Chapter 914: Go Watch the Program Rehearsal

These past few days, when Qin Ge was in the office, he could also clearly feel the approach of the New Year atmosphere.

At some point, his office had also been filled with things related to the Spring Festival.

Although he had finished today's work early, when he truly stopped to rest, it was already afternoon. For Qin Ge, his life now seemed to have become habitual; drinking the tea brewed by Aijier, his thoughts unconsciously drifted far away.

Aijier seemed to notice Qin Ge's expression, and smilingly asked, 'What are you thinking about, smiling so……annoyingly?'

Qin Ge came back to his senses, involuntarily rolling his eyes, 'What do you mean by smiling so annoyingly? I just thought of something happy.'

'Oh? What is it? Tell me and let me be happy too,' Aijier asked with a smile.

Qin Ge smiled, a hint of nostalgia on his face, 'Do you still remember? Not long after I came to this world, back then I only had a few shipgirls around me, and there wasn't much going on. When we rested, we would sit together, chat, sing songs—clearly that was just a few years ago, so why does recalling it now feel like ages have passed?'

'Hehe, so you don't want to work anymore?' Aijier asked, smiling and blinking her eyes.

Qin Ge helplessly lay on the desk, 'The point isn't here……Never mind, today's work is done too; let's go patrol the harbor together—we haven't gone in a long time, perfect for a stroll.'

Aijier's eyes shifted, 'Hehe, I'm afraid you can't go today.'

'Huh? Why?' Qin Ge asked doubtfully.

'The Spring Festival is just around the corner, and many people are rehearsing at the amusement park's gymnasium; Xin ze xi has already let me know, so if you have time, go there and give them some guidance.' Aijier said.

Qin Ge blinked, 'Er, even if we patrol the harbor, it wouldn't delay things, would it?'

'Hehe, you were just reminiscing about the good times spent with others, and now you're about to dive headfirst into work?' Aijier teased.

'This……we can't always let you patrol alone; that would really be embarrassing.' Qin Ge said, somewhat embarrassed.

'Special circumstances, special treatment.' Aijier said, 'I don't want others to say I didn't inform you properly, leaving all of the commander's free time to be spent elsewhere.'

Qin Ge resigned, 'Alright, I got it; let's first go to the amusement park together—going that way won't delay your patrol.'

'No problem.' Aijier said cheerfully.

Having Qin Ge patrol the harbor might lead to discovering the decorations at the Fleet Girl Academy; therefore, instead of looking for other excuses, it's better to bring him directly to the others so they can keep him occupied.

Saying they'd go, they quickly tidied up the office, left the office area, and walked toward the amusement zone.

The streetlights along the road had already been replaced by the shipgirls with red lanterns, and neat strings were strung across the lampposts, holding small lanterns. Even the trees beside the road had, at some point, been wrapped with neon ribbons; surely when lit at night they would look splendid.

'It feels much more impressive than last year,' Qin Ge said, looking at the decorations along the way with a sigh.

'Hehe, I heard them say the commander had just returned from outside not long ago last year,' Aijier asked.

'That's right; back then we had just finished a major battle, and incidentally completed a visit to the Eurobian continent's forces, returning to the harbor in good spirits,' Qin Ge laughed.

'Having just gone through a major battle, everyone would certainly be tense, so not having decorations as elaborate as now is perhaps only natural,' Aijier laughed.

'That's true.' Qin Ge nodded; after that battle, for a long time everyone's nerves remained tense, so it seems there wasn't as grand a celebration as this year.

The two chatted all the way and soon arrived inside the stadium. As Aijier had said, indeed many people were rehearsing here—there were dancers, opera performers, singers, and even acrobatics when Qin Ge entered.

'It's……magnificent.' Qin Ge stood at the entrance, stunned for a moment, then said. In previous years he hadn't paid attention to the rehearsals; he only saw the shipgirls' prepared performances when the actual show took place.

'Hehe, I also think it's magnificent,' Aijier said.

At that moment, several other shipgirls also noticed Qin Ge's arrival and promptly gathered around.

'Eh, Commander, how did you come here? Aren't you supposed to be working according to your usual schedule?' North Carolina asked doubtfully.

'I mean, didn't Xin ze xi tell me that if the commander had nothing to do, he shouldn't go on patrol but come here to help you with some guidance on the rehearsals?' Aijier stepped forward and said, then gave North Carolina a wink.

North Carolina immediately understood, and quickly nodded, 'Oh, so it was Xin ze xi who said that; I had heard her mention it before, but I thought she was joking—I didn't expect the commander to really come; this is really great.'

'Really? Hehe, disturbing your training always makes me feel a bit sorry,' Qin Ge said apologetically.

'There's nothing to be sorry about; everyone is preparing these programs for the Spring Festival gala. If the commander can help us make the programs better, then surely everyone will enjoy them thoroughly and be happy when the time comes—this is certainly not a bad thing,' the Prince of Wales beside them smiled.

'By the way, why don't I see Xin ze xi around?' Qin Ge asked.

'She's in a slightly inner area; there's a specially made steel pipe stage there, and she seems to be preparing a program. Commander, you can wait a moment; I'll have someone go call her.' North Carolina hurriedly gave her sister Washington a glance.

'Oh, I see; will that disturb her rehearsal?' Qin Ge wondered.

'No problem; rehearsals are basically stop‑and‑go affairs, so it's fine. Commander, you can stay here and chat with others or watch their rehearsals; I'll go call Xin ze xi.' Washington, having received her sister's signal, immediately headed toward the deeper area.

Watching this scene, Aijier smiled at several people and said, 'Then I'll leave the commander in your hands; I'm going to patrol the harbor now, and later I'll come to find him—you can't take up too much of his time.'

'No problem.' The Prince of Wales laughed, then turned to Qin Ge and said, 'Commander, while Xin ze xi hasn't arrived yet, would you like to watch our opera rehearsal? It's about a knight and a princess.'

'Commander, and ours too!' The others' eyes lit up in an instant, shouting and reaching out their hands.

Qin Ge felt a bit overwhelmed for a moment, and quickly told everyone, 'Don't rush; there's plenty of time before dark, let's take it slow.'

Oh!

"