Forge a path to success.

Chapter 258 A Memorable First Date (2)

On the dormitory rooftop, Vande put down his sniffer tube, turned around and announced, "After careful observation, I've come to the conclusion that those two are probably going out on a date."

Qingye and Qingxia both gasped. Qingye exclaimed in shock, "It's a date!"

Qingxia was also shocked: "What is dating?"

"Sorry, I forgot you lack common sense. It's like..." Qingye began, "...a situation of impropriety, a talented scholar and a beautiful woman! Do you understand?"

"Oh, I understand." Qingxia nodded. "In other words, it's an essential pre-procedure step for procreation. After appeasing the woman, you take her inside for a night of passion."

"There were some major problems with the understanding, but it can't be said that it was wrong in the general direction."

Qingxia watched the two figures ride away on their bicycles, sighed and shook her head: "I don't think this will work, Xiaoye. Chu Hengkong's plan is terrible. He made the date like a ghost story right from the start, and the initiative is completely in Ji Huaisu's hands. If this continues, we won't be able to sleep together."

"Although the wording is problematic, I generally support your viewpoint," Qingye pondered. "In that case... we can't just sit idly by!"

"OAO has to help them out!"

The two women bumped fists, their eyes blazing with fierce fighting spirit. Watching this scene, Vande felt like the only sane statue in this mad world.

“Sorry to bother you,” Vande said, his eyes fixed on the spot. “If I’m not mistaken, you two seem to have feelings for me too.”

"I didn't!" Qing Yechao protested loudly.

"So Ji Huaisu is your rival in love? Shouldn't you two be trying to sabotage their date? Instead, you're both so full of fighting spirit... that you've decided to support your rival's date?" Vande felt like his eyes couldn't keep up.

Qingxia picked up Fan De and said earnestly, "Fan De, they are a perfect match, a match made in heaven. How dare you, a blind man, object to their relationship..."

"What does this have to do with me? I'm talking to you guys."

"Anyone who gets in the way of love will get kicked by a horse!" Qingye said seriously. "Besides, we're comrades-in-arms and best friends who've been through thick and thin together. A woman who trips up her comrade is a slut. Nobody should be a slut, right!"

"Xiao Ye, your thoughts and awareness are so noble! You shine brightly in my eyes!" Vande exclaimed.

Qingxia rubbed her hands together with a grin (the gesture was somewhat like that of a spider): "Besides, everything has a way of repaying debts. If we help Ji Huaisu now, then when we go on a date with Chu Hengkong later, Ji Huaisu won't have any reason to stop us. It's a win-win situation!"

"On the other hand, this side is full of dirty schemes, you lecherous scoundrel." Van der's eyes were lifeless. "Is this what love is all about? Or is there something wrong with my common sense?"

"You're too narrow-minded~" Qingxia spread her wings, "Hurry up, let's think of a way! We must make sure Chu Hengkong successfully climbs into Ji Huaisu's bed!"

"Oh!" Qingye laughed excitedly.

·
On the outskirts of the swamp, Detective Chu, who was riding his bicycle, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, cold sweat breaking out on his back. Such a direct, intuitive warning was extremely rare; it was as if a group of people were plotting to assassinate him.

He scanned the area thoroughly but found nothing suspicious. Even the Immortal Machine's calculations suggested it was just his imagination. He looked around, trying to find a clue, when a girl next to him bumped into him forcefully: "Hey, what are you looking at?"

"Someone is trying to assassinate me," Chu Hengkong said seriously.

Ji Huaisu burst out laughing, made an ice pop and used it to block the front wheel of the bicycle: "I'll ambush you right now."

"Don't damage public property, okay?" Chu Hengkong sighed and lifted the front wheel. "Hey, get out of the way!"

The bicycle straightened up, dodging the popsicle. Ji Huaisu casually tossed out a prop, and the popsicle scattered into a mist, spreading in the gentle, warm sunlight.

Bathed in sunlight, the damp grass spread out like a painting, a winding country road nestled among the verdant green, stretching towards a distant forest of ancient trees. Ji Huaisu loosened the handlebars and exclaimed, "This is the kind of place we should be on a weekend morning!"

Chu Hengkong said listlessly, "My original plan was to go see the water screen theater..."

"Damn it, Chief Inspector, please check the weather forecast before planning your date, okay? It's such a waste to sit in a dark water theater on such a beautiful Saturday. We should be going for a spring outing!" Ji Huaisu said.

“But I read in books that movie theaters are good for dates,” Chu Hengkong said.

Ji Huaisu leaned closer, blinking her eyes, and asked, "Why?"

"because--"

Chu Hengkong was speechless. He then remembered that the book recommended movie theaters because the dark environment allowed for closer interaction between people, and that if they watched a horror movie, the girl would scream and grab the boy's hand.

But Detective Ji didn't seem to be the delicate, beautiful girl type; instead, she was a passionate Allied soldier. What kind of horror movie could scare her? Even before going to the Desperate Wilderness, she herself was a nightmare of the swamp. They hadn't seen a single person after riding for so long because all the locals were hiding from the Disaster Knights! He had no choice but to make up a story: "Because it's easier to close the distance in the dark."

Ji Huaisu's lips twitched: "Ah Kong, I really didn't realize you were such a young boy before."

"I'm just trying it out as the book says," Chu Hengkong said expressionlessly. "Actually, I'd prefer to go to an amusement park or an aquarium, but neither of those exist in Huilong City."

"As for amusement parks... I heard from my father that there's a very famous amusement park in Jingsha City-State! It has card games, mechanical racing cars, Ferris wheels, and the like. If we have the chance to go, we can have a blast." Ji Huaisu was eager to try it out.

"Is the amusement park fun?" Chu Hengkong asked. He had never been to an amusement park before; the owner was never interested in such places, and he had never killed anyone at an amusement park during missions.

“I’ve never been there either, so I’m interested,” Ji Huaisu said. “You know what Huilong City used to be like; we basically had no time for entertainment. I haven’t actually seen many water screen movies since they came out. If there are any good ones, I might change my mind.”

The two then entered the forest. Ji Huaisu looked at him with a smile, and Chu Hengkong got stuck again.

What does this mean? Didn't you bring up the spring outing in the first place? Why are you circling back to talking about movies now? Is this implying he should stick to the original plan? Is it accusing him of being too easily swayed by the woman and lacking resolve? Is it that he's too insincere, just saying whatever comes to mind? Or was it just a casual remark? Or did he regret it because he didn't want to go on the date? Is he actually looking for an excuse to cause trouble?
In his limited sample database, once a date is arranged, things usually go smoothly and naturally... But novels, movies, and games never mention this aspect of dating!

While he was deep in thought, Ji Huaisu jumped off his bicycle and began circling the ancient tree. Completely abandoning his attempt to mimic a woman, he asked, puzzled, "What does this mean?"

Ji Huaisu leaped over and grabbed his head with both hands.

"So you mean we should choose a place that everyone is interested in for our date!" the girl grinned. "If the water screen show is interesting, we'll go to the theater; if not, we'll go wherever everyone's interested. The most important thing is that everyone's happy, so let's not think about so many irrelevant things, okay?"

"Oh, I see." Chu Hengkong realized he wasn't being picky and immediately felt relieved. He said naturally, "Then it's up to you from now on. I've always had a lot of fun going out with you."

"Damn, you suddenly said that... Ah Kong, you're actually an expert, aren't you..." Ji Huaisu said softly.

She turned her head, her face inexplicably flushed. Chu Hengkong was utterly baffled, thinking that this amount of exercise shouldn't have caused such a rapid increase in blood circulation. Could it be that Captain Ji had taken a short vacation and made herself regress?

"You should still find time to fight a few matches these next few days; your fighting skills are important," he said with concern.

"Ah Kong, shut up!" Ji Huaisu sighed heavily. "What are we going to do after the spring outing?"

"Huh?" Chu Hengkong looked bewildered. "You're asking me?"

Ji Huaisu smiled enigmatically: "Didn't you make a plan?"

Chu Hengkong decided to give up trying to understand; all the previous exchanges had shown that trying to comprehend women's thinking was pointless. He took out a piece of paper with the plan and read aloud: "According to the plan, we'll watch the first water screen show at 9:30, and after that, we'll walk ten minutes to the restaurant I booked at 11:30. After dinner, we'll go to the workshop area to do some crafts and shopping. I made a reservation at a newly built glass mansion; if the weather is nice, we can have afternoon tea there. Afterwards, we can go fishing, and in the evening, we'll go boating on the lake to watch the sunset."

"Wow, you actually made a serious plan!" Ji Huaisu exclaimed. "Amazing, A Kong, I didn't expect you to have done so much preparation."

"I've always been very serious," Chu Hengkong said confidently.

He had reason to be confident because what he had said before were all basic contingency plans. Considering that unexpected situations often occur, he had also made several backup plans, including what to do if he was called to catch a criminal halfway through a date.

To ensure the date went smoothly, he prepared everything entirely on his own, without asking anyone for help. He knew all too well how outrageous his close friends could be in everyday life; his own plans might at most be criticized as boring, but if even one of them got involved, the date would inevitably turn into a disaster. This was the worst-case scenario he had to avoid!
Fortunately, Van Der wasn't interested in this matter... and Qingxia Qingye had no reason to get involved...

"It's almost time. Since you've made a reservation, let's go eat first," Ji Huaisu said with a smile. "By the way, Chief Inspector, with all the preparations you've made, have you considered how to handle the current situation?"

"Of course I... what?"

A heavy fog obscured the sunlight. The thick fog seeped through the leaves like water, making the obscured trees appear as towering ghostly shadows. Before we knew it, we could see nothing at all; the once bright forest now looked like a scene from a wilderness.

Chu Hengkong's confident expression froze on his face like an OLED screen burning out, and the communication crystal in his pocket began to vibrate violently.

Ji Huaisu took it out for him and pressed it with a smile.

"Something terrible has happened, Mr. Chu!" came the anxious voice of a girl with a broken heart. "I heard that the forest in the Bize District has recently been shrouded in a strange mist. If a couple goes in together, they must hold hands to get out. Please be careful and avoid that area!"

Ji Huaisu closed the communication, put her hands behind her back, and drawled, "It's clear, A-Kong, you've really done a lot of preparation~~~"

Chu Hengkong covered his face in silence, experiencing firsthand what it meant to be on the verge of collapse. He had never understood so deeply the feelings of the ancestors of the Guangshi family on Shura Island, for at this moment, he felt the same cry that the old men and women had uttered when they discovered that Miansheng had been stolen.

—You bastard, Guang Shi Qing Ye!!!!

(End of this chapter)