Chapter 32
“I’ve already submitted your official team member profile for you. You just need to go to the training field and complete an ability qualification assessment, then you can join a team.”
Xie Yan smiled and lifted his chin at him. “Now, open your wristband profile and take a look.”
Ye Xuan did as told.
His personal information had been updated.
Name: Ye Xuan
Status: —
Number: 0112
Ability: Space Ability User
Funds: -2000
Dormitory: Building A, Room 322
His debt had decreased, and the odd amount had even been wiped off for him.
Xie Yan said, “Becoming an official team member comes with a reward fund. I applied for a little extra for you. Also, you can apply for your own single dorm now. You don’t have to keep co-renting with someone else.”
Xie Yan also told Ye Xuan a few other trivial things.
Finally, he told Ye Xuan to extend his wristband. He revealed his own wristband and tapped it against Ye Xuan’s.
Xie Yan’s wristband was clearly more advanced and more refined.
“You can exchange merit points for equipment like this. Work hard, little guy.” Xie Yan patted Ye Xuan on the shoulder.
Ye Xuan lowered his head and walked out of the laboratory. He was looking at the notification: Xie Yan’s friend request.
He tapped accept.
An automatic message popped up.
Xie Yan: Congratulations. You have obtained Special-Grade Researcher Xie Yan as a friend.
No wonder Xie Yan had only instructed the nurse before and never added him as a friend. So he simply had not been qualified to add him.
“Keep walking and you’ll hit the wall.”
His forehead bumped into a large palm, and Ye Xuan immediately stepped back. “Sorry.”
The person in front of him did not respond. He raised his head and realized the person standing before him was Xia Chenxi, whose expression did not look very good.
Ye Xuan asked blankly, “Y-you didn’t leave?”
With a dark face, Xia Chenxi reached out and pressed the brim of Ye Xuan’s hat down.
“In your eyes, am I the kind of person who storms off after hearing a couple of things I don’t like?”
Ye Xuan adjusted his hat. In truth, he wanted to say: You look like it.
“What did Xie Yan say to you?”
“My current physical condition, and then he told me to report to Training Field No. 2 this afternoon.” Ye Xuan originally wanted to tell Xia Chenxi about accidentally falling into the hidden door in the laboratory. But after thinking carefully, that was extremely important experimental data to Xie Yan, so he decided not to say anything.
“That’s it? That chatterbox only said that much to you?”
Ye Xuan slightly lifted the brim of his hat. When he realized Xia Chenxi was looking at him, he immediately pressed it back down.
“He also told me I can apply for a single dorm now. I don’t have to continue co-renting with you. I’ll slowly pay back what I owe you later.”
A chill instantly came from beside him, and Ye Xuan shivered.
Could it be because he owed too much, and Xia Chenxi was unhappy that he would pay him back so slowly?
Anger simmered in Xia Chenxi’s chest, burning hotter and hotter. Who knew how many more things this guy would say that he did not want to hear?
The angrier he became, the faster he walked, leaving Ye Xuan far behind.
Ye Xuan caught up to him and grabbed his sleeve.
“Don’t be angry. I’ll move out as soon as possible.” He was not someone who liked troubling others either.
Xia Chenxi fiercely shook off Ye Xuan’s hand and left behind one sentence.
“Do whatever you want.”
Ye Xuan stood where he was, watching Xia Chenxi’s back as he walked away, at a loss. He had already said he would repay Xia Chenxi, so why was he still so angry?
The nurse who had led Ye Xuan earlier noticed him. Judging from the atmosphere between those two just now, things had already seemed bad. Had it completely fallen apart now?
“Here.” She handed Ye Xuan a tissue. “Your eyes are very red. You look like you’re about to cry.”
Ye Xuan accepted the tissue and lowered his head to hide his eyes.
“Sorry. I cry too easily.”
The nurse said to Ye Xuan, “I used to often see the person who came with you come to see Special Researcher Xie. Because he’s tall and handsome, and official team members usually don’t come to the hospital so frequently, I asked Special Researcher Xie one extra question about why. He told me that person wasn’t coming for himself.”
The nurse covered her mouth and lowered her voice. “I’m guessing it was for you. He must care a lot about you.”
Ye Xuan froze. He hurriedly left behind a thank you and ran outside.
Why did Xia Chenxi walk so fast? He could not catch up to him at all, and he could not find him either.
In a daze, he searched everywhere and bumped into quite a few strangers. Ye Xuan went from sincerely apologizing to becoming a numb machine that only said sorry.
He bumped into someone again.
With an empty gaze, Ye Xuan opened his mouth. “Sorry.”
He brushed past that person’s shoulder and continued forward. He did not know where he was going. He only knew he had to find Xia Chenxi. As for what he would say after finding Xia Chenxi, he did not know either. He only knew that he had to find Xia Chenxi.
His arm was grabbed with great force, and his entire body was turned 180 degrees.
Ye Xuan lifted his eyelids. Those empty eyes gradually became vivid. His lips moved a few times before he finally called out those three words.
“Xia Chenxi.”
Xia Chenxi’s gaze was very complicated. He leaned his head against Ye Xuan and whispered beside his ear.
“Let’s go. Let’s go back. You still have to report in this afternoon.”
He had known early on that Ye Xuan was wandering around like a lost soul looking for him. He had only been afraid—afraid and angry that Ye Xuan would tell him they should not even be friends anymore.
But in the end, he still could not bear it.
Ye Xuan raised his hand and gently placed it on Xia Chenxi’s arm. His voice was as faint as a breeze brushing past Xia Chenxi’s ear.
“Xia Chenxi, can I continue applying to co-rent with you?”
“Alright. Let’s go back.”
On the way back, neither of them spoke again.
Only belatedly did Ye Xuan feel awkward, while Xia Chenxi was annoyed at himself for his childish temper.
This situation only lasted until they entered the dormitory.
“You go in first.”
“You go in first.”
“Then I’ll go first.”
“Then I’ll go first.”
They squeezed into the doorway at the same time, and Xia Chenxi’s large frame almost flattened Ye Xuan into a long-nosed king.
He immediately stepped back, grabbed Ye Xuan by the back of the waist, and brought them both through the door together.
Ye Xuan felt like he was just a little chick in Xia Chenxi’s hand.
“You eat quite a lot. How are you still this thin?”
Xia Chenxi frowned. Ye Xuan’s waist was so slim that it was only about the width of his two hands.
“I just have a small frame.” Ye Xuan broke free from Xia Chenxi’s hand, turned around, and compared his wrist with Xia Chenxi’s. “Your frame is almost twice mine.”
Their gazes met. Less than three seconds later, both of them covered their faces and looked away.
“I-I’ll go to my room and change before going to the training field.”
Ye Xuan ran back to his room and closed the door. They were two grown men. So what if they looked at each other? Why was his heart beating so fast, like it was about to explode?
He went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face before finally calming down.
After changing into his combat uniform, Ye Xuan left his room and saw Xia Chenxi, who was sitting on the sofa, had also changed into a combat uniform.
“Didn’t you say you had two days off?”
Xia Chenxi stood up.
“Combat requires maintaining your feel for it. Otherwise, you’ll get rusty. I’m voluntarily going to the training field to train.”
Who thought about work during vacation? Just as Ye Xuan could not understand why Xia Chenxi had been so devoted to studying back at school, he also could not understand why Xia Chenxi suddenly loved working this much.
But this was Xia Chenxi’s own choice, and he respected it.
Besides, they would be at the same training field. If there was anything he did not understand, Xia Chenxi could also answer his questions.
