Part 2
Yu Shi was stunned. “How is that possible? I’m not really close with him.”
A look of weariness flashed in his eyes, as if he was very annoyed by that person.
Xie Ren tactfully didn’t mention the topic again. Switching to the thesis topic and discussing academic matters, Yu Shi changed from his usual reticence and pinpointed several directions for him accurately.
He was very interested in battlefield command, occasionally asking sharp questions. When listening to Xie Ren speak, he would look seriously into his eyes.
The soft streetlights spilled onto his face, outlining his cold features with a touch of gentleness.
The corners of his eyes seemed to have little hooks, always able to attract all of the other party’s attention. The ice-crystal color flowed and settled in the depths of his eyes, truly moving.
Xie Ren remembered Zhao Yi and the others complaining that they often couldn’t understand what Instructor Little Fish was saying.
Being looked at by him like this, it must be hard to focus on the content of the speech, right?
“So you cited Marshal Li Huaiquan’s article? You weren’t even born when the Highland War broke out, and the article didn’t mention these details. How do you know so clearly?” Yu Shi asked.
Xie Ren licked his lips. “He is my… uh, I got a chance to interview him once. He told me these things.”
He asked Yu Shi, “Are you tired wearing contacts? Do you want to take them out?”
Yu Shi touched his eyelid and said, “No need.”
For the rest of the way, he didn’t make eye contact with Xie Ren again, though Xie Ren kept glancing at him seemingly unintentionally.
When they returned to school, Xie Ren was caught by the patrol team, and Yu Shi returned to the dormitory first.
His communicator rang. StarChat notification: [ “Bard” has added you as a friend ]
[ Bard: /File Archive/ ]
[ Bard: This is Marshal Li’s internally published book. ]
Yu Shi instantly perked up.
Li Huaiquan was the Grand Marshal of the “Heaven’s Punishment” Air Force unit, highly accomplished in unmanned battlefields. He had once proposed the concept of robot birds. However, this Marshal was stationed off-planet year-round, so Yu Shi never had the chance to visit.
He opened the file; sure enough, it was the internal white paper. He hurriedly asked: [This doesn’t violate regulations, right?]
Xie Ren replied: [Don’t worry, it’s not a classified document.]
Yu Shi said: [Thanks. I’ll treat you to a meal another day.]
He didn’t look at the communicator again, focusing intently on studying the work.
By the time he finished half the book, the morning light had already appeared on the horizon.
He couldn’t help but sigh toward the window. This Marshal was a command genius, second to none in layout strategy and weapon application, with very long-term strategic vision.
For the rest of the weekend, Yu Shi spent his time reading, recording inspirations on blueprints as he read. The Air Force’s weapons held significant reference value for him.
Tang Senmiao often warned them that studying army thermal weapons shouldn’t be limited to one branch, but should gather the strengths of hundreds; ground combat could also be combined with sea and air.
He drew from morning until evening. Only when the sunset sank in the west did he stand up, stretch, and go to the bathroom to shower and wash up.
After washing and coming out, he heard someone knocking on the door.
Yu Shi thought it was campus takeout and raised his voice, “Just leave it at the door.”
Xie Ren’s voice came from outside, “Instructor Yu, it’s me.”
Yu Shi walked over while wiping his hair, pulled the door open, and said, “What do you need…”
Xie Ren looked at him and instantly froze on the spot.
Yu Shi was wearing loose pajamas and shorts. A towel covered his wet hair, water stains soaking his collar. On his palm-sized face, he wore large-framed glasses, looking much younger than his actual age.
His exposed elbows, knees, and the crooks of his calves all glowed with the pinkish hue of being soaked too long. His skin was white with a pink undertone, his whole body radiating moist heat.
The word “me” hadn’t even left his mouth when the door was suddenly slammed shut with a bang, the panel nearly hitting Yu Shi’s nose.
His hand wiping his hair paused. “?”
Through the door, Xie Ren’s voice actually held a trace of nervousness. “You, you put on some clothes properly.”
Yu Shi looked at the mirror by the door in confusion and pulled the door open again. “What are you doing? I am dressed.”
The door opened. Xie Ren glanced at him, then slammed it shut again with a bang.
Yu Shi: “…”
Acting up again.
Xie Ren said gloomily, “…Don’t be like this. Put on pants. I learned last time that there are differences between A and O. I don’t dare come in with you like this.”
…?
This kid had the face of a prodigal who could change partners every day. His usual speech was brash and lacked propriety, acting experienced and practiced. Who would have thought that inside, he was a little old-fashioned prude who couldn’t even accept shorts five centimeters above the knee?
Is he serious?
Yu Shi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and had to change into long trousers.
When he opened the door again, the heat on Xie Ren’s face had just dissipated as he looked at him sheepishly.
Yu Shi asked speechlessly, “What do you want?”
Xie Ren rubbed his nose. “I sent you messages, and you didn’t reply all day. I came up to check.”
“Come in and talk.” Yu Shi went back to the desk and checked his communicator. Sure enough, he had received several messages.
[ Bard: How about tomorrow then? ]
[ Bard: Hey, you’re not going to renege, right? ]
[ Bard: Person? Here? ]
“It’s just a meal. I’ll treat you.”
Yu Shi turned around and met Xie Ren’s face, full of shock and having nowhere to step.
This was probably the messiest room he had ever seen. From the door to the desk, it was covered in spread-out blueprints. They depicted prototypes of weapons in various forms. There were crumpled balls of discarded paper, pens with missing caps, and various oddly shaped metal parts…
The whole room smelled of paper, ink, and body wash. Those who didn’t know better would think it was someone’s workshop.
In the corner of the room, two beds were pushed together against the wall. For the first time, the military quilt did not appear in the form of a tofu block but was balled up into a peculiar lump, proclaiming the owner’s laziness in folding it.
One pillow was in the east, the other in the west. Several clean clothes hung at the foot of the bed, while dirty clothes were in a trash bag.
Oh, so he throws his clothes away after wearing them once. No wonder he hasn’t repeated an outfit in so many days.
Yu Shi realized what he was looking at and said dryly, “It’s a bit messy. Wait for me a moment; we’ll go out to eat.”
Xie Ren sucked in a breath and asked in disbelief, “Instructor Yu, how did you manage not to get beaten up by roommates while living on campus?”
Yu Shi’s face went cold. “I haven’t lived on campus.”
He said grumpily, “Don’t make that face. Let’s go to the cafeteria.”
Xie Ren ignored him. Instead, he pushed him to the bed and said, “Sit there.”
Yu Shi looked at him in confusion.
“I can’t stand it anymore. Give me fifteen minutes.” He rolled up his sleeves, his expression one of endurance.
Xie Ren had grown up in the military and tidied up housekeeping for most of his life. Seeing this room made his whole body itch, his OCD exploding instantly.
Fifteen minutes later, Yu Shi sat cross-legged on the bed, expressionlessly eating chips.
Xie Ren huffed and puffed as he finished mopping the last floor tile. The white tiles shone like Principal Tang’s forehead. The whole room looked brand new.
“Amazing, amazing.” Yu Shi clapped half-heartedly.
“Phew—”
Xie Ren held the mop in one hand and went to the door to get the takeout he ordered. Just as he pushed the door open, he bumped into Zhao Yi, who was holding homework.
Seeing Xie Ren with a dirty mop in one hand and a takeout bag in the other, leaning his upper body sneakily out of Yu Shi’s room with a face full of deep resentment, Zhao Yi’s brain instantly went into overdrive.
Xie Ren eyed him. “Something up?”
“N-No, nothing… I’m looking for Assistant Xu.” Zhao Yi quickly dodged and entered Xu Bohan’s room.
After closing the door, he listened at the door. Xu Bohan was confused. “What are you doing? Weren’t you handing in homework?”
Zhao Yi said in terror, “I think I saw a ghost. I saw Boss mopping the floor. Is he planning to mop the floor so shiny that Instructor Yu slips and dies?”
“I’m the one who saw a ghost,” Xu Bohan muttered. “Master actually let someone touch his things. Before, a lab assistant moved a part’s position and got scolded by him for five minutes.”
“…”
Yu Shi had wanted to get off the bed to help, but Xie Ren used the excuse that the floor tiles weren’t dry. He quickly unpacked the takeout and brought it to the bedside on a small tray table.
He snapped a pair of chopsticks and handed them to him. “Make do with this.”
Yu Shi had ordered both lunch and dinner, just enough for two people.
“This meal is on me.” Being taken care of by a student made him feel rather embarrassed, so he offered proactively.
Xie Ren grunted. “Of course it’s on you. You said you’d treat.”
He picked up his chopsticks and ate. He ate quickly but not messily, looking like he enjoyed the food.
Yu Shi watched him gnawing on an egg yolk chicken wing with that cool face and found it a bit comical.
He asked, “Is your arm injury healed?”
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