Rebirth of a Mercenary: The Ace Mercenary Forced to Be the Beloved of the Group

The winter night in the Gobi Desert was so quiet it was as if the whole world had been muted. There was no wind outside the window, and the snow on the training ground gleamed a cold white under the moonlight. Occasionally, a drop of water would drip from an icicle hanging from the horizontal bar, making a very faint sound as it hit the snow.

Xuan Xiao suddenly opened his eyes.

He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving, and his T-shirt was soaked with cold sweat and clung to his skin.

He sat on the upper bunk, his hands gripping the edge of the blanket, his knuckles white. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart, but his heart was pounding wildly in his chest, making his temples throb with pain.

He sat for a while, making sure he couldn't fall asleep again, then quietly climbed down from the top bunk. He squatted down next to the bottom bunk, watching Bai Ye.

Bai Ye was asleep on her side, wrapped in a blanket, wearing the faded old T-shirt. The spot below her collarbone where the dagger had once pierced her was now completely unrecognizable. Her black, tousled hair was scattered on the pillow, and her breathing was even and long, her chest rising and falling slowly with each breath.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting a thin, silvery glow on the profile of his face. Xuan Xiao crouched beside the bed, one hand gripping the edge, the other cautiously reaching out to tug at Bai Ye's blanket. He tugged once, no response. He tugged again, still no response.

"Bai Ye," he called out in a low voice, as soft as if he were doing something wrong.

Bai Ye's eyelashes fluttered, but she didn't open her eyes. She simply let out a very soft "hmm" from her nose. That "hmm" was sleepy and soft, unlike the Bai Ye who usually said "boring" with a cold face.

"I...I had a nightmare." Xuanxiao's voice had a slight nasal tone when he said this, which he himself did not notice.

He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, and added, "I can't sleep. Can I... squeeze in with you?"

Bai Ye finally opened his eyes. He turned his head to look at Xuan Xiao, who was squatting beside his bed. In the moonlight, he could see clearly that Xuan Xiao's forehead was covered in cold sweat, his T-shirt collar was soaked with sweat, and his fingers were trembling slightly as he gripped the corner of the blanket.

The man, who was usually as flamboyant as a peacock, was now huddled up by his bedside, looking like a large dog soaked in the rain.

He remained silent for several seconds, then shifted further inside and lifted a corner of the blanket. He didn't speak, but his actions spoke volumes.

Xuan Xiao's eyes lit up, and he practically scrambled onto the bed. The lower bunk wasn't wide to begin with, and with the two boys squeezed together, the space immediately became cramped.

Bai Ye lay on his side with his back against the wall, and Xuan Xiao faced him, able to feel the warm temperature emanating from the other through his thin T-shirt.

He reached out and pulled the blanket up to cover the two of them, then naturally pulled Bai Ye into his arms.

He slipped one hand under Bai Ye's neck to cushion his head, while the other arm encircled his back, hooking his shoulder blades. He rested his chin on the top of Bai Ye's head, pulling him completely into his embrace. The movements were incredibly fluid, as if he had rehearsed them countless times in his mind.

Bai Ye was being held so tightly by him that he could hardly breathe, and he shifted his shoulders, trying to adjust his position. Xuan Xiao noticed his movement, loosened his grip slightly, and slid his hand down from Bai Ye's shoulder blade, inadvertently touching Bai Ye's side.

Bai Ye's body trembled violently, as if he had been electrocuted.

Xuan Xiao's hand froze. He felt the person in his arms tense up for a moment, like a cat whose softest spot had been touched, its back arched, and even its breath paused.

Bai Ye raised her head, frowned, and glared at him with displeasure. In the moonlight, Bai Ye's face showed displeasure at being offended, her brows furrowed, and her lips pressed into a straight line.

"Don't touch it." His voice was low and sleepy, but there was no room for negotiation in his tone.

"I—I didn't—I just wanted to—" Xuan Xiao stammered, quickly removing his hand from Bai Ye's waist and placing it properly on Bai Ye's shoulder blades, not daring to move an inch.

His heart was pounding even faster than when he had that nightmare, so fast that he was sure Bai Ye could feel it through his chest. But after Bai Ye said those three words, she buried her face back in the pillow and closed her eyes.

Xuan Xiao's entire body was screaming. The touch just now—through the thin T-shirt, he felt that waist involuntarily tense up, the temperature of the skin transmitted through the fabric to his fingertips, and Bai Ye's slight trembling for a moment.

He buried his face in Bai Ye's hair, trying to suppress the uncontrollable heat rising in his body with deep breaths.

Then he smelled it.

Blueberry flavor. It's very light, sweet, and slightly cool, like the clean aroma of blueberries hanging on the branches after the rain, dried in the sun.

It wasn't the smell of shampoo, laundry detergent, or any artificial scent. It was Bai Ye's natural body fragrance.

Xuanxiao knew this—he had noticed it long ago. After Baiye trained and sweated, the blueberry scent would become more pronounced than usual, wafting out from the nape of his neck mixed with a thin layer of sweat.

Every time he handed Bai Ye blueberry candy, he would secretly smile to himself—he didn't need to eat candy at all; he himself was a blueberry.

Now his nose was buried in Bai Ye's hair. The scent of blueberries was no longer a faint wisp that he would usually pass by, but rather a dense, overwhelming fragrance that filled his nostrils—warm, sweet, and clean, mixed with the warm body temperature of Bai Ye when she had just woken up.

His brain completely shut down in that instant, and his thoughts felt as if an invisible hand had forcefully pressed him into blueberry jam—thick, sweet, and utterly unusable.

His body reacted before his brain did—a surge of heat rushed up from his lower abdomen, his blood flow accelerated suddenly, and his heart pounded as if someone were drumming in his chest.

He clenched his teeth, desperately suppressing the uncontrollable physical reaction, his forehead pressed against Bai Ye's head, his eyes closed, even his breathing extremely shallow. He dared not move. He was afraid that the slightest movement would allow Bai Ye to discover the change in his body.

Bai Ye shifted in his arms, finding a more comfortable position, resting her forehead against his chest, her fingers unconsciously gripping the front of his T-shirt.

Bai Ye was completely unaware of anything amiss, his breathing gradually becoming even and long. To him, Xuan Xiao was just a teammate who had been terrified by a nightmare; sharing half the bed with him was a simple favor, and he was being held by Xuan Xiao because the bed was too narrow.

Xuanxiao cursed himself inwardly—someone kindly offered him half a bed, and what was he thinking? Beast. Shameless. Animal.

But he did not let go.