It's time to give out the rings, Admiral!

She touched her chin with her finger and nodded slightly, but then she couldn't help but have some doubts. She had worked in this shopping mall not far from the Naval Academy for several years, but she had never seen a single ship girl. Moreover, she had heard that ship girls didn't like to leave the port area... She immediately rejected this conclusion that was closest to the correct answer. Feeling that she was being too gossipy, Wang Li turned her head. She turned back and remembered that she had just been planning to close the store, but then an angry shout caught her attention.

"Ouch, that hurts! What's wrong with you? Your leg's stretched out like that, don't you have any sense of public decency...?"

Turning around, she saw a woman with fiery red perm and a butterfly tattoo on her neck. Her finger, painted with bright red nail polish, was pointing at the woman who had just made her, a woman herself, slightly amazed. Judging from her words, she seemed to have accidentally tripped over the beautiful woman.

Unlike the woman opposite her, whose fiery red hair flowed like a ribbon, with huge gold earrings swaying slowly beneath her flowing white hair, Wang Li felt a sudden surge of disgust as she looked at the rather mean-looking face beneath the heavy foundation. She knew how reserved and conservative the beautiful woman had been sitting just now; for her to "accidentally" trip over something like that under such circumstances was either due to underdeveloped cerebellum or malicious intent. This "unlucky" auntie clearly didn't belong to the former category.

What happened next seemed to confirm her suspicions. Just as if it were written in a script, the silver-haired woman looked at her with a bit of confusion and apology. The red-haired woman angrily tugged at her miniskirt, which had been slightly exposed due to her tripping, and then, as if she had suddenly noticed something, pointed at the silver-haired woman's cheek and shouted.

"Wait a minute, aren't you the woman on the tram? You're the one who stole my wallet, right?!... Yes, it's you, you damn thief! You stole my wallet on the tram! Give it back to me right now, or I'm calling the police!"

The loud shouts, completely disregarding her image, immediately filled the entire hall, drawing the curiosity of the surrounding crowd. In Wang Li's view, they quickly gathered around and surrounded the beautiful woman and the red-haired woman.

"Miss, are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else? I didn't take the tram just now, so I certainly wouldn't have stolen your wallet." But faced with such a domineering and shrewish woman, and her obviously false accusations, the silver-haired woman, who hadn't quite recovered her senses, could only shake her head helplessly.

Seeing her blank expression, as if she had no idea what had happened, Wang Li frowned pitifully. The best way to deal with someone who was clearly up to no good was to go along with her and call the police directly. Showing such an easy-to-bully expression would only make the other party take advantage of her.

Sure enough, seeing the woman's helpless expression, the experienced redhead immediately pressed her advantage. "You still want to deny it? I clearly saw you steal my wallet with my own eyes! If it weren't for the crowd on the tram, I wouldn't have been able to catch you in time, and you'd already be at the police station! Everyone come and judge for yourselves! She stole my wallet and still won't admit it! Is there no justice in this world?!"

The red-haired woman seemed convinced that the beautiful silver-haired woman in front of her was the one who stole her wallet. Hearing her aggressive remarks, the onlookers, who were always eager for a good show, immediately started whispering among themselves.

"Really? She's so beautiful, how could she do something like that?"

"That's not necessarily true. You can know a person's face but not their heart. Looking at her vixen-like appearance, she's probably either a mistress or a concubine. Otherwise, where would a young girl like her get so much money to buy designer clothes?"

"Beautiful women are always full of bad intentions. They don't have high standards for themselves, so it's normal for them to do things like this."

"To still be a pickpocket these days, that's really low class."

Taking advantage of their numbers, the undisguised vulgarities reached the ears of the silver-haired woman and herself. Looking at the silver-haired woman's beautiful face, which flushed red instantly, and glancing around at the crowd of onlookers, mostly men who had been lingering nearby, Wang Li felt a pang of sympathy for the woman's plight. She secretly despised these opportunistic bastards. They thought, "We have no ability, we are not worthy of such a woman, so we have to slander her to satisfy our pathetic and laughable pride. It's disgusting."

However, even if she was innocent and kind, that beautiful woman should have known that the unreasonable red-haired woman in front of her was deliberately picking a fight with her. Her delicate eyebrows arched slightly. She didn't speak, but gently shook her head to indicate that she hadn't done such a thing. She was indeed very beautiful and kind, but apart from the person most important to her, that didn't mean that some people with ill intentions could act recklessly in front of her. She couldn't change her, so couldn't she just avoid her?

"Still shaking your head? If you won't admit it, then take out your bag and show it to everyone. You must have hidden my wallet in your shoulder bag." Rejected, the red-haired woman, increasingly convinced that the woman opposite her was an easy target, became even more aggressive. Seeing the silver-haired woman's behavior, Wang Li realized she was excessively kind. She casually turned off the noisy radio, intending to go help. She really couldn't stand seeing such a woman being bullied in front of her shop, especially since… if she helped her, the woman might become a regular customer to repay her kindness. And she seemed genuinely wealthy. Of course, all of this was just a joke.

"Wait a minute, what's going on here?" But before she could even step out of the store, another voice that sounded somewhat familiar came from the crowd. She slowly stopped and looked in the direction from which the voice came.

A portly middle-aged man in a security guard uniform struggled to squeeze through the crowd. But upon seeing this "timely" arrival, Wang Li's brows furrowed deeply. She recognized him; he had been bothering her for a while, nearly driving her crazy with frustration. This guy, surnamed Guo, was a very annoying man, incompetent, and a gambler and womanizer. He'd even spent some time in jail for assaulting a female employee. His eagerness to "take care" of her was probably either because he was lusting after the silver-haired woman or had some other ulterior motive.

While the red-haired woman maliciously speculated about the security guard, who was heavily pregnant and pretending to be wearing a tie, she grabbed his arm as if she had seen someone in charge. "It's a security guard! Security guard, please come and judge this for me! This woman stole my wallet and won't admit it..."

After the red-haired woman's detailed explanation, which sounded like reciting a textbook, the man surnamed Guo finally seemed to understand what had happened. He secretly glanced at the silver-haired woman's stunning figure, then licked his lips furtively. Seeing Wang Li's increasingly disgusted expression, he adopted a businesslike demeanor and said to the silver-haired woman, "I meant no harm, beautiful lady. I'm a security guard at this mall. Since this lady claims you stole her wallet, to prove your innocence, could you please let me see your shoulder bag?" He then extended his right hand to her.

Whether there was malice or not is not for you to decide. Noticing the subtle, almost unintentional, exchange of glances between the man and the red-haired woman, Wang Li immediately realized that this guy was indeed up to no good. Fearing the silver-haired woman might have been fooled, she frowned again and quickly headed towards the crowd.

Just when she thought the beautiful silver-haired woman was about to be fooled, she looked up with some displeasure at the middle-aged security guard's hand hanging in mid-air. Unexpectedly, she gently moved to the other side and then slowly said, as if talking to herself, "The light shines on the world, but even the sunlight cannot illuminate those who want to hide in the darkness." Although her voice was still ethereal and beautiful, her tone had become somewhat cold, no longer as wonderful and gentle as it had been when she first spoke.

To Wang Li's surprise, even as the surrounding people began to murmur, she still showed no intention of handing her shoulder bag to the security guard. This left the latter extremely embarrassed, forcing him to withdraw his outstretched right hand. Imagine if it were her; she would have succumbed to the pressure and handed the bag over to him at that moment.

However, you can't blame her. After all, she had no idea that the most beautiful woman she had ever seen was actually a ship girl. You see, ship girls are the epitome of conservatism. It's like it's in their nature. They won't allow themselves to come into contact with strangers casually, much less let those with ulterior motives take advantage of them.

If this is the case for free-spirited ship girls, then it goes without saying that those ship girls who already have an admiral and their lifelong support are even more so. Regardless of whether they are currently in love with their admiral, they would never allow anyone else to touch them... Even some ship girls with more outgoing personalities, who have revealing ship equipment and wild fighting styles, have you ever seen any ship girl dressed like that running out of the port? They would only wear such attire in the port, in front of their admiral whom they trust implicitly, just like Illustrious is doing now.

This is especially true for married ship girls. They dedicate their entire lives and everything they have to their admirals without reservation. Even the meaning of their existence is marked by their admirals, without any regrets. If one day you leave and disappear before their eyes, they might sink themselves, search the world for you, or wait silently in the port until they decay and turn into scrap metal. But there will never be a fourth option.

This is what ship girls are—beautiful lives that you can't help but love and cherish. If you're also a heartless guy who abandons his wife and daughters, I advise you to hurry back to their side. To be able to marry a ship girl is a blessing that heaven knows how many wooden fish you must have broken in your past life to earn.

With a strangely pleased look in her eyes, Wang Li saw the security guard awkwardly withdrawing his hand, a hint of embarrassment and annoyance in his gaze. She slightly curved her lips. "Serves you right for doing so many bad things!" she thought. But before she could even feel happy, the security guard, suppressing his anger and his increasingly unnatural expression, spoke again to the silver-haired woman, "Won't you reconsider? Miss, doesn't your lack of cooperation prove you have something to hide? All these designer clothes—could they have been bought with ill-gotten gains?"

Tsk, so quick to reveal your true nature? You haven't even gotten evidence of the stolen wallet yet, and you're already accusing someone? Having reached the edge of the crowd, she heard the somewhat embarrassed and angry words of the man surnamed Guo. She curled her lip in disdain. "Wait till I catch you red-handed, then I'll call the police and see if you can still get away with it," she thought maliciously. But what she didn't expect was that even while being humiliated by this disgusting, pot-bellied middle-aged man, she maintained a ladylike demeanor. However, upon hearing the second half of his words, the beautiful woman seemed to explode as if she had been told something she shouldn't have.

"Please give up, sir. I didn't steal the wallet, and I won't hand it over to you. Besides, I think the clothes I'm wearing are the best in the world. If you keep bothering me like this, I'll really get angry!"

Her stunningly beautiful face, teetering on the edge of anger, flushed slightly. Her voice suddenly turned cold. Seeing the silver-haired woman's chest heaving with rage, Wang Li, realizing she couldn't wait any longer, quickly squeezed into the crowd.

However, before that could happen, the middle-aged security guard, who had been rejected time and again, could no longer hold back. His tightly clenched hands seemed to reflect the extent of his anger. With a gloomy face, he muttered under his breath, "He won't admit defeat until he sees the coffin. He's clearly just a man's plaything, what's with all the high and mighty act..."

These obscene words, spoken one by one, reached Wang Li's ears. Even someone as experienced as her, who had been through so many years in society, found it hard to bear. It was even more unbearable for the beautiful woman who seemed untouched by any corruption. When she looked up, Wang Li saw that the woman's fair and spotless face had turned bright red, and her curvaceous body had trembled slightly. Suddenly, Wang Li noticed with her sharp eyes that a hand, seemingly out of nowhere, had secretly slipped into the silver-haired woman's shoulder bag.

"Watch out, there's a thief!" she instinctively shouted at the silver-haired woman. The silver-haired woman, who had casually picked up a large pile of things on the ground that looked like something a weak woman couldn't easily lift, seemed to have noticed someone reaching into the bag her admiral had bought for her after hearing her words.

Then, the next moment, amidst the incredulous gazes of the surrounding crowd and Wang Li, a loud "bang" echoed throughout the hall.

Book 1, Chapter 22: Solution

With a loud "bang!", everyone's expressions turned incredulous as they watched the silver-haired woman with a furrowed brow effortlessly retract her outstretched hand. Wang Li, who had just spoken up to warn her, widened her eyes in disbelief. She hadn't expected her casual guess to be so accurate; the beautiful woman before her was indeed a rare ship girl. Turning back to look at the pickpocket who had dared to make advances on a ship girl, now groaning on the smashed public bench, she swallowed hard in astonishment.

As ship girls who inherit the names of real historical warships, capable of propelling massive ships with a full-load displacement of tens of millions of tons, one can only imagine the immense power hidden beneath their seemingly frail bodies. This is precisely why conflicts between humans never involve ship girls and admirals.

With firepower comparable to a real warship, the ability to hide in any small house, and the ability to appear indistinguishable from ordinary people when their ship equipment is stowed, even though they lose their maneuverability at sea on land, humanity probably doesn't have any decent weapons to deal with these ship girls, whose true power would be even more terrifying than a nuclear bomb if they really went berserk.

Because the consequences are so severe, an unwritten rule has emerged in this world—no matter how fierce a human war is, it must never involve ship girls or admirals. Of course, ship girls will never intentionally harm anyone, unless you want them to fall into the Abyss.

"Why must we provoke unnecessary conflict?" Everyone knows that ship girls don't want to see harm and death. After seeing the pitiful state of the unknown pickpocket she had casually thrown to the ground, unable to get up, the silver-haired woman, who had already calmed down, also frowned with some reluctance. However, perhaps because the contrast between before and after was too great, the atmosphere in the hall became very quiet for a moment in the face of such a scene.

Wang Li stopped and quietly wiped her sweat. Looking at the security guard who had been bossing the silver-haired woman around, but now staring wide-eyed in horror as the pickpocket was thrown onto a public bench like a chick, his face turning pale instantly, Wang Li realized for the first time that she actually felt sorry for these bad people.

While she thought they were a bit dim-witted, they weren't foolish enough to provoke a ship girl. Leaving aside how effortlessly the silver-haired ship girl subdued a grown man, in this world that has only just begun to recover from the shadows of the deep sea, who is more important—a ship girl or a pickpocket? Anyone with common sense would immediately judge. As a ship girl operating outside the law, even if she accidentally killed someone, she would only receive a reprimand from the admiral and the military police. Only someone with the audacity to plot against a ship girl would dare to do such a thing.

Actually, it's not hard for her to understand why they would dare to attack a ship girl. Although everyone in the world knows that ship girls exist, their numbers are far too small compared to the human population. Very few ordinary people actually get to see them, who are as rare as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns. Furthermore, ship girls generally don't like to go out, so the chances of an ordinary person encountering one are negligible. Besides, even if a ship girl walks past you, without deploying her ship equipment, who could tell she's a ship girl and not an ordinary person? Even she herself didn't realize the silver-haired woman was a ship girl before she saw her use her ship girl powers.

Before choosing this ship girl as her target, the red-haired woman probably never imagined that her chosen object would be a ship girl. Otherwise, where would she have gotten the courage to treat a ship girl who was only responsible to her admiral and governor's office and was outside the legal system?

Why would I pity these bad guys? You should know that ordinary police officers don't handle disputes involving ship girls, nor do they have the authority to do so. These incidents are all handled by the Naval Judicial Headquarters and the Military Police established by the Governor-General's Office. The strict Military Police have always severely punished anyone or anything that dares to harm ship girls. Even someone as powerful as the son of the national leader, whose navy is not subject to the existing national system, can still make you suffer.

"You, you actually dared to hit someone? This is a legal offense! I... I'm going to call the police!" Seeing the red-haired woman, who had completely lost her previous imposing manner, becoming somewhat incoherent, Wang Li sighed deeply. Hearing the panicked woman instinctively mention the police to scare the silver-haired ship girl who had accidentally injured someone, she secretly glanced at the security guard surnamed Guo beside her. Seeing that he also had a distressed expression, she felt a sense of satisfaction, but more than anything, she found it ridiculous. She wondered what they were really feeling inside when they had done so many bad things in their lives and now had to rely on the police, whom they had insulted to the point of being worthless, to protect them.

Such arguments were naturally untenable to those who understood the status of the navy. However, by some strange coincidence, when the silver-haired ship girl heard the red-haired woman say such things, she suddenly panicked, and a look of helplessness appeared on her beautiful face. Seeing this, Wang Li, who had once taken the admiral exam, immediately understood that this ship girl was probably a newly created novice ship girl, and therefore had no idea about the intricacies between humans.

Having figured out the reason, and seeing that the annoying security guard seemed to have discovered something and breathed a sigh of relief, she clicked her tongue again. This kind of guy could only use his petty cleverness in places like this. "What are you 'hey' for! You hurt a customer in the mall, you have to take responsibility for that!" Seeing that the other party was starting to act arrogantly again because of the information asymmetry, Wang Li felt that she should stand up and end this farce.

"Take responsibility? You're the one who should be responsible!" But before she could speak, a boy's voice suddenly came from the dense crowd of onlookers, interrupting her words as she was about to expose them.

The owner of the voice was naturally Su Yuchen, who had returned. The silver-haired ship girl was also waiting for her admiral, Glorious, in the hall. Upon hearing this incredibly familiar voice, Glorious cast an anxious yet apologetic glance at him.

The boy pushed aside the onlookers who had become nervous after discovering that Illustrious was a ship girl. Under the angry yet guilty gazes of the red-haired woman and the middle-aged security guard, he calmly approached Illustrious and shielded her behind him.

"Sir Admiral..."

"Don't worry, I'm here." Before she could finish speaking, Su Yuchen smiled and shook her head, looking at the somewhat disappointed Guanghui.

"Who are you? She injured someone, are you trying to protect her?" The security guard, feeling uneasy as Su Yuchen suddenly appeared, shouted at him.

“Me? I’m her admiral.” Su Yuchen slowly turned around, and amidst the security guard’s previously shouting expression that instantly turned to utter despair, he calmly pulled out his admiral’s badge. “I’ve already notified the military police. If you don’t want to be detained for too long, you’d better think about what you’re going to tell them later…”

…………

Watching the red-haired woman and her two accomplices being taken away by the military police, Su Yuchen, who was standing with Guanghui in front of the mall's main entrance, breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, she hadn't returned too late, otherwise Guanghui would have really been bullied by that bastard.

After investigation and explanation by the military police, he learned that this group of people was actually a pickpocket gang that frequently operated in this area. The pickpocket that Guanghui accidentally fell on and had to be sent to the hospital for treatment was actually the same guy who had snatched the bag from the mentor Junquan before. It had only been a few days before he had fallen into his own hands again. It really made one sigh at the capriciousness of fate. However, this time, being caught by the military police would not be such a simple matter.

Silently reflecting on her actions, she realized she shouldn't have left Glorious there alone. In the somewhat silent atmosphere, Glorious, standing behind the boy, suddenly tugged at his sleeve. "I'm sorry, Admiral... Glorious has caused you trouble..." Her tone was somewhat somber, as if she felt quite guilty about what had happened.

Hearing her deep voice, the boy slowly turned around. He smiled and looked at the radiance in front of him, shaking his head very seriously. "Trouble? I don't think it's trouble. It's our job as admirals to solve problems for our ship girls. Besides... we're practically family, so don't say sorry to me. And even if it's wrong, it's my fault. I shouldn't have left you there alone for so long."

He reached out, instinctively wanting to stroke Glorious's long silver hair as he would his younger sister, but realizing that the mature Glorious wasn't the delicate girl who needed his pampering, he sheepishly withdrew his hand. "So next time something like this happens, just call the military police. Alright, it's getting late, let's go home, Glorious." After saying that, as if trying to hide his embarrassment, he forcefully picked up the shopping bags placed at his feet.

She had already braced herself for a head pat, but unexpectedly, the boy suddenly withdrew his hand. Feeling a little awkward for some reason, Guanghui couldn't help but pout. Watching the boy's retreating figure as he walked away without waiting for her response, bathed in the crimson sunset, she softly spoke to him...

"Thank you, Admiral..."

Ship girls are spirits born of steel and memories; their hearts are so delicate that they can clearly sense the darkness in your heart if you harbor ulterior motives towards one. Therefore, if you have any ulterior motives, it's best to refrain from talking to ship girls. Otherwise, you might inadvertently cause irreversible consequences, which would be quite unfortunate.

Volume 1, Chapter 23: Special Touch

After familiarizing themselves with the academy's surroundings, the two of them... uh... one person and one ship returned to their residence, and it was already dark.

Pushing open the door and turning on the lights, Su Yuchen faced the living room, which was spacious enough that even seven or eight people could gather together without feeling crowded. She said to Guanghui, who was following behind her, "This will be our home from now on, so... welcome home."

He bent down and took two pairs of slippers from the shoe cabinet beside him, but when he saw the several full shopping bags that Guanghui was carrying, the boy's face involuntarily turned red. He shouldn't have tried to show off by carrying so many things. As a result, he was too tired to carry them halfway there, and Guanghui had to help him out...

"Thank you, Admiral, and you too." Following the young man into the living room, she gently placed all the bags she was carrying onto the empty coffee table. A captivating blush graced her goddess-like face, and Radiant blinked her azure eyes, smiling softly.

Hearing Guanghui's melodious voice, which sounded like a nightingale singing in a valley, the boy, who felt that her tone was different from before, scratched his head in a strange way. He pointed to the three bedrooms connected to the living room and asked Guanghui, "These three are all bedrooms. Which one do you like, Guanghui? You can choose whichever you like."

"Which is the Admiral's bedroom?" Upon hearing the boy's question, Glorious, who was happily looking around at her surroundings, immediately turned her gaze away and looked at Su Yuchen with a bright smile.

“Me? I’m in this room, but Guanghui, if you like, I can stay in another bedroom.” As she spoke, Su Yuchen pointed to the bedroom with the balcony.

"No need, Admiral. How about Illustrious lives next door to you?"

"If you like it, that's fine with me." Su Yuchen nodded without hesitation. As his ship girl and his new family member, he certainly wouldn't refuse her request. However… even though she was his ship girl, Glorious was still a girl. Living with her meant they would definitely run into each other again in the future.

He glanced down at the clock and realized it was getting late when he suddenly remembered he hadn't made dinner yet. "Oh no, it's almost eight o'clock, and I haven't had time to make dinner! Hmm... Glorious, is there anything you'd like to eat?"

Seeing Su Yuchen startled, Guanghui stood up gracefully from the sofa and said to Su Yuchen, "Please leave dinner to me, Admiral. You should rest for a while; you seem a little tired."

"Huh? You can cook, Glorious?" Someone looked somewhat surprised. As a British ship, coupled with her aristocratic demeanor and appearance, Su Yuchen really hadn't expected that Glorious could cook.

"Hmm, Admiral, don't underestimate Glorious..."

………………

After finishing dinner, Su Yuchen, who hadn't expected Guanghui's cooking to be so delicious, lazily lay on the soft sofa in the living room to digest his food. He looked at Guanghui, who was still busy in the kitchen, and a warm smile appeared on his face.

A five-star aircraft carrier girl, so beautiful, gentle, and virtuous, and with superb craftsmanship—she managed to create Illustrious herself; she must have used up all her luck in her entire life… If she really becomes my marriage ship someday… Sigh, what am I thinking…

Just as the boy was lost in thought, Glorious came out of the kitchen after clearing away the dishes. Seeing her admiral staring blankly at her face, she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. "Admiral, why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

"Huh? No, nothing... I was just spacing out for a moment." Startled by Guanghui's words, and seeing her sitting gently beside her, Su Yuchen's face flushed slightly as she recalled her thoughts.

"Is that so?" Smoothing out the wrinkles on her dress, Glorious smiled and nodded. Although she could sense that the young man seemed to be hiding something from her, as a mature aircraft carrier with the personality of a wife, she had to always maintain tolerance and generosity towards her admiral. Only in this way... cough cough, "Are you tired? Let me massage your shoulders and help you relax." Noticing the slight fatigue in the young man's eyes, her tone couldn't help but become a little more affectionate.

"Huh? Is that okay?" Although her body was a little sore from carrying too many shopping bags in the afternoon, Su Yuchen still became excited after hearing Guanghui's words. Apart from her younger sister, this was the first time that another girl was willing to massage her shoulders, and she was a girl who might receive countless roses after going out for a trip.

"Of course, I'm quite confident in my massage skills." Guanghui walked around the sofa and came behind Su Yuchen. Her ten slender fingers gently touched the boy's shoulders. Seeing the boy's comfortable expression, she asked softly, "Is it comfortable? Is the pressure a little too light? Do you need me to increase the pressure?"

"It feels so good, just right." With his eyes half-closed, the boy was enjoying the warm touch of the radiant fingers on his shoulder. The fatigue in his body gradually dissipated, and he was so comfortable that he almost fell asleep.

Time slowly passed, and when the boy drowsily glanced at the clock on the wall, barely able to keep his eyes open, he realized it was almost 9:30 PM. He had originally planned to take some time to write a letter to his sister to tell her the good news that he had been accepted, but thanks to Guanghui's little help, he had inadvertently forgotten the time.

"I'm all better now, Guanghui, thank you." He patted his face to wake himself up, taking advantage of the time before bed to sort out the local specialties he planned to mail back to his family. He stretched comfortably and tried to stand up, but two warm, soft sensations suddenly appeared above his head, making him stop in his tracks. He turned his head to see what was happening, only to find his cheeks suddenly turning bright red.

"Ah... really, Admiral, you're acting like a little kid..."

………………

Volume 1, Chapter 24: The Great Crisis

In a quiet yet bustling seaside town, a young girl is diligently cleaning a rather simple, even somewhat shabby, small room. Although no one lives here anymore, and perhaps no one will ever live here again, she still cleans it every day on time, meticulously removing every speck of dust that accumulated the previous day.

After wiping the floor and the somewhat rotten wooden table clean, the girl, a few beads of sweat on her forehead, let out a soft sigh. She wiped the sweat from her brow and sat down on the clean wooden bed beside her. "Phew... I wonder how my brother is doing now? Is he eating well? Is he cold? Without me, he always makes little mistakes..."

Talking to herself, a hint of longing gradually appeared on the girl's delicate face. She slowly lay down on the large bed that the boy had once used, hugging the pillow that exuded a scent that captivated and comforted her, and softly murmured, "It's been a month... Brother... Xiao Rou misses you..." Burying her face in the pillow, a wave of drowsiness unconsciously spread through her body. In the month since her beloved brother left, she had occupied the boy's room and would hug this pillow to fall asleep every day.

In a daze, she seemed to see her brother, who had passed the exam to become an admiral, coming to pick her up. However, before her happy life could begin, a series of urgent knocks on the door startled the girl from her dream.

"Who is it? Coming here at this hour?" She got up with a bit of a complaint, went to the outer room, opened the front door, and a young girl with wheat-colored skin and short hair appeared in front of her.

"Hey! Yu Rou, I've come to play with you!" Seeing Su Yu Rou, who seemed a little resentful for some reason, the short-haired girl walked straight into the room without waiting for her to greet her.

"Wang Jing, weren't you supposed to help Uncle Wang sell fish at the market today?" Watching the short-haired girl expertly pull up a chair and sit down, Su Yuru shook her head helplessly, hands on her hips. Her childhood friend was always like this, never treating her home like someone else's. "If you sneak out, you'll be punished later... Sigh, never mind. So, what do you want from me?"

"Of course, I came to chat with you because I saw you were home alone and I was worried you'd be bored!" After saying that, seeing her friend's expression turn from cloudy to gloomy, the short-haired girl could only laugh and reveal the real reason she came. "It's all because of my guy! Yu Chen has already gone to take the exam. Everyone says that if Yu Chen successfully becomes an admiral, won't you be taken to Jinchuan by Yu Chen? After hearing that, that idiot couldn't sit still. He's been pestering me to come and talk to you all day long, and he even took over the fishmonger's job... Hey, Yu Rou, although my idiot is silly and not handsome, he's still a hardworking and conscientious guy, right? Don't you want to consider him?"

"Wang Jing!" Before the short-haired girl could finish speaking, Su Yuru interrupted her angrily. She frowned and said, "How many times have I told you? Don't discuss this topic with me anymore. If you do, then you can go back! There's no way I could like your brother!"

"Okay, okay! I won't say anymore, I won't say anymore!" Seeing that the pretty girl in front of her was on the verge of exploding, Wang Jing quickly compromised and stopped discussing the topic. She didn't know how many times she had said these words to Su Yurou, but each time she only got a scolding from the girl.

"Anyway, I just couldn't stand how much he tormented me, and the outcome has nothing to do with me. But Yu Rou, I really envy you. You have such a good brother. Once Brother Yu Chen picks you up, you can live a good life! I heard from Mom that Brother Yu Chen is planning to send you to a school in the city? Sigh... Unlike us, we've never even been to school. We still have to get up early and work late every day to sell fish at the market."

The short-haired girl shook her head slightly and sighed with a touch of melancholy. But looking at Su Yurou, who didn't know what to say, a teasing expression suddenly appeared on her face. "Actually... I also know that you like Brother Yuchen, right? Otherwise, why would you reject all the boys in the town who like you?"

"What...what are you saying, Wang Jing?! I...how could I possibly like my brother..." Hearing Wang Jing's words, the girl's cheeks flushed crimson, like the clouds at sunset. I'd hidden it so well, even my brother didn't know...but how did Wang Jing know...?

"Haha! You're blushing! Yu Rou, you really do like Yu Chen, don't you!" Pointing at Su Yu Rou's adorable face, which was as red as an apple, Wang Jing shouted excitedly, "If you ask me how I know, hehe, when Yu Chen was home before, you were as happy as a dancing butterfly every day. But as soon as he left, you've been like a wilted eggplant every day this month. So who can't see it?"

How...how could this be? Was my performance really that bad? This is so embarrassing! The girl's silky skin flushed even more, as if rouged. She never imagined that her performance would be so obvious in other people's eyes. Now, thinking back, when she and her brother returned from the market, all the encouraging words the old men and women said to her were actually...Ahhh!! So embarrassing!! If that's the case, then doesn't that also mean...her brother actually knows too...?

Just as the girl was lost in her own chaotic thoughts, Wang Jing, who had poured herself a glass of water, continued her long-winded speech: "So what if you like your brother? Anyway, Yu Chen and you aren't related by blood. Even if you get married, there won't be any problem at all! But as your friend, I still have to remind you, Yu Rou, you'd better hurry up. I heard that your rivals, Zhuo Yuelin and her group, are really going all out to confess to Yu Chen when he comes back. After all, Yu Chen knows so much and is so gentle."

"Huh?!" The girl was clearly not expecting her friend to say these things to her.

"Not only Zhuo Yuelin and the others, but Yu Chen has also passed the exam to become an admiral, so he'll have his own ship girls too, right? Everyone says that all ship girls are great beauties... So Yu Rou, you should start to feel a little threatened..."

…………