Chapter 31 1/2

“Lu Jing looked at the eye contact between the two, immediately understanding who had authority over the White Flame battleship. ‘Thank you,’ Cen Lang said. ‘You’re welcome; you helped me too.’

Lu Jing returned to the battleship to move luggage.

Jiang Li stood in place, seemingly thoughtful, watching Cen Lang connect the water source on land and help him throw the dirty clothes into the laundry cabinet.

Inside the battleship, there was now an additional large water tank, a collapsible cloth water tank, with a hose gurgling as it filled two-thirds full. There would be no worries about running out of water for showers on the way back.

Jiang Li was certain that the night Cen Lang went out to install the launcher, he brought this collapsible water tank. So, did Cen Lang also plan to find a water source that day?

Apart from responsibility and comradeship, what else did Cen Lang have for him?

Jiang Li’s gaze followed Cen Lang as he moved. He couldn’t respond to emotions, but he inadvertently influenced Cen Lang with marked pheromones, making the other person unconditionally kind to him.

‘I might have gone too far,’ Jiang Li’s face turned slightly pale.

Cen Lang, being stared at by Jiang Li, voluntarily hung a partition curtain in the battleship living area.

On his way here, he had thought it through. Firstly, he wanted to pursue Jiang Li like a gentleman. Secondly, they needed to discuss platonic love.

If he indulged excessively at this stage, it would only lead to further demands for intimacy once they were together. If he could comfort Jiang Li in his arms now, the most they could do after falling in love would be hold hands. Who could endure that? But if he could only watch Jiang Li from afar now, holding hands could be something to look forward to in love, which is satisfying enough.

Delay satisfaction, increase self-control, and increase willpower for love.

Cen Lang tied the ends of the curtain to the hooks: ‘This way, it’s more secure; it won’t sway when the battleship tilts.’ Jiang Li had some doubts; maybe he was overthinking.

Lu Jing quickly returned to the White Flame, casually carrying a military bag as if he had packed a roll of bedding in a sack.

Jiang Li remembered that he was only going to stay on the commander’s battleship for two days, but Cen Lang had prepared three large bags for him, including food and drinks, along with blankets and pillows. Jiang Li felt a bit embarrassed.

If it weren’t for Jiang Wanlan, the cold-blooded commander on land, he wouldn’t have tolerated a military academy student bringing food onto the battleship.

Including Cen Lang, during his first internship, he mentioned that he only drank nutrient supplements when on a mission.

It was okay when he was alone with Cen Lang, but with Lu Jing around, Jiang Li wanted to salvage a bit of the stern and efficient image of Captain Cen. He changed into the training combat uniform he had received before entering the military academy, sat upright, and used a tablet to build a pharmaceutical model.

Once Jiang Li focused on his work, he tuned out the outside world until evening, when he rubbed his sore eyes and yawned. Jiang Li turned his neck, lifted the curtain, and met the ice-cold face of Commander Lu.

“Hello.”

Lu Jing nodded slightly, and seeing the cautious attitude, he praised, not very proficiently, “You’re very diligent.”

“Thank you,” Jiang Li said.

Not knowing how the two divided their tasks, he wrote a schedule and tentatively said, “Don’t drive fatigued. Can you and Cen Lang take turns resting every four hours?”

Lu Jing nodded.

Jiang Li then posted the schedule in the corridor. If not for the firmly drawn curtain by Cen Lang, it would be challenging to sleep in the aura of Commander Lu.

Jiang Li lay on the marching bed, closing his eyes, intending to have as much regular sleep as possible. They said that maintaining a regular schedule during pregnancy would instill good habits in the baby, preventing late-night disturbances for parents after birth.

Thinking about this, he quietly fell asleep.

The co-pilot’s bunk on the White Flame had been used, rendering it unusable. Soldiers who had undergone extreme missions could even sleep standing.

Lu Jing and Cen Lang didn’t use the other marching bed, taking turns driving without using autopilot throughout the journey. One was in the cockpit, and the other sat at the connection between the living area and the cockpit, ready to take over.

They even strictly followed Jiang Li’s schedule for changing shifts.

In the second half of the night, the White Tiger Star Observatory issued a warning: ‘There will be a space storm ahead; please detour.’ Detouring would be bumpy, and Cen Lang called out, ‘Commander Lu.’ Lu Jing tacitly took over the cockpit. Cen Lang returned to the living area, lifted the curtain, and softly woke up Jiang Fu: ‘There’s turbulence.’

The marching bed could be fixed with four legs, but Jiang Li, who was asleep, was free. With every turn of the battleship, he would roll off. Jiang Li, who was quietly setting an example of a regular schedule, moved his eyelids, his voice muffled, ‘Is it severe? ‘

‘Not too severe.’

Jiang Li turned over and hugged the marching bed: ‘I’ll hold on tight.’

Cen Lang couldn’t help but smile. Commander Lu, who operated the battleship, had a fierce and fearless demeanor, but with Jiang Li holding on like this, he could probably knock off a hundred at once. Cen Lang pried open Jiang Li’s fingers clutching the bed board, fastened his seatbelt for Jiang Li, held onto the handrail with one hand, and embraced Jiang Li’s back with the other. ‘Hold onto my neck,’ Cen Lang pulled up his hand.

Jiang Li cooperated well, tightly holding onto his neck. Because he was so tired, he seemed to be half-asleep, letting go when he was about to fall and reflexively catching on again, as if afraid he wouldn’t catch on tightly and fall.

Cen Lang’s Adam’s apple rolled. Jiang Li was cute. Little Dr. Jiang was good at hugging people, as if he had learned it somewhere.

As the battleship swayed left and right, Cen Lang, who was holding onto Jiang Li’s hand to stabilize his body, suddenly stiffened, his eyes darkened, and even veins appeared on his forehead.