Chapter 9: His Words…
Zhù Shāngchén was already on his feet. “Aren’t you leaving?”
The sound of the rain outside was gradually fading. He said, “Looks like this shower is over.”
Mǐ Qiū was about to give him his coat back, but Zhù Shāngchén wouldn’t let her, worried she would catch a cold after returning to the cabin. Mǐ Qiū had no choice but to listen to him for now.
Mǐ Qiū loved the earthy smell that rose after the rain; every particle in the air seemed to have been cleansed. However, they returned rather late, and the other two had already finished breakfast.
As Mǐ Qiū was eating, Shěn Qīnghuái pulled up a chair and sat near her, saying, “Did you finish the congee I made for you, Guide Mǐ Qiū?”
Mǐ Qiū didn’t forget to reply, “You made that? It was delicious. After I finished, I wanted another bowl.”
Shěn Qīnghuái: “That’s great. I’ll make it for you every day.”
“Oh, no trouble. It’s not like I have to have it.”
“You must have had a great time out this morning, right?”
Mǐ Qiū nodded emphatically. “Mhm! I haven’t been out in a long time. I was in a really good mood!”
Mǐ Qiū didn’t notice that after receiving her definitive answer, the man’s expression grew increasingly dark and gloomy.
In the end, he simply bit his lower lip and said to her, “Fine. But I’ve already prepared the hiking gear. I’m looking forward to Guide Mǐ Qiū’s first hypnosis session with me.”
Although Mǐ Qiū wanted to talk to him right then, her mouth was stuffed full of a burrito. The rich, sweet and sour tomato flavor was so delicious it completely prevented her from opening her mouth.
She could only reply to him with a nod. During this time, Zhù Shāngchén hadn’t said a single word, but he had taken in Shěn Qīnghuái’s reaction.
As Mǐ Qiū was taking her plate to Xiao Měi to leave the hall, Zhù Shāngchén asked if she was interested in sniper rifles. Mǐ Qiū had never touched a gun before, and it would be a lie to say she had no interest at all.
“I’ll teach you next time.”
“Okay, okay!”
“Once a target enters your line of sight, your body’s adrenaline will unconsciously start to pump,” Zhù Shāngchén said coldly.
He spoke as if describing his own state of mind while hunting. To Mǐ Qiū, it sounded new and exciting.
For the next few days, Mǐ Qiū just followed her routine.
For example, she would make a schedule for herself. What time to wake up and go out with Zhù Shāngchén, then have breakfast. After breakfast, she would feed Ruǎn Bái Bái and play with it for about 20 minutes.
She would water the few green plants she had bought for her room. Because they were on an island, the air humidity was just right, so they didn’t need frequent watering.
More than half a month passed. Mǐ Qiū sent an email to Officer Hè, which included sketches of the two Sentinels’ basic spiritual forms. She also stated some of the difficulties she encountered during each hypnosis. But so far, Mǐ Qiū was still very confident in herself.
The reply to her email came the next afternoon. Mǐ Qiū received the following response: Compile the sketches for all three of them and send them to me together. Also, during the hypnosis, I need to see the fluctuation range of their brainwaves more directly through your numerical data.
To be honest, he just wanted to know how much of an impact Mǐ Qiū could really have there.
Giving an F-class Guide like Mǐ Qiū the first task of receiving the initial group of guests, with the effectiveness of her hypnosis as the final result, was his true intention.
Of course, Mǐ Qiū had no idea what her superior was thinking. Officer Hè was actually giving her a chance.
Even though Mǐ Qiū’s hypnosis skills were indeed exceptional, this technique, considered unorthodox by the Tier-1 Federal Military Corps of the Star Alliance, was still not recognized by them.
This was also one of the reasons she had been assigned out here.
The formal report Mǐ Qiū had to write three days later needed to be extremely detailed.
She had already recorded the general hypnosis situations for Zhù Shāngchén and Hè Chí. In the emotion column, Mǐ Qiū noted down the fluctuations of their brainwaves.
The highest value was generally around ten. The two of them were 9.8 and 9.5 respectively, meaning their levels had only dropped by a few tenths of a point.
This level of soothing was clearly not up to standard. An excellent score had to be at least below six to show the effectiveness of the soothing, which meant her hypnosis was not very successful.
Is that really how it is? She hadn’t considered this numerical value before. She had thought she was doing a great job, but reality had just thrown a bucket of cold water on her.
It made Mǐ Qiū fully understand what it meant to have a long road ahead.
That day was for Shěn Qīnghuái’s hypnosis. Mǐ Qiū put on a hiking suit. The temperature on the mountain was generally lower than at the base, and the higher you climbed, the more the temperature would drop.
So, Mǐ Qiū wrapped herself up from head to toe. She put on two hiking suits, a thick pair of socks, and tall boots.
She also wore a fleece-lined rabbit-ear hat to keep her ears and head from freezing. The rest was fine.
When Shěn Qīnghuái saw her getup, he was a little taken aback.
“Guide Mǐ Qiū, you’re so heavily armed—that’s a bit much.”
Mǐ Qiū, however, thought she had been very thorough. “We’ll be staying in a tent, and we’ll be sleeping together for a night. These are just basic measures to keep warm. Right, I have to bring a quilt too, otherwise it won’t be thick enough.”
Shěn Qīnghuái’s smile held a hint of teasing.
“Sleeping together?”
Mǐ Qiū quickly clarified, “No, no, I just mean for the hypnosis.”
“Oh, I get it. Guide Mǐ Qiū is going to do that to me. I’ll try my best to perform in a way that satisfies you.”
He couldn’t have misunderstood something, could he? She was just providing comfort. Beyond that, they were just professional partners.
And since it was work, Mǐ Qiū always took it very seriously.
Because of the time it would take to go up and down the mountain for the hypnosis, which would consume a lot of time and energy, she had thought it would be better to just sleep in the tent.
It was to provide a better experience for both her guest and herself. But the more he spoke, the more off-track his words became.
Because of her bulky clothes, Mǐ Qiū couldn’t see the ground in front of her properly when she walked. She had to take a step, pause, then stop for another two steps. The journey up the mountain was exceptionally difficult.
What she hadn’t expected was that the hiking suit had a built-in heating system. The heat was completely trapped inside her clothes, and the feeling was beyond uncomfortable!
Mǐ Qiū couldn’t take off her clothes now; she could only wait until they got further up the mountain. He noticed her slight predicament and, wanting to improve the atmosphere, extended a hand.
He said to Mǐ Qiū, “If you don’t mind, perhaps you could let me help. For example, I could hold your hand on the way up. If you asked me to carry you, I wouldn’t refuse either.”
Mǐ Qiū shook her head. She didn’t need anyone’s help. At least for now, she could still rely on her frail university student stamina.
With a desire to reach the summit, she was absolutely determined not to lose. Mǐ Qiū cheered herself on, giving herself confidence.
She climbed step by step, resting whenever she got tired.
She drank some water when she was thirsty. This way, she could keep going.
However, the physical challenge was not easy. Her clothes were only one reason; even if she wore a single thin jacket, she would still be the most exhausted one.
They didn’t even make it to the summit. By the time they reached the mountainside, Mǐ Qiū was already dizzy and could hardly carry on.
Before the hypnosis could even begin, she felt like she was about to fall asleep herself. Mǐ Qiū had no choice but to slowly regulate her breathing and take the lightweight tent out of her backpack.
She had clearly watched the installation tutorial, but putting it into practice was another story entirely.
Only when Mǐ Qiū absolutely couldn’t get it set up did she ask for his help.
Shěn Qīnghuái was happy to help her. He could see she was a rather stubborn person.
Finally, just before the sun set, Mǐ Qiū managed to set up the tent.
Her dinner was simple: a few compressed biscuits and a bottle of chocolate-flavored nutrition drink. That was enough to fill her up.
It didn’t rain today, which was perfect. She didn’t need to bring any rain gear, which would have been even more troublesome.
Mǐ Qiū’s physical condition was still not very good. After sitting down, she was constantly panting.
To Shěn Qīnghuái, who could easily run twenty kilometers every day, Mǐ Qiū was a complete and utter weakling.
For her, this was already her absolute limit. She was no superman. Right now, there was only one thought in her head.
Sleep. She needed to get enough sleep to be able to perform her hypnosis around ten o’clock. Otherwise, this session would surely end in failure.
Mǐ Qiū came out to say goodnight to Shěn Qīnghuái, preparing to go into her own tent. However, before she even reached it, Mǐ Qiū was already drowsy.
Clearly, she had passed out.
It was the first time Mǐ Qiū had been so tired that she simply fainted, her head resting on Shěn Qīnghuái’s shoulder.
If she slept like this, she would probably catch a cold when she woke up.
He had no choice but to pick Mǐ Qiū up and carry her into the tent. Of course, he couldn’t let her sleep in such thick clothes. Shěn Qīnghuái’s movements were as gentle as possible, so as not to disturb her.
He helped her take off one, then two of her hiking jackets. Mǐ Qiū was wearing a pink inner shirt, which was slightly damp with sweat, faintly revealing the outline of her bra.
He didn’t dare look at her after that. Seeing that she was finally sleeping soundly, he left…
Mǐ Qiū didn’t know how long she had slept. It was probably pitch black outside when she finally woke up. Her watch showed that it was already half-past ten.
Why was she only wearing her inner shirt? Mǐ Qiū didn’t know what had happened before she fell asleep.
I was too tired, maybe I took them off myself? Mǐ Qiū thought to herself.
She had only intended to take a short nap. Outside, she could hear the chirping of insects.
The main problem was she didn’t know what kind of insects they were. Their calls were very loud, and she felt a little scared to go out. When faced with the unknown, Mǐ Qiū never had much courage.
After about two and a half minutes, Mǐ Qiū finally put on a jacket and bravely went into Shěn Qīnghuái’s tent.
She felt as if something was following her. Before she could even see it, her ears caught a loud, shrill “Screee~!” The noise scared her half to death, and her body instinctively scrambled forward, moving closer to the man, and then—
Unexpectedly, she tumbled right into his arms, without any warning!!
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