“Where did you go?”

Xiang Bei crawled out of bed, still half-asleep, only to see Liang Qiuchi returning from outside, shivering with cold.

“I watched the sunrise,” Liang Qiuchi said.

“Huh?” Xiang Bei blinked. “Am I not awake or are you not awake? “Why are you idle enough to watch the sunrise?”

Liang Qiuchi smiled but didn’t say anything.

Yawning, Xiang Bei suddenly looked at him. “Wait a minute, did you go on night duty with that young master Mo Xin again?”

Seeing Liang Qiuchi’s silence, he took it as confirmation.

“You’re taking care of him too much… No! Wait!” Xiang Bei suddenly became wide awake. “Do you have feelings for him? I saw the signs during your last competition! Ge, I’m not trying to rain on your parade, although you’re very capable and attract many suitors with just a smile, but someone like Mo Xin…”

“What nonsense,” Liang Qiuchi couldn’t stand it anymore. “He’s capable, and I admire that, nothing more.”

“Really?” Xiang Bei doubted.

Admiration is admiration, but does it require accompanying him on night duty every night?

Liang Qiuchi threw his coat at him. “I’m not like you, falling for anyone you see.”

Xiang Bei suddenly collapsed as if drained of energy, “Boom,” falling back onto the bed, moaning, “I haven’t seen a girl for almost two months. If I stay like this, will I turn gay?”

He sat up abruptly, yanking off the clothes on his head, and grinned at Liang Qiuchi.

“If I turn gay, I’ll go after Mo Xin too, you won’t mind, right? Although he has a bit of a bad temper, his face is good-looking, I can bear with it.”

“Go ahead,” Liang Qiuchi also smiled at him. “Hope you can bear it when your butt blossoms.”

“Damn, Qiuchi, when did you become so heartless!” Xiang Bei laughed and scolded, “I hate it!”

Liang Qiuchi felt nauseous from his antics, wishing he could keep his distance. But during the day’s training, Xiang Bei stuck to him like glue, impossible to shake off.

“What are you doing?” Liang Qiuchi reminded him irritably, “Pay attention to military bearing.”

“Hehe, you don’t understand, I’m sacrificing myself to pave the way for you.”

Xiang Bei leaned over like he had no bones, his eyes wandering towards the team’s lineup, unexpectedly, Liang Qiuchi’s and Mo Xin’s eyes met directly. Xiang Bei quickly reached out and put his arm around Liang Qiuchi’s shoulder.

“Tsk tsk tsk, look at Mo Xin’s expression…” Xiang Bei lightly laughed, patting Liang Qiuchi’s shoulder. “There’s something going on, buddy!”

Liang Qiuchi glanced over at Mo Xin, who still had the same cold expression. They locked eyes for two seconds, then Mo Xin turned his head away.

Liang Qiuchi withdrew his gaze, pushed Xiang Bei away a bit, and said helplessly, “He’s always like that. Can you be serious? If I lose this afternoon’s competition, you’ll treat me.”

“Another competition?”

Since the last timed run, Liang Qiuchi and Mo Xin had been competing every now and then. Today it was hand-to-hand combat, tomorrow climbing, the day after tomorrow swimming… Each time, Mo Xin ended up the loser.

Regardless, Xiang Bei admired Mo Xin’s persistent spirit of never giving up despite repeated failures.

Dealing with such a person, don’t expect to become friends, but pray you don’t become enemies.

“What are you competing in this time?”

“Shooting.”

Xiang Bei laughed when he heard that. “He has only touched a gun a few times and dares to compete in this? He must have more money than brains, getting addicted to treating others.”

“Is that so?”

A clear voice suddenly came from behind. Xiang Bei turned around, startled by Mo Xin’s sudden appearance.

Xiang Bei didn’t want to lose his momentum and said sternly, “You need to report to the instructor when you speak.”

“Reporting,” Mo Xin said expressionlessly, looking at him. “For this afternoon’s shooting, I want to compete with Assistant Instructor Xiang.”

“Me?” Xiang Bei looked left and right, making sure Mo Xin was referring to him before continuing, “Sure, no problem. The loser still treats.”

But Mo Xin said, “It’s boring to always treat.”

Xiang Bei glanced aside, seeing Liang Qiuchi with an expression of enjoying the spectacle. It seemed he didn’t intend to intervene, so Xiang Bei straightened his neck and looked at Mo Xin, asking, “Then what do you want?”

“Reporting,” Mo Xin said, “My shoes are dirty, and no one has cleaned them.”

Xiang Bei couldn’t believe it. He poked his chest, “You want me to clean your shoes?!”

Mo Xin didn’t say a word, but the challenge in his eyes was undisguised.

Xiang Bei nodded, both angry and amused. “Fine! Do you also agree to the bet?”

Mo Xin nodded. “Of course.”

Xiang Bei’s brain churned, and Liang Qiuchi could hear the sound of his mischievous ideas popping up.

“If you lose, then you have to, in front of everyone, say that you like a guy in our team, or you have a secret crush on someone from our team!” Xiang Bei smirked.

“Jokes have their limits,” Liang Qiuchi’s expression darkened. “This is going too far. Pick something else.”

Xiang Bei gestured to Liang Qiuchi, “It’s just a joke, everyone will just take it as a laugh. Who would take it seriously? But if you can’t take it, then I’ll think of something else.”

Mo Xin folded his hands behind his back, clenched and released them, and in just two seconds, he nodded firmly at Xiang Bei. “I agree.”

After saying that, he quickly walked away, without even looking at Liang Qiuchi.

Liang Qiuchi looked helplessly at his departing figure, sighed, and turned to Xiang Bei, “You really are something.”

“Hey, who are you scolding!” Xiang Bei glared at him, “I’m doing this for you.”

“He’s thin-skinned and has a strong sense of pride. Your approach will only make everyone uncomfortable.”

Xiang Bei circled around Liang Qiuchi, carefully examining his serious expression, and whispered, “Are you really starting to care about him?”

“I’m just being practical. Don’t read too much into it.”

“Forget it, I don’t want to waste time with you.” Liang Qiuchi pushed Xiang Bei aside and blew the whistle to gather the team members to continue training.

Suddenly, Xiang Bei felt like he was being attacked from all sides and felt very aggrieved at lunch, so he had an extra bowl of rice.

With a full stomach, he felt energized for anything.

During the afternoon competition, Xiang Bei was full of confidence and taunted Mo Xin, “Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance. It’s not too late for you to back out now.”

Mo Xin didn’t appreciate it. “The same goes for you.”

He smoothly loaded the gun, tested its feel, and then nodded to the instructor and Liang Qiuchi, indicating that he was ready.

Xiang Bei also nodded and gestured to the instructor, indicating his readiness.

In this shooting competition, each person had ten bullets, and the score was based on the number of bullseyes hit. The one with the highest score wins.

Xiang Bei scored a nine on his first shot, feeling good about himself. However, after two rounds against Mo Xin, this sense of satisfaction was replaced by a sense of crisis.

Mo Xin’s handling of the gun was steady, with almost every bullet hitting the same spot.

By the eighth shot, Xiang Bei knew he was going to lose.

Sure enough, in the end, his total score was seven points lower than Mo Xin’s.

Mo Xin put down the gun, lifted his long legs, traced an arc in the air, and gently landed his foot on the platform where Xiang Bei had placed the gun.

Xiang Bei drooped his eyelids and watched as Mo Xin loosened and then re-tied his shoelaces in a deliberate manner.

Provocation!

It was a blatant provocation!

Xiang Bei, feeling embarrassed, waved at him, “Get up, let’s have another round.”

Mo Xin looked at his combat boots, then at Xiang Bei.

Feeling embarrassed under Mo Xin’s gaze, Xiang Bei urged, “Alright, alright! I’ll do it. Later, I’ll shine your shoes for you. But first, let’s have another round. I refuse to believe I’ll lose again.”

“You take a break first,” Liang Qiuchi pushed Xiang Bei back and turned to Mo Xin, “Are you interested in competing with me in clay pigeon shooting?”

 Mo Xin nodded and went with him to the nearby clay pigeon shooting range.

The instructor brought two rifles. Xiang Bei peeked at them and saw they were models he had rarely used, while Mo Xin seemed very familiar with them, as if he had used them many times before.

Colorful clay pigeons appeared randomly, near or far, with only about two seconds to aim. Compared to shooting at fixed targets, this was much more challenging.

To everyone’s surprise, after ten shots, Liang Qiuchi and Mo Xin tied.

Amidst a chorus of surprised and impressed exclamations, Liang Qiuchi gave Mo Xin a thumbs up. “Impressive.”

Mo Xin smiled faintly. “But I still haven’t beaten you.”

“With your current level, a few more days of training, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to beat you,” Liang Qiuchi joked as he ruffled Mo Xin’s hair.

Mo Xin lowered his head, and his ears gradually turned red in the sunlight.