The Memories They Shared

This was a sleepless night, one destined to change everything—after being drugged, Shangguan Han forced himself on his best friend, Kevin. This marked a profound transformation in their relationship, as long-buried feelings erupted to the surface. The emotional crisis left the two, already entangled in a delicate bond, utterly at a loss.

No one could say what awaited them the next day, but as Kevin slipped into sleep, his heart fervently wished that tomorrow would never come.

At dawn, sunlight filtered through the dense woods, bathing the soft, green lawn in gold. Today, all first-year students were to embark on a grueling half-month of boot camp.

Everyone was fully equipped, bracing themselves for what lay ahead. On the lawn, Ouyang Xianyu had arrived at school early—not out of fear of the coming ordeal, but rather, in anticipation. In truth, he wasn’t anxious at all; if anything, he was looking forward to this military-style training. After all, from a young age, Yu had grown up under the watch of a true devil—Shangguan Han himself.

This so-called “devil training” was child’s play to him. For Yu, these challenges were nothing compared to his past. (A note from Yu: the “devil” here refers to Han!)

Arriving far too early, Yu lay alone on the grass, eyes closed in a feigned sleep as memories crept in. Ever since moving into the Shangguan household, rigorous training had become his daily routine.

As Shangguan Han always said, a real man must be strong. Even in danger, you cannot expect anyone to come to your rescue. The only one who can save you is yourself.

Thus, he and Xiao were both sent to the Shangguan family’s private training ground. Calling that place hell on earth would be no exaggeration—endless thickets and wild trees stretched as far as the eye could see, every corner brimming with peril.

Han had only given them each a small knife and a single day’s worth of food, demanding that they find a way out of the forest within seven days.

At the time, both Yu and Xiao were only six years old. How were they supposed to survive? Strangely enough, Xiao, at just six, seemed well accustomed to this. She calmly gathered her things, a look of delight on her face as she strode into the underbrush.

Though Yu was puzzled, he followed without question, walking side by side with her. Along the way, Xiao used her knife to cut at the bushes. At first, Yu thought she was marking a path to avoid getting lost, but soon she began picking up dead branches from the ground.

Now Yu was truly baffled. What was she up to?

Standing coldly to one side, he fixed her with an icy, slightly awkward stare and asked, “What exactly are you doing?”

Xiao, delighted by his question, replied with a bright smile, “I’m gathering firewood!”

She bent down and continued picking up sticks. Yu could feel the veins on his forehead throbbing—this girl was definitely doing this on purpose!

Barely able to contain his temper, Ouyang Xianyu snapped, “I can see you’re picking up wood, but what for?”

This time, Xiao rolled her eyes at him, put her hands on her hips, and gave him a look that screamed, “Are you stupid?”

Just as Yu was about to lose his patience, she slowly explained, “To cook the food, of course! And we’ll need it for warmth at night.”

She bent down again, resuming her task. After a brief pause, she added, “It gets really cold out here at night! Hurry and gather some too, or we won’t have enough!”

Then, pulling a rope from who-knows-where, she bundled the firewood together.

－－－－－－Author’s Note－－－－－－

Two chapters were cut from earlier in the story. If you’d like to read them, you can join group 157706061—all censored chapters will be posted there!