Volume 1: The Empire Awakens Chapter 3: Hidden Rules (Part 2)
When he arrived at the venue, Tan Renhao felt much better.
He never imagined that Major General Liao Hanxiang would take a liking to him, a newly graduated second lieutenant, and even wrote a letter to President Nie Renfeng, requesting that he be sent to the Fifth Fleet.
Of course, there were many things he hadn't expected.
"Renhao, where have you gone? I've been looking for you for a long time!"
Lei Shaoqing came out from nowhere and came to Tan Renhao's side. "The party will start in five minutes. Are you going to act like a clown?"
Tan Renhao smiled awkwardly, and at the same time noticed the girl who was following Lei Shaoqing. She was wearing a nursing school uniform and had a few freckles on her face.
There is an unwritten rule at the Imperial Naval Academy's graduation ball that the first dance is led by the ten best graduates of the year. Of course, they have to find a suitable dance partner first.
If you can't find a dance partner, you will be called a "clown ". Of course, in history, there are many super generals of the empire who have served as clowns at graduation balls.
For example, the current commander of the Second Fleet, Lieutenant General Jiang Bangguo (Jiang Zhongmin’s grandfather), played the role of "clown" at the graduation ball that year, but this did not prevent him from becoming a famous general of the Imperial Navy.
"Come with me now, I've found a dance partner for you, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"
Lei Shaoqing didn't care about that and pulled Tan Renhao into the crowd.
"Shaoqing, what are you doing..."
Before he could finish his words, Tan Renhao saw the nurse who had been with him in the hospital for a month.
Just as Lei Shaoqing said, she was this year's graduate of the Nursing College.
However, there were two other people next to her, one of them was Fan Peikun, and the other was Fan Peikun's roommate.
"Renhao, what do you think? I didn't lie to you, did I?"
Lei Shaoqing seemed a little excited, "Let me introduce you, this is..."
"My name is Liao Yingyu, and you are Lieutenant Tan Renhao, right?"
The female nurse extended her hand generously.
"But the last time I saw you, you were lying in a hospital bed!"
Tan Renhao shook hands with Liao Yingyu somewhat awkwardly.
"Ms. Yingyu, I am very grateful for your care. Actually..."
"Ms. Yingyu, may I have the honor of inviting you to be my dance partner?"
At this time, Fan Peikun interrupted the conversation between the two people and looked at Tan Renhao with a slight provocation.
"Hello……"
Lei Shaoqing's reaction was far stronger than Tan Renhao's.
"What are you doing? We were here first. Don't you know the first come first served rule?"
Fan Peikun's roommate came over immediately.
Tan Renhao pulled Lei Shaoqing. He didn't want to cause trouble here, and he didn't like causing trouble either.
"Second Lieutenant Tan Renhao, according to the rules, shouldn't I be the first to invite a dance partner?"
Van Persie seemed a bit arrogant.
This is another unspoken rule of the Imperial Naval Academy: those with better grades will be given priority in inviting dance partners.
"Lieutenant Fan Peikun, that depends on whether the other party accepts your invitation!"
Tan Renhao was also a little angry. He couldn't stand Fan Peikun's arrogant look. Then, he smiled and said to Liao Yingyu: "Miss Yingyu, can you be my dance partner?"
Liao Yingyu smiled and put her hand on Tan Renhao's elbow. She had made her choice.
Tan Renhao smiled and glanced at Fan Peikun, then pushed away Fan Peikun's roommate who was blocking him and walked towards the center of the dance floor.
"snort!"
Lei Shaoqing sneered at Fan Peikun very arrogantly, and walked into the dance floor with the dance partner he invited.
As a military drum sounded, the lights on the dance floor dimmed a lot, and then a lively dance music started playing.
There were only nine couples dancing the first dance, and someone soon noticed that this year's recipient of the Order of the Gold-embellished Sea Lion, Fan Peikun, was not there.
However, this did not affect everyone's mood, because this was the festival of another 599 young officers who had just officially joined the Imperial Navy!
The second dance began, and dozens of other couples also entered the dance floor.
The nine couples who came on stage earlier will not be able to leave until the second dance ends.
"I heard that you and Lieutenant Lei Shaoqing are both from Wenzhou?"
Whispering while dancing is a great way to communicate.
Tan Renhao smiled and nodded.
"Yes, we all ran away secretly to join the army, do you believe it?"
"Of course I believe it!"
Liao Yingyu also laughed. "Wenzhou has produced many big businessmen, but not many generals. I heard that General Zheng Haisi also ran away from home, joined the Imperial Navy, and eventually became a famous general of the Imperial Navy. I wonder if this is the reason you came to the Imperial Navy?"
"Let me put it this way. I was forced to join the army. As for why, you can only guess!"
Tan Renhao had never been in love during his three years in the military academy. However, as a native of Wenzhou, and with the constant "teaching" of the "playboy" Lei Shaoqing, he was very good at grasping the mentality of girls.
"So, what's the reward if I guess correctly?"
Liao Yingyu is obviously very interested in prying into other people's privacy, which may be a common problem among women.
"If you guessed it, then how about I date you first after graduation?"
Tan Renhao laughed.
"If you're going to the ' Bonaparte , then I can still consider it!"
"No problem, at most I'll save up the first half of the year's allowance, but you'll have to wait for the first half!"
Both of them laughed at the same time. The allowance of a naval lieutenant officer was very low, and the "Bonaparte Restaurant" in Songjiang was a top-notch French western restaurant.
At this time, the dance ended and the two followed others to leave the dance floor.
Tan Renhao glanced at Liao Yingyu, and after obtaining consent, the two of them walked into the dance floor again. The third dance would be a fast-paced bullfighting dance.
Next, Tan Renhao danced three dances in a row with Liao Yingyu. Only when the nurses were ready to go back did they reluctantly leave the dance floor.
It was already past ten o'clock in the evening.
When they sent Liao Yingyu to the school gate, the two stopped.
At the same time, notes with correspondence addresses were exchanged, which was a hint and signal for further developing the relationship.
Afterwards, the two said goodbye with some reluctance.
When they were about to get in the car, Liao Yingyu suddenly stopped, turned around and said loudly to Tan Renhao: "Run away from marriage, lieutenant, remember 'Bonaparte Restaurant'!"
Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, then he smiled bitterly. Liao Yingyu had not forgotten the joke.
