What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Bodyguard Pillow

After her long deduction, Shu Qiong finally dug out a memory from the first day of the break—the hint Yan Xiangyu had dropped when she left school.

…So, the reason this group was acting so mysteriously was to celebrate her birthday?

Shu Qiong felt a strange mix of touched emotions and a flicker of dread. She coughed lightly and tapped her tray with her chopsticks. “Let’s eat first.”

The others exchanged glances until Jin Yan realized something. “Wait a minute, I never admitted I was on the second floor with them earlier…”

Chang Xichun, sitting next to her, shoved a piece of flatbread into her mouth to shut her up. “Eat! Just eat!”

“…”

Shu Qiong could more or less guess what they had been plotting upstairs, and they knew she knew. However, they maintained a delicate tacit understanding to drop the subject, finishing the meal as if nothing had happened.

After lunch, the group had planned lines to say, but after the earlier interruption, they almost broke character while speaking.

Chang Xichun braved it out and said to Shu Qiong, “Junior, let’s have dinner together tonight.”

Shu Qiong pressed a hand to her forehead. Could you be any more stiff? But she didn’t question it and simply nodded. “Sure.”

He Xuchou stepped in to provide a justification: “The Inter-University Mecha League starts in less than a month. Although the format is being revamped this year, the basic rules remain the same. I’ll give you a brief overview tonight.”

With so much happening lately, Shu Qiong had almost forgotten about the League. She thought for a moment and asked, “Senior, aren’t you guys busy with graduation preparations?”

He Xuchou smiled and shook his head slightly. “Don’t worry. Ah-Chun and I have planned everything out. It won’t interfere with the League or the pre-match training.”

Shu Qiong looked at him and Chang Xichun thoughtfully, noticing they seemed much more composed than before the holidays, showing no signs of anxiety or stress. She smiled back. “That’s good, then.”

They chatted about some holiday fun before parting ways at the cafeteria entrance.

Yan Xiangyu asked, “Back to the dorm to review this afternoon, or to the workshop?”

Shu Qiong, who was checking new messages on her wristband, replied immediately, “The workshop. Our mechas have arrived.”

Their mechas had been severely damaged on the Base Star. Repairing them themselves would have been exorbitantly expensive and time-consuming. However, Shu Qiong had successfully negotiated on the helicopter; Lin Yuan promised to return the two mechas restored to a “like-new” condition.

Shu Qiong paused, remembering something. “Didn’t Senior Lin say she’d give us an extra reward afterward? She hasn’t forgotten, has she?”

Yan Xiangyu speculated, “Maybe… because the Base Star incident is still ongoing, they’ll only send it once the investigation is fully complete?”

Shu Qiong thought it made sense. After a few more steps, she stopped again and turned to the person walking beside her toward the training area. “I’m going to check my mecha. What are you going for?”

Yan Xiangyu pulled out a legitimate excuse: “I’m also going to see my mecha.”

“…Fine.”

So, Shu Qiong opened the door to her workshop with a “tail” following her. It had been a while; the interior remained the same. She touched the thin layer of dust on the workbench, feeling a sudden nostalgia.

The two repaired mechas, Starlight and Standby, were neatly placed in the corner. Shu Qiong focused on the areas previously damaged or corroded, then climbed into Starlight’s cockpit to test a few movements, coming out only after recording a string of data.

“Not only is it fixed, but they also upgraded the outer shell,” she pointed out quantitative values on the test panel for Yan Xiangyu. “Overall defense increased by about 5%, specifically reinforced at the chest, abdomen, and back.”

She grabbed a toolbox, climbed onto Starlight, and tapped around the chest area. After a long while, she jumped back down with a complex expression. “They replaced it with a Black-Patterned Shield Nest shell.”

“Black-Patterned Shield Nest?” Yan Xiangyu repeated the unfamiliar term, confused.

Shu Qiong explained: “Remember those honeycomb-like spheres flying in the sky during the swarm on Base Star? Those are Black-Patterned Shield Nests. They’re known as Zerg battleships. When a swarm comes, a massive number of Zerg soldiers fly out from the honeycomb holes. Their shell is a high-quality material for mechas—both light and incredibly tough.”

The shells used on Starlight and Standby were likely scavenged on-site after the battle ended. Shu Qiong muttered something under her breath. While the upgrade was sincere, she couldn’t help but feel like the “wool was coming off her own sheep.”

Setting those thoughts aside, she checked the values for Yan Xiangyu’s Standby and found it had received the same upgrades. She even suspected the repair technician had OCD; the mechas had been polished and coated with a sealant, making them so shiny and sleek that a fly would probably slip and break its neck.

Shu Qiong decided to strike while the iron was hot and finalize her prototype for Starlight 2.0. She pulled out a small notebook from her pocket—filled with fragmented inspirations and design ideas—and sat cross-legged on a clean patch of floor to adjust the parameters on the virtual model. She became completely absorbed in the work.

When she finally snapped out of it, Yan Xiangyu was nowhere to be seen, having closed the door behind her. Shu Qiong began the physical modifications for Starlight 2.0. She hadn’t forgotten that the theme for this year’s design competition was “Speed.”

For Starlight 1.0, she had focused on shock absorption to lower the threshold for pilots. For 2.0, the changes were more intricate. She spent a long time deducing how to optimize the joints.

She realized the core of her design philosophy was the human body. To minimize the difficulty of piloting and maximize comfort—reducing motion sickness and muscle strain—she had to start with human physiology. During the Base Star training, she had gathered plenty of data in the field, exposing a long list of flaws.

As she thought, she unconsciously mimicked punching and swiping movements. Mecha joints were far from human cartilage; many movements lacked flexibility and often got stuck halfway. While she couldn’t match the number of human joints without making maintenance a nightmare, she could at least modify key areas like the wrists and ankles.

The feedback from the virtual model was positive. The movements became much smoother, shortening the transition time between actions by 10.5%. In combat, even a 0.1-second difference in reaction time could be life or death.

Shu Qiong spent the entire afternoon in the workshop, completing only the upper half of the physical modification. It was high efficiency, but she still felt a sense of urgency.

When Yan Xiangyu returned to the workshop, she saw the expected sight of mecha parts scattered across the floor—everything from leg sections to tiny rolling nuts. She leaned against the doorframe, wondering for a moment if time had rewound and everything at the Base Star had been a dream.

Hearing the noise, Shu Qiong straightened up and smiled at Yan Xiangyu. “I’m wrapping up. Give me five minutes.”

Yan Xiangyu watched quietly as Shu Qiong reattached Starlight’s left arm and tested its mobility. Once satisfied, Shu Qiong wiped the sweat from her forehead and jumped down to pack up the useful parts.

“Finished!” She tossed her protective gloves on the table, massaged her stiff neck and knuckles, and walked over to Yan Xiangyu. “Second floor of the cafeteria?”

“Mhm. Knew I couldn’t hide it from you.” Yan Xiangyu smiled and brushed her thumb against Shu Qiong’s cheek. Shu Qiong stood still, expecting a longer touch, but Yan Xiangyu quickly pulled back.

“…What?” Shu Qiong blinked, confused.

Yan Xiangyu showed her the black smudge on her fingertip. “Look at your hand.”

Shu Qiong saw the greasy black oil on her hand. “A protective glove tore while I was removing parts. It’s normal. A mecha master getting dirty is a professional trait… wait, are you disgusted by me?”

Yan Xiangyu choked. “…Not disgusted.”

They chatted as they made their way to the second floor. Unlike the first floor, the second floor had private dining rooms that could be reserved. Yan Xiangyu let Shu Qiong push the door open, giving her a warning: “Are you… mentally prepared?”

Shu Qiong was confident. “Of course. I’m a professional!”

She paused as she heard muffled voices through the door. “Is this enough? Add more flower petals.” “A whole bucket is already in there.” “I still feel like the size of this pillow is wrong… did the shop cut corners?” “Shh! I think I heard something outside!”

Shu Qiong couldn’t imagine the scene inside from the dialogue. She took a breath, knocked twice, and pressed the handle.

Bang!

Colored streamers and glitter flew up as the door opened. At the same time, her sixth sense screamed. She heard a faint, strange friction sound and looked up to see a large plastic bucket tilting, filled to the brim with flower petals. Because there were so many, they didn’t flutter down elegantly; they fell in heavy clumps.

Shu Qiong didn’t even think. She retreated instantly, slamming into the person behind her. Yan Xiangyu sighed softly, steadied Shu Qiong’s shoulders, and quickly raised her jacket over their heads to shield them.

Thud, thud, thud. The clumps of petals hit the floor with surprising weight. Then, a loud Clang! followed—the plastic bucket had fallen along with them.

If Yan Xiangyu hadn’t been there, Shu Qiong would have retreated another two steps. She felt the “shock,” but where was the “surprise”?

Qin Liang rushed over to hide the bucket in a corner as if trying to pretend the accident hadn’t happened. “Smile,” Yan Xiangyu whispered behind her.

Shu Qiong looked forward with a stiff smile. The room was decorated with colored balloons and flower bouquets surrounding a life-sized, long body pillow in the center.

Jin Yan beamed. “Surprise! Look at this custom mecha body pillow we made for you! It perfectly solves the problem of you not being able to hug Starlight while you sleep!”

Yan Xiangyu whispered again: “…Smile.”

Shu Qiong kept her smile, but it was terrifying. She said darkly, “It also perfectly solves the problem of my dorm bed being too big.”