Chapter 59: I’m not afraid of hardship

The next day, Xu Lin bought a ticket and went to District Nine.

At the dock, Yi Wei was already waiting for him at the exit, holding a bouquet of flowers. The moment he spotted Xu Lin, he rushed over and gave him a bear hug.

“Xu Lin! It’s been so long!”

The flower bouquet was crushed between them, petals scattering everywhere.

Six years had passed, and Yi Wei had not changed much. He still had the same fluffy, curly hair, though his face had grown rounder.

Xu Lin smiled. “You’re still the same as before.”

“Am I?” Yi Wei touched his face a little shyly. “I’ve gained some weight.”

Yi Wei asked, “So, how have you been all these years?”

“Pretty good.”

“Teacher Pu said you were working in the capital. What did you do there? Didn’t you have trouble with your travel pass back then? How did you fix it?”

Yi Wei’s questions came one after another. Before Xu Lin could come up with suitable answers, a man walked over.

“Yi Wei.”

He was carrying a bag of drinks. Yi Wei introduced him, “He’s my cousin.”

Yesterday on the phone, Yi Wei had mentioned his cousin was home on leave. Was this him?

The man stood tall and straight, with short, neat hair, sharp eyebrows, and bright, piercing eyes. His skin was tanned a healthy wheat color, and as he moved, his muscles could be seen bulging beneath his clothes.

He glanced at Yi Wei’s companion, then extended his hand. “Hello, I’m Li Mu, Yi Wei’s cousin.”

“Hello, Xu Lin.”

They shook hands briefly.

“My brother hasn’t been back for years. He’s on leave from the military now, so I asked him to come pick you up too. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Of course not.” Xu Lin certainly did not mind.

He paused, then asked a question he cared more about. “The military?”

Yi Wei nodded proudly. “Yeah, my brother serves in the Moqiu military district. The conditions there are really tough—a godforsaken place. He’s in training all year round, cut off from the outside world. When he first came back, he was like a caveman. I had to teach him how to buy things on his phone.”

“Alright, Yi Wei.” Perhaps unable to bear his cousin’s lack of discretion, Li Mu interrupted him. “Your friend came all this way to see you. Don’t just stand here chatting. Let’s go eat first.”

“Right, right, let’s go.” Yi Wei beckoned to Xu Lin, who quickly followed.

Li Mu drove. Yi Wei and Xu Lin sat in the back.

Before starting the car, Li Mu handed two drinks from the bag to Xu Lin. “What would you like?”

Xu Lin said, “Anything’s fine.”

Li Mu handed Xu Lin a fruit tea and gave the coffee to Yi Wei.

Yi Wei made a face. “I don’t want something bitter!”

“You’re trying to lose weight. Lay off the sweets.”

“…” Yi Wei took it reluctantly.

Xu Lin handed his fruit tea to Yi Wei. “You can have this.”

“But…”

“It’s fine. I can drink anything.”

“Wow! Xu Lin’s the best!”

They swapped drinks.

Xu Lin took a couple of sips of the coffee. He looked up and caught Li Mu’s eyes in the rearview mirror. Li Mu had been watching him. Caught in the act, he did not look away. Instead, his eyes curved and he gave Xu Lin a warm smile.

The restaurant was a cozy, home-style place with a nice atmosphere. They found a small private room.

Throughout the meal, Yi Wei chattered nonstop about what he had been up to over the years.

After graduating, Yi Wei had come back to work. He had changed jobs a few times and finally settled at a gaming company. Once his career was stable, his family started pestering him about marriage. Recently, he had been set up with an Omega, and from the sound of it, things were going well.

“I never thought I’d actually get married. It’s all my mom, nagging every day. I envy my brother. He’s older than me and still a washed-up Alpha no one wants. He just hides out there, leaving me to take all the heat at home.”

Li Mu laughed. “What’s that got to do with me?”

“Why don’t you just retire?”

“Can’t do that.”

They bantered back and forth, clearly close.

Xu Lin asked, “Brother Li, how long have you been in the military?”

“Just call me Li Mu.” He said, “Ten years.”

“What do you do?”

Yi Wei jumped in, “He’s a special forces squad leader!”

Xu Lin was taken aback. His mind immediately conjured images of shirtless men wrestling in mud, carrying logs, being tied up and submerged, faces painted with camouflage, darting through jungles, eating raw meat and drinking muddy water…

Li Mu watched Xu Lin’s gaze drift, guessing what he was imagining, and smiled. “It’s not that dramatic.”

Xu Lin’s eyes sparkled. “That’s really impressive.”

Li Mu’s lips curved. He picked up his glass and took a sip of water.

The meal went on. Xu Lin grew more curious about military life, asking question after question. Li Mu answered them all patiently. Yi Wei felt left out. “Xu Lin, weren’t you here to see me? How come you’re chatting with my cousin?”

“Sorry, sorry.” Xu Lin snapped back to reality. “I’m just really interested.”

“What, you want to join too?” Yi Wei said casually.

Xu Lin paused for a few seconds, then said helplessly, “I’m too old for that.”

Li Mu glanced at Xu Lin thoughtfully. He had not said he did not want to go. He had said his age was not right.

Li Mu said, “I joined when I was twenty. Nothing is ever too late. As long as you meet the requirements, rules can be flexible. If you’re interested, I can give you a letter of recommendation. You can sign up and give it a try.”

“Really?” Xu Lin’s eyes lit up.

“Of course.”

Yi Wei could not believe it. “Wait, you actually want to join the military? Just like that? What would you do? Administrative work?”

Xu Lin did not answer. He glanced at Li Mu instead.

Yi Wei immediately guessed and exclaimed, “No way, you want to go to his unit? My brother’s post is in the middle of nowhere—loess plateau, wind and sun, brutal training. You’re a Beta, you won’t be able to handle it.”

At that, Li Mu paused. “Beta?” he murmured softly, as if puzzled.

Xu Lin did not notice. He turned to Li Mu. “Is that possible?”

“Of course.” Li Mu said. “But Yi Wei has a point. This isn’t a game. The competition will be fierce. You’ll suffer a lot.”

“I’m not afraid of hardship,” Xu Lin said.

Li Mu said, “If you still haven’t changed your mind, I’ll need to test you first.”

“Test me how?”

Li Mu took Xu Lin to a boxing gym, tossed him a pair of gloves, and stepped into the ring. “If you can land a hit on me, you win.”

Yi Wei protested, “That’s not fair.” He had seen Li Mu in action. When he came home on leave, a few of his friends had foolishly challenged him to a spar. They all charged at once and all went down in seconds—Li Mu barely seemed to move. He had not even tried.

Yi Wei had seen Xu Lin fight back when they were in school—he had handled their glasses-wearing roommate—but Li Mu was a professional. He was afraid Xu Lin would get hurt.

Xu Lin put on the gloves and stepped into the ring.

Yi Wei could not stop him. He whispered to Li Mu, “Don’t take it too seriously. Go easy on him.”

Li Mu smiled but said nothing.

Li Mu had not been taking it seriously at first. But when he saw the sharp, unwavering look in Xu Lin’s eyes behind the boxing gloves—the way he refused to back down no matter how many times his punches were deflected—he felt that going easy would be disrespectful.

So when he twisted Xu Lin’s arm and pinned him to the ground, his knee on his neck, Yi Wei started shouting from ringside—foul, foul—his voice loud enough to draw stares from across the gym. Li Mu glanced at him for a split second. In that moment, he lost his balance. The world spun. Xu Lin flipped him over and straddled his waist.

Li Mu saw Xu Lin’s fist swinging down at his face. He braced for a heavy blow—but the glove only landed softly on the tip of his chin. A light tap.

Li Mu blinked, stunned for a moment, and looked at Xu Lin.

Xu Lin looked down at him, sweat glistening on his cheeks, bright and spirited, grinning widely. “Distractions are no good.”

Yi Wei cheered, remembering Li Mu’s words before the match. “That’s it! Xu Lin won!”

Xu Lin got up and offered Li Mu a hand, pulling him to his feet.

He stepped out of the ring. Yi Wei rushed over with water and a towel. “You’re amazing.”

“Not really,” Xu Lin said. “Your cousin just got distracted and went easy on me.”

“That’s still impressive. You have no idea how badly he wiped the floor with the rest of us. Right, bro?” Yi Wei looked at the ring and saw Li Mu standing there, dazed, as if his soul had been snatched away.

At Yi Wei’s call, Li Mu snapped out of it, coughed, and stepped down. He glanced at Xu Lin, quickly looked away, grabbed the towel from Yi Wei, and draped it over his head, rubbing his face roughly. He muttered, “No going easy. A bet is a bet.”

“So…” Xu Lin was eager.

Li Mu said, “I’ll put in a word for you. Leave me your number. If all goes well, you can go to the assessment site and try out. But whether you pass is not up to me. You’ll have to earn it.”

“Okay!”

Xu Lin patted his pocket and realized he had no phone. Should he leave Pu Sha’s number?

“What’s wrong?”

Xu Lin looked embarrassed. “I didn’t bring my phone…”

Li Mu said, “I have an old phone in my car. If you don’t mind, you can use it.”

“But isn’t that…”

“It’s fine,” Li Mu said. “I’ll lend it to you. You can return it whenever.”

Since he put it that way, Xu Lin did not refuse. “Thank you.”

Li Mu coughed again. His dark ears turned slightly red. “No problem.”

Yi Wei looked at Li Mu, then at Xu Lin, and a mysterious smile spread across his face.

They walked around the streets for a while. Time flew by, and soon it was getting dark. Xu Lin had to catch his boat home.

After Xu Lin’s figure disappeared into the ticket office, Yi Wei elbowed Li Mu in the stomach. “Hey, he’s gone. Still staring?”

Li Mu looked away. “Come on, let’s go home.”

Yi Wei walked behind Li Mu, arms crossed, speaking in a mockingly shrill voice. “Oh my, didn’t know an old bachelor could bloom too—”

Li Mu choked on his own spit, coughing a few times. “What are you talking about?”

“What did I say? Did I say you?” Yi Wei winked at him, a mischievous grin on his face. “Quit pretending.”

“Got your eye on my buddy?”

“Keep talking and I’ll hit you.”

“Fine, I’m talking nonsense.” Yi Wei said. “But my buddy is great. No shame in liking him. What’s there to be shy about?”

“…”

“You’re both single. If you like him, there’s no harm in trying. He’s a Beta. If you’re fine with that as an Alpha, then there’s no problem. Just warning you: if you ever hurt Xu Lin, I’ll come for you.”

“What are you even saying? I just think…” Li Mu trailed off.

He thought of Xu Lin’s smile and could not find the words.

“Think what?”

“Think he’s…”

He stumbled. Yi Wei finished for him, “Think he’s charming, right?”

“…” Li Mu changed the subject. “Why did you call him a Beta?”

Yi Wei blinked, looked at him like he was an idiot. “Duh, we were roommates in school. If he’s not a Beta, what else could he be? Did military service ruin your eyes?”

Li Mu looked down and did not argue.

All day, he had been smelling a sweet, slightly tart fruity scent. It seeped into his nostrils, lingering around him. It was clearly coming from Xu Lin.

It was not perfume. He was an Alpha. He knew what that scent was. It was pheromones.

Xu Lin was not a Beta. He was an Omega with pheromones.