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At 5:30 in the morning, before the wake-up call in the base dormitory had even sounded, Li Huaizhou was awakened by the chirping of cicadas outside his window. He turned over and saw that Xie Mo, who had been shuffled down from his upper bunk, was buttoning his school uniform with his eyes downcast. The morning light filtered through the slits in the curtains onto his neck, making his skin look exceptionally white.
"Awake?" Xie Mo seemed to notice his gaze and turned his head to look at him, his eyes still a little hazy from just waking up. "Lie down for a while, there are still ten minutes before the whistle blows."
Li Huaizhou hummed, but didn't lie down again. He stared at the ceiling fan, his mind full of Xie Mo's red knuckles from last night. It wasn't until the sharp sound of the wake-up whistle that he snapped back to reality, grabbed his school uniform, and put it on. In his haste, he almost put the sleeves on backwards, but Xie Mo reached out and straightened his collar for him.
While washing up, Ji Jiancheng came over and said in a low voice, "You two should be careful today. Director Shen looked like he wanted to eat someone yesterday." He paused, and patted Li Huaizhuo on the shoulder, "But Xie Mo is really nice. That punch yesterday was really satisfying. Zhang Qiang's nosebleed was like a floodgate opened." Li Huaizhuo didn't say anything, but just glanced in Xie Mo's direction. Xie Mo was wringing out a towel. The red marks on his knuckles had not faded yet, and they were even more obvious after being soaked in water. He felt like something was pulling at his heart. Just as he was about to say something, the assembly whistle sounded, and the students in the washroom rushed out in a swarm.
The playground was already full of people, each class lined up in order, the morning light stretching everyone's shadows out. Li Huaizhou stood at the end of the line, shaking his head, trying to dispel the remaining sleepiness - he had long been immune to this kind of morning meeting. In school, he read self-criticisms more often than raised his hand in class. It was nothing more than standing up and reciting a few clichés, and then the rest of the meeting would be the same.
At seven o'clock sharp, Shen Jianhong took the stage, a megaphone in hand. The wind lifted a corner of his dark blue uniform. He cleared his throat and began by announcing the day's schedule: a national defense education class in the morning, a visit to the memorial hall in the afternoon, and a self-reflection writing session in the evening. A low groan erupted from the audience, and Ji Jiancheng muttered quietly nearby, "Self-reflection writing? Writing that self-criticism session yesterday nearly drained my brain."
Li Huaizhou didn't respond, simply staring at the stage—he knew the real action was yet to come. Sure enough, after Shen Jianhong finished reading the itinerary, he suddenly changed the subject, his expression darkening. "Last night, a serious fight occurred at the base, a serious violation of discipline. Now, the students involved will take turns to come up and read their self-criticisms."
The first person to go up was Zhang Qiang. He had a piece of gauze on his nose, and his walking posture was a little awkward, probably because he was beaten badly yesterday. He held the self-criticism paper, lowered his head, and spoke in a slurred voice, repeating the same few sentences over and over again, "I shouldn't have caused trouble" and "I shouldn't have started a fight." The people in the audience were drowsy, and some even began to yawn secretly. Next came Ji Jiancheng and a few other boys. Ji Jiancheng was quite unconvinced when he went up. When he read "I shouldn't have participated in the fight," his voice deliberately dragged out. As a result, Shen Jianhong glared at him, and he quickly speeded up his speech. When it was Li Huaizhuo's turn, he walked up to the stage slowly and took out a wrinkled self-criticism paper from his pocket. He had stuffed it into his pocket after writing it last night, and the corners were curled up.
He stood before the microphone, not bowing his head like the others. Instead, he raised his chin slightly, his eyes scanning the audience. His voice was lazy: "Last night, I had a conflict with Zhang Qiang downstairs in the dormitory building. I ended up getting involved in the fight, which violated the base regulations. I recognize my mistake and will abide by the rules from now on..."
The students in the audience were already tired of hearing this, and some began to whisper to each other. Everyone knew that he was a notorious problem student. He read his self-criticism as if it were a meal, and no one took his words seriously. After reading the last sentence, Li Huaizhou crumpled the paper into a ball and stuffed it back into his pocket. He turned around and walked away. His movements were quick and decisive, and he didn't even spare Shen Jianhong a glance on the stage.
Until Xie Mo walked onto the stage, the entire playground suddenly became quiet for a second, and then erupted into a buzzing discussion.
"Isn't that Shemer? The top student in the class?"
"Why did he go up there too? Was he involved in the fight yesterday?"
"Oh my god, even the top students are fighting!"
The discussion grew louder and louder, and even Shen Jianhong frowned and knocked on the microphone: "Quiet!" The audience finally quieted down, but everyone's eyes were glued to Xie Mo - he was wearing the same school uniform as everyone else, but he stood exceptionally straight. The morning light fell on his face, making his usually gentle features look a little cold.
Li Huaizhou stood in the line, his heart suddenly beating a little faster. He knew what Xie Mo wrote in his self-criticism. He had seen it clearly last night when the two of them were sitting together at the same table writing it - it was all a formal apology, without a single unnecessary word.
Xie Mo picked up his self-criticism and spoke into the microphone. His voice was faint, but it carried clearly throughout the playground. "Last night, I had an argument with Zhang Qiang and then hit him, violating the base's disciplinary regulations. I hereby apologize to my teachers and classmates, and I deeply understand my mistakes—I shouldn't have acted impulsively and shouldn't have used violence to solve problems..."
Li Huaizhou breathed a sigh of relief, but he felt a little lost in his heart. He was actually looking forward to whether Xie Mo would say something different like he did yesterday.
At this moment, Xie Mo's tone suddenly changed.
He paused, raised his head, and looked across the crowd below the stage, landing directly on the team Zhang Qiang was in. His voice was still light, but his eyes looked like he was looking at a dog: "I have indeed deeply realized my mistakes. However, I hope that classmate Zhang Qiang will keep his word - yesterday you verbally attacked my friend, and now that you have read your self-criticism, you should remember the lesson." The audience instantly exploded, and Shen Jianhong's face changed. Xie Mo's words continued to be heard: "If I hear you talk dirty again, I will not be soft-hearted. As you said yourself, one slap doesn't make a sound, so a few more slaps should make your memory grow..."
"Wow--" The whole playground was in an uproar after the microphone was cut off. Some brave people shouted to the stage: "Mr. Xie is awesome!" Some people even took out their mobile phones and recorded this, but the discussion in the audience became even louder. Xie Mo just quietly folded the self-criticism paper in his hand, looked after the stunned teacher next to the microphone, and then turned and walked off the stage - his steps were steady, with no expression on his face, as if it was not him who had just said those words. Li Huaizhou stood there, his mind a little confused. It was not until Xie Mo walked back to the team and stood next to him that he suddenly reacted, stretched out his elbow, and poked Xie Mo's arm hard: "Are you crazy?!"
Xie Mo looked at him sideways, with a familiar innocence in his eyes - he had an expressionless face, but when his eyes softened, it was impossible to get angry. "I'm just... reading a self-criticism." He said seriously. "Is that what you call reading a self-criticism?" Li Huaizhou lowered his voice, but the tips of his ears turned red uncontrollably. "You are reading a letter of challenge, right?" He said, but his heart seemed to be filled with something, warm - just now when Xie Mo stood on the stage and said "my friend" with a firm look in his eyes, his heart beat so fast that it seemed to jump out. They all knew that, of course, it was not just a friend, it was a blatant defense.
Xie Mo didn't say anything else, but just gently touched the tip of his red ear, with the corners of his mouth curled up.
After the morning meeting, the incident spread like wildfire and was directly posted on the school forum. Some people blocked the dormitory door, trying to find Xie Mo and Li Huaizhou to ask for details. Others posted the photos they took that morning in the campus group chat. Hundreds of comments were piled up below, with all kinds of outrageous speculations - some said that the academic tyrant was domineering to protect his "wife"; some said that the academic tyrant was a righteous person.
Li Huaizhou was so annoyed that he hid in the corner of the cafeteria during lunch. Xie Mo came over with a plate and put the braised pork into his bowl: "Eat more. We have to go to the memorial hall this afternoon, and it's a long walk."
"Didn't we agree to keep our relationship secret?" Li Huaizhou said, taking a bite of his rice. His tone was a little helpless, but his ears were still red. "Now the whole base knows you're 'protecting me.' If this continues, what's going to happen between us..." Xie Mo blinked, his amber eyes shining brightly under the light. He picked up a piece of greens and offered it to Li Huaizhou. "Is it wrong to speak up for a 'good friend'?"
Li Huaizhou opened his mouth to take the vegetables, and the helplessness in his heart disappeared without a trace. Just as he was about to say something, Ji Jiancheng came over with a plate of food, sat down on the chair next to him, and clapped his hands excitedly on the table: "Great, Xie Mo! You were so handsome this morning! Didn't you see that kid Zhang Qiang's face? That green face, he must still be sulking in the dormitory!" As he spoke, he took a big mouthful of rice and stuffed it into his mouth, completely unaware of the little tricks between Li Huaizhou and Xie Mo - the braised pork in Li Huaizhou's bowl was all picked up by Xie Mo, and there were several carrots on Xie Mo's plate that he didn't like to eat, which were obviously thrown to him by Li Huaizhou silently.
Shen Qitang also came over with a plate of food. He was the only one who knew about the relationship between the two. Unlike Ji Jiancheng, he didn't make a fuss. He just winked at the two of them meaningfully, then lowered his head to eat. "Do you think Director Shen will talk to us again?" Ji Jiancheng suddenly put down his chopsticks and said a little worriedly, "Xie Mo's face turned black this morning."
Li Huaizhou was about to speak when Xie Mo spoke first. "No," he said confidently. "Zhang Qiang provoked me first, and the base won't really punish me. After all, there are competitions to participate in later." Li Huaizhou was stunned for a moment before realizing that Xie Mo had already figured it out. He watched Xie Mo lower his head to eat, his hair hanging down, covering his eyebrows, and suddenly found it a little funny. This person usually looked quiet, but in fact he knew what to do better than anyone else, protecting him while keeping himself out of trouble.
"But seriously," Ji Jiancheng became excited again, "When you said 'a few more slaps will make you remember' this morning, many girls in the audience were talking about it. Xie Mo, you're really good. You've only been at the base for a few days, and you've already gained so many fans."
Xie Mo didn't respond, but just glanced at Li Huaizhou. Li Huaizhou was eating, and the tips of his ears turned redder, obviously hearing what Ji Jiancheng said. He couldn't help but reach out and gently touched Li Huaizhou's hand under the table. The moment their fingertips touched, Li Huaizhou's hand trembled and he quickly pulled it back.
After dinner, Ji Jiancheng and Shen Qitang left first, saying they were going to the dormitory to get water bottles. As the two of them walked back slowly, Li Huaizhou raised his head and looked at Xie Mo, his tone a little arrogant, deliberately looking unhappy: "Xie Daxueba, is this... a fan girl?" Xie Mo was a little surprised, but did not refute. Instead, he moved closer and lowered his voice: "Baby, are you jealous?"
Li Huaizhou's face instantly turned red, like a kettle, and even his neck was stained with a thin layer of red. He turned his face away, not daring to look into Xie Mo's eyes, and muttered: "What... you can find whoever you want."
Xie Mo smiled and reached out to ruffle his hair - the movement was very gentle, like soothing a furry kitten. "But I just want to find you."
Li Huaizhou looked at the seriousness in his eyes and felt warm in his heart. He knew that Xie Mo was never an impulsive person. What he said at the morning meeting today was all for him. Although it was a bit ridiculous and pushed their relationship to the forefront, he was really happy to be protected in such an open and aboveboard way.
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