Chapter 14
After running ten laps, Ye Xuan lay sprawled on the ground like a dead dog, limbs spread wide, dizzy and lightheaded. His neck had still hurt a little before, but now he was so exhausted he could not even feel it anymore.
“Stop lying there. We still have to regroup with the main team.”
Nan Yunzhou dragged Ye Xuan up from the ground.
“Don’t stand with me later. I’m begging you.”
Nan Yunzhou blinked. “Why? I just want to stand with you. You’re interesting.”
Ye Xuan was too weak to even complain.
Nan Yunzhou raised two fingers and promised Ye Xuan, “I promise I won’t bother you later, okay?”
His wet, puppy-like eyes made him look exactly like a silly, adorable large dog.
Even if Ye Xuan said no, with this person’s temperament, he would not listen anyway. Forget it. He would ignore him. Just consider it his bad luck.
Ye Xuan held onto his hand, his legs trembling as he walked forward.
When the two of them reached the main team, the team leader was sitting in the shade with his legs crossed. He glanced at his wristband and roared, “So slow. Were you crawling around the training field?”
“Again—”
Nan Yunzhou’s eyes changed, and his voice sank. “Team Leader.”
Those pretty puppy eyes turned dark and eerie.
The team leader’s expression stiffened. He stammered, “Forget it. Don’t let it happen again. Return to the team for free training.”
“Let’s go, new teammate.” Nan Yunzhou cheerfully helped Ye Xuan away. Ye Xuan’s head was too foggy to notice anything strange.
The team leader watched Nan Yunzhou leave and patted his chest with lingering fear. Ever since this guy had come here, he looked like a cheerful fool every day. Whatever he was told to do, he did it. The team leader had nearly forgotten that this person was someone the higher-ups had specially “taken care of.”
Nan Yunzhou helped Ye Xuan sit down in a corner. Ye Xuan naturally lay straight down on the ground. He could not care less whether it was dirty or not. Even if it were a mud pit, he would still lie down.
“New teammate, you know that if reserve combat team members can’t become official team members within seven days, they’ll be sent to mine ore, right?” Nan Yunzhou crouched beside Ye Xuan and propped up his face.
“I know.”
“Then you need to train harder! Life isn’t about giving up and rotting away!”
“Please, this is only the first day. What’s the rush?” Ye Xuan waved his hand. “If you’re anxious about this, hurry up and train.”
Stop tormenting him.
“Me?” Nan Yunzhou pointed at himself, revealing eight teeth as he smiled brightly. “But I’m not anxious at all!”
Nan Yunzhou held up one finger, and a strand of blue-white light curled around his fingertip.
“What is that?”
“Lightning.” Nan Yunzhou casually tossed the lightning to the side, blasting a small pit into the ground.
Such a tiny strand of lightning could already blow a hole in the ground. Its power was obvious.
“You’re an ability user.”
“Yeah!” Another bolt of lightning appeared in Nan Yunzhou’s hand. He flicked it out, and this time the pit was even bigger than before. “Isn’t it amazing?”
“If you’re an ability user, why are you in the reserve team?”
“Want to know?” Nan Yunzhou leaned closer to Ye Xuan. “If you want to know, hurry up and get up to train.”
Ye Xuan raised his hand and covered his eyes.
“No. I don’t want to know.”
“You do want to know!” Nan Yunzhou forcibly pulled Ye Xuan up from the ground. “Let’s hurry and train!”
Ye Xuan was so frustrated he wanted to throw his head back and howl at the sky. Why did this world have people who were so energetic and never got tired?
After a full day of training ended, Ye Xuan felt as if his whole body were floating toward immortality. His ability had not awakened, but he himself was almost tired into a corpse.
What had he gained?
He had gained a pair of ears callused from noise.
“New teammate, where are you going later?”
“That’s my privacy.” Ye Xuan planned to go to the family quarters. During training, his wristband had received a message saying his parents had already been brought to the family quarters.
“Don’t be like that.” Nan Yunzhou hugged Ye Xuan’s arm.
Ye Xuan brushed Nan Yunzhou’s hand away. “Thank you for helping me train today, but this is the first time we’ve met. Can we keep some sense of boundaries?”
Who chatted nonstop like a household registration officer the first time they met and even forced someone else to train?
Nan Yunzhou’s shoulders drooped in disappointment.
“Alright.”
But very quickly, he smiled again and waved at Ye Xuan. “Then, new teammate, see you tomorrow!”
Out of politeness, Ye Xuan also waved at him. After saying goodbye, he headed toward the family quarters.
The family quarters were indeed very far from the training field.
How far?
He had walked for nearly an hour and still had not arrived. With his damned debt status, he could not even afford a bicycle.
Beep beep. A vehicle horn sounded beside Ye Xuan’s ear.
“Are you planning to walk all the way to the family quarters and then walk back from there too?” Xia Chenxi stopped beside Ye Xuan on an electric scooter.
As if seeing his savior, Ye Xuan immediately climbed onto the back seat and wrapped his arms around Xia Chenxi’s waist.
“Xia Chenxi, can I lean against your back?”
“Suit yourself.”
Ye Xuan leaned against Xia Chenxi’s back. The burning heat passed through the thin short-sleeved shirt and reached Ye Xuan’s face.
“How did you know I was here?”
“I saw you touching your neck all the time yesterday, so I went to Xie Yan and asked him to prescribe you some medicine to ease the pain. We chatted a little, and Xie Yan told me your parents were being sent to the family quarters today. Adding the fact that you still hadn’t returned to the dorm this late, I guessed you were going to the family quarters. Also, Xie Yan said you were punished today for not wearing a combat uniform, so I already collected your combat uniform for you.”
“Xia Chenxi, why are you so good to me?” Ye Xuan finally asked the question he had been holding in his heart all this time.
“Just as you think I’m pitiful, I also think you’re pitiful. When I was insignificant, someone once reached out a hand to me. So I want to pass that kindness on.”
So that was it.
If the convenience store owner knew Xia Chenxi had become someone with such upright values, he would probably feel very comforted.
“If you think I’m being too good to you, I can also throw you off right here.”
“Xia Chenxi!”
Damn Xia Chenxi. He had actually learned to make dry jokes with him.
The two of them arrived at the family quarters together. After registering at the entrance, they went inside. The family quarters looked more like a residential community. There were four buildings in total, and Ye Xuan’s parents lived in Building A, Room 322.
They got into the elevator. Ye Xuan swiped his wristband, and the elevator automatically went up.
“We came too suddenly. I didn’t prepare a gift,” Xia Chenxi said, touching his neck.
“It’s okay. My parents don’t care about that kind of etiquette.”
“Whether they care is one thing. Whether I give something is another.”
“Then go buy something now.”
“Ye Xuan!” Xia Chenxi cast him a cool glance.
Ye Xuan smiled and patted his shoulder. “I’m joking.”
They soon reached Room 322. Ye Xuan stretched out his finger and pressed the doorbell.
The ten or so seconds of waiting felt torturous to Ye Xuan. Then the door opened, and when Ye Xuan saw his mother, whom he had not seen in so long, he could not help rushing forward.
“Mom.”
“You brat, you’re already so grown up. Can’t you be a little steadier?” Father Ye scolded him.
Ye Xuan let go and gave Father Ye a big hug too. “Old man, I know you’re jealous.”
“Hmph, your dad is not.” Though he said that, Father Ye still hugged Ye Xuan. They had not seen each other for more than three months. They only had this one son. Even if this brat was mischievous, they still wished they could give him everything they had. “Brat, you’ve lost so much weight.”
“You’ve lost a lot of weight too.”
Ye Xuan let go and looked at Father Ye, then at Mother Ye. His father had white hair growing on his head, and his mother’s face was sallow from exhaustion.
“You suffered a lot, didn’t you?”
