Chapter 3: Tonight at Eight, Come to My Room
Xie Qiang was woken up by hunger.
Rubbing her bleary eyes, she followed her body’s memory and muddled her way to the buffet restaurant in the Third War Zone base.
The restaurant was bustling with people at this hour. The Sentinels, who had just finished their battles and were already starving, flooded in groups of two and three.
As soon as Xie Qiang walked in, she received “the look” from all directions.
The Sentinels all looked at her with disgust, making no effort to hide their loathing. Some let their beast-form spiritual bodies out to snarl at her fiercely. One small dog spiritual body even started barking at her wildly.
Xie Qiang, still half-asleep and dazed, misread the situation. She thought the little dog was asking for a hug, so she squatted down.
In her past life, she was very popular with small animals. Walking on the street, stray cats and dogs or pets would often come over to rub against her and act cute.
So, out of habit, she reached out and ruffled the head of the white Pomeranian.
The little Pomeranian: “Awoo?”
At first, it was angry, then confused. This was followed by a stroke and massage technique that left the Pomeranian intoxicated. By the time it realized what was happening, it was already lying on the ground with its four paws in the air, enjoying itself so much it forgot where it was.
As for its master, his face was flushed crimson. White dog ears burst through his hair, twitching desperately toward Xie Qiang like radar. He tried his best to press down the vibrating dog ears and, the moment Xie Qiang retracted her hand, he quickly pulled his spiritual body back into himself.
The little Pomeranian suddenly vanished. Xie Qiang looked around in confusion, then jumped in fright.
Beside her, all the Sentinels were looking at her with expressions of pure horror. One Sentinel in particular didn’t even dare look her in the eye; not only did his face turn a panicked shade of purple-red, but his whole body started shaking.
Xie Qiang was a bit confused.
Wasn’t the villainess “loathed by all”? Why did it feel more like “feared by all”?
Scratching her forehead, Xie Qiang proactively distanced herself from them to avoid affecting their appetite.
After she left, the Sentinels immediately began whispering.
“Am I seeing things? She actually touched Shao Boâs spiritual body just now instead of kicking it away?”
“She didn’t even get angry or call us lowly Sentinels! Have the Zerg all died out? Has a miracle happened?”
“Heh, I heard the Zerg attacked logistics. Maybe our ‘Noble Highness’ was scared witless by the Zerg and finally remembered the benefits of us Sentinels, so sheâs come crawling to suck up to us!”
“Pfft, don’t say it, it’s actually possible! If it weren’t for the fact that we can only rely on Guides for purification, with their ‘can’t-even-lift-a-chicken’ strength, would they be able to step on our heads? A single Zerg could scare them to death!”
“Sigh, stop talking, stop talking. There are good Guides.”
“That’s right, Consultant Jiang is a good person, ten thousand times better than that Xie Qiang. Itâs just a twist of fate, tsk! Why couldn’t it be Xie Qiang who lost her purification abilities?”
The Sentinels all shook their heads and sighed. They quickly stopped their idle chatter, afraid that if they talked too long and Xie Qiang found out, theyâd be in for itâbeing thrown into the water prison would be miserable.
Xie Qiang didn’t hear a single word of these whispers.
She was holding a tray, picking out the food she liked.
Although the food in the Third War Zone was average in taste, it had a wide variety. Xie Qiang gripped the serving tongs, ready to make a move on the meat.
Suddenly, a beautiful, fair hand reached out from beside her and snatched away her tongs.
Then, a voice like honey syrupâthe voice of a young manârang in her ear. “Your Highness, what do you want to eat? Let me plate it for you?”
Xie Qiang looked up and met a pair of silver-clear blue eyes.
Those pupils were extremely beautiful, standard fox eyes. At the moment, they were filled with a faint smile and a hint of casual seduction. Two black moles under his lower eyelids made that exquisite, demonically handsome face look both pure and alluring.
Xie Qiang recognized him.
Cang Jiu, the Chief Tactical Officer of the Third War Zone, responsible for formulating tactics to clear the Zerg.
Before this man had even awakened, he had shown an incredibly strong talent for strategic thinking. He entered the Third War Zone as a Tactical Officer as soon as he became an adult, climbing to his current position in less than three years.
However, he had always been mysterious and elusive. The original host had tried countless ways to purify and thus control him, but she could never find him.
Why was he suddenly talking to her?
Xie Qiang couldn’t figure it out. She sensed that this sudden kindness was malicious. She silently took a step back, grabbed another pair of tongs, and started picking her food.
To her surprise, Cang Jiu was relentless. “Your Highnessâs eyes are quite red. Were you crying?”
“Or did someone bully Your Highness? Could it be Sen Ji? Did he force you to purify him?”
Xie Qiang didn’t want to talk. After picking her food, she turned to find a seat.
Cang Jiu was taken aback by the cold shoulder and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
This was truly strange. In the past, she would have loved to find a thousand ways to talk to him. Why was she ignoring him today when he proactively approached her?
Moreover, she had actually purified Shao Boâs spiritual body in public just nowâsomething that would have been impossible in the past.
What exactly was she planning? It couldn’t be that she had suddenly realized the flaws in her personality and planned to turn over a new leaf, could it?
Cang Jiu followed behind Xie Qiang with great interest, chatting to himself. “Your Highness, why won’t you talk to me? Did I do something wrong to make you angry?”
“How about I apologize to you? Don’t ignore me!”
“Your Highness~ Your Highness?”
Xie Qiangâs head was starting to hurt.
She turned around and looked at Cang Jiu, asking a very sincere question: “Can you be a bit quieter? You’re a little distracting to my appetite.”
Cang Jiu froze for a second. He studied Xie Qiangâs expression and realized she was serious. Only then did he smile, squint his eyes, and nod, making a “zipping his lips” gesture.
She thought Cang Jiu would be quiet for a while, but Xie Qiang didn’t expect that as soon as she found a seat to eat, he couldn’t sit still. With an innocent expression, he asked her for help. “Your Highness, do you have a hair tie? My hair seems to be getting in the way.”
Xie Qiang looked up.
Cang Jiuâs silver-white long hair wasn’t too long or too short, currently hanging loosely in front of his chest. And Cang Jiu, with his fox eyes showing a watery, pitiful state, was impossible to refuse.
Xie Qiang searched her person but couldn’t find a hair tie. Just as she was about to refuse, she saw Cang Jiu staring at the light-blue silk ribbon on her ponytail; his meaning was obvious.
Xie Qiang: …
Xie Qiang let out a sigh in her heart.
This person is so selfish. If he takes her silk ribbon, what will she do?
“Is that a no?” Cang Jiu looked at her pitifully, though in reality, he was determined to get it.
He knew very well that he was the only S-class Sentinel Xie Qiang actually valued.
Xie Qiang was silent for a moment. She wanted to say no, but remembering that the Emperor wanted her to gain the support of five S-class Sentinels, she could only let out a soft sigh in her heart.
She took the ribbon off her ponytail and handed it to Cang Jiu. “Itâs yours.”
Cang Jiu took the ribbon, then put on a troubled expression. “But what will Your Highness do?”
Xie Qiang felt he was being a bit overdramatic. She really couldn’t figure out Cang Jiuâs goal and didn’t want to waste brain cells thinking about it now. So, she simply stood up and took an alloy chopstick from the nearby rack.
Her fair and delicate small hands rose, and with a few practiced twists, her loose hair was neatly gathered up by the alloy chopstick. Two slightly curled strands of hair fell perfectly beside her cheeks, making her look both soft and cute.
A flash of amazement crossed Cang Jiuâs eyes. “Your Highness actually has this skill.”
Xie Qiang pointed at his food tray and gave him a kind reminder: “Do not speak while eating, do not speak while sleeping.”
“What kind of rule is that?” Cang Jiu asked, confused.
“If you talk while eating, you might choke.” Just as Xie Qiang finished speaking, a Sentinel at the next table who was talking began to cough violently.
Xie Qiang immediately wore an “I told you so” expression: The ancestors never lie to me.
“Then what about not speaking while sleeping?” Cang Jiu continued to ask.
Xie Qiang originally wanted to continue her lecture, but then something occurred to her. She pondered slightly, then reached out and beckoned for Cang Jiu to lean his ear in.
Cang Jiu obediently leaned his ear over.
“Come to my room at eight tonight, and I’ll tell you what ‘not speaking while sleeping’ means,” Xie Qiang said mysteriously.
This kind of statement was easily misunderstoodâfor instance, as a warm invitation for Cang Jiu to spend the night.
Of course, Xie Qiang definitely didn’t mean that. She just felt that having two Sentinels protect her was clearly more reliable than one.
And there was another reason…
Xie Qiang pressed her lips together. She didn’t want to face Sen Ji alone.
The smile remained on Cang Jiuâs face, but the shred of interest he had finally managed to drum up vanished instantly.
He idly toyed with the chopsticks in his hand, finding it boring that Xie Qiang had exposed her “dirty” motives so quickly.
The smile in his eyes gradually became half-hearted. He put on an aloof smile and said faintly, “I think Iâll just figure it out myself. I won’t trouble Your Highness to teach me.”
Xie Qiang gave an “Oh.” She hadn’t really expected him to agree anyway, so she lowered her head and began to eat.
Seeing that she didn’t persist, Cang Jiuâs eyes flickered a few more times.
She just gave up like that?
How strange. It wasn’t like her at all.
Cang Jiuâs interest was piqued again. “I thought about it and feel Your Highness would be a better teacher. I will be there at eight tonight, right on time.”
Xie Qiang: …
Xie Qiang looked up at him in confusion, then lowered her head and continued her meal.
But in her heart, she once again believed the saying: A manâs heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea; his words cannot be taken as truth.
As it approached eight in the evening, Xie Qiang slowly made her way to her room.
The novel didn’t specify exactly what time Wu Zao entered the room; it only said that after the original host entered at eight, Wu Zao waited until nine to make his move.
But where was Wu Zao hiding?
If she remembered correctly, it should be the wardrobe in the bedroom…
While she was reminiscing, Xie Qiangâs head suddenly bumped into something. She looked up to see Sen Ji, wearing his commander’s cape, gazing down at her.
His ink-black officer’s cap sat straight on his head, his fluffy, slightly arched blonde hair peeking out from beneath. Combined with those jade pupils that carried a natural authority, he was chillingly handsome to the extreme.
Looking further down was his broad chest. Through the tight tactical straps, one could faintly see the majestic and expansive pectoral muscles beneath.
Before she could react, her small hands had already reached out to touch themâshe even gave them two squeezes.
Xie Qiang was startled: !!!
My hands… they seem to have a mind of their own!
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