Chapter 8: A Rich Undertone.
Mǐ Qiū opened the door to find Zhù Shāngchén standing outside.
She knew why he was there. Because she’d been building a house for Ruǎn Bái Bái today, she had woken up relatively early. After washing up, she changed into some clothes suitable for going out and left with him.
Mǐ Qiū had changed into a rather vibrant, light blue long dress, the fabric adorned with decorative rhinestone polka dots.
They sparkled beautifully.
The island was surrounded by mountain forests on all four sides. When the weather was good, the scenery outside was truly stunning, like a magnificent oil painting of the turquoise sea meeting the sky.
Back on campus, Mǐ Qiū’s life had been a straight line between three points: the cafeteria, the dormitory, and the classroom.
Since arriving here, she had mostly stayed indoors, with nothing much to do.
But things were different now. She could finally go out for a stroll. While it wasn’t exactly a vacation, at least she could breathe in the fresh air outside.
Since it was a guest’s request, she couldn’t very well refuse his kind offer.
Her outfit made Zhù Shāngchén’s eyes light up. He was momentarily stunned, his thoughts lingering on her for a long moment.
“I’m ready.”
Only when Mǐ Qiū’s voice broke the silence did he subconsciously scratch the back of his head.
The usually composed man was suddenly a little flustered.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“Hm, I’m fine. I’ll be wearing a coat over this, and besides, I have this!”
Mǐ Qiū lifted a corner of her skirt, revealing a fair, smooth leg underneath.
“It’s called a ‘bare-leg artifact.’ It keeps you from getting cold. Plus, this dress is fleece-lined, one of the thicker kinds, so you don’t have to worry about me.”
Truthfully, Mǐ Qiū had just tried searching for it in the Star District shopping site on a whim. Who would have thought they actually sold fleece-lined tights? She bought them without a second thought.
Zhù Shāngchén lowered his head, trying to clear the jumble of thoughts from his mind.
For convenience, Mǐ Qiū usually just wore a long-sleeved shirt and pants.
The faint glimpse of her fair skin had been inexplicably dazzling to him.
Thankfully, her long skirt now covered it.
Only her ankles were showing, but Mǐ Qiū soon put on a pair of boots.
After all, she didn’t want to freeze either!
Before they were about to leave, Mǐ Qiū saw a small yellow sticky note on the refrigerator door.
Shěn Qīnghuái: Have the stomach-soothing congee before you go, Guide Mǐ Qiū.
At this time of day, Xiao Měi usually wasn’t up and running yet, so the congee must have been made by Shěn Qīnghuái himself. He did say yesterday that he could cook. Mǐ Qiū thought it over and figured it must be good.
There was only one bowl, though. Mǐ Qiū decided she would just have a few bites and ladled some out into another bowl for Zhù Shāngchén.
“Let’s have some congee before we go,” Mǐ Qiū said. “It’ll warm us up.”
Zhù Shāngchén had already seen the note on the fridge when he was in the kitchen.
“I won’t have any. It’s just a small amount, enough for you.”
“Let’s eat together. Besides, I’m not hungry at all. I’ll just have a couple of bites to taste it.”
She was going to have Xiao Měi’s smoked chicken burritos when she got back anyway.
Even with just one bowl of congee, she couldn’t possibly eat until she was full.
“Alright,” Zhù Shāngchén agreed.
The bowl of savory pork congee was mixed with faint shreds of carrot. The combination with the green vegetable slivers was truly delicious!
The congee had a rich, light, and savory fragrance.
Mǐ Qiū savored a small mouthful.
It was so delicious it sent a jolt straight to her brain. Shěn Qīnghuái wasn’t just talking when he said he could cook well.
She wondered what Hè Chí’s cooking was like.
He said he was a First-Class Star Chef. It would probably be even more delectable…
Mǐ Qiū hadn’t been hungry, but after eating the congee mouthful by mouthful, she felt it wasn’t quite enough.
As she and Zhù Shāngchén set out, Mǐ Qiū had only walked a short distance when she realized there was a sea breeze.
Her misjudgment was due to not having checked the weather beforehand.
The actual temperature was fine, but when the wind picked up, it seeped into every crevice of her clothes, making her feel as if the cold wind was inescapable.
Mǐ Qiū felt quite frustrated. Not only was the wind strong now, but a light drizzle had begun to fall. The rain grew heavier and heavier; they had to find somewhere to take shelter.
But she had only just left the house.
The heavens were not cooperating. Mǐ Qiū let out two sneezes, achoo, achoo, and then she felt a shadow fall over her head.
Mǐ Qiū looked up slightly to see Zhù Shāngchén using his trench coat to shield them both completely.
His coat was like an outstretched umbrella, protecting Mǐ Qiū from the rain.
Mǐ Qiū thanked him.
Zhù Shāngchén didn’t reply. He held the corners of his coat with both hands, his body essentially encircling Mǐ Qiū.
From a distance, it would have looked as if he was holding her in his arms.
In the cold wind and rain, their sudden proximity generated a trace of warmth…
For now, this was the only way to keep from getting soaked and chilled.
The rain fell harder, and Mǐ Qiū could feel the slanted raindrops, continuous and lingering.
“Let’s find a place to take shelter first,” Zhù Shāngchén said.
That was their only option.
As they looked for a place, Zhù Shāngchén said, “Whether it’s scorching heat or bitter cold, during training, we have to remain perfectly still even with a hundred mosquito bites on our bodies. It doesn’t matter if we have shelter from the rain or not. But your body, Guide Mǐ Qiū…”
Mǐ Qiū replied, “My body is fine, but it’s not good to let the damp chill get inside you on a rainy day.”
If she got caught in the rain, she’d have to drink ginger soup when she got home.
Just when Mǐ Qiū didn’t know where they could hide, the man led her to a spot in the center of the woods.
“There’s a retractable platform here. We need to stand on it.”
A retractable platform? What was that?
All Mǐ Qiū saw was a round, flat object with a cylindrical pillar supporting it underneath—just a pillar with a small, round platform on top.
There couldn’t possibly be any shelter there. But then Zhù Shāngchén lightly wrapped an arm around her waist, and the two of them stepped onto the platform.
Once the platform detected a certain amount of weight, it began to descend slowly.
During the process, Mǐ Qiū almost screamed out in fear.
They descended into a space.
Looking like she’d never seen anything like it, Mǐ Qiū wondered, where on earth was this place?
Natural light filtered in. They were surrounded by walls made of a special material, their surfaces covered with small, oval-shaped indentations, but they looked very sturdy.
Zhù Shāngchén released his hand from her waist and promptly draped his coat over Mǐ Qiū, having her sit on a stone bench.
“Can we go back the way we came later?” Mǐ Qiū asked. “And what is this place?”
Zhù Shāngchén sat on another stone bench beside her and said, “This island used to be a military strategic base. It might look like just an abandoned cave entrance, but in the past, it stored a great deal of military equipment and weapons. Cannons, grenades, mechs, and ground-to-air vehicles were all stockpiled here. It was a way to hide from external attacks if war broke out.”
“I wouldn’t have thought of this place if we hadn’t been desperate for shelter.”
Mǐ Qiū hadn’t realized he knew so much more about the island than she did. But how long were they going to stay here?
By the time the sky cleared, breakfast would be long over.
She couldn’t help it; Mǐ Qiū’s mind was currently filled with thoughts of food and nothing else.
Officer Hè had said that while this island seemed deserted, it had once been an extremely important place—
Her hair was wet. Mǐ Qiū untied her hair tie, thinking that letting it air out a bit might help it dry faster.
After a while, the ends of her hair kept brushing against her neck, tickling her and making her uncomfortable.
She turned her head, only to realize that Zhù Shāngchén had been gently running his fingers through her damp hair, which was what had caused the ticklish sensation.
Mǐ Qiū noticed a flicker of emotion rise in his eyes, which he instantly concealed.
It was as fast as a gust of wind.
For the first time, Mǐ Qiū sensed an unclear meaning in the man’s gaze. His deep, azure eyes held a rich, sorrowful color that made her feel a little afraid of him.
An indescribable intuition told her that this man was very dangerous.
She now suspected that Zhù Shāngchén had been smelling her hair just now.
Although she told herself it was impossible, a woman’s keen intuition, much like a Sentinel’s, told her that they would only smell the scent of a Guide they were attracted to.
Mǐ Qiū once again remembered what someone had told her when she first came to the island: always maintain vigilance with every dangerous Sentinel.
Mǐ Qiū said, “It’s getting late. Why don’t we head back?”
Zhù Shāngchén could tell that Mǐ Qiū was a little restless.
Of course, he didn’t know the reason, but he couldn’t help but think Mǐ Qiū was afraid of him. But what about him could possibly frighten her?
Mǐ Qiū said she was hungry, a reason he naturally wouldn’t refuse.
“Alright,” Zhù Shāngchén said, “but we’ll have to wait until the rain lightens up. Actually, I’m quite curious about you, Guide Mǐ Qiū.”
Mǐ Qiū smiled. “I’m very ordinary and simple. If I stood in front of someone, they could probably see right through me in ten seconds.”
“But you, on the other hand… as an excellent and qualified sniper, you must enjoy long periods of solitude, which is why you’re always wound so tight.”
For the first time, Zhù Shāngchén felt as if someone had seen into his heart. He said to her, “You could say that. Perhaps it’s because of my profession. If I don’t have something to do tomorrow, I might not feel right.”
“Guide Mǐ Qiū seems to know me quite well.”
Of course she did. After hypnosis, Mǐ Qiū would enter their spiritual seas. Having seen some scenes and fragments, she more or less knew about the inner demons from the depths of their hearts.
Zhù Shāngchén, for instance, was wound so tight that he had developed an extremely rebellious reaction to everything. He just intensely masked his inner feelings, which was why he was so psychologically scarred.
It was as if he never responded to anything, wearing the most harmless expression, when a voice quietly came from behind her…
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