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

The prone crawling training is scheduled for 8:00 AM.

Company Commander Zhou briefly explained today's training exercises at the front of the formation: prone crawling, side crawling, switching between high and low positions, with barbed wire and obstacles set up along the way. As he spoke, his gaze swept over Bai Ye's right arm, which was draped across her chest, and he paused for a moment.

"Bai Ye, you are not participating in the crawling training today."

Bai Ye nodded. This result was within his expectations—the crawling motion, which relies on the arms for support and dragging the body forward, puts too much strain on the right arm, and the military doctor would not allow it.

-

The sun was already blazing, and the sandy ground was scorching hot; you could feel the heat rising from the ground to your body even through your training uniform.

Zhao Lei blew a whistle, and training began. The recruits lay prone on the sand, elbows on the ground, feet pushing off, and like eels, they slithered under the barbed wire.

Bai Ye sat under the shade of a tree. A small folding table was placed under the tree, and on the table was a military-style washbasin.

Half a watermelon was soaking in the basin.

Lu Xiao stood by the shade of a tree, his hands behind his back, his expression perfectly authentic—a fake seriousness that seemed to say, "I'm just doing my duty as the deputy squad leader to take care of the wounded."

"Little bok choy, is the watermelon sweet?"

Bai Ye scooped up a mouthful of watermelon, put it in his mouth, chewed it twice, and nodded.

"Then eat more. It's hot, the wounded need to drink plenty of water."

Qian Duoduo, struggling beneath the barbed wire, raised his head. His face was covered in sand, sweat weaving deep furrows into it. He stared at the watermelon under the shade of a tree for a full three seconds, then let out a heart-wrenching accusation: "Deputy Squad Leader! Are you even human?!"

Lu Xiao turned to look at him, her smile unwavering. "What's wrong? What's wrong with the watermelon? That's for the wounded. You have a problem with that?"

"We're climbing in the sand! He's sitting under a tree eating watermelon!" Qian Duoduo's voice echoed beneath the barbed wire, carrying a bitter resentment at being deceived by life. "And you even gave him a cold bath!"

"Soaking watermelon in cold water is basic common sense," Lu Xiao said without changing his expression. "A watermelon that isn't soaked in cold water has no soul."

Zhao Xiaohu peeked out from under the barbed wire fence, his face also covered in sand, a small pebble stuck to his lips. He looked at Bai Ye under the shade of the tree, then at the scorching sand beneath him, and after a long pause, he finally managed to say, "Brother Ye, can I have some?"

Bai Ye looked up at him, then scooped up another mouthful of watermelon and put it in her mouth. After slowly chewing it, she finally spoke: "No."

Zhao Xiaohu's expression shattered.

"Why should I?!"

"Your right hand isn't broken."

Zhao Xiaohu opened his mouth, only to find the logic impeccable. Tears welled in his eyes as he buried his face back in the sand and continued crawling forward.

Half an hour into the training, the class's resentment had reached a breaking point. The sun was getting increasingly scorching, the sand was getting hotter, and Zhao Lei had lowered the barbed wire by another five centimeters—now the gaps were only wide enough for one person to barely squeeze through sideways. Each time they climbed, several white marks from the barbed wire would appear on their training uniforms, and the fabric on their elbows and knees was already frayed from the sand.

Bai Ye, under the shade of the tree, had just finished eating the first layer of half a watermelon. He stuck the spoon into the flesh, picked up the water glass next to him, took a sip, and leaned against the trunk of the banyan tree. A gentle breeze blew from the other side of the playground, ruffling his tousled hair.

Zhao Xiaohu lay sprawled on the finish line, panting like a fish washed ashore. He turned his head, looking at the white night under the shade of a tree, and uttered a hollow sentence: "I will remember today."

Qian Duoduo, lying beside him and also panting heavily, added, "I'll remember that too. It's too cruel. The squad leader is too cruel."

An hour later, Zhao Lei blew the rest whistle.

"Ten-minute break!"

The moment those words landed, the recruits under the barbed wire collapsed to the ground as if their bones had been removed. Then, slowly and painfully, they crawled up from the sand, using both hands and feet, and walked towards the shade of the trees at the edge of the parade ground.

Bai Ye stood up from beside the folding table, bent down and took out the half-eaten watermelon soaking in cold water, walking towards the crowd. All eyes were on him—or more precisely, on the watermelon in his hand. But he bypassed all the craning necks of the recruits and stopped in front of Xuan Xiao.

Xuan Xiao had just sat down on the tree root, his training uniform covered in sand, the sleeves pushed up above his forearms, a small patch of skin rubbed off his elbow, oozing fine beads of blood. He was tilting his head back to pour water into his mouth when he caught a glimpse of a figure stopping in front of him, putting down his water bottle, and saw Bai Ye.

Bai Ye handed him a slice of watermelon.

The area under the tree became quiet.

Zhao Xiaohu's water bottle was suspended in mid-air, water overflowing from the spout and spilling all over his pants without him noticing. Qian Duoduo's mouth was agape, his expression even more shocked than when he heard that Bai Ye had a full ring on his left hand.

Bai Ye offered Xuan Xiao a watermelon on her own initiative? Which Bai Ye?

Xuan Xiao looked down at the watermelon in front of him, then looked up at Bai Ye. His reaction was calmer than anyone expected—a slight smile played on his lips. He didn't laugh exaggeratedly, nor did he turn around to show it off to the whole class. He simply took the watermelon and asked in a tone reserved only for the two of them, "Are you giving me special treatment?"

Bai Ye nodded and hummed in agreement.

Xuanxiao lowered his head and took a bite of watermelon. The flesh burst in his mouth, and the coolness traveled from the tip of his tongue all the way to his stomach, extinguishing most of the heat he had felt from being scorched on the sand all morning.

He chewed on the watermelon, the corners of his mouth curving upwards—he tried to suppress it, but couldn't. His lips seemed to have a mind of their own, beyond his control, stubbornly turning upwards.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath, his face buried behind the watermelon, his tone filled with barely suppressed smugness, "this watermelon is so sweet."

Looking at his demeanor, Zhao Xiaohu, with the sand still in his mouth, couldn't help but ask, "Brother Ye, why does Xuanxiao have watermelons but we don't?"

Bai Ye turned to look at him, her expression calm. "Your right hand isn't broken."

"Xuan Xiao's right hand wasn't broken either!"

Bai Ye tilted his head slightly, his tone unchanged, "He's different."

These four words fell into the crowd like a pebble thrown into a calm pond.

Zhao Xiaohu clutched his chest, leaning painfully against Qian Duoduo. Qian Duoduo patted his shoulder and said in a somber tone, "Forget it, don't ask anymore. The more you ask, the more you'll feel."

Xuan Xiao didn't join in their wailing. He sat on the tree root, eating watermelon bite by bite, the corner of his mouth always curved in a smile, not ostentatious, but it just wouldn't go away.