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

The canteen is located on the east side of the recruits' dormitory building. It is a separate two-story building with the same beige paint as the dormitory building, but it is more mottled, and a patch of wilted ivy is climbing on the corner of the wall.

Lu Xiao walked at the front, pushed open the glass door of the cafeteria, stepped aside, and made an exaggerated "please" gesture.

Welcome!

A wave of heat, mixed with the aroma of food, hit me.

Li Mo led his group to the food window. Behind the window was a row of stainless steel tables, where several chefs were scooping food into plates with large ladles. One of the chefs, bald, looked up, saw Li Mo, grinned, and revealed a gold tooth.

"Hey, Sergeant Li, leading new recruits this year?"

Li Mo nodded.

"Come on, come on, the first meal for new recruits: noodles as soon as they get off the bus. Same old routine."

Zhao Xiaohu's eyes lit up.

"The noodles after getting off the bus? There's such a thing?"

"Of course," the bald chef said as he ladled soup into the bowl. "Dumplings before departure, noodles upon arrival—it's a tradition passed down from our ancestors. Eating this bowl of noodles means you've settled down here."

Bowls of noodles were served one by one, steam rising gently from them.

Bai Ye carried her tray and found a corner seat to sit down. Just as she picked up her chopsticks, the chair opposite her was pulled out.

Xuanxiao sat down with his bowl in his hand, his movements as natural as if they had agreed beforehand.

Why did you run so far? Everyone in the class is sitting over there.

"Quiet."

"What?"

"It's quiet here."

Xuan Xiao paused for a moment, then laughed. When he laughed, his eyes crinkled, and his air of aristocratic arrogance faded considerably, making him look more like a large dog whose chin had been scratched.

"Don't you find it noisy if I sit here?"

"Disgusting."

Bai Ye's tone was flat and indifferent.

Xuan Xiao's smile froze for half a second, then he smiled even more brightly, and simply moved his plate closer to Bai Ye, sitting more comfortably.

"So what if you complain? I love sitting here."

Bai Ye finally raised her eyes and glanced at him. There was no anger or helplessness in her eyes, only a calm scrutiny as if to say, "Is this person sick?"

Xuan Xiao accepted the scrutiny calmly, and even smiled at him.

Bai Ye looked away and continued eating her noodles.

Xuanxiao took a few bites and then looked up.

"Hey, you've practiced before?"

Bai Ye did not answer.

"I'm talking about that over-the-shoulder throw," Xuanxiao gestured with his chopsticks, "that way of generating power isn't something you can learn in just a couple of days of self-defense practice. How long have you been practicing?"

"I forgot."

"Alright," Xuanxiao said, taking a big bite of noodles and speaking indistinctly, "then let's spar another day."

Bai Ye put down his chopsticks, picked up his bowl, and took a sip of soup. The soup slid down the rim of the bowl into his mouth, warmly rolling down his throat. He put the bowl down and wiped his mouth with a tissue.

"No sparring."

Why?

"I'm afraid you'll cry."

Xuan Xiao's chopsticks stopped in mid-air. He raised his head, his bright green eyes wide open, a mouthful of noodles still dangling from his mouth, looking like a statue frozen in time.

Bai Ye picked up the empty bowl, stood up, walked past him, and went to the window to return the plate.

Xuanxiao slurped the noodles in his mouth and turned to stare at Bai Ye's back.

"Afraid I'll cry?!"

His voice drew the attention of Zhao Xiaohu and Qian Duoduo. The two chubby boys, their cheeks bulging, were holding bowls and looked over like two startled hamsters.

Xuanxiao glared at them.

The two hamsters lowered their heads at the same time, concentrating on eating the noodles in their bowls.

Li Mo and Lu Xiao sat by the window. The food on Li Mo's plate was neatly arranged. He ate at a moderate pace, with each bite being roughly the same size, as if he were following a standardized procedure.

Lu Xiao ate much more casually, with one foot on the crossbar of the empty chair next to him, his chopsticks rummaging through the dishes, picking out only slices of meat.

His gaze fell on the two people in the corner.

Bai Ye carried the empty bowl toward the return window. Xuan Xiao sat in the same spot, still chewing something, but his emerald green eyes were fixed on Bai Ye's back, with an indescribable expression on his face.

Lu Xiao looked away, picked up a piece of twice-cooked pork, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"What are you looking at?" Li Mo asked without looking up.

"Look at Little Cabbage and that gray-haired kid."

"Um."

Aren't you curious?

Li Mo finished the last bite of rice, placed his chopsticks horizontally on the plate, and moved them as neatly as if he were arranging weapon parts.

"It's normal for people trained by Bai Chen to have a good foundation in combat."

Lu Xiao thought about it and felt it made sense.

Who is Bai Chen? He's the captain of the Breaking Void Squad, codenamed Yama, and a top-tier fighter in combat, shooting, and tactical command. How could his younger brother, whom he personally trained, be anything less than exceptional? Although Bai Ye was only eleven years old when Bai Chen left, the foundation had undoubtedly been laid. Furthermore, living alone for the past few years, it's perfectly normal for a child without parents and with a missing brother to push himself to become stronger.

As for Bai Ye's composure that seemed out of place for his age—

Can you expect a child who lost his last relative at the age of eleven and lived alone for five years to be as innocent and carefree as an ordinary teenager?

Lu Xiao put his chopsticks on the plate and leaned back in his chair.

"I just feel," he squinted his golden eyes, looking at Xuan Xiao in the corner who was drinking soup from a bowl, "that Xiao Baicai doesn't seem to like talking to people much."

"His brother is the same way."

Li Mo spoke in a very flat tone, as if he were stating a well-known weather phenomenon.

Lu Xiao recalled the first few years after he met Bai Chen and had to admit that Li Mo was right.

When Bai Chen was young, he also had a cold and unapproachable demeanor. He only showed a little humanity to his younger brother; to everyone else, he had the same "don't bother me" expression. It was only later, when he became the captain, that he was forced to swear by Po Kong and his gang of troublemakers, and he gradually started talking more.

Thinking about it this way, Bai Ye's current personality seems to be a trait inherited from the Bai family.

In the corner, Xuan Xiao finally finished the last sip of soup, picked up the empty bowl, and stood up. He quickly caught up with Bai Ye, put the bowl on the recycling counter, and walked out beside him.

"Hey, Baiye."

Bai Ye turned his head, his amber eyes reflecting the molten gold color in the sunset, and glanced at Xuan Xiao.

"Are you very free?"

Xuan Xiao's heart skipped a beat when he saw those eyes tinged with the color of the setting sun. But the smile on his face remained unchanged, and even deepened a little.

"It's alright. The main thing is that you're the most fun."

Bai Ye withdrew his gaze and walked towards the dormitory building.

"boring."

The sound was carried away by the evening breeze and fell into the sunset behind us.

Xuanxiao stood at the entrance of the cafeteria, watching that straight figure walk into the golden twilight.

He chuckled and started walking after him.

"Wait for me—"