What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Peeking

Unable to listen any longer, Shu Qiong interrupted the bickering between Yan Xiangyu and Lin Mi, stating she needed to rest for a while.

Yan Xiangyu immediately shifted her focus back to her: “Alright, I’ll keep an eye on the messages in the public channel.”

Lin Mi didn’t say anything more on the other end, only letting out an indignant snort.

Shu Qiong closed her eyes and huddled with Yan Xiangyu inside Xinghai’s cockpit, forcing herself to enter a sleep state. She wasn’t sure when the reinforcements would arrive, so she had to seize every moment to conserve energy, taking turns with Yan Xiangyu to rest.

Yan Xiangyu helped smooth her slightly messy hair, then leaned forward to gently lower the volume of the communication channel.

When Shu Qiong woke up again, an instructor was speaking over the public channel. She opened her eyes blearily, feeling an intense ache in her neck. She wanted to stretch, but halfway through, she remembered she was still squeezed in with Yan Xiangyu. She quickly reined in her attempt to expand her territory, only moving her joints slightly.

“Only thirty-six minutes have passed,” Yan Xiangyu said, not minding at all. “You can sleep a bit longer.”

“I’m okay, not that tired.” Shu Qiong shook her head and took the water bottle, gulping down a few mouthfuls. As the cold liquid slid down her throat, her spirits recovered slightly. “What did the instructor say?”

Yan Xiangyu’s gaze lingered for a moment on Shu Qiong’s slender, tilted neck before answering: “The instructor ordered everyone to stop external exploration. Anyone who can return to the underground air-raid shelters should do so to avoid friendly fire. The reinforcements are approaching the base planet; there’s likely going to be a round of fire suppression next.”

Shu Qiong listened carefully and noted: “The signal tower probably won’t be bombed directly, otherwise the nearby communications would be paralyzed.”

After speaking, she began urging Yan Xiangyu to rest. “We don’t know what might happen next,” Shu Qiong said seriously. “Get some sleep while you can.”

Yan Xiangyu nodded slightly. Shu Qiong, acting the part of a caring partner, draped Yan Xiangyu’s discarded jacket over her.

Yan Xiangyu stared at her for a moment before closing her eyes.

Shu Qiong fiddled with her wristband for a while, waiting until the movement beside her ceased. Once she confirmed Yan Xiangyu was truly asleep, she turned her gaze back to boldly scrutinize the other’s sleeping face. Her eyes drifted from Yan Xiangyu’s chin to her nose, and as she watched, her mind began to wander.

She suddenly realized she rarely spent time with Yan Xiangyu in such bright light at such a close distance. It had been a long time since she had looked at her this closely.

Her gaze moved further up. Undeniably, Yan Xiangyu’s features were superior, carrying distinct personal traits: her thin, delicate lips, her straight, beautiful nose, and her dark eyes like a bottomless, still pool…

Wait, eyes?

Shu Qiong awkwardly averted her gaze, pretending nothing had happened.

Yan Xiangyu raised an eyebrow: “I can’t sleep.”

In truth, they had slept in the air-raid shelter for a while before coming to the tower. After the high-tension climb, coupled with lingering anxiety, it was natural to find it hard to relax. However, the obvious glint of amusement in Yan Xiangyu’s eyes—the delight of catching someone red-handed—didn’t make her look like someone unable to sleep due to worry.

Shu Qiong felt speechless: “You were faking it.”

Yan Xiangyu skipped over the accusation and offered an invitation: “If you want to look, just look. It’s not like I’d stop you.”

Shu Qiong felt she had no choice, but she had developed a thicker skin lately. She turned her head back and looked Yan Xiangyu straight in the face.

“What did you see?” Yan Xiangyu asked.

“You’re beautiful,” Shu Qiong commented, lacking vocabulary but being honest. Yan Xiangyu hit every one of her aesthetic preferences; there was no doubt about that.

Due to the heavy outdoor training recently, Yan Xiangyu hadn’t tanned much, but she looked more radiant. The previous overly cold aura had softened, and her skin glowed with health.

“Aren’t you going to elaborate?”

Shu Qiong let out a “Wow”: “Is this a request for praise? Isn’t that a bit narcissistic, Student Yan?”

“Is it?” Yan Xiangyu said nonchalantly. “I thought I expressed myself clearly. This isn’t asking for praise—it’s inviting favor.”

Shu Qiong “wowed” again and reached out to touch her face: “So this is the legendary ‘thick skin’?” After saying this, she quickly checked the channel and sighed in relief when she saw the audio input was turned down to the minimum.

When she turned back, her finger was caught by Yan Xiangyu, who pressed it against her own cheek. “Half talent, half effort,” Yan Xiangyu said casually.

Shu Qiong was impressed and didn’t pull her hand away, taking the opportunity to poke Yan Xiangyu’s face, finding the texture quite nice.

Yan Xiangyu went quiet for a moment before speaking: “No dimples, no purple studs… does Xiao Qiong find this look too monotonous?”

“…Huh?”

Shu Qiong felt like a pet owner who was blissfully petting a cat only to be kicked into a doghouse. It took her a long time to process. Was she talking about Lin Mi and Xin Xiuyun?

To be honest, she had almost forgotten about Xin Xiuyun, only remembering the unique tea-scented cream cake she had gifted, unlike Yan Xiangyu, who remembered every detail. Shu Qiong felt that Yan Xiangyu might be suffering from a bit of groundless appearance anxiety.

“While I am a fan of beauty,” Shu Qiong declared, “it doesn’t mean I like every beautiful woman. Besides, I’m not the type of person who only looks at faces…” As her voice trailed off, she suddenly counter-accused: “I remember Xin Xiuyun’s cake was very clever, using a lot of green tea elements. I reasonably suspect… she might like you!”

Yan Xiangyu froze, then found it funny: “Like me?”

“Yes.” Shu Qiong nodded with feigned gravity. “Don’t sell yourself short; it’s very possible.”

Yan Xiangyu watched her talk nonsense and asked: “What about the other one then? Our Miss Brandy and Miss Dimples seem very well-matched.”

Shu Qiong broke into a cold sweat: “Nonsense! That would make us a bunch of drunks! It’s much better to have some light tea to sober up after drinking. Yes!”

She then leaned in closer to Yan Xiangyu, her thumb stroking the other’s cheek. Resisting the urge to pull Yan Xiangyu’s face into a funny expression, she emphasized: “You are just fine! Just right! Exactly right! Perfect for my tastes!”

Yan Xiangyu let the other’s “claws” create chaos on her face, looking very satisfied. “Mhm. That’s good then.”

While the atmosphere in the machine room was harmonious, the outside of the base planet’s signal tower had become chaotic.

Upon receiving the first distress signal, the military launched emergency measures, deploying troops from nearby star systems. Their warships were now approaching the planet. The act of Shu Qiong and Yan Xiangyu activating the backup signal was perfectly timed for the reinforcements.

The scattered garrison on the base planet quickly established contact with command, exchanging information and deploying a Zerg clearing plan, aiming to eliminate the Zerg while minimizing damage to valuable infrastructure.

In the public channel, the head instructor of the garrison warned them: “If necessary, you can abandon the signal tower and escape. Don’t worry about the signal cutting out. We are almost certain that the Broodmother is inside the signal tower.”

Shu Qiong and Yan Xiangyu exchanged looks, their nerves tightening once more.

“Is there any footage?” Shu Qiong asked. “Can you send me a copy?”

A moment later, she received a video. It appeared to be shot from a drone’s perspective, looking down through the observation deck into a corner of the tower’s interior.

It was a massive black cocoon pulsing with vigorous life. The outer membrane throbbed rhythmically. It was egg-shaped and bumpy, with unknown objects squirming inside. As the camera zoomed in, they both saw a pitch-black head and a section of a thorax connected to the top of the cocoon.

That wasn’t a cocoon—it was the Broodmother’s lower abdomen, covered in eggs.

It looked exceptionally revolting, covered in layers of egg-like shapes. Occasionally, a mouthpart or a limb would slice through the membrane, and a mucus-covered Zerg would crawl out. The Broodmother was titanically large, filling almost the entire floor.

Shu Qiong analyzed the short video frame by frame. She noticed that a section of the internal wall of the tower, visible for only a split second, seemed to glow with a faint, eerie green light.

“What is this?” Yan Xiangyu noticed it too, staring intently at the wall.

“Perhaps the Broodmother is modifying the environment,” Shu Qiong analyzed, pointing at a frame where an egg burst. “Look, the newly hatched Zerg are covered in mucus. As they crawl out, they naturally smear it onto the walls. This mucus might assist in the egg-laying process. Maybe it’s a substance that stimulates hatching?”

Yan Xiangyu frowned: “Or it could be a special substance that stimulates ovulation.”

Whatever it was, it wasn’t a good sign.

As they were analyzing, a massive explosion sounded from outside, accompanied by a violent tremor. The entire signal tower shook.

Shu Qiong realized—the reinforcements had arrived. The first round of fire suppression had begun!