Film and TV Crossover: A Soldier's Assault, The Thorny Rose

A copper star on her collar hides a secret about space. Lin Xi had planned to keep her head down through recruit training, but the Steel Seventh Company forged her into someone tough as nails.

She teaches Xu Sanduo to fold his “millimeter-perfect” tofu-block bedding, and trains beside him as he goes from a burden to charging forward with a pack of explosives. She and Cheng Cai go from rivals on the sniper range to comrades fighting back-to-back to break through. Wu Liuyi's wrist guard, Shi Jin's notebook, and Gao Cheng's military saber all become her “medals of growth.”

Her score of ninety-seven in live-fire marksmanship reverberates across the range. During the life-or-death Old A selection, she grips her vow to “never abandon” anyone. The rose in camouflage has no need for a greenhouse; sweat tempers her into someone tougher than steel.