Chapter Thirteen: KISS—A Display of Affection

"Sergeant Tina, Wenxin? How did you get in here?" Mingchuan hurriedly put away his short sword and climbed off Kolt.

"Oh, Miss Wenxin came to find me to open the armored gate," Tina replied.

"Actually, I saw you hadn’t returned for so long, and you mentioned you’d come here with Kolt. I was worried you two might end up fighting, so..." Wenxin said in a shy, almost inaudible voice.

"Please, can you not talk like that? You’re giving me goosebumps all over," Mingchuan protested.

"I’m quite curious," Tina suddenly put on a thoughtful expression, studying the low-ranked mech pilot before her, "How are you able to defeat a mech with your bare hands? Even we, experienced mech pilots, don’t know that attacking the back directly shuts down the machine. At this level of expertise, only the mech designers Tyron and Taylor possess such skill. Our superiors value you as one of the world’s top-ranked pilots, but..."

"I’ve only piloted real mechs a handful of times," Mingchuan said with a look of disdain, clearly unconcerned by her question. "I usually just play ‘Mech Battle Dynasty’ in motion mode for practice. Besides, that move is just something I picked up from brawling in the past. Who knew it’d be so effective?"

"Alright, if we’re done here, I lost anyway. Can I go now?" Kolt interjected.

"Oh, not yet! You need to get more familiar with the Knight Mech. Your handling is really lacking," Tina replied the moment Kolt spoke.

"Oh, no!" While Kolt was dragged off for training with Tina, Mingchuan and Wenxin returned to their dorm. As soon as they entered, they found themselves in a standard European-style dormitory.

"Why is it only our country’s dorms that look so plain?" Mingchuan grumbled as he put away his phone and watch. But before he could turn around, Wenxin suddenly pounced on him, pushing him onto the sofa.

"Wha—what’s going on? Even if we’re going along with the plot, isn’t it supposed to be the male lead who pushes the female lead down?" he sputtered.

"What are you talking about? I just wanted to warn you—if you dare sneak into my room tonight, you’d better be ready for the consequences!" Wenxin shot back.

After Wenxin disappeared into her room, Mingchuan wiped the cold sweat from his brow. "What’s with girls these days? Why do their moods swing so wildly? Ugh, I’m drenched in sweat. Time for a shower and bed, I’m exhausted."

Just as Mingchuan emerged from the bathroom, refreshed, Wenxin opened the door and walked in.

"Hey, hey, what’s this? Why do you show up right after I finish bathing? Are you up to something?"

"Don’t flatter yourself. I just forgot to give you some documents. I’ll just leave them on your desk," she said.

"Alright, let me look them over. You can go now," he urged.

"Alright, alright, no need to rush me," Wenxin replied with a hint of playful annoyance.

"What’s with the attitude today?" Mingchuan muttered. After reading the documents, he picked up a book, wrote a diary entry, then turned off the lights and went to bed.

Ten minutes later, the door opened quietly. Wenxin walked over to Mingchuan’s desk, picked up his diary, and glanced at it. Putting it down, she moved to his bedside, gazed at his face, and kissed him tenderly.

"I finally know what you want, Wenxin," Mingchuan said suddenly.

"M-Mingchuan, you’re still awake?" she stammered.

"I can’t exactly sleep when a girl barges into my room. Besides, I’m a chronic insomniac by nature."

"S-sorry, I just..."

"Ah, so this is how goddess-level girls act. I give up—do as you like, just don’t disturb my sleep. I’m exhausted."

Hearing this, Wenxin grew bolder. "Goddess-level, is that so?" She took off her slippers, climbed into bed, and wrapped her arms around Mingchuan.

(Author’s note: With the physical exams approaching, I’ve been training so hard every day I feel like a dog, so please forgive me if updates are slow. As for why I’m no longer called TK, it’s partly because I’m planning my next novel, ‘The Prey,’ but I don’t have enough material yet. For a junior high graduate, it’s quite a challenge! Regarding the above content—clearly, I’ve never been in a relationship, so this is all just self-indulgence. Don’t expect too much!)