Chapter 148

Qin Ge was a bit puzzled, wondering why Banrenma would suddenly ask to look at the stars at this time.

After all, it's winter now; although the seaside weather has been clear these past two days, the cold wind is blowing, so it's hardly a good season for stargazing.

But though he thought that, Qin Ge usually wouldn't refuse a request from his shipgirl, so he nodded at Banrenma and said, "Just wait a moment, I'll change clothes."

Banrenma nodded heavily, "Mm, I'll wait for you, Commander."

"All right." Qin Ge didn't close the door, went back into the room, found a thick coat, put it on, and walked out.

The two walked down the corridor together, and as they went downstairs, the doors of the two rooms opened, and two heads poked out from inside. But the two quickly spotted each other, exchanged a glance, asked something, and then both smiled at each other.

"What, are you planning to follow us and have a look, Guanghui?"

"Not at all; I just wanted to see whether the commander turned off the lights when he left the room, and if he didn't, I'd turn them off for him."

"But why did you open the door, Prince Ou Gen? Are you planning to go down and have a look?"

"Heh, I just had a doubt—whoever was going out so late, seeing it was the commander, there was no need to follow."

"Oh, I see; then it looks like I was mistaken."

"I'm going to sleep; I hope you also get to sleep early."

"All right then."

After they finished speaking, they both pulled their heads back into the rooms and closed the doors. Perhaps this little exchange was what a duel between experts looks like.

Qin Ge, however, didn't know what had just happened when he went downstairs; the outside weather was actually not bad, not as cold as he had imagined.

With Banrenma, he walked toward the seaside; for a while, neither spoke. A strange atmosphere spread between them, making Qin Ge feel somewhat uneasy.

To ease this feeling and also to keep the atmosphere from being so awkward, Qin Ge coughed and said to Banrenma, "Banrenma, why did you suddenly think of coming to the seaside tonight to look at the stars?"

"Ah?" Obviously, Qin Ge's question left Banrenma a bit flustered; she seemed to be in some kind of dazed mood, "I… I just want to stay with the commander like this, just the two of us, for a while."

Although flustered, Banrenma still managed to express her meaning. However, her words were rather blunt, which made Qin Ge, who had asked the question, feel a bit embarrassed.

After all, having lived with Banrenma and the others for so long, Qin Ge would understand some of a girl's feelings even if he were a block of wood; moreover, after the recent events, his sensitivity in this regard has deepened.

But he had originally thought that the first to say such things to him would be Prince Ou Gen or Guanghui, yet he never expected it to be the usually shy Banrenma.

Or perhaps Banrenma hasn't yet reached the point of confession, but what she's shown already lets Qin Ge feel it.

Although Banrenma stared straight ahead and didn't see Qin Ge's expression, based on her usual understanding of him, she could naturally imagine his current shocked look.

Having spoken her heartfelt words, Banrenma felt emboldened by them.

"Commander, could you fulfill this wish of mine?"

Qin Ge smiled and said, "How could you put it like 'fulfilling your wish'? Just give me a call whenever you want—I can always keep you company alone."

Hearing Qin Ge's words, Banrenma smiled and nodded, and in the meantime they had arrived at the seaside.

Perhaps the night air unexpectedly gave them a break; the normally biting cold sea breeze had subsided. Aside from feeling a bit damp chill, there was none of the usual bone‑chilling cool wind.

"Tonight's weather is nice, and the starlight is quite splendid." Qin Ge looked up at the night sky and said to Banrenma.

"Yeah, the biggest and brightest is Orion, though it's a pity you can't see Centaurus in winter nights; come summer night, you'll definitely be able to see the Centaurus constellation." Banrenma said this while pointing at Orion in the sky.

Her voice hinted at a hint of regret, but that was all it was—because standing together with Qin Ge, gazing up at the vast starry sky, this feeling made her utterly happy.

"Mm." Qin Ge, after all, knows a bit about meteorology, so he has a fairly good grasp of the general distribution of the constellations.

Indeed, in winter you can't see the Centaurus constellation, and Centaurus is only faintly visible on summer nights.

"Commander, do you know? I have lots of good things I want to tell you. But normally there are too many seniors around the commander, so I can only keep this wish in my heart."

But after returning to the room today, for some reason, all I could think about was the commander, so I just ran straight to the commander's door, letting you in such a cold night not even be able to come out, standing on the seaside looking at the stars. Banrenma turned her head, one side blushing, the other speaking to Qin Ge.

Qin Ge smiled, reached out and touched Banrenma's head, "It's fine, didn't I just say that? As long as you want, I can always accompany you in talking, whether you have any worries or any happy things, I will share them with you, because I am your commander, you are my shipgirl."

After hearing Qin Ge's words, Banrenma softly said to him, "The commander is always like this, making people unable to help wanting to rely on. I've discovered that I am now increasingly relying on the commander, this reliance makes people unable to help wanting to get closer to you."

"So, commander, can I hug you for a moment?"

Faced with this situation, Qin Ge felt that if he refused Banrenma's hug, it would be too unreasonable. Moreover, since the first emergency commission, every time he hugged the shipgirls returning from a Sortie, it seemed to have become an agreement between Qin Ge and his shipgirls.

"Of course." Qin Ge said to Banrenma.

"Thank you, commander." Banrenma blushed and nodded slightly, then embraced Qin Ge tightly.

And Qin Ge naturally also felt this strength, so he also gently embraced Banrenma with both hands.

"The commander's embrace is really warm." Banrenma pressed her face against Qin Ge's chest, involuntarily saying to him.

"Every time I hug the commander is my happiest moment, so every time I go on a Sortie I will strive to get MVP, just so I can hug the commander longer. Being able to meet the commander, being able to join this Fleet, is truly great."

Qin Ge listened to these words of confession, feeling as if something was blocked in his heart, "Being able to meet you is truly great."