Nearly every day at school included a physical education class.
Ruan Shu wasn’t very strong, so during P.E., she trailed behind her classmates, slowly working through the exercises. Although she was the slowest in the class with the lowest fitness score, she was always earnest in her efforts.
Because of her dedication, the P.E. teacher would discreetly go easy on her.
By the end of each class, Ruan Shu felt like she was on the brink of collapse, her little arms and legs trembling slightly.
When heading back to the classroom, she was carried by Xiong Yuanyuan, drawing curious stares from the cubs in the other classes along the way.
Ruan Shu’s cheeks flushed bright red, embarrassed by the attention.
“Ruan Shu, your stamina really isn’t great,” her classmates remarked.
“But it’s okay, Ruan Shu is the smartest. She can answer all the questions the teacher asks,” they added encouragingly.
Ruan Shu blushed and stammered out a thank you.
After returning to the classroom, she took a sip of water and lay down on her desk to rest.
At noon, her third older brother came to pick her up and brought her to his place to nap.
She draped herself over him, her small chin resting on his shoulder.
“Brother, my arms, legs, and waist are all so sore,” she complained, snuggling against him.
Ruan Ling’an pinched her tiny arm gently. “I’ll give you a massage in the car.”
At the military academy, he and his peers often experienced sore muscles after training, so they had developed a specialized massage technique.
“It’ll hurt a bit, so try to bear it,” he warned.
Ruan Shu nodded, naively assuming that “a bit of pain” meant only a little discomfort.
In the end, by the time Ruan Shu got out of the car, her eyes were teary, her little nose sniffly, and she spoke in a choked voice.
“Next time, I don’t want Third Brother’s massage anymore.”
Ruan Ling’an rubbed his nose awkwardly. “After a nap, your body will feel better. It’s for your own good.”
Ruan Shu replied, “But it really hurt so much.”
“How about next time, I’ll be gentler?”
Ruan Shu: … Maybe, maybe let’s just not.
She felt utterly exhausted and, leaning her head against her third brother’s shoulder, mumbled drowsily.
“Third Brother, I’m sleepy,” she mumbled.
“Then sleep, sleep,” he replied, patting her shoulder. Just as they arrived at the dormitory villa, where he planned to carry her to her room, his comms video call chimed.
Ruan Ling’an settled her carefully on his lap, letting her lean against him before answering the call, adjusting the camera to show his face from the chest up.
Holding her with one arm, he opened the video call, and the screen filled with familiar faces.
“Chief, weren’t you going to hold a meeting to discuss this year’s new student training? Where are you?” someone asked.
Ruan Ling’an raised a brow. “When did I say the meeting was now? Isn’t it scheduled for two o’clock?”
“Nope, the notice clearly says twelve.”
Two and twelve—who was so blind as to add an extra digit?
Ruan Ling’an’s gaze shifted to Rong Jun, expressionless.
It seemed this notification had been sent by him.
Rong Jun was checking his messages when he noticed his mistake and, looking sheepish, raised his hand. “Sorry, I typed an extra digit. I’ll take the penalty—double training for today.”
Everyone glared at him.
Since everyone was already present, Ruan Ling’an glanced down at the little girl asleep in his arms and decided, “Let’s do it as a video call. I’m not up for running around.”
They were all familiar faces, so nobody minded.
He had carried his sister here, and even though they had reached the dorm, he was reluctant to put down the soft, fragrant little girl. Letting her go would only make him feel empty.
In the end, he simply held Shushu while attending the meeting; she was so well-behaved in her sleep that nobody would be disturbed.
“For this cohort of new students, all training will be on the barren planet #7207. I hear the freshmen from Qiming Star Academy are considering using the same site for their training. The friction between the two sides has been escalating over the last two years, and both academies want their students to develop camaraderie.”
“Also, due to issues within the Li family, our First Military Academy’s Pharmacology Department saw no new admissions this year. Qiming Star, however, has many pharmacology students. The academy suggests that our schools collaborate in next year’s trials.”
“That’s a disadvantage for us. The pharmacology students are weaklings, pampered and useless on the field. We’d have to protect them the entire time.”
Ruan Ling’an would have agreed before, finding it irritating to work with these so-called ‘combat-inept’ students.
But now…
“If they had the strength for combat, they wouldn’t study pharmacology, would they?”
With calm authority, he said, “As soldiers, our duty is to protect our teammates.”
His words rang with nobility and conviction. Yet, coming from him, something about it seemed…odd.
Everyone in the call stared at him with a strange look in their eyes.
Ruan Ling’an felt no guilt whatsoever.
“I saw the school’s notification as well. This can be discussed, but let Qiming Star know that our training intensity is different from theirs. If anyone can’t keep up, they’ll be sent back.”
While he was open to joint training, he wasn’t offering charity. Those who couldn’t meet the standards would just waste everyone’s time.
…
When Ruan Shu woke up, she heard her third brother’s calm voice above her.
Rubbing her eyes, she shifted in his arms, her fluffy little head burrowing against his abdomen as she murmured in a soft, drowsy voice, calling for her brother.
Ruan Ling’an paused, then calmly addressed the others on the video call. “Hold on a moment.”
He reached to turn off the video but, distracted by checking on his sister, missed the fact that he hadn’t fully disconnected. He only hid the virtual screen projection, so the others could still see them.
His camera was set to show only from his chest up, so for the past hour, no one had noticed he was holding a small sleeping bundle in his arms.
Even Rong Jun and the others assumed he’d put Shushu down for her nap. They hadn’t expected that he’d held her through an hour-long meeting!
As Ruan Ling’an lifted his arm slightly, Ruan Shu’s head, nestled on his arm, rose too. She rubbed her eyes, her expression adorably drowsy and dazed yet obedient.
“Brother~”
Ruan Shu looked up, her delicate, pale face tilted as her blue eyes blinked up at her third brother’s defined features.
Unbeknownst to her, her little ears had popped out from sheer comfort.
Her soft, fine hair fluffed up around her, framing two triangular, fuzzy ears that looked irresistibly adorable—one glance was enough to make anyone want to reach out and touch them.
Ruan Ling’an’s normally sharp, serious gaze softened the instant he looked down.
“Awake?”
Seated in her brother’s lap, Ruan Shu nodded sweetly, her tiny hands clutching the front of his shirt, nuzzling against his chest in a kitten-like manner, her soft hair brushing against him.
Still half-asleep, Shushu wasn’t fully alert yet, leaning drowsily on her brother, her voice soft and mumbling with lingering sleep.