Chapter 41: The Beautiful Her.
Ahhh!! No, no! Is there any way to make the white eagle stop? It can’t take her away!
Perhaps sensing the woman’s disobedience, the white eagle spread its claws and wrapped them around her entire body. Mǐ Qiū understood now—this was exactly what the white eagle needed. It needed her to help it fly high into the sky again and experience that feeling.
So, Mǐ Qiū stopped struggling, but kept saying, “Then you must hold on tight. I can go with you, but don’t let go, don’t let go!”
As Mǐ Qiū spoke, she actually felt unsure inside. It probably wouldn’t let go, right? But this was all she could do for now. She had no choice; she was dragged by the white eagle like this, flying straight up…
She didn’t dare look down at the scenery, even though it all looked the same. The excessive height still made Mǐ Qiū’s heart pound with lingering fear.
“Okay, okay, I think we can go down together now, right?”
Was she really going to let it fly to its heart’s content?
Mǐ Qiū was getting a little dizzy from the flight. She had to say, “I think that’s about enough, or we can land on a tree, just let us rest for a while.”
Her pleading words made it impossible for the eagle to refuse her. So, ten minutes later, the white eagle finally landed back on that tree.
Mǐ Qiū was finally leaning against the tree, but it was still very high, and she couldn’t stay here too long. She hugged a thick branch with both arms, her limbs gripping the branches beside her tightly, not daring to relax for a moment.
One question: Could she climb down slowly by herself?
“Had enough fun? If you’ve had enough fun, I’m going down.”
Mǐ Qiū used to think she wasn’t afraid of heights, but being in this situation, it was hard to say she wasn’t. She let out a deep breath and said to it, “Little Liáng, can I go down by myself?”
Mǐ Qiū didn’t even dare to open her eyes. Just then, the white eagle finally grabbed Mǐ Qiū’s collar with its claws and flew to the ground.
Thankfully, it didn’t slam her onto the ground. Mǐ Qiū wiped the sweat from her forehead and gently stroked it. It was finally a bit more obedient now, different from just a moment ago. This was good; being obedient and well-behaved was nice.
“Little Liáng, you know what? You looked really cool flying just now. Although the feeling wasn’t too bad, it was just too unsafe. Dragging someone like that—if something happened, it wouldn’t be good, right? Don’t do it next time.”
The white eagle’s head swayed left and right, or tilted sideways, as if wanting to rest its head directly on her hand. Of course, Mǐ Qiū’s palm was too small to hold the white eagle’s head, so she just supported it lightly, again and again. Mǐ Qiū was naturally happy to do this.
Two minutes later, Mǐ Qiū finally reached the deepest level of the dreamscape. She was getting more and more skilled, and things were going more and more smoothly…
This time, Mǐ Qiū arrived at a spacious studio. This must be Róng Liáng’s studio; there were many canvases inside, but no people. Perhaps Róng Liáng was the one coming later? Mǐ Qiū thought so and waited inside. The lights were off. Just as she was about to turn them on, Róng Liáng arrived.
“How did you get in?”
Mǐ Qiū wasn’t intimidated by his question and replied, “I saw the door was unlocked, so I came in.”
Mǐ Qiū could only say that. Róng Liáng: “I was wondering who it was; turns out it’s a Guide. My name is Róng Liáng.”
Mǐ Qiū smelled something and asked carefully, “So, Mr. Róng, have you been drinking?”
Róng Liáng was noncommittal about this, saying, “When I’m seeking inspiration, I need a taste of wine to spark it. But what are you doing here, Guide?”
Mǐ Qiū didn’t answer him. Her mind was filled with the thought that if he really had been drinking—Róng Liáng had said last time that his touch starvation would only flare up after drinking—then she was done for. Would he… just thinking about it was terrifying.
Mǐ Qiū: “I accidentally stumbled in here. I’m sorry, I’ll leave right away, I’ll leave immediately.”
Before she could finish, the man tightly grabbed her wrist and said, “Guide Mǐ, right?”
Confusion filled Mǐ Qiū’s face. He continued, “Your Guide uniform, the only F-class one. Then you must be Mǐ Qiū.”
Mǐ Qiū actively extended her hand this time: “So, do we know each other now?”
Róng Liáng raised his eyes slightly to look at her, the light outside the window blending like a sunset…
Róng Liáng: “I suppose so.”
Mǐ Qiū: “I shouldn’t have barged in. Does Mr. Róng need me to do anything else?”
Mǐ Qiū was now in a dilemma. The mission was one thing, but she was also worried that once his touch starvation flared up, she would be in danger. So she asked if he needed any help from her.
Róng Liáng: “I usually conduct my artistic creation in an extremely quiet environment. No one is allowed to disturb me. But you are different.”
Mǐ Qiū said a bunch of apologetic words, but it seemed he still wouldn’t forgive her. She was a bit at a loss. Seeing her genuine distress, he said to her, “I don’t like to make things difficult for you. Being disturbed, this night counts as wasted.”
Róng Liáng looked at her appreciatively and said, “But you are different, Guide Mǐ. Instead, you brought me inspiration. This is truly not an easy thing. Your arrival is another kind of enlightenment for me.”
She brought him enlightenment… Mǐ Qiū felt like this time she wasn’t overthinking it. She had a feeling he was different from before, which meant his touch starvation might have already flared up.
Mǐ Qiū: “Then, Mr. Róng, what should I do?”
“Sit, Guide Mǐ.”
Mǐ Qiū went to turn on the light but was stopped by him. Róng Liáng: “No, Guide Mǐ. My inspiration will be ruined by the harsh light. I hope you won’t spoil my mood.”
Mǐ Qiū really didn’t understand, but she followed his instructions and sat on a seat next to an easel.
Mǐ Qiū: “Does Mr. Róng mean to paint me?”
Róng Liáng: “Sit up straight, Guide Mǐ. I’m going to start.”
She sat there motionless. Róng Liáng was behind her, encircling her as he painted. The scent of alcohol drifted into her nose. Mǐ Qiū: “Mr. Róng, you’ll be uncomfortable like this. How about I stand up and you sit down, okay?”
Róng Liáng didn’t respond. After a long while, he slowly said to her, “Your back… I need your current posture. When I’m focused, please don’t say other things to distract me.”
Mǐ Qiū fell silent and stopped speaking. Her body leaned forward, enveloped by the man’s body. She didn’t even know where to put her hands, and accidentally touched his hand. Skin touching skin, she seemed to feel his extreme restraint.
Róng Liáng, under the influence of alcohol, got closer and closer to her, his eyes filled with a strong interest in his prey. He stared at her blankly, his eyes full of intoxication. Róng Liáng stared at her, and she completely felt his spiritual body—the white eagle’s sharp pupils, carrying that very unique sharpness, startled her…
Róng Liáng had noticed her shoulders trembling uncontrollably. It felt like he was asking for her consent: “Guide Mǐ, may I?”
Mǐ Qiū: “? May…”
Before she could finish, “May what?”
The man embraced Mǐ Qiū’s slender waist and said, “Guide Mǐ. I think it’s time you got used to all this.”
“Mr. Róng, you’re drunk now.”
Róng Liáng was behind her, still full of oppression, making her a bit flustered. Róng Liáng’s cold lips pressed against the back of her neck. Mǐ Qiū thought she should take this opportunity to soothe him. So, she let him brand marks on her neck. That wasn’t enough; Róng Liáng gently bit her skin with his teeth…
“Mr. Róng, you really are drunk.”
“I’m not drunk. I’m more sober than ever.”
Mǐ Qiū instantly fell into his gentle trap. Then, as he gradually lowered his body, he kissed the corner of her lips. Her neck was twisted quite severely like this, so she had to stand up. Her soft waist was hooped by him like this. Standing on tiptoe, Róng Liáng tidied the stray hair behind her ear. Mǐ Qiū: “Like this, Mr. Róng probably won’t be able to finish tonight’s painting. Are you sure?”
Róng Liáng: “Guide Mǐ, if I say I just finished it, only one step is missing, and that is you, Guide Mǐ.”
In the dim studio, Mǐ Qiū indeed had nowhere to escape. She slowly felt her earlobe being gently touched by him. The man’s voice said deeply: “Guide Mǐ, the real you makes me feel very delighted. Your charm is great, making me deeply fascinated by you.”
The artist officer sure knew how to sweet-talk. At this time, Mǐ Qiū saw his silhouette lit by the natural light outside the window, even more alluring.
Róng Liáng: “Guide Mǐ, the line of your neck is really very beautiful. Then I think I should continue to finish my painting.”
Mǐ Qiū didn’t see the painting he had already made on the canvas. Róng Liáng just stroked Mǐ Qiū’s cheek, looking at her like this, kissing her incessantly…
In the dark night, in a corner of the studio, they kissed passionately, their souls seeming to communicate with each other. Afterward, Róng Liáng turned on the light. One hand very smoothly finished drawing on the painting that had already outlined the complete contour. He sighed: “Guide Mǐ, you truly are a work of art. This work of art is flawless; I can’t let anyone else taint a single bit of your beauty. I will keep this beautiful thing forever, so I can see it all the time.”
Róng Liáng indeed showed the standard an artist officer should have. In the dark, he had already drawn a sufficiently similar contour, even some small details that Mǐ Qiū herself didn’t pay much attention to. Mǐ Qiū suddenly felt that the person in front of her seemed to understand her better than herself. Being able to clearly depict all her appearances like this, drawing her unique beauty…
Even Mǐ Qiū herself was shocked by this painting. That beauty which didn’t originally belong to her made her immersed in the world she should have. Amidst her feelings, the scene changed back to reality.
In the next instant, Mǐ Qiū saw herself in the mirror. Because she couldn’t fall asleep at night, her face wore a kind of haggardness, not the framed perfection. The Mǐ Qiū in the mirror was the real her, and her condition was very tired.
After this two-hour hypnosis session, Mǐ Qiū returned to reality feeling much more relaxed. For her, the focus of each hypnosis session determined whether she could maintain a good state afterward. But she only realized this principle now. But it wasn’t too late.
Early the next morning, Mǐ Qiū took Ruǎn Bái Bái for a run. It wasn’t just for Ruǎn Bái Bái, but also for herself.
Mǐ Qiū knew that the increasingly busy hypnosis work naturally required good physical fitness. Like Mǐ Qiū, she slowly adapted completely to this high-intensity hypnosis activity. Running was certainly hard to persist in at first, after all, Mǐ Qiū considered herself a rather lazy person. It took about seven days to adapt completely, and Mǐ Qiū did just that.
Currently, only Luò Shǎng Qín was left. She hadn’t hypnotized him yet; everyone else had gone through at least one round.
These past few days, Luò Shǎng Qín had been constantly hovering in front of her eyes. Actually, during morning runs—though he also said he had persisted in running like this for more than ten years, so he was used to it—Mǐ Qiū knew he wasn’t deliberately creating encounters with her. It was just that during these few days of morning runs, Mǐ Qiū got familiar with Captain Luò over time because of constant contact.
Before, she wasn’t very familiar with Luò Shǎng Qín, and they even had a bit of unpleasantness after their first meeting.
When Mǐ Qiū mentioned that incident, Luò Shǎng Qín said he had completely forgotten about it. As for Mǐ Qiū, Luò Shǎng Qín admitted that his initial impression of her was, well, just average.
After more contact, he found Guide Mǐ Qiū to be quite cute. She possessed a unique charm that others didn’t have. Strangely enough, everything around her was attracted to her, yet Mǐ Qiū was the only one kept in the dark. Running alongside her, Luò Shǎng Qín asked, “Guide Mǐ, if you run every day, will your body have more energy? Work will also become easier.”
“It’s just that I’m not very willing to get up early, but once I’m up, it’s okay. I’ve persisted in running for a week now, and I get up at 7:15 sharp every day. I think this should be quite big progress.”
Luò Shǎng Qín: “Of course. When it comes to Guide Mǐ’s perseverance, I have to give you a thumbs up!”
Mǐ Qiū: “I’m doing this for Ruǎn Bái Bái too. Look at its round belly; walking is a bit strenuous. If I accompany Ruǎn Bái Bái, it will feel better too. Um, let’s run at a constant speed. Accelerating uphill makes me pant a bit, is that okay?”
The reason Mǐ Qiū asked this was because… well, she always felt that with someone as unsmiling and slightly serious as Captain Luò, everything had to be discussed. She was afraid of saying something that would dissatisfy him. Luò Shǎng Qín—who knew how important his first impression was in her mind? At least it wouldn’t be a good impression…
“Guide Mǐ, please don’t stereotype me. I’m only fierce during training, so you really don’t need to be afraid of me.”
“Do I look very afraid of you?”
Mǐ Qiū asked him. Luò Shǎng Qín: “Mm, you could say that. Based on my observation, I found that Guide Mǐ behaves differently with everyone.”
Mǐ Qiū herself hadn’t noticed any difference in how she treated others. Luò Shǎng Qín said directly: “You are most natural and relaxed with Hè Chí because you think he treats you like a very friendly companion. Let’s say, like a friend you’ve known for a long time? Anyway, there is a degree of tacit understanding between you.”
Mǐ Qiū didn’t deny this. She listened as he continued: “You and Sù Zé Chū—Guide Mǐ has actually known him for a long time, so rather than friends, it should be more like the closeness between family members. Of course, you can take what I say as just an analogy; naturally, it’s not precise enough.”
“The other two Sentinels left, so I can’t judge. As for Commander Fù and Officer Qiū, you mostly treat them as your superiors, working carefully and diligently.”
“As for that artistic lunatic surnamed Róng, Guide Mǐ naturally won’t take him seriously. So, the person Guide Mǐ trusts most here, the one most profound to you, should be me.”
…
Mǐ Qiū didn’t expect his words to take such a turn. She said, “Maybe not…”
Luò Shǎng Qín had his own view, saying: “Actually, Guide Mǐ Qiū, if you need a Sentinel to match with, it can only be me. But Guide Mǐ, I can’t clearly feel your feelings for me yet. But I believe you will slowly let me feel your heart.”
Her heart? Mǐ Qiū didn’t understand what he meant by letting him feel her heart, but matching with a Sentinel—she knew what that meant. However, she hadn’t considered these things at all. Back at the seaside villa, Róng Liáng stood with his arms crossed, watching the two of them, flames of jealousy burning in his eyes…
However, Mǐ Qiū’s reaction was weak. Seeing Róng Liáng actually revealing his spiritual body’s tail, she knew this matter wasn’t going to be easy. Just as Mǐ Qiū was about to speak, Róng Liáng suddenly said, “Captain Luò, you wouldn’t be speaking ill of me to Guide Mǐ, would you?”
Luò Shǎng Qín: “If you haven’t done anything bad, why worry about me speaking ill of you? Unless you have a guilty conscience.”
Róng Liáng: “What an interesting thing. Captain Luò, you pestering Guide Mǐ repeatedly is simply inappropriate!!”
Luò Shǎng Qín ignored him, grabbing Mǐ Qiū’s wrist to take her upstairs, but was directly blocked by Róng Liáng. His brows were tightly furrowed. Seeing Luò Shǎng Qín’s ill-intentioned look, he absolutely couldn’t let him have his way.
Mǐ Qiū: “I’m going upstairs to…”
Róng Liáng: “Guide Mǐ, do you want to abandon me that much?”
She really didn’t mean that. Mǐ Qiū had to say, “I’m going to have a good talk with Captain Luò about tonight’s hypnosis. It’s a necessary item before I work every time. Mr. Róng, don’t overthink it.”
Róng Liáng: “Oh, it’s normal. Guide Mǐ often has this step to do. Of course, I won’t stop you. It’s just that I don’t trust Captain Luò. Who knows if he has other ideas? Guide Mǐ Qiū, I’m doing this for your own good.”
Ah? Why was it getting more and more ridiculous? She originally thought the two could finally get along harmoniously. Why was the tension between them even worse than before? Mǐ Qiū really hadn’t thought about this point. Could she do something? Currently, it seemed she couldn’t do anything. She wanted to pull her hand away, but Luò Shǎng Qín gripped it even tighter.
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