Mo Si waited quietly outside the white RT.

He hadn’t seen her in so long.

His thoughts drifted for a few seconds before the door clicked open. Mo Si instantly straightened up, tugging his sleeve and composing himself. His expression softened, and his voice was low and warm. "Qiu—"

A familiar face, but not the one he was hoping to see, appeared in the doorway.

The gentle expression on Mo Si’s face didn’t last a second before it completely collapsed.

’Seriously, dude? Could your expression change any faster?’

Meimei invited Mo Si in anyway. Though his expression was still stern when he walked through the door, the moment he saw Jiang Qiuqiu, he transformed.

A smile instantly lit up his face, and the aura around him grew gentle. "Qiuqiu."

"Black Hole, you’re back!" she said, standing and turning around as she spoke.

It was in that moment that Mo Si finally got a clear look at Jiang Qiuqiu.

In Mo Si’s eyes, Qiuqiu seemed to glow under the lights, like a gracefully poised Princess.

Her hair was swept up, baring her ears and the nape of her neck. The dress exposed her shoulders, back, and arms. Not much skin was revealed, but every line was elegantly drawn, leaving much to the imagination.

He studied her for a moment and then had a sudden realization: he had been wrong to think of Qiuqiu as just a child.

A grave mistake.

Because a child wouldn’t make his heart pound like a war drum, wouldn’t make him...

"Qiuqiu."

He murmured her name again.

Jiang Qiuqiu reached out, gathered up a bit of her skirt, and walked over to Mo Si. They exchanged a few words, intending to chat longer, but it was crowded. Besides, if she stepped outside, her dress would touch the snow, and changing again would be a hassle. So, they went to sit for a while at the coffee table next to the fitting room.

This finally gave them a private space. Jiang Qiuqiu had a chance to sit down and get a good look at the man across from her.

He must have been very busy on Polar Star. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked travel-worn, as if he’d rushed back without a moment’s rest.

However... after watching him for a moment longer, Jiang Qiuqiu noticed something very curious.

"Black Hole, it must have been tough for you on Polar Star, right?"

"Just routine patrols. I wouldn’t call it tough." This was something Mo Si had done repeatedly since his youth. Perhaps when he was young and naive, he might have whined to his father about it, but he had long since grown accustomed to it.

"Really? But your eyes are bloodshot," Jiang Qiuqiu said, her face full of concern.

Moved by her concerned gaze, he explained, "It’s not from being tired."

"I was often on night patrol over there, and I haven’t adjusted my schedule back yet. It’s normal for my eyes to be a little bloodshot."

"Oh." That made sense, but: "But Black Hole, it’s only your eyeballs! I realized that even after all those night patrols, you don’t have the slightest trace of dark circles under your eyes."

She marveled, "I just realized we’ve known each other for almost half a year, and you look exactly the same as when we first met."

As she spoke, she suddenly leaned in closer. Mo Si was still processing her words. ’Is she saying my face hasn’t changed? I’m wearing a mask with adjustable parameters—of course my face won’t change!’

The thought had just flashed through his mind when he snapped back to reality and found Jiang Qiuqiu was extremely close. At that moment, even though Mo Si knew his realistic mask was so convincing that no one could tell it was fake unless he took it off himself, his heart still gave a lurch.

Fortunately, Qiuqiu hadn’t discovered anything. She just leaned in for a closer look, then muttered something about "natural good looks" before dropping the dangerous line of questioning.

Mo Si quickly changed the subject.

’Why talk about faces? Let’s talk about spiritual power! That’s the safest topic!’

And so, after a moment of deliberation on their first meeting in a long while, Mo Si—who looked like he was about to reveal a surprise—suddenly sounded like a dean of discipline and abruptly asked Jiang Qiuqiu:

"Qiuqiu, how has your gravity training been going?"

"How’s your spiritual power training coming along?"

"And how are you doing with your Healing Spiritual Power meditation?"

His three-question barrage instantly popped all the little pink, romantic bubbles floating in Jiang Qiuqiu’s heart.

Great.

’He rushed all the way back here just to ask about this.’

’How exasperating!’