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

Xuan Xiao shoved the bathroom door open with his shoulder and then hooked it back with his heel.

Xuan Xiao braced himself against the edge of the pool, turned on the tap, and cold water gushed down, splashing onto the bottom of the white porcelain basin. He lowered his head, letting the sound of the water fill his ears.

Hold.

He turned on the cold water valve next to him, turning the water temperature down to the lowest setting. He cupped his hands together, scooped up a handful of water, and splashed it directly onto his face.

The second handful. The third handful. He simply stuck his whole head under the tap, letting the cold water wash directly over the back of his head.

It was really cold, but the heat in my head didn't drop at all.

White Night's Waist.

He closed his eyes, and the image played automatically in his mind—the spot where his thumb had pressed down, the curve of his lower back, the warmth of his skin seeping through the thin fabric. And that muffled groan.

Xuan Xiao suddenly opened his eyes and lifted his face from under the faucet.

He stared at the disheveled figure in the mirror for three seconds.

What is he thinking?

Bai Ye is male.

male.

He mentally went over those two words several times, as if trying to confirm something.

Yes, male.

He only reached the bridge of his nose, his shoulders were a size narrower than his, his waist was so thin that he could wrap his hands around it, his skin was so white it reflected the sunlight, and his eyelashes were so long that they could brush against his neck when he slept on top of him.

stop.

Xuanxiao scooped up another handful of water and splashed it on his face.

Bai Ye is a man. What's so attractive about a man? Which man in the military doesn't have a slim waist? Zhao Xiaohu has a slim waist too—no, Zhao Xiaohu's waist isn't slim. Qian Duoduo's waist isn't slim either. These new recruits are trained like dogs every day; they're lucky if they can even stand. Body management? Doesn't exist.

Xuanxiao found himself thinking about Baiye's waist again.

He slapped himself.

Calm down. Let's start from the beginning.

Bai Ye is good-looking.

This is an objective fact, not his subjective conjecture.

That face had been there for him since the first day on the bus—a clean-cut jawline, a straight nose, and perfectly proportioned brow bones. The sun was blazing on the training field; everyone's faces were red and oily from the sun. After being in the sun, Bai Ye's cheeks were pink, and beads of sweat clung to his eyelashes, rolling down with every blink.

Stop. It's veering off course again.

Xuan Xiao took a deep breath, braced his hands on the edge of the pool, and reorganized his logic amidst the gushing sound of the tap water.

First, Bai Ye is good-looking. That's an objective fact. Everyone in the recruit company thinks he's good-looking; he's not the only one who thinks so. The fact that people think Bai Ye is good-looking has nothing to do with whether he's male or female. Good-looking is good-looking; aesthetics transcend gender. This line of reasoning is sound.

Secondly, Bai Ye has a good physique. That's an objective fact. When he's practicing rifle shooting, lying on the ground, his training uniform clings to his body, making his broad shoulders and narrow waist proportions immediately apparent. When marching in formation, his back is ramrod straight, and with his belt tightened, his waistline is clearly defined. This isn't because he's staring at him; it's because everyone is lined up together during formation training, it's hard not to see him. Right? Right?

Third, Bai Ye has a pleasant voice. That's even more normal. There are plenty of people with pleasant voices, including announcers. He wouldn't have any particular feelings for an announcer, would he? It's just that Bai Ye sometimes gets annoyed and says a few extra words, and that slightly impatient tone at the end is indeed quite distinctive—but that's not the point.

Fourth, Bai Ye is incredibly strong. This is the most crucial point. He can easily outmaneuver the entire class with a rifle, fold blankets to perfection three times, memorize regulations and rules after a single reading, and stand at attention like a javelin nailed to the ground. Such a person shines in the military, like the sun in the sky, drawing everyone's attention. He admires Bai Ye because Bai Ye is worthy of admiration. It's only natural for the strong to admire the strong.

In summary.

All his attention to Bai Ye, all his concern, and all his inexplicable patience and care stemmed from his admiration.

appreciate.

Yes, it's about appreciation.

Xuan Xiao straightened up from the pool and nodded to the solitary figure in the mirror. His expression was resolute, his jawline taut, as if he were completing an important tactical deployment.

He reached out and turned on the faucet. The water stopped, and the entire bathroom instantly fell into a vast silence, so loud that the faint echo of the remaining water in the drainpipe could be heard from afar.

He shook the water off his hands, then slicked back his soaking gray hair, only halfway through—

Bai Ye lay face down on the bed, his face buried in the pillow, the curve of his back extending down his spine to his lower back. When his thumb pressed down, the skin there felt slightly warm. Bai Ye arched his back, his toes curled, and a muffled groan escaped his throat as if it had been crushed and squeezed out—

Xuanxiao put his face back under the tap.

Cold water was poured over the back of his head again, running down his neck and into his collar, soaking a large patch of his training uniform that clung to his skin. He held that position for about ten seconds, until the back of his head felt numb from the water, before slowly raising his head.

The nosebleed had stopped long ago. But he wasn't sure if it would start flowing again when he went back and saw Bai Ye.

He stood by the sink for a while, his soaked hair dripping water onto his shoulders and the terrazzo floor. The moonlight shifted slightly from the high window, falling on his bare feet and casting a long shadow behind him, stretching from the innermost washbasin stall all the way to the wall at the other end of the bathroom.

Actually, it's not that he hadn't thought about it.

The fact that Bai Ye is a man has never seemed to be a problem for him. The problem lies in what Bai Ye himself thinks.

Bai Ye let him massage his shoulders, let him lie on his body to sleep, and refused to rest even when the shooting training went overtime, insisting on waiting for him—was Bai Ye like this to everyone, or only to him?

No, that's not right. Bai Ye wouldn't let anyone sleep on him. If Zhao Xiaohu dared to lie on Bai Ye, he'd probably be thrown over Bai Ye's shoulder and sent straight to the infirmary.

Therefore, Bai Ye treats him differently.

This conclusion made Xuan Xiao's lips curl up in a smile. Halfway up, he realized he was laughing, so he immediately pulled his lips back and put on a calm and composed face again for the figure standing at the end of the empty bathroom in the mirror.

But the corners of its mouth wouldn't obey. They curled up again.

Xuan Xiao gave up. He wiped the water off his face, looked at the person in the mirror who couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth, and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"It's hopeless."

He said this to himself in the mirror.

He stood in the bathroom for a few more minutes until he was sure the nosebleed had stopped, then took a deep breath and turned to walk towards the door.

The moment he pushed open the door, the light from the corridor flooded in, making him squint. He could hear Zhao Xiaohu and Qian Duoduo's muffled laughter from the dormitory in the distance, and Bai Ye's indifferent voice saying something. He couldn't make out the exact words, but the tone of his voice was so distinctive that he knew it was him immediately.

Xuanxiao's nose felt hot again.

It's nothing. I'm just appreciating it.

Yes. It's just appreciation.