LSDWTWHA chapter 50

Chapter 49

Qi Hanyi looked at Su Su, whose eyes were swollen from crying, and felt as if something had stung his heart, leaving him in pain and numbness.

He untied his tie and began to massage Su Su’s wrists, whispering soothingly, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here. No one will hurt you.”

Su Su sniffled, his tears were genuine, and even after he stopped, he was still sobbing intermittently. He looked at Qi Hanyi with a silly, wronged expression, “Who are you? You… you’re so cute.”

Qi Hanyi couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. What was this logic? Had Su Su forgotten everything that had just happened?

He dared not bind Su Su again, nor could he leave him alone, so he resigned himself to holding Su Su in his arms, taking him to the spacious bed and sighing softly, “Sleep, I’ll be with you.”

As Su Su was embraced by Qi Hanyi, he gradually calmed down. The soft blanket wrapped around him, and his back was pressed against Qi Hanyi’s firm chest. His neck rested on Qi Hanyi’s arm.

Su Su’s mind was still unclear, but he inexplicably felt happy. The way he expressed his joy was by nibbling on Qi Hanyi’s arm with his sharp little teeth.

Qi Hanyi circled Su Su’s waist with his other hand, holding him a little tighter, but he didn’t make any more movements, allowing Su Su’s drool to wet his arm, tickling it and creating a small, red patch.

Wrapped in the scent of someone he liked, Su Su finally relaxed, a strong drowsiness overtaking him, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Qi Hanyi lay wide awake, gazing at the person close at hand through the deep night. His arm was beginning to feel numb, yet he felt as if he was devoid of sensation, remaining still.

After all the tossing and turning, Qi Hanyi found it impossible to sleep. The long night seemed endless, yet he couldn’t help but wish that time could slow down a little. This way, he could indulge himself a bit longer in this warmth that didn’t belong to him.

But dawn would always come.

When the light of dawn filtered through the curtains and fell onto the soft blanket, Su Su stirred and flipped over, waking up.

When Su Su opened his eyes, Qi Hanyi was lying beside him, one arm propping his neck as a pillow, the other hand casually resting on his waist.

Still dreaming? Su Su blinked as he froze for a moment, and then yesterday’s memories flooded back like a tide.

Amnesia, acting silly, jumping into the water, crying and causing a scene—it was like an absurd comedy, each scene playing out vividly before him.

Su Su’s movements stiffened, and he glanced up at Qi Hanyi, his eyes filled with a mix of surprise and curiosity.

Maybe it was due to his tough skin and thick flesh, so even his blushing wasn’t like ordinary people’s. Su Su didn’t really mind how many embarrassing things he had done. What shocked him the most was that Qi Hanyi hadn’t gotten angry at all in response to his antics, and had instead indulged him unusually.

So it turned out that as long as he played the fool, he could have the chance to cuddle and fall asleep next to the person he liked?

Su Su even felt a bit jealous of himself; when he was clear-headed, Qi Hanyi had never been this gentle with him.

“Awake?” Noticing Su Su had moved, Qi Hanyi withdrew his hand and half-sat up. He hadn’t slept all night; he had just barely closed his eyes for a short while to force himself to rest. His rough voice betrayed a hint of fatigue.

Su Su noticed the small patch of redness on Qi Hanyi’s arm, the spot he had nibbled on last night.

Su Su licked his lips; he had wanted to bite Qi Hanyi for a long time, but Qi Hanyi had never given him the chance to get close. Who would have thought that he had unexpectedly achieved his desire last night?

Su Su thought to himself, if he continued to act foolish, wouldn’t Qi Hanyi just let him do whatever he wanted?

Want to hug? Hug. Want to cuddle? Cuddle. Want to nibble? Nibble. Want to sleep, just…

“Since you’re awake, get up.” The cold tone from above had already returned to its usual indifference.

“Who are you?” Su Su tried hard to put on a confused and ignorant expression. But his eyes, which sparkled with cunning, revealed him.

Qi Hanyi’s fingers, which were fastening his buttons, instinctively tightened a little, “Stop pretending. I know you’re awake.”

Su Su belatedly understood that what Qi Hanyi meant by “awake” wasn’t about waking from sleep.

He had failed to play the fool; feeling a bit frustrated, Su Su sat up. “How did you see through it?”

“Your expression, actions, and tone are all different.” Qi Hanyi said, “I’ve studied interrogation techniques; your acting skills can’t fool me.”

“Don’t they learn how to tie up criminals in interrogation? No wonder the tie was so tight yesterday; I couldn’t get it off no matter what.” Su Su mumbled to himself.

Qi Hanyi, who had indeed not learned how to bind criminals: …

“Is this a side effect from the medication?” Qi Hanyi shifted the topic.

“Should be?” Su Su became obviously dejected, “Looks like I failed again this time.”

Qi Hanyi couldn’t say comforting words and could only silently pat Su Su’s head.

However, Su Su adjusted his mood quickly, recovering his spirits after a few seconds, “This time the side effects are so strange; I was fine right after taking the medicine, but became silly at night, and after a sleep, I was fine again.”

Su Su thought about it and felt this was actually pretty good; it wouldn’t affect him playing games and participating in competitions during the day, nor would it hinder him accompanying Qi Hanyi to social gatherings at night.

When night came, he could still ask Qi Hanyi to sleep with him; after all, it was easy for him to act up alone—what if he drowned himself in a bathtub?

Qi Hanyi noticed the red marks where Su Su had been nibbling and recalled something he was very concerned about.

“Have you encountered fishing boats hunting sharks when you were young?”

“I did a few times, but I always managed to get away.” Su Su recalled, a hint of fear still in his voice, “Those sharks that were captured were so tragic; their dorsal fins were cut off. Some were taken away, some were thrown back into the sea, but they couldn’t survive.”

“Then do you still want to become human?” Qi Hanyi couldn’t understand. Su Su had always shown him closeness and trust, but where did that trust come from? Had he been hurt by humans, or witnessed his kind being harmed? Shouldn’t he be terrified and hate humans?

“But I was also saved by humans! When I was very small, I lived in the shallows, and because I was smaller than the other sharks my age and my body was weak, I could never get enough to eat and was bullied by my peers.”

“There was a kind-hearted old lady nearby; every time she caught fish, she would give me a few. If it weren’t for her help, I would have starved to death back then.”

When Su Su spoke of this, he suddenly became proud, “She even praised me for being good-looking and said I was the prettiest little shark in that area.”

“Humans aren’t inherently good or bad; it’s the actions they take that matter.” Su Su’s eyes were clear and bright. “Those who hunt my kind, I’ve taken revenge on them. I damaged their fishing boats and woke them up in the middle of the night from the water. I even stole their fishing nets. When they came out to check, I hid in a sunken ship; they couldn’t find me and had to leave. After a few times, they thought the area was haunted and never dared to return.”

“You were quite impressive when you were young.” Qi Hanyi’s tone carried a hint of unnoticeable pity. Su Su spoke lightly, but he could feel that Su Su had lived quite a hard life as a child. Without parents to care for him, surviving alone, being bullied by peers, going hungry, and facing the threat of various disasters.

“I’m even more impressive now!” However, Su Su completely missed the point. Flattered by Qi Hanyi, his confidence swelled rapidly. A person as remarkable as Qi Hanyi was actually saying he was impressive!

He almost blurted out his achievements in the game but stopped himself at the last moment.

Can’t say it, can’t say it—what if I don’t get first place after saying it? How embarrassing! Little sharks are indeed stubborn about winning and losing.

Su Su entered the game with the belief of wanting to get first place.

Before the start of the third round, players waited in the lobby. The lively atmosphere from yesterday was gone, only familiar players quietly discussing among themselves.

The rules yesterday were so convoluted that everyone could only prepare according to their own understanding.

In a corner of the lobby, the team from [Zhong Xiao Guild] firmly occupied the area, driving other players far away, fearful that their information might be overheard.

Among the crowd, a few key members still bore a hint of doubt on their faces.

Using the master-student relationship, [Wu Chi Mo] proactively approached to ask, “Master, did you say you’ve seen through the designer’s intent for this competition?”

“Exactly, if we lose contact in the game, just remember, in this round, don’t do anything unnecessary; focus on completing your own tasks. Avoid conflicts with other players at all costs. If nearby players encounter danger, help if you can,” [You Lai Wu Hui] asserted.

“What? We are going to help other players?” Someone in the team couldn’t sit still, “What does that mean? Aren’t we in a competitive relationship? If we help them, how can we help? How much do we help? What if they get ahead of us? If there really is a bug invasion and they’re in danger, do we sacrifice ourselves to save them? What if someone betrays us from behind?”

[You Lai Wu Hui] raised his hand to signal to the others to calm down: “You don’t need to risk your lives, but at least pretend to help. Of course, in a crisis, self-preservation is always the priority.”

[Wu Chi Mo] was filled with confusion: “Master, I still don’t understand. Aren’t we competing?”

[You Lai Wu Hui]: “Of course it’s a competition, but this competition is multifaceted. The first round emphasized individual strength, the second round leaned towards teamwork. So what do you think this round is?”

“This competition is not a simple contest; as long as you make it into the top ten, you qualify for the Empire’s military academy exemption. First place even has the opportunity to meet the Admiral of the Expeditionary Force. There are rumors that Qi Hanyi has not yet chosen a new pilot for the Bai Ze. If the first place can catch Qi Hanyi’s eye, they might directly enter the Bai Ze formation and be specially trained by Qi Hanyi.”

“Then we can guess that to become such a crucial main starship pilot, what matters more than individual strength and teamwork capabilities?”

“The scoring rules haven’t been announced. If I’m not mistaken, the scoring system this time should be complex. In addition to completing missions to kill bugs and ensuring survival, there might also be grading based on character and overall vision.”

“So at least for now, if you want to avoid elimination, put aside the schemes and treat this as a genuine battle against bugs, considering yourself a brave and loyal Imperial soldier.”

Su Su didn’t hear the lengthy analysis from [You Lai Wu Hui] like the others, nor did he possess the ability to guess the intentions of the questioner.

However, like other players, upon entering, he saw a reminder: Please treat this as a real war, forget your competitive relationships with each other, and strive together for the victory of humanity.

A real war? What is a real war like, and what should he do?

Su Su blinked blankly; to be honest, he had some insights about hunting but had no concept of war.