Chapter 42
Qin Jiulin asked, “How were we before? What was our relationship?”
Xia Liansheng opened his mouth, wanting to say “lovers,” but quickly realized that wasn’t the case.
They had never officially confessed to each other or actually been together. In reality, they had always been in an ambiguous state.
It was just that in the eyes of others, they were together. This was something Xia Liansheng had wanted to mislead Qin Jiulin about, but he didn’t expect to trap himself instead.
Xia Liansheng said, “Our relationship was so good, I thought we didn’t need all those pretenses. So, I never directly said it. If you care about that, we can be together now…”
His tone became more and more excited. Liu Zhongyuan, who stood nearby, could faintly hear his words. If he continued saying these things, would it mean that the main topic was already finished?
He quickly walked over and grabbed Xia Liansheng’s hand, which was reaching towards Qin Jiulin, and said, “Hey!”
Xia Liansheng turned his head sharply and glared at Liu Zhongyuan. “What’s the matter? Didn’t I say I wanted to talk to Jiulin alone?”
Liu Zhongyuan smirked. “You’ve been talking for so long, whatever you wanted to say should already be said, right? You reached out just now, are you trying to hit someone?”
Even though Xia Liansheng always showed a good temper to others, being repeatedly blocked by Liu Zhongyuan had pushed him to the limit. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
“What does my relationship with Jiulin have to do with you? It’s inappropriate for you to keep interrupting me like this.”
Liu Zhongyuan blinked, looking somewhat strange. “What’s inappropriate about it? My relationship with Jiulin is very good now, didn’t I just tell you? Have you forgotten already?”
Xia Liansheng didn’t believe it. He had been with Qin Jiulin for such a long time, and even if the other person didn’t truly fall in love with him, Xia Liansheng knew Qin Jiulin’s character very well.
Qin Jiulin was not the kind of person who would develop deep feelings for someone in a short period of time. Whether it was friendship or love, it required time and effort to cultivate before it could blossom.
So because of his character, Qin Jiulin basically had no friends, and as for a lover… there was only Xia Liansheng, for such a long time…
He never expected that in just a short period of time, Qin Jiulin would no longer acknowledge him as his lover. In Xia Liansheng’s eyes, it was all Liu Zhongyuan’s fault.
After all, Xia Liansheng had invested so much time and effort to win over Qin Jiulin, how could he accept failure at this point? He wouldn’t.
Xia Liansheng said, “You don’t need to say those misleading words. I have been with Jiulin for so long, and I know what kind of person he is better than you do. So I won’t believe you.”
Liu Zhongyuan raised an eyebrow, feeling quite annoyed. Xia Liansheng had a thick skin, but… he was right about one thing, Liu Zhongyuan didn’t really understand Qin Jiulin.
So now, how could he refute Xia Liansheng?
Qin Jiulin said, “Alright, we need to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings here and also understand the upcoming missions. Don’t waste time here. That’s it.”
Liu Zhongyuan smiled and led him back to the tent. Qi Yu was still sitting inside, appearing obedient as if he hadn’t eavesdropped or peeked just now.
Xia Liansheng watched Qin Jiulin’s figure disappear behind the tent, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. He hadn’t realized it before, but now that he had calmed down, he remembered that the third person in their team seemed to be Qi Yu?
Qi Yu… that name sounded familiar. Where had he heard that name before?
Xia Liansheng had a foreboding feeling about the beatmen… He didn’t even know what form they had. “Maybe I should ask the team leader to see if I can get some information.”
Gao siyang looked at Xia Liansheng in front of him. “What’s wrong?”
Xia Liansheng replied, “Team leader, I want to ask about the situation of the newly arrived three-person squad. Can you tell me? I don’t need much information, I just want to know their animal forms.”
Gao siyang said, “That’s not a problem. Captain Liu Zhongyuan is a python, team member Qin Jiulin is a tiger, and the remaining one, Qi Yu, is a snowy owl.”
Xia Liansheng nodded. “Alright, thank you, team leader.”
He turned around and quickly left the tent, not for any other reason, but simply because when he connected Qi Yu with the term “snowy owl,” he instantly realized who this person was!
If he didn’t leave the tent quickly, he was afraid that his sudden change of expression would raise suspicion from Gao siyang.
How could this be? How could this be?!
As he hurriedly walked towards his own tent, he continued to wonder how things had turned out this way. Could it be that there was someone else besides him…
No, that’s not possible. If there was someone else, who could it be?
Liu Zhongyuan… This name sounded familiar to him, but in this world, he only knew a rough idea. Anyway… Liu Zhongyuan definitely wasn’t present now.
But he was here, which meant… it was very likely to be him?!
That’s right, if he could be in this situation, who could guarantee that others wouldn’t be the same as him?
So what does this Liu Zhongyuan mean?
In Xia Liansheng’s eyes, the outcome for Qi Yu and Qin Jiulin was the same. Liu Zhongyuan had taken both of them as his team members. Was this a deliberate provocation against him?
Standing outside his tent, Xia Liansheng thought for a long time and finally decided to go and test Liu Zhongyuan. After all, if there was any free time, it would only be today, as tomorrow they would start going on missions.
By then, they wouldn’t know how long it would take for them to return from each mission. After all, the time it takes for each team to complete a mission would definitely vary. After all, the missions were different, and the locations and difficulties of the missions were also different.
In terms of animal forms, Liu Zhongyuan’s team was definitely at an advantage, while Xia Liansheng’s team was slightly disadvantaged. But that’s okay, he wouldn’t fall too far behind.
Liu Zhongyuan was inside the tent, having a conversation with Qin Jiulin and Qi Yu. After all, the tasks assigned to the beastmen teams by the military wouldn’t be simple, so they needed to be mentally prepared in advance.
Unexpectedly, not long after they had just finished speaking, Xia Liansheng’s voice came from outside.
Liu Zhongyuan frowned, “Is there no end to this?”
He looked at Qin Jiulin, “You stay here with Qi Yu, I’ll go out and send him away.”
Qin Jiulin had no objections. He didn’t want to see Xia Liansheng at all now, in fact, he wanted to kill him, but the current situation didn’t allow for it.
Liu Zhongyuan walked out of the tent and saw Xia Liansheng standing not far away. What surprised him was that after Xia Liansheng saw him, he didn’t call anyone else, but instead focused his gaze on him.
So… he came to find him?
Liu Zhongyuan smiled. This was interesting. If he came to find him, that’s fine. The other party was probably trying to test the relationship between him and Qin Jiulin, so he could also test him, couldn’t he?
Xia Liansheng said, “Shall we go over there and talk privately?”
Liu Zhongyuan replied, “I couldn’t ask for more.”
The two of them, each harboring their own ulterior motives, walked towards a secluded and less populated area. When they stopped walking…
“You…”
“You…”
This time, Liu Zhongyuan was quite humble, “You go ahead and speak.”
Xia Liansheng said, “…Or you go ahead and speak.”
Liu Zhongyuan replied, “But didn’t you come to find me? You should go ahead and speak.”
Xia Liansheng said, “Alright then… but I didn’t come to find you for anything important, I just wanted to ask you some small questions, simple questions.”
Liu Zhongyuan said, “No problem, go ahead and ask. I’ll definitely tell you as long as I know. Of course, in return, I’ll also ask you questions. How about we take turns? You ask one, then I ask one?”
Xia Liansheng agreed, “Sure.”
Liu Zhongyuan said, “Then you go first.”
Xia Liansheng asked, “I want to know how you and Jiulin met.”
Liu Zhongyuan replied, “Well… it was through fighting. Are you and Qin Jiuzhen really in a romantic relationship?”
Xia Liansheng: “No, I take care of him solely because he is Jiulin’s younger brother. Taking care of Qin’s family is just because they are Jiulin’s relatives. How did you meet Qi Yu and why did he agree to join your team?”
Liu Zhongyuan: “That’s two questions, right? I’ll answer the first one. Qi Yu and his group had a falling out in the villa area. As for the second question, I’ll answer it later.”
Liu Zhongyuan: “Let me ask you, are you secretly involved with Qin Jiuzhen and stringing Jiulin along?”
Xia Liansheng frowned and denied, “Of course not, I’m not that kind of person.”
Liu Zhongyuan: “I saved Qi Yu, so he joined my team.”
Xia Liansheng sighed, “Do you have any more questions?”
Liu Zhongyuan: “Yes, it’s true that you and Jiulin haven’t officially confirmed your relationship, right?”
Xia Liansheng didn’t want to admit it, but now…
“It’s true that we haven’t officially confirmed our relationship, but…”
Liu Zhongyuan interrupted, “Alright, no need to continue. I understand that much. Now, I don’t have any more questions for you. You can leave.”
Xia Liansheng: “Wait, let me ask you one last question.”
Liu Zhongyuan turned to look at him, “Sure, consider this question as my parting gift to you.”
Xia Liansheng: “I want to know, after coming here, did you want to change your fate?”
Liu Zhongyuan was momentarily perplexed by this question. Change his fate by coming here? What did that mean? Does fate really exist?
Change his fate? Does that mean changing the future?
Could it be that even after becoming a beastmen, there are people who can still predict the future?
He thought Xia Liansheng was joking, but… the serious expression on Xia Liansheng’s face made him feel that Xia Liansheng wasn’t joking, but rather… testing him.
Yes, it was a test!
Liu Zhongyuan smiled and replied directly, “Yes!”
Xia Liansheng widened his eyes, stared at Liu Zhongyuan intently, and through gritted teeth, said, “So… you really intend to oppose me?”
Liu Zhongyuan had a hunch that Xia Liansheng wasn’t saying anything good, but he casually responded, “What’s wrong with opposing you? Can you kill me?”
Xia Liansheng: Of course, Xia Liansheng is no match for Liu Zhongyuan. But if he wants to leave, Liu Zhongyuan can’t hold him or kill him. After all, Xia Liansheng is a black panther, and his escape speed is quite fast.
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