Blair clenched her fists and lifted them in front of Wesley, threatening to punch him in the face. But instead of moving a muscle to defend himself, he stood rooted to the spot and smirked.
Blair felt humiliated about being looked down upon by the man she loved.
She knew nothing about martial arts. But at that moment, she wished she did. If she were as skilled as he was, she would have surely taught him a lesson. She would have beaten him to the ground and made him beg for mercy.
"Whether you love me or not, that's your choice. You're free to decide. I admit that I do love you, but I won't let you humiliate me like that!" Blair said angrily.
Wesley had figured out her feelings for him long ago. But this was the first time he had heard her say blatantly that she loved him. He looked at her, a complicated look in his eyes. "I don't need anyone's love," he declared coldly.
He couldn't promise any woman a bright future. That was the kind of life he led. So, he didn't want to love anyone, nor did he need anyone's love.
Blair seethed in anger. She was hurt once again by his sharp words.
"Oh really? Then please, do come back to your apartment more often and stop trying to avoid me by taking the stairs. You know my physical strength is no match to yours. I can't take the stupid stairs! So, take the damn elevator with me! And mark my words, I'll make you fall in love with me one day. You'll have to take back your words when that moment comes."
Wesley didn't care about her provocation. He said, "Don't bother. I won't fall in love with a woman who can't even take the stairs with me."
Blair breathed heavily, unable to utter another word. Tears threatened to fall from her reddened eyes.
When Talbot ran back to them gasping for air, he saw Blair trying to kick Wesley in his shins.
He was taken aback by shock and surprise. 'What the hell is she doing? That's Wesley, the military hero! Why is she trying to kick him? Is she nuts?' Of course, Blair failed to make contact with his body. Wesley easily sidestepped her attack and she only managed to kick the air.
Frustrated, Blair felt like she was about to explode. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. "Why do you bully me like this every time?" she protested.
Ignoring her question, Wesley walked up to Talbot and took the ointment from his hand. He extended the ointment to Blair and said in the same cold tone, "Stop crying. Apply the ointment to your arm."
Ignoring his words, she walked past him and to Talbot. She pulled out her phone and asked with a slight sob, "I'll add your WeChat account and return you the money."
In a daze, Talbot took out his phone and opened the WeChat app. "I'll send you a friend request."
Wesley silently watched them add each other's WeChat account. Talbot asked Blair, "Your account name is 'Bless?'"
Blair replied in a low voice, "Yeah. Joslyn, my best friend, always calls me 'Bless, ' so I use that name."
After adding each other's account, she said, "Thank you for buying me the ointment. How much was it? I'll pay you via WeChat."
Talbot shook his head. "No need."
"I need to. Otherwise, I won't use that ointment," Blair insisted.
Talbot shifted his gaze to Wesley, expecting a reply from his leader. But Wesley said nothing, still maintaining his expressionless face. Left with no choice, Talbot said, "Fifteen dollars."
Blair nodded and began to walk away as she typed the password on her WeChat Pay. Talbot called out to stop her. "Blair, you haven't taken your ointment."
After transferring the money, Blair turned around and told him sarcastically, "Your great leader has touched it with his holy hands, so I don't deserve to use it anymore. I'll buy another one myself."
But she still thanked Talbot. She decided to buy him a drink next time.
Then she left. Talbot was confused about the whole situation.
"Well…That was…" 'What's going on between them?' he wondered. He shifted his gaze from Blair's receding figure to Wesley, who was still holding the ointment in his hand. Talbot was at a loss for what he should do next.
Joslyn saw Blair walking in her direction, so she hastily ran towards her. But before she could reach Blair, Wesley caught up to her.
He slipped the ointment into Blair's hand and said, "Talbot bought this for you, not for me. And you're the one who is scalded. Take it!"
Without giving her the chance to retort, he quickly disappeared from the canteen.
'Yes, Talbot bought it. But on your order, Wesley!' Blair sulked. If there weren't so many students watching them, she would have tossed it at his face.
After Wesley left, the other soldiers in camouflage uniforms got up and left the canteen in no time.
Meanwhile, Blair was surrounded by a group of girls before she could say a word to Joslyn. "Blair, do you know Wesley?"
"Why does he treat you so well? He gave you first aid himself."
"What's the relationship between you two?"
The girls bombarded Blair with a barrage of questions. To avoid more trouble, she shook her head vigorously. "No, no. I don't know him. He once trained Joslyn and me in the college ground. That's all."
Her reply disappointed the girls. They sighed with pity and dispersed.
After the girls left, the boy student, who had knocked into Blair earlier, came over to apologize to her. "Blair, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to do it. How about I take you to the clinic now?"
Blair took a look at her scalded arm. A few blisters had formed on the scalds. But she said, "No. I'll try applying the ointment first. If that doesn't work, I'll go see a doctor."
The boy nodded. After his friends reminded him, he exchanged contact information with Blair. He told her that if she needed any help, she could call him at any time.
Blair and Joslyn left the canteen and walked to a pavilion on the campus. Joslyn helped Blair apply the ointment to the wound. As she wiped her hands with a wet tissue, Joslyn asked, "Did you two quarrel?"
Blair shook her head. "We're not a couple. Not that close to have a quarrel. But he looked down on me. Joslyn, what do I see in him? Why would I fall in love with such a sharp-tongued man? He doesn't deserve to have a girlfriend!"
Joslyn was surprised by Blair's anger. "What on earth happened? What did he say to you? Why are you so angry?" Blair was a soft and patient girl. She always smiled to everyone. Joslyn seldom saw her like this.
'Maybe she loves Wesley so much that she cares about every word that comes out of his mouth, ' Joslyn reckoned.
Blair felt embarrassed to repeat Wesley's words. She blew on her scalded arm and said, "Whatever, he did look down on me. Joslyn, I don't want to love him anymore. He's such a jerk!"
Joslyn sighed. "If you can control your feelings, then just forget about him."
Like many young girls, Blair had had her first awakening of love when she was around seventeen years old.
She used to admire Wesley as her idol for two years. Then when she was nineteen, their paths had finally crossed. Since then, she had secretly loved him and had tried to pursue him. So, to be precise, she had loved him for more than three years.
The two girls silently sat on the bench of the pavilion, watching the students come and go around the campus. Occasionally, they could hear some students gossiping about Blair and Wesley. It seemed like the students had already begun to put their names together.
On their way back to the classroom, they walked past the training ground and saw a large group of students in a circle. Thunderous exclamation and applause arose from the crowd.
Joslyn excitedly dragged Blair towards the crowd. "Bless, let's go have a look. I heard some girls exclaim about someone being very handsome. There must be some hot men in the training ground!"
