Chapter 117

Chapter 117

In the afternoon, Xu Qiao invited four military academy students to lunch. In the evening, the four teammates of the Silent Gold squad met at a luxurious restaurant.

Sun Fushan had reserved a private room to avoid being recognized by other diners during the meal.

Despite having already questioned him in the group chat, Sun Fushan threw two more questions at Qinchi when they were face to face: "So, brother Qin didn't go to Jing City out of concern for us, right? You were only really concerned about Xu Qiao, right?"

Xu Qiao glared at him.

Qinchi smiled and said, "Love me, love my dog"

Sun Fushan: "..."

Xu Qiao, her face flushed with embarrassment, quietly tried to pinch her boyfriend's leg.

Qinchi, holding a glass of water in his left hand, used his right hand to hold her hand as she tried to pull away after pinching him.

Under the table, the small green turtle, slowly crawling towards Xu Qiao, noticed this scene, its round little eyes widening.

A dragon’s head emerged from Qinchi's leg, bared its teeth at the peeking small green turtle, with a flame in its mouth.

The small green turtle had no choice but to retreat into Sun Fushan's body.

The fire dragon then disappeared.

Sun Fushan, brushing off the goosebumps on his arm, continued with his second question: "During training, was it because you couldn’t bear to see Xu Qiao get hurt that you protected both Meng Li and me so well?"

Qinchi nodded.

Sun Fushan: "I thought you were better than my big brother!"

Feeling touched for nothing twice, Sun Fushan looked at Meng Li, hoping to get some emotional validation from another teammate who was also being 'loved along with the house.'

Meng Li: "...I had a feeling about this a long time ago."

Though she had never caught Qinchi and Xu Qiao in any intimate moments, the way they were inseparable and naturally comfortable with each other really resembled teams that were both partners and lovers.

Sun Fushan was stunned again. He had heard, seen, and talked about so much gossip, yet he hadn’t noticed any signs that his two teammates were in a relationship. Meng Li, who usually showed no interest in gossip, had actually noticed it?

Xu Qiao: "Alright, alright, let’s order the dishes quickly, no more talk about this topic."

Sun Fushan slumped his shoulders and said, "In the future, I won’t even have a chance to talk about it."

Xu Qiao glanced at Qinchi and asked, "Have you decided which coastal base to go to?"

To ensure the safety of the Southeast Base, the authorities had set up six coastal bases. From north to south, they were: South City Base, Hai City Base, Qiantang Base, Ning City Base, Tai City Base, and Wen City Base.

The most important was Qiantang Base, as it was the eastern gate of the Southeast Base facing the ocean, with only a hundred kilometers between the two places.

The other five bases were also crucial because if any of them fell, the sea beasts breaking through would head straight for the Southeast Base, just a bit farther away.

Sun Fushan: "Wen City, the tasks there are the heaviest."

According to the old man, the more dangerous the place, the more it builds one’s character.

Sun Fushan wasn’t in a hurry to train, but since other guards dared to go to Wen City Base, as the grandson of the deputy marshal, he naturally dared to as well, just like his uncles, aunts, and siblings.

Before Xu Qiao could speak, Meng Li suddenly said, "Can you take me along?"

She hadn't decided whether to join the guard troops yet, but she wanted to continue training. Rather than having the official send a guard troop to protect her in the dangerous areas on land, it would be better to go with Sun Fushan.

It was a simple question, but when meeting Meng Li's calm and even indifferent face, Sun Fushan's eyes instantly reddened.

Seeing this, Xu Qiao decided to lay out her own plan and let him be "moved" all at once: "Take me too, I..."

Before she could finish, Sun Fushan rushed into the restroom inside the private room.

Meng Li looked at Xu Qiao in surprise.

Xu Qiao raised her voice in the direction of the restroom: "I'm going to take the A-grade physician exam. It's best to combine theory with practice, so I need to go to the coastal base where guards are most likely to get injured. Once I feel my skills are up to par, I'll come back. I won't stay at the coastal base forever; you really don’t need to get so emotional."

There was no response from the restroom.

A few minutes later, Sun Fushan came out with red eyes.

Xu Qiao pretended not to see and continued browsing the menu.

High-level psychics have large appetites, so the four of them ordered almost twenty dishes.

While waiting for the food, Xu Qiao said to Sun Fushan: "Tell us about the situation at the Wen City Base. Who are the two generals stationed there?"

Sun Fushan had already done his research and typed quickly: "The heir to the Vice Marshal, Lin Jingan, and the principal of the three schools, Dong Mingliang. You all know their spiritual entities."

One was the S-grade Phoenix of the Lin Family, and the other was Principal Dong of the three schools they graduated from, whose spiritual entity was an S-grade brown bear.

Xu Qiao looked at Meng Li. By blood, Lin Jingan was Meng Li's uncle.

Meng Li nodded slightly. She was there to train and didn't care who the generals stationed at the base were.

Sun Fushan misunderstood their eye contact and typed with a smile: "With the two of you going, Principal Dong will be proud. The future two new S-grade awakened beings of this base are both from the three schools."

Xu Qiao thought of Principal Dong's brown bear spiritual entity. A photo, taken by who knows who, of the S-grade brown bear standing in front of a giant tree, licking honey from a beehive, had earned Principal Dong's spiritual entity the title of the most adorable S-grade spirit animal in the Southeast Base, while other S-grade spiritual entities were titled the most ferocious, coolest, most reassuring, or most romantic.

Principal Dong's code name had long been fixed as "Big Bear."

After learning of Xu Qiao and Meng Li's plans, Sun Xuan prepared two sets of guard troop uniforms for them. Meng Li's was the battle uniform, and Xu Qiao's was the healer uniform.

During the day, Xu Qiao followed Meng Li and Sun Fushan for pre-departure training, which included re-familiarizing themselves with the anatomy and attack patterns of common mutated creatures by the sea. In the evening, Qin Chi would come to pick Xu Qiao up and take her home.

Sometimes they would stay overnight at Xu Qiao's place, and sometimes at Qin Chi's. The winter in the Southeast Base was damp and cold. Xu Qiao already had the financial means to install floor heating, but in this winter when her points became particularly abundant, she also gained an S-grade Fire Element boyfriend who could make the floor heating obsolete.

On the Sunday night before their departure, in the overly comfortable bed of Qin Chi, under the carefully selected quilt, Xu Qiao experienced her first "sleep" without wearing any pajamas.

Under the quilt, Xu Qiao's feet could no longer reach the bedsheet. No matter how much she struggled, she could only step on Qin Chi's firm and lean shoulders or waist.

She was so overwhelmed with heat from Qin Chi that tears came to her eyes, and her lotus spirit entity, which had always been her best bodyguard, was exhaustedly resting on the surface of the crystal core space, too tired to even help her stop Qin Chi.

When Qin Chi leaned back up, his short hair was wet as if he had just washed it, though it was unclear whether it was his own sweat or something else.

Xu Qiao closed her eyes in embarrassment.

Qin Chi flipped her over, his arm wrapped around her neck and his hand holding her shoulder from behind. His right leg was in front of hers to prevent her from escaping.

Then, he kissed his girlfriend's earlobe and reminded her to be prepared: "It's my turn."

Xu Qiao had no strength left, not even enough to think about what he meant, and then Qin Chi pressed against her from behind.

He seemed to have used all his strength to hold her legs in place, forcing Xu Qiao to bear his aggression without moving a single inch.

His breath repeatedly landed on Xu Qiao's neck and beside her ear. But what drew Xu Qiao's attention even more was…

She felt like she had turned into a large temple bell, and Qinchi was the monk striking it rhythmically.

However, she wasn’t made of metal, and no matter how much Qinchi pressed, she couldn’t produce the resonant sound unique to a large bell.

Initially, it was just tension and awkwardness, but as time passed, Xu Qiao started to feel a dull pain, as if someone had slapped her countless times.

After preventing her lotus spirit from coming to her aid, Xu Qiao activated her healing ability. After all, it was Qinchi who was doing the work, and Xu Qiao, who only needed to remain still, managed to calm down once she overcame her initial embarrassment.

While she was healing, Qinchi suddenly turned her face and kissed her forcefully.

At 5:30, a drowsy Xu Qiao sat in the passenger seat of the black car. Because Qinchi had been overly eager the previous night, Xu Qiao didn’t even want breakfast and had just consumed a high-grade nutritional solution while lying in bed.

As they were about to part, a small fire dragon climbed onto Xu Qiao’s shoulder.

Xu Qiao closed her eyes in alarm. Even though she hadn’t seen anything the previous night, the shape of the fire dragon sent her thoughts spiraling out of control.

The fire dragon looked hurt. "Don’t you want to look at me a little more?"

Unwilling to directly reveal Xu Qiao’s thoughts, the lotus extended its leaves and, after a pause, gathered water. "You don’t look pure enough."

The fire dragon instinctively examined itself from head to tail. "Where am I not pure? I’ve always looked like this!"

The lotus curled one of its leaves and pointed the tip toward a spot on the driver’s seat.

Qinchi kept his eyes on the road ahead, pretending he hadn’t seen anything.

The fire dragon was confused at first but soon realized what was happening. Then it became anxious, spitting fire without using the lotus’s water. "I’m much better looking than that!"

Lotus: "Although I haven’t seen it, it feels very similar, except you have scales and four claws."

Xu Qiao, who had quietly opened her eyes: "…"

She pulled back the lotus and grabbed the fire dragon, stuffing it into Qinchi’s arm. "Social etiquette, please? Go reflect on your behavior."

With the spirits gone, Xu Qiao took out her helmet, put it on, and rested her head against the window.

But she couldn’t control her thoughts. The more she thought about it, the hotter her face grew, whether it was about what Qinchi had done to her or what she had done with him.

Qinchi suddenly asked, "Do I need to apologize for last night?"

Xu Qiao: "Shut up."

Qinchi smiled. "Good, that means you're not mad."

Xu Qiao: "I’m very mad. So mad that I don’t even want to talk to you."

Qinchi: "If I’m that maddening, when I come over tonight, will you open the door for me?"

Xu Qiao: "...Apply for your own dorm room."

Both marshals knew he had gone to Wen City Base. Rather than sneaking around and risking exposing their nighttime cohabitation, it was better to be open about it.

Qinchi: "As far as I know, Wen City Base has prepared a villa for you, the same treatment as Professor Lu."

Xu Qiao: "Meng Li is staying with me."

Qinchi: "Xiao Shan?"

Xu Qiao: “……He is a psychic with an upgradable spiritual body, just like us, and he’s also our teammate. Living together won’t cause any misunderstandings.”

Qinchi: “Got it, I can stay in a guestroom on the same floor as Xiao Shan.”

Xu Qiao: “……”

The black sedan slowly entered the parking lot of the mercenary association in the central district.

Before getting out of the car, Qinchi held his girlfriend’s wrist and, through the protective screen, met her shy, evasive gaze. “Can I have a goodbye kiss?”

Xu Qiao bit her lip but didn’t refuse.

Qinchi then cupped her helmet and, through the protective barrier, kissed the spot above her eyes. “See you later, Healer Xu.”