Mu Jing’s coming clean with Xu Ge had turned out completely different from what she had expected. She simply couldn’t understand what was going on inside Xu Ge’s mind. Before his rebirth, he had already been a big shot standing at the peak of the world.
It was lonely at the top, so out of boredom he had tried merging his abilities together. The attempt failed, and that failure opened a brand-new instance of Xu Ge 2.0.
Having already spent a lifetime as a top expert, Xu Ge decided that in this life he would simply drift along with the tide and thoroughly lie flat.
With a protagonist who had chosen to lie flat, how could Mu Jing possibly connect with his train of thought?
However, there was at least one piece of good news. After their conversation in the Canteen, Xu Ge had agreed to help cure the heart disease of this body she inhabited.
But congenital illnesses were difficult to treat. Even with abilities, it wouldn’t be something that could be solved instantly.
As long as it could be cured eventually, Mu Jing wasn’t in a hurry.
Military training continued. After the sixth day’s Firearms Training, the freshmen’s most anticipated simulated gun battle exercise—Frenzy Operation—was about to begin.
“Hey, are you guys nervous?”
Late at night, inside the darkened Dorm Room 301, Chen Yiyun spoke softly. “Tomorrow’s Frenzy Operation has me so nervous I can’t sleep.”
“What’s there to be nervous about? If you can fight, then fight. If you can’t, then you die.” Su Linlin’s phone brightness was a bit high. From Mu Jing’s angle, she could see Su Linlin’s face illuminated by the glow.
Chen Yiyun fell silent.
After a moment of quiet, Su Linlin put down her phone and turned toward Mu Jing.
“Mu Jing, are you joining tomorrow’s event?”
Mu Jing replied, “No. Even though they’re simulated bullets, they still hurt when they hit.”
Besides, activities like that were dangerous. What if one hit her right in the chest? She might just drop dead on the spot.
“The first place in Frenzy Operation gets a bronze badge,” Su Linlin continued. “If you rank in the top ten in this event, you basically gain priority dating rights in the university.”
“The first place can take that badge and look for a boyfriend or girlfriend, and they’ll definitely succeed,” Chen Yiyun added softly.
“Yeah.” Su Linlin sighed and fiddled with her phone. “Mu Jing, what was your boyfriend’s shooting range score today?”
How would Mu Jing know? Xu Ge didn’t report everything to her.
The System had said goodnight to her half an hour ago. Mu Jing casually picked up her phone.
“I’ll ask him.”
She sent the message, and very quickly Xu Ge replied with a single question mark.
Then another message followed.
Xu Ge: Dreamwalking?
Mu Jing: …
Mu Jing: I asked you a question. Is that a reasonable reply?
Xu Ge: You should be sleeping.
Xu Ge: My scores were 1 ring, 2 rings, 1 ring, 2 rings… repeating like that.
Mu Jing: Shouldn’t you be getting ten rings, ten rings, ten rings?
Xu Ge: I’m lying flat.
Xu Ge: Idiot.
The conversation couldn’t continue any further. Mu Jing rolled her eyes and told Su Linlin Xu Ge’s results.
The latter let out an “Ah,” clearly disappointed. Maybe her voice had been too loud, or maybe their conversation had already been noisy for a while.
Zhou Zhou, who hadn’t spoken until now, said impatiently, “Stop chatting and go to sleep.”
The dormitory became quiet again.
Mu Jing picked up her phone. When she lit the screen, Xu Ge’s last message appeared: Sleep.
Sleep, sleep, sleep. It was only eleven-thirty. What an old man’s schedule!
At eight o’clock on the morning of the seventh day of military training, the simulated firearms exercise officially began across the campus.
Freshmen wearing military training uniforms scattered throughout the area. Some fought alone, some formed groups, and some chose to find a safe spot to hide and stay hidden for as long as possible.
As for Xu Ge—the previous life’s first-place winner who had taken the badge—in this Frenzy Operation he displayed the attitude expected from someone who had chosen to lie flat.
Wearing camouflage, he sat beside Mu Jing, frowning as he tasted a cup of Four Seasons Spring tea.
He openly used his ability while sitting on a bench at the edge of the Training Ground, hiding in such an obvious place.
Mu Jing had taken leave early and was also sitting there as a spectator. To avoid being mistaken as an enemy, she was wearing her normal clothes.
Those were the rules—only people wearing military training uniforms could be attacked. Anyone wearing everyday clothes was assumed to be a senior student.
Because of that, every year some mischievous seniors would dig out their old training uniforms and sneak into the freshmen’s ranks, playing even more enthusiastically than the newcomers.
“Doesn’t it taste good?” Mu Jing looked at Xu Ge’s expression as if he were being tortured. “This cup of Four Seasons Spring is wasted in your hands.”
Xu Ge glanced at her without getting angry. “You think it tastes good?”
“Of course.” Mu Jing shook the cup she had already drunk more than half of.
“By the way, you really aren’t going to compete for first place? Everyone else who gets reborn becomes stronger than in their previous life. Why are you so different?”
“The kind of people you’re talking about had unsatisfactory lives before, so when they get another chance they naturally seize every opportunity. I’m not the same as them.”
“Then what’s the point of being reborn? It must be terribly boring.”
“Look over there at that trash can. Someone’s hiding inside. Soon someone will walk straight into the ambush. In my previous life, I was on the highest point of that building on the right, sniping people one by one.”
“…So competitive. Way too competitive.” Mu Jing shook her head and looked with disdain at the overly ambitious player who emerged from the trash can with a banana peel on his head.
Xu Ge stretched his legs and took the empty plastic bottle from Mu Jing before tossing it toward the trash can.
The light bottle defied common sense as it performed two forward flips in midair. It traced a beautiful yet twisting parabola before landing perfectly—like a splash-free dive—with full marks as it smacked right into the banana peel on the hidden freshman’s head.
The freshman was startled. After quickly looking around and finding nothing suspicious, he held his breath and put the trash can lid back on.
Mu Jing’s expression was no longer just disdainful. It was a complicated mixture of emotions. If Xu Ge had to describe it, he would say it looked like a Picasso abstract painting come to life.
“Your mouth is really poisonous,” Mu Jing said through gritted teeth while clapping sarcastically. “If you can’t speak nicely, then just keep quiet.”
Xu Ge swirled the cup of Four Seasons Spring that still had more than half left and sighed like a retired big shot.
“Sigh… it really tastes terrible.”
“If you’re not going to drink it, give it to me. Don’t insult my Snow Mountain Prince!”
Mu Jing’s teeth itched with anger. She reached out to snatch the drink from Xu Ge’s hand.
But just as she reached forward, Xu Ge casually raised the cup a little higher.
Perfect timing—Mu Jing’s hand missed the bottle completely.
Angry. She must not get angry.
Mu Jing patted her chest and exhaled a breath filled with frustration.
Xu Ge looked at her while swaying the drink. After a moment, he extended his other hand.
“Give me your hand.”
Mu Jing ignored him.
Xu Ge kept his hand suspended in the air without withdrawing it.
Invisible wind, like thin ribbons, wrapped around Mu Jing’s wrist and fingers. With gentle but undeniable force, it guided her hand into Xu Ge’s palm.
Mu Jing: …
She gritted her teeth and shouted, “A forced melon isn’t sweet!”
“Still tasted it,” Xu Ge replied.
Holding Mu Jing’s hand, faint power flowed from their clasped palms.
It felt comfortable and warm. Mu Jing even had the strange thought that if she could hold it at night, she would fall asleep instantly.
A small black mole on her wrist lay right beside Xu Ge’s thumb.
He lightly brushed against it.
Just as Mu Jing began to feel drowsy, Xu Ge suddenly spoke.
“What were you really like?”
“I mean… the you from before.”