Chapter 69: This Can’t Go On!
“Who sewed this for you? Xie Qiang?”
Hong Que frowned, his tone displeased. “Is she back to her old ways, torturing you again? Tsk, even though I don’t want to see her… fine, I’ll go in and have a word with her!”
Hong Que moved to open the door, but an arm suddenly blocked his path.
Following that, Mo Yin stood firmly in front of the door, furrowing his brows as he pushed Hong Que toward the hallway. “Leave.”
Hong Que blinked, and after a moment, a look of deep moved emotion crossed his face. “Brother, are you afraid her temper will hurt me?”
“…” Mo Yin pointed into the distance. “Go.”
“Alright, look after yourself. We’re heading out to crusade against the Zerg Queen soon. We might be gone for a long time.”
After giving his instructions, Hong Que glanced at the closed lounge door. “Stop spoiling her. If she bullies you again, just run.”
Watching Hong Que walk away, Mo Yin looked down and pulled out all the stitches from his arm. He picked up the breakfast and turned back into the room.
Inside, Xie Qiang rubbed her eyes as she woke up. Seeing Mo Yin setting out food at the table, she walked over with some surprise. “Are we not going to the canteen today?”
Mo Yin handed her a pair of chopsticks. “Mm.”
Xie Qiang didn’t think much of it. After finishing breakfast, she received a message from Sen Ji. He had already begun gathering the A-class Sentinels for the expedition against the Zerg Queen and would be departing in a few days.
“Is the efficiency that high…?” Xie Qiang rested her cheek on her hand, feeling pleased. “Doesn’t that mean my workload has decreased again? Hmm, what should I do with my free time?”
Opposite her, Mo Yin’s ears twitched as he packed away the leftovers. He immediately dropped the chopsticks, drew the Zhu Lang sword, and made a slash across his arm.
Xie Qiang jumped. “Mo Yin? What are you doing?”
“Practice,” Mo Yin said expressionlessly.
“Now…?” Xie Qiang massaged her forehead. She hadn’t expected Mo Yin to be so proactive. She had no choice but to find the surgical needle and begin suturing his wound.
After the surgery was finished, Mo Yin touched the perfectly neat stitches, and the corners of his mouth curled into a slight arc.
Xie Qiang keenly caught his expression. She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to respect this peculiar hobby of his.
At noon, after eating, Mo Yin drew the Zhu Lang sword again and sliced open his arm without a word.
Xie Qiang sewed him up with a serious expression. Watching him hold his arm up and take photo after photo with his optical computer, she felt something was slightly off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what.
That evening, Mo Yin pointed at the scalpel in the surgical kit, his wolf eyes gleaming as he asked Xie Qiang, “Can I use this?”
Xie Qiang looked at his Zhu Lang sword.
Every time he cut his arm, Mo Yin had to meticulously wipe the sword clean. He probably found it troublesome and decided to use the scalpel instead.
Xie Qiang nodded. “Go ahead.”
Immediately after, Xie Qiang watched as Mo Yin used the scalpel to carve a beautiful flower pattern into his skin. He then looked at her with an expectant face. “Sew.”
Xie Qiang: …
The “kitten” let out a sharp, piercing shriek. “Stop right there—!”
Three days later.
Under the dim, yellowish light, Xie Qiang sat with her hands clasped over her lips, her cat-like eyes staring intently at the metal door of the entryway.
Outside the door, Mo Yin was standing guard for the night.
“He seems to… like pain even more than I imagined.”
A very grave and serious expression was plastered on Xie Qiang’s small face. “Did the original host’s father choose him to be her guard because he knew about this hobby?”
“But I don’t have that kind of hobby!” She clutched her head weakly, screaming internally. “Can I really satisfy him?”
The way Mo Yin was acting really looked like he was suffering from unsatisfied cravings. Tonight, he had even carved a cat pattern onto his arm?!
This can’t go on!
Xie Qiang slammed her hands on the table and stood up abruptly. She walked to the door and pulled it open. “Mo Yin!”
She looked up at the youth in black, squeezed her fists, and finally mustered the courage to speak. “Stimulating the body to release pleasure hormones through pain is an unhealthy and irrational behavior! Let’s learn to find happiness in other ways!”
Mo Yin tilted his head slightly.
Doesn’t understand.
“Come inside.” Xie Qiang stepped aside and pulled Mo Yin into the room. She paced back and forth for a while before suddenly clapping her hands. “Besides pain, what else do you like?”
Like…
“Eating.”
“Hmm, then let’s learn to cook first!” Xie Qiang rubbed her chin. “Some people find joy in cooking. Maybe you will too.”
She stared at the youth with sparkling eyes. “The canteen should be closed by now. It’s the perfect time to go and requisition the kitchen. What do you think?”
Mo Yin looked down, seeing his own reflection in her icy blue cat eyes, and nodded.
In the dead of night, the two of them snuck into the kitchen like thieves.
Xie Qiang turned on the lights and found some washed ingredients, placing them on the cutting board. “Try chopping the vegetables first.”
Mo Yin: “Mm.”
Watching Mo Yin pick up the kitchen knife, Xie Qiang’s heart tightened. She couldn’t help but start overthinking. For instance, what if he ‘accidentally’ cut his finger, felt pleasure from it, and from then on began a journey where he had to cut his fingers every time he cooked…
“Mo Yin, I forgot to tell you, there’s a rule in the culinary world,” Xie Qiang began to make things up with a straight face. “You absolutely cannot cut your hand.”
Mo Yin nodded. “Mm.”
Seeing that he actually listened obediently, she scanned the kitchen again and listed every possible scenario that could backfire. “When you’re frying, you can’t let the hot oil splash on you. When the stove is on, you can’t purposefully touch the fire. And you definitely can’t put your hand inside the oven…”
Counting it all up, the kitchen was actually a very dangerous place!
Xie Qiang couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret. She hadn’t thought this through. She had brought Mo Yin to an “S-Class Pleasure Zone” for a masochist!
“Maybe we should just go back…” She covered her forehead with one hand, feeling weak. “I’ll look for other ways to find happiness.”
Find… happiness.
Mo Yin put down the knife and stared at the girl. “What is happiness?”
Hearing this, Xie Qiang looked up in shock. “You don’t know?”
Mo Yin shook his head.
Xie Qiang found it unbelievable. “Don’t you like pain? The emotion produced when you feel pain is happiness!”
Mo Yin lowered his eyes in thought. A moment later, his gaze fell upon Xie Qiang, and his lips moved.
“Watching you eat… is happiness.”
“Watching you purify… is happiness.”
“Watching you sleep… is also happiness.”
He paused. “Guarding you at night is also very happy.”
Xie Qiang froze. She stared at Mo Yin without blinking. After a long time, she finally reacted and asked in confusion, “If you’re already so happy, why do you keep cutting your arm so frequently for me to practice?”
Mo Yin raised his arm and pointed to the little stitched cat on his skin. A rare expression, almost like he was showing off, appeared on his face. “Pretty.”
Xie Qiang: …
Xie Qiang: ???
Recommended Reads
