Chapter 80 The Correct Use of a Tie: After three days of travel, the spaceship finally arrived at the training location. This was a long-abandoned wasteland…

After three days of travel, the spacecraft finally arrived at the training location.

This is a desolate planet that has been abandoned for a long time. As far as the eye can see, there are large areas of black and yellow, and mines everywhere. The environment is uninhabitable, and plants and animals are scarce.

The minerals inside had been exhausted hundreds of years ago, and all usable resources had been utilized. In the end, this barren planet was reused by the Federation as a training ground for students.

The images seen by the students were simultaneously projected onto the spherical monitor and transmitted to the monitoring room. Virtual screens unfolded before everyone's eyes, reflecting a faint blue hue.

Xi Congshuang sat in the chair and looked up with everyone else. Her back was straight and she did not lean against the back of the chair. Her hands were placed on her lap. Her overly upright posture could easily make people feel awkward and restrained, but she did not.

At first, the school thought that Xi Congshuang was just having a whim. This was not an interesting movie theater. The students who were put in for practical training were all students who had not yet graduated. In everyone's eyes, this was just a small-scale operation.

The first day was somewhat interesting at first, but it became boring from the afternoon onwards, and almost everyone thought that Xi Congshuang would leave in a few days.

Who knew she checked in more frequently than the school teachers? If it weren't for the school's requirement that they could only watch the monitor on campus with teachers and military officers, people would have reason to suspect that Xi Congshuang would keep her eyes glued to the monitor screen 24 hours a day.

After a long month, everyone in the office had gained an average of two or three pounds—Xi Congshuang never came empty-handed, always bringing boxes of expensive pastries.

The monitoring room is like a tea break every day, with exquisitely presented snacks and food placed behind everyone for them to take freely.

It would be strange if someone who sits for long periods and is used to unlimited buffets didn't gain weight.

Upon boarding the spaceship again for the return journey, Tan Yicheng was even more excited than when she learned that her team had won first place. Having been away for so long, she was eager to return to the familiar place and see Xi Congshuang.

Inside the vast spaceship, energetic students gathered together, reviewing the competition process while looking out at the Milky Way nightscape through the portholes.

The competition was over, the outcome was decided, and everyone returned to being classmates, sitting together and chatting without any reservations.

Among this group of students, there was a type who sat alone by the window, neither participating in the discussion nor chatting, but just sitting by the window in a daze, occasionally glancing at the smart brain that was not yet connected to the internet, and then leaning back in disappointment.

Five minutes from now, the spaceship will perform a jump. At the jump point, only spaceship communications will be maintained; all other signals will be cut off to prevent it from being located and intercepted by an unknown entity.

Behind every regulation lies an even more outrageous incident. The mandatory regulations issued by the Federation were all due to several previous incidents of space pirates sneaking into the jump point and ambushing people, causing several major casualties.

"Actually, I didn't devise that plan. I was just responsible for its execution. The one who truly devised the plan was our team leader, she..."

Still immersed in excitement, Qi Qianqian turned around and immediately felt a toothache; she was lovesick.

The classmate next to her quickly asked, "What's wrong with her?"

Qi Qianqian's tone suddenly became serious, drawing the attention of the students who were about to turn to look at Tan Yicheng back to her: "She prepared more than a dozen contingency plans for us before we set off, so that we could be prepared."

Xiang Wei: "Later, because there were too many plans, everyone couldn't remember them all, so we had to make plans based on the instructions."

Everyone: "..."

Before even setting off, they already have more than a dozen contingency plans. What makes them so capable?

I actually feel like I didn't lose this game unfairly.

Everyone fell into a subtle silence, deciding to turn their backs and ignore Tan Yicheng to ease their psychological trauma.

"..."

Having finally managed to fool them and not expose the captain's love-struck nature to the world, Qi Qianqian secretly wiped away her sweat.

They were filled with regret and gossip. What would happen if the classmates found out that their leader was love-struck? They were saying that Tan Yicheng was chasing after them like in Battle Royale.

There's really nothing you can do about it, and it might even hurt your self-esteem more.

No, no, Qi Qianqian shook her head, trying to shake the thought away.

*

The return journey took half a day longer than the departure time, and Xi Congshuang didn't get to see anyone until the afternoon.

The massive spaceship landed slowly, and the neatly arranged students disembarked in order. The school would give them two days off after the training.

The moment their feet touched solid ground, the students, who had been quiet and solemn, began to change their expressions, excitedly planning how to spend their two-day holiday.

"Since we're number one, how about we grab a bite to eat together?"

"Yeah, I think it's good too. Captain, where do you want to go...? Where's the accountant?"

When the team members turned around, their captain, who should have been standing behind them as their strong support, was nowhere to be seen!

Qi Qianqian also turned around. She hadn't been looking for a moment, so where did the captain go?

The team members who witnessed Tan Yicheng's disappearance hesitated to speak.

Just now, someone suddenly came over, grabbed the captain who was looking around, and pulled him away. The two didn't even exchange a word; they just made eye contact, and then the captain took a long stride and left with the person.

The whole thing happened so fast that the two people holding hands disappeared from the team members' sight in just a few seconds.

"..."

Tan Yicheng, who was taken away in the chaos, has already boarded the aircraft and is on his way to Xi Congshuang's house.

The first thing Xi Congshuang said after settling down was, "You've definitely lost weight."

The lenses of the interstellar era have long since solved the problem of looking 10 pounds heavier on camera. The lenses will only faithfully record everything they see, and every detail will be clearly visible no matter how many times they are magnified.

During this time, Xi Congshuang stared at everything about Tan Yicheng on the virtual screen every day, watching her invincible and her hardships.

More than the applause for her tactics, Xi Congshuang was concerned about Tan Yicheng's increasingly thin appearance on camera.

Tan Yicheng pressed his hand against the side of his face, looked up and smiled, "Then take a look and see if you've gotten a tan?"

With that glance, the sharpness honed through practical training bursts forth, like a drawn sword, its cold edge menacing.

Xi Congshuang leaned over and kissed her: "Nothing on your face, just a healthy skin tone. Let me see what's under your clothes when we get home..."

Tan Yicheng was amused by her: "The combat suit I'm wearing can protect against radiation, and it covers me from head to toe, leaving only my face exposed. How could I possibly get a tan? What universe has such strong ultraviolet radiation?"

Xi Congshuang said in a serious tone: "Seeing is believing, and knowledge comes from investigating things."

Tan Yicheng: "..."

Tan Yicheng hadn't noticed before, but when the aircraft landed on the helipad next to Xi Congshuang's balcony, she realized just how close this place was to the school.

The whole process took less than five minutes. She stood on the tarmac and looked into the distance, passing through multiple and complex air routes, and saw the familiar giant tower top of the school behind the tall buildings.

"What are you looking at?" Xi Congshuang, who came down a step later, also came over to look. Following her gaze, she saw the familiar top of the tower.

Tan Yicheng said, "This is the first time I've heard that you can see the school from here. It's quite interesting."

This novelty didn't last three seconds before Tan Yicheng was pulled into Xi Congshuang's house, and the luggage left on the aircraft was diligently carried out by Number 1.

Round and chubby, with a smiley face always on its screen, number 1 walked into the house, picking things up along the way.

Pick up the wild hats, coats, and belts scattered all over the ground, and then take them to the washing machine to clean them.

However, the two coats picked up by No. 1 were different colors; one was a rich dark blue, and the other was a soft apricot color, so they couldn't be washed together.

Number 1 washes the two pieces of clothing separately. The virtual screen, which should be the face area, briefly displays the word "connection" before the silent washing machine starts.

Having finished her daily work, Number 1 reappeared with a smile, turned around and left to pack her luggage, revealing the bathroom behind her where faint noises were coming from.

The bathroom light came on, and water poured from the showerhead, like a gentle rain soaking the two of them.

Her long hair was soaked, and her white shirt was also wet. Not wanting to continue wearing wet clothes, Tan Yicheng felt a little heavy and shifted uncomfortably, raising her hand to place on Xi Congshuang's shoulder.

The person who had leaned in to kiss her withdrew a little distance. She was also wet, and her light-colored clothes clung to her body, displaying her body lines to Tan Yicheng without any omission.

Her eyelashes, damp with water, drooped slightly, and her eyes, filled with lust, glanced at her. Tan Yicheng instantly forgot what she was going to say, and only leaned against the cool wall, her breathing disordered, using Xi Congshuang's neck for support to keep herself steady.

The water murmured softly, the lights were dazzling, and she vaguely heard Xi Congshuang whisper something in her ear.

But her heart was pounding so loudly that she couldn't hear it clearly. Like a sailor seduced by sirens, she could only nod in agreement, unable to muster even a hint of refusal.

Then the hand that was around her waist loosened, and the long, white hand followed the curve upwards, across her chest, and stopped at the neatly buttoned collar.

Tan Yicheng then vaguely remembered that Xi Congshuang had just whispered in his ear, "Your clothes are wet and uncomfortable, let me help you take them off, okay?"

One button at a time, the shirt was undone, and it couldn't be loosened as usual. Tan Yicheng felt uncomfortable sticking to her body, so she started to pull open the collar herself, but she didn't finish unbuttoning the bottom buttons. She looked at her with a slightly urging expression.

Xi Congshuang's movements remained unhurried, like lighting a fire. Noticing Tan Yicheng's gaze, she not only didn't speed up her movements, but slowed them down even more.

Not only was he slower, but he also took a short break—leaning down and kissing her.

Tan Yicheng fell silent again, no longer needing to look at her with urging eyes, because she closed her eyes and returned the kiss.

The white shirt hanging on my shoulder had been taken off at some point, and soon after, the more fitted tank top was piled up with the shirt.

The two figures, pressed closely together, took a long bath together.

When the bathroom door opened again, half an hour later, Tan Yicheng sat in a chair, a dry towel on her head, looking lost in thought.

Not long after, the towel on her head was removed, and the hairdryer whirred, blowing her wet hair.

Based on Alpha's hearing, the sound of the hairdryer was indeed a bit noisy, but when this noise was combined with the familiar environment and the person he liked, it turned into peace and warmth.

Tan Yicheng narrowed her eyes, leaned back, rested her head on the stomach of the person behind her, and looked up at her.

She didn't have anything to say, and the action didn't mean anything; she just suddenly felt like doing it, and her body moved on its own.

Xi Congshuang's hair was still wet, strands hanging down. She lowered her eyes to meet those amber eyes, her hand slipping from her head and turning away. She had no choice but to manually pick up the ends of her still-wet hair: "What's wrong?"

Tan Yicheng tilted her head back and said, "Your hair isn't dry. I'll blow-dry it for you later."

Xi Congshuang did not refuse. After drying her hair, she handed the hairdryer to Xi Congshuang, and the two switched positions to dry each other's hair.

Putting away the hairdryer, Xi Congshuang pulled the person up and pressed them onto the bed, covering them with the blanket amidst the other person's puzzled gaze.

"Goodnight, you should get some sleep and rest well." The person sitting on the edge of the bed thought Tan Yicheng looked cute with his hands holding the blanket, so he raised his hand and patted him. "I'm going to the study."

Tan Yicheng: "Am I the only one?"

We've already taken a bath, shouldn't we move on to something more in-depth?

She admitted that she does resemble Xi Congshuang.

"..." Xi Congshuang chuckled, "Fine, I'll sleep with you too. But let's skip the verbs, that would be torture."

She lifted the covers, and a person, still slightly damp, lay down beside her. The person made no other movements, behaving unusually docilely, unlike Xi Congshuang.

"..."

Tan Yicheng understood her meaning in a flash, and also realized that the other party understood her meaning, and her face flushed.

Hearing a soft laugh beside her, she closed her eyes, grabbed the blanket with both hands, and covered her face so she wouldn't feel embarrassed if she couldn't see it.

I thought I would be troubled by an awkward feeling, and I had just returned from practical training. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep, so I planned to sleep when I was tired.

But within minutes, Tan Yicheng fell into a deep sleep.

Xi Congshuang didn't fall asleep quickly. She was used to resting and waking up according to her own schedule. Unless she was too sick to get up, she wouldn't lie in bed doing nothing at this time.

After waiting for a while, Tan Yicheng fell asleep. Xi Congshuang wanted to get up and go to the study, but as soon as she moved, the person sleeping soundly next to her moved. Xi Congshuang was worried about waking her up, so she stopped lifting the quilt.

As she slowed her breathing and turned to look at the person beside her, she felt a sudden weight on her body.

Tan Yicheng unknowingly rolled into Xi Congshuang's arms, as if she had found something that made her feel at ease, and buried her face in the crook of her neck and fell into a deeper sleep.

Xi Congshuang felt like someone whose leg was pinned down by a cat, but who was afraid that any movement would scare the cat away, so she slowly lay back down.

Never mind, I'll just treat this as a nap.

This sleep lasted a long time. Xi Congshuang woke up after a nap, but Tan Yicheng was still asleep.

Several times Xi Congshuang wanted to wake her up, at least to let her eat and go back to sleep, but seeing the faint weariness between her brows, she couldn't bear to.

That month of hardship and sleeping outdoors was indeed tough. As the team captain, Tan Yicheng had an even greater responsibility. She not only needed to win the competition herself, but also needed to lead the team to win the competition.

Trying to do too many things at once keeps you constantly on edge, which means the recovery time will be longer.

Tan Yicheng slept soundly and woke up feeling exceptionally refreshed. She turned over and buried her face in the pillow. A few seconds later, she realized something was off. She sat up and saw that she was using Xi Congshuang's pillow.

Her own pillow was held in her arms, crumpled and deformed.

"..." She guiltily pulled the pillow out of the blanket, put it back in its original place, and tried to pat it back into its previous fluffy and round shape.

Xi Congshuang always sleeps very upright, with the elegant and proper posture of a textbook example, but she is casual and can fall asleep in any position. She also particularly likes to sleep while hugging something.

She now lives in a dormitory, and the 1.2-meter-wide bed isn't enough for her to use, so she's forced to sleep in a rigid posture.

Once the bed beneath her became larger, and the space to roll around increased, her posture became like a blind box, different every time she woke up.

Sometimes she would hug Xi Congshuang's waist, sometimes her arm, and occasionally her hands would be placed in very inappropriate places, treating her like a cool and soft pillow.

At first, Tan Yicheng felt embarrassed. But as the number of times increased, her embarrassment and the fact that she was my girlfriend and that touching her was okay diminished, and she gradually developed into an arrogant state.

Tan Yicheng collapsed onto the pillow, exhausted, but it wasn't her own pillow.

Just then, the door opened, and sunlight and the sound of Unit 1 operating came in.

Tan Yicheng instantly propped himself up with his hands, moved his face away from the pillow, and his ears under his hair turned bright red.

This won't do; it's beyond the bounds of arrogance!

Xi Congshuang opened the door and saw Tan Yicheng doing push-ups on the bed: "...?"

After glancing inside for a while, Xi Congshuang's eyes flashed with understanding. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

The morning sunlight was blocked out, and the footsteps inside the door grew clearer, heading straight for the bed.

Tan Yicheng sat up and looked at Xi Congshuang with surprise in his eyes.

Today, she abandoned her usual light-colored casual style and donned a suit for the first time in a long time. The silver-gray fabric and well-tailored vest accentuated her waist, and her slender, fair fingers were resting on her tie, loosening the bow tie.

Before Xi Congshuang could even pull off the tie around her neck, Tan Yicheng quickly raised his hand and said, "Wait, wait, I haven't brushed my teeth yet."

Only when he was propped up on the bed did he remember his own obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness. He picked her up, carried her to the bathroom, placed her on the sink, squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush, and shoved the electric toothbrush into Tan Yicheng's hand.

"Go ahead and swipe."

Tan Yicheng: "..."

She sat on the sink, leaning against the cold mirror, and brushed her teeth nervously.

The electric toothbrush hummed, and a cool minty scent filled the bathroom. The toothbrush timer ended, and a glass of water was handed to me.

Tan Yicheng: "..."

She rinsed her mouth with water, bent over and spat it out. Sure enough, a cool hand reached out, pinched her chin, and lifted her up to kiss her.

The two exchanged a minty kiss.

After they parted, Xi Congshuang pulled her out to eat. Before she entered the room, she had already set up a program for No. 1 to prepare the food and keep it warm so that No. 1 could eat it whenever she woke up.

After sleeping for a day and a night, the person finally got to eat, but things started to go wrong as they ate.

Tan Yicheng lost her grip on the cutlery, and it fell back into the bowl. She frowned, tears welling in her eyes, wondering when things had started to go wrong.

It seems to have started when Xi Congshuang suddenly kissed her ear and asked, "Were you trying to do something to my pillow just now?"

And it got out of control.

Perhaps it was a problem with her own ears, but Xi Congshuang had an unexpected fondness for Tan Yicheng's nape and ears, always lingering her lips on these two places. Unfortunately, these were the most sensitive areas for Tan Yicheng, and he could never bear it.

"Do you know what I was thinking when I saw you in the cockpit through the surveillance camera?"

Tan Yicheng's eyes were covered by a tie, so she couldn't see, and there were still tear stains on her face.

The only thing covering her body was used on the most useful part—her eyes.

Unable to see Xi Congshuang's reaction, she could only shake her head and say in a hoarse voice, "I don't know."

Normally, her quick wit would allow her to realize that what she was about to hear wouldn't be something she could easily process. But now is now, and the past is the past. A person lost in this situation has little clarity of mind left to think.

"I want to tear off your combat uniform and shackle you; that would be a beautiful sight."

"But if I really did that, I wouldn't be willing to do it. I feel that you are the best version of yourself."

The person being praised blushed all over, lost their appetite, and braced themselves on the table with their hands. The beautiful lines of their shoulder blades rose and fell behind them, like a gorgeous butterfly about to take flight but trapped in place.

Xi Congshuang's eyes grew even deeper as he placed a kiss on her. His burning lips seemed to scald her, causing her to tremble slightly.

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Yes, at this familiar time, we gather here for dinner! [rice][rice]