Chapter 9: An Ambiguous Gaze; Starship Attacked: Xu Lingzhao Realizes His…

Unexpectedly, the person in front of him introduced himself first: "I am Chu Jingze's older brother, Chu Jingyi. We have met once before." He was actually a little taller than Xu Lingzhao. His black military uniform exuded an air of nobility, and his eyes when he looked at Xu Lingzhao were particularly ambiguous.

"Ah, hello." Xu Lingzhao quickly glanced at the ID badge pinned to his chest: "You must be the new colonel?"

He chuckled softly, "No need to use honorifics with me, I'm not that much older than you." His smile was particularly dazzling on his almost perfect face.

Xu Lingzhao nodded quickly: "Okay, Colonel Chu, what brings you here?"

"Your main task today is to protect me." Chu Jingyi showed the mission card to Xu Lingzhao on the personal terminal. She looked a little surprised: it was not this when she looked at it just now. But it was too late now. Xu Lingzhao went to the armory to get weapons and put on combat uniform. She followed Chu Jingyi and the main force to a small town that had just been invaded by the insect swarm to search for survivors and carry out insect clearing.

As soon as Xu Lingzhao stepped into the town, he discovered that it was completely different from the city center. If it hadn't been destroyed, it would definitely be a fairytale town. Xu Lingzhao looked at the ground and saw a mess. The black blood of the Zerg and... human limbs were mixed together. Many of the newly joined planetary soldiers vomited when they saw this scene.

Xu Lingzhao held her breath and released her mental energy. After discovering someone in a small house ahead, she wanted to go forward, but was stopped by Chu Jingyi: "Your task is to protect me. You can send someone else."

"Yes." Xu Lingzhao stopped and, like a foreman on a construction site, directed where there were people and where there were insects... When they reached a relatively narrow path with many houses on both sides, Xu Lingzhao held a Tang sword and stood guard beside Chu Jingyi.

Xu Lingzhao frowned and looked at a broken window. Sure enough, the next second, an A-level human-faced spider spit out a web and struck Chu Jingyi. Xu Lingzhao reacted quickly and pushed him away, then swung her Tang sword to cut the web. As she jumped down, Xu Lingzhao deployed a golden barrier to protect Chu Jingyi. She used her Tang sword to pierce the spider's abdomen and kill it, while the others took out the crystal core.

"Let's go, it's not safe here."

As night fell, the main force set up camp in an open area. Xu Lingzhao stood guard by Chu Jingyi's tent. A cup of hot cocoa came into her view. Chu Jingyi looked at her delicate profile and said, "You are very strong."

Xu Lingzhao accepted the hot cocoa and politely replied, "You flatter me, Colonel Chu."

"I became curious about you the first time I saw you," Chu Jingyi said in a calm but ambiguous tone.

Xu Lingzhao didn't rush to answer but took a sip of hot cocoa: "Because I have blond hair like you?"

"A small portion."

Xu Lingzhao didn't return from the military region until Sunday afternoon. She had been protecting Chu Jingyi closely for the past two days and had truly become his bodyguard. She turned her neck and made a "crackling" sound. Her eyes casually glanced over and she actually saw Chu Jingze in the garden in front of the dormitory. He was standing there carrying a food box.

Sunlight shone on his golden hair and fair skin, as if a soft-focus filter had been applied. Xu Lingzhao jogged up to Chu Jingze and asked, "Were you waiting for me?"

Xu Lingzhao's sudden appearance startled Chu Jingze, who was in a daze. He took a step back and almost lost his balance. Xu Lingzhao reached out and instinctively put his arm around Chu Jingze's waist... So slender and soft. Xu Lingzhao shook the naughty thought out of his mind, steadied Chu Jingze, and withdrew his hand.

"I sent you a message." Chu Jing looked at the tips of his shoes, embarrassed.

"Ah! I just got back from the military region. I've been on missions these past two days and haven't had a chance to check my communications yet." Xu Lingzhao scratched his head sheepishly and took the food box Chu Jingze handed him: "Wow, it's so heavy! What's inside?"

"I made all of these myself... um... your roommate contributed too." He raised his beautiful peach blossom eyes and looked at Xu Lingzhao earnestly.

"I definitely won't give these to them, I'll eat them myself." Xu Lingzhao smiled, her eyes crinkling. A gust of wind blew, and her golden hair fell onto Chu Jingze's face. She suddenly moved closer and used her calloused fingers to remove the strands of hair, inevitably touching the soft skin on Chu Jingze's cheek.

They were so close that Xu Lingzhao could kiss Chu Jingze's pink lips with just one more step forward. Neither of them spoke, but they saw each other in each other's eyes.

With a sharp "snap," Pei Zhenwei snapped a photo of the scene. Xu Lingzhao and Chu Jing quickly separated, and Pei Zhenwei walked between them, holding up the photo she had just taken: "Wow, what a sweet moment!"

Xu Lingzhao blushed, a rare occurrence for her. She snatched the photo away, saying, "Fine, you took this secretly."

"I want one," Chu Jing said softly to Xu Lingzhao.

Back in the dorm, Xu Lingzhao ate the food Chu Jingze had cooked, listening to the four of them joking around on the sofa. Ling Qianzhu held up a photo: "Wow, this photo is really funny. Xu Lingzhao's expression looks like he was about to kiss her a second ago, hahaha."

"Pei Zhenwei, look what you've done! If we hadn't disturbed them, the two of them would have been arguing and reluctant to part downstairs in the dorm." He Zaining tapped Pei Zhenwei's forehead with his finger, while Lu Qianxue scrutinized her closely, stroking her chin: "This Chu Jingze, whether he was a child or now, has always had a cold demeanor. I didn't expect him to like Zhaozhao~~"

Xu Lingzhao felt like she was boiling water, the kettle red-hot with steam billowing from the spout. But Chu Jingze's cooking was really delicious. She savored it, and couldn't help but think back to when she had fallen for Chu Jingze. Perhaps it was love at first sight? Xu Lingzhao couldn't say for sure, but she felt that this feeling was really hard to control.

Perhaps, when you like someone, you can't give a specific reason; you just find them adorable in every way.

Xu Lingzhao had finally finished washing up and was about to lie down on the bed to rest when her communicator rang. She listlessly picked up her personal terminal to check: [Huo Qi: Are you free tomorrow? I'd like to train with you.]

"I'm a bit busy tomorrow, maybe next time." After replying to the message, Xu Lingzhao went straight to sleep.

For the past month, Xu Lingzhao has focused on physical training. She raised her arms in the mirror in the training room, and her muscle definition was more pronounced than before. Tomorrow is the day she goes to the Desert Star for the competition, and she habitually picks up her personal terminal to see if Chu Jingze has sent her any messages.

[Chu Jingze: I'll be waiting for you outside the training room]

Xu Lingzhao quickly dressed and went outside. She saw Chu Jingze standing under a tree waiting for her. Xu Lingzhao felt that she was about to be killed by his cuteness. Even when waiting for someone, he was so well-behaved and adorable. She walked quickly to Chu Jingze and her gaze lingered on the top of his head. She reached out and took the leaf that had fallen on his head: "See, don't stand under the tree next time. You won't even know if a little bug falls on your head."

"Then I'll stand somewhere else next time." Chu Jingze's eyes shone brightly even in the night.

"Hmm... I'll wait for you next time."

"I'm going to the Desert Star competition tomorrow, and I'm going to win first place!" Xu Lingzhao walked beside Chu Jingze, his expression joyful.

"I know, you're so capable, you'll definitely be able to do it."

"......"

The next morning, Xu Lingzhao had already put on his combat uniform and woke up all four of them before the assembly bell rang. Then he went to the assembly point, and wailing filled the air along the way.

"When will this end? I can't get enough sleep every day," Pei Zhenwei yawned.

"It's a wonder you get enough sleep. You play games until the early hours every day." He Zaining stretched and wiped the saline solution from the corner of his eye. Lu Qianxue, standing next to him, elegantly wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief: "Big brother, I won't say anything to second brother, but you're still watching dramas tomorrow night."

"Ahhh, you're not allowed to expose me!" He Zaining grabbed Lu Qianxue's shoulders with both hands and shook her frantically.

“Those three are childish.” Ling Qianzhu walked alongside Xu Lingzhao, who glanced at her and said, “You think you’re not childish either? You’re practically pushing me into the ditch.”

The five of them arrived at the meeting point amidst their bickering. They stood in different boxes according to their assigned colors. Xu Lingzhao noticed that only Ling Qianzhu was in the same box as her.

Everyone has assembled.

"The training match for freshmen at Sandhurst University will be held on Desert Star. Supplies will be randomly airdropped, and participants will have to find them themselves. Each person's badge represents their life. Losing a badge means death and withdrawal from the match, and the participant will be escorted away by staff. One badge equals 1 point. After the match, rewards and punishments will be determined based on the ranking of points!"

"The entire match will be broadcast live via satellite! Did you understand?"

"Listen carefully!" The roar echoed through the sky.

As Xu Lingzhao waited in line to board the starship, she spotted a figure in the crowd—Chu Jingze?! What was he doing here? Wasn't this the freshman training match? Suppressing her doubts, she sat down in her seat. Until the starship took off, the seat next to her remained empty. Bored, she browsed the StarNet. When she sensed someone sitting down beside her, she slightly raised her eyes.

Their eyes met, and Xu Lingzhao asked in surprise, "Don't you have class?"

"No need, I'm the referee for this match." Chu Jing pointed to the badge on his chest with his finger. His handsome peach blossom eyes were smiling and curved like crescent moons. Xu Lingzhao thought she wouldn't see him for a while, but he gave her a pleasant surprise.

"Didn't you have breakfast? Shall we go to the restaurant for a meal?" Chu Jing asked carefully.

Xu Lingzhao rubbed her rumbling stomach and nodded sheepishly. She was so excited that she forgot to eat breakfast. She got up and went to the restaurant with Chu Jingze, but Chu Jingze just told her to sit down while he went to get the food for her. A little while later, Chu Jingze brought a large amount of Xu Lingzhao's favorite food and placed it in front of her. However, he was called away before he could sit down, so Xu Lingzhao had to eat it by herself.

When Xu Lingzhao returned to his seat, he found that Chu Jingze's seat was empty. He then used his mental power to search for him silently and found that Chu Jingze was tidying up something in front of a window of a starship connecting cabin.

Just as Xu Lingzhao was about to go find him, her mental energy sensed a high-speed nuclear bomb approaching Chu Jingze's location at the speed of light—a precision strike! By constricting her mind, Xu Lingzhao forcibly controlled the nuclear bomb with her mental energy, causing it to reverse its direction. Her powerful mental energy forced the nuclear bomb to explode not far from Chu Jingze's window.

Just as the aftershocks of the explosion were about to hit Chu Jingze, she raised her mental barrier, her tall body pinning Chu Jingze to the ground and shielding him tightly. The glass of the cabin window shattered and pierced deep into her back. The massive shockwave made her dizzy. She looked down at Chu Jingze, who was pinned beneath her. His expression was also one of shock and disbelief. Xu Lingzhao's blood dripped from her back onto Chu Jingze's face.

When the medical staff separated the two and carried Xu Lingzhao to the treatment ward, in Xu Lingzhao's numb consciousness, there was only one thought: if she hadn't discovered it in time, Chu Jingze would probably... She didn't dare to think any further. In her unfocused gaze, she raised her hand and, for some reason, had a strong urge to touch Chu Jingze's cheek.

The hand she had just raised was grasped by Chu Jingze and placed on the side of his cheek. The worry in his peach blossom eyes was almost overflowing. She stroked his cheek, her pale lips slightly parted, comforting her, "Don't...worry..."

A note from the author:

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[crying] [crying]