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

During afternoon training breaks, the shady spots along the edge of the drill ground became a battleground for the new recruits.

Bai Ye sat in the spot closest to the tree trunk, his back pressed against the rough bark, one leg bent and the other straight.

He unscrewed the kettle lid, tilted his head back, and took a sip.

A figure ran from the direction of the playground.

"Ha ha ha ha--"

Xuan Xiao laughed so hard he leaned against Bai Ye.

Bai Ye held the kettle steady and turned her head to look at him.

Xuan Xiao was laughing so hard he couldn't stand up straight.

He laughed for a long time, until his throat was dry, and his laughter changed from "hahaha" to intermittent breathy sounds.

Bai Ye just stared at him like that. Her expression remained unchanged; she showed neither a tendency to laugh nor any sign of impatience.

Xuan Xiao finally calmed down a bit. He straightened up, wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand, and took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself. Then he turned to face Bai Ye's expressionless face and almost laughed again.

Aren't you going to ask me what I'm laughing at?

"What are you laughing at?"

Xuanxiao leaned against the tree trunk, bent one leg, and rested his arm on his knee, looking as lazy as if he were on a picnic.

"I just went to find the deputy squad leader."

When he spoke, the corners of his mouth were still turned up, carrying the lingering aftertaste of a smile.

"I knocked on the door for a long time but no one answered, so I pushed the door open and went in. There was no one in the office, and there were two pieces of paper on the table."

He held up two fingers.

"Two self-criticisms. Written by Qian Duoduo and Zhao Xiaohu."

Bai Ye waited for him to continue.

"In his self-criticism, Qian Duoduo compared Squad Leader Li to a water buffalo."

Bai Ye's expression remained unchanged.

"They said that the way Squad Leader Li was covered by the blanket was like a water buffalo grazing on a field ridge with a frog jumping on its face. They even added that water buffaloes are very hardworking, but the squad leader's authority was much heavier than that of a water buffalo."

Bai Ye blinked.

"Zhao Xiaohu was even more amazing. He wrote the whole process of the blanket flying up in slow motion, saying that the blanket looked like a big green bird, a green cloud, and a green parachute. He described Squad Leader Li's covered face as a statue covered by a white cloth that had not yet been unveiled."

Xuan Xiao started laughing again as he said this, his shoulders shaking and his voice trembling.

"Just think about Sergeant Li's face, it's like a water buffalo—a statue—King Kong—hahahaha—"

Xuanxiao's laughter echoed under the shade of the trees for a while before gradually subsiding.

He looked up, panting, a barely suppressed smile on his face. Then he looked at Bai Ye.

Did you understand?

"I understand."

"Then why aren't you smiling?"

Bai Ye put the kettle down and screwed on the lid.

"What's so funny?"

Xuanxiao opened his mouth.

He stared at Bai Ye for two seconds, as if to confirm whether the man was deliberately putting on a show. But Bai Ye's expression was extremely sincere—he genuinely didn't get the joke.

Xuanxiao reached out and pinched Baiye's face.

He dug his fingertip into the soft flesh of Bai Ye's right cheek and gently pulled it outward. The skin was softer than he had imagined, with a slightly warm temperature from sun exposure, like a glutinous rice ball warmed by the sun.

"Are you made of wood? Aren't you smiling?"

Bai Ye frowned.

He raised his hand and slapped Xuan Xiao's hand.

"Smack."

Xuanxiao's hand was slapped to the side, leaving a faint red mark on the back of his hand.

But Xuanxiao did not react.

The moment Bai Ye slapped his hand away, a small gust of wind arose. That wind, carrying a very faint scent, drifted from Bai Ye's sleeves and collar, along the less than half-arm-width distance between them, and into Xuan Xiao's breath.

Fragrant.

It's not the scent of laundry detergent, nor the scent of shower gel. Those two scents are too industrial, too deliberate; you can tell they're made from chemical additives just by smelling them.

This aroma is different. It's very faint, so faint that if it weren't for the breeze stirred up by that wave of my hand, I wouldn't have noticed it at all. But it's also very distinct—cool, with the sweet and refreshing juice that bursts out when a blueberry is just bitten into, the berry's unique tartness mixed with wild sweetness, like the first blueberry picked in the morning mist, still covered in dew, its skin taut and crisp, the juice exploding on the tongue the moment you bite into it, that crisp, sweet and sour flavor rushing up to your nasal cavity.

The sweetness of blueberries is accompanied by a hint of coolness. It's not the sharp coolness of mint, but the gentle coolness of ripe blueberries under the shade of a tree being caressed by the morning breeze. The sweetness of the berries and the coolness of the forest blend together, like a bowl of blueberry smoothie taken out of the refrigerator on a hot summer day. The moment you scoop it up with a spoon, the coolness and sweet aroma hit you at the same time.

That was Bai Ye's scent.

Xuanxiao's hand remained suspended in mid-air, still in the position after being slapped away.

His brain was like a computer that suddenly crashed; the screen was stuck on one image, the mouse wouldn't click, the keyboard wouldn't click, and all running programs stopped responding at the same time.

Bai Ye frowned when he didn't react.

He stretched out his hand, spread his five fingers, and waved it in front of Xuan Xiao.

"Feed".

no response.

It shook again.

"Xuanxiao".

The focus of those grey-green eyes finally returned. Xuan Xiao blinked, as if he had been pulled up from the deepest part of the water, his consciousness slowly returning to his pupils. He withdrew his hand that had been hanging in mid-air, touched the back of his head, and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something.

"you--"

"Beep—"

A sharp whistle rang out from the center of the playground. The drawn-out whistle, like a pair of scissors, cleanly cut off the words he hadn't yet uttered.

"Rest time over! Everyone, assemble! Military posture training!"

Zhao Lei's voice came from the playground, full of energy, which startled several sparrows in the trees and made them flutter away.

The new recruits, lying haphazardly under the shade of the trees, let out a chorus of groans, but their bodies had already sprung up reflexively the moment the whistle blew.

Bai Ye stood up, dusted off his trousers, put the water bottle down next to the tree roots, and walked towards the meeting point.

Xuanxiao remained seated.

He watched Bai Ye's retreating figure. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dancing in dappled patterns on the boy's shoulders and hair. A corner of his military uniform billowed in the wind, revealing a glimpse of his waist, cinched by a belt.

The scent seemed to linger in the air. Or perhaps it was just his imagination. But deep inside his nostrils, a faint, sweet, and cool blueberry aroma did indeed linger, refusing to dissipate.

"Xuanxiao! What are you dawdling for!"

Zhao Lei's roar came from the playground.

Xuanxiao stood up from the ground, brushed the grass clippings off his body, and ran towards the meeting point.

Military posture training has begun.

The new recruits stood in neat rows on the parade ground, the blazing afternoon sun overhead and the scorching concrete beneath their feet. Sweat seeped from their foreheads and streamed down their cheeks.

Bai Ye stood in the queue, chin slightly tucked, shoulders back, fingers pressed tightly against the seam of his trousers. His posture was as perfect as a textbook illustration. Beads of sweat slid down his temples, across his cheekbones, and gathered into a single, trembling drop at his jawline.

Xuanxiao stood to his right rear.

He looked straight ahead, stood in a proper posture, and breathed steadily.

His Adam's apple bobbed.