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

On the way back from the bathhouse, Xuanxiao walked at the very back the whole time.

As he approached the dormitory building, he suddenly quickened his pace, walked between Li Mo and Lu Xiao, and took a deep breath.

"Squad leader, Deputy Squad Leader Lu, I have an application."

Lu Xiao turned his head to look at him, raising his eyebrows slightly. This kid usually speaks very loudly, so his voice is so low right now, it must not be anything serious.

"explain."

"I want to go to the infirmary to keep Bai Ye company tonight."

Lu Xiao paused for a moment. Li Mo also paused for a moment.

Caught between two starkly different gazes, Xuan Xiao instinctively shrank back, but he still finished his sentence: "He lives alone in the infirmary, and his hand is injured, so there's no one to help him get water at night. Besides, there was the suicide attempt during the day, what if—what if he has nightmares tonight?"

"Bai Ye's mental fortitude is the best in the entire company," Li Mo's voice was devoid of any warmth. "Even if you have nightmares in the middle of the night, he won't have them."

"That's different! No matter how strong his mental fortitude is, he's still a human being! His hand is broken! He's one-armed!" Xuan Xiao argued, raising his voice slightly before quickly lowering it again. "I'm his partner, isn't it normal for me to go and accompany him?"

"Are you aware of the rule that you're not allowed to leave the dormitory after lights out?"

"I know, but—"

"No buts."

"Class monitor, rules are rules, but Bai Ye's situation is a special case—"

"no."

"How about this—you can punish me. You want to punish me, right? Punish me by making me sit in the infirmary all night, without sleeping, okay?"

Li Mo's temple throbbed.

"Squad leader, I'm serious!" Seeing that his squad leader wouldn't listen, Xuan Xiao changed tactics, his tone shifting from pleading to accusation. "Bai Ye just had surgery this afternoon! His bone is broken! Steel pins are in! He's lying alone in the infirmary, surrounded by the smell of iodine and disinfectant, with no one to talk to! Don't you know that loneliness affects a wounded soldier's recovery? There's scientific evidence to support that!"

"Xuanxiao." Li Mo stopped and turned around.

Xuanxiao stopped abruptly, almost crashing into it.

"Are you telling me about scientific evidence?"

Xuan Xiao swallowed hard, but still stubbornly refused to back down.

Lu Xiao finally spoke up. He took the lollipop stick out of his mouth and said with a smile, "Old Li, just let him go. I have to go there tonight anyway—the army doctor said Bai Ye might be in pain after the anesthesia wears off completely, so someone needs to watch over him. I might as well just stay there for the night and save myself the trouble of going back and forth."

Li Mo turned to look at him, her eyes saying, "Why are you getting involved now?"

Lu Xiao shrugged, looking innocent. "This is my job. It's part of the deputy squad leader's duties to care for the wounded."

Xuanxiao immediately grasped at this lifeline and nodded frantically.

Li Mo remained silent for three seconds. He knew he was being manipulated by these two working together from the inside. Xuan Xiao was in charge of arguing, while Lu Xiao was in charge of offering a way out; their coordination was almost rehearsed.

He glanced at Xuan Xiao's face, which seemed to say "I'll keep talking if you don't agree," then at Lu Xiao's face, which seemed to say "I'm just here to help," and finally closed his eyes.

"Assemble at the infirmary in ten minutes."

Xuan Xiao was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant, and his expression instantly lit up. "Class monitor, you agree?"

"I'll go keep an eye on you," Li Mo said, then turned and left.

Xuan Xiao stood there, his smile freezing before it could fully open.

As Lu Xiao walked past him, he patted him on the shoulder and chuckled, "You're still too green to fight an old fox, little fox."

Ten minutes later, the three people appeared in the corridor of the infirmary on time.

Bai Ye was leaning against the hospital bed, holding a glass of water in his left hand, preparing to take his medicine. When he heard footsteps in the corridor, he thought it was the military doctor coming to check on him, but when he looked up, he saw three figures walking in a line.

His hand paused for a moment, and the water glass stopped at his lips.

Bai Ye slowly put down the water glass, swallowed the medicine, and then his gaze swept across the three people's faces one by one.

"What are you doing?"

Xuanxiao was the first to answer, his speed almost like he was answering a question before anyone else: "I'm afraid you'll be lonely."

Lu Xiao leaned against the window, legs crossed, a lollipop stick dangling from his lips. "You don't need to worry about us here. Just be a background character. Go to sleep, eat, and leave us alone."

Bai Ye turned her gaze to Li Mo.

Li Mo was rearranging the items on Bai Ye's bedside table—anti-inflammatory medicine on the left, water glass on the right, and magazines in the middle, just out of Bai Ye's reach: "to prevent someone from getting handsy."

Bai Ye's expression changed from confusion to even greater confusion.

Who laid a hand on whom? What did they do? What did they do?

A subtle silence filled the air.

Xuanxiao's face turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"No way! I'm just here to keep him company! How could you think that of me, class monitor!"

Li Mo ignored him and pulled up a chair to sit on the other side of the hospital bed.

Looking at the layout, Lu Xiao almost choked on the candy in his mouth. He turned his face to the window, his shoulders shaking.

Bai Ye looked around the room, then glanced at his right arm in a cast, his expression shifting from confusion to a faint sense of helplessness.

"Alright," Bai Ye gave up thinking and leaned back against the pillow. "Do as you please."

Xuan Xiao immediately moved the stool forward, trying to get closer to Bai Ye. But Li Mo's gaze swept over at the same time, and the sound of Xuan Xiao's stool legs scraping the ground stopped abruptly. He obediently moved the stool back to its original position.

"I'm just adjusting my position," Xuanxiao explained in a low voice.

Li Mo withdrew his gaze.

Lights out sounded promptly at 9:30. Li Mo got up and turned off the overhead light in the recovery room, leaving only a small nightlight on the bedside table.

Xuan Xiao nestled on a small stool, a thin blanket covering his legs, his head resting against the wall. His breathing gradually calmed down. Lu Xiao flattened the folding chair, turning it into a makeshift bed that could barely be used, and put his hands behind his head.

Li Mo sat motionless in the chair, his back straight, his gaze fixed on the door, like a statue guarding the entrance.

Bai Ye put down the magazine and turned his head in the dim light. He saw Xuan Xiao huddled on the bench—his legs were too long, his knees bent at an acute angle, the thin blanket half-slid down to the ground. He saw Lu Xiao lying on the folding chair, his hands behind his head, his chest rising and falling steadily. He saw Li Mo's profile outlined by the nightlight, a strong silhouette; he sat there, neither lying down nor closing his eyes.

"Class monitor."

Li Mo's voice came from the darkness, deep and clear: "Sleep."