Not long after returning to school, Darryl asked Dallas to serve as his assistant, teaching some undergraduate theory classes and basic warfare tactics in his place.
In recent years, there have been major reforms in the military academies, and many new faculty members are civilian. Although they enjoy the same treatment as military personnel, military status is a line that divides those who are and those who are not.
Dallas is the youngest active Ph.D. student on campus, and one of the reasons why Darryl has high hopes for him is that the school is a military academy, where being in service provides an advantage. Furthermore, most people who come to the school have a strong sense of patriotism, and someone like Dallas, who has real combat experience, is better suited to keep the students in line.
*
On Friday afternoon, Averi ended her meeting early and seeing that it was still early, she drove to pick up Dallas.
We have arrived at the door, but we cannot get through to him on the phone.
No one is allowed to enter or leave the military base casually, and Averi's attire and appearance are particularly unusual, indicating that she is not a member of the school.
The call was redialled three times, but there was no answer.
The guard asks, "Who are you looking for?"
Averi: "Dallas."
Seeing the other person shake their head, she added, "He is a PhD student of Darryl from the School of Information and Communication."
"Darryl? I know, I can call the office for you to check, but Darryl may not be there. What's your name?"
It just so happened that Darryl had just come back from outside the school when he heard his name being called and stopped to look at Averi. Confirming that he didn't know her, he said, "Hello, I'm Darryl. What can I do for you?"
Averi had intended to refuse the guard, but when she came face to face with Professor Darryl himself, she had no choice but to say, "Hello, Darryl, I am a relative of Dallas."
Darryl took a moment to realize that she was Dallas's lover, and looked at her thoughtfully, saying, "Oh, it's you. Have you come to see Dallas?"
There were plenty of beautiful military wives, but none like her—so unapologetically confident, with a presence that spoke of wealth and power.
Darryl thought to himself: I didn't realize little Dallas liked this. It's a shame I even thought about introducing the school's military doctor to him before I saw his profile. These two have nothing in common.
"Yes, but I couldn't reach him on the phone," Averi replied with a polite smile.
"I'll show you where he is."
"No, thank you, Darryl. I'm fine too."
"No problem, since you're here, come in and take a look around. Darryl looked at his watch and remembered something, hummed a sound and then said, "No wonder I couldn't get in touch with you. There's a training session for military basic education instructors from military academies today, and Dallas was called to give a demonstration. Let's go over there and see, it shouldn't be over yet."
"Thank you, Darryl."
As Averi stepped into the school, she saw the banner hanging high above her, reading "From Here to the Battlefield," and felt a sense of disorientation.
Just one door away, the outside world is full of temptations, while the inside is a training ground.
On the way, there were many students in military uniforms, but there were few girls, and even fewer like Averi in high heels and a skirt. As they walked, they drew quite a few looks.
Darryl asked, "Averi, right?"
"Yes, Darryl."
"I heard you're very busy with work?"
The military has its own system, and Darryl would not have taken the time to search for the names of students' family members online, so he had no idea who she was. He only learned about her from casual conversations with Dallas.
Averi modestly admitted, "It's a bit busy."
"Do you think you'd be able to handle the life of a military spouse?"
"If someone's committed, there's nothing they can't adjust to."
Darryl looked at her and said, "That's true."
*
The two of them arrived at the training field, where some students were gathered outside, watching. Averi followed Darryl into the field and stood at a slightly farther spot to observe.
There were two teams, red and blue, on the field, seemingly engaged in a match.
Darryl watched for a while and said, "It looks like they've reached the simulated combat phase. Don't underestimate this demonstration, the ones chosen for it are the elite of the elite." He focused his eyes on the figures on the field and added, "I know Dallas is the captain, but I don't know if he's with the red team or the blue team."
The distance was a bit far, and everyone was wearing helmets, so it wasn't surprising that Darryl couldn't make out their faces.
Averi: "It's the red team."
"Can you see clearly? Guess that's the youth for you."
In reality, she couldn't see clearly either, but she recognized Dallas's figure and movements.
Darryl: "Which team do you think will win?"
Averi: "It's the red team."
Darryl teased, "You have that much confidence in Dallas?"
Averi smiled but didn't deny it.
Darryl didn't expect that at his age, he would still be quietly shown up by his student's display of affection.
After their brief interaction, Darryl had a changed impression of Averi. He had other matters to attend to, so after a few more moments of observation, he left.
Averi knew she didn't quite fit in, so she found a less noticeable corner to continue watching the match.
On the training field, Dallas was very different from when he was facing her—agile, alert, and even a bit ruthless. He swiftly took down three members of the blue team without a hint of hesitation, like a leopard.
As she expected, the red team won a decisive victory.
There was a round of applause inside the field. After the awards ceremony, Dallas removed his helmet and walked toward the sidelines with his teammates.
His face had some dust on it, and his good physique was wasted in the plain camouflage outfit, but he looked even more spirited and attractive than when wearing a tailored suit at a gala.
Averi's gaze softened as she thought, "Dallas truly belongs here."
A female soldier walked up with a smile, holding a few bottles of water in her arms, and handed one to Dallas first.
Dallas paused for a moment, thanked her, and took the bottle. His face showed no expression, and it was hard to tell how he was feeling.
Averi stopped in her tracks and stood still, observing.
She heard one of the team members say, "How about we go to Bella's Bistro for dinner tonight to celebrate? Dr. Arellano can join us too."
But Dallas replied, "It's the weekend, so Dr. Arellano probably has her own plans."
The female soldier glanced at Dallas, then turned her gaze away and said to the one who had suggested it first, "Actually, I'm going to Bella's Bistro with Quinn tonight, so we can all go together."
"Sure, sure, that's great! Both of the school's top beauties are here."
Another person said, "Listen to yourself, you sound like an pervert."
"Go to hell."
The female soldier, called Dr. Arellano, blushed and then looked at Dallas. Her smile grew warmer as she said, "Dallas, you can't miss it tonight."
Dallas: "Dr. Arellano, I'm just filling in for Darryl as a teacher, it's not—"
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of white and immediately fell silent.
Caught in the act, Averi suppressed a smile, waved at him, and mouthed, "Hi."
Tess followed Dallas's gaze and looked back, seeing a beautiful woman in casual clothes. A trace of doubt appeared in her eyes.
"Averi?" Dallas asked in surprise, walking toward her. "What are you doing here?"
Averi's smile remained unchanged as she casually replied, "Can't I come?"
Dallas paused, looking at her face thoughtfully.
The others also noticed Averi, the "outsider," and stared at her curiously.
Perhaps women's intuition is indeed more sensitive, as Tess Arellano's gaze towards her was noticeably more complicated and cautious than the others.
Tess smiled and asked first, "Dallas, who is this?"
Dallas: "My wife."
Tess's face turned pale for a moment, glancing at Averi, then at Dallas's bare ring finger, her eyes full of uncontainable surprise and suspicion.
She had thought it was just a girlfriend at most.
"You... are married?"
"Yes."
The others followed with wide eyes. "Wait, Dallas, when did you get married?"
"When I was in graduate school."
They were even more shocked.
As the one who caused the wave of surprise, Averi calmly extended her hand and greeted them with a smile, "Hello."
After shaking hands, she stood right next to Dallas, her arm brushing against his.
She looked up at Dallas, "Can you show me around?"
"Alright." "Sure," Dallas replied first, then told his teammates, "You go ahead, I'll join you later."
One of them suggested, "Why doesn't the wife come along too?"
The others, a bit slow to catch on, chimed in, their responses polite but somewhat awkward.
Averi spoke up, "No, it's okay. I'll stay out of your conversation."
Her thoughts were seen through, and the person quickly became embarrassed, hastily explaining, "No, no, it's not inconvenient at all."
Averi smiled slightly and politely declined, "Maybe next time."
Dallas looked down at her, "I'll show you around."
Averi: "Okay."
As the two walked farther away, one of them clicked his tongue. "No wonder Dallas always acts so distant. I thought he was just a guy with no interest in anything, but turns out he's got such a gorgeous wife at home."
"Exactly, if I had a girlfriend like that, I'd have no desires either."
"You're not exactly a looker, but you've got quite the imagination."
"Dr. Arellano, is there any water left?"
"Dr. Arellano?"
"Oh, yes, it's over there." Tess snapped out of it, took a few steps, and couldn't help but look back, staring at the close figures of the two, pressing her lips together.
