AYLS -Chapter 150

Although Gu Huayuan accompanied her to work every day and Lin Qiao was very happy about it, she also knew that Gu Huayuan had work he genuinely enjoyed doing.

So after a while, she started worrying that he might not be happy.

At night, lying in bed, she curled up in Gu Huayuan’s arms. “Comrade Gu Huayuan, when are you going back to work?”

Gu Huayuan was absentmindedly rubbing her ear, his mind elsewhere. Hearing her question, he chuckled. “What’s wrong? Are you tired of having me around?”

“Of course not. I just think you should have your own things to do. That way you’ll be happier.”

Lin Qiao said, “I know—you like going out to deal with the enemy more.”

“Actually, staying with Comrade Xiao Qiao makes me very happy too,” Gu Huayuan said sincerely.

He had always been busy, with little time left for his family.

Right now, this was what one could call snatching moments of leisure in the middle of a busy life.

So he was actually enjoying this rare break quite a bit.

Lin Qiao kissed him. “I’m happy too, but… I still want to support you in doing what you love. I know very well—doing something you don’t like makes you unhappy.”

Gu Huayuan laughed. “Who’s making you do things you don’t like?”

“…Didn’t I used to work as a servant? Of course I had to listen to the master’s orders.”

Gu Huayuan chuckled. He didn’t ask for details. With a sigh he said, “It’s not that I don’t want to go on missions. The main thing is… in my current condition, I’m not comfortable going out. Think about it—what if another ‘accident’ happens during a mission? Wouldn’t I be dragging everyone down?”

Lin Qiao was shocked. “You’ve had a lot of accidents?”

“Mm. These few days, little accidents keep happening. Nothing serious, so I didn’t tell you. Don’t worry—maybe it’ll be fine in a few days.”

Lin Qiao was shocked and furious. She thought everything was fine after the previous misfire, but things still weren’t settling down.

That damn fat cat!

She didn’t even bother talking to Gu Huayuan anymore. She turned over and immediately started scolding the fat cat—scolding it for doing bad things.

The fat cat was utterly wronged.

It really hadn’t given up, but since its energy was low, and with all the work Gu Huayuan was doing every day, it was hard to arrange “accidents.” So it had been conserving energy and hadn’t acted at all.

“He’s lying. He’s lying!”

“Why would he lie to me? What is there to lie about? You’re the one always lying to me, you damn liar!”

Lin Qiao gritted her teeth in anger. “If you dare hurt Gu Huayuan again, I’ll sell you off. I’ll tell him you exist!”

The fat cat’s face darkened. “You wouldn’t dare. Aren’t you afraid the world will collapse?”

“I won’t tell him the truth. I’ll just say you’re a demon. A little demon!”

The fat cat stomped its feet in anger. “Go ahead and tell him. Even if he finds out, so what? Could he smash your head?”

“If he gets mad enough, I’ll smash my own head,” Lin Qiao threatened fiercely.

Fat Cat: “…”

After regaining her momentum in her fight with the fat cat, Lin Qiao turned back around and faced Gu Huayuan. “Gu Huayuan, don’t worry. I’ll protect you. You’ll be fine from now on.”

Gu Huayuan raised a brow. Seeing Lin Qiao’s heroic expression, his mind circled around several thoughts before he finally nodded with a smile.

“With a little fairy protecting me, of course I’ll be fine. I believe in Comrade Xiao Qiao.”

A sense of responsibility surged in Lin Qiao. “I’ll do what I say.”

Gu Huayuan looked at her and gently pinched her cheek. “Xiao Qiao… could it really be your immortal friend causing trouble?”

“….” Lin Qiao felt guilty. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she absolutely couldn’t let him know the truth. “No. I think…it’s probably a little spirit creature.”

“Do you need me to help you catch it?”

“I said it’s just a little spirit. How could you possibly catch it?”

“Then can you catch it?”

“I’ll try.”

Lin Qiao secretly warned the fat cat again—not allowed to cause trouble anymore. Otherwise, everyone would be doomed together.

Fat Cat said, “He’s lying to you!”

“Why would I believe you but not him?”

“…”

Lin Qiao warned again, her tone serious: “Anyway, if you bully Gu Huayuan again, I’ll tell him everything about you.”

Of course, Fat Cat didn’t want to be exposed. It always felt that Gu Huayuan was not an ordinary person.

If he found out about its existence, it would feel like the entire cat was unsettled.

“You… if you tell him, watch out—he might hand you over to someone to dissect and study, crack open your head.”

Lin Qiao shivered. “Gu Huayuan would never do that.”

“How do you know he wouldn’t? You should know, I’m very valuable. If the natives of this world knew I existed, they would definitely try to obtain and study me. Compared to this scientific achievement, what’s a single human life worth? Gu Huayuan is a soldier; he would risk his own life for the country, let alone yours.”

Hearing this, Lin Qiao fell silent. She knew very well that Gu Huayuan loved his country—deeply, truly.

This was also one of the things she admired most about him.

She wouldn’t even think to compare herself to the nation—it was incomparable. So if Gu Huayuan knew about her…

Lin Qiao realized she didn’t really want to know the answer.

If Gu Huayuan really handed her over, she would be devastated.

Nearby, Gu Huayuan had his eyes closed, lost in thought.

Judging from Lin Qiao’s reactions, Gu Huayuan confirmed his own suspicions.

It seemed that whoever was behind Lin Qiao wasn’t an organization, but some kind of living being… not necessarily human.

After all, if it were an organization, Lin Qiao wouldn’t have such a casual attitude, even tinged with a bit of disdain.

When he asked if it was a little “immortal,” it was really a test to see if there was only a single individual behind her.

Lin Qiao corrected herself, calling it a “little spirit creature.”

This was an unconscious way of answering him: it wasn’t an organization, but a single individual—someone or something she didn’t particularly respect.

This also coincided perfectly with the contradiction Gu Huayuan had noticed before. He had thought: if a real organization were controlling her, how could they entrust a simple girl like Lin Qiao with such a task?

Which organization would be that careless in choosing its agents?

Now it made sense—there was no organization, just an individual being.

And Lin Qiao probably arrived here by some coincidence or chance.

This also matched her initial chaotic and resistant attitude when she first came here. Lin Qiao didn’t want to come at all; she hadn’t even prepared herself mentally.

If it wasn’t an organization, Gu Huayuan could relax. An individual being’s potential damage to this world naturally couldn’t compare to that of a secret organization. As long as it didn’t threaten the country, he could ease half of his worries.

However, this being seemed to have some miraculous way of influencing others.

But it definitely couldn’t affect Lin Qiao.

Otherwise, her attitude wouldn’t be like this.

Still, Lin Qiao probably couldn’t influence it either.

It was like a symbiotic relationship.

Lin Qiao was the main body of this symbiosis. The other party, depending on her for existence, had to derive something from her to survive, thus forming this symbiotic bond.

Gu Huayuan preferred to think of this mysterious being as a sort of parasite.

It might need to absorb something from Lin Qiao to sustain itself.

But Gu Huayuan also observed Lin Qiao—she was in excellent health. She could eat and sleep well.

Of course, this was only on the surface. He decided he still needed to take her for a medical checkup, just in case.

The next morning, Gu Huayuan found an excuse to say he was feeling unwell and wanted a checkup, asking Lin Qiao to accompany him.

As soon as Lin Qiao heard this, her mind immediately went to Fat Cat.

“I really didn’t do anything!” Fat Cat shouted angrily.

It hadn’t done anything.

It was all an act—Gu Huayuan was pretending. Why he needed to lie, it didn’t know. Men really weren’t trustworthy. Only the naive player believed him.

Lin Qiao didn’t care about its protests; her heart ached for Gu Huayuan. She always felt that she was the cause of his troubles.

If she weren’t with Gu Huayuan, Fat Cat wouldn’t have bullied him.

She even felt that perhaps it was because she often scolded Fat Cat—unable to touch her, it took out its frustration on Gu Huayuan instead.

“Gu Huayuan, I’ll ask for leave and go with you. Don’t worry, your body will be fine.”

Gu Huayuan’s face showed a weak expression. “Lin Qiao, you’re really wonderful.”

“Oh, what’s wonderful about it? It’s just the right thing to do. Come on, let’s quickly ask for leave, then head to the hospital right away.”

Su Weizhen, hearing that Gu Huayuan wasn’t feeling well and was going to the hospital, also showed concern. “He seemed fine yesterday, why is he suddenly unwell?”

“Maybe it’s a lingering effect,” Lin Qiao said guiltily, still suspecting Fat Cat. Perhaps it was retaliation for last night’s argument.

Su Weizhen said, “Then you need to get checked immediately, no room for risk. He’s going to the front lines soon; every precaution matters.”

Lately, Su Weizhen had been worried: could Gu Huayuan’s recent minor ailments be related to his eventual fate on the battlefield?

If they could be cured, the chance of changing his destiny would be greater.

She glanced at Gu Huayuan anxiously; he smiled and nodded at her.

Seeing the concern in the eyes of Old Xu’s wife, even more than Lin Qiao’s, Gu Huayuan suspected that his future might not turn out well.

They went to the military district hospital, just a short ride away.

Once there, Lin Qiao immediately pushed Gu Huayuan to get examined.

Gu Huayuan said, “Since we’re here, why don’t you get checked too?”

“I—I don’t need a checkup. I’m perfectly fine,” Lin Qiao said, puzzled.

“Just a routine checkup will put my mind at ease. My health was fine before, but suddenly there’s this issue. We should both pay attention to our health.”

Lin Qiao thought about it—back in her old world, she had a medical check-up every six months. Even the slightest discomfort would get her family doctor to come and examine her.

Since coming here, it had been a long time since she had any check-up.

Although she felt her body was fine, she nodded anyway to reassure Gu Huayuan.

“Alright, then. I’ll get checked too.”

These days, the medical equipment at the military hospital was decent. But for Lin Qiao, it still felt somewhat primitive.

They didn’t even have imaging equipment.

She worried a little whether Gu Huayuan’s check-up would be thorough enough.

When she came out, Gu Huayuan was already waiting for her in the corridor.

“You’re done?” Lin Qiao hurried over. “How come you came out before me?”

“I just had my head checked. The doctor said I might be overthinking. I should think less and rest well.”

“You’re just worrying unnecessarily,” Lin Qiao said, displeased. “Don’t think about it anymore. Just focus on resting and recovering.”

Gu Huayuan smiled and nodded.

“Wait outside. I’ll ask the doctor about your results.”

“Don’t I have to go?” Lin Qiao asked.

Gu Huayuan said, “No need. I’m afraid the doctor wouldn’t tell the truth if you’re there.”

“…” Why wouldn’t they tell the truth? She was perfectly fine.

Lin Qiao was indeed healthy, as confirmed by the doctor’s examination.

All her bodily indicators were within normal range.

Gu Huayuan asked, “Did they find anything unusual?”

“…” The doctor looked at him in confusion. “You mean… a child?”

Gu Huayuan cleared his throat. “No, I mean… like parasites or something.”

The doctor said, “Of course not. As long as you maintain hygiene, there’s no problem. Your partner seems meticulous too. How could you even think that?”

Gu Huayuan smiled, “I was just overthinking. It’s fine, it’s fine.”

The result didn’t disappoint Gu Huayuan much.

After all, such miraculous things wouldn’t be so easy to detect.

But he knew in his heart—they definitely existed.

Somewhere inside Lin Qiao’s body.

And they could even perceive the outside world.

For instance, the last time he brought back photos, it must have noticed.

Thinking of that, Gu Huayuan’s heart tightened, and he grew embarrassed at the idea of it seeing the outside…

On the way back, Gu Huayuan seemed deep in thought.

Lin Qiao walked beside him, talking, but seeing his awkward expression, she nervously asked, “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me something’s wrong with your body—or mine—and you’re hiding it. Gu Huayuan, don’t scare me!”

Gu Huayuan stroked his forehead. “Xiao Qiao, there’s actually something I’ve been worried about for a while, but I felt embarrassed to ask you.”

Lin Qiao rolled her eyes. “Embarrassed to ask what?”

Gu Huayuan took a breath. “When the two of us… sleep at night, can your friends—those gods, immortals, or monsters—see us? Or, could they be spying?”

Lin Qiao hadn’t processed why anyone would watch while sleeping. But seeing Gu Huayuan’s suggestive gaze, her face instantly flushed red. She reached out and pinched him hard. “What are you thinking? No way! I won’t allow it—no one can watch!”