What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Surprise

After the call hung up, Shu Qiong organized her cluttered thoughts.

“Do you think what she said is credible?” she asked Yan Xiangyu.

Yan Xiangyu replied, “Half and half.” To her, the childhood stories Xin Xiuyun told about her first meeting with Shu Qiong seemed very deliberate, as if she were shifting the focus.

Yan Xiangyu tried to keep her analytical perspective objective: “First, the Xin family definitely has issues. For an upstart family with no real foundation to reach their current scale isn’t simple; there must be a certain power backing them. The flip side of a money-power deal is that the Xin family needs to perform tasks for those behind the curtain—like instructing Xin Xiuyun to map the base’s equipment building.”

“Secondly, Xin Xiuyun claims she didn’t follow the family’s orders to steal the map. This would mean sabotaging the plans of a powerful backer. If that’s true, how could she pluck herself out of the situation so easily?”

Shu Qiong caught her wavelength and straightened her back. “You suspect she might have bypassed the Xin family and reached some kind of deal with the backer directly.”

It wasn’t hard to guess what that deal might be. Someone wanting a map of the equipment building was likely targeting something inside—either to steal it or destroy it. Whatever the goal, the current gaping hole in the base’s security made it easy to accomplish. Afterward, it could simply be blamed on Zerg destruction.

What Xin Xiuyun wanted was also simple. Now that the Xin family had fallen—and very likely became the scapegoat for the raid—her long-held wish was fulfilled.

Verifying these things would be easy enough. Shu Qiong folded her arms behind her head and leaned back. “Xin Xiuyun is about to graduate, right? It looks like she’ll soon be scouted by some big shot and officially enter the military. I wonder if she’ll go straight into a Special Operations unit.”

“Mhm.” Yan Xiangyu leaned against the wall, watching her. “We don’t need to worry. The Procuratorate has people on it.”

Lin Yuan bypassing various military officers to come to the base planet was likely for a thorough investigation of this matter.

Shu Qiong yawned. “Makes sense.” Her friend request to Lin Yuan hadn’t been accepted yet; the woman was probably too busy to check her wristband.

Shu Qiong slept until evening. When she woke up, her whole body was aching. Although she hadn’t sustained major external injuries while in the mech, over-exhausting her muscles left a lingering soreness that flared up with every movement. She checked her status; the discomfort was within an acceptable range and should heal on its own in a couple of days.

The corner she was in was dimly lit. Spending too much time in an air-raid shelter made one lose track of time. Shu Qiong shook off her grogginess, unsure how long she’d been out. Turning her head, she saw Yan Xiangyu still sitting against the wall.

Beige light hit Yan Xiangyu’s face, tracing the beautiful contour of her profile. She occasionally made a page-turning gesture on her light screen, looking quite focused on whatever she was reading, only occasionally knitting her brows as if a logical puzzle had jumped out from the text.

Shu Qiong didn’t have a habit of peeping, but the angle was too perfect. One glance upward and she saw the other’s screen. By the time she realized what she was seeing, it was too late:

“…Unknown to her, Chen Nian’s beautiful roommate always enjoyed walking in front of her after a bath wearing a clearly outlined silk camisole, projecting a fatal attraction. On this day, she finally couldn’t take it anymore and decided to climb into the woman’s bed tonight, then…”

Snap. The light screen was instantly shut off. The only light source in the vicinity was extinguished, and Yan Xiangyu’s face was once again swallowed by the grey-black shadows. Even if it was too dark to see her expression, Shu Qiong could feel her panicked embarrassment.

“…Pfft.” Shu Qiong burst out laughing.

After a long, soft sigh, Yan Xiangyu relit her screen and exited the novel interface. “It’s reading material recommended by Jin Yan.”

Shu Qiong didn’t dwell on her deflective tactic and asked curiously, “Is it good?”

“It’s… alright,” Yan Xiangyu said honestly. She was reading the pile of files Jin Yan had sent earlier with those shameful titles. At the time, she’d only looked for two seconds before closing them, but out of boredom now, she had dug them back out. To be fair, if you ignored the titles, the content wasn’t bad—good enough to pass the time.

Yan Xiangyu tried her best to ignore the small accident. Shu Qiong was considerate enough not to dig deeper with questions that would make her more mortified—questions like How’s the pacing? How much “meat” is there? So you like roommate bed-climbing play?

But sometimes silence is its own kind of inquiry. Yan Xiangyu’s expression began to crack. “Actually, I don’t like… wait, it’s not that I don’t like it…”

“Why are you two hiding here?” Jin Yan’s voice popped up, rescuing Yan Xiangyu from the fire.

Yan Xiangyu’s expression relaxed instantly. Like someone receiving a royal pardon, she took the out and changed the subject: “Is something wrong?”

Jin Yan blinked, surprised by her initiative. “Uh, the instructor said the cleanup outside is mostly done. We aren’t needed for the final sweep. The starship docking station is operational again. In two hours at most, we’ll be on the return flight.”

Yan Xiangyu’s flat, rarely wavering tone went up a notch. “Is that so? Then let’s get ready.”

Jin Yan gave her a few strange looks, wearing a “don’t understand you people in love” face, and shook her head as she walked away. She had to notify the other surviving cadets; the young mistress was a busy person, after all.

“Let’s go then. Didn’t you say we need to prepare?” Shu Qiong stood up and offered her hand to Yan Xiangyu. Yan Xiangyu pursed her lips and obediently took her wrist, standing up effortlessly and folding the blanket with one hand.

In truth, there wasn’t much to prepare. Yan Xiangyu returned the borrowed blankets, the two reorganized their backpacks, and they drove their respective mechs back into the transport trucks to be secured. During this, Shu Qiong confirmed with the instructor several times that “mech repair costs are reimbursable” before she finally felt at ease.

Chu Yimeng, who had been in the healing pod and could now walk again, watched the whole exchange and teased with a laugh, “Little money-grubber.”

“Business is business,” Shu Qiong replied with humble modesty.

Instructor Chu’s shoulder injury was quite serious; it was still wrapped in gauze and not fully healed. However, this didn’t stop her voice and movements from returning to their usual efficiency. She called out the roll with plenty of vigor and led the group of unlucky yet fortunate brats onto the levitating bus in an orderly line.

Seeing the familiar levitating bus, Shu Qiong exhaled with a mix of relief and trepidation. The body of the bus had obvious scorch marks and bullet dents, but it didn’t affect its operation. Everyone crowded inside quietly and found their seats.

The driver had changed. It was no longer the wild veteran who drove the bus like a fighter jet, but a woman in her thirties with short hair. The new driver was very steady, wearing crisp casual clothes with a discreet communicator tucked behind her ear. She didn’t say a word throughout the trip, dutifully completing the task of transporting them, giving off a strangely reliable vibe.

When getting off, Shu Qiong couldn’t help but look at her a few more times. The driver suddenly turned her head and smiled at her. Shu Qiong froze as she recognized her. Wasn’t this the person in the pilot seat of the helicopter when she met Lin Yuan?

My apologies for the lack of respect, Shu Qiong thought. It turned out she was another low-profile powerhouse.

Lin Yuan’s second-in-command—a woman who could likely operate dozens of vehicles including starships, tanks, and fighter jets—probably rarely smiled, resulting in a slightly stiff expression when showing goodwill to Shu Qiong. Shu Qiong politely smiled back and waved from a distance.

As the levitating bus drove away, Shu Qiong followed the group onto the starship. After the ordeal, everyone had a bit of PTSD; they sat in their seats with their seatbelts fastened, waiting for takeoff in apprehensive silence.

Only when the starship leveled off, successfully jumped, and entered a safe route—leaving the base planet far behind—did everyone finally breathe a sigh of relief. Inside the ship, some rested while others ate. Shu Qiong had just slept her fill, so she wasn’t sleepy. She brewed a cup of coffee and started studying.

Jin Yan, in the row ahead, complained about how competitive she was being.

“The midterm theory exam is next week, Miss Jin,” Shu Qiong reminded her dryly.

Everyone was suddenly jolted awake. That’s right! Life at the base had been so intense they’d almost forgotten about the midterms! Usually, the training took place after exams, so they had habitually forgotten that this year’s training had been moved up a month. The atmosphere in the starship turned gloomy once more.

Shu Qiong glanced at her friends with a smile, put down her things, and got up to go to the restroom.

As soon as she left, Chang Xichun tossed aside her electronic courseware, stretched, and slid into Shu Qiong’s seat. “We finally finished that intense training period,” she said, slapping the armrest with enthusiasm. “Let’s talk about something fun! Why torture yourselves?”

“For example, I’ve seen your files. Junior Shu’s birthday is coming up. Why don’t we plan something for her? Nothing too complicated—just the few of us having a meal and finding a place to hang out.”

Everyone agreed. Yan Xiangyu and Jin Yan, naturally, had already been preparing before she even mentioned it. So, they started a group chat without Shu Qiong. Chang Xichun insisted that these things need an element of surprise and strictly forbade anyone from leaking the secret early.

Everyone agreed.

A moment later, Shu Qiong returned. Completely unaware, she continued marking up the study notes donated by Su He-yi with great focus.

Chang Xichun was exhausted. She grabbed He Xuchou and headed toward the rest area, claiming she was too tired to study and needed a nap.

Once the two were out of sight, Shu Qiong cleared her throat. “Everyone.”

Jin Yan and Qin Liang turned their heads, while Yan Xiangyu looked over with a “just as I expected” expression.

“The two seniors took great care of us; it’s time to pay them back,” Shu Qiong said seriously. “They’ll likely enter the military next semester.”

“How can we help?” Qin Liang asked curiously. To her knowledge, seniors were under immense pressure, either busy with competitions to pad their resumes or submitting applications and CVs. The top students were fighting tooth and nail for special recruitment into elite units to start internships and special training early.

Jin Yan rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Their professional skills are excellent. They have a good chance of getting into a Special Operations unit.”

“I have a way to increase those chances,” Shu Qiong spoke solemnly. “Actually, I’m a ‘second-generation mech pilot.'”

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Jin Yan remarked.

“I support you,” Yan Xiangyu nodded, even though Shu Qiong hadn’t explained the plan yet.

“Are you going to pull strings?” Qin Liang’s eyes widened; she was the only “normal” listener to ask. “The military doesn’t seem easy to influence with connections.”

Was the difficulty of pulling strings the point?

“…No.” Shu Qiong shook her head with a subtle, righteous expression. “To be honest, I know a powerful and experienced veteran commander. My thought is to get that commander to write a targeted analysis report for each of the seniors to help them further strengthen their skills.”

Qin Liang thought about it and felt the suggestion was actually incredibly useful. For a mech pilot, a written analysis from a seasoned commander with a sharp eye was undoubtedly precious. Especially since Chang Xichun and He Xuchou were young students in a critical growth phase with plenty of potential to dig out.

“What do we need to do?” Yan Xiangyu asked.

Shu Qiong smiled. “Nothing difficult. Find the competition videos of the two seniors from previous years, bundle them together, and leave the rest to me.”

The others nodded in agreement. Seeing they approved of her idea, Shu Qiong satisfiedly tapped her wristband to create a group.

“Presents need an element of surprise,” Shu Qiong added as she pulled the four of them (excluding the seniors) into the new chat. “Remember to keep it a secret!”

The other three looked at the two newly added “Surprise Group Chats” on their screens: “…Okay.”