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

At 6:30 p.m. the next day, a scene unprecedented since the establishment of the recruit company appeared on the parade ground.

All the platoon leaders, squad leaders, and deputy squad leaders stood in two rows on the track, without exception.

Company Commander Zhou stood by the track, whistle in his hand, his expression even colder than during the meeting the previous night. He blew the whistle, and more than twenty men simultaneously began to march, their training boots kicking up a cloud of fine dust as they stepped onto the cinder track.

Twenty kilometers.

When the news reached the dormitories of each class, the new recruits reacted in a surprisingly unanimous manner—first they were stunned, and then they all rushed to the corridors and windows to see.

Li Mo ran in the middle to slightly ahead of the group, with a steady pace and even breathing. As he turned the corner, his gaze swept over the dormitory building, paused for a moment, and then he veered off the running track, running towards the dormitory building.

Li Mo ran to the bottom of the guardrail and looked up at Bai Ye. He had run most of the 20-kilometer race, and his breathing was only slightly heavier than usual. There was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, which reflected the dappled sunlight.

"Why are you on the playground instead of resting properly?" Li Mo's voice was slightly panting from exercise, but his questioning tone was not weak at all.

Bai Ye looked down at him, her expression unchanged. "The infirmary is too stuffy. I came out for some fresh air."

Li Mo frowned, but did not pursue the matter further.

"Wait here."

He turned around and walked quickly back to the track, saying something to Lu Xiao.

Then he crossed the runway and walked back to where Bai Ye was.

"Get down," Li Mo said to Bai Ye, looking up at him.

Bai Ye tilted her head. "Where to?"

"bathhouse."

Bai Ye's expression changed from calm to obvious confusion.

"Why are you going to the bathhouse?"

Li Mo raised his finger and pointed in the direction of Bai Ye's head, the movement concise and powerful.

"Your hand is injured, it's inconvenient for you. Let me wash your hair."

Bai Ye paused for a moment. He looked down at his right arm, which was in a cast, and then looked up at Li Mo.

"I can do it myself—"

"It can't be washed properly with just one hand."

Bai Ye thought about it and realized that what Li Mo said made sense.

He nodded.

"OK."

Li Mo was already waiting downstairs. He watched as Li Mo came out of the stairwell and turned to walk towards the bathhouse.

After walking a few steps, two more footsteps sounded behind them.

Lu Xiao had somehow slipped off the track, his hands in his pockets, following behind with a cryptic smile. Xuan Xiao followed beside Lu Xiao, his steps quick and hurried, his expression shifting between "I'm very concerned about my partner" and "Should I not have come?" The two contradictory signals were clearly evident in his gait.

Li Mo stopped and turned around, his gaze sweeping over the two people.

"What are you doing here?"

Lu Xiao's smile was so sincere it was almost suspicious.

"I was just seeing if there was anything I could do to help. Bai Ye's hands aren't very mobile, so having one more person means having two more hands."

Xuanxiao nodded frantically beside him, his pace as fast as a chick pecking at rice.

Li Mo stared at them for three seconds.

Lu Xiao's smile remained unchanged, and Xuan Xiao shrank back slightly but did not retreat.

Li Mo ultimately said nothing, turned back and continued walking forward, his pace quickening considerably, his refusal obvious. But Lu Xiao seemed completely oblivious to his body language, following behind at a leisurely pace, with Xuan Xiao keeping pace with Lu Xiao as well.

Bai Ye walked to the sink and stood there.

Li Mo walked behind him, tested the water temperature, and set both the cold and hot water pipes to flow at the same time, adjusting it to a just-warm temperature.

"Lower your head."

Bai Ye lowered his head, exposing the back of his neck completely. The collar of his hospital gown was slightly raised, revealing a small section of skin on the back of his neck.

Li Mo held the showerhead in one hand and used the other hand to shield Bai Ye's forehead, letting the water flow down her hair.

After Bai Ye's hair was wet, its color darkened, and strands of it clung to her scalp, with water droplets dripping from the ends into the pool.

Li Mo squeezed shampoo into his palm, rubbed it together, and applied it to Bai Ye's hair. He then slowly rubbed his fingers into the hair. His fingertips had calluses from years of holding a gun, but he controlled the pressure very lightly, making sure to massage every part of Bai Ye's head, from the hairline to the top and back of the head.

The foam slowly piled up, forming a white clump on top of my head.

Bai Ye kept her eyes closed and didn't move. Hot water kept flowing through her hair, and the refreshing minty scent of shampoo filled the air.

Xuanxiao stood to the side and behind.

From this angle, you can see the water flowing down Bai Ye's nape, droplets sliding down her hair and dripping into the collar of her hospital gown, staining that small patch of fabric a dark color. Then the water flows more and more, the collar gradually sags, and a thin layer of water glistens on the skin of Bai Ye's nape.

Xuanxiao's Adam's apple bobbed.

Bai Ye tilted her head, closed her eyes, and asked something, but her voice was half-covered by the sound of water and couldn't be heard clearly. Li Mo stopped what she was doing, bent down, and leaned closer to listen.

As the steam rose from the water, a thin layer of pink shone through the watery sheen on the back of Bai Ye's neck.

Xuan Xiao hurriedly raised his hand to cover his nose.

His movement was too forceful, and his elbow struck the partition behind him with a dull thud.

Li Mo turned his head, his foam-covered hand still hanging in mid-air, his brows slightly furrowed. He glanced at Xuan Xiao covering his nose and remained silent for a second.

Lu Xiao reacted faster than him. The instant Xuan Xiao covered his nose, he took a step forward, grabbed Xuan Xiao by the back of his collar, and dragged him towards the bathhouse entrance like a sack of potatoes.

"Let's go, let's go," Lu Xiao said in a light tone, as if he were saying that the weather was nice today. "It's too humid here, let's go outside for some fresh air."

The bathhouse curtain was lifted and then fell back down. Xuan Xiao was dragged out, his steps were unsteady, and he was still tightly covering his nose with one hand, with a suspicious red glimpse showing between his fingers.

Li Mo stared at the swaying curtain and remained silent for a moment.

Bai Ye had his eyes closed and didn't see this scene; a large clump of foam was still on his hair.