30: Chapter 30 Lunch Break

"Mm-hmm, the Commander's physical fitness is being maintained very well..." Hu Jian clicked the stopwatch, "There's no regression at all."

Li Ming slumped onto the concrete floor without any concern for his image; in this weather, the concrete wasn't hot enough to burn yet.

Good grief, she really was training him like he was someone from the Sakura Empire.

He had heard that PLA training was even more brutal than this...

She wouldn't actually work him to death, would she?

He struggled to crawl back up; although he had just finished a three-kilometer obstacle course, he had rested long enough.

Back then, those Yellow Chicken instructors really would train you to death unless you actually died. Although Hu Jian's training was based on that level as a blueprint, she had ultimately made adaptive adjustments, reducing the risk of him dropping dead on the spot.

Living together for a long time had eventually emboldened Li Ming. Taking advantage of his exhaustion, he unscrupulously gave Hu Jian a hug, taking the opportunity to look at the dark circles under her eyes.

The girl wasn't surprised; she simply let him act spoiled.

The smell of sweat on him was heavy, but she was already used to it. Regardless, he was still full of youthful vitality, and that was good.

"Hard work, Commander?" She hugged his waist. Unsurprisingly, his back was also soaked through, and she thought he had gotten sand on himself from slumping on the ground.

A simple "soul-soothing" naturally couldn't restore physical strength, but since today's physical training was entirely over, she could naturally let him indulge for a while.

She was relatively at ease with him in this regard, and she still had time to practice her own routines.

However, a bit of an unexpected situation seemed to occur today.

Not knowing what he was thinking, Li Ming persistently pestered Hu Jian into coming to his room and issued an invitation for her to sleep beside him.

Though she didn't know why, she readily agreed to her Commander.

However, Li Ming, who usually seemed to sleep soundly, couldn't fall asleep this time, causing Fujian to close her eyes and pretend to sleep along with him.

"Do you often have nightmares?"

"Eh? I guess it's okay..." Hu Jian half-opened her eyes and answered him, "Wait, I don't really have nightmares."

"Then why do you have dark circles under your eyes every day?"

"I do?" She seemed completely unaware of it herself.

"You do." Li Ming rolled over until they were almost face-to-face; he could even feel her breath.

"And except for when you're having nightmares, your sleep is very light."

While it might be a subjective assumption, lately he had been playing games with Ayanami every night, and his nap time the next day would increase a bit. Usually, Li Ming wasn't very self-aware during nap time.

The soundproofing of the Core Ship was exceptionally good. If one wasn't eavesdropping, it was impossible to know exactly when someone went to sleep—after all, even if one slept late, everyone looked the same after the morning routine; where could one see any difference?

"Is that so?" Her tone became less confident; after all, her own state couldn't lie.

"I'm curious about what you're doing when I'm not around."

Li Ming was not a man of many words; back home, he had been a silent type, let alone taking the initiative to care for someone.

But now, he was the one in charge of the overall situation. Although she could keep him firmly under control in all aspects, she never interfered in any related affairs except for being unyielding about instilling knowledge, retaining only the right to suggest (though Li Ming would follow her suggestions most of the time).

"Tell me, what was that 'me' like?"

She froze once again; there was no doubt she was unwilling to talk about those things with him.

He didn't want to show an aggressive side, but a sliver of dissatisfaction naturally arose, even though he knew he was hiding things from her too and had no right to be dissatisfied.

But curiosity is a magical thing; once you want to know something, you can't stop.

Seeing her troubled look, Li Ming suppressed his curiosity, so the impulse of curiosity ultimately turned back into disappointment.

Noticing the change in his expression, the girl panicked, losing all the poise the Third Sister of the Aircraft Carriers should have in public.

He didn't intend to scare his girl, so he just moved forward a bit more, interrupted her thoughts, and buried his head in her bosom.

"Eh?"

This was something she hadn't expected; her usually reserved and conservative little Commander would suddenly be so intimate, completely ignoring that after months of being tormented by Laffey, Li Ming had finally abandoned his self-imposed ban on "no proactive cuddling."

Who could refuse a cute beautiful girl? A slightly larger aircraft carrier was still a beautiful girl.

"Sleep..." Li Ming said muffledly, acting as if he were very unhappy and needed coaxing.

Realizing she had lost her composure, Hu Jian didn't know whether to laugh or cry; it turned out his clumsy acting had always been like this.

Her Commander liked to sleep on his back, so he would turn back over on his own after a while.

But how could Li Ming let go so easily?

Li Ming knew better than anyone what lay beneath ten-plus years of reserve and conservatism.

Since he had made up his mind to use her as his body pillow, it was impossible for him to let go before he fell asleep (after falling asleep, he would not only kick the blankets but also kick the pillow off the bed).

Poor Hu Jian only felt the world spin, and by the time she reacted, she was half-pressed onto Li Ming, held face-to-face and unable to move...

Li Ming suddenly reacted, realizing things were about to go south; her Bridge was not small at all, and this contact immediately gave him a sensation. Her slight gasp when she was flipped over made Li Ming feel even more flushed.

Fortunately, after his "flying man" experience, his thick-skinned nature had returned a bit. As long as Li Ming wanted to sleep, no one could stop him.

Hu Jian's actual weight was lighter than expected and wouldn't be a burden while Li Ming slept.

After a while, Li Ming's breathing became steady. Clearly, after the training, he really was tired.

Being full of energy had always been his lie.

The girl waited quite a while before making sure he was truly asleep; however, this time, he didn't let go, not knowing if it was because it was truly comfortable or simply because he was unwilling.

Only then did she close her eyes, quietly enjoying this rare time when she could rest peacefully.

The Sirens would not stop to wait for them to grow in peace. Although she didn't know why the Observer gave that information, she had to do her best to become stronger until she could prevent everything from repeating itself.

Fortunately, he wasn't just with her this time; in that case, his safety would have an extra layer of protection even without her.

Just as he said, he was not a warrior.

But she was, and he still needed to continue growing.

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