To help students adapt quickly to the internal structure of the corp, the military school usually introduced various activity classes after the first two weeks of school, teaching military subjects such as photon guns and combat techniques. For students interested, there were also elective advanced courses like basic mecha piloting.

Teacher Ran, although petite, was a top student specializing in photon guns, and she was responsible for the class’s basic photon gun training. The incident happened so suddenly that Teacher Ran didn’t have time to put away her photon gun before she followed the ambulance to the hospital.

Jiang Xunyu’s face was filled with uncontrollable pain, clearly worsened after Teacher Ran entered the room. Ji Yuzhou frowned and said softly, “Let’s go outside and talk.”

After closing the ward door, the three of them went into the corridor. Teacher Ran, clearly nervous as it was her first time speaking with Ji Yuzhou, stammered as she spoke.

“General Ji, hello.”

“Hello,” Ji Yuzhou nodded slightly. “Could you briefly explain what happened?”

“Well… it was like this,” Teacher Ran recollected, “I had just taken out a photon gun model to teach the students some related knowledge, and suddenly there was some commotion in the back row. At first, I thought it was just some students talking, and I was about to stop them when I saw two people wrestling with each other… As for why they started fighting, I’m not sure.”

Ji Yuzhou pondered for a moment, recalling Jiang Xunyu’s reaction earlier, then asked, “Was there anything unusual between them before you took out the gun?”

Teacher Ran thought for a moment, then firmly said, “No.”

It seemed the problem arose with the photon gun.

“I see,” Ji Yuzhou lowered his gaze. “I’ll take the child home. I’ll cover the other student’s medical fees. I’ll look into the matter and make the next arrangements.”

“Okay, okay.” The head of the school sighed in relief, glad that Ji Yuzhou had made the decision.

Ji Yuzhou didn’t say anything else and opened the ward door again.

Inside, the other student was looking out the window, clearly bored, while Jiang Xunyu remained in the same posture, head lowered, fingers clutching his clothes tightly.

“Xunyu.”

Ji Yuzhou called softly, and Jiang Xunyu’s body trembled, his fingers tightening even more, his knuckles turning white, but he still kept his head down.

“We’re going back,” Ji Yuzhou said calmly.

“Leaving already?” The other student clearly wasn’t happy. “I’ve been beaten up like this!”

“Zhuo Xingchang!” Teacher Ran quickly called his name. “Quiet down. Two people fighting can’t be one person’s fault.”

“Don’t worry,” Ji Yuzhou glanced at the student, “If it’s genuinely his fault, I’ll make him apologize to you.”

Ji Yuzhou’s gaze was cold and his expression serious, and the student lost his arrogance, muttering, “That would be best.”

Ji Yuzhou turned to Jiang Xunyu. “Let’s go.”

“Okay…” Jiang Xunyu got off the bed and followed Ji Yuzhou out of the ward.

The situation had happened suddenly. Ji Yuzhou had driven there himself, and he instructed Jiang Xunyu to sit in the passenger seat without saying a word, starting the car.

The atmosphere in the car was tense, with Jiang Xunyu keeping his head down and silent. At a red light, Ji Yuzhou stopped the car and turned to glance at him. “Have you thought of an explanation?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ji.”

Again, the same words.

Ji Yuzhou rested one hand on the steering wheel, realizing for the first time that the boy’s stubborn personality wasn’t always a good thing.

The red light lasted only a few seconds, but Ji Yuzhou said nothing, only starting the car in silence. The school wasn’t far from home, and they arrived soon after.

When they opened the door, Xiao C hurried out to greet them. Since Ji Yuzhou gave it permission to roam around the house, it had been wandering everywhere every day.

“Mr. Ji! Xiao Xunyu! You’re back…”

Before Xiao C could finish speaking, it was startled by the tense atmosphere between the two and immediately stopped, closing its mouth.

After a moment, Xiao C cautiously flew backward. “Sorry… Did I disturb you?”

It quickly ran into a nearby room and locked the door behind it.

The living room returned to silence, with Jiang Xunyu standing there, head down, not speaking.

Ji Yuzhou sighed helplessly and sat down on the nearby sofa. “Sit down for now.”

Jiang Xunyu nodded and sat down opposite Ji Yuzhou, his hands neatly placed on his knees.

The large hat covered his expression. Ji Yuzhou said, “Take off your hat.”

Jiang Xunyu obediently did so.

Once the large hat was removed, Ji Yuzhou saw that Jiang Xunyu’s face had several scratch marks. Probably because he didn’t want to take off his hat earlier, the doctor hadn’t seen the wounds on his face. Now, several of the wounds were still bleeding.

The scars on his face were deep, but Jiang Xunyu seemed to feel no pain. After removing the hat, he obediently sat there without making a sound.

Ji Yuzhou was at a loss. He got up and went to fetch the first-aid kit to treat Jiang Xunyu’s wound. Having been on the battlefield before, he was quite skilled in first-aid. He gently wiped away the blood on Jiang Xunyu’s face with an alcohol swab and asked calmly：“Does it hurt?”

“No.” Jiang Xunyu replied softly, reaching out to take the cotton ball from Ji Yuzhou. “I… I’ll do it myself…”

“Don’t move.” Ji Yuzhou furrowed his brows, lowering his voice.

Jiang Xunyu immediately froze, his arm falling back down, his body stiffening.

Ji Yuzhou sighed, his tone softening. “I didn’t scold you, did I? Hmm? I just want to know what happened.”

Jiang Xunyu’s eyes flickered, and he bit his lip. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ji… I was the one who hit him first.”

“Why?”

Ji Yuzhou finished treating the wound, closed the first-aid kit, and sat back on the sofa. “What was the reason?”

“I…” Jiang Xunyu’s lips moved as he whispered, “There’s no reason.”

He didn’t want to lie to Ji Yuzhou, so he remained silent.

Ji Yuzhou was starting to get angry. He furrowed his brows and said, “So quickly, you have no rules? Do you want me to punish you?”

Ji Yuzhou casually picked up a spoon from the table, which had been used to stir coffee, and said in a low voice, “Explain, or stretch out your hand.”

Jiang Xunyu obediently stretched out his hand.

Really… He’d rather be hit than tell the truth.

Ji Yuzhou thought to himself that he couldn’t be too indulgent with the boy. He didn’t soften his heart this time and struck Jiang Xunyu’s palm with the spoon. The spoon was flexible, and with just one strike, Jiang Xunyu’s delicate palm turned red.

The pain in his palm made Jiang Xunyu instinctively flinch, but he quickly stretched out his hand again, waiting for Ji Yuzhou’s next strike.

Still, he didn’t make a sound.

Ji Yuzhou completely lost his temper. He didn’t have the patience for this, and his punishment was just to get the truth. The sight of Jiang Xunyu’s red palm felt a little harsh to him. In the end, he put down the spoon and lowered his eyes, saying, “Even if you don’t tell me, I can find out.”

Without waiting for Jiang Xunyu’s response, he stood up and walked back to his room.

Jiang Xunyu remained sitting where he was, his hands still in the position from before, and the tears he had been holding back finally fell.

He really didn’t know how to explain to Ji Yuzhou.

He was a little afraid of the photon gun. When Teacher Ran took out the gun, he had been startled and instinctively tried to avoid it. Sitting next to him, Zhuo Xingchang leaned in and mockingly asked him why he was afraid of it.

Jiang Xunyu had grown used to being looked down upon in the welfare house, so he ignored him. But that person wouldn’t stop, muttering that Jiang Xunyu must have used some trick to get in, otherwise, there was no way someone afraid of guns could join the military academy.

Jiang Xunyu didn’t get angry at that remark because he knew he had indeed relied on Ji Yuzhou to get in. 

But Zhuo Xingchang’s next words deeply struck a nerve in him. He said, “I heard a rumor that you don’t have parents. You weren’t taken in as someone’s kept boy, were you?”

Each word landed heavily on Jiang Xunyu’s ears. He didn’t care how others insulted him, but he couldn’t stand it when they insulted Mr. Ji too.

Jiang Xunyu shot him a harsh glare. “Shut up.”

Seeing Jiang Xunyu finally react, Zhuo Xingchang had become even more interested and teased, “Tsk tsk, I guess I hit a nerve? I wonder who would be interested in you. Their taste is quite unique.”

This sentence completely enraged Jiang Xunyu. No one had the right to comment on what Mr. Ji thought of him. Without hesitation, Jiang Xunyu threw a punch at him.

The two quickly got into a fight.

Having fought a lot in the welfare house and being in a fit of anger, Jiang Xunyu was fast and precise. He knocked the person to the ground in just a few moves, until Teacher Ran hurriedly pulled them apart. Only then did Jiang Xunyu realize he had made a mistake.

He had caused trouble for Mr. Ji.

….

The skin of his palm was tender, and it quickly became swollen and red. Jiang Xunyu cradled his burning palm, splashed some cold water on it in the bathroom, then silently returned to his room.

Xiao C was hiding in the room. When it saw Jiang Xunyu enter, it quickly approached and asked, “Xunyu, what happened with Mr. Ji? Did you two argue?”

Jiang Xunyu lowered his gaze. “I made Mr. Ji angry.”

Xiao C, who had just misused its privileges to eavesdrop on their conversation, didn’t understand and asked in confusion, “Why didn’t you just tell Mr. Ji the reason?! If you told him, wouldn’t that be fine?”

“You don’t understand.” Jiang Xunyu gently blew on his still aching palm.

These dirty things were not something he wanted Mr. Ji to know. He also wanted to protect Mr. Ji in his own way.