“A gift?”
Gascogne was a little confused.
She recalled that everyone in the port district would give the Commander gifts on holidays, but the Commander never seemed to have given gifts to other Ship Girlss. Of course, rings didn't count as gifts; rings were vows, promises, proof of bonds, and unrelated to gifts.
Suddenly, the Commander wanted to give her a gift. While Gascogne was a little confused, a small sense of anticipation also arose in her heart.
Wang Yu looked at the quiet girl in front of him. Although she still maintained her calm and capable demeanor, the hint of anticipation in her deep, shimmering golden eyes was almost impossible to hide.
Wang Yu didn't intend to keep him in suspense. With a chuckle, he reached into his pocket, preparing to take out the carefully selected gift. He was already looking forward to seeing the surprise in those bright eyes—it would surely be the warmest ray of light in summer...
But just then, several hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Tap, tap, tap—the sound of high heels striking the floor was crisp and beautiful, only it seemed more urgent than usual.
Wang Yu turned his head in confusion and saw the figures appearing at the doorway.
One, two, three—three people!
He felt a sudden sense of foreboding, an extremely dangerous feeling rising in his heart.
The Commander's unique intuition made him uneasy. Glorious was still wearing that somewhat familiar white court dress, its hem adorned with golden pleated ruffles in a floral pattern. She looked as if she had stepped out of light.
Glorious seemed to have a particular fondness for this white skirt; even with different styles of clothes, she managed to exude the same feeling.
After not seeing her for a few days, Glorious was as beautiful and serene as before, but the gentle smile on her face sent a chill down Wang Yu's spine.
To Glorious's right, little York stood listlessly beside Glorious, her small hand gently held by Glorious's soft one.
York noticed Wang Yu looking over, her gaze flitting away as if she had a guilty conscience, quickly lowering her head, not daring to meet Wang Yu's eyes.
And behind the two of them, Amagi stood composedly, a gentle, composed smile on her face, identical to Glorious's.
This fully confirmed Wang Yu's bad premonition. 'Am I going to be exposed? Is Glorious here to demand an explanation?'
Gascogne was still eagerly anticipating the gift her master had promised. Although she had noticed Glorious and the others approaching earlier, she had been somewhat unconcerned by their arrival.
But soon, the sharp Secretary Ship Miss noticed the change in the Commander's mood, and she gradually realized that something seemed amiss. Her gaze flitted back and forth between Glorious and the others, and the Commander, her pale golden cross-shaped pupils filled with confusion.
“Why does the atmosphere feel off?” She looked back out the window: clear water, shallow woods, early summer breeze rustling through white clouds, lush green wisteria climbing along the windowsill into the room, palm-sized leaves swaying in the wind.
She detected no change in the environment, yet why did she feel the indoor temperature had dropped significantly? After the cooling system, had the temperature control detection system also started malfunctioning?
“It's just... why do malfunctions always happen when the Commander is around?”
Out of the Commander's keen intuition and the self-awareness of someone who had made a mistake, Wang Yu was almost certain that Glorious's visit was clearly not to greet the Commander upon his return to port. Even if she was impatient to see him, Amagi shouldn't have been following her.
When they returned to the Command Center building, Wang Yu and Amagi had parted ways. He had gone into his Commander's office, while Amagi had gone to the upper floor to hand over Command Center duties to Glorious.
Under normal circumstances, the Command Center would certainly have Ship Girlss stationed there. There had already been one small incident before, and moreover, the current Command Center was not reassuring; there was also a Navigator Miss present there.
And now that both of them appeared here at the same time, Wang Yu no longer held any illusions.
Confirmed, Commander, you've been exposed!
He turned his head and glared fiercely at little York. York huddled pitifully beside Glorious, her gaze meeting Wang Yu's and then recoiling as if she'd been electrocuted. Her watery eyes were full of guilt. Although she acted pitiful, Wang Yu wasn't easily fooled by York's feigned distress this time.
“Oh, you little York, what did the Commander tell you? What did you promise the Commander? Have you forgotten the agreement from that night?”
“Is this how revolutionary camaraderie is used for betrayal? Gascogne wouldn't even dare to betray a teammate like you.”
However, he was still a Commander who had weathered many storms. Such a small scene was not enough to faze him; maintaining at least a basic level of composure was easily achievable.
“The Commander is back. Was your journey these past few days smooth? Did you have a good time?” Glorious asked softly, her smile serene and beautiful.
Wang Yu also smiled. He wanted to say that he went to handle official business, and sightseeing was just incidental. But under Glorious's serene and gentle gaze, his original lines completely vanished from his mind, and he couldn't bring himself to act playful, only stammering and nodding.
“I thought so too. Without Glorious by his side, the Commander must have had a very happy time, especially since Amagi served the Commander so well.” Glorious slightly emphasized the words “served.” While this sent shivers down Wang Yu's spine, even the somewhat naive Gascogne realized that things seemed, well, very wrong!
She carefully analyzed the data model of the current scene in her brain. Her computing power rapidly flowed, but after analyzing for a long time, she still couldn't draw any conclusions. Out of cautious consideration for the unknown situation, she could only hold her breath and quietly continue to observe the situation's development. At the same time, her brain was still rapidly querying and analyzing, trying to understand the cause of the current scene.
Glorious's offensive was more aggressive than expected; this was clearly an accusation.
However, although Wang Yu was nervous, he still kept his composure. Don't panic, don't panic, it's not over yet. He was already an experienced Commander, no longer the timid novice Commander who couldn't stand straight in front of his wife. This time, although it seemed he was caught by his wife intending to build a harem, there was still hope. Watch me operate!
Although he tried to appear calm, the problem was that he didn't know how much information little York had revealed to Glorious. So he didn't dare to easily speak up and explain, lest he accidentally blow himself up, which would be completely over.
Thinking of this, he again glanced resentfully at little York, who was bowing her head and playing dead. “Aren't you usually quite lively?”