formal opening remarks, the host announced, “The award ceremony now officially begins.”
“First, let us invite our esteemed East China Military District Commander, Xu Lin, to deliver an address.”
From the front row of the audience, Xu Lin rose from his seat, and thunderous applause broke out.
Xu Lin bowed slightly and walked onto the award podium. “It is truly an honor to witness the glory of these young people.”
“The reason I invited all of your military districts here today was also to let you see just how outstanding the recruits of our East China Military District really are.”
After speaking a series of words befitting a leader, Xu Lin gave the host a signal, and the host declared in a ringing voice, “Now let us invite the recruits who have received honors to come on stage. Commander Xu will personally present their medals.”
Among the soldiers seated below, a trace of surprise appeared in their eyes.
For the military district commander to personally present the awards was an extremely rare sight, and a rare honor in itself.
And these were recruits who had not even officially become regular soldiers yet. When they themselves had been recruits, all they had done was train desperately. What honors had there ever been for them to receive?
Under the gaze of the entire audience, Jiang Yichen and the other four slowly walked onto the award podium decorated in bright red and took their places at measured intervals.
The host opened a red-bound document and spoke solemnly. “Recruit Training Camp, Formation One, Group One, Jiang Feng!”
“Faced with the oncoming SS-Rank Beast Tide, he showed no fear of death and still charged forward bravely. For resisting the Beast Tide, he is hereby awarded the honor of ‘Second Class Merit’!”
As soon as the words fell, applause erupted from below the stage. Smiling broadly, Xu Lin slowly took the medal from the tray held by the ceremonial guard and personally pinned it to Jiang Feng’s chest.
He patted Jiang Feng on the shoulder and nodded in satisfaction.
Jiang Feng stood there in a daze, then gave Xu Lin a military salute. Lowering his head to look at the medal on his chest, he remained silent for a long while.
“Tang Long...”
“Chu Xingchen...”
“Su Linyu... awarded the honor of ‘Second Class Merit.’”
As the host read out each name, Xu Lin presented their honorary medals one by one.
The upper ranks from the various military districts below the stage were all astonished.
For trainee recruits to receive a ‘Second Class Merit’ was truly almost unbelievable. Nothing like it had ever happened in the entire history of the East China Military District.
But in the very next moment, the host spoke again with even greater force.
“Group One Leader ‘Jiang Yichen,’ by his own strength, stopped the SS-Rank Beast Tide and made an immeasurably great contribution to protecting the lives and property of the people of East China. He is hereby awarded the highest honor, ‘Special Class Merit.’”
The moment the words fell, the entire hall burst into an uproar, and even the applause stopped for a moment.
Below the stage, Shen Qingyue, dressed in a white soft-satin qipao, smiled proudly when she heard the host’s words.
“Well done, son,” she murmured to herself.
Under the witness of every gaze in the hall, East China Military District Commander Xu Lin slowly lifted the medal shining with golden light.
That medal, which symbolized the highest honor in the military, was pinned by Xu Lin onto Jiang Yichen’s chest.
Staring at the medal, Xu Lin stood straight as a ramrod and saluted. “Thank you for your contribution to East China!”
That single action caused every soldier in the hall to rise to their feet. Looking at the medal on Jiang Yichen’s chest, they all gave him a perfectly standard military salute.
Even Shen Qingyue was stunned. Her son was actually this impressive.
Jiang Yichen alone, upon seeing this scene, felt that it was honestly a little hard to take in.
In his previous life, he had only been a lowly soldier at the very bottom of the military district. Never had he been given such a grand salute by the great figures of all ten military districts.
In the end, Jiang Yichen also straightened his body and returned the salute.
The medal on his chest, the one symbolizing the highest honor and coveted by every soldier, shone brilliantly beneath the lights of the hall.