The food at the Joint Military Academy was renowned throughout the university city and beyond. All kinds of cuisines were readily available, and it was even rumored that among the kitchen staff were descendants of the head chefs from the pre-apocalyptic state banquets. As for which generation or how close the relation was, that was not very clear. However, the food at the Joint Military Academy had always achieved a “top-tier” rating on various review apps, a level of quality evident to all.
But at this moment, at least two-thirds of the trio at the dining table were absent-minded and found their food tasteless.
He Botian lowered his gaze to pick fish bones out of his fish. The lovers sitting across from him acted as if they were newlyweds, deeply affectionate and inseparable. Even though his chopsticks were busy picking out fish bones, the corner of his eye was constantly watching them. He saw Wei Zhuo unscrew the lid of the thermos to give Xin Hexue water, and he caught the brief shy and sweet smile on Xin Hexue’s face.
“I can do it myself.”
Xin Hexue took the water cup, and seeing this, Wei Zhuo did not insist.
Only after Xin Hexue put down the thermos did Wei Zhuo use a dry napkin to dab at the corner of Xin Hexue’s moist lips.
“Thank you.”
Wei Zhuo retracted his hand, a faint smile on his face. “Mm.”
‘How could there be eight hundred little actions in a single minute during a meal?!
Are you trying to show off how good your service awareness is?!!!’
He Botian’s eyes were about to split, glaring fixedly at the steamed fish on his own tray. His hands kept working, picking out who knew whose bones, whose flesh.
He had just removed the scallions from the steamed fish and set aside the tiny bones when he heard someone ask him.
“Senior He, do you not like scallions?”
He Botian raised his head and met Xin Hexue’s gentle, dark eyes directly.
The eyes of his beloved are a puddle of the world’s smallest alpine lake, clearer than lakes renowned as the “Mirror of the Sky,” clearly reflecting He Botian’s present, as if they could also foretell the future.
Only the past was missing.
—I picked them out for you.
—Will I get a reward?
In the past, He Botian could have asked that.
But the current He Botian could only dryly shove the fish meat into his own mouth. “Haha, yes.”
“How come I hadn’t heard about you getting married before?” He tasted nothing, looked towards Wei Zhuo, and forced a smile. “You came back as a married man after the autumn break. It really gave me a shock.”
He Botian remembered distinctly that in the previous life, the engagement between Wei Zhuo and Xin Hexue had been called off due to Wei Zhuo’s personal reasons. His information network wasn’t very good; it wasn’t until long after the semester started that he found out his good brother Wei Zhuo was that rumored “most ungrateful Sentinel On The Ruthless Path”, and learned that Xin Hexue and Wei Zhuo had that previous connection.
Where exactly did things go wrong?
He himself had been reborn, and he couldn’t help but speculate. Could it be that Wei Zhuo had also…?
He had been reborn because he died young in his prime in the last life, and thus he had not witnessed the events that unfolded later. He did not know if Xin Hexue had safely lived to a ripe old age and passed away peacefully, nor was he certain if the world was ultimately rebuilt.
If Wei Zhuo had also been reborn, did that mean Wei Zhuo, like him, had died early…?
Then what about Xin Hexue?
He Botian privately thought that Heaven had given him a chance to start over so he could remedy the regret of not growing old together with Xin Hexue from his previous life, an opportunity to correct his own fate.
Even if he died in the last life, there were still Sentinels like Wei Zhuo among others to shoulder the burden. The White Tower and the Black Tower would never let anything happen to Xin Hexue. Plus his own survivor benefits and the inheritance he left behind should have been enough to support Xin Hexue in a carefree life well into his old age.
If Xin Hexue had lived such a stable and worry-free life, then whether he, He Botian, could be reborn or not would be completely irrelevant.
But what if he hadn’t? Did his own rebirth mean that Xin Hexue hadn’t reached a happy ending?
A wave of panic spread through He Botian’s heart. Because of this speculation, his heart clenched with a sour, numb, swelling ache. Thus, he desperately hoped to pry an answer out of Wei Zhuo.
But Wei Zhuo’s expression showed no sign of abnormality. He said calmly, “The engagement was indeed quite sudden. After all, it was arranged by the royal family. Ah Xue and I met privately once, interacted a few times, and we both…”
He exchanged a glance with Xin Hexue, and placed his hand over Xin Hexue’s fair one, lightly holding it. “Found each other very agreeable, two hearts fell in love with each other.”
Wei Zhuo placed some food onto Xin Hexue’s tray and calmly replied to He Botian, “Since Ah Xue has not yet reached the legal marriage age for Guides, we only held a simple engagement ceremony. He’s not very fond of strangers, so at the time, only close family relatives from both sides and some personnel from the White Tower attended the ceremony. Therefore, I also neglected to send you an invitation.”
Wei Zhuo smiled apologetically at He Botian. “My apologies, please don’t take offense.”
Xin Hexue seemed a bit worried that this might create a rift between the two. “How come you didn’t mention Senior He to me back then? We really should have added Senior He to the guest list.”
Wei Zhuo was of course happy to see his good brother in the audience blessing him, rather than falling in love with his wife at first sight at his wedding.
He soothed Xin Hexue: “Mm, it’s all my fault. I didn’t communicate well with you about it back then.”
When Wei Zhuo turned back to face He Botian, he wore the dignified posture of an adult sentinel. “However, when the day of the official wedding comes, you must attend, otherwise it will be a great regret for us.”
He Botian was battered and bruised by these words. His speech faltered, “Oh, is that so? Reasonably speaking, I should sincerely bless you all, but Wei Zhuo, did you change your mind about the life plan for your matching…”
“Also, last time I saw you interacting excessively closely with a female Guide, chatting and laughing in an empty classroom…” He Botian leaned back, hastily cutting himself off. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that?”
He even shot Wei Zhuo a careful glance, then turned to say earnestly to Xin Hexue: “If it were me, I wouldn’t be that free and easy around Guides, not like Wei Zhuo. They always say I can’t communicate amicably with Guides. Maybe I’m just clumsy with words and can’t handle Sentinel-Guide relations well. You’re the first Guide willing to be friends with me.”
Honestly, He Botian now sounded just like a green-tea trying to sow discord, and his tactics were even quite low-level. The only move he could pull was “my brother is really awesome, unlike me, I just feel bad for his wife,” along with undisguised goodwill towards his brother’s spouse.
Xin Hexue apparently sensed something off too, and cast a hesitant look towards Wei Zhuo.
From the moment He Botian opened his mouth, Wei Zhuo’s expression had darkened with every word spoken, but he still calmly asked, “Interacting excessively closely? When?”
He Botian shrugged nonchalantly. “Last semester?”
Wei Zhuo’s gaze darkened even more. “Is that so? If I remember correctly, for the entire semester I had one and only…”
Hearing this, He Botian shot Xin Hexue a look—See? Didn’t I tell you?
Wei Zhuo gave a cold laugh. “It was Ms. Monica Gerard, the professor in charge of teaching our public course ‘Sentry-Guide Spiritual Link Studies’. I am her course representative. If you still remember her, you probably know she is no less than seventy years old. And after class ended that day, she asked me to stay to help calculate regular participation grades. We had a discussion because your regular grade was below 60.”
He Botian’s expression went blank for a moment.
Wei Zhuo: “Don’t forget your weekend makeup exam. Give my regards to that outstanding Guide.”
After saying this, seeing that Xin Hexue had finished eating more or less, he took Xin Hexue’s hand and proactively ended the brief lunch gathering.
He Botian logged into the campus network and checked his email, finally digging out the makeup exam notice for that course.
A total failure.
He leaned back against his chair, staring blankly up at the cafeteria ceiling.
For the first time in his life, He Botian cursed his enhanced senses, rich enough to catch the lovers’ discussion about him even after they had walked some distance away.
“What’s going on with Senior He? I see his mental state isn’t very stable. Is his schoolwork affecting him? In such difficult times, we should be understanding and help him through it,” his wife said.
“I will send an email to Professor Monica Gerard to plead on his behalf. I hope his makeup exam goes smoothly,” his enemy replied.
How could this be?!!
He Botian (Reborn Version) screamed internally.
How come the one I hate didn’t die, and the one I love is out of reach?
…
He Botian was not a clown.
At least, not in his last life.
Although he didn’t come from a prominent family like Wei Zhuo, the Sentinel Welfare Institute backed by the Black Tower Foundation never treated him poorly in terms of living conditions. Moreover, at the age of ten, He Botian had already made a name for himself nationwide when his combat potential was tested and revealed a 3S rating.
He was a future Major General, a rising star, the standard “Dragon Aotian”, with a visible bright future ahead, even if the path wasn’t necessarily smooth.
He Botian could say that talent wasn’t even the best gift Heaven gave him. His real stroke of luck was meeting Xin Hexue in his third year at the Joint Military Academy.
He had seen a blogger on social media compare people to incomplete puzzle pieces. The relationships between people are like those jagged puzzle edges. In a sea of countless people brushing past each other, finding the other half that perfectly complements you is a miracle in itself.
But why had no one told him that a puzzle has four sides? And that Wei Zhuo could be the one fitting together with Xin Hexue on the opposite side???
During these days, He Botian displayed his feathers, He Botian sowed discord, He Botian secretly plotted.
He Botian failed.
After a lot of observation, he had every reason to suspect Wei Zhuo was reborn.
Because he, f**king, was using his (He Botian’s) own playbook to pursue his wife!!!
Whether it was bringing back rare seasonal flowers as souvenirs after every off-campus mission; providing just right yet not excessive care; pretending to be drunk to unleash irrational words of love and bold physical contact; even keeping a wound that could heal on the road just to come back and gain sympathy and have Xin Hexue tend to it, then conveniently “accidentally” breaking the lock on the single room door to stay together for the night…
How could this guy be so scheming?!
Why could he get to copy his homework and steal his wife?! [Crying loudly][Crying loudly]
He Botian was completely out of options. Previously, because his attitude had been too aggressive, Wei Zhuo had whispered who-knows-what pillow talk to Xin Hexue. Now He Botian could clearly see that Xin Hexue was deliberately keeping his distance from him.
Every day, he tried to seize every gap to secretly spy on Xin Hexue in public areas.
Looking from the front…big eyes, so cute!
Looking from the left…little black mole, so cute!
Looking from the right…cat-like mouth, so cute!
Looking from above…one hair whorl, so cute!
He couldn’t see from below.
If he couldn’t get his fill of Xin Hexue soon, he was going to die from Xin-withdrawal!
Plans couldn’t keep up with changes, and opportunity finally knocked for him, the ever-prepared man.
…
Xin Hexue’s single room door was half open. Since it was opposite He Botian’s position, he could observe the situation inside and judge the circumstances. In fact, he no longer needed visual confirmation, because he could hear the conversation between the two, along with their gradually rising voices.
Xin Hexue and Wei Zhuo were arguing.
Xin Hexue was always right, so the fault lay only with the sentinel across from him.
“Why did you withdraw my application without permission?”
The Guide lifted his head, asking Wei Zhuo fiercely. His voice was already tinged with unmistakable anger. Incidentally, from He Botian’s angle, he could see his fair neck. The collar of Xin Hexue’s sweater was somewhat low today, the faint blue veins vaguely visible, spreading outward from his body like floral filaments. Emotion splashed vivid colors across his face.
It was hard to say whether Xin Hexue’s features were bold or subtle. His skin was so fair it always gave people a cold and aloof impression. But as soon as this person showed any obvious emotion, his facial features burst forth with intense, vibrant beauty.
The vitality within Xin Hexue was one of the things that attracted He Botian the most. He had never felt such vitality in anyone else, even though Xin Hexue himself appeared fragile.
He Botian didn’t hear Wei Zhuo’s rebuttal, or perhaps Wei Zhuo spoke, but the words went in one ear and out the other, sorted out like trash.
He heard Xin Hexue say: “Even if there’s an engagement between us, you can’t use that identity to make decisions for me without permission. Even if we were formally married, you still shouldn’t do that.”
Wei Zhuo: “Who told you about this?”
Xin Hexue: “The Legion only informed me that my application was withdrawn by a third party. Who else do you think that third party could be?”
Hearing this, He Botian remembered.
In the last life, he had also quarreled with Xin Hexue because of this very issue.
The application Xin Hexue mentioned was for the position of Attached Military Guide. This post had been vacant in the military for many years.
At that moment, He Botian found himself subtly sharing a moment of empathy with Wei Zhuo. If it were him…well, originally this position should have been his..
he wouldn’t want his beloved to wade into the dangerous folded zones either.
But this violated the First Principle: Xin Hexue was always right.
He couldn’t help but sink into past memories due to this exchange. When he came back to his senses, Xin Hexue was already furious at Wei Zhuo’s imperviousness.
Arguing with Wei Zhuo was absolutely the most boring thing. He wasn’t like He Botian, who could dodge the heavy and say something flattering, or raise a truce flag to calm things down.
Wei Zhuo was a dull, taciturn person, even when arguing. No matter what Xin Hexue said, he remained unmoved like a block of stone. All words, even attacks against him, were like fists hitting cotton.
Xin Hexue clutched the application he had snatched back from Wei Zhuo’s hands. It was a crumpled ball, much like Xin Hexue’s expression now. He had already stormed several steps toward the door, but then suddenly stopped at the threshold.
He Botian almost thought his peeping had been discovered and quickly ducked behind the door.
Hmm, he was almost discovered, but hiding behind the door still allowed him to peek at Xin Hexue through the crack.
Xin Hexue stopped at the doorway, took a deep breath, then turned and quickly strode back towards Wei Zhuo.
Seeing him return, Wei Zhuo’s expression clearly relaxed. He bowed his head, leaning down patiently, ready to speak, but was suddenly met with Xin Hexue pressing their foreheads together. Then he heard: “This is my room. Get out.”
The order was firm and decisive.
“Bang!” The sound of Xin Hexue’s door slamming shut overlapped with the sound of the main door to this three-person dormitory suite closing.
He Botian emerged from behind the door, his face dark, lost in thought.
…
The tightly shut door handle jiggled up and down, and the door creaked open inward from the outside.
Xin Hexue was sitting on the edge of the bed. The hand propping up his cheek wiped across his eyes as he looked up in surprise. “Husband?”
He Botian had entered. Hearing this, his expression turned odd, as if instinctively wanting to answer but forcibly stopping himself.
Xin Hexue: “So it’s Senior He…”
His voice carried an apology, mixed with some embarrassment. “Did the argument between me and Wei Zhuo just now disturb you?”
It was “me and Wei Zhuo”, not “us”.
It seemed the feelings between this engaged couple finally had a crack.
A good opportunity!
Enter while there’s a gap!
Seeing Xin Hexue’s red-rimmed eyes, He Botian wanted nothing more than to chase Wei Zhuo down and beat him up, his targets for a beating also including his own past self.
How could he bear to make him sad and upset?
He wanted to show a gentlemanly demeanor, yet he couldn’t hide his true feelings. Stuck between advance and retreat, he finally stiffly sat down beside Xin Hexue, maintaining a distance between them wide enough for a third person to sit.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” He Botian asked in the name of friendship. “Wei Zhuo has the temper of a stubborn donkey. It’s not worth getting angry over him.”
—It’s not worth getting angry over me either.
He Botian only wanted to see Xin Hexue happy. To see this person’s smile, he could give everything he owned.
In fact, he had already done so before.
He Botian didn’t think he could lower Xin Hexue’s guard at this critical juncture. What he hadn’t expected was that the moment his words ended, Xin Hexue’s tears started falling.
He panicked instantly. “Don’t, don’t cry…”
A faint, cool fragrance wafted into his nose as Xin Hexue leaned over, pressing his forehead against He Botian’s shoulder. Tears pattered down onto the leather jacket.
He Botian awkwardly comforted him. “If it’s about the application, maybe I can put in a word. I’m willing to do anything for you, just please stop crying…”
Hook, line, and capture.
Hiding the slight upward curve of his lips, Xin Hexue wiped away his tears with both hands. He lowered his gaze, pursed his lips slightly, and then raised his head.
“Really? Botian.” He asked, sounding moved.
To Xin Hexue, the most important thing in a husband was obedience.
If this one wasn’t behaving, it didn’t matter if he switched to another one.
