Stunned that happiness could arrive so suddenly, Mo Chen looked up.

Jiang Qin’s lips curled into a slight smile. "Admiral, surely you don’t realize how alluring you are?"

Her words made the straight-laced man blush furiously.

This was a man used to intimidating others with a single glance, yet now he didn’t dare meet her smiling, crescent-shaped eyes.

But he wasn’t the type to lack the courage to admit his feelings, so he quickly composed himself.

His expression turned serious. He solemnly placed his right hand over his heart and bowed. "Miss Jiang, please allow me to be your suitor."

It had to be said, a stern-faced Mo Chen was quite an intimidating sight.

Any other female might have frowned and backed away. After all, who would want to spend their days facing such a solemn, imposing expression?

Even if they wanted to get a little frisky, they’d probably feel guilty—as if they were being busted by the vice squad.

But Jiang Qin was quite interested in this type of hyper-responsible man.

She did, however, enjoy the contrast of his hands trembling with nervousness. So, she wasn’t going to make things official with him just yet, though she didn’t plan to drag it out for too long.

’Maybe on the day we get off the ship.’

Unaware that his fate had already been sealed, Mo Chen grew anxious as the silence stretched on.

’Did I misunderstand? Did she not mean to say she was interested in me?’

’Was she just bringing it up so she could reject me outright?’

Before his thoughts could spiral further, he heard Jiang Qin ask, "Aren’t you going to help me put it on?"

Mo Chen hastily, almost clumsily, took the necklace and carefully fastened it around Jiang Qin’s neck.

When his fingers accidentally brushed against her cool skin, his hand trembled.

Once it was fastened, he frowned. "The wind seems a bit too chilly tonight. I’ll walk you back to your room."

It was a little chilly, but the overcoat was keeping her quite warm.

It was a uniform overcoat, complete with medals on the shoulder.

Back at her door, Mo Chen knocked first, standing ramrod straight as he endured Long Hao’s death glare.

"The wind is a little cold. Remember to turn up the heat in Miss Qin’s room later."

Long Hao sneered. "Tsk, she’s not even yours yet. Does she need you worrying about her?"

"Ahem, well, I’ll head inside then. Good night, Admiral~"

Mo Chen didn’t move. He just looked at Jiang Qin earnestly. "Miss Qin, you can just call me by my name."

He was telling her to use his name, yet he himself only dared to shift from "Miss Jiang" to "Miss Qin."

This cautious, one-step-at-a-time approach brightened her mood a little.

"Well then... good night, Mo Chen."

"Good night, Miss Qin."

Mo Chen took back his overcoat, turned, and left.

...

Once inside, Jiang Qin expected Long Hao to ask her something, but he didn’t. Instead, he immediately went to adjust the temperature.

"Qinqin, I’ve already drawn your bath. Go ahead and get in; the room will be warm by the time you’re out." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Okay."

Jiang Qin found it a little strange at first, but that feeling vanished when Long Hao knocked on the bathroom door after she’d gotten into the tub.

After a bit of fooling around in the bathroom, during which she promised she wouldn’t abandon her old loves for a new one, a satisfied Long Hao carried her to the bedroom.

She sat at her vanity, and Long Hao stood behind her, drying her hair with eyes full of adoration.

Jiang Qin suddenly remarked, "It seems a little cold tonight."

"That’s normal. The Empire’s environmental simulator is pretty advanced; it completely mimics the natural temperature fluctuations of Earth from thousands of years ago.

So the temperature difference between day and night at sea is quite large, and it gets even more extreme the closer we get to the central Sea region."

While Long Hao thought it was just asking for trouble, many people loved this kind of drastic temperature swing.

Especially the females.

After all, they rarely had the chance to wear winter clothes, and their closets were full of fur coats.

In terms of aesthetics, these females had a lot in common with the girls of millennia past.

The Alien Beasts here were bizarre and varied, and their pelts were even more extraordinary.

High-level females loved these kinds of rare items.

Ordinary pelts were worthless, but the fur from mutated or rare beasts was incredibly expensive, especially hides from one-of-a-kind mutated specimens.

When winter arrived, who wouldn’t want to go out and show off a rare fur coat?

Except, Jiang Qin didn’t.

But this wasn’t Earth, so she felt no guilt about wearing fur and had no objections to it.

That’s why her wardrobe also contained quite a few furs—all of them spoils from Yun Xie and the others’ battles.

***

Since it was a bit cold, Jiang Qin went to bed early.

She was jolted awake by a violent shaking.

Everything in the room was rattling, and the light on the ceiling was swaying wildly.

"Long Hao, what’s going on outside?"

’This is a high-tech cruise ship, one that can turn into a battleship or a submarine in a pinch. Why would it be shaking like this?’

Long Hao wrapped his arms around her, comforting her. "Don’t be afraid. It’s nothing serious, just a few fools who’ve come looking for death.

The military is here. It’ll be over soon."

"Mmm... BLEGH—"

’But the shaking is making me so dizzy.’

At that moment, Yun Xie also entered. In addition to her own partners, she saw Mo Chen as well.

"Is Qinqin all right?"

Long Hao shook his head. "She’s fine, just nauseous from the violent shaking."

"Okay. You guys stay with Qinqin. I’ll go help kill those things so it stops shaking."

"I’ll go with you."

Yun Xie didn’t object. He and Mo Chen were both very powerful. By joining the military forces, they could end the attack much faster.

’If this commotion hadn’t made Jiang Qin sick, he couldn’t have been bothered to get involved.’

’After all, there were plenty of other High-level males on board.’

Another ten or so minutes passed before the cruise ship finally stopped shaking.

Having thrown up several times, Jiang Qin sat uncomfortably in the living room, sipping warm water.

When Yun Xie returned with Mo Chen, she immediately asked, "What attacked us? Weren’t we told that Ye Lai Star had inspected this route several times and ensured it was safe?"

"They were some kind of failed Alien Beast experiments. We don’t know where they came from."

"They’ve all been dealt with?" Shi Lichuan asked, frowning.

"They’re dealt with. But there’s no guarantee there won’t be a second wave. After all, there’s no such thing as a perfect defense."

Seeing her partners looking so tense and worried, Jiang Qin offered a reassuring smile. "In any case, we’re docking tomorrow night. We should be fine."

"Let’s hope so. Wherever you go tomorrow, Shi Lichuan and I will go with you."

"Okay."

Once he knew Jiang Qin was all right, Mo Chen stood up to take his leave and returned to his own room downstairs.

He had rushed up the moment the ship started to shake, and it was Yun Xie who had let him in.

In fact, the other men in the household had already held a secret meeting about him joining them. The vote had been nearly unanimous.

After all, he was an outstanding male—powerful, with an upstanding character. They had no reason to find fault.

As for why it was only *nearly* unanimous...

Yuan Ling and Long Hao had both abstained.