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

Bai Ye originally didn't want to get involved in this.

A large crowd had gathered on the playground, and the sounds of shouting and laughter could be heard from a great distance.

When Zhao Xiaohu ran over, Bai Ye didn't even look up.

"Brother Ye!"

Bai Ye ignored him.

"Brother Ye, just come with me, it's just to fold a blanket, really, just to fold a blanket—"

"I'm not going."

Zhao Xiaohu's face fell for half a second, then he seemed to remember something and frantically rummaged through his pockets. He turned the pockets of his training uniform upside down, finally pulling something out of his left trouser pocket, clutching it in his palm, and presenting it to Bai Ye like a treasure.

A piece of candy.

White Rabbit Creamy Candy.

"Here, have some."

Bai Ye finally looked up from his notebook. He glanced at the crumpled candy and remained silent for two seconds.

He reached out and took the candy, unwrapped it, and popped the milky-white candy into his mouth. Then he closed his notebook, stood up, and dusted off his trousers.

Where is it?

Zhao Xiaohu nearly jumped up, turned and ran, calling back as he went, "Over here, over here!"

Bai Ye followed behind, her pace neither hurried nor slow.

After walking a few steps, I heard footsteps behind me.

Xuan Xiao walked beside Bai Ye with his hands in his pockets, keeping pace with him.

"What are you going to see?"

With a candy in his mouth, Bai Ye mumbled, "I don't know."

Xuan Xiao glanced at him sideways. Bai Ye's cheek had a small puff where the candy had been. Because of the candy, his lips were a little moister than usual, glistening with a thin layer of water. Paired with his overly delicate face, he looked exactly like a little animal that had been fed a treat.

"Where did the sugar come from?"

"He gave it to me."

Xuan Xiao's gaze passed over Bai Ye and landed on the back of Zhao Xiaohu, who was eagerly leading the way. He narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

When the three of them walked to the center of the playground, the crowd automatically parted to make way for them.

Two cots had already been set up on the open ground, each with a brand new, unfolded quilt piled up on it.

Sun Lei stood beside one of the cots, flexing his wrists. Seeing Zhao Xiaohu arrive with his men, he looked up, his gaze lingering on Bai Ye for a moment, then on Xuan Xiao.

Those were the two who were standing on the periphery of the crowd just now.

Before Zhao Xiaohu could even catch his breath, he began introducing them: "Brother Sun, these are two top fighters from our class! Brother Ye, Brother Xiao!"

Then he turned to Bai Ye and Xuan Xiao and quickly recounted the whole story.

"So," Zhao Xiaohu clasped his hands together, "Brother Ye, you go ahead. The reputation of Class One depends on you."

Bai Ye still had the candy in his mouth. He glanced at the blanket on the cot, then at Sun Lei across from him who was stretching his wrists, and said nothing.

Xuanxiao laughed first.

He pulled his hand out of his pocket, patted Bai Ye's shoulder, and tapped his shoulder twice with his fingertips.

"Let him do it. It's just folding a blanket, you don't need two people."

Bai Ye glanced at Xuan Xiao, then moved the candy in her mouth from the left to the right.

Then he walked toward the cot.

Sun Lei had already stopped on the opposite side. He glanced at Bai Ye and grinned. This recruit was really good-looking, with skin as white as a peeled egg. Standing on the dusty parade ground of the military camp, he seemed to be glowing.

Looks are nice, but folding a quilt isn't just about looks.

"Ready?"

Bai Ye nodded.

Zheng Dayong shouted "Start!" from the side.

Sun Lei's hand then fell.

Flattening, pressing, folding, pinching corners, trimming edges—every movement carried the skill and efficiency unique to a four-year veteran. Straight creases were left where his fingertips pressed, and the quilt cover quickly became smooth and flat under his palms. His rhythm was fast, but each step was clear and distinct, like a standard procedure repeated thousands of times. The new recruits nearby watched with wide eyes.

He Rui leaned against the hood of the car, arms crossed, a leisurely smile on his lips. In his opinion, the outcome of this competition was not in doubt.

Then his gaze shifted to another cot.

stopped.

Bai Ye's movements weren't fast. In fact, one could say they were slower than Sun Lei's. But there was no pause between each of his movements.

The way his hands moved across the blanket reminded He Rui of a somewhat inappropriate analogy.

Like a calibrated machine.

He Rui lowered his arms from his chest.

Zheng Dayong still had his whistle in his mouth, his lips slightly parted, but he forgot to blow it.

Sun Lei finished folding his quilt.

It was a perfectly folded blanket, with sharp edges, six smooth sides, and twelve ridges so sharp they could cut through your vision. He glanced at it and nodded in satisfaction. This was his normal level of folding blankets; he hadn't embarrassed himself.

He looked up, ready to see how the handsome new recruit opposite him had folded his clothes.

Then he saw it.

On the cot in front of Bai Ye lay a blanket. Its six sides were as flat as if measured with a ruler, its twelve ridges were as straight as the back of a knife, its four corners were precisely ninety degrees, and each corner was pinched sharp, as if it had been carved with a chisel.

It was exactly the same as what Li Mo demonstrated that morning.

Sun Lei's smile froze on his face.

The parade ground was quiet for a moment, then the new recruits erupted in chaos.

Holy crap!

"Brother Ye is awesome!"

"See that? See that?! That's from our class!"

Sun Lei opened his mouth and finally found his voice.

"You—have you practiced before?"

After finishing the last ridge, Bai Ye straightened up and patted the cotton lint off his hands.

"I've practiced a few times."

"several times?"

Xuan Xiao walked over from the side, casually placing a hand on Bai Ye's shoulder and tapping his fingertips on Bai Ye's shoulder. His smile was excessively bright, like a nouveau riche showing off his precious child.

"He has a photographic memory. The squad leader demonstrated it once, and the deputy squad leader disassembled it again. He practiced it three times and the squad leader was satisfied."

Who is your class monitor?

Xuanxiao tapped Bai Ye's shoulder twice with his fingers.

"Squad Leader Li Mo and Deputy Squad Leader Lu Xiao."

The playground suddenly fell silent.

The three veterans simultaneously recalled many things.

Sun Lei was the first to come to his senses. He coughed lightly, rubbed the back of his head vigorously, and his expression returned to normal with astonishing speed.

"Fine, I accept the loss."

He patted the dust off his palms, looked away from his blanket, and tried hard not to look at the perfect square of paper that Bai Ye had folded.

"Go ahead and ask. What's the question?"

Bai Ye shifted the candy in his mouth to the other side, puffing out his left cheek. He thought for a moment and realized that he really didn't have anything he wanted to ask.

He turned his head and looked at Xuan Xiao beside him.

"Go ahead and ask."

Xuanxiao paused for a moment on his shoulder.

"Give me?"

"Um."

Xuanxiao's eyes lit up.

He withdrew his hand from Bai Ye's shoulder, took a step forward, and stood in front of Sun Lei. The corners of his mouth were turned up in a chilling smile.

Looking at that smiling face, Sun Lei inexplicably took half a step back.

"What I want to ask is—"