6: Chapter 6 The First Familiar Step

The next morning.

Li Ming finished his training and hurriedly ate breakfast (still an energy bar). As for what happened yesterday, he hadn't seen her, so he felt that yesterday was probably just a very realistic dream.

Until he returned to the Bridge and saw a girl sitting upright but with her head lowered in his seat.

She seemed to be sitting upright, but in reality, she had been asleep for a while.

So it wasn't a dream. Li Ming pinched himself again to make sure he wasn't still dreaming, then lightened his footsteps as he approached her.

Her breathing was steady; she didn't seem to have any bad habits.

How long did she look at these last night? Li Ming looked up at the Holographic Screen that hadn't been turned off yet, only to find that she had categorized all the files into different folders for him and even wrote detailed notes to prevent him from not understanding...

"She's really thoughtful," Li Ming thought to himself.

After closing the Holographic Screen, Li Ming looked at her again. She didn't seem like she was going to wake up...

Reopening the Holographic Screen, Li Ming brought up the control panel and slightly raised the temperature of the Air Conditioning System. Then, under the supervision of the arriving Manjuu Officer, he began a new day of intensive training—before leaving, he also asked the officer to leave a paper structural map of the ship so she wouldn't actually get lost.

However, by the time the morning training ended and Li Ming, nearly exhausted into a puddle of mud, went back specifically to check, she still hadn't woken up—logically, that posture should be very uncomfortable.

And...

Had he overlooked the fact that she hadn't eaten or drunk anything from yesterday until now? Although he didn't know if she needed to, she should probably eat something, right?

He was also starving, and he couldn't let her drink nutritional fluid with him, could he?

Li Ming thought about it and planned to pick up his craft again, restart the kitchen, and then go collect some ingredients.

Fortunately, he had established a Hydroponics Room in advance, which was one of Li Ming's few instances of "misappropriating public funds." It had a special catalytic process, so the ingredients matured very quickly; Li Ming just hadn't had the time to cook them...

Thinking this, he felt he should wake her up first. But the words got stuck in his throat—he didn't know how to start the conversation.

After thinking for a bit, Li Ming used the simplest method.

Avoiding the bow placed nearby, Li Ming leaned down to shake her shoulder, but to his surprise, she woke up just as he touched her.

"?!" She jolted, instantly opening her eyes and looking up. Even someone as dull as Li Ming could sense her tension and stiffness from her suddenly serious expression.

However, after she saw him, her guarded posture immediately froze. The hand she had raised then dropped to her lap, and her expression became dazed.

"Good morning, Commander? How did you sleep yesterday?" she said, twisting her neck.

"It's eleven o'clock now," Li Ming replied, then stepped back two paces to give her room to stand up. "How did you manage to fall asleep here?"

"I had nowhere else to go..." Hu Jian tried her best to hide the fact that she was a bit directionally challenged.

"Let's go. I'm just about to make lunch, so you can go to my room to wash up first." Li Ming handed Hu Jian a newly made Terminal modeled after the box of shiting (actually just an ordinary tablet), then left the Bridge, rubbing his reddened face with both hands.

This is terrible, getting shy just from saying a few words...

Hu Jian stopped at the door, looked at the tablet, and then looked at Li Ming's hunched yet solid back.

——————

"So in the end, you still can't handle cooking by yourself?" Hu Jian toyed with a dagger, gesturing at the fish just pulled from the sea, considering how to remove the fins.

"Forget it, we're both in the same boat; neither of us should talk." Li Ming held a kitchen knife to cut vegetables. Of course, his movements were very non-standard, and he almost cut his left hand.

"Whoa, that gave me a fright..." Li Ming said with lingering fear. Looking back, he saw that Hu Jian had already given up on her dagger and turned to use her Sabre...

"A kitchen knife! Use a kitchen knife!" Li Ming really couldn't take it anymore. He found another kitchen knife from the cupboard and slid it over.

"Why are you shouting so loud..." Hu Jian puffed out her cheeks but still picked up the kitchen knife and started trying to scale the fish.

Li Ming turned back to cutting vegetables awkwardly, slicing them into pieces of various sizes.

The end result was that Hu Jian's fish soup was extremely fishy and undrinkable, while the dishes Li Ming cooked alone... although they looked ugly and one was half-raw, or even just vegetarian, at least they were edible, right?

Great, Li Ming scored a point in the competition. The two of them stared at each other across the dining table.

"Let's eat first." Li Ming didn't care and started eating the vegetarian dishes—the masterpiece of their collaboration—every meat dish was unfit for human consumption.

They gulped down lunch and then had to clean up the mess they had made. By the time they finished, it was almost five o'clock.

"Are we preparing dinner now?" Li Ming made a face like he couldn't take it anymore. "Or was what we just ate our dinner?"

"...To be honest, I'm leaning toward the latter." Hu Jian washed her hands and then sniffed her clothes. "Ugh~ I have to wash this outfit again..."

"Isn't washing clothes normal?"

"Do you think these clothes look easy to wash?" Hu Jian leaned in front of him and showed him her military uniform.

"...So why didn't you change into another set beforehand?"

"Where would I have other clothes?"

"...True." Li Ming thought for a moment. "How about you wear mine for now?"

"I guess that's the only way."

"...They're men's clothes."

"Is that not allowed?" Hu Jian acted aggrieved.

"...It's fine." Li Ming helplessly agreed. "You go take a shower first; I'll go clear out a room for you."

"There's no need for all that trouble, is there?"

"You want to sleep with me?"

"I could."

"My room is very messy."

"I don't mind."

"I'm not even eighteen yet!" Li Ming couldn't take it anymore. "And you look like a pervert ready to grab a girl! Sister! My dear sister, please don't be like this, okay? Come on, follow me to get some clothes, and I'll clear out a room for you!"

"Then... I'll always leave the door to my room open for you." Hu Jian replied tentatively.

Li Ming stumbled, then turned and walked out.

Hu Jian snickered behind him. The Commander is really so naive...

Some strange ideas popped into Hu Jian's mind, making her quite interested. She planned to do some things that wouldn't annoy him but would tease her Commander. Perhaps it would bring her closer to him...

After all, the current Commander isn't the one pursuing the Ship Girls; it's the Ship Girls who have to pursue him...

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