Deliberate Mark - Chapter 4

The salute was a subconscious habit from being in the military. As an outstanding admiral with countless war-winning records throughout his career, this reflex had long been ingrained in his muscle memory.

His pale fingertips were set at the temple position for two seconds, before Gu Ang lazily dropped his hand and walked towards the rest area.

The sun slowly set and the sky was dyed blood red.

The shocked crowd finally recovered one after another, and the screen was again filled with reactions.

It wasn’t known who started it, but everyone on screen began posting the same word.

Shady!

Not only the audience, the judges were baffled too.

They were monitoring the whole battle just now, and there was no sight of this person fighting caught on screen, so how in the world did it happen?

Especially since this person bottomed the performance list.

Generally, when announcing the predicament of the top twenty freshmen that were to pass, clips of them battling it out will be broadcasted together on the big screen.

But this person, and his clips of battle… was nowhere to be found.

As if, like a ghost, he made his way stealthily to the finishing line.

What if he was a ghost?

All sorts of people started commenting on the screen, and it seemed like they were divided into two groups. They started debating!

On one side camped the fans of Gu Ang, who were sure that he was a heaven-sent Zi Wei star1, and said it with conviction.

[It’s just that he didn’t do well in the previous exam, and this time he has shown his real strength.]

[Just because the cameras didn’t capture his actions, people are saying that he’s cheating. So funny.]

[Seems like we hit some fan’s sore spot. Just cause he claimed your God Ye’s first place, you guys are starting to spew nonsense? Where are your standards?]

[He used the shortest time and grabbed a good number of school badges, damn awesome!]

[This is this year’s big shot that fell from the sky, he was so great, the cameras didn’t even catch him. Doesn’t this show how strong he is?]

[I’m gonna make a wild guess here… is he helmet bro???]

[There’s a real possibility that he’s helmet bro ah, appearing and disappearing so unpredictably!]

…

While on the other side, the mockery mode was on:

[Puh-lease, Ye Fei has eleven school badges, and he has only ten, beat that helmet bro. Don’t get too cocky.]

[Gu Ang’s family is rich, he must have conspired with the school to cheat in advance.]

[Absolutely shady, I heard his family donated a building, so it’s not surprising that he got a place in Class S.]

[This whole idea about cheating is too ‘good’. Not only surpassing the top 20 but directly dashing to grab first place?]

[Gu Ang’s family is in politics, there must be a lot of unspeakable and complicated twists behind this.]

[I’m just gonna sit and wait for the start of this school term. Anyway, I don’t believe that the last and first place can be reversed.]

[Such a show off even though he did it through connections! It’s over for Red Flame.]

…

Gu Ang’s feat rose to fame instantly, and became a super hit on the trending list #GodYe’sFirstPlaceGotRobbed#.

Gu Ang raised his gaze and looked at the comment war going on screen, he found it quite amusing. He wasn’t a person who cared about other people’s opinions. With his skills, it was only a matter of time before he became famous.

The referee swept over all the pop-up comments on screen before clearing his throat, “A fair and open evaluation will be carried over regarding each student’s results. Please be rest assured.”

In the meantime, the person in the spotlight of the discussion, Student Gu Ang, was showing nothing but his best behavior. He loosened the zipper of his tracksuit and randomly found a chair to sit to continue spectating the battle.

According to the current situation, Ye Fei may not have time to find ten people to defeat again.

It wasn’t because he lacked the capability, but purely because the place was too big, thus it was difficult to find that many people in such a short amount of time. He was likely to reveal his unusual speed and tracking ability.

What will this person do? Gu Ang was looking forward to it.

The live camera had switched scenes and showed Wang YeZhu appearing on the main road, heading to the finish line. His tracksuit zipper was half open and he looked full of energy. This guy was fast, just after being humiliated, he was already back on his feet, not losing any momentum.

Gu Ang clenched his knuckles and he held his breath. He knew that Ye Fei should be able to catch up, but he was still upset for no reason. He didn’t want to see anyone but himself get ahead of him.

They weren’t worthy.

The pop-up comments instantly switched topic and everyone was harping about it:

[What’s wrong with God Ye today? Wang YeZhu is going to grab second place?]

[Wang YeZhu is still moving pretty fast, it’s only been twenty minutes.]

[Eh? Looks like Ye Fei disappeared, I don’t see him in any of the shots.]

[Ye Fei was just halfway up the mountain, Wang YeZhu is almost at the finish line. shudders]

[This year’s freshman competition is really unpredictable, I thought it was a sure outcome…]

[Now I’m only worried about my star coins, I lost them all.]

…

Gu Ang pursed his lips, and his eyes stared in every possible direction. Suddenly, his tightened brows suddenly loosened and his heart calmed back down.

Behind the cliff, a figure jumped out sharply and quickly following Wang YeZhu’s path. He was wearing a pure white tracksuit, had slender waist and long legs, with small traces of mud on the knees.

The familiar cold and distant aura, his voice was also as aloof as before.

“Hand over the badges.”

The finish line was just in front of him, so Wang YeZhu’s footsteps didn’t stop. He could feel himself losing his cool.

Who the hell was so unaware of the immensity of heaven and earth2?

Before, in front of the whole Empire, Ye Fei, that son of a bitch already beat him. Now what cat and dog3 dared to rob him? Is this a rebellion!?

He turned his head angrily and when he saw Ye Fei’s slender figure, he was really close to exploding, “Damn it, how is it you again…?”

Ye Fei raised his eyebrows and held out his palm, “Give it.”

Wang YeZhu fell into contemplation.

Give: with so many people watching, it was humiliating to just give in without a fight.

Don’t give: this guy’s heart was harder than his fists, he might end up missing an arm and leg.

Fuck, this decision is too difficult.

Ye Fei waited for a minute. Seeing the person in front of him become petrified, he pulled up his sleeve, as his patience was wearing out.

When he was just about to raise his hand, he saw Wang YeZhu throw a handful of badges at him.

“Here! Here! Here! Take all of them!!!” His tone filled with a mix of rage and aggrievance. But in that aggrieved tone was also a tinge of sobbing.

Ye Fei took the school badges, and the expression of the ten thousand year old ice mountain cracked a little bit.

At the same time, the top commenters went berserk with happiness when they saw this scene and filled the screen with ‘hahaha’s.

A new trend surfaced with the topic of the freshmen competition, #WangWildBoarIsAJoke#

When Ye Fei walked to the finish line and handed over his school badges, Gu Ang exhaled deeply and the heavy feeling of nervousness in his chest was lifted.

A large wave of fans rushed past screaming, and there were even people who were pompous enough to prepare flowers.

Since the person had arrived, there was nothing else worth spectating.

Gu Ang withdrew his gaze, stood up, zipped up his tracksuit jacket and left the arena with his hands in his pockets.

Only when the announcement was made that Ye Fei had entered Class S in second place, did Gu Ang realize that…

They were going to be in the same class?

—

After traveling back in time and the arduous fight off, Gu Ang was tired and sleepy. He rubbed the back of his neck and prepared to go back to sleep. He followed the manager’s directions to dormitory 404 and punched in the door code. His luggage was neatly placed by the bedside.

The dormitory at Red Flame Military University wasn’t bad, each room had two beds and a small living room. No one had moved in yet, so it looked a bit empty.

Gu Ang saw black luggage next to the other bed, it looked like his roommate hadn’t arrived yet. He changed out of his dirty tracksuit and threw them in the laundry basket, then pulled open his suitcase and simply took out a change of clothes and hung them in the left cabinet. His toiletries were arranged in an orderly manner by the sink.

Military personnel moved fast, and he finished unpacking within five minutes.

Gu Ang was about to take a shower and take a breather when the communicator around his wrist vibrated slightly. He looked down at the display and stopped in his tracks. On the screen showed the incoming caller’s name: Mom.

His breathing and heartbeat seemed to have stopped for a second. His fingers trembled and it took him a moment to calm himself before answering the call, “Hello?”

His voice came out hoarse, filled with layers of tension. He wanted to hear the other’s voice, but feared disappointment.

“Little Ang, ah, Principal Zhong told me you took first place?” A gentle voice sounded, rambling as she continued, “My son is really the best alpha! I told you that you’re very talented in this area. You didn’t put your heart into it before, now you have to work hard since you’re in Class S.”

Gu Ang cleared his throat and asked abruptly, “Mom, is it really you?”

“What are you talking about, child? Who else could it be if not me?”

“…” Gu Ang’s eyes were a little red, and his voice trembled uncontrollably, “It’s so good to hear your voice.”

In his other life, his mother, Qin LeHe suddenly passed away, leaving only a suicide note.

A living person suddenly disappeared from the planet, like snow that melted, there was no longer any trace of her, only a shovelful of soil and a tombstone. He had been close to Qin LeHe since he was a child, and the moment he got the news, he almost lost control, but there was no way for him to vent.

Now that he was able to talk to her again, it felt like a lifetime ago. At that moment he realized, traveling back in time didn’t seem to be all that bad anymore, at least some of the people he lost were back again.

Qin LeHe was still chattering away, but Gu Ang suddenly interrupted, “Can you come to campus when you have time?”

Qin LeHe laughed out loud, “Don’t tell me you’re homesick now. As a citizen of the Empire Star, you’re not allowed to be so clingy. Your father and I haven’t returned to Empire Star yet, and we won’t be on short time’s notice.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you guys to come together.”

Gu Ang remembered Qin LeHe’s complaint from before, saying that he was too unapproachable and never knew how to act cute4, so he added, “Mom, I kind of… miss you.”

He didn’t dare to reveal too much emotion, and hung up the communicator after hurriedly exchanging pleasantries.

As the screen showed the end of the call, Gu Ang was still staring at the dialer screen, dumbfounded. He was reluctant to exit the screen, as if once he exited, this would all just become an illusion.

A cold droplet fell on the back of his hand. As if it was imaginary, Gu Ang hurriedly raised his hand to wipe off what was on his face.

He was crying, Shit, so useless.

A light cough came from behind and Gu Ang turned around in a panic to see Ye Fei standing in the doorway, his cuffs casually rolled up his forearm, his long fingers still wrapped around the door handle. He wasn’t sure how much he had heard.

Gu Ang felt a little embarrassed to be caught acting all spoiled with his own mother, he simply wanted to find a hole and bury himself. He couldn’t lose face in front of his ex-husband, especially not after he had won first place today.

Gu Ang got up with his back against the table, and changed to a flippant tone, “You’re my roommate?”

“Ye Fei,” Ye Fei briefly introduced himself, while gently closing the door, “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, sorry.”

Not bothering to even pretend or cover up, it was like slapping him in the face5.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, I’m Gu Ang,” Gu Ang combed the loose strands of hair that blocked his eyes back and acted as if it was the first time meeting the other, “And it was nothing important, it’s okay even if you overheard.”

Even if it was ‘I kind of miss you’…

It was super greasy6. It didn’t match his identity as the most A7 person in the universe.

Gu Ang pressed the tip of his tongue up against the roof of his mouth, Thank goodness he didn’t see me cry.

He recalled only ever crying three times; one was when his mother passed away, once after the divorce and the third time was just then.

The two of them fell silent, the only sound in the room was from the slightly rattling curtains being swept by the breeze.

Ye Fei peeled off his tracksuit jacket and folded it on the table next to him, then grabbed his suitcase and began to unpack. He did pull some strings to get the two of them placed in the same dorm room, but now that they were in the same room, he realized it wasn’t as easy to stay calm as he had imagined.

He had mixed feelings when it came to Gu Ang. He could clearly analyze any situation at war, he could study the enemy’s trickery thoroughly, but he didn’t know how to deal with this complicated relationship. He wanted to ask Gu Ang why he hid the reason for their divorce.

Ye Fei wanted to humiliate him, he had already trampled on his self-esteem once, so why did Gu Ang want to provoke him again? But now, he could neither ask him nor bear to humiliate him.

Once he finished unpacking, he realized Gu Ang was still standing in place and didn’t move an inch, so Ye Fei looked at him. His gaze rested on the top of Gu Ang’s chestnut hair and then moved down to his face, the corners of his eyes were red and the tips of his eyelashes were wet, softening his cold and sharp features.

When he saw this vulnerable side of Gu Ang, his heart broke.

This person had always worn his pride and high spirits as his armor, so it was rare to see this ‘delicate’ and vulnerable side of his. Ye Fei didn’t know what went wrong.

If someone who didn’t know what was going on walked into this, they’d think that he had bullied Gu Ang.

At that thought, Ye Fei suddenly felt like his mortal heart was possessed by something.

He wanted to tear off Gu Ang’s clothes into shreds, tie his hands above his head with a tie, cover his eyes with his palms, leave bite marks on his lips, bully him, and listen to his low moans of pleasure. He wanted to sink into the raging storm with him, wanted to let their soul and body intertwine together.

He wanted to own him, wanted to make him cry.

But Gu Ang dumped him, fuck.

As if a basin of cold water was poured on top of his head, his muddled thoughts cleared suddenly.

Ye Fei found a packet of tissues from his suitcase and handed it over, “Here, don’t cry anymore.”

When the tissues were shoved into his hand, Gu Ang came back to his senses, his eyes became red again, but he still raised his chin and acted tough, “I8 didn’t cry.”