The Third Rebirth (REBIRTH)
After Ling Chen's wound was treated, he was moved to a hospital room.
Ye Xiao carried a small stool and sat by the bedside while still holding his Long Blade. He neither ate nor slept, and just quietly kept watch over Ling Chen.
He was actually very tired because he had barely slept the previous night. Fighting the Mandrill had also drained his energy, but he dared not close his eyes because he feared that if he did, Ling Chen would disappear.
Ye Xiao gently hooked his little finger around Ling Chen's before carefully swaying it, and smiled contentedly.
When Bai Hengyun entered the room, this was the scene she saw.
Despite a bit of dishevelment, the boy's clear eyes and handsome features were unmistakable. He held the Long Blade in one hand and hooked his finger around her son's with the other, as if guarding a priceless treasure with his face filled with satisfaction.
Hearing the noise, Ye Xiao looked toward the door and stood up somewhat awkwardly, "...Hello."
He curiously observed Bai Hengyun and noticed that Ling Chen's nose resembled his mother's—narrow nostrils, a straight and high bridge. Their eyes were also similar, both with double eyelids and similar curves, though Ling Chen's gaze was much sharper.
Seeing him scrutinize her appearance so seriously, Bai Hengyun smiled, "Do I look like Ling Chen?"
Ye Xiao nodded, "Yes, the nose, the eyes, and even the ears are very similar."
Bai Hengyun's smile widened.
She was tall and elegant, with her hair neatly tied up with a few strands casually falling by her face. Leaning against the wall, she somehow managed to make the white lab coat she wore look like a trench coat.
"Are you hungry?"
"A little."
Bai Hengyun, as if performing magic, produced a box of food and handed it to Ye Xiao, "Eat first. We don't know when Ling Chen will wake up, and you'll need your strength."
Ye Xiao took it and sincerely said, "Thank you."
Bai Hengyun leaned back against the wall and watched Ye Xiao eat. She noticed that after every few bites, he would instinctively glance at Ling Chen, as if confirming his presence, before continuing to eat. Eventually, he meticulously finished every last grain of rice in the box.
She marveled inwardly and wondered where her clueless son had managed to find such a well-behaved little friend.
"I'm finished. Thank you, it was delicious." Ye Xiao said as he neatly packed the empty box and returned it to Bai Hengyun.
Taking the empty box, Bai Hengyun raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I'm glad you liked it. I made it myself."
Ye Xiao let out a small "ah," hesitated for a few seconds, and then awkwardly complimented, "You're really skilled!"
Noticing his difficulty with words, Bai Hengyun took over the conversation, "Ye Xiao, you're also very skilled. It was you who held the bomb and stopped the Mandrill, right?"
Ye Xiao shook his head and then nodded before answering honestly, "The Captain told me to do it, I just placed the bomb. It was Xiao Mu's Anti-aircraft gun and the Captain's Armor-piercing explosive bullet that finally took down the Mandrill. They were both very impressive."
Bai Hengyun's eyes sparkled with even more amusement, "You were impressive too."
After chatting for a while, she realized that despite his young age, Ye Xiao had an excellent temperament—he didn't boast or take credit. Even though he had played a crucial role, he felt he hadn't done much.
Ye Xiao had no experience interacting with elders, and no one had ever taught him how to converse with them. So, he spoke little, answering only what Bai Hengyun asked and waiting quietly when she didn't.
Bai Hengyun went to check Ling Chen's wound again. "He has lost too much blood, and the wound is infected. Moreover, it's uncertain whether the mandrill's claws carried any poison, so he might remain unconscious for a while longer. But don't worry too much."
Ye Xiao nodded, "Alright."
"Mm." Bai Hengyun had only taken a few minutes of her break to check on her son. "My rest time is over, so I need to head back now. I'll come again later."
Ye Xiao hesitated for a few seconds before suddenly speaking up, "Wait, may I ask... is this place safe?"
Bai Hengyun nodded, "Of course."
Ye Xiao looked into Bai Hengyun's eyes and spoke earnestly, "I have something to give you."
Probably realizing what it was, Bai Hengyun's expression turned serious. She walked over to drew the curtains, and then stood in front of Ye Xiao. "What is it?"
Ye Xiao made a motion of reaching into his pocket—though, in reality, his pocket was empty. When he opened his palm, a silver-gray orb appeared in his hand.
Bai Hengyun recognized it immediately, "The Regional Core?"
Ye Xiao nodded, "Yes, it's for you."
Bai Hengyun took it and couldn't help but sigh, "Ling Chen really trusts you a lot." She assumed that Ling Chen had entrusted Ye Xiao with the core to deliver it to her.
Ye Xiao didn't explain—anything related to Noah couldn't be disclosed, and even if he wanted to explain, he wouldn't know how to. After handing over the item to Bai Hengyun, he sat back down on the small stool.
Once Bai Hengyun left the ward, Ye Xiao rested his chin on his hand with his eyes fixed on Ling Chen, and called out Noah's name in his heart, "Noah, are you there?"
Soon, the familiar mechanical electronic voice sounded in his ear, "Hello, Ye Xiao."
Ye Xiao responded with a "Hello" and then added, "I've personally handed the Regional Core to Bai Hengyun."
Noah: "Good. The duplicate version Ling Chen carried was destroyed two seconds ago."
Ye Xiao breathed a sigh of relief: "So, have I completed this task?"
Noah: "Of course, thank you, Ye Xiao."
Ye Xiao: "I should be the one thanking you. So, what's the next task?"
Noah: "Every time after a Rewind, the worldline changes significantly. I need to run multiple simulations to roughly predict the progression of the worldline. The next task won't be assigned for now."
Ye Xiao nodded, then hesitated before asking, "Then... in the worldline you've currently projected, will Ling Chen die like he did in the previous two instances?"
Noah: "For now, there's an 87% chance he won't."
Ye Xiao's heart finally settled, "Thank you, Noah."
…..
In the afternoon, Ling Chen's body temperature began to rise, fluctuating between 38 and 39 degrees. The doctor came to check and said there was no major issue, and the fever should subside soon.
After the doctor left, Jiang Cancan and the other two each brought a chair, turning the visit into a tea party.
Ye Xiao was also given a handful of sunflower seeds. He peeled off the hard shells and placed all the kernels on a small plate. Jian Lan noticed and asked curiously, "Little friend, don't you like eating sunflower seeds?"
"It's not that I don't like them," Ye Xiao replied. "I want to peel them for the Captain."
Jian Lan paused her seed-cracking and turned to Jiang Cancan, "How about... we peel seeds for each other?"
Jiang Cancan: "I refuse!"
Leaving Jian Lan aside, he turned to speak to Ye Xiao, "Little friend, you really don't need to be nervous. Such minor injuries are nothing in Chen Ge's eyes! He's a monster with astonishing recovery abilities."
To add credibility, he started giving examples, "Once, when we were on a mission together, Chen Ge got shot and was up and about after just half a month. Another time, he was pierced through the thigh by a steel needle as thick as a finger. When the needle was pulled out, blood spurted high, but two weeks later, Chen Ge was still walking briskly. And there was also—"
Jian Lan slapped Jiang Cancan on the head, "Will you die if you shut up for a bit?"
"Why are you hitting my head?" Jiang Cancan covered his head with both hands, only then noticing that Ye Xiao was looking down with his eyes slightly red.
He immediately became anxious, "Hey, little friend, don't be sad," he scratched his head, "Hanging by a thread is probably a daily routine in the Second Division, but Chen Ge is very strong, and now that he has you, he definitely doesn't want to die."
Jiang Cancan cleverly changed the subject, "Speaking of which, after wandering around this temporary base earlier, why didn't I see Chen Ge's dad?"
Ye Xiao's attention was diverted, "Does the Captain's father look a lot like the Captain?"
Jiang Cancan tried to recall, " Can Ye only saw him two or three times, but he was very scholarly, quite like Chen Ge, but with a completely different demeanor. We always thought that Chen Ge must have had a genetic mutation, for two chief scientists from the Academy of Engineering to give birth to a violent guy like Chen Ge!"
Jian Lan, who was loading bullets into the heavy sniper rifle at the speed of cracking sunflower seeds, had already piled up a small heap of shells, "Speaking of which, I haven't seen my grandfather and the others either. Professor Bai said they're on their way, maybe Professor Ling is with my grandfather."
Jiang Cancan thought it made sense and, showing great camaraderie, shared half of his sunflower seeds with Jian Lan, then placed a handful of shelled seeds into Jiang Mu's hand while still chattering away, "Xiao Mu has always been lazy since childhood, doesn't like eating peanuts, sunflower seeds, or walnuts with shells because he finds it troublesome to peel them."
Jiang Mu took the shelled seeds and eat them slowly one by one. Jiang Cancan smiled, "It's great to have a brother, isn't it!"
It was at this moment that Ling Chen woke up.
Ye Xiao was the first to notice as his face lit up, "Captain, you're awake!"
Jiang Cancan was also excited and quickly explained how they were brought back to the base by Bai Hengyun, concluding with a sigh, "It's been so long since I last cracked sunflower seeds!"
Ling Chen looked at the people gathered around his hospital bed that are happily having a tea party, and was so angry he saw black, before hoarsely saying, "Damn, I was seriously injured and unconscious, and instead of shedding a few tears of sorrow, you guys are cracking sunflower seeds?"
Hearing the word "sunflower seeds", Ye Xiao quickly handed a small plate of shelled seeds to Ling Chen, "Captain, I shelled them!"
Ling Chen couldn't keep his stern face anymore and laughed, "Are these all for me?"
"Yes!"
"Thank you, Little Fuzzball." Ling Chen took them, ate a couple, and looked pleased. Turning to Jiang Cancan and the others, he lazily said, "Get out, and by the way, go tell my mom that I'm awake and we'll have dinner together tonight."
In just half a minute, Jiang Cancan and the others, with their shells and unshelled seeds, quickly moved to another location.
The door to the hospital room closed, and Ling Chen relaxed on the bed before reaching out to hold Ye Xiao's hand to give it a gentle squeeze. "Did you shed any tears?"
Ye Xiao shook his head. "No."
Ling Chen then hooked his finger around Ye Xiao's. "Did you do this earlier? I vaguely remember feeling it."
Ye Xiao just smiled with his ears turning slightly red.
Noticing the fatigue in Ye Xiao's eyes, Ling Chen clumsily shifted to the side. "Come up here and sleep with your Captain for a while."
Ye Xiao refused. "I might touch your wound."
Ling Chen raised an eyebrow. "Your Captain has lost too much blood and needs Little Fuzzball to help warm the bed. Is that okay?"
Hearing that Ling Chen was cold, Ye Xiao quickly took off his outer clothes and climbed onto the bed.
Since Ling Chen had woken up and the task assigned by Noah was completed, the tension in Ye Xiao's heart suddenly eased. Leaning against Ling Chen's shoulder, he soon fell asleep.
So when Bai Hengyun hurriedly opened the door and walked into the hospital room, she saw Ling Chen holding Ye Xiao in his arms, as if protecting something precious.
Noticing Bai Hengyun's entrance, Ling Chen placed a finger on his lips, making a "shh" gesture. Understanding, Bai Hengyun walked into the room quietly as her expression softened. Shee gestured in sign language, "Take good care of him. See you at dinner."
Ling Chen smiled before bringing two fingers together and placing them at the corner of his eyebrow, giving Bai Hengyun a stylish salute.
After Bai Hengyun left, the room returned to silence.
Ling Chen tilted his head and gently kissed the top of Ye Xiao's head, his heart softening in an indescribable way.
He then greedily gazed at Ye Xiao's profile.
His Little Fuzzball had fair, delicate skin, small ears, and thick eyelashes that fluttered with each breath, just like a little girl—
A sudden image flashed through his mind, and Ling Chen's eyelids twitched.
Damn it!
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