Chapter 3 (Brother Dong, Can We Change the Punishment?) Bestowing a Light Punishment with a Faint Smile

A girl named Zhang An'an picked Wang Xiang and made him give her a hug.

Zhang An'an was Chen Wanxin's dorm mate. The latter was unpleased with the former's taste and kept asking her for a reason on their way back. Zhang An'an smiled calmly and replied, "Zhao Yuan is impressive and has more than just looks but he seems to go his own way and is full of his own quirks. Lin Wenxi is terribly introverted and gives off the aura of a scholar from an aristocratic family. He looks somewhat delicate. Wang Xiang has thirty percent of Zhao Yuan's mightiness and fifty percent of Lin Wenxi's elegance and gentleness. He might very well embody the merits of them both."

The girls enthusiastically discussed their male classmates in their dormitory. Simultaneously, they were also surprised that their last dorm mate had yet to show up.

Over at the guys' dormitory, Zheng Kai and Wang Xiang had been finding Zhao Yuan strange recently. Wang Xiang muttered to himself, "Did he mishear our bet? That the bet is about him dating Chen Wanxin?"

Zheng Kai nodded silently.

"Then why do I get the feeling that he's trying to date Lin Wenxi? He's buying him breakfast, folding his quilt, and even washing his clothes..." Wang Xiang said in bewilderment.

"Who knows? Public morals are degenerating with each passing day. If there's the term 'cut sleeve' in ancient times, in modern times we have the term..." Suddenly, he recalled how Zhang An'an had frowned and glared at him when he used the term. She had told him, "Zhao Yuan and Lin Wenxi are called an aesthetically-pleasing pair! Do you even know your stuff?!" Wang Xiang shook his head, expressing that he had no idea. Zhang An'an spent three whole hours explaining to him as they walked round and round the drill ground in pitch-black darkness.

This gave him the sudden idea that he and Zheng Kai was also an aesthetically-pleasing pair. His reasoning was that Zheng Kai couldn't win him in the war of words and Zheng Kai would also often press him to the bed for a good beating. When Wang Xiang hesitantly expressed this out loud, Zhang An'an clapped her hands. Her pupils were full of relief and sincerity. "Then I sincerely give my blessing to you and Zheng Kai."

"If I become gay, what happens to you?" Wang Xiang didn't know if he should laugh or tear up.

"The two of us will share a husband. What say you?"

A muddle-headed Wang Xian made his way to the dormitory. He even wondered if he had truly become gay. But this was the first time in his life speaking to someone alone for three hours. Moreover, Zhang An'an was the one who spoke most of the time. Could it be that he had truly fallen for Zhang An'an... He then told Zheng Kai his doubt. Zheng Kai nodded and said, "From a biological perspective, if a girl and a guy fall in love, their hypothalamus and pituitary gland will secrete large volumes of dopamine. Dopamine is also called the happy hormone. It helps the human body improve its capability to undertake pain... Hey, kid. Your big brother isn't done talking!" Just as Zheng Kai grabbed Wang Xiang who was about to escape out of the dormitory, the latter stopped on his own accord. The reason was that Zhao Yuan was once again bringing hot water for Lin Wenxi.

Zhao Yuan carried two large pails of hot water up the dormitory building in one breath and didn't pant once. Wang Xiang quietly praised him and even Zheng Kai couldn't help feeling flabbergasted. However, Wang Xiang was eyeing Zhao Yuan and Lin Wenxi suspiciously.

Later on, when Wang Xiang told Zhang An'an the many things that happened in his dormitory, she implored him to guide this red string of fate. Shu Xiaoman also applauded. Chen Wanxin wore a faint smirk as she restrained a smile.

The so-called romance usually required the presence of a common goal. Wang Xiang also had no idea how he started dating Zhang An'an and how their mutual goal was actually matchmaking his dorm mates, Zhao Yuan and Lin Wenxi.

Zhao Yuan was also feeling absolutely helpless. No matter how nicely he treated Lin Wenxi, the kid's response was always lukewarm. While Lin Wenxi wouldn't thank Zhao Yuan and treat the latter's deeds as a matter of fact, he also wouldn't directly refuse Zhao Yuan's advances.

It wasn't until Zhao Yuan studied many materials that he realized what it meant to "bend" someone. He couldn't help wailing. Honestly, he had never dated in his life due to family matters. He had been kept busy helping his father's business. His occasional urges were all confused, yet this time he actually...

He turned to Chen Wanxin for help.

"What's the use of you treating him nicely? Someone like him probably grew up pampered. You must do the exact opposite! Unleash your natural instincts, become a hooligan, and give him a good teasing!" Chen Wanxin said, smiling. Later, Chen Wanxin forwarded several related online articles to Zhao Yuan. Thus, Zhao Yuan got the conclusion that all he had to do was act like a hooligan. When he thought about it, he was actually already one. Naturally, the ones who plotted all these was none other than Zhang An'an and Shu Xiaoman.

In the past few days, the small town they were in happily welcome the hot autumn spell. The temperature rose above thirty-seven or thirty-eight degree. There was no difference between the spacious, empty field and a worldly furnace. In order to allow the students to fully grasp the pleasures of camp activities, devilish training was conducted over three days. The students weren't allowed to bring their own water. Every morning and afternoon, they would each receive a bottle of mineral water provided by the university. Moreover, they weren't allowed to rest in the afternoon and must continue the training.

Lin Wenxi inexplicably wondered if he was seeing an illusion. While he was deep in thought, the bottle placed at his little mouth was emptied in just four or five gulps. There was one time where he had merely taken a sip but when he turned around, he found there to be only a small amount of water left inside. Lin Wenxi couldn't help pointing at the bottle and stared at his classmates with an inquiring look while they were all shaking their heads.

Wang Xiang silently waited for Lin Wenxi to seek help from Zhao Yuan. Whenever he returned to the dormitory and saw Lin Wenxi's scorched-like lips, he would inexplicably pity him. However, Lin Wenxi was calm and collected. He didn't bring up this matter at all.

Wang Xiang didn't expect Lin Wenxi to forcefully survive the two days. Even more so, he didn't expect Lin Wenxi to faint on the third day.

It turned out that on the third day, Zhao Yuan insisted on changing bottles of water with Lin Wenxi. When Lin Wenxi was unwilling to do so, Zhao Yuan resorted to materials he had on hand. He caught two shining white large worms and threw them into Lin Wenxi's cup. The worms struggled and wiggled in the water, causing a stark change in Lin Wenxi's expression. Even so, he refused to accept Zhao Yuan's cup.

Zhao Yuan had smiled smugly, thinking that Lin Wenxi wouldn't be able to help himself and would eventually give in. He didn't expect Lin Wenxi would secretly look around for a faucet in the area for replenishment while suffering from both exhaustion and dehydration. No matter how he looked, he didn't find anything. When the whistle sounded again to signal assembly, he quietly collapsed in a corner of the campus. Fortunately, Zhao Yuan found him in time. It would be hard to imagine the consequences otherwise.

Zhao Yuan saw Lin Wenxi strewn across the ground from afar and frantically ran over with his own bottle. Unexpectedly, his bottle was completely empty. Zhao Yuan shouted for water from other people, wasting a little time. He saw Lin Wenxi smiling coolly and raising an eyebrow at him before he closed his eyes.

"You're faking it!"

Zhao Yuan couldn't stop himself from forcefully shaking Lin Wenxi but the latter only slowly woke up with Instructor Zhang Dong's help.

Like Zheng Kai, Instructor Zhang Dong was also the kind of person who would get to the bottom of matters. He suspended the military training and put two and two together in investigating the truth of Wang Xiang stealing water. Then, he further found out that Zheng Kai had delivered a bottle of water over the female corps and drank Zhao Yuan's water because he couldn't bear his own thirst. That was why Zhao Yuan's bottle was completely empty when he rescued Lin Wenxi.

Zhang Dong was just about to punish the two of them. Zhao Yuan secretly felt delighted that he had escaped the punishment. Just then, Lin Wenxi took his own cup and pointed at puffy and swollen worms inside. He handed the cup to Zhao Yuan without any expression on his face.

"What?! This person actually kept his cup until now! He was pale with fright earlier, so how could he be so calm now?!"

Zhao Yuan stared fixedly at Lin Wenxi.

In a flash, the crappy teammate from Men's Dorm No. 216 became infamous. The students all thanked their dorm mates for not murdering them.

Wang Xiang and Zheng Kai's punishment was to run ten laps around the field while holding a large stone under the raging hot sun. When they were done, they had to drag a handcart full of bottles of water from the kiosk and benefit everyone. This punishment could be described as full of malice. The whole class was also hoping to see them be punished and no one was willing to plea for leniency on their behalf.

Zhao Yuan stared at Lin Wenxi's cup quietly. He felt as if there was a knot on the back of his throat.

"Brother Dong, can we change the punishment?" Zhao Yuan gave Instructor Zhang Dong a pleading look while grimacing at Lin Wenxi.

"Ask Lin Wenxi." Zhang Dong pointed his lower lip at Lin Wenxi.

Lin Wenxi took over the cup. Zhao Yuan looked at him with an expectant expression.

Lin Wenxi shook the cup as hard as he could, and then even harder. Soon, the water inside the cup became turbid with some greenish-white remains sinking to the bottom. He then handed the cup to Zhao Yuan.

"Wenxi, I didn't think you'd have such strong tastes." Zhao Yuan forced a smile. He once again looked at Zhang Dong.

Lin Wenxi turned around and soon opened a small paper box. Inside was a wriggling little earthworm that was resisting an uncertain fate. He unscrewed the lid of the bottle.

Zhao Yuan's eyes widened. He swallowed the water in a few gulps, draining the entire bottle. Just as he was about to run to a corner and vomit everything, Lin Wenxi raised Zhang Dong's hand and placed it gently on Zhao Yuan's mouth. He then turned around and left. For some reason, the military instructor obediently enclosed Zhao Yuan's mouth for a good three minutes before allowing the latter to hide behind a tree. The sounds of vomiting resounded continuously.

Over on this side, Wang Xiang was wailing and crying for his mom. Zheng Kai was quiet as he easily sped through the journey. When he ran past Chen Wanxin's square-shaped formation, Zheng Kai accidentally loosened his grip and the stone fell on his foot. Wang Xiang turned his head around to look and saw Chen Wanxin emptying a blue-labeled bottle of water over her face to wash it. The water bottles for the military training were labeled blue and red. The red-labeled bottles of water were for the girls and the blue-labeled ones for the guys. The bottle that Chen Wanxin was using was clearly Zheng Kai's.

Wang Xiang looked at Zheng Kai, feeling his heart cooling. On the other hand, Zheng Kai showed no change of expression as he continued running in his original position. The only difference was that his face would occasionally twitch.

"Brothers, why don't I go and talk to the instructor?" Wang Xiang carefully said.

Zheng Kai shook his head.

"Do you regret it?"

Zheng Kai continued to shake his head.

"Do you hate her?"

Zheng Kai shook his head in anger.

"Oh. We've run eleven laps. Will you continue?"

Zheng Kai stared at Wang Xiang with a complicated expression. He put down the stone and headed to the kiosk to get the water.

"Will you continue giving her water?"

Zheng Kai stopped in his tracks and said through clenched teeth, "I'm in so much pain that I can't speak."

"Oh, you must be hurting." Wang Xiang grinned. Sure enough, Zheng Kai felt a sudden stab in his heart.

In the distance, Zhao Yuan had wiped his mouth clean and took a spin around the female corps with a few bottles of water in hand. He guzzled all the water while quietly mocking the two idiots who had run eleven laps.

After returning from the kiosk, Zheng Kai fell to the ground on his butt. His forehead was beaded with cold sweat. Zhang Dong knew that Zheng Kai had the disposition of the man of steel and called for the military doctor to examine him. The lateral malleolus of Zheng Kai's right foot was already dripping with blood. The lateral malleolus was the bone that protruded on the side of the foot and the skin that covered it was incredibly thin. Upon contact with an external force, the bone could easily suffer damage and thus, the pain was also one of the greatest when injured. This time, the place where a stone had smashed Zheng Kai's foot was clearly showing his bone. The entire corps dubbed Zheng Kai the man of steel and the privilege of the man of steel was lying under a Chinese parasol tree and enjoying the cool air with a book in hand.

"Perhaps the bottle of water that she used to wash her face belongs to another guy," Wang Xiang said, comforting him. When he saw Zheng Kai's expression easing, he added, "Don't girls cherish their faces the most? Look, Chen Wanxin is using your bottle of water to wash her face. Surely she very much appreciates your bottle of water." Zheng Kai regained his glowing spirits and his rate of recovery also improved.

Zhao Yuan's tragic condition spread like wildlife in the female dormitories. Zhang An'an was speechless for a moment before saying, "The way I see his temper works, who he seeks revenge on is telling of who he likes." She smiled mysteriously.

During the subsequent military training, Zhang Dong permitted Lin Wenxi to get four bottles of water on the basis that the latter needed to recuperate. In a flash, Lin Wenxi became the target for every guy in the class to fawn over.

Lin Wenxi would give Zhao Yuan a bottle of water every day.

On the first day, there were two bugs inside the water in the bottle. Zhao Yuan poured the bugs out and drained the rest.

On the second day, there was sand inside the water. Zhao Yuan smiled calmly and waited for the sand to sink to the bottom before sipping the water above. He then gave Wang Xiang the rest of the water. Seeing the remains in the water, Wang Xiang felt as if his heart was being cut out.

On the third day, the water was limpid. Zhao Yuan grinned at Lin Wenxi and the latter replied with a faint smile.

Zhao Yuan unscrewed the lid and gulped down half of the water without another word. Suddenly, he felt that something was wrong. Water sprayed out of his mouth. He pointed at Lin Wenxi with a malevolent expression. "You...!!!"

Wang Xiang immediately asked him what was wrong. Lin Wenxi smiled faintly and said, "I added half a catty of salt, that's all."

"Half a catty!!!" Wang Xiang's forehead unconsciously became drenched with cold sweat.