I really don't have money for the ship girls.

"Aren't you going to reconsider?"

"Need not."

Rui Die didn't know why, even though she had achieved her goal, she couldn't be happy at all. She had asked Ying Tian so many times not to quit the student council, but there was never any room for negotiation. Today, for the sake of these two ladies, Ying Tian did not hesitate at all. How could he be so hypocritical?

Taking a deep breath, Rui Die, with her family upbringing, still managed a smile as she led the three of them to a residential complex opposite the west gate of the school. As she led the way, she said, "No one lives here usually, so it might be a bit dusty, but it's a second-hand apartment, so don't worry about formaldehyde or anything. It's fully furnished. The apartment is on the first floor of this building, and there's a garage right outside that leads directly to it. If it's just the two of you, you can use the second bedroom. It's quite spacious, faces south, and has a bathroom."

St. Louis looked around and could tell that the neighborhood had good greenery and security. She said, "We're all fine with that."

Ying Tian also said, "A place to stay is fine, and it would be best if it were cheaper."

Rui Die glared at Ying Tian and said, "It's not like you're the one paying for it."

I'll pay for it, okay?

Ying Tian said with heartache, "It doesn't matter who pays. Neither of the ladies is wealthy. They spend most of their earnings on public welfare, which is why they chose not to stay in a hotel and rent a house to save as much as possible."

"How magnificent..."

Rui Die was immediately filled with respect, and the way she looked at the two of them changed.

Xianghe cleared her throat. She was a little shy and embarrassed by the praise. She unconsciously moved closer to Yingtian, who was already standing on the other side of Yingtian.

Rui Die turned around and saw this scene. She felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Those who can buy a house off-campus during their university years must come from very wealthy families. The rooms are clean and tidy, fully equipped with all kinds of appliances, and even the secondary bedroom has a private bathroom. The area is by no means small, even for two people.

"This room will do. I'll charge you 1,000 a month. You'll have to pay for utilities, property management fees, and internet anyway, so I won't charge you extra."

"Senior, you're so generous," Ying Tian said, standing at the door. "How about we write a contract? One month's deposit and one month's rent in advance, or something like that?"

"No need, I trust you, I'll just pay for each month I stay."

"Thank you so much, I'll treat you to dinner sometime."

"Forget it, you can't even afford to drink a cup of milk tea yourself."

Ying Tian could only chuckle awkwardly and say that he preferred to drink plain water.

Rui Die handed the keys to St. Louis and showed her around the room, explaining some important points. Ying Tian checked the time and said to Xiang He, who was tidying up the room, "I have class tonight, so I'll be leaving now."

Shoukaku quickly rubbed his hands together and said, "Then I'll take you there."

"No need, no need."

Ying Tian reached into the inner pocket of his pants, took out a few bills, and stuffed them into Xiang He's hand: "I don't know if you know about electronic payment, but since you don't have mobile phones and can't use it for the time being, this is all the cash I have with me. You can go and buy some toiletries or something. There's a small supermarket right outside, I think you should know how to do that."

"I……"

"Here you go, I'm leaving now."

Holding the banknotes that still carried Ying Tian's warmth, Xiang He felt as if the heat was burning her heart, and she quickly chased after him.

No need to send it.

“It’s something else.” Shoukaku took out an envelope with a red heart on it from his clothes and handed it to Eiten. “I suddenly remembered that this is a letter that Taihou asked me to give to you.”

Ying Tian looked at the pink envelope with some curiosity: "Dai Feng? Didn't you say that everything you brought was lost during the time travel?"

"Nothing was lost. Perhaps it's because Taihou's love for the Commander has the power to transcend time and space."

“Uh…” Ying Tian didn’t know what to say, so he put away the envelope, waved, and said, “Then I’ll be going now, goodbye.”

"Goodbye, Commander."

Xianghe leaned against the door, like a wife seeing her husband off, covering her hem with her hands, and bowed slightly to Yingtian's back.

Holding the crumpled banknotes, she suddenly felt incredibly fulfilled, even more so than when she was sitting next to the commander, because she knew that this farewell was truly just that—farewell—and that they would meet again.

That letter contained Taihou's love and longing, but wasn't it also Shoukaku taking the opportunity to convey her own thoughts? It's just that her personality prevented her from being so direct.

In addition, Shoukaku also had a letter written by Akagi in his arms.

Yes, we absolutely cannot let Akagi-senpai scare such a cute commander.

Shoukaku decided to postpone delivering Akagi's letter to Oten.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Beauty is in the Eyes of the Beholder

St. Louis followed Rui Die around the house, checking out the water, electricity, gas, and hot water switches. Although it couldn't compare to the fully automated naval base dormitory, it was still a decent place to stay.

She returned to the room and saw Shoukaku sitting on the edge of the bed, holding something in her hands to her chest, a sweet smile on her face, her long, slender legs in white stockings crossed, staring blankly into space. St. Louis was a little puzzled and asked, "What are you staring at?"

Shoukaku snapped out of his reverie, put away the banknotes in his hand, and said, "It's nothing, I was just thinking about what happened today."

"Referring to... Yingtian?"

He said he had class in the evening, so he went back to school first.

"What are you carrying in your arms?"

"It's nothing... he just gave us the money to buy some toiletries."

Shoukaku walked up to St. Louis and placed his hand on her shoulder from top to bottom. He didn't say anything when he saw her amused smile. Normally, Shoukaku would have said something sarcastic with a smile, but now, in these extraordinary times, it's important to maintain internal unity.

"show me."

"There's nothing to see, I won't give it to you."

"Since there's nothing interesting to see, why not let me see it?"

"You can't be the world's policeman here, or are you having a pirate's addiction and want to rob again?"

"It's not robbery, it's surrender. Didn't you hear what Wales said? In this world, America is Japan's daddy."

"Never mind, you think this is Midway Atoll? Let me tell you, this is the Coral Sea!"

Rui Die stood at the doorway and saw two stunningly beautiful women sitting on the edge of the bed, shoving each other over a few crumpled banknotes. Their hair was disheveled, their clothes were in disarray, and they were speaking in a language she couldn't quite understand. During the shoving, the zipper of St. Louis's clothes was pulled down, and a dazzlingly rounded bosom popped out. Rui Die looked down at her own flat chest and became even more puzzled. Was this really a mature woman who cared about social welfare?

Although St. Louis was more mature and taller, Shoukaku was an aircraft carrier with a full-load displacement more than double that of St. Louis. If they got serious, St. Louis wouldn't be a match for her. Of course, they couldn't be serious in this situation, and Shoukaku didn't dare to use force for fear of damaging the banknotes. Soon, St. Louis had a few bills, and the two sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the few loose change bills on the bed together.

"There's only one large denomination note; the other denominations are all small."

"It's all wrinkled; you can tell it's been taken out to count all the time."

"The smell is so strong, besides the smell of paper, there's also the smell of sweat... Hehe, the smell of a man."

"Wales was right. He is not a simple person, but his principles for dealing with people are very simple. If you are good to him, he will be good to you. If you are close to him, he will find it hard to refuse your requests."

Shoukaku looked into St. Louis's eyes and tentatively asked, "Will you spend it or not?"

St. Louis shook his head and said, "No."

"Then half for each of us?"

"it is good."

The two of them tacitly took half of the money each, smiled at each other, and seemed to think that cooperation was far more worthwhile than confrontation.

"Um, Saint... um, hello everyone, if you haven't had dinner yet, would you like to go get something to eat together?" Rui Die stood at the door and finally mustered up the courage to ask.

St. Louis and Shoukaku looked up at the beautiful college girl and exchanged a glance.

"it is good."

"Thank you."

The moon was bright and the stars were few, while the streets were bustling with traffic. The three of them walked along the commercial street at the entrance of the residential area.

"There aren't many good local Shanghainese restaurants here, but I know a good Northeastern dumpling place, especially their sweet and sour pork..."

Rui Die spoke cautiously. She was usually the big sister of the student council, and she was kind and approachable without being timid. But in front of St. Louis and Shoukaku, she was like a little girl and had no presence at all.

"By the way, is this your first time meeting Ying Tian?"

The three of them sat down in the restaurant. After ordering, Rui Die finally couldn't hold back any longer; she was really full of questions and curiosity.

Shoukaku rested her chin on her hand, as if she had thought of something, and said, "It is indeed our first meeting, but it can't really be called our first meeting. How should I put it... I should say that I have been longing for it for a long time."

Rui Die listened, but it was as if she hadn't heard anything at all.

"What do you mean? You already knew Ying Tian when you were abroad?"

“More or less.” St. Louis gently stroked the glass of hot water in front of her. She knew that to take, one must first give, so she said, “Although we haven’t met, we’ve actually known each other for a long time. We can get information about him through various means, like old friends living together. Later, we learned that he lives in such a faraway place, ethereal yet full of hope. Information can be false, but that’s just the past. We can’t dwell on it. Hope, however, is the real future.”

Rui Die finally understood a little bit this time, so she asked, "So you came to China for Ying Tiancai?"

"Yes."

"Just for him?"

"What's the problem?"

“No problem,” Rui Die said. “I understand a bit. It’s like the saying that distance makes the heart grow fonder. In terms of communication studies, it’s the halo effect. You’re getting news that can’t break through geographical limitations and is far away, so you subconsciously develop a psychological bias of idealizing the object. I’m wondering why so many international friends are paying attention to Ying Tian, ​​who isn’t anything special.”

Xianghe shook his head and said firmly, "Distance doesn't make the heart grow fonder; we are closer to Yingtian than you imagine."

That was a close connection that transcended time and space.

Rui Die clearly didn't understand this meaning and said, "The internet is ultimately virtual, and it's hard to distinguish between truth and falsehood."

At this point, the waiters began serving the dishes one after another.

St. Louis awkwardly picked up a dumpling and said, "You're right. Much of our information about him is inaccurate because of the distance. So when we came here, we found that he was even better than we imagined. Distance doesn't make things better."

Rui Die opened her mouth wide in surprise: "Really?"

"Don't you think Ying Tian is outstanding?"

"He's just an ordinary person, not exactly outstanding."

Rui Die is a foreign language student. Her professor also told her that people's aesthetic sense will be very different when they live in different cultural environments. Rui Die is not sure whether the two ladies in front of her are seeing beauty in the eye of the beholder or seeing a filial son in the eye of a loving mother, or simply have different aesthetic views. Anyway, she thinks Ying Tian is quite ordinary.

St. Louis changed the subject, saying, "I can tell you come from a wealthy family. I heard you're the vice president of the student council, and you're a very nice person. You're definitely an outstanding individual."

"No, no, you flatter me."

"Don't be modest. Someone as outstanding as you is friends with Ying Tian. Like attracts like, so Ying Tian must also be an outstanding person."

Rui Die was a little stunned. Could it be deduced like this? So you're praising me mainly to praise Ying Tian, ​​right?

Thinking of what had happened before, Shoukaku said, "And he's very handsome."

Rui Die: ?

St. Louis agreed: "Decisive men are the most attractive, tall and thin, and they give you a great sense of security."

Shokaku: "He is very organized in his work, has clear likes and dislikes, and has his own principles."

Rui Die: ? ?

St. Louis chimed in: "The most handsome men are those who are optimistic, hardworking, and strive to live life to the fullest."

Shoukaku: "And..."

The two of them were singing in unison, and Rui Die, who originally only felt sympathy for Ying Tian and a little bit of vague affection for him, was now completely swayed.

Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, St. Louis took off the necklace she was wearing and placed it in front of Rui Die, saying, "I see you have quite a bit of knowledge. How much do you think this necklace is worth?"

Basically, no woman can resist sparkling jewelry, and Rui Die was no exception. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the large yellow diamond on the necklace. The light reflected from its countless facets was like a cage, capable of imprisoning the heart.

Rui Die said blankly, "I don't know much about appraisal. I only know that this kind of yellow diamond is very rare, and the whole necklace is very exquisite. It can be seen that it was made by a master craftsman. At least... well, at least 100,000."

"Ten thousand dollars, it's yours," St. Louis said generously.

"Well, you're really at a disadvantage..."

“I won’t be taken advantage of.” As a mature woman, St. Louis certainly understood women. She shoved the necklace into Rui Die’s hand and said, “As compensation, I want to know what kind of person Ying Tian is in your eyes. Tell us everything you know about him.”

Rui Die clutched the necklace, still warm from St. Louis's body heat. The allure of such top-tier jewelry was irresistible to any woman. So intelligent was she that she even forgot to check for a scam, and blurted out, "Actually, I don't know much about Ying Tian. I first met him at the club's recruitment party..."

A naive but wealthy female college student was easily manipulated by two ship girls.

Of course, she wasn't at a disadvantage either. St. Louis was a true wealthy woman in the port area, and that necklace could probably buy a building.

As St. Louis listened to Rui Die recount the commander's story, she smiled, not feeling the pinch at all. For her, this small amount of money (referring to several hundred million) to learn about the commander's past was incredibly worthwhile.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Longing Across Time and Space

"I truly feel that it's so wonderful that you came."

"You're the grand finale, the most important one."

"That's not what I meant. You're handsome, and so is the Prince of Wales."

Actually, Commander, you're not incapable of speaking; my teachings did prove useful after all...

Wales? Wales?