Duan Chenhui arrived at the medical room, placing the stone egg down and rolling up his pant leg to inspect it. The red poison mark on his skin became more active with the recent exertion.

Dr. Zhang put down his test tubes and walked over. “General, did you get into a fight today?”

Duan Chenhui sat in the chair, pressing his fingers to his temple. “Yes, but the enemy managed to escape.”

Dr. Zhang was surprised. Normally, anyone Duan Chenhui targeted couldn’t get away. “Seems like this enemy is tricky. Let me treat you first.”

“Alright.” Duan Chenhui nodded, pointing at the stone egg. “Afterward, take a look at that.”

“Understood.” Dr. Zhang wasn’t just a doctor but an all-around researcher. He pulled out a series of syringes and, one by one, injected Duan Chenhui’s leg. “It might sting a bit,” he said out of habit.

“No problem.” Duan Chenhui leaned back in the chair, expression unchanged as he stroked the armrest. “I just didn’t get to eat any watermelon.”

“Hm?”

“He Qing stole one.”

“…” What kind of conversation is this?

After finishing the last injection, Dr. Zhang stood up and packed away the syringes. “Well, you can go eat now.”

“He’s probably already finished it,” Duan Chenhui said, but he still got up to leave. “Send me a report on that egg once you’re done with it.”

“Yes, sir.” Dr. Zhang watched him go and couldn’t help but admire Duan Chenhui’s tolerance. He’d given these shots to others before, and even the toughest men couldn’t hold back from hissing in pain. Yet, here was the General, unfazed, only thinking about watermelon. How odd…

When Duan Chenhui went downstairs, He Qing was nowhere to be seen. He checked the time and opened his terminal: [He Qing, are you in your room? Dinner’s almost ready.]

He Qing replied: [General… I’m in the garden.]

[???]

[There’s yellow-flesh watermelon here.]

Duan Chenhui slowly turned his head to look outside. It was already dark. Sometimes, He Qing acted like someone who’d been cooped up in the White Tower for too long, curious and fascinated by everything. He put on his earpiece. “You went back to school?”

“Yeah!”

“I’ll come pick you up.”

“?? No need, I’ll be back soon.” He Qing found a watermelon, cut the vine, and then heard the line go dead. Duan Chenhui was probably already on his way.

Straightening up, He Qing patted the watermelon, meeting Zhang Yi’s gaze from across the way. Zhang Yi lowered his voice, “You called me out here in the middle of the night to steal—cough—pick watermelons, and then you called the General over?!”

“He wanted to come,” He Qing said, sighing as he stroked the watermelon.

Zhang Yi, hugging his own watermelon, walked off. “Fine, I’m outta here. Later.”

“Goodbye, Zhang Yi. Let’s steal watermelons again sometime.”

Zhang Yi nearly tripped. So He Qing knew all along they were stealing the watermelons! And he still invited him! How infuriating!

He Qing, also hugging his watermelon, was about to make his escape when a low voice suddenly spoke from in front of him.

“He Qing, is there anything you wouldn’t dare to steal?”

He Qing looked up to see Duan Chenhui emerging from the bushes. Smiling with crescent-shaped eyes, He Qing replied, “No, I only dare to steal watermelons.” But hearts? That’s too much to steal.

“And there are things you wouldn’t dare to steal?” Duan Chenhui chuckled, pointing at the watermelon in He Qing’s hands. “Not very convincing.”

“There’s plenty I wouldn’t dare steal. For example, stealing people,” He Qing said with a smile as he cradled the watermelon.

The veins in Duan Chenhui’s forehead twitched wildly. “Stealing people? You want to steal someone?” Did He Qing even understand what that meant? Was there something wrong with White Tower’s education system? Should he draft a proposal to fix it?

“I said I wouldn’t dare.” He Qing walked over, placing the watermelon at Duan Chenhui’s feet. “I’m afraid of being thrown into solitary confinement.”

“Don’t joke about that again.” Duan Chenhui tapped the watermelon to remind him. A hollow thud-thud sound echoed. “Or you might end up like this watermelon.”

“Heads rolling?” He Qing hesitated. “Or a cracked skull? Half red, half white? Solitary?”

Duan Chenhui chuckled. “What do you think?”

He Qing rubbed the back of his neck, raising his hands in surrender. “I have no idea. Mercy, General!” He quickly changed the topic, pushing Duan Chenhui’s wheelchair. “Didn’t expect you to arrive so quickly.”

“It wasn’t far.” Duan Chenhui decided to let it go.

As they walked a few steps, they suddenly heard voices from ahead.

“Dammit! The watermelon thieves stole my melon! Surround them!”

“…” Duan Chenhui glanced down at the watermelon at his feet.

“…” He Qing looked at Duan Chenhui. “If the headline on the school network tomorrow is ‘The War God Sneaks into Campus to Steal Watermelons at Midnight,’ will that affect your reputation?”

“What do you think?” Duan Chenhui glared at the culprit.

Feeling guilty, He Qing pushed Duan Chenhui and ran. “Then we better run!”

“There’s noise ahead! Chase them!” the students shouted angrily as they ran toward them.

“I knew someone was stealing watermelons!” Zhang Yi’s voice shouted. “Don’t let them get away!”

“…” Amitabha, so there was a little traitor among them. He Qing shook his head and, with a quick turn, smoothly avoided a trap. “Which way next? I don’t know the layout here.” He ceded control to Duan Chenhui.

He Qing was calm, and Duan Chenhui was even calmer, directing him to dodge the traps and the pursuit. “Left, then right up ahead…”

“General, you seem very familiar with this place. Did you steal watermelons here before?”

“No.”

“That’s a shame. The fun part of stealing watermelons is the chase.”

“Seems like you’re enjoying yourself.” Duan Chenhui raised an eyebrow. He was curious to see how many sides He Qing’s seemingly innocent personality had.

“It’s just a little amusement. The students are so full of energy,” He Qing said, composed and nonchalant.

Duan Chenhui laughed. “That’s fine here on campus, but outside, be careful not to get yourself wanted nationwide.” Every summer, the watermelon-stealing game on campus was a popular tradition. Even the teachers sometimes joined in, leading to playful rivalries.

“I’ll try,” He Qing replied, running to the depths of the garden. He looked up and admired the lantern flowers hanging above, glowing with strange, mesmerizing colors in the night.

Duan Chenhui raised an eyebrow. “What are you thinking?”

He Qing pointed to one of the flower buds. “Maybe I could hide in there…”

“No,” Duan Chenhui said, glancing up. The flower bud emitted a soft luminescent glow, attracting prey. “It’s full of sticky substances inside. I don’t think it’s a good idea, and it looks pretty cramped.”

“Really?” He Qing looked down at Duan Chenhui, realizing the General didn’t like sticky things.

Duan Chenhui remained still, while He Qing seemed tempted to try. The sound of students chasing them grew closer.

Duan Chenhui showed no concern. “We’re about to get caught.”

He Qing regretfully glanced at the flower bud. “Next time, then.”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing.”

Duan Chenhui eyed him suspiciously. It seemed He Qing had an odd fascination with hiding in flowers. What a strange hobby—he wasn’t a bee.

He Qing walked over, touched the tree trunk, and infused some spiritual energy into it before pushing Duan Chenhui further along. Soon after, they heard the students’ screams.

“Help! The man-eating flower caught me!”

“We’re all stuck! Why is it so excited?”

He Qing calmly pushed Duan Chenhui out of the botanical garden, where they suddenly spotted a sneaky figure ahead.

“Teacher?”

Qiao Yi turned around, holding a watermelon and smoking a cigarette. “Yo, fancy seeing you two here. You joining in?”

“…” Duan Chenhui fell silent for a moment. “What a coincidence.” No, this was his first time stealing a watermelon… all for He Qing.

Qiao Yi smirked, amused. “General, this is rare.” He couldn’t believe that the always upright Duan Chenhui was here, stealing watermelons. It was hilarious. He couldn’t wait to gossip about this in the group chat later!

Duan Chenhui gave a faint nod to his old classmate. With the watermelon in hand, there was no need to explain anything.

He Qing, pushing Duan Chenhui, glanced at Qiao Yi’s watermelon. “Teacher, your watermelon’s so small.”

Qiao Yi rubbed his little watermelon, then glanced at He Qing’s big one. He grinned, “Wanna trade?”

“Sure!” He Qing immediately swapped watermelons with him.

“…” Qiao Yi stared at the giant watermelon in his arms, contemplating for a moment before looking at Duan Chenhui: Aren’t you going to say something?

Duan Chenhui didn’t move, not even blinking.

He Qing cheerfully placed the small watermelon on Duan Chenhui’s lap and pointed to the electronic lock on the back door. “General, your turn.”

He Qing and Qiao Yi both stared at him.

Duan Chenhui shot them a glance, then finally took out his card and swiped it. The door opened, and the three of them slipped out.

Qiao Yi waved goodbye, watermelon in hand. “See you next time.” He couldn’t help but chuckle again, glancing at the once-uptight Duan Chenhui now forced to “join the fun.”

Duan Chenhui, having resigned himself to the situation, waved back. “See you.”

“Goodbye, Teacher,” He Qing also waved sweetly and pushed Duan Chenhui home.

“General, you know the teacher?”

“Yeah, he was my classmate. Don’t be fooled by his carefree attitude—he’s terrified of cockroaches and spiders.”

He Qing’s eyes lit up. “Really? You wouldn’t guess.”

Duan Chenhui smiled, looking up at him. “People aren’t always what they seem. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“General, you’re absolutely right.” He Qing smiled back nonchalantly. “Let’s hurry back and eat the watermelon.”

Meanwhile, in Qiao Yi’s group chat, the others were eagerly awaiting his gossip. Halfway through typing, he sneezed. [Ahem, so that’s how it went. I couldn’t believe it either!]

General Sun: [What an eye-opener! Duan Chenhui used to be so uptight. Qiao, keep us updated!]

Qiao Yi: [Ugh, can you please stop calling me that nickname after all these years?]

General Sun: [My bad, it’s pretty cringy.]

Everyone else: [Hahaha]

Dr. Qin: [But this whole thing is quite interesting.]

The Principal (who snuck into the chat): [I must meet this He Qing boy myself.]

Everyone: [Careful, don’t be fooled by his looks.]

The Principal: [Idiots, I’m not like Duan Chenhui, who’s only into appearances.]

General Chu: [But Duan Chenhui’s standards are super high. Back in the day, he didn’t even notice the campus belle walking past him.]

General Sun: [I think it’s because she wasn’t his type. Duan Chenhui probably does like pretty faces, hard as it is to believe.]

Renamed “Former Campus Belle” General Miao: [Gee, thanks.]

Everyone felt a chill down their spines and quickly went silent.

Qiao Yi closed the group chat and rubbed his chin. But was He Qing really just a pretty face? Even though his grades, physical stats, and potential were all pretty bad… or maybe Duan Chenhui wanted both looks and ability in a partner?

What a hard man to please. Oh well, not his problem.

Qiao Yi shook his head, took a knife, and sliced open his watermelon. One glance inside, and…

Damn! The watermelon was half ripe, half raw! Half red, half white!

Did they know it was like this the whole time?! How cruel!!

Dr. Qin: [Hey Qiao, is your watermelon ripe?]

Qiao Yi, still smoking his cigarette, glared at the watermelon and replied to his colleague: [Very ripe, very sweet.]

Dr. Qin: [Improving, huh? Let’s go buy some watermelons tomorrow.]

Qiao Yi wiped his face. [Leave it to me.]

Tonight, he learned a valuable lesson: even if something is half-ripe, you can still stir-fry it… in every sense of the word.