Chapter 178

Chapter 178: Unexpected Instructor

When Lin Lie first learned about this, he had even told Bai Xingshu that if there were any difficulties, he could lend a hand.

Bai Xingshu didn’t deny the offer. He never dismissed others’ kindness, so he happily expressed his gratitude to Lin Lie.

Of course, the truth was that Bai Xingshu didn’t need Lin Lie’s help at all.

Later, all the information Lin Lie received was about how Bai Xingshu, despite being just a commoner, effortlessly solved problems that even the young masters of aristocratic families couldn’t handle. In such a short time, he had won over one after another of the empire’s direct descendants, becoming their sworn friends.

He was truly in a league of his own.

Every time Lin Lie thought Bai Xingshu couldn’t be more impressive, Bai Xingshu would prove him wrong with his actions.

Lin Lie even grumbled inwardly—why didn’t his own family have some problem that Bai Xingshu could solve?

But as he thought about it, he suddenly realized… maybe he did.

Lin Lie thought of Lin Li.

Recalling his recent experiences at home, he felt that Lin Li could use some... handling.

Of course, Lin Lie only kept these thoughts to himself, mentally griping about his cold and ruthless older brother.

In reality, Lin Lie wasn’t actually that bothered.

After all, based on past patterns, Lin Li usually only came home for a month or so at most. This time, Lin Li had already been back for over a week. Theoretically, he should be leaving soon.

He’d be free soon enough!

Lin Lie’s optimism, however, was dashed by reality.

The next morning, during mecha operations class.

The news of Director Liu’s reassignment officially spread through Class S. Since Director Liu was away, Lin Lie had assumed that the instructor from Class A would likely substitute.

But…

When the class bell rang, Lin Lie saw a painfully familiar figure stride into the training room with an indifferent expression.

As a rising star of the new generation and the face of the Fourth Legion, everyone recognized the newcomer.

The entire Class S went dead silent, then turned their heads in unison toward Lin Lie.

Lin Lie’s face fell instantly. If he hadn’t cared so much about maintaining his image as class president, he would’ve screamed.

You’ve got to be kidding me! Why was his brother the temporary lead instructor for Class S?!

It was only then that Lin Lie realized why his brother had been the first to know about Director Liu’s mission.

He had thought it was just because his brother had better connections.

But now… *Aaaaah!!*

Lin Li paid no attention to his younger brother’s internal crisis. Standing at the front, he coolly and briefly introduced himself:

"Colonel Lin Li of the Fourth Legion. Until your lead instructor returns, I will be handling this class."

After speaking, Lin Li’s eyes flickered—toward Lin Lie’s direction, or more accurately, toward Bai Xingshu.

Lin Lie, who had been stunned, immediately furrowed his brows and stepped forward without hesitation, shielding Bai Xingshu behind him immediately.

Mostly because Lin Lie always said he disliked his brother, but when it came to his true thoughts, he always ended up confiding in him anyway— including his feelings and frustrations about Bai Xingshu.

Though Lin Lie never explicitly stated it, he was well aware that his brother didn’t exactly like Bai Xingshu, even seeing him as someone who wasn’t too fond of Lin Lie.

After all, Lin Lie’s constant whining often revolved around how Bai Xingshu only saw him as a friend or brother, or how another elite Alpha had appeared around Bai Xingshu, making everything seem messy.

At first, Lin Lie didn’t think there was anything wrong with sharing these things, especially since Lin Li had even said that if Bai Xingshu joined the Fourth Legion, Lin Lie could skip it.

In Lin Lie’s mind, that meant his brother also admired Bai Xingshu.

So Lin Lie naturally spoke even more freely about him, dropping not-so-subtle hints about how amazing and outstanding Bai Xingshu was.

But after one too many rants, Lin Li once frowned and said, "He’s such a player—keep your distance."

Only then did Lin Lie realize that, through his own venting, Bai Xingshu had likely become some kind of heartbreaker in his brother’s eyes.

Lin Lie: "..."

He felt kinda bad for Bai Xingshu.

Naturally, Lin Lie had tried explaining many times, but in his brother’s eyes, it only made him seem like a pathetic simp with no credibility.

So eventually, Lin Lie simply stopped bringing it up.

After all, his brother wouldn’t cross paths much with Bai Xingshu in the short term. Once he and Bai Xingshu got together, Lin Li would finally see what Bai Xingshu’s really like.

Lin Lie was very confident in Bai Xingshu’s charm.

But this blind faith only reinforced Lin Li’s belief that Bai Xingshu had his brother totally whipped.

On one hand, Lin Li greatly admired Bai Xingshu’s battle strategies, poring over them obsessively. On the other, he believed Bai Xingshu was a smooth operator who had his little brother under his spell.

This impression only solidified after Bai Xingshu recently helped several elite Alphas within the academy resolve various internal family drama.

In just about a month, Bai Xingshu had managed to eliminate the drama these rich families couldn’t shake—just how sharp and ruthless was this guy?

Had Bai Xingshu used these tactics on anyone else, Lin Li would have admired him just as much as he did those battle strategies. But seeing them applied to his own brother made Lin Li *really* not like him.

However...

Lin Li’s first reaction upon seeing Bai Xingshu wasn’t the hostility or scrutiny Lin Lie had expected.

Instead, it was—Damn, he’s gorgeous.

More so than in any of the photos or videos Lin Li had researched.

The kind of looks that made it hard to stay mad at him.

This realization made Lin Li pause briefly—until he saw his kid brother’s overprotective act, instantly turning that brief awe into annoyance.

He *literally* clenched his fists.

Bai Xingshu also felt Lin Li sizing him up.

Originally, Bai Xingshu didn’t think much of it.

It was perfectly normal for a new instructor to scrutinize the students they were about to teach, especially since the two of them weren’t entirely without prior interactions.

Back when Bai Xingshu was in the intermediate combat arena, he had once tied with this man in combat.

But Lin Lie’s stepping half a pace closer immediately made Bai Xingshu realize that something he wasn’t aware of might have happened.

However, it wasn’t appropriate to ask during class, so Bai Xingshu said nothing and quietly followed Lin Li’s instruction. Only after the lesson ended did he find a chance to pull Lin Lie aside for a private conversation.

“Is your brother annoyed about my planned trip during the long vacation to the Fourth Legion?” This was the possibility Bai Xingshu had considered during class.

After all, Lin Lie had expressed regret and frustration more than once—none of his long vacations had ever been spent with Bai Xingshu.

Moreover, during his freshman year, Lin Lie had mentioned that he had tried to get Bai Xingshu transferred to the Fourth Legion, only to be flatly rejected.

Bai Xingshu figured that if he could go to the Fourth Legion this time, Lin Lie must have given something up, possibly even sacrificed something. Under such circumstances, it seemed only natural for Lin Li, as Lin Lie’s older brother, to feel annoyed.

If that was the case…

Bai Xingshu considered canceling his plans for the long vacation. It wasn’t as if he absolutely had to go to the Fourth Legion anyway.

Then, he saw Lin Lie scrub at his temple sheepishly, his expression flustered and shy as he said, “It’s just that… I used to talk about you a lot at home.”

“…My brother thinks I like you…” After saying this, Lin Lie glanced up slightly, studying Bai Xingshu’s expression, only to be disappointed when he found nothing but shock on his face.

Pursing his lips briefly, Lin Lie continued, “He thinks you’ve never given me a proper response and that you’re toying with my feelings.”

“He won’t listen to anyone!” Lin Lie’s tone carried a hint of complaint as he said this.

It was a put-on tone, but it also reflected his genuine frustration.

He had no sway over his brother—no matter what he said, Lin Li simply wouldn’t listen!

The reason he was being so upfront with Bai Xingshu now was that he was deeply worried his brother might throw him under the bus at any moment!!

The mere thought of that possibility made Lin Lie see black.

By getting ahead of it, no matter what his brother said later, Bai Xingshu wouldn’t believe it.

Lin Lie had ‘cleverly’ secured himself a safety net.

Bai Xingshu listened to this explanation dumbfounded.

This was a situation he had never anticipated, leaving him momentarily at a loss for words.

How the hell did he and Lin Lie end up in this kind of rumor?!

Receiving no response from Bai Xingshu, Lin Lie started babbling nervously, his words tumbling out: “That’s just how my brother is. He hates me focusing on anything else.”

“All he cares about is the family and the military. Anything that distracts from those is treated like an existential threat.”

“He lives by that code, and he expects me to live by it too.”

“This is all his problem!”

Lin Lie kept ranting until even he wasn’t sure what he was saying anymore.

Finally shaking off his daze, Bai Xingshu took a moment to parse what Lin Lie meant before returning to his original assumption of the situation.

Bai Xingshu asked Lin Lie uncertainly, "Then should I still go to the Fourth Legion during my extended break?"

Although the root cause was different, the conclusion remained the same—Lin Li wasn’t too pleased with him.

Bai Xingshu knew that if he went to the Fourth Legion on a temporary assignment, he would be assisting Lin Li, just like Lin Lie.

Under such circumstances, Bai Xingshu was reluctant to go. He didn’t want to experience how miserable it would be to have a superior who disliked him.

However, this opportunity was something Lin Lie had pushed hard for, and he had already agreed to it earlier. He still had to consider Lin Lie’s feelings.

Hearing this, Lin Lie’s mind went blank.

He hadn’t expected Bai Xingshu to even consider changing his mind!

Lin Lie quickly spoke up, his tone firm and resolute, "Go! Of course, you should go! How else can we put this rumor to rest?"

"We need to be around each other more! That way, my brother can finally dispel this misunderstanding!!"

The urgency in Lin Lie’s voice made it click for Bai Xingshu.

Bai Xingshu had actually had a nagging suspicion before—why was Lin Lie so insistent on pulling him into the Fourth Legion for a temporary assignment? So this was the reason!

The initial suspicion Bai Xingshu had felt upon hearing Lin Lie’s explanation about Lin Li’s misunderstanding immediately vanished.

No wonder Lin Lie was so anxious and worked so hard! This misunderstanding really needed to be cleared up quickly.

To Bai Xingshu, Lin Lie was a very important classmate and friend.

He would even help elite Alphas from other colleges solve their problems. Even if he had already decided to end his cooperation with them, he would still fulfill his initial promises—let alone Lin Lie’s problem.

Of course, he would help Lin Lie achieve his goal!

"Alright, I’ve got your back!" Bai Xingshu agreed without hesitation, thumping his chest.