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

Bai Ye looked at his outstretched arms, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded: "Make up."

Li Mo leaned forward and pulled Bai Ye completely into his arms.

On the other side...

"Hold."

Xuan Xiao's fingers were already white marks from gripping the mineral water bottle. The plastic bottle made a slight squeaking sound in his palm, and cracks had appeared at the cap, with water droplets seeping out from the cracks and trickling down his fingers, but he didn't notice at all.

He stood up abruptly, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a screeching sound.

"I'm going out for some fresh air."

Lu Xiao reached out and pressed down on his shoulder, not with much force, but just enough to prevent him from standing up.

He leaned closer, his voice extremely low, as if afraid of being overheard: "Don't be impulsive. Which eye of yours saw the captain having any improper thoughts? It was just an older brother hugging his younger brother, a proper brotherly embrace. Look at Bai Ye's expression; he completely relaxed after hugging the captain. If you rush over now and interfere, you'll ruin his hard-won peace of mind. Are you hiding something and thinking everyone else is guilty too?"

Xuan Xiao gritted his teeth, his cheeks angular and sharp: "I have nothing to hide."

"Then why are you squeezing the water bottle?"

"Can't I be strong enough?" Xuan Xiao's voice was squeezed out from between his teeth, but he did put the water bottle down, and the bottom of the bottle made a dull thud when it was placed on the bedside table.

Lu Xiao patted his shoulder and stopped teasing him.

Xuan Xiao sat on the edge of the bed, watching Li Mo release Bai Ye and stand up. He whispered something to Bai Ye, who nodded. Then Li Mo turned and walked towards the bathroom. The sound of the bathroom door closing could be heard, and the sound of water could be faintly heard through the wall.

Xuan Xiao waited for three seconds, then five seconds, until the sound of the water stabilized. He then sprang up from the edge of the bed and rushed to Bai Ye's bedside in three quick steps.

Bai Ye was leaning against the headboard, still a little dazed from being hugged by Li Mo, when suddenly a face with features scrunched up in grievance was right in front of her.

Xuanxiao squatted by the bed, his hands resting on the edge of the bed, looking up at him with an expression like a large dog that had been soaked in the rain and had nowhere to hide.

"You slapped my hand away this afternoon." Xuanxiao's voice carried a hint of accusation, though he was clearly aggrieved but was trying not to show it. "I rushed over from the observation area, my feet were covered in snow, and my boots were soaked. I took off my coat and put it on you—you didn't even look at me before slapping my hand away. It was really loud; the whole shooting range could hear it."

"It wasn't that loud."

"That was really loud!" Xuan Xiao's voice rose half an octave before quickly dropping back down, as if he were suppressing something. "My hand is still red! Look!"

As he spoke, he extended the back of his hand in front of Bai Ye. Bai Ye glanced down at it, then looked up at Xuan Xiao's face, which was filled with the expression "I am very wronged".

"I know you're angry," Xuanxiao withdrew his hand and clenched it on his knee, speaking even faster than before, "but you're angry with the captain, not with me. I didn't do anything wrong, I was just worried you'd get cold, worried you'd get a fever, worried you'd end up in the infirmary with a fever of over 39 degrees Celsius like last time. Why did you slap my hand? When you slapped my hand, I thought you never wanted to talk to me again."

He got more and more excited as he talked, and by the end his voice even had a bit of a nasal tone. I don't know if he was genuinely aggrieved or just acting.

"I've been thinking about this since this afternoon, almost four hours now—are you angry because I climbed into your bed this morning? But you were the one who let me up there yesterday. You said I could come to you if I had nightmares, and you promised. You can't go back on your word. If you ignore me because of this, who will I turn to when I have nightmares? I can't exactly climb back up to the captain, can I? You saw how he almost strangled me this morning."

Bai Ye was silent for two seconds. Then he reached under his pillow, pulled out a blueberry candy, and handed it to Xuan Xiao.

Xuan Xiao looked down at the candy, then at Bai Ye's face: "I don't want candy."

Bai Ye frowned: "Then what do you want?"

Xuanxiao did not answer.

He lunged forward from his crouching position, landing on top of Bai Ye, his arms wrapped around Bai Ye's back, and he buried his face in the crook of Bai Ye's neck.

Bai Ye was thrown backward by his tackle, his head nearly hitting the wall. He instinctively raised his hand to push him away, but before he could exert any force, he stopped.

He thought about it and realized that he had indeed slapped Xuanxiao's hand away first that afternoon. Xuanxiao had only come over to put a coat on him, without any ill intent; he had simply taken his bad mood out on Xuanxiao. Xuanxiao hadn't done anything wrong; he had just patted the other person's hand, and the other person had felt wronged all afternoon.

So he withdrew the force that had pushed him away, put his hands down, and quietly let Xuan Xiao hold him.

Xuanxiao's body temperature wafted through his T-shirt, warm and cozy, carrying the residual warmth of the soap and hot water from his recent shower.

Bai Ye was held tightly in his arms, and could feel his breathing gradually become steady, and the heartbeat coming from his chest gradually slowed down.

Xuan Xiao was burning up. He was like a large dog that had just climbed off a radiator, pressing hotly against Bai Ye, his arms wrapped around his waist, his chin rubbing against his neck a couple of times before finding the most comfortable position.

Bai Ye was held a little tightly, and his breathing became slightly shallower. He didn't push him away, but simply turned his face slightly to make his breathing easier.

After an unknown amount of time, the tension in his shoulders gradually eased, his back became less stiff, and his eyes slowly closed.

Xuan Xiao felt the person in his arms change their breathing rhythm. It changed from shallow and rapid to deep and steady, and the rise and fall of their shoulders also decreased, and the person relaxed in his arms.

He glanced down—Bai Ye was asleep. She was in his arms, held quietly, her eyelashes drooping, her breathing even. Her fingers, somehow, were resting on his arm, loosely clasped, as if she had unconsciously grasped something reassuring before falling asleep.

Xuan Xiao couldn't suppress the smile on his face. He remained motionless in that position, breathing very softly, afraid of waking the person in his arms.

At the other end of the dormitory, Xie Huai'an looked up from his communication log and saw Xuan Xiao nestled on Bai Ye's bed and Bai Ye, who was already asleep in his arms.

His eyebrows twitched, and he made a very soft tsk sound.

Wen Yan sat opposite him, followed his gaze, then smiled, closed the book in her hand, and said in a low voice, "You'll get used to it."