Chapter 610: Chapter 629: Discussing Gifts
"You’re dismissed for now." Mo Si glanced at the flashing name on his terminal and dismissed his two adjutants.
"Then... should we report on these later?"
"Review what you have clearance for. Bring the rest back in later."
"And close the door on your way out."
"Yes, Admiral."
The two of them beat a hasty retreat from the office. Once the door was shut, they scurried a safe distance away before Changbei dared to grab Qiudao’s hand, practically bursting with excitement. "I told you those romance shows I watch are the best!"
"The Admiral is totally in love! Did you see that smile!"
"And that priority contact notification! He kicked us out just to take the call—Qiudao, you lose! You lost our bet!"
The two of them had previously made a bet on whether Admiral Mo Si had a girlfriend.
"Fine, a bet’s a bet," Qiudao said. "I lost. What are your terms?"
"Heh heh! I want you to watch that romance show with me!"
"..."
’Fine. I’ll watch.’
-
One drama played out outside the door, and another within.
"Qiuqiu, what’s wrong?"
Jiang Qiuqiu’s voice was listless, tinged with the confusion of someone who’d lost her way. She told Mo Si what had happened that morning, then asked, "How am I supposed to choose?"
"What do you really want to do?"
"Either one seems fine, I guess. The training would be exhausting, but I’m not afraid of that. I just can’t find a reason why I absolutely have to do it."
"Hmm, you can choose whatever you want," Mo Si said, his tone objective and authoritative. "Piloting a light-class Mecha is fine. Truthfully, if you’re not in combat, there’s not much difference between piloting a heavy-class Mecha and a light-class one."
"But I’ve seen the videos of your Mecha spars at the military district. You enjoy sparring in your Mecha, don’t you, Qiuqiu? You’re much happier when you’re fighting someone than when you’re just running drills."
She hadn’t realized Mo Si paid such close attention. "Yes. The reason I love the Mecha Department is the feeling of fighting in a Mecha."
"In that case, you could try working toward piloting a Medium-sized Mecha. Don’t set a heavy-class as your goal. Even though you don’t have the innate talent of a Genetic Hybrid, you can still strengthen yourself with gravity and spiritual power training."
"Can I really get stronger that way? My instructor said it’s so difficult it’s basically hopeless."
"Someone has done it," Mo Si replied.
"Okay, then. If even one person has succeeded, I still want to give it a try." The thing that had tormented Jiang Qiuqiu the most was the thought of all that grueling work being for nothing. But knowing someone else had managed it, she felt her motivation surge back!
"If you want to do it, then try. It doesn’t matter if you don’t succeed. The training will strengthen your body and your spiritual power, which will make everything you do later feel easier."
That took care of the practical matters.
Now for the personal ones.
"You only call me when you have a problem, Qiuqiu."
"You don’t even lead with ’I miss you’?"
"And you didn’t reply to my message last night. Are your classes in the Mecha Department that exhausting?"
His barrage of questions made Jiang Qiuqiu feel a little guilty. "I call you all the time when nothing’s wrong! I miss you! If I didn’t, you wouldn’t have been the first person I called. And of course Mecha classes are tiring, but I still message you every day no matter how tired I am."
"I miss you very much, too."
"The deployment bells rang again yesterday, Qiuqiu. I might be shipping out ahead of schedule."
"What?!" Jiang Qiuqiu immediately forgot all about her training dilemma. "Ahead of schedule? How much sooner?"
"The Military Department is still confirming, but it will likely be next week." This meant that if all went well, Mo Si and Jiang Qiuqiu could see each other one last time.
"So, is there anything you’d like as a gift? I’ll bring it to you on Sunday."
"Who asks someone what gift they want! I’m not answering that question. You can just pick something out yourself!"
"Alright," he conceded. "I’ll do my best to pick something you’ll like."
"I’ll get a gift for you, too!" Jiang Qiuqiu declared.
"And I know you’re going to love it!"
"I’ll love anything you give me," he said simply.
Jiang Qiuqiu’s melodious laugh came through the comm. "No, this is different."
He found himself growing curious, already looking forward to Sunday.
