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

The path from the infirmary to the dormitory building wasn't far, but Xuanxiao walked very slowly.

Bai Ye walked ahead, and he followed behind, always lagging behind by half a shoulder's distance.

We've arrived at the dormitory building.

The door to Class 1's dormitory was ajar, and there was little sound inside. Usually, the dormitory was noisy at this time—but today it was unusually quiet.

Bai Ye pushed open the door, walked in expressionlessly, stood in front of his bed, and bent down to take off his shoes.

Then Zhao Xiaohu made a move.

He stood up from the bed, his knees slightly weak as he walked, and his round face looked as if he had just been pulled from the water. He took two steps toward Bai Ye.

They had only taken two steps.

Xuan Xiao stepped out from behind Bai Ye, standing like a wall in front of him.

Startled, Zhao Xiaohu jerked backward, his back slamming against the lower bunk frame with a thud. He landed heavily on his backside, his face turning deathly pale.

"Brother Xiao, I—"

"What are you doing here?" Xuanxiao's voice was very low, but every word seemed to be ground out from between his teeth.

Zhao Xiaohu's lips trembled a few times, and he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time. His eyes were already red.

Bai Ye reached out from behind Xuan Xiao and pressed down on Xuan Xiao's arm.

Xuan Xiao glanced down at the hand. Bai Ye's fingers were long and slender with distinct knuckles, pressing down on the sleeve of his training uniform with a steady but not excessive force.

"Get out of the way," Bai Ye said.

"he--"

"Get out of the way."

Xuan Xiao gritted his teeth and took a half-step to the side. Not far, just half a step. Bai Ye withdrew his hand from his arm, and he could feel that the fabric still retained a little warmth.

Bai Ye took a step forward, facing Zhao Xiaohu directly. Zhao Xiaohu sat on the bed, looking up at Bai Ye, his eyes red and brimming with tears. His mouth opened and closed, and he made intermittent swallowing sounds.

"Brother Ye." He finally managed to squeeze out a address, his voice trembling violently, "Brother Ye, I...I..."

He suddenly bowed ninety degrees to Bai Ye.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I really didn't mean to!" His words grew faster and more fragmented, his voice muffled as he bowed. "I panicked when the gun jammed. When I turned around, I didn't see you standing there at all. I really didn't see you—if I had seen you, I would never have turned the gun that way—Brother Ye, I'm sorry—I almost killed you—"

He was trembling when he said that last sentence.

Bai Ye looked at him and said, "I'm fine."

Zhao Xiaohu raised his head, his face covered in snot and tears.

"Really...really?"

"The bullet grazed me, it's nothing serious," Bai Ye said. "You should really apologize to me, not me."

Zhao Xiaohu paused for two seconds, then wiped his face hard with his sleeve and nodded vigorously.

"I...I'll wait for the class monitor to come back."

Bai Ye glanced at him, said nothing more, and turned to walk back to her bed. As she passed Xuan Xiao, she casually reached out and pressed down Xuan Xiao's still clenched fist.

Xuan Xiao looked down at his hands, then at Bai Ye, and slowly loosened his fist.

The dormitory fell silent again.

At around 8:30, the dormitory door was pushed open.

Lu Xiao entered first, carrying a plastic bag containing several bottles of saline solution and a pack of sterile gauze.

"Hey, why aren't you saying anything? Isn't it usually like a bustling market at this time of day?"

No one responded.

Li Mo followed Lu Xiao in. He had changed into a clean training uniform, and the outline of gauze could be vaguely seen under the fabric on his right shoulder.

He walked to his bunk and bent down to tidy the sheets.

Zhao Xiaohu stood up.

His legs were trembling, but he still gritted his teeth and walked up to Li Mo.

"Class monitor."

Li Mo straightened up and turned to look at him.

Zhao Xiaohu took a deep breath and bowed ninety degrees to Li Mo.

"Squad leader! I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! I shouldn't have panicked when the gun jammed! I shouldn't have turned around without checking the direction of the muzzle! I violated all the safety regulations for firing positions! I almost killed Bai Ye! And I hurt you too! I—" His voice rose higher and higher as he bowed, finally breaking into a choked sore, "I'm so sorry!"

Li Mo looked at the back of Zhao Xiaohu's head. From Lu Xiao's angle, he could see the veins on Zhao Xiaohu's temples bulge slightly.

Zhao Xiaohu's shoulders trembled more and more violently. He felt the gaze above him like a knife, but he dared not look up.

Li Mo spoke up.

"Um."

Zhao Xiaohu finally broke down in tears. He remained bowed, sobbing as he said, "Class monitor, I promise I'll never do it again... I promise... If I do it again, I'll kick myself out..."

Lu Xiao couldn't stand it anymore.

"Alright, alright." Lu Xiao's voice was light, like he was mediating between two children fighting over a toy, but every word carried undeniable weight. "This matter is over. No one is allowed to mention it again."

He patted Zhao Xiaohu on the back, with just the right amount of force, causing Zhao Xiaohu to stumble forward a step.

"Zhao Xiaohu, go back to sleep. Tomorrow, it's time for morning exercises and training." He glanced at all the new recruits in the dormitory, his gaze lingering on each person's face for a moment. "That's an order. This matter is over. Everyone here is a comrade-in-arms, someone who entrusts their lives to each other on the battlefield. Do you understand?"

"Understood," the recruits replied sparsely.

Li Mo didn't speak. He turned around and continued making his bed, his movements meticulous.

-

The lights went out.

The dormitory fell into darkness. Someone turned over in the darkness, and the bed creaked. Then came Qian Duoduo's voice, so low it was almost inaudible.

"Little Tiger, don't cry. It's really over."

Zhao Xiaohu took a deep sniff in the darkness.

"Um."

The dormitory fell silent. Moonlight streamed in through the window, casting a pale silver-gray glow on the floor. Bai Ye lay on the lower bunk, staring at the bed frame above her.

A slight noise came from the upper bunk, then the bed creaked, and something dangled from the edge of the bed—it was Xuan Xiao's hand, fingertips pointing downwards, dangling in mid-air.

"Bai Ye." Xuan Xiao's voice came from above, very low, so that only the two of them could hear it.

Bai Ye stared at the waving hand without responding.

"If you're unhappy, you can kick me anytime. I won't fight back tonight." The hand waved twice more, as if confirming its presence.

Bai Ye raised his hand and slapped the hand away.

"Shut up. Go to sleep."

The upper bunk was quiet for two seconds. Then the hand fell down again, this time without swaying, just hanging there quietly, the fingers slightly curled.

"Your hand was so cold when you pressed me just now." Xuan Xiao's voice was even lower, as if he were talking to himself.

Bai Ye did not answer. But a soft laugh, muffled by a pillow, came from the direction of the upper bunk, very low and fleeting in the darkness.