After the assembly whistle sounded, Ke Bu struggled to crawl out of his blanket. He hadn’t slept well at all the previous night. After folding his blanket and washing up, he headed to the gathering point. The other groups had all arrived, yet Ke Bu stood there alone. Am I the only idiot who showed up? What on earth is wrong with those people?! He saw the instructor writing something in a notebook—this is bad, there’s no hope for being the best group this time. The instructor strode over sternly. “What exactly is wrong with your group? What do you think this military training is?!”
Ke Bu opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. The instructor continued angrily, “Do you think it’s impressive that you showed up alone? Forming groups wasn’t meaningless—you’re supposed to have teamwork! If you got up, couldn’t you wake the others?” This year’s luck must be absolutely terrible.
“Go wake them all up immediately.”
“Yes.” Ke Bu replied, following the equally imposing assistant instructor. The assistant instructor was a young man, seemingly doing this job for the first time. He walked up to the tent, lifted the whistle hanging around his neck, and blew it forcefully. “Everyone, get up!” One by one, the others crawled out.
“What kind of appearance is this? Put your hats on properly! And you—what’s with your belt? So sloppy! Among the entire first year, your group is the worst—you’re bringing shame to this squad!” The assistant instructor scolded loudly, then counted the people present. “Why are there only six? Where’s the seventh?”
“Reporting, instructor, he’s feeling unwell.”
“Unwell? What’s wrong with him? Do you think that’s an excuse to sleep in?”
The assistant instructor walked toward the only tent that was still tightly closed. He slowly pulled open the zipper, paused for a few seconds, then slowly zipped it back up. “If he’s unwell, we can’t force him. Let’s go.”
As a result, because of this incident, the entire group had to do an extra half hour of squats compared to the others. By noon, the group members returned like zombies. As soon as they got back, they saw Zhi Li, refreshed and energetic, just waking up. Resentment and jealousy filled the air.
After lunch, the world scorched by the sun pressed down on everyone with waves of heat. It was suffocating. Ke Bu grabbed a piece of paper and fanned himself while pulling at his collar. In summer, being around him is like being around a tiger. Everyone remained silent. Zhi Li frowned, extremely irritable. “So hot.” Aside from Zhi Li’s condition, everyone else had their own thoughts. Ke Bu quickly scanned the five of them—Zhou Xin He was out of the question; Chu Hao Yu looked eager to try; Ying Xiu Jie and Gong Zhu seemed to be thinking of strategies; Su You Yan appeared relaxed, as if watching a show.
Chu Hao Yu walked over with a grin. “Here, Zhi Li, let me fan you.” He moved behind Zhi Li, thinking to himself that he’d sneak in a kiss when Zhi Li wasn’t paying attention. He gently waved the paper. Two minutes passed. Suddenly, he lunged at Zhi Li. Zhi Li drove his elbow into Chu Hao Yu’s abdomen. “So hot—you idiot, don’t come near me.” He jabbed him twice more, leaving Chu Hao Yu groaning in pain.
“If you still have the strength to lie there, hurry up and keep fanning me.” Zhi Li’s cold voice sounded like a command. Chu Hao Yu struggled to get up and picked up the paper again.
Ying Xiu Jie, fired up, stretched and planted his hands on the ground. He lunged at Zhi Li, trying to bite him, but missed—again and again.
Zhi Li pointed behind him. “Look, what’s that?” Ying Xiu Jie turned around in confusion. Zhi Li stepped on his back, pinning him down. “If I tell you to look, you really look? Idiot.” The others watched in shock. Zhi Li grabbed the paper from Chu Hao Yu and stuffed it into Ying Xiu Jie’s mouth, forcing his jaw to chew. “Didn’t I say it’s hot? Don’t come near me. How many times do I have to repeat it?”
The whistle sounded again—the afternoon training began. After witnessing the two of them practically lifeless, Ke Bu was thoroughly shaken. Force won’t work.
The afternoon drills didn’t last long. Due to the extreme heat, everyone was dismissed at three o’clock. Zhi Li’s condition, however, showed no sign of easing. Everyone had to stay at least two meters away from him to avoid generating extra heat. This remote place had no iced water or air conditioning.
Gong Zhu rolled up his sleeves from the heat, revealing his pale skin. Beads of sweat formed lightly on his face, and some boys from other groups seemed to be paying attention to him.
“Lord Zhi Li.” Gong Zhu walked toward Zhi Li, who was sitting there. Losing his balance, he fell straight into Zhi Li’s arms, was caught—and then immediately pushed away. “So hot, don’t touch me.” Gong Zhu sat on the ground, revealing a somewhat pitiful expression, his watery eyes shimmering.
Ke Bu turned his head aside. Damn, too dazzling… is this the ultimate shou method of making the gong fall?
“Lord Zhi Li, I feel a bit dizzy. Could you help me back to the tent?” Surrounded by that dazzling gaze, Zhi Li seemed unmoved. He glanced at Chu Hao Yu, who immediately understood and helped Gong Zhu up. “I’ll take you back.” It seemed Zhi Li was too hot to even bother speaking.
Now what do I do? What should I do?!
The five of them gathered together. Su You Yan sat to the side reading. Zhi Li lay on a rock not far away, one hand behind his head, eyes closed. Above him was shade formed by parasols from Su You Yan and Zhou Xin He. The breeze from the stream gently stirred his hair and fluttered the hem of his clothes. If he didn’t speak or move, who would think that someone so beautiful was Zhi Li?
“Looks like no one’s getting this money or power,” Chu Hao Yu said.
Ke Bu stood up and tilted his neck from side to side. “Holding hands counts too, right?” That was his absolute limit. Chu Hao Yu nodded, though his eyes were full of doubt and mockery. Under those looks, Ke Bu walked toward Zhi Li.
“Z-Zhi Li.” Courage… please grant me courage!!
Zhi Li lazily lifted his eyelids. Ke Bu shuddered. Terrifying… too terrifying!
“What the hell are you idiots doing? That’s enough.”
At the worst possible moment, Su You Yan spoke up. “They’re betting on who can kiss you.”
“You joined too—don’t push all the blame onto us!!”
“Haha, that’s basically it.” Ke Bu tried to act calm, pretending he wasn’t scared, trying to smooth things over. He no longer wanted to kiss anything—he just wanted to run away.
“Then let’s end this farce.” Zhi Li propped himself up with one hand, reached out with the other, grabbed Ke Bu by the collar, and pulled him close. Ke Bu’s lips pressed against Zhi Li’s.
Ke Bu couldn’t think—he could only feel the intense heat inside Zhi Li’s mouth. The parasol above fell, covering them both. Zhi Li’s kiss was just like his temper—domineering and forceful, taking everything as if by conquest. Ke Bu’s eyes widened. He actually… Their breaths tangled and separated, then tangled again. Someone save me… what is this feeling of having all my thoughts taken away?
Zhi Li released him, kicked the parasol aside, and looked at the four people standing there with their mouths wide open. “Satisfied?”
The four of them nodded blankly. “Y-yes… satisfied.”
Ke Bu collapsed onto the ground, covering his mouth with his sleeve, his gaze fixed blankly on the ground.
“Xiu Jie, hurry, carry him back to the tent. Ke Bu is down,” Chu Hao Yu said. Together, he and Ying Xiu Jie dragged Ke Bu back and tossed him into the tent. Chu Hao Yu spoke earnestly, “Even if this was a bit too much for you, this is the price of money and power, leader.”
How should this be understood… did I win easily, or lose miserably?
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