Elder brother's garrison

"No, it's nothing... Um... It feels like opening a blind box, it's a little exciting." Xiaobai shook her head, still smiling as she comforted Veneto.

Xiaobai and Veneto tiptoed and peered into the room.

Fortunately.

Although Xiaobai was a little startled by the wave of dust that swept out when the door was first opened, after looking around carefully, she found that there wasn't much dust left in Veneto's room; at most, the floor just didn't look very shiny.

"Phew...it's alright." Veneto looked at the state of his home and sighed with some emotion.

"What's wrong with you?" Xiaobai asked Veneto curiously.

"Luckily, we did a thorough cleaning before we left last time."

"Looks like it was cleaned very well before."

“It’s still a bit dusty though…” Veneto bent down and wiped the floor with his fingers, then stood up, looking at the faint dust on his fingertips, and frowned. “Hmm… should we hire a cleaning service to do it while we’re at it…”

Veneto thought for a moment, then lowered her finger and looked at Little White.

Xiao Bai followed Veneto in and closed the security door behind him.

"Admiral, why don't you go sit in the living room for a while? I'll go to the kitchen to boil some water." Veneto bent down and pulled two pairs of cartoon slippers from the shoe rack next to the door. She placed one pair in front of Xiaobai and put on the other pair herself. "These are indoor slippers, wear these for the operation."

"OK, all right……"

After Veneto finished speaking, he went into the kitchen alone.

Xiao Bai looked around in the entryway for a while, then put on her slippers and carefully walked into the living room.

Veneto's house, by ordinary standards, is actually quite large, but considering she previously lived with four destroyers, it's understandable that she chose a larger house.

Xiao Bai stood in the living room and secretly glanced towards the kitchen. Inside the kitchen, Veneto's figure could be vaguely seen.

Xiao Bai withdrew his gaze and looked around the living room.

Veneto's living room was fully furnished, and electronic products such as refrigerators, air conditioners, and televisions were all neatly arranged. Little White walked up to the refrigerator and looked at it, discovering that the destroyers had left watercolor marks on the outside of the refrigerator.

The watercolor drawings are mostly stick figure drawings, and other things are childlike phrases such as "Big Sister Veneto is number one in the world" and "Our Italian fleet is invincible".

Xiaobai opened the refrigerator door and looked inside.

The refrigerator was completely empty, and the cooling system didn't seem to be powered on.

“That makes sense, after all, it was a year ago…” Xiaobai smiled at the empty refrigerator, closed the refrigerator door, sat down in the middle of the living room sofa, and continued to admire the scenery of Veneto’s home.

Although Veneto's home had been unvisited for a year, it was still filled with a strong sense of life.

"Camicia must really like sitting here. She even likes to put her feet on the edge of the coffee table. She's probably the only one among those destroyers who does that." Xiaobai touched the two faint scratches on the edge of the coffee table and muttered to himself, "Hmm... Veneto must have lectured her quite a bit."

"Antonio doesn't like watching TV, so she'll just lie down and sleep in that spot."

“Ugorini must have been used to sitting here. There are faint traces of lipstick on the coffee table… She was probably secretly putting on makeup back then.” Xiaobai looked at the spot beside her and couldn’t help but laugh. “Hmm… Judging from her clumsy way of applying lipstick and getting it on the coffee table, she probably didn’t paint her lips into big red sausages back then.”

“…Aviel’s words…”

Xiaobai stared at the angles of the furniture in front of her, her gaze fixed on the faint wear and tear on the furniture. Suddenly, her brain started working at lightning speed. The scene of Veneto and the destroyers living in this room was vividly recreated in her mind, as if time had turned back.

For example, Veneto and the destroyers would sit at the coffee table together in the evenings, chatting and watching TV...

For example, when Veneto wasn't around during the day, the destroyers would secretly doodle on the refrigerators...

Even Veneto made Camicchia stand in the corner with a bucket of water as punishment...

It’s so lively.

Unfortunately, the living room is now empty, and only silence remains.

Xiao Bai withdrew his hand from the coffee table, feeling a pang of emotion.

Just then, Veneto walked in carrying a pot of hot water and two clean glasses.

Seeing that Xiaobai was sitting obediently on the sofa, Veneto quickened her pace and went over. She put the kettle and glass down, then took out two packets of coffee powder from under the coffee table and brewed a cup of coffee for Xiaobai and herself.

"Admiral, I'm sorry, we only have instant coffee left." Veneto pushed the freshly brewed coffee in front of Xiaobai.

"Thank you, Veneto."

Xiao Bai picked up the glass, lowered his head, and took a sip.

The rich aroma of coffee carries a hint of bitterness; after swallowing a sip, the aftertaste lingers in the mouth.

Xiao Bai didn't used to like drinking coffee and tea, but it seems that in the last few months, she has found herself gradually getting used to these slightly bitter drinks.

"It's delicious." Xiaobai put down the glass and smiled at Veneto.

“Is that so…” Veneto turned his head to the side, smoothed the hair behind his ear, and then slowly got up and sat down next to Little White.

Veneto picked up his glass and took a sip of coffee.

"...Admiral, what do you think of this house?"

"Hmm? This room?" Xiaobai looked around. "Hmm... Overall, it's a very cozy home."

"Is it cozy?"

“Yes, all traces of your lives are in this house.” Xiaobai pointed to the lipsticks on the coffee table, “For example, the lipsticks here, they should be black…”

“Oh, this is the time when Camicia stole my lipstick and scribbled all over the coffee table, right?” Veneto leaned closer, resting her chin on her hand as she carefully examined the lipstick marks on the coffee table. “After I found out, I made her wipe the lipstick off the table. She was crying and whining while she wiped it, and she wasn’t very serious about cleaning, so this part must have been missed last time.”

"Uh……"

"Admiral, what's wrong?"

"No, no." Xiaobai shook her head, then pointed to the spot where Antonio used to sit, "Also, there's a dent in that seat over there..."

"Oh, that was Camicia's doing too. When she gets excited while watching TV, she likes to jump around in her seat, and over time she's worn the sofa down quite a bit."

"Then, on the refrigerator..."

"Admiral, I get really angry when you bring this up. Once, when I wasn't looking, Camicia scribbled all over the refrigerator with watercolors, and the marks were so strong that they couldn't be washed off."

"...Guest, in the corner of the living room..."

"Oh, that's where I usually make Camicchia stand as punishment."

"Phew..." Hearing this, Xiaobai finally breathed a sigh of relief. She patted her chest and muttered to herself, "Not bad, at least I guessed one right... It's not too embarrassing..."

"Admiral?" Veneto looked at Xiaobai curiously. "What's wrong?"

"Ah? I'm fine, I'm fine." Xiaobai quickly waved to Veneto, then smiled again and said slowly, "No... no matter what, this house is still full of your and Camicia's memories, right?"

"If that's the case, then it is indeed..."

“Yes, this is a very heartwarming proof.” Xiaobai put her hands together and said to Veneto.

Chapter 2478 Veneto Closed His Eyes

"Is it cozy...?"

Veneto looked at the living room with a sense of emptiness, her gaze complex as she looked at the traces left by Camicia.

Putting aside whether it's heartwarming or not, looking at these traces of Camicia's past pranks, Veneto said that even when recalling fragments of her past life, she just felt her blood pressure was a little high.

Veneto picked up his coffee and gulped it down in one go.

One bite and I felt slightly better.

"Admiral, I've actually been thinking about whether or not to sell this house." Veneto put down her empty glass with a sigh of relief. After thinking for a while, she began to have a heart-to-heart talk with Xiaobai.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Xiaobai looked at Veneto curiously.

“After all… Admiral, you see, this house in Cloud City is merely a place for Camilla and the others to live in human society.” Veneto said to Whitey, “Since you took over the naval base, Admiral, Camilla and the others have had no reason to stay in human society anymore. So I think, since I probably won’t have many chances to come back here in the future, keeping this house here will only add to my longing, so I might as well sell it.”

"Didn't you sell them when you went back to the naval base last time?" Xiaobai asked.

"Hmm..." Upon hearing Xiaobai's words, Veneto narrowed his eyes awkwardly, unsure whether to reply.

"what happened?"

“…” Veneto thought for a while, and finally sighed softly.

Veneto looked down and fiddled with his fingers.

“…Because I hadn’t met you, Admiral, in person at that time.” Veneto lowered his head and touched his cheek somewhat awkwardly. “So I was actually thinking that if the new Admiral I met after returning to the naval base was someone who had no sympathy for ship girls and was cruel, cold-hearted, and ruthless, then I would take Camicia and the others back to human society.”

"Huh?" Xiaobai was taken aback and looked at Veneto.

“I’m sorry…” Veneto bowed slightly, the diamond ring on his ring finger sparkling and conspicuous.

“…Veneto, haven’t you heard about me from my brother?”

“I’ve heard it countless times.” Veneto’s gaze sank. “We ship girls have heard so many things about you, Admiral, that we’re practically sick of them…”

"Then why are you worried about that?"

"Because the image of you, Admiral, described by the previous Admiral was too idealistic, I often wondered if that evaluation was exaggerated..."

"Hey……"

Xiao Bai looked at Veneto with a rather helpless expression.

Veneto seemed to know she was in the wrong, and she didn't dare to look Xiaobai in the eye. She just lowered her head and carefully stroked the diamond ring on her hand.

Looking at Veneto's expression, Xiaobai didn't know what to say for a moment.

But looking at the sparkling ring on Veneto's hand, Xiaobai suddenly smiled helplessly.

Ok……

The fact that a ship girl who once had a lot of doubts about him could lower her guard, open her heart to him, and even eventually become his marriage ship...

This can be considered a way of getting revenge, right?

Xiao Bai smiled.

"Admiral... are you angry?"

"No."

"Really?"

“Really not.” Xiaobai shook her head and smiled at Veneto. “In fact, I’m quite touched that you’re telling me this.”

“…” Veneto’s hand, which was touching the diamond ring, paused.

"After you actually met me at the naval base, Veneto, what did you think of me?" Xiaobai asked Veneto.

“Of course!” Veneto quickly looked up, clenching her fist at Xiaobai. “From the very first time we met, Admiral, haven’t we already been soulmates?”

"We're more than just soulmates now, aren't we?"

"Hmm... this..." Veneto seemed to shrink back as if she had shrunk in size. She looked down at the ship girl ring on her hand, her gaze unfocused, and her voice was somewhat dreamy and detached. "The relationship between me and the Admiral is no longer as simple as it used to be... Now, I guess... I can't live without you for the rest of my life."

"Oh my, is this a confession?" Xiaobai leaned close to Veneto, a smile on her face.

The little white face came into Veneto's view, startling the still somewhat doubtful Veneto.

“…Ahem.” Veneto closed her eyes, gently pushed Xiaobai’s head back, and then forced a dignified expression on her face. “Admiral, speaking of which, weren’t we talking about selling houses earlier?”

"Ah, that's true." After thinking for a moment, Xiaobai said to Veneto, "Hmm... selling the house... Oh, speaking of which, Veneto, are you short of money?"

"As for money, the salary provided by the naval base is sufficient."

“If you’re not short of money, then don’t sell it,” Xiaobai said to Veneto. “After all, this is your and Camicia’s house, and in a sense, it’s your home. I think Camicia and the others probably don’t want you to sell it.”

“But isn’t it a bit extravagant to keep this house just for commemorative purposes…” Veneto asked.

"How could that be? We're using it now, aren't we?" Xiaobai picked up her coffee and took a sip. "Hmm...you see, in such a big city, we always need a place to rest, right?"

"Admiral, don't you have a villa?"

"That was lent to me by Director Chen. Although the facilities are indeed quite good, it's not really my home," Xiaobai replied, sipping his coffee.

"..." Veneto stared blankly at Xiaobai, "Admiral...?"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"What you just said means... this... is your home?"

"...Pfft." Xiaobai almost spat out her coffee. Wiping her mouth, she quickly turned to Veneto beside her and explained, "No, I mean...this room of yours..."

But right now.

Xiao Bai suddenly noticed that Veneto, who was sitting next to him, had an unusually flushed face.

Veneto glanced sideways at the coffee table, covered her mouth, and her red eyes darted restlessly back and forth across the table.

This was the first time in Xiaobai's life that he had ever seen Veneto act so awkwardly.