53: This, this is a reward for you!

Lin Mo leaned heavily against the captain's chair, feeling every muscle and nerve in his body incredibly heavy and sore.

The prolonged period of intense focus completely relaxed at this moment, and an overwhelming sense of exhaustion instantly engulfed him.

Gu Zhixia leaned against the cold cabin wall, her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, and her phoenix eyes, usually sharp as knives, were now uncharacteristically unfocused, staring out at the boundless azure outside the window, lost in thought.

“Woo…”

A suppressed whimper, like that of a small animal, broke the silence of surviving a disaster.

Gu Nianqiu could no longer hold back.

Her small face was pale, and large tears rolled down from her eyes, tracing paths down her cheeks and dripping onto the hem of her Lolita dress, which was stained with a bit of dust.

Fear, despair, and now relief—all the pent-up emotions burst forth at this moment.

“Waaah—!”

She suddenly pounced, clutching Lin Mo’s arm tightly, burying her entire tear-streaked face into him.

“Brother Mo… sniffle… thank you… thank you…”

The girl’s cry was heart-wrenching, her small body trembling like a leaf in the autumn wind, as if she wanted to cry out all the fear accumulated over the past thirty hours.

Lin Mo’s body stiffened for a moment, then relaxed. He raised his other hand and, somewhat unskillfully, gently patted the girl’s back.

Gu Zhixia’s gaze returned from the window, falling on the two embracing figures.

She didn't cry, but her eyes couldn't help but turn red.

She looked at the man who had created miracles again and again in desperate situations, at the undisguised exhaustion on his face at this moment, and the hardest part of her heart seemed to be gently touched by something.

She didn’t speak, but her body unconsciously moved closer to Lin Mo.

[WARNING: Engine overloaded, entering 3-hour shutdown cooling period.]

“Alright, we’re safe.”

Lin Mo’s voice was a little hoarse. He gently pushed Gu Nianqiu away from him and wiped her tears.

“We’ll take turns resting. I’ll stay here and watch for now. You two go get some sleep.”

“Mmm…”

Gu Nianqiu sobbed, mumbling a response, her small head nodding off. Before her words even finished, she had already leaned against Lin Mo’s chair and fallen into a deep sleep.

Lin Mo looked at her peaceful sleeping face and smiled helplessly.

He turned to Gu Zhixia.

“Carry her to bed.”

Gu Zhixia was stunned for a moment, then nodded, walked over, and carefully lifted her sister into her arms.

The girl in her arms was light, yet she felt an unprecedented sense of reassurance.

She carried her sister and turned to walk towards the rest cabin, her footsteps light.

Soon, only Lin Mo and Gu Zhixia were left in the vast cockpit.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the clouds in the sky a warm orange-red, and the light streamed through the porthole, casting long shadows of the two.

The atmosphere became quiet for a moment.

Gu Zhixia returned. She didn’t speak, but just stood silently beside Lin Mo.

After a long while, she finally spoke, her voice lower and much softer than usual.

“Thank you, Lin Mo.”

“You protected us again.”

Lin Mo turned his head and looked at her.

The orange-red light softened her cold and beautiful features, and her phoenix eyes, which always carried a sharp edge, now seemed like gems soaked in warm water.

“It’s nothing.”

Lin Mo’s lips curved into a faint smile.

“If you hadn’t blocked those monsters on the deck, I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on operating the ship.”

“And Nianqiu, if it weren’t for her cooking, we wouldn’t have lasted until now.”

Gu Zhixia listened quietly, not refuting.

She just looked at his face, at his tired brows and eyes, at his eyes that remained calm at all times.

It was these eyes that led them to carve a path to survival from the desperate black fog.

An inexplicable impulse, without warning, surged from the deepest part of her heart.

Reason, pride, and reserve were shattered by this overwhelming emotion at this moment.

As if possessed, she leaned forward.

A soft, slightly cool touch gently pressed against Lin Mo’s cheek.

It was a fleeting touch.

The air seemed to freeze in that instant.

Time also stood still.

Lin Mo was clearly stunned by the sudden action.

He instinctively raised his hand and touched the cheek that had been kissed; a faint trace of warmth and softness seemed to linger there.

He turned his head and looked at Gu Zhixia, a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

“You…?”

Gu Zhixia’s face instantly flushed crimson, as if struck by a sudden heat.

She herself didn't know why she had made such a gesture just now.

Burning heat spread from her neck all the way to her earlobes. She abruptly turned her head, not daring to look into Lin Mo’s eyes.

“Hmph!”

She forced herself to maintain her composure, masking her panic with her usual tsundere tone.

“Th-this is your reward!”

“A reward for saving us sisters!”

Lin Mo looked at her adorable, outwardly stubborn but inwardly nervous expression, and an amused smile involuntarily appeared on his tired face.

“Oh, oh, a reward.”

He intentionally drew out his words, leaning slightly forward, closer to her.

“Then… I want more.”

Gu Zhixia’s heart skipped a beat.

Her mind went blank; she only felt the man’s breath, carrying a hint of warmth, on her ear, making her feel weak all over.

The words of refusal were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to say them.

Her body seemed to have a will of its own.

Slowly, she turned her head.

Under the gaze of the man’s smiling, deep eyes, she closed her eyes, as if resigned to her fate, and leaned in again.

Like a dragonfly touching the water.

Her soft lips gently brushed against his.

Then, she sprang back like a startled rabbit.

“Don’t expect it again!”

She blurted out this outwardly fierce but inwardly timid remark, then turned and fled, her retreating figure filled with the panic of a hasty escape.

Lin Mo remained alone in the quiet cockpit.

He raised his hand and gently touched his lips.

A faint, sweet scent of a young girl seemed to linger there.

He looked at the sea outside the window, dyed red by the evening glow, and chuckled softly.