Chapter 32: Warmer Than Skin… part 1
According to Bào Fú, Mǐ Qiū had actually managed to get lost inside the Guide Institute. For a Guide, this was a rookie mistake of the lowest order. Coupled with the fact that she hadn’t answered Bào Fú’s light-brain call in time, she was lucky the self-reflection essay wasn’t twenty thousand words long.
Once Mǐ Qiū finished the process of writing the essay, the scene finally changed.
“Guide Mǐ, we meet again. You’re quite punctual.”
Fù Róngqīng stood before Mǐ Qiū. She looked around at her surroundings; this appeared to be a library.
Aside from the two rows of bookshelves, the desks were piled high with layers of books, though they were stacked quite neatly.
Fù Róngqīng said, “I’ll be quite busy today. You can wander around my home by yourself.”
So it was the library in his home. The library alone was this massive. She walked out.
She was stunned by the scene before her eyes. Obviously, she couldn’t afford to live in a place like this. An F-class Guide’s accommodation at the Guide Institute was a very simple single room, a few dozen square meters—that was her daily life.
The living room here had a ceiling height of a full twenty meters; it was the first time Mǐ Qiū had seen such a thing.
Outside the living room, small mechs were wiping the glass and mopping the floor, taking care of the cleaning. There was even a butler in the house—a robot whose skin and body firmness were identical to a real person, with no discernible difference.
He bent down to look at Mǐ Qiū. It was only when he spoke that the buzzing static of machinery could be heard, making him seem a little glitchy: “Miss Mǐ, Young Master Fù rarely brings women home. You are the first. He is often unsmiling due to work, but…”
Mǐ Qiū already knew what he was going to say. Wait, something wasn’t right.
Since she had entered this dreamscape, surely it wasn’t going to play out the “Domineering CEO falls in love with me” trope? Hearing such lines suddenly made her temples throb; this was just too bizarre. So, she didn’t let the butler continue that topic.
Mǐ Qiū wandered randomly around his home. There were at least nearly a hundred rooms here. By the time Mǐ Qiū had almost completed a full lap, her legs were a bit sore.
Just then, the robot butler appeared behind her, giving Mǐ Qiū a huge fright.
“Miss Mǐ, is there anything I can help you with?”
“Nothing, just looking around.”
On its wine-glass-shaped hands, there were black suction cups holding a platter. The platter was filled with fruit, and there was even a tiny fork. Mǐ Qiū was very surprised.
Mǐ Qiū asked it, “Is this fruit for me to eat?”
“Correct, Miss Mǐ. There are cut pineapple, red watermelon, and apple slices. Please help yourself.”
So Mǐ Qiū picked up the delicate glass fork and swallowed the fruit into her stomach. She had to say, the fruit here was truly delicious!!
It was incredibly juicy, sweet with a hint of tartness, the flavor just right. Mǐ Qiū hadn’t eaten such good fruit in a long time. In the interstellar era, all fruit was expensive; usually, she could only drink a little fruit-flavored nutrient solution to experience the taste of fruit.
Captivated by the delicious fruit, Mǐ Qiū couldn’t stop eating. Her hand kept forking up pieces of cut fruit, her cheeks puffing out as she chewed. With every bite, she couldn’t help but marvel: Why is there such delicious food in this world?
Mǐ Qiū thought to herself that she hadn’t come here just to eat gourmet food, but then she thought again—he was still busy, so it wasn’t convenient for her to disturb him.
After eating the fruit, Mǐ Qiū sat on the sofa. She waited from the afternoon all the way until evening, eventually falling asleep against the soft backrest of the sofa. She didn’t intend to sleep, but the wait was just too long, and she got drowsy.
When she opened her eyes again, the robot butler was no longer in front of her. Fù Róngqīng was looking down at her from above. Mǐ Qiū rubbed her eyes to wake herself up.
Fù Róngqīng: “Guide Mǐ, did I make you wait long?”
Mǐ Qiū sat up straight, intending to stand, but he said to her, “Just sit and talk. Or… do you want to go to my room?”
Mǐ Qiū was still groggy at this moment, not even realizing she was still in the dreamscape. Without looking up at him, she said directly, “Commander Fù, can I leave now?”
Fù Róngqīng couldn’t help but ask back, “Didn’t you have something to say to me, Guide Mǐ? Leaving now isn’t appropriate, is it?”
Right, what was she supposed to do again? Mǐ Qiū suddenly remembered.
“Oh, I know. It’s about the matching, right? It seems Commander Fù has thought it through.”
“It’s precisely because I’m not quite clear that I needed to find you, Guide Mǐ, to make a confirmation today.”
Mǐ Qiū gently slapped her own forehead; she really had slept herself into confusion. Fù Róngqīng sat opposite her and asked, “I really want to know, Guide Mǐ—that day, were you sincere?”
Mǐ Qiū nodded to him, indicating that everything she did followed her heart.
Fù Róngqīng: “Oh? So, our ‘stamping the seal’ last time counts?”
He suddenly stood up and said to Mǐ Qiū, “Alright, my doubts have been answered. Guide Mǐ, you may leave.”
Mǐ Qiū was still thinking about the soothing session; naturally, she couldn’t just walk away like this.
Fù Róngqīng saw that she didn’t want to leave yet and said, “I think the matter of matching should be considered carefully. After all, we aren’t familiar with each other yet. Jumping to conclusions now would be impulsive.”
Mǐ Qiū spoke with exceptional firmness: “Commander Fù, I understand that you are extremely cautious about everything. But Mǐ Qiū’s heart has always been with you, Commander Fù, and that won’t change in the future.”
However, Mǐ Qiū knew very well that although her words sounded nice, he wouldn’t believe her much. Fù Róngqīng had almost no weaknesses. If he had one, it was that he was a bit slow when it came to emotions. He didn’t know what Mǐ Qiū’s whim in the car had brought upon him.
For Fù Róngqīng to completely lose his basic rationality at that moment—that wouldn’t be him. Today, he wanted to clear things up with Mǐ Qiū, hoping to learn the truest answer from the depths of her heart.
Now that Mǐ Qiū had expressed her thoughts, Fù Róngqīng couldn’t help but chuckle mockingly.
He couldn’t test whether Mǐ Qiū was telling the truth. It seemed this little Guide before him was making him uneasy.
More importantly, he couldn’t figure her out at all. Mǐ Qiū was like a puzzle.
Fù Róngqīng said, “Last time, I was too abrupt. Guide Mǐ, my assistant will drive you back. Let’s pretend that incident never happened. If you don’t leave now, I might change my mind.”
Hearing him say this, Mǐ Qiū was even less likely to leave easily. She had worked so hard to get him to have a sliver of affection for her; if she left before that affection could last, wouldn’t all her efforts be in vain?
“Guide Mǐ, did you really not hear me?”
Fù Róngqīng was ready to use his light-brain to contact his assistant. Mǐ Qiū didn’t go back to sleep, but she still had no intention of leaving. She sat there, but didn’t look like she was zoning out.
Twenty minutes later…
Fù Róngqīng furrowed his brows, giving her a final warning: “Guide Mǐ, do you really not intend to leave?”
Mǐ Qiū’s clear eyes held a naturally pitiable expression that touched the softest part of Fù Róngqīng’s heart. The man had thought he wouldn’t be led by the nose again, but Mǐ Qiū looked at him and said, “That time, it was a mistake we made together. Commander Fù, you can’t deny it!”
Mǐ Qiū: “We’ve already ‘stamped the seal.’ You can’t just go back on it like this, can you?”
There was a hint of tears in her voice, making Fù Róngqīng’s head feel like it was about to explode. Mǐ Qiū walked closer to Fù Róngqīng and said, “Didn’t you want me to go back to your room to talk, Commander Fù? I’m willing to go to your room and discuss it in detail.”
Mǐ Qiū’s meaning couldn’t be clearer. She walked up the stairs step by step, holding his arm. Fù Róngqīng didn’t shake her off immediately.
Mǐ Qiū had only taken a few steps up the stairs when the man suddenly stopped. He lifted his lowered head, stared at Mǐ Qiū, aimed at her lips, and lowered his head to kiss her…
It all came without any warning. The light, fleeting kiss ended quickly. Mǐ Qiū asked him, “Is Commander Fù sober right now?”
“I have always been sober.”
Mǐ Qiū said with some worry, “Commander Fù, about our agreement. You’ll still go back on it, won’t you? If so, please don’t do this anymore.”
Fù Róngqīng: “If I lost you today, that is when I would truly hate myself.”
Mǐ Qiū thought, It’s just a dream anyway. Just a dream. I should try to accept it, accept all of this.
Mǐ Qiū continued to enjoy Fù Róngqīng’s kiss, interlocking her fingers with his. As he pressed closer step by step, Mǐ Qiū had to slow down, gradually retreating up the stairs. She let him pry open her teeth, their lips sucking on each other…
With him taking the lead, Mǐ Qiū was guided by Fù Róngqīng in the kiss. Her slightly green kissing skills improved during this time. They entangled like this for a long time, into the hallway, into the room—
Mǐ Qiū was startled awake by a voice.
“Guide Mǐ, we’ve passed the storm! From now on, the seasickness will be much less severe.”
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