Chapter 11: A Kiss Seals the Deal - Xu Lingzhao and Zhu Chujing Confirm Their Relationship...

When Xu Lingzhao entered the tent with medicine and food, she lifted the curtain and saw Chu Jing sitting obediently on the simple ground. When he heard the noise and looked up, there were tears in the corners of his eyes and a lingering blush on his cheeks. His eyes were full of dependence as he looked at her.

The tent was cramped. Xu Lingzhao knelt down on one knee in front of him, unscrewed the water bottle and handed it to him, then looked at his injured thigh: "You're injured. Take off your pants so we can apply some medicine." As soon as he said this, Chu Jing choked on his water, his face turning red and white, his ears turning bright red, and his eyes darting around: "I... I can do it myself."

"Hmm? Do it yourself? You were just crying like a kitten, and now you want to do it yourself?" Xu Lingzhao arranged the medicine and, seeing his awkward manner, leaned closer to him: "It's just the two of us, don't be shy, I promise I won't look around. You know me, I'm a gentleman."

Under Xu Lingzhao's coaxing, Chu Jing gave in and began to unfasten the buckle on his belt. Seeing his hesitant manner, Xu Lingzhao took his hand away and gently undressed it for him himself.

Xu Lingzhao carefully cleaned his wounds, her movements gentle, trying not to hurt him. Looking at these wounds, big and small, she couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. Recent events had made her realize that the rebels were very likely targeting Chu Jingze. Without her protection, the person in front of her might... She didn't think any further.

Not daring to think any further, Xu Lingzhao bandaged his wound after applying the medicine, took out a new pair of pants from her supply bag and gave them to him. She had been using her mental power to explore the surroundings, which made her look tired. She handed Chu Jingze some compressed biscuits and chocolate, and then covered him with a compressed sheet.

The temperature dropped sharply at night, and she saw Chu Jing shiver from the cold: "Still cold?" she asked with concern.

The person in front of her nodded. Knowing that Chu Jingze was afraid of the cold, Xu Lingzhao sat down next to him and pulled him into her arms. After covering him with the blanket, she also put her coat on him. Xu Lingzhao wasn't afraid of the cold; she felt warm for some reason.

Xu Lingzhao felt the person in her arms pressed tightly against her, and she felt inexplicably happy. But when she felt his rustling movements, she looked down and met his gaze. He seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.

"Is there something you want to ask me?" she asked patiently.

"What's your relationship with... Mo Zhiyan?" Chu Jingze asked cautiously, biting his lip nervously as he awaited her answer.

"Why are you asking about this?" Xu Lingzhao was completely confused. She hadn't been in contact with Mo Zhiyan for a very long time. She thought about it carefully and said, "I saw a picture on the StarNet of me where I saved him and he was hugging me?"

"Hmm." Chu Jing pouted and bit her lip, her face full of grievance.

"Why are you only asking me now? I didn't know you were so patient." Xu Lingzhao chuckled.

She reached out and touched his lips with her finger, urging him not to bite them, as they were already bleeding slightly. Her finger slid across his lips to his chin, gently lifting his head. His nose brushed against her lips. "I don't have much of a relationship with him. We were just neighbors for a few days on Celes. He was in danger then and suddenly hugged me, but I was on a call, so I didn't push him away."

Chu Jing blushed at her ambiguous actions. He buried his head in her chest and listened attentively to Xu Lingzhao's explanation. "I understand," he said in a muffled voice, his previous unhappiness gone.

She stroked Chu Jingze's fluffy head to comfort him. Today's situation was too dangerous. She hadn't expected the villainous army to have infiltrated so deeply. How many rebels were there in the Federation? No one knew.

Outside, the wind howled, but inside the tent, it was warm and cozy.

"do you like me?"

"I thought that by holding you, it was obvious enough."

Chu Jing excitedly lifted his head from her embrace and turned on the recording function on the personal terminal: "Although there is no internet, the recording function is still available. Say what you just said again."

Xu Lingzhao smiled and took his wrist to his mouth, his mouth facing his personal terminal, but his eyes were serious as he looked at Chu Jingze: "I am Xu Lingzhao, I like Chu Jingze, I like him a lot."

So what is our relationship now?

"We're lovers." Xu Lingzhao stroked Chu Jingze's cheek, finding him incredibly adorable. She lifted his chin again and kissed his lips, her gaze fixed on his innocent, doe-like eyes.

The next morning, as the temperature rose, Xu Lingzhao removed the sheets and clothes from Chu Jingze's body, gently kissed his sleeping profile, and then got up and left the tent.

She found Ling Qianzhu and several military academy students sitting together, disassembling and reassembling all the rebels' communication equipment. She went up to them and asked, "How long will it take to both avoid the rebels' information network and send a distress signal to the Federation?"

"About three days." Ling Qianzhu wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued to work diligently. Xu Lingzhao looked around and found that more and more military academy students had arrived since the signal was sent last night.

Xu Lingzhao felt that this situation was very similar to the one in the wormhole. There was no signal, and the terrain was changing. Although the terrain changes were not visible in the desert, they could still be observed carefully. If there were monsters underground in this desert, where would they be, and when would they launch an attack? This time, the rebels' methods were extremely cruel.

She needed to prepare for a powerful enemy, but she was clueless. She walked to the place where the rebels were tied up, picked up the man called the leader from the ground, her eyes shining with golden light, and began to use her mind to control him: "Where is the monster that the rebels are researching?"

Before he could finish speaking, he died suddenly, bleeding from all seven orifices.

Xu Lingzhao released him. Mental shackles? He would self-destruct if she asked for key information. This time on Desert Star, Xu Lingzhao didn't know if she could avoid it again, or even resolve the situation. She channeled her mental energy, constantly monitoring the desert's unusual activity. Xu Lingzhao began to think about when she had attracted the rebels' attention and led to the assassination attempt. She kept recalling everything that had happened since she woke up in the hospital.

Was it because she killed someone in the Border Forest? Or because she saved Mo Zhiyan? At the time, the investigator sent her an email, simply stating that it was the work of the rebels... a mercenary on a starship? Or did she kill the weapon they were researching inside the wormhole? Or perhaps, earlier, she saved Chu Jingze in the Border Forest.

The appearance of six S-class human-faced spiders in the border forest was already abnormal. If she hadn't arrived in time, Chu Jingze would probably have died in the border forest long ago. So why did they want to kill Chu Jingze? She remembered that he had told her about the communication failure...

The son of the Federal Commander-in-Chief is indeed worth the rebels' efforts. Whatever the reason, she must protect Chu Jingze and everyone else.

But by noon, the desert hadn't changed at all. Instead, the sun was scorching, shining directly on the skin and causing it to turn visibly red. She looked at Chu Jingze, who had been by her side the whole time, and saw that his exposed skin was covered in blisters. Her eyes were full of heartache. She took him back to the tent, found some medicine to apply to his skin, and said with concern, "You don't need to stay outside with me. Look at your skin."

She applied the medicine while blowing on it, trying to make Chu Jingze more comfortable.

"I want to spend more time with you," Chu Jing said softly, his head lowered.

But Xu Lingzhao stroked his cheek and said earnestly, "We'll have more time together in the future. I don't want you to get hurt. Be good, okay?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Jingze's eyes filled with tears. Looking at the person in front of him, he felt a sense of cherishing.

Xu Lingzhao watched his tears fall and wiped them away with her hand. Her tears were tears of heartache. Why did Chu Jingze cry so easily? She pulled him into her arms and gently patted his back. "Although I don't know what you've been through in the past, I, Xu Lingzhao, promise that I will never let Chu Jingze shed a tear again." She chuckled softly, "Tears of emotion don't count, and..." Her lips brushed close to Chu Jingze's ear, and she whispered something.

She watched as his ears turned red at a visible speed, and he even pushed her away, scolding, "You're naughty."

Xu Lingzhao organized everyone to take their weapons, as the crisis could return at any time. However, until evening, there was no movement in the desert. Xu Lingzhao felt that this was the calm before the storm. Fiery clouds appeared in the sky, abnormally hot. The temperature should have dropped at night, but Xu Lingzhao felt that the temperature was rising.

She glanced at Ling Qianzhu, who was engrossed in studying the communication equipment, and prayed in her heart that communications could be restored so that rescue could arrive. Whether it was a large monster or a small monster that appeared in the desert, they were not something they could currently withstand.

This time, without the high-explosive nuclear bomb that Lu Qianxue gave her, no one was allowed to bring weapons onto the starship. They could only use the weapons in their supply packs, which consisted of melee weapons and anesthetics. The firearms were all found in the rebel camp, but there were no high-explosive weapons, only conventional ones.

Xu Lingzhao felt that this crisis seemed to have perfectly avoided the conditions under which she could have destroyed the wormhole before. Was it a coincidence? Or was it deliberate? Looking at the familiar faces in front of her, all of whom were her classmates with whom she spent every day, Xu Lingzhao did not want them to die in front of her.

Suddenly, Ling Qianzhu's excited voice rang out. She rushed in front of Xu Lingzhao and said the words she had been waiting for most: "Ahhh! It worked! We can call for help now!"

Everyone gathered around when they heard this, and Xu Lingzhao knew they were saved when the call was made and then disconnected! Because their situation was extremely critical, the Federation decided to use a space teleportation array, which could reach their coordinates within half an hour to carry out the rescue.

Xu Lingzhao told everyone not to let their guard down. They formed a circle, and each person carefully observed the desert, not missing the slightest change.

A note from the author:

----------------------

Still four hours [crying][crying]