Chapter 137

Chapter 137

Xu Qiao kept the door open for Qinchi.

After taking a shower, while waiting for Qinchi to arrive, Xu Qiao messaged Zhou Cheng: "After the body conversion, do you feel any discomfort?"

Zhou Cheng: "No, it's pretty much the same as usual."

Xu Qiao: "During the shapeshifting, can you sense the outside?"

Qinchi handed over control of his body to the fire dragon when he could no longer hold on; during the battle, Qinchi remained in a state of post-exhaustion sleep.

Zhou Cheng: "Yes, my senses are synchronized with the wolverine's, as if I became the wolverine's spiritual being."

Xu Qiao: "I see. When we have time, let's go see Professor Lu together. Get some rest early."

After ending the chat, Xu Qiao fell into deep thought.

Rational shapeshifting clearly represented a new combat method that psychics could develop. The stronger the spiritual being, the greater the combat power. However, the base couldn't force all psychics to develop shapeshifting symptoms. If they could identify the key factors that allowed psychics to switch between their human form and spiritual beings, and find a safe way to trigger this transformation, similar to awakening a spiritual being...

Xu Qiao had no clues yet, but she already had two successful cases around her, Qinchi and Zhou Cheng. She believed that with the collective wisdom of all researchers across the four bases, they would achieve a breakthrough in this area one day.

As Xu Qiao documented these thoughts, the bracelet on her left wrist lit up.

Qinchi: "I'm at the door, should I come in now?"

Not having heard any footsteps, Xu Qiao froze for a moment before replying, "Yes."

The slightly ajar door was silently pushed open and closed again without making a sound. Even as Qinchi approached the bed, Xu Qiao hadn’t heard a single step.

In a low voice, she asked curiously, "How did you do that?"

Wearing black pants and a black shirt, Qinchi sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her long hair, which had been blown dry and fluffy after her shower, and said, "I control the wind; my feet don't touch the ground."

Xu Qiao: "...Wow, wind-based abilities really come in handy."

Qinchi glanced at the walls of her bedroom and explained, "The central district of the four bases mostly houses high-level psychics. For privacy and sleep considerations, the more expensive the villa, the better the soundproofing materials used. I’ve reviewed the property information for this place; it uses A-grade soundproofing materials. Normal conversations, listening to music, or watching TV won't disturb the sleep of others in the villa."

Xu Qiao: "I see, here’s your blanket. I’ll sleep on this side."

She patted the side of the bed she had prepared for Qinchi, her expression calm.

Qinchi smiled and cooperatively lay down in his designated spot in the single bed.

Xu Qiao turned off the light and lay down on her side.

The room was silent except for the sound of their breathing.

Xu Qiao couldn’t help but think back to Qinchi’s joke about how his breathing wouldn’t be heavy when he slept.

She secretly smiled.

Qinchi: "What are you laughing at?"

Xu Qiao: "You could hear that?"

Qinchi: "I couldn’t sleep, had to find something to do. What are you laughing at?"

Xu Qiao: "...I was laughing about the wolverine wearing Zhou Cheng's clothes. By the way, before you came to the Southeast Base, during those transformations, when Grandpa and the others knocked you out to restore your human form, were you also not wearing any clothes?"

Qin Chi: "Why are you picturing me without clothes?"

Xu Qiao didn’t respond, her face flushing with embarrassment.

She sat up and grabbed a pillow to hit his face.

Qin Chi reached out to block her, took the pillow, and then gently advised, "You're really going all out. Don't you think they might hear?"

Xu Qiao covered her ears.

Qin Chi wrapped his arms around her from behind, pressing his face against hers, but he didn’t do anything else.

Xu Qiao missed him so much. During the beast tide, she had found other ways to cope with her worries, but now that they were finally back, she just wanted to hold him in this quiet, peaceful moment.

Xu Qiao turned around and sat in Qin Chi's embrace, her arms around his waist, her head against his chest.

However, before she could continue to immerse herself in the simple hug, Qin Chi ended the tranquility first.

Frustrated, Xu Qiao bit down on his shoulder.

Qin Chi: "I can try to hold back, but some things are just instinct."

Xu Qiao: "I don’t care what you say. I just want to hold you like this, and you’re not moving."

Qin Chi: "Alright."

He didn’t move, but he also didn’t calm down. Unable to take it anymore, Xu Qiao escaped into the covers.

Qin Chi chased after her, pulling the blanket over both of them.

He was already as hot as a ball of fire, and covering themselves with the blanket only made it harder for Xu Qiao. After a while, she proactively threw the blanket aside.

Qin Chi understood her concerns and turned her around, kissing her earlobe as he said, "As long as you can hold back, I won't go too hard."

Xu Qiao didn’t believe him.

But Qin Chi really did it, holding her waist with both hands, managing to pull away just in time every time they were about to collide.

Xu Qiao thought of the fire dragon, how it loved to swim in the lotus pond, breaking the surface and sending droplets flying whenever it emerged or dove back in.

But the fire dragon mostly stayed in the water, wrapping its body around the lotus, making it easier to chat with it.

Qin Chi was different; his rhythm was too fast, making the sounds of breaking water continuous.

Xu Qiao tried to escape, and Qin Chi followed her, crawling on his knees. When Xu Qiao's forehead hit the cushion at the head of the bed, Qin Chi "helpfully" moved her back a bit.

Xu Qiao tried to push him away, but Qin Chi suddenly leaned down, pressing her into the pillow, and she let out a soft cry.

"Ten minutes," Qin Chi kissed away her hot tears and said in a hoarse voice, "Just a little longer, only ten more minutes."

Around 6:30 AM, Lu Yang and Zhou Cheng came downstairs to find Qin Chi already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast.

Zhou Cheng smelled the sweet scent of honey and pretended not to notice anything, as a wolverine ran out and darted to the kitchen door.

Qin Chi turned around, looked at the little creature squatting at the door, and said with a smile, "Sorry for the poor hospitality last night, I'll make honey-roasted chicken legs for you this morning."

The wolverine eyed the jar of golden honey on the counter.

Qin Chi took out an unopened jar from his spatial storage and gave it to the wolverine, saying, "Mind the hygiene, don't make a mess everywhere."

The wolverine nodded, scooped up the honey jar with one paw, and trotted over to a wide-open space in the middle of the living room. It then sat down and began licking the honey from the jar.

Zhou Cheng whispered to Lu Yang, "Instructor Qin is really nice. Should we go help?"

Lu Yang replied, "Can you guarantee that the food you make will taste better than his?"

Zhou Cheng said, "I can help with the prep work, like washing the veggies."

Lu Yang looked at him and then led Zhou Cheng to the kitchen.

The kitchen was very spacious. The dishes that had been prepared were temporarily stored in Qin Chi's space. There were still three stir-fry dishes on the counter, and a pot of chicken soup was simmering away. It seemed there was nothing for the cadets to help with.

Lu Yang asked, "Such a sumptuous breakfast so early in the morning?"

Qin Chi responded, "If I make something too simple, she’ll be disappointed."

Lu Yang shot back, "If she likes us so much, are you hoping we'll leave soon?"

Qin Chi smiled and said, "I actually hope you’ll stay here for a while. With the New Year approaching, it's nicer to have more people at home."

Lu Yang countered, "Then aren't we disturbing you and my sister from your romance?"

Qin Chi started stir-frying the dishes, and when the noise in the pot quieted down, he turned sideways and asked in the gentle tone of a teacher, "What do you think love means?"

Lu Yang fell silent.

Qin Chi looked at Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng, who was only sixteen and had no thoughts about romance, also fell silent.

Qin Chi smiled, turned back to the pot, and slowly said, "For me, being in love is pretty simple. As long as I can stay by Xu Qiao's side and see her often, that's enough. Whether you are here or not, the way we interact won't change."

Lu Yang lowered his eyes, feeling ashamed of some of his thoughts. How could Qin Chi be like the men he had heard about?

Zhou Cheng, on the other hand, looked at Instructor Qin's back with admiration and emotion. Although he had no intention of romance yet and had not met any girl who sparked his interest, Zhou Cheng had a feeling that when he did fall in love in the future, he would want to adopt Instructor Qin's attitude, enjoying the beauty of love in a simple and pure way.

Near the spiral staircase, Xu Qiao, who had just reached the second-floor platform, quietly stopped in her tracks when she heard the conversation in the kitchen. As she listened to Qin Chi’s earnest explanation, her mind drifted back to the five times last night when they’d made those water sounds, and the five soiled sheets he’d tucked away in his space.

Thankfully, her S-grade body and healing abilities meant she could face the cadets without looking like a mess this morning.

While the cadets were receiving a lecture on love from Instructor Qin, Xu Qiao descended the stairs and sat on the sofa, picking up her tablet to browse the mercenary forums.

In the thread about counting the lotus spirit’s petals, someone had already accurately guessed that the lotus now had 297 petals, either through actual counting or speculation. Following the lotus spirit’s instructions, Xu Qiao popped in to announce the correct answer, tagging the first person who gave the answer and another who used technological means to verify that she hadn't miscounted, promising to send them a small token of appreciation later on.

It would definitely be something related to the lotus spirit, but Xu Qiao would decide on the specific gift after discussing it with a commercial company.

She didn’t lack points and didn’t like to be too high-profile, but she was willing to fulfill the lotus spirit’s wish. She might not become a big star, but being a spokesperson or creating some cool merchandise wasn’t out of the question.

Qin Chi and the others came over, each carrying bowls and dishes. Qin Chi followed behind, his eyes lingering on Xu Qiao as he entered.

Xu Qiao avoided his gaze to prevent herself from blushing, so as not to give the cadets the wrong impression.

After the sumptuous breakfast, Lu Yang still suggested to Zhou Cheng that they return to the military academy and only come back on New Year's Eve morning. "It’s not about being a third wheel or anything. We just want to focus on studying and training, and it’s easier to do that at the academy."

Xu Qiao said, "Go ahead. Once I’m on a mission, you won’t be able to visit anyway."

After the cadets left, Xu Qiao and Qin Chi attended a memorial service for the fallen heroes in the morning. In the afternoon, they joined the base’s award ceremony, where Xu Qiao and her team were promoted to lieutenant general.

Among the five new lieutenant generals, Meng Li had her mother and grandmother present to witness the event. Sun Fushan's relatives, who held important positions, were also on-site. Chen Min and Yang Bainian had family members present as well.

After Lin Lie personally pinned the lieutenant general insignia on Xu Qiao, she looked at her two teammates, then at her partner Qin Chi, her teacher Lv Chun, and the military academy principal, Dong Mingliang, who were seated in the first row. She then glanced back a few rows to where her younger brother, Lu Yang, was sitting.

Finally, Xu Qiao reached out and gently embraced the lotus spirit, which had poked its head out from the corner.