Chapter 172: Chapter 172: The Space Expands Again
Zhang Aihua shook her head. "If they really take a liking to it, there’s nothing we can do. Best not to overthink it. Since Jiang Si and Qin Shen came today, even if those people move in, they probably won’t kick us out."
Zhang Aihua’s words were a great reassurance, and everyone happily started thinking about what to eat for dinner.
If they made a pot of delicious vegetable soup, there would be enough for everyone to have a bowl.
Qin Shen heard everything Zhang Aihua and the others said, but he didn’t mention it to Jiang Si.
Jiang Si had probably figured it out anyway.
’That’s just how people are,’ she thought. ’No need to dig deeper and make things difficult for myself. As long as they don’t have any ill intentions, it’s fine.’
When Jiang Si and Qin Shen returned to the ship, the group crowded around and asked, "How is he? How bad are his injuries? Did he make it?"
Qin Shen said, "The injuries aren’t serious. He’ll probably live."
Shen Baoying, concerned for her son-in-law, asked, "Are you tired?"
Qin Shen shook his head. "Not tired."
Shen Baoying insisted, "You were gone for so long, how could you not be tired? You two have been running around all day. Go relax in the massage chairs. We all just finished, and it feels amazing."
Jiang Si had been planning on it. From the moment the snow had let up in the morning until they’d all gotten busy with their own tasks in the afternoon, it had indeed been a tiring day.
Jiang Si nodded. "Okay, we’ll go get a massage."
Just as Jiang Si and Qin Shen were about to enter the lounge, Qin Shen suddenly stopped, grabbing her arm. His deep gaze, filled with meaning, was fixed on her face.
Jiang Si pretended not to understand what he was thinking and pulled him into the lounge, but he suddenly swept her up into his arms. He whispered in her ear, "I’m not tired. I’ll give you a massage."
Jiang Si grinned from ear to ear. "Uh-huh, are you sure I don’t need to pay?"
Qin Shen’s warm breath brushed against her ear, his expression teasing and suggestive. "I only need a little something in return."
’His "little something" is probably not so little at all.’
But they had already done everything a couple could do, so Jiang Si just smiled, happy to accept. "We’ll see how you perform, then."
Qin Shen’s gentle eyes instantly blazed with passion, and he eagerly carried her into the room.
Jiang Si went to the bathroom to wash up and change into a comfortable set of pajamas. Just as she was about to push open the bathroom door, a series of chaotic, loud noises erupted, and a massive figure suddenly appeared.
Jiang Si froze. Pushing the door open, she saw that Qin Shen had actually transformed into his White Tiger form.
His body, more than twice the size of a normal tiger, made the entire room feel cramped and stifling.
Cracks had appeared in the ceiling, but thankfully, no one lived on the floor above.
The furniture inside was a complete wreck.
Jiang Si remembered that Qin Shen was only forced to transform during a lunar eclipse.
’Normally, there are only two lunar eclipses a year.’
’Has the apocalypse changed the pattern of lunar eclipses?’
With no time to think, Jiang Si rushed forward, hugging his head. "Are you okay? Are you in pain?"
The last time he had transformed and come to find her, he had seemed unusually distressed and irritable.
’It must be similar to when I suddenly get those bouts of unbearable pain.’
Jiang Si pressed closer to him, hoping to ease his discomfort.
Qin Shen couldn’t speak as a tiger. He gently wrapped his paws around Jiang Si, telling her he was fine.
Hearing the commotion, the others rushed over, knocking on the door and asking anxiously, "Sisi, what’s going on in there?"
Jiang Si obviously couldn’t open the door. She quickly called out, "It’s nothing! We just knocked something over! We’re cleaning it up, it’ll be fine by tomorrow!"
Hearing Jiang Si’s reply, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Once they left, Jiang Si, worried that the shattered bedframe under Qin Shen was uncomfortable, asked, "Should I move the boards so you’re more comfortable?"
If he stood up, his head would hit the ceiling. He didn’t have much room to move, and they couldn’t go somewhere else where others might see him.
’But I should still be able to pull the bedframe and mattress out from under him.’
Qin Shen shook his head, lifted his belly slightly, and with a gentle nudge of his paw, pushed the bedframe aside himself.
Jiang Si found herself once again held against his soft, furry chest. ’The massage is off, but sleeping on a giant White Tiger mattress seems pretty comfortable too.’
Fluffy things had been Jiang Si’s favorite ever since she was a little girl.
Right now, she felt like a child again, nuzzling forcefully against him and taking a few deep breaths of his scent.
Qin Shen’s jewel-like eyes were filled with indulgent affection.
But Jiang Si was still a little worried that Qin Shen would be stuck in his original form.
"You should be able to change back by tomorrow morning, right?"
Qin Shen nodded, though he didn’t seem entirely sure.
Jiang Si immediately grew anxious, wishing she could just stick herself to Qin Shen to make him recover faster and faster.
But, whether it was the effect of the energy stone, her genuine exhaustion from the day, or the profound sense of security Qin Shen gave her, Jiang Si fell asleep, despite needing to be on guard so no one would find out.
The next morning, Jiang Si woke up to find herself staring into a pair of enormous eyes.
On pure reflex, she almost reached out to poke them, but then she jolted fully awake, remembering that this beast was Qin Shen’s original form.
’A whole night has passed, and he still hasn’t changed back!’
’He changed back before!’
Jiang Si started to panic. "What’s going on? Why can’t you change back?"
’He’s not going to be stuck as a White Tiger forever, is he?!’
They could hide it for today, but they wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret for much longer.
Qin Shen signaled with his eyes for her not to worry. He then hooked a key with his claw and typed out the English for "just wait."
’It’s true,’ she thought. ’Panicking won’t help him change back.’
Jiang Si sighed and asked him, "Does it still hurt?"
Qin Shen shook his head.
"Then I guess I still have some effect on you. Let me hold you for a bit longer."
Jiang Si held onto Qin Shen until Shen Baoying could wait no longer and came looking for them. "Sisi, didn’t you say you were going to carve out the cave dwelling today? Are you not going anymore?"
Jiang Si feigned exhaustion. "I’m too tired, and that time of the month just started. Qin Shen isn’t feeling well either, seems like an allergic reaction or something, he has diarrhea. Let’s take it slow. There’s no rush, Mom."
Hearing this, Shen Baoying said understandingly, "Well, should we go ahead first?"
"Your dad has experience. He even helped build cave tunnels for people back in the day."
Anyone in construction learns a bit about every kind of project.
Jiang Linhai had been able to support Jiang Si’s extreme sports hobby, which showed he was quite capable and had earned a good amount of money.
Jiang Si quickly said, "Let’s wait and go together. We have to do a thorough safety check first. We shouldn’t act rashly."
"Okay."
Unable to fall back asleep, Jiang Si sat up from her spot on Qin Shen and asked him, "Should I get a towel and wipe your face?"
Qin Shen was actually a bit of a neat freak, so not washing his face must be uncomfortable for him.
In truth, Qin Shen could clean himself in his original form.
But seeing the eager and happy look on Jiang Si’s face, he nodded.
Jiang Si pulled a new towel directly from her dimensional space.
Suddenly, her hand froze. She immediately checked her space with her consciousness.
It wasn’t her imagination.
For some unknown reason, her space had suddenly expanded by another square meter.
