Chapter 11: “Sharing a Bed”?
“Are you up?”
The man’s voice carried from outside.
Mǐ Qiū recognized it as Hè Chí. She opened her mouth to reply, but then thought better of it, quickly clamping a hand over her lips to stifle any sound.
Shěn Qīnghuái propped himself up on an elbow, resting his head in his hand. “Morning. Something up?”
Hè Chí answered, “I was just out for a morning stroll and ended up here. Wondered if you were awake.”
“It wouldn’t be right for me to go bother Guide Mǐ Qiū.”
The man’s voice replied lazily, “We’ll probably grab some breakfast and head back in a bit. I’m a grown man, you don’t think I’d get lost on a mountain, do you?”
Hè Chí said, “That’s not it. But Guide Mǐ Qiū might need a wake-up call. Don’t want her sleeping until dusk.”
“I’ll wake her.”
After he said that, Hè Chí’s voice faded, and a moment later, there was silence.
Mǐ Qiū let out a slow breath.
Thank goodness. He’d almost found out she was in the same tent as Shěn Qīnghuái.
No matter how she tried to spin it, Mǐ Qiū never could have predicted this situation. How could she have been foolish enough to fall asleep after a hypnosis session?
She stole a glance at herself and Shěn Qīnghuái.
They had both slept in their clothes, but a man and a woman lying together… it really did live up to what he’d teased her about yesterday: “sleeping together.”
Mǐ Qiū had no way to explain herself now.
“Last night…”
“Oh, after Guide Mǐ Qiū hypnotized me, I fell right asleep. I’m not sure about anything after that.”
Right, she had put him under, so of course he would have fallen asleep first. So how did she end up falling asleep?
It must have been from the exhausting climb up the mountain. That had to be it.
Just as Mǐ Qiū tried to slip away, the man suddenly moved closer. She saw that only the top button of his shirt was fastened, a result of her needing to place her hands on his abs during the soothing session yesterday. Mǐ Qiū took a deep breath and scrambled back. “Don’t!”
“Don’t what?”
He chuckled, amused by her reaction. “I was just reaching for my jacket.”
Mǐ Qiū quickly scrambled out of his tent and back into her own.
It was indeed still cold outside, especially in the early morning. She had broken a sweat yesterday, but a bit of a breeze had blown through the tent last night, so her clothes weren’t too damp.
Mǐ Qiū began to layer her clothes back on.
It wasn’t that she was cold, but putting everything on meant she’d have less to carry.
Still, the path down the mountain was much easier than the one up.
It suddenly occurred to Mǐ Qiū that because she’d fallen asleep, she hadn’t put the isolation drug into his nutritional iron supplement.
The supplement came in a small vial. All she usually had to do was twist the cap, add the drug, and Shěn Qīnghuái would drink it at the scheduled time.
Shěn Qīnghuái had just woken up and hadn’t taken it yet, but trying to sneak it in now would be impossible.
He would easily spot her. Mǐ Qiū quickly got herself ready. By the time she saw him again, he was already packing his things.
It looked like he’d already taken the supplement. Mǐ Qiū saw a small red box next to him, the one that held the tiny capsule. The box was now empty.
Shěn Qīnghuái noticed her staring.
He crossed his arms and looked at her.
“What is it? Or do you want to… ‘be tender’ with me a little longer?”
Mǐ Qiū couldn’t manage a smile. Right now, she had no idea if he remembered last night’s dream or not.
After all, he was always joking around.
Mǐ Qiū decided she couldn’t rush things. It looked like she’d have to find another chance to get him to take the isolation drug. About ten minutes passed.
The two of them started on breakfast, sipping from their own insulated thermoses.
It was hard to find the right moment to strike.
Mǐ Qiū rummaged through the backpack she’d brought yesterday. Inside, she had today’s breakfast, which included two cans of sea fish.
She took them out and placed them on the folding table. When he wasn’t looking, she tipped the isolation drug into one of the cans.
The drug was a soluble powder.
After sprinkling it in, it would completely dissolve in less than ten seconds, leaving no trace.
You could hardly taste anything strange, either.
Wait!
Mǐ Qiū had taken out two cans of fish. One was for her. But which one had she just put the drug in?
It should be the one on the left.
Mǐ Qiū couldn’t quite remember, but she figured she couldn’t be wrong.
As she was thinking, she peered at the fish inside. The drug had already completely melted away.
That meant there was no way for her to tell which can was which.
She could only rely on her seven-second fish memory. In the end, she decided it had to be the one on the left.
Mǐ Qiū then passed the can to him. “This is canned fish. You should try it!”
Shěn Qīnghuái looked at Mǐ Qiū, who was already wearing a knitted rabbit-ear hat, her backpack looking heavy behind her, and wondered what she’d packed.
He watched as she handed him the can. Shěn Qīnghuái opened it.
He tried a small bite. The fish wasn’t too pungent and had a slightly sweet and spicy flavor.
It was actually quite good.
He raised an eyebrow. “Xiao Měi made this?”
Mǐ Qiū shook her head.
“I bought this at the convenience store last time. I bought a lot of other delicious things, too.”
She opened her own can and started eating.
It had that perfectly salty flavor of lightly cured fish, along with the unique aroma of having been fried. It was an authentic fish fillet, soaked in sesame and chili oil.
Once Mǐ Qiū started, she couldn’t stop, savoring the fragrance that lingered on her tongue. She’d read in the original owner’s notes that they shared a common trait: a deep love for food.
Mǐ Qiū even had a bit of a craving for anything spicy.
The original owner had even used a star system to rate food.
Bad food got a blacked-out star, while good food got a solid yellow one.
This canned fish was at least a three-star item.
Even eating it herself, Mǐ Qiū still found it delicious.
She noticed he had only taken one bite and wasn’t eating anymore. The dosage was for a full can; he had to eat every last bit.
Mǐ Qiū said, “You’re eating so little. There isn’t much meat in the can to begin with. Have some more.”
It was the first time Mǐ Qiū had ever shown such concern for him, but she said it naturally.
Shěn Qīnghuái replied, “I still have plenty of bread to fill me up. I won’t be hungry.”
Mǐ Qiū had to think of another plan. “Well, finish it whenever you get hungry. I need to recycle the can.”
“Recycle?”
“I have to give it back to Xiao Měi. She needs it.”
What else could she say?
Mǐ Qiū had been thinking of another way to get him to take the drug through other means.
She saw him take a few more bites. The dosage was incredibly strict, measured in milligrams. You absolutely could not take too much of the isolation drug. One pill was the standard dose; any more than that could cause immeasurable harm to a Sentinel’s body.
Shěn Qīnghuái watched Mǐ Qiū staring intently at his can of fish.
He asked her, “Hungry again?”
“No.”
Either way, she had to make him finish that can of fish today.
After they descended the mountain, Mǐ Qiū still looked preoccupied. Shěn Qīnghuái seemed to have guessed her thoughts and said to her, “I’ll eat well. I’ll have the canned fish with my rice at lunch.”
“Great!”
But at lunch, he did indeed forget to eat the canned fish. A partial dose wouldn’t have much of an effect.
Normally, putting it in their nutritional iron supplement was the most suitable method.
This time was a real miscalculation!
Mǐ Qiū was constantly observing him in secret.
If not lunch, then tonight should be fine, right?
So, before dinner, Mǐ Qiū sidled up to his door.
Just then, Shěn Qīnghuái opened it. Seeing her suddenly appear, he leaned against the doorframe.
“Guide Mǐ Qiū has been quite forward lately.”
She was probably just shy before…
Mǐ Qiū said, “I need to recycle that can today, so please remember to finish it.”
Mǐ Qiū silently vowed to herself not to make the same stupid mistake again. In short, she absolutely could not fall asleep!
After she left, Shěn Qīnghuái’s lips curled into a smile.
…
At eight o’clock, it was dinnertime.
The three of them sat at the table in the main hall. Mǐ Qiū was still staring at the can of fish by Shěn Qīnghuái’s hand, her gaze unwavering.
Hè Chí asked, “Guide Mǐ Qiū, what did you two do up on the mountain?”
Shěn Qīnghuái put a finger to his lips. “A secret.”
Hè Chí replied, “I know you. What secrets could you possibly have? Besides, I was asking Guide Mǐ Qiū.”
Shěn Qīnghuái had already speared a piece of fish with his fork.
Hearing him speak, he suddenly paused.
He hadn’t swallowed the isolation drug yet, so he should remember everything about last night’s hypnosis. But he was acting so calm.
Knowing Shěn Qīnghuái’s personality, he had always been like this, so Mǐ Qiū couldn’t find any flaw in his behavior.
And that was what made it so terrifying!
Mǐ Qiū said, “You should focus when you eat. I heard someone say that if you’re not focused, your food won’t digest properly.”
Shěn Qīnghuái was thoroughly defeated by her.
He swallowed the piece of fish in one bite.
“It seems I have no choice but to listen to Guide Mǐ Qiū.”
Only after Mǐ Qiū watched him eat the entire can of fish did she finally let out a breath of relief. She didn’t realize that a pair of eyes from behind was watching her, noticing her strange behavior.
“It’s getting late. Goodnight, everyone!”
After half a month of contact with the Sentinels, Mǐ Qiū had naturally become friends with them.
The original owner didn’t have any friends; she was always alone.
Today, Mǐ Qiū could feel that she herself had become more energetic. Her legs and back were sore after the climb, the kind of muscle ache from lactic acid buildup.
But that would usually go away after a few days of rest. It wasn’t a big deal.
When she got back, Ruǎn Bái Bái was staying quietly in its cozy little home.
It was very obedient and hadn’t run out. Mǐ Qiū picked it up and stroked its back.
Ruǎn Bái Bái’s entire body was soft and fluffy, and it was very comforting to pet.
She sent the numerical data on the three guests’ brainwave fluctuations during hypnosis to Officer Hè and received a definitive reply.
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