Reborn Aristocrat: Return of the Vicious Heiress - Chapter 1156
Chapter 1156: You’re Just Taking Revenge
The courage and energy that Wen Xinya had painstakingly gathered seemed to have been sucked out of her all of a sudden. She fell onto the ground as fatigue overwhelmed her. She lied on the ground beneath the sun.
What’s wrong with Xu Zhenyu?
Resentment!
Cold and harsh resentment!
She noticed the emotions in Xu Zhenyu’s eyes and she almost thought that she had seen wrongly. My eyes must have been playing tricks on me. How could I have seen those emotions?
Be it in her previous lifetime or the present, Xu Zhenyu had always been the one she trusted the most and the one who treated her the best.
However, she still remembered the chilliness of Xu Zhenyu’s gaze which made her freeze and stiffen.
Is this all just an illusion?
Wen Xinya was perplexed.
At the same time, Wen Xinya was also a little worried about Xu Zhenyu. In the past two days, she had been trying to find a chance to speak to him properly and ask him if something had gone wrong. However, she had yet to find the chance to do so. It was as if he was intentionally trying to hide from her.
An ominous feeling filled Wen Xinya’s heart.
There was a gap between her and Xu Zhenyu that neither of them could cross. At last… they would only drift further and further away from each other.
That discovery made Wen Xinya feel anxious all of a sudden.
As soon as Xu Zhenyu left the field, Ye Feiyu scurried towards Wen Xinya and helped her up. “Xinya, hurry and get up.”
Wen Xinya’s legs were so sore and achy that she felt as if they did not belong to her anymore. She allowed Ye Feiyu to drag her along and help her to the bottom of the tree. “Feifei, don’t care about me. I don’t want him to use this as an excuse to punish you too.”
For the past few days, Ye Feiyu had already been punished by Xu Zhenyu more than one or two times. Hence, Wen Xinya felt extremely guilty towards her.
Ye Feiyu opened a bottle of mineral water and handed it to Wen Xinya.
“He can go ahead and punish me if he wants to. What else can he make me do? He’s at most going to make me stand at attention beneath the sun. I’ve stood at attention for more than three hours before. There’s nothing for me to be afraid of.”
Ye Feiyu sounded extremely nonchalant. It was as if the punishment did not bother her at all.
Extremely touched, Wen Xinya grabbed the bottle of water and chugged half of its contents rapidly. After replenishing the fluids in her body, she felt much more energetic.
Ye Feiyu wiped the sweat off her face with a wet towel and said, “It doesn’t matter to me! However, there was no need for you to talk back to him in front of everyone else. Who knows what he might do to you to punish you later?”
Xu Zhenyu had been putting Wen Xinya through the harsh and strenuous training with the excuse of making up for the training that she had missed out on during her leave. All the other students found it difficult to understand and many of them felt unjustified for her. They even began spreading rumors of Wen Xinya offending Xu Zhenyu and that Xu Zhenyu was treating her that way because of a personal feud.
The mention of it made Wen Xinya feel miserable. “He can go ahead and punish me. Whatever! Well, he’s the commander and I’m the student. I don’t have a choice!”
Given Xu Zhenyu’s character, he would definitely punish her for provoking him. Just like Wen Xinya, Xu Zhenyu loved bearing grudges.
Ye Feiyu asked softly, “Xinya, did you actually offend Commander Xu or not? Otherwise, why is he so biased against you?”
Although his excuse seemed reasonable, they all felt that he had gone overboard. However, none of them could say anything.
Wen Xinya smiled wryly and said, “Beats me.”
Yeah, I’d like to know why too. Weren’t we just getting along fine? Why did everything change after I took a break? It feels like we’ll never be able to go back to the past where we bickered with each other merrily.
Wen Xinya felt rather sad.
Noticing the wry smile on Wen Xinya’s face, Ye Feiyu knew that she really did not know what was going on. “He didn’t treat you that way earlier on. That means that something must have happened recently. Try and recall carefully, did you miss out something?”
Wen Xinya found Ye Feiyu’s words to have made sense. After giving it some thought, she realized that Xu Zhenyu’s attitude changed after Si Yiyan visited her at the base camp.
Her friends knew about the relationship between her and Si Yiyan and, although she did not go out of her way to tell Xu Zhenyu about it, she did not hide it from him either. She reckoned that Xu Zhenyu must have already found out because of how big-mouthed Han Mofeng and Ling Qingxuan were.
Hence, she did not think too much about it.
Since Gu Junling and the rest are all so concerned about my relationship, Xu Zhenyu should be concerned too! However, he had never once mentioned about it during our phone calls, so that means that he didn’t know about it previously.
Xu Zhenyu must be upset after finding out about me and Si Yiyan.
After all, the rest of them already know about this. He must be angry because I didn’t tell him about it.
I kept thinking that Xu Zhenyu was angry because of the leave that I applied. Yet, it turns out… I didn’t even get the reason right. That’s why he got even angrier.
After thinking about how prideful and petty Xu Zhenyu was, Wen Xinya felt that it was very likely that he had gotten angry at her because of the fact that she hid her relationship from him.
Wen Xinya felt a sense of relief and said, “I think I’ve offended him before, but I’m not too sure about that.”
After hearing her words, Ye Feiyu began to grouse. “So it’s true… I felt that he was really handsome and a good commander even though he treated us a little harsh at times. However, I didn’t expect… that he’d be such a petty person. How annoying.”
Anger was written all over Ye Feiyu’s face and she felt rather embarrassed for fancying Xu Zhenyu after thinking about the unfair treatment that he had subjected Wen Xinya to.
After feeling much more relieved, Wen Xinya began to get into the mood for jokes. “So you actually know how annoying he is. You were so obsessed with him previously and you even said that he was the most handsome and charismatic man in the world. Why did you change all of a sudden?”
As red as a tomato, Ye Feiyu answered, “So what if he’s handsome and charismatic? His good looks can’t cover his shameless and despicable nature.”
Wen Xinya snorted and said, “That sounds a little too harsh! He didn’t do much to me other than put me through stricter training.”
Wen Xinya subconsciously defended Xu Zhenyu.
Feeling that she had gone overboard too, Ye Feiyu gave it some thought and realized that he was indeed a good commander regardless of what he had done to Wen Xinya. “No matter what, you didn’t commit a grave mistake to warrant that. Even if you’ve offended him, he can’t take it out on you personally.”
Wen Xinya smiled and said, “Help me back to the dorm. It’s too warm out here.”
Chapter 1157: Si Yiyan’s Thoughts
Wen Xinya was both perplexed and miserable about Xu Zhenyu’s harsh attitude towards her.
She tried to explain her relationship with Si Yiyan to Xu Zhenyu. However, there was nothing she could do if Xu Zhenyu deliberately tried to avoid her. After all, the base camp was Xu Zhenyu’s territory and she was just a student of the military training program. Hence, she faced plenty of restrictions during the program.
Although she got to see Xu Zhenyu during training, she was not allowed to speak to him at all. Besides, he often had a cold and austere expression on his face. He did not even bother looking at her, thus making her feel infuriated.
She was extremely upset.
Whenever she spoke to Si Yiyan over the phone, she would complain and air her grievances to him. “Si Yiyan, why do you think Xu-er is avoiding me all the time? All I did was hide our relationship from him. Must he do that?”
She was certain that Xu Zhenyu was angry simply because she didn’t tell him about her relationship with Si Yiyan.
Si Yiyan remained silent!
He felt that he had been worrying for nothing previously. He thought, I should have thought about this right from the start. Xinya may seem intelligent, but she’s actually very slow-witted when it comes to love. Those who fancy her but are too afraid to express their feelings for her would only face defeat, because not only is she slow-witted… she has never treated love as a part of her life. In other words, she could do without love.
Back then, he chose not to hide his feelings for her because he had noticed that trait of hers. Hence, he decided to openly express his intentions and laid a trap for her to fall into.
The thought of it made him feel rather heartened.
He began taking sympathy on Xu Zhenyu whom he reckoned felt terrible because there was nothing he could do except bottle his feelings. He was sure that Xu Zhenyu would go crazy because he was immature when it came to love.
Wen Xinya continued, “Although Tianyu and the rest were displeased with me when they first found out and they even plotted against me, they weren’t as petty as him! He really treats me like his soldiers. All he does is put me through 16 hours of training a day. Is he out to kill me!?!”
So much for being worried about his health and offering my precious herbal recipes to him. Yet, he still treated me so harshly. The thought of it… made her feel extremely upset.
Si Yiyan asked with a stern expression, “What did you say?”
16 hours of high-intensity training? Xu Zhenyu actually did that to her?
She could sense how stern Si Yiyan was over the phone and she berated herself for letting it slip off her tongue. She frantically tried to salvage it. “It’s nothing much actually, he just wanted me to make up for the training that I had lost in the past four days. It’s not that tough.”
Given Si Yiyan’s character, he would definitely give Xu Zhenyu a hard time if he were to find out what Xu Zhenyu had done to Wen Xinya. He would not let him off, not even on her account.
Although she was displeased with Xu Zhenyu, she did not actually hold it against him and hence, did not want Si Yiyan to harm Xu Zhenyu.
Si Yiyan asked calmly, “16 hours of high-intensity training? You call that nothing much?”
Those who knew Si Yiyan would know that he had a strong willpower and would never lose his temper. The angrier he was, the calmer he would be and the more threatening he would be too.
Wen Xinya’s heart palpitated and she said, “I just wanted to catch up with everyone as soon as possible. I’m sure you know… that the military training program is about to end soon and the drill performance is going to happen soon. Everyone’s been training hard lately. I’m only putting in two extra hours.”
Actually, it was only today that her peers had begun training harder. It had been three days since she began training strenuously for 16 hours a day.
Si Yiyan asked softly, “Can you take it?”
He knew right from the start, that Xu Zhenyu and Wen Xinya would drift further away from each other in the end because of her. It was a fact that could not be changed. When a woman was in love, she would be willing to do anything for her loved one. When a man was in love, he would do anything to possess the woman he loved.
Xu Zhenyu was not the kind to turn his love into resentment just because his crush did not reciprocate his feelings. He merely found it unacceptable for now and could not come to terms with the fact that Wen Xinya had already fallen in love with someone else. Most importantly, he never got to confess his love to Wen Xinya, who had been enjoying the affection of someone else while he was busy fretting over her.
In the past, Xu Zhenyu painstakingly tried to get involved with the military training program, simply because he wanted to keep an eye on her. However… now that he knew that she had fallen in love with someone else, he would definitely be unable to take it, especially since he loved her that much.
Hence, he decided to use the strenuous training to torture Wen Xinya. He needed some time to adjust to it and save himself from his extreme emotions.
Si Yiyan could not shoulder the burden for Wen Xinya.
He could not intervene much, either. Otherwise, his plans might backfire and he might easily create a chance for Xu Zhenyu to take advantage.
Wen Xinya said, “I’m alright. I just couldn’t complete the missions because of the extra training. Xu Zhenyu wouldn’t punish me for that, so I can still take it.”
Si Yiyan knew that she was just trying to comfort him. Feeling an immense heartache, he silently bore a grudge against Xu Zhenyu and tried to think about how he should stop him.
Having been dating him for a long time, Wen Xinya naturally knew what he was thinking. She frantically said, “Just stay out of this. The military training program is ending soon, anyway. I’ll only be working hard for two days.”
Si Yiyan frowned slightly. Actually, he knew that there would be a strain on his friendship with Wen Xinya if Xu Zhenyu were to bottle all his feelings up and not vent them. However, he could not bring himself to leave her in the lurch.
Wen Xinya said calmly, “I believe Xu Zhenyu won’t hurt me.”
Since she had already said that, it was really inappropriate for him to intervene. Si Yiyan sighed and said, “In that case, I’ll get Mrs. Tan to brew some soup that will help your body recover.”
Although the results were slow, it was better than nothing. Sometimes, he could not help but feel a little sad about the fact that he had an independent girlfriend, for that would mean that he would barely get the chance to show how dutiful he was.
Wen Xinya gladly agreed.
Chapter 1158: A Military Order Must Be Obeyed
Wen Xinya would never be able to guess how Xu Zhenyu felt about her.
After all… she may have known Xu Zhenyu earlier in this lifetime, but she would always keep a distance away from him in order to avoid letting him fall in love with her. Besides… she did not get to spend much time with Xu Zhenyu. Not long after they met each other, Xu Zhenyu headed to Northwest Military Camp and they also contacted each other less frequently ever since then. Having had her fair share of romantic relationships in the past, the rational and pragmatic Wen Xinya would never be able to fall in love at first sight.
Besides, in her previous lifetime, Xu Zhenyu’s love for her was not exactly pure, for it was mixed with feelings of gratitude and sympathy. In this lifetime… everything was different and Xu Zhenyu obviously wouldn’t harbor those complicated feelings towards her.
Although she knew that Xu Zhenyu seemed to have dreamed about his previous lifetime, his attitude towards her did not change just because of the dream. They were still friends who often laughed together and bickered with each other like they had been right from the start.
On top of that, she had never felt that she was a good woman, especially since she had such a disgraceful fate in her previous lifetime. How much better could she be after her rebirth? Hence, she had never felt that she deserved the love of any man, nor did she ever feel like she possessed the ability to make all men fall in love with her.
Most importantly, it was impossible between her and Xu Zhenyu because of his family background.
Due to all the impossibilities, Wen Xinya had never thought that Xu Zhenyu would fall in love with her.
Meanwhile, Xu Zhenyu had suffered a huge blow after finding out that his crush had fallen in love with someone else. To make matters worse, he could not hide from her at all and had to face the woman whom he loved with all his heart but could never win over every single day.
One could only imagine how miserable and agonized he felt.
The outcome resulted in Wen Xinya begin put through a tough time.
Xu Zhenyu glanced at all the freshmen and subconsciously looked away when he caught sight of Wen Xinya. “Today, we’ll be training you to sprint, sprawl, and advance.”
The Quadrupedal movement was one of the toughest aspects of military training, and the quadrupedal movement practices that they had for the past few days had already put them through immense agony.
Xu Zhenyu shifted his gaze onto Wen Xinya and ordered. “Wen Xinya, step forth!”
Wen Xinya frantically stood out from the crowd and walked towards Xu Zhenyu before saluting to him. “Sir!”
Xu Zhenyu said, “You were on medical leave when your peers were going through Quadrupedal movement training the past few days. It’s now time… for me to see the results of the intense training that I put you through.”
Wen Xinya straightened her arms and clenched her fists, thinking to herself, Xu Zhenyu is doing this on purpose. He’s just deliberately trying to make me embarrass myself. The Quadrupedal movement lessons are already over and I’ve only received special training for two days. He knows clearly that I’ve only learned how to position myself correctly.
Yet, he wants me to demonstrate it to everyone now. He’s clearly out to make me embarrass myself.
Xu Zhenyu ordered sternly. “Now, you’re to crawl to the flagged area within five minutes.”
Wen Xinya stood rooted to the ground as her body stiffened.
Xu Zhenyu hollered. “What’s the matter? Do you need me to repeat myself?”
Wen Xinya gritted her teeth and decided to go all out. “Sir, I only started learning about the Quadrupedal movement yesterday. I can’t reach the destination within five minutes.”
Since it was not the time for her to put on a brave front, she chose to tell the truth.
“You’re telling me that you can’t do it even before you gave it a try. My soldiers have to bear in mind that nothing is impossible in this world.”
Xu Zhenyu sounded extremely firm and dominant with an austere expression on his face. With a heavy heart, Wen Xinya reckoned that she finally understood why a soldier’s command was not to be defied.
She clenched her jaw, feeling extremely aggrieved.
Xu Zhenyu frowned slightly and questioned loudly. “Did you hear me?”
Wen Xinya pursed her lips. She would be a fool to think that Xu Zhenyu was just upset at her for hiding her relationship form him. However, she had no idea why he was acting that way.
However, she could not defy his orders since everyone was watching. She answered softly, “Yes!”
Xu Zhenyu suddenly screeched. “Louder, I can’t hear you!”
Wen Xinya was infuriated and her eyes seemed to have started burning. She scanned her surroundings, only to discover that the freshmen were all staring at her with animosity in a gloating manner. She suddenly yelled, “Sir, I heard you.”
Wen Xinya continued to remain still. She could not put her feelings into words as she felt engulfed by feelings of grief.
At this moment, Ye Feiyu stood in front of Xu Zhenyu and saluted. “Sir, I volunteer to crawl in place of Wen Xinya. I’ll reach the flag within five minutes.”
Wen Xinya extremely touched, but she knew that Xu Zhenyu would never agree to it. In order to avoid letting Ye Feiyu get punished, she had no choice but to concede. “Sir, I’ll begin immediately.”
However, that did not stop Xu Zhenyu from punishing Ye Feiyu. He said sternly, “You volunteered without my instruction. Stand at attention beneath the sun for two hours after this afternoon’s training.”
Wen Xinya was extremely exasperated as well. However, there was no way for her to refute because she did not want Ye Feiyu to be implicated further.
She sprawled across the ground and began crawling, trying her best to keep her body as close to the ground as possible.
Before she even covered a meter, Xu Zhenyu hollered. “Use your arms and legs to crawl. Restart!”
Wen Xinya had no choice but to stand up, rush back to the starting line and begin crawling all over again.
This time, when she covered about two meters, Xu Zhenyu barked. “Start over again!”
Wen Xinya suppressed her feelings of indignity and restarted again and again. Finally, she began to carry out the movements smoothly on her seventh attempt. However, she was almost out of energy because of the crawling that she had done beforehand. Hence, she could not arrive at the destination within five minutes and was made to stand at attention for three hours as a form of punishment.
At last, Wen Xinya lagged behind the team during the Quadrupedal movement and was harshly reprimanded by Xu Zhenyu, who even punished her by making her run three rounds around the track.
Chapter 1159: Xinya, I’m Sorry!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the afternoon, she and Ye Feiyu stood at attention beneath the sun. Ye Feiyu left to resume the rest of the training after two hours while Wen Xinya stayed to complete the remaining hour of her punishment.
Standing at attention was one of the toughest parts of military training, for one would have to stay still in the same position for a long time. Standing in a random and casual position for three hours was arduous enough, let alone at attention.
Wen Xinya dreaded standing at attention the most, for it required endurance and grit. She possessed great explosive power but lacked stamina. The most grueling task would be to stand at attention below the scorching sun.
Wen Xinya was already much weaker than others in the first place and she had already suffered a heatstroke because of it. However, she discovered that she was unwell soon after, and hence recovered with some rest.
Having been through high-intensity training for the past few weeks, Wen Xinya’s body was in a terrible state and she felt a sudden stuffiness in her chest that was accompanied by nausea that made her feel weak and feeble. She began to blackout a little and next… she fell right onto the ground.
Ye Feiyu had been paying attention to Wen Xinya and hence got a great shock when she noticed that Wen Xinya had fainted. She instantly yelled, “Commander, Xinya has fainted!”
Xu Zhenyu panicked and almost scurried towards her. He said, “She’s just suffering from a heatstroke. Why are you kicking up such a huge fuss? Get back to training.”
Xu Zhenyu arranged for the team leader to supervise the training before striding towards Wen Xinya and picking her up in his arms effortlessly. He then strutted towards the medical office, his footsteps no longer rhythmic.
Xu Zhenyu carried Wen Xinya into the medical office.
The doctor hurriedly checked Wen Xinya’s body.
“Doctor, how is she?” Xu Zhenyu asked, regretting his decision to treat her so harshly after being reminded of the fact that she was in poor health and had already fainted twice in 20 days.
The doctor said, “There aren’t any major problems. She’s just suffering from low blood sugar levels. She’ll be fine after taking some glucose and getting some rest.”
The military training program had only gone on for twenty-odd days and yet, Wen Xinya had already been to the medical office for four times. Hence, the doctor had a strong impression of her.
Xu Zhenyu heaved a sigh of relief, feeling thankful to hear that she was alright.
The doctor pressed Wen Xinya’s arms and calf muscles, after which she instinctively shivered. The doctor said with a slight frown, “She has plenty of muscle tears that have yet to heal even until now. Due to the fact that her ligaments have been overexerted, they’ve become looser than before. Clearly, she has been undergoing high-intensity training within a short period of time. If this goes on, she will suffer severe damage to her body.”
Xu Zhenyu was at a loss for words. He actually didn’t want to treat her that way, either. However, he could not help but be exasperated whenever he thought about how condescending and proud she was.
The doctor chided sternly. “What is wrong with you? You may have to be strict when conducting the military training, but you can’t make the students do more than what their bodies allow. You have to be responsible for their health since you’re their commander. I officially notify you that you must stop making her do any form of training for the next two days.”
Xu Zhenyu said, “Got it.”
After feeding Wen Xinya with some glucose, he proceeded to get busy with other matters.
Xu Zhenyu sat on the chair beside Wen Xinya’s bed in the medical office, feeling an immense heartache upon sight of the pale and fatigued Wen Xinya. Within just a short period of time, she actually became thinner than she was during the initial stages of training.
It was all his doing.
He suddenly covered his face with his hand and got a grip on himself. I shouldn’t have done that, he thought.
Xinya wasn’t wrong. I’ve always been the one at fault.
I was the one who chose to leave Capital city and ever since then, I had already lost.
I claim that I love her and wanted to become stronger so that I could be fit enough to be by her side, but actually… wasn’t I just being selfish?
He knew clearly how hard of a time Wen Xinya had when she first returned to the Wen Family. Firstly, she got set up by her stepmother and stepsister, after which she had to deal with the pretentious Xia Ruya and had to suffer the mistreatment inflicted on her by the heartless Wen Haowen and Old Mrs. Wen who detested her.
He left Wen Xinya when she needed him the most and was uninvolved with her life for three years. He was not there to share weal and woe with her. Hence, he felt that he did not have the rights to make her wait for his return.
Waiting was such an illusory thing.
In this world, waiting was the most miserable thing ever. In this world… waiting usually lead to nothing.
Not to mention, Wen Xinya had never once promised to wait for him.
It was all just wishful thinking on his part.
I shouldn’t have put all the blame on Xinya or even tortured her that way. I really deserve to die…
Wen Xinya was not completely unconscious. After intaking some glucose, she felt much more relieved and less uncomfortable.
She slowly opened her eyes and smiled feebly when she saw Xu Zhenyu who was seated beside her. “Xu Zhenyu…”
Xu Zhenyu grabbed her hand agitatedly and exclaimed, “You’re awake!”
Wen Xinya nodded and said, “I’m alright. I’m just suffering from low blood sugar. I’ll be fine in a while.”
She felt like a boulder was lifted off her chest when she saw how concerned and worried Xu Zhenyu was about her.
This is great!
Xu Zhenyu exclaimed in a hoarse voice, “Xinya, I’m sorry!”
Wen Xinya sat up slowly and stared at Xu Zhenyu. “Xu Zhenyu, you must have been possessed by Ning Shuqian!”
She knew that Xu Zhenyu wouldn’t actually hurt her. That was the trust she had in him.
Upon hearing that she had compared him to Ning Shuqian, he flew into a rage and retorted. “Wen Xinya, you’re the one who got possessed by Ning Shuqian!”
All that that vicious wretch Ning Shuqian does is think about how she should deal with Wen Xinya. Despite feeling upset about failing to win Wen Xinya’s heart, he would never actually hurt her because of that.
His feelings of agony faded after being teased by Wen Xinya. Wen Xinya chuckled and said, “In that case, tell me how I offended you in any way.”
Xu Zhenyu contemplated whether or not he should be honest with her about his feelings. However, he could not bring himself to do so when he saw the look in her eyes as she gazed at him. “That day, Mr. Si came to look for you, right? He was just using the inspection as an excuse.”
Xu Zhenyu’s words made Wen Xinya feel certain that Xu Zhenyu was angry about her relationship with Si Yiyan. Hence, she said, “Xu Zhenyu, you’re really petty! I didn’t hide it from you on purpose. Well, I didn’t get angry when you hid your return from me, did I?”
Xu Zhenyu could not help but smile wryly, though Wen Xinya did not notice it. “Stop trying to play dumb. Who’s that man and how long have you been dating him?”
Wen Xinya answered truthfully, “He’s Grampy’s student and we’ve been together for more than three years!”
She then told him about how she met Si Yiyan and the times when he rescued her from danger. She also told him about how her friends had all approved of him.
Xu Zhenyu had been observing Wen Xinya’s expression and he noticed how tender she looked when she was talking about Si Yiyan. It was an expression that he had never seen before.
Chapter 1160: The Military Training Program Comes to an End
The military training program was drawing to a close and they would be practicing a war drill for the next three days.
It was also a test of the skills that the freshmen had picked up in the past month.
They would be tested on their abilities to survive in the wild as well as their physical fitness.
At the end of the test, the commanders would grade everyone based on their performance. Hence, the test was very important to everyone and they took it rather seriously as well.
The freshmen were split into two groups for the battlefield operation which would last for three days. Wen Xinya’s team managed to achieve an indisputable victory. After all, Xu Zhenyu was not nicknamed as the Commander From Hell for nothing. It would be a disgrace to him if they had lost.
After a night’s rest, it was time for the drill, followed by the end of the military training program.
There was a small gathering in the afternoon that was meant for the freshmen to thank the commanders and soldiers for the help and training that they had given them throughout the program.
Wen Xinya’s long tresses were tied back into a simple yet classic bun that was secured on the back of her head with a yellow rosewood hairpin. She put on some light makeup that accentuated her beautiful features, before changing into a white dress that had a faint green hue. It was beautiful as the moon and had some light yellow chrysanthemum prints. The dress accentuated her beauty and gave her a classic vibe.
While the contest proceeded excitingly, Wen Xinya waited patiently for her segment.
Xu Zhenyu sneaked to the backstage and whistled at Wen Xinya. “Hi, chick!”
Wen Xinya smiled and said, “What are you doing here instead of watching the performance?”
Xu Zhenyu jested nonchalantly. “I’m here to admire the ravishing beauty!”
He then winked at her.
Although he was dressed impeccably in a neat and pristine military uniform which made him look dashing, he still looked a little comical. Wen Xinya gibed. “Right, all you do is stay in camp all day and you rarely get to see beautiful girls. Now that you have the chance to, ogle all you can.”
Xu Zhenyu snorted with laughter while supporting himself against the door frame. “Chick, you’re becoming more and more narcissistic. I really take my hat’s off to you.”
However, he could not take his eyes off her at all because she was really stunningly gorgeous that night.
Wen Xinya gritted her teeth in an adorable manner, looking like a feisty kitten. “I’m nothing compared to someone over here.”
Xu Zhenyu deliberately quipped. “Oh gosh! There’s actually a greater narcissist than you in this world.”
Wen Xinya turned pale in exasperation, shocked to see how eloquent he had become. “It’s good to have self-awareness. I’m talking about you.”
Xu Zhenyu guffawed uncontrollably.
Although they were teasing each other, Xu Zhenyu’s smile was a little lopsided.
Yeah! Lopsided.
The endless and grueling training helped him build his willpower and the dangerous missions made him develop grit. However… he had never felt as melancholic as he did right now. Love was the best thing that could shape and polish a man.
Back then, he chose to leave Capital city with the intention of becoming better before confessing his love to Wen Xinya. It was all because of his pride.
Yes, his pride!
Wen Xinya’s outstanding achievements made him understand that they were worlds apart. It was not his inferiority complex, but rather, it was his pride that made him feel the need to prove himself to be better and stronger than Wen Xinya. He strove to prove to Wen Xinya how outstanding he was and even wanted to surpass her.
His pride was the reason for his incredible and rapid growth.
His pride was the reason for his defeat in love.
He stood firm to his pride.
At last, he was still stunted by his pride and ended up in misery.
He had to reap what he sowed.
Right from the start, he was bound to suffer the pain of his fruitless pursuit of Wen Xinya because of his strong pride and dignity.
He thought about the dream that he had back then, during which… he confessed his feelings to the love of his life while still holding his head up high. He would never swallow his pride regardless of how much he effort he might have to put in.
He had been continuously measuring the weight of the Xu family and that of Wen Xinya in his heart. He had been contemplating between the two. He could stay by her side and give her his everything, but he was not willing to actually be open about his feelings and love her wholeheartedly.
However, he was well aware that she had suffered her downfall, solely because she was deprived of love and hope. The slightest bit of love and glimmer of hope would bloom in her heart and save her from her path of self-destruction.
He understood that clearly, but he did not give her any love even until the end.
At last, she died while he stayed alive.
In reality, he still insisted on holding his pride high and keeping his feelings to himself.
Xu Zhenyu changed the subject and said, “Congratulations, you’re almost done with the month-long hellish training.”
He felt a sense of relief because it had ended.
Wen Xinya pursed her lips together, feeling a little melancholic about having to part ways with him.
Xu Zhenyu smiled and asked, “Why are you looking so glum? You were complaining endlessly when you first arrived. Now that you’re finally free, shouldn’t you be rejoicing?”
He still remembered how the freshmen behaved when they first arrived. He laughed calmly, thinking to himself that the freshmen were actually… rather adorable.
Wen Xinya said, “I kinda can’t bear to part with this place.”
During the military training program, she got to focus purely on training and was isolated from the ugly and complicated sides of humanity, as well as the power struggles that she was involved in. Life seemed to have become much simpler and happier. The most outstanding thing about Xu Zhenyu was not his strict rules and vigorous training, but rather, it was his ability to make every tough training feel somehow enjoyable for everyone.
Xu Zhenyu suddenly walked towards her and gave her a gentle hug. “You can’t bear to leave me, can you?”
It was not his first time hugging Wen Xinya, but it was his first time being open and honest with how he felt about her at the moment. It was an unrestrained and pure hug.
Wen Xinya expressed assent.
Xu Zhenyu gently pulled away from her before leaning forward and planting a kiss on her forehead. “Here’s a goodbye kiss.”
It was just a goodbye kiss, but… he would never give her his blessings.
Call me petty, ungentlemanly or whatever, but I’ll never give her my blessings. Never in this life.