Chapter Sixteen: Childhood Sweethearts

Chapter Sixteen

At Moonlight Base, today marked the third day since the team had departed on their mission. According to the schedule, today was their expected return. Many people gathered at the base's entrance, anxiously awaiting the safe return of their family and friends.

Mo Chen, uninterested in training, decided to join the crowd at the gate, waiting for Mei.

Amid the throng, Qu Wenjuan spotted him, her surprise evident before she quickly offered a friendly smile and walked over. Mo Chen, noticing her approach, felt rather exasperated. This woman had "coincidentally" run into him at least three times in the past few days. He had to admire her skill at feigning surprise every time.

“Mo Chen, you’re here too! You’re so good to Mei! She’s truly lucky to have a brother who looks after her so well,” Qu Wenjuan remarked with a hint of envy, her tone probing.

This girl, who hadn’t been mentioned in the book, puzzled her—she couldn’t figure out what kind of relationship existed between Mo Chen and Mei. She wanted to get close to this secondary male lead, the second strongest in the story, but with so little background information in the novel, she didn’t know how to proceed.

All she knew was that he acted as he pleased, with a hint of mischief, always following his own desires. Even with the girl he liked, the protagonist, he rarely took the initiative to help; usually, he only stepped in when the heroine herself asked.

Yet with Mei, during their two days together at the temple, he had been exceptionally attentive. She couldn’t tell what he really thought of this girl who might become cannon fodder.

If he did like her, then after she died soon, when he met the heroine, would he see her as a substitute? After all, the descriptions of the heroine in the novel bore some resemblance to Mei—they both appeared delicate, innocent, and kind.

“Didn’t she tell you? We’re not siblings, but we did grow up together, so it’s only natural I look after her a little more,” Mo Chen replied nonchalantly, his tone perfunctory.

They had indeed grown up together, but in reality, before leaving that place, they’d barely interacted. Even after escaping together, until he met her again, they’d spoken no more than ten sentences in total.

But as Qu Wenjuan heard his words, she automatically interpreted them as "childhood sweethearts," and her suspicions grew—convinced he saw the heroine as a stand-in. Otherwise, how could she explain his inconsistent attitude toward the protagonist?

Given this, she decided not to rush into building a connection with Mo Chen. Instead, she should be even kinder to Mei. When Mei was gone, she could use their shared memories to get closer to Mo Chen. And when he met the protagonist, she wouldn’t have to worry about being cannon fodder herself, since the protagonist and Mo Chen shared no childhood memories.

As for saving Mei from her fate as cannon fodder, that never crossed her mind. She herself was destined for such a role—how could she worry about anyone else?

With these thoughts, Qu Wenjuan stopped making small talk, simply standing beside Mo Chen to wait for the others.

Mo Chen, of course, had no idea what was running through her mind; instead, he was rather surprised by her sudden silence. The past few days, every time she’d run into him, she’d tried to strike up a conversation, subtly probing his likes and dislikes.

Had he said something earlier to change her attitude?

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, replaying his recent words. Only one line seemed liable to be misunderstood.

Could it be that she now believed Mei was his childhood sweetheart and had given up on pursuing him?

Following this train of thought, Mo Chen concluded she’d previously tried to get close because she was interested in him, only to give up after discovering he had a childhood friend.

He glanced at Qu Wenjuan again—unfortunately, she wasn’t his type, and even without Mei, he wouldn’t accept her. Still, he had to admit her taste was commendable.

Who would have thought Little Mei could serve as a shield against unwanted affections? Perhaps he ought to treat her even better, so she could continue her useful role.

And so, misunderstandings were born.

With these thoughts, when Mei returned and stepped off the vehicle, their actions became oddly synchronized.

Both took a step forward, greeted Mei in equally enthusiastic tones, and simultaneously reached out to take the items she carried.

“Welcome back safely, Mei!”

“Welcome home, Little Mei!”

Mei was momentarily stunned by their out-of-character behavior. Had something odd happened during her absence?

Her gaze shifted between the two, noticing their mutual awkwardness. She handed her things to Mo Chen, then said to Qu Wenjuan, “Sister Wenjuan, you must be here for Brother Jie. He’s still in the car but will be out soon.”

As she finished speaking, Lin Shaojie leapt from the vehicle, carrying his belongings, and hurried over.

“Wenjuan, we found a lot of medicine and food on this mission—enough for Brother Ye to recover!” Lin Shaojie excitedly shared the good news.

Qu Wenjuan’s expression faltered slightly before she forced a smile. “That’s really wonderful news!”

“If there’s nothing else, shall we go home?” Mo Chen looked down at Mei.

“There’s nothing else for now,” Mei replied after a moment’s thought. The base’s rewards wouldn’t be distributed until tomorrow.

“Then let’s go,” Mo Chen said, picking up her things with one hand and taking her hand with the other as they walked away.

Mei was a little puzzled by his actions but offered no resistance.

“We should hurry back too!” With Mei and Mo Chen leaving, Lin Shaojie was eager to return as well.

So, the four of them walked side by side back to their quarters.

On the way, Lin Shaojie enthusiastically recounted their experiences to Qu Wenjuan, but she seemed distracted, often glancing at Mei with a look of sympathy and envy.

Mei felt increasingly uneasy under her gaze. As soon as she was home and the door closed, she couldn’t help but ask, “What on earth happened while I was away?”

“Nothing at all,” Mo Chen replied, confident he now knew the truth and thus unconcerned about Qu Wenjuan’s odd behavior.

“Nothing? Then why was she looking at me like that?” Mei was unconvinced.

“She’s just jealous of you,” he asserted, interpreting Qu Wenjuan’s looks as pure envy.

“Jealous? Jealous of what?” Mei was even more confused.

“She’s jealous you have a childhood sweetheart and she doesn’t.”

“A childhood sweetheart? You?” Mei stared at Mo Chen in disbelief. “Is that really our relationship?”

She genuinely didn’t know—she had no definition of 'childhood sweetheart' in her memory.

“Haven’t we grown up together? Isn’t our relationship good? We also share secrets and have even lived together—doesn’t that make us childhood sweethearts?” Mo Chen raised a brow, shamelessly distorting the facts.

Mei thought it over; what he said was, in a way, true.

She and Number Nine had grown up in the same place, and she was Number Nine now. Saying she and Mo Chen grew up together wasn’t wrong. As for their relationship, they were collaborators and companions, naturally on good terms. They shared secrets and had lived together for safety, taking turns resting in the same room during their journey.

So, did that make them childhood sweethearts?

“All right then. But is something like a childhood sweetheart really worth being jealous of?” She dropped the subject but remained puzzled.

“Who knows? Maybe she’s just unpopular and envies you,” Mo Chen replied carelessly, though inwardly he was laughing to himself.

He hadn’t expected Little Mei to be so naive. How amusing that she could be fooled so easily!

Mei tried to find a reasonable explanation but failed, finally accepting Mo Chen’s version of events, though she couldn’t help but sigh at how hard it was to understand humans sometimes.

“So, did you get anything useful on this outing?” Mo Chen, done with idle chatter, turned to business.

“The military will likely try harder to recruit me soon. After this, the Huang family might make a move as well—they probably won’t just wait for the army to win me over. What about you?”

“The Huang family heir has been hanging around the training grounds these past few days, probing me for information twice and acting friendly. Oh, he also suggested having a meal with you when you got back—it’ll probably be soon.”

While the two exchanged information, Lin Shaojie and Qu Wenjuan returned to their quarters and found Ye Jingxuan waiting for them in the living room.

“Brother Ye, you’re out of bed?” Lin Shaojie exclaimed, dropping his things to help Ye Jingxuan back to bed.

“I’m much better. How are you?” Ye Jingxuan sidestepped, succinctly inquiring after Lin Shaojie.

Knowing Ye Jingxuan disliked being touched, Lin Shaojie retracted his hand but still watched him anxiously.

“I’m fine. Are you sure you’re all right? Don’t push yourself if you’re not. I found a lot of medicine this time—I’m sure you’ll recover soon!”

“Oh? Sounds like you had quite a haul.”

“Yes! Brother Ye, let me tell you—we ran into a high-level metal-variant zombie in town, it was really tough! Unfortunately, the soldiers took its core; otherwise, it would have been perfect for you!” Lin Shaojie sounded genuinely regretful.

“A high-level metal zombie? Tough, you say?” Ye Jingxuan’s voice rose slightly, betraying keen interest.

“Yes! Its attack wasn’t much, but its defense was incredible—it used all its powers for defense. None of us could scratch it, it was practically invulnerable!” Lin Shaojie gestured animatedly, his eyes shining with excitement.

“So how did you kill it in the end?”

“It was Mei who broke through its defense with one arrow, then Instructor Yang finished it off.”

“Her?” Ye Jingxuan’s surprise was evident.

He’d always felt that little girl was unusual, but he hadn’t realized she was so formidable.

“Yes! It wasn’t all her doing, but that arrow was amazing! Even the soldiers said her timing was perfect—better than many veterans!”

As Lin Shaojie described the shot, his eyes brightened with admiration and envy.

Ye Jingxuan was intrigued, though he regretted not witnessing the brilliant shot himself.

At that moment, he longed more than ever to recover quickly.