Chapter 94

When leaving the lab, Xu Qiao’s space was filled with a pile of materials, all related to her future B-level and A-level therapist exams.

Back at Ping’an Community, Xu Qiao spent the afternoon making the final revisions to her thesis. After finishing, she took a break, and Qin Chi called her to come over for dinner.

Nowadays, although Lotus had outgrown its upgraded vanity phase, Xu Qiao still released it.

The meter-long fire dragon coiled around the dining room lamp. At that height, Xu Qiao took a glance and didn’t pay much more attention. It was either looking at her or at Lotus anyway.

Qin Chi set the table for dinner and sat opposite her.

Xu Qiao took the initiative, “Tomorrow, Meng Li and the captain will return. Do you want to tell them about your situation?”

As long as Qin Chi wanted to keep it a secret, she could mention it to Meng Qiuyan, and Meng Qiuyan would likely pretend not to have seen Qin Chi’s fire dragon spirit.

Qin Chi said, “The spirit can be revealed, but let’s not talk about the beastification to avoid worrying them. What do you think?”

Xu Qiao replied, “…This is your secret, and I respect your decision.”

Qin Chi pointed to the fire dragon above, “You respect me, but it won’t. Unless you want me to keep hiding my identity, I no longer have a reason to prevent it from appearing. Forcing it back consumes more of my mental energy.”

Xu Qiao looked up.

The fire dragon flew down, skillfully wrapping around Qin Chi’s upper body, its head looping over Qin Chi’s shoulder to face Xu Qiao: “He used to forbid me from coming out because he was afraid of scaring you. But now that you’re not afraid of me anymore, Meng Li and Sun Fushan aren’t considered outsiders? Or do you not want them to know our true identity?”

Xu Qiao replied, “…They’re certainly not outsiders. I’m just worried they might not interact with Qin Chi as naturally as before.”

Fire Dragon: “Have they ever interacted with Qin Chi? Apart from eating the food he made, they’ve hardly spoken to him.”

Qin Chi added, “Given Meng Li’s personality, whether I’m B-level or S-level makes no difference to her. As for Sun Fushan, he has an S-level grandfather and an S-level uncle. Another S-level teammate should be easy for him to accept.”

Xu Qiao nodded.

Lotus: “But you’ve deceived them for so long; shouldn’t you apologize?”

Qin Chi said, “I will.”

Fire Dragon: “Why apologize? We don’t care if they’re angry or not.”

Lotus: “You’re really rude.”

Fire Dragon: “Then I’ll apologize to you. Don’t be mad.”

Lotus raised a leaf to cover Fire Dragon’s head.

Fire Dragon looked helplessly at Xu Qiao for help.

Xu Qiao lowered her head to eat.

Fire Dragon then looked at Qin Chi.

And Qin Chi’s gaze had been fixed on Xu Qiao’s face all along.

At nine in the evening, Xu Qiao was practicing her abilities when Qin Chi sent a message: “I’m coming to deliver the spirit.”

Xu Qiao paused her training, tidied her hair in front of the mirror, and went to open the door.

Previously, Qin Chi would hand her the golden ball and leave. Now, without the golden ball, Xu Qiao took out the golden birdcage from her space in advance and went to the entrance. She opened the door with one hand and held the birdcage behind her back to avoid neighbors being dazzled by the golden cage.

As the door opened, Xu Qiao habitually checked behind Qin Chi to ensure no one else was there. She then revealed the birdcage, indicating for Qin Chi to quickly let the fire dragon in.

Qin Chi said in a low voice, “Can I come in? I want to make some modifications to the cage.”

Xu Qiao stepped aside upon hearing this.

She moved back a few steps, not looking at Qin Chi as he changed his shoes.

Once he was done, she curiously handed him the birdcage.

Qin Chi used his fire abilities to add a small door to the cage, allowing the fire dragon to enter directly at a size of twenty to thirty centimeters without having to fit through the cage bars.

Xu Qiao said, “You’re so thoughtful. I never even thought about the missing door.”

Qin Chi smiled, “I’ll also modify the perch.”

Xu Qiao immediately took out the perch.

Qin Chi melted down a box of gold bars, turning the simple perch into an elegantly styled golden tree, making it both more luxurious and heavier.

Qin Chi helped move the golden tree to the secondary bedroom.

The fire dragon had already come out, crawling along the tree trunk before finally curling up inside the birdcage.

Xu Qiao laughed, “See how good Qin Chi is to you, even improving your living environment.”

The fire dragon glanced at Qin Chi. Although they had been one entity for the past few hours, Qin Chi’s thoughts were too erratic—sometimes reading, sometimes picturing Xu Qiao, and sometimes suddenly thinking about the bird perch.

The perch had indeed been improved to suit it better, but the fire dragon felt that Qin Chi’s sudden interest had nothing to do with “being good to it.”

Lotus also settled into the large green jar.

“Goodnight, sleep early,” Xu Qiao said as she turned off the lights, leading Qin Chi out of the secondary bedroom.

As they left, Xu Qiao escorted Qin Chi to the door. When they reached the living room, Qin Chi suddenly stopped.

Xu Qiao turned back in confusion.

Qin Chi looked at her and, in a voice low enough that the two spirits in the other room couldn’t hear, asked, “Lately, my spirit has been clinging to you more, sometimes landing on you without permission. Does that make you upset?”

Xu Qiao tensed up as soon as she heard the first sentence, trying to stay calm and smiling at his chest, “How could it? We’re not strangers, and the captain’s little turtle often comes to me too.”

Qin Chi replied, “The little turtle doesn’t constantly stare at you or Lotus.”

Xu Qiao felt as if her mind had suddenly caught fire.

She instinctively stepped back two steps, then turned away, facing him, trying to rationalize the fire dragon’s unusual behavior: “Even though we’re teammates, we live close by. It’s understandable that your spirit prefers Lotus.”

Qin Chi said, “But its behavior has already exceeded the normal boundaries of a teammate’s spirit interaction. I don’t want Lotus to think it’s a frivolous spirit, and I certainly don’t want you to have the same misunderstanding about me.”

Xu Qiao nodded while looking at Qin Chi, who had been waiting outside the ward.

Qin Chi said the Fire Dragon was bloodthirsty, but Xu Qiao thought that bloodthirstiness was just a way for the Fire Dragon to release its pain while being tormented by the black mist.

Recalling Qin Chi’s growth experiences, Xu Qiao speculated that if she entered the Fire Dragon’s spiritual world, what she would feel would be boundless loneliness.

Chapter 94

When she left the laboratory, Xu Qiao had a bunch of materials in her space, all related to her future exams to become a B-level or A-level healer.

Returning to the Peaceful Community, Xu Qiao spent the afternoon making final revisions to her thesis. After finishing, she took a break, and Qin Chi called her over for dinner.

Now that Lotus had passed the upgraded vanity phase, Xu Qiao still let it out.

The over-a-meter-long Fire Dragon coiled around the restaurant lamp. From such a high position, Xu Qiao took one look and didn’t pay much attention. It was either looking at her or Lotus.

Qin Chi set the dinner table and sat across from her.

Xu Qiao took the initiative, “Tomorrow, Meng Li and the captain will be back. Should we tell them about your situation?”

As long as Qin Chi wanted to keep it a secret, Xu Qiao could have a word with Meng Qiuyan, and Meng Qiuyan would probably pretend she had never seen Qin Chi’s spiritual Fire Dragon.

Qin Chi said, “The spiritual form can be revealed, but let’s not mention the beast transformation to avoid worrying them. What do you think?”

Xu Qiao replied, “It’s your secret. I respect your decision.”

Qin Chi pointed to the Fire Dragon above, “You respect me, but it won’t unless you want me to continue hiding my identity. I no longer have other reasons to stop it from showing up, and forcibly suppressing it would consume more of my mental strength.”

Xu Qiao looked up.

The Fire Dragon flew down, skillfully coiling around Qin Chi’s upper body, its head wrapping over his shoulder and facing Xu Qiao: “He didn’t let me come out before because he was afraid of scaring you. But you’re not afraid of me anymore, and Meng Li and Sun Fushan aren’t outsiders either, right? Or do you not want them to know our true identities?”

Xu Qiao said, “Of course, they’re not outsiders. I’m just worried if they’ll be able to interact with Qin Chi as naturally as before.”

The Fire Dragon replied, “Have they ever interacted with Qin Chi? Besides eating the meals he made, they hardly talked to him.”

Qin Chi added, “Knowing Meng Li’s personality, whether I’m a B-level or S-level wouldn’t make a difference to her. As for Sun Fushan, he has an S-level grandfather and an S-level uncle. One more S-level teammate shouldn’t be hard for him to accept.”

Xu Qiao nodded.

Lotus said, “But you’ve deceived them for so long. Shouldn’t you also apologize?”

Qin Chi said, “We will.”

The Fire Dragon retorted, “Why apologize? We don’t care if they get mad.”

Lotus replied, “You’re so rude.”

The Fire Dragon said, “Fine, I’ll apologize. Don’t get mad.”

Lotus raised a leaf to block the Fire Dragon’s head.

The Fire Dragon looked to Xu Qiao for help.

Xu Qiao kept eating.

The Fire Dragon then looked at Qin Chi.

Qin Chi’s gaze was always fixed on Xu Qiao’s face.

At nine in the evening, Xu Qiao was practicing her abilities when Qin Chi sent a message: “I’m coming over to deliver the spiritual form.”

Xu Qiao paused her training, tidied her hair in front of the mirror, and went to open the door.

Before, Qin Chi would hand her the gold ball and leave. Now without the gold ball, Xu Qiao took out the golden birdcage from her space and went to the entrance. She opened the door with one hand while holding the birdcage behind her back, so the neighbors wouldn’t be dazzled by the golden cage.

When the door opened, Xu Qiao habitually looked behind Qin Chi to make sure no one was there. She then revealed the birdcage and gestured for Qin Chi to quickly let the Fire Dragon in.

Qin Chi whispered, “May I come in? I want to make some modifications to the cage.”

Hearing this, Xu Qiao made way.

She stepped back a few steps, not watching Qin Chi change his shoes.

Once Qin Chi was done, she curiously handed the birdcage to him.

Qin Chi used his fire abilities to add a small door to the birdcage so the Fire Dragon could enter directly at a size of twenty or thirty centimeters without squeezing through the cage bars.

Xu Qiao said, “You’re so meticulous. I didn’t even realize it needed a door.”

Qin Chi smiled, “I’ll also modify the bird perch.”

Xu Qiao immediately took out the bird perch.

Qin Chi melted a box of gold bars and transformed the simple bird perch into a rustic golden tree, making it more elegant and heavier.

Qin Chi helped move the golden tree to the guest bedroom.

The Fire Dragon had already come out and was circling the golden tree before finally entering the birdcage.

Xu Qiao laughed, “Look how good Qin Chi is to you, even improving your living environment.”

The Fire Dragon glanced at Qin Chi. Despite being one with him for the past few hours, Qin Chi’s thoughts were too scattered. One moment he was reading, another moment Xu Qiao’s image would appear, and then suddenly it would switch to the bird perch.

The perch was indeed more to its liking, but the Fire Dragon felt Qin Chi’s sudden interest had nothing to do with being nice to it.

Lotus also settled into the large green tank.

“Good night, sleep early,” Xu Qiao turned off the lights and led Qin Chi out of the guest bedroom.

Once outside, she escorted Qin Chi to the door. In the living room, Qin Chi suddenly stopped.

Xu Qiao turned back in confusion.

Qin Chi looked at her and, in a voice that the spiritual forms in the guest bedroom couldn’t hear, asked, “Lately, my spiritual form has been sticking to you a lot, sometimes landing on you without permission. Are you upset?”

Xu Qiao felt a surge of heat at his first sentence and tried to stay calm, smiling at his chest, “How could I be? We’re not strangers. The captain’s little turtle often comes to me too.”

Qin Chi said, “But the little turtle doesn’t stare at you or Lotus all the time.”

Xu Qiao felt a rush of heat in her mind.

She instinctively took two steps back, then turned away, trying to find a reason for the Fire Dragon’s special behavior: “Even though we’re teammates, we live close by. It’s understandable that your spiritual form likes Lotus.”

Qin Chi said, “But its behavior has gone beyond the normal boundaries of teammate interaction. I don’t want Lotus to misunderstand it as a frivolous spiritual form, and I don’t want you to have the same misunderstanding about me.”

Xu Qiao said, “Don’t worry, I didn’t misunderstand. Spiritual forms are like children. I didn’t think much of it.”

Qin Chi replied, “But spiritual forms aren’t children. They are the mental reactions of ability users. I have feelings for you, so they are interested in you. I like you, so they show favoritism toward you.”

The feelings of ability users can be more complex. Even if they like someone, they may have reservations, but spiritual forms don’t. Their emotions are pure and can’t be hidden or faked.

Xu Qiao was completely stunned, not expecting him to say it so bluntly!

The question she had long suspected, analyzed repeatedly, denied, and recently become more certain of, Qin Chi just directly answered it.

Xu Qiao wasn’t hearing a confession for the first time, but this was the first time she was confessed to by a familiar neighbor and teammate.

Her mind was in chaos, not knowing how to respond. Qin Chi’s tone was different from her previous pursuers, too calm, making everything seem unreal.

Qin Chi looked at her nearly crimson face: “Are you surprised? I made it quite obvious that night. I thought you could feel it.”

Xu Qiao said, “What’s so obvious? Didn’t you always emphasize we’re teammates?”

Qin Chi said, “I wouldn’t cook specifically for a teammate, especially a female one. I wouldn’t ride a bike for an hour at night to take her home. I wouldn’t invite her to my place for dinner alone. I wouldn’t offer to carry her upstairs when she’s tired, and I wouldn’t let my spiritual form have physical contact with her.”

“There are many things I’ve done for you that I wouldn’t do for a female teammate. I won’t list them all.”

Xu Qiao, standing in front, lowered her eyes, but she could see Qin Chi’s legs behind her.

Perhaps to prevent the spiritual forms from hearing, he stepped closer, almost touching her.

Whether it was due to his fire abilities or something else, Xu Qiao just felt increasingly hot.

She didn’t want Qin Chi to see her flushed face, so she walked forward as if to escape, pressing her fingers on the switch and turning off the living room light.

Without the gaze fixed on her face, Xu Qiao felt a wave of relief, but as she relaxed, she could hear her heavy breathing due to nervousness.

Why was it like this? Why did he suddenly say these things without giving her any mental preparation?

Xu Qiao walked to the sofa, sitting in the farthest corner from him.

Qin Chi followed, but this time he didn’t take out his own sofa or sit next to Xu Qiao. Instead, he knelt on one knee in front of her, one hand on the armrest and the other on the sofa on her other side.

Despite his over 190 cm height, even in this posture, he was still slightly taller than Xu Qiao.

Xu Qiao had always admired his composure in various situations, never expecting him to be just as composed when pursuing someone.

She turned her head towards the kitchen.

Qin Chi continued, “I emphasized being teammates before because I was afraid you wouldn’t like me. At least as teammates, I could stay close to you.”

“I’m saying this now because I’ve crossed the line, and you’ve noticed.”

Xu Qiao didn’t want to admit she pretended not to know several times, “I didn’t notice anything.”

Qin Chi said, “Okay, it was my misunderstanding. But now that I’ve said it, I want to know if you’re willing to accept me as your partner?”

Xu Qiao’s face grew hotter.

Others would ask if they could be lovers or boyfriends/girlfriends, but he used the term “partner.”

Lovers might break up after a few months, but a partner implies a longer, more intimate, and stable relationship.

She had an answer in her heart, but still had concerns.

Turning to look at his blurry face in the dim light, Xu Qiao lowered her head slightly and whispered, “Your family background…”

Qin Chi said, “I can make this decision myself, and from what I know of them, they’ll be happy about it, especially my grandfather.”

Xu Qiao said, “But you’ll have to go back eventually…”

Qin Chi replied, “Dragons fly fast. I can get here in half an hour after a mission.”

The flying speed of ability users is related to their mental state. Full effort can be faster, but Qin Chi didn’t want to set a strict commuting time to avoid disappointment.

Xu Qiao remained silent.

Qin Chi asked, “Are you worried about my beast transformation? I can’t guarantee it won’t relapse, but since knowing you, it’s stabilized a lot. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have said anything.”

Xu Qiao shook her head, “I’m not afraid.”

Qin Chi asked, “Then what are you afraid of?”

Xu Qiao didn’t respond.

After a pause, Qin Chi asked, “Are you worried about our abilities’ attributes, water and fire…”

Xu Qiao covered his mouth with her hand, startled by his body temperature, and shrank into the sofa.

Qin Chi said, “Sorry, I can control my spiritual form but not my body temperature.”

Xu Qiao took a cushion from her space and covered her face, “Stop talking.”

Qin Chi said, “I want to assure you that physical contact isn’t as difficult as the forums suggest, but I have no experience, so…”

“Don’t say anything,” Xu Qiao pressed the cushion against his face.

Qin Chi grabbed her hand, holding it tightly, and asked experimentally, “Is this okay?”