MLiS – Chapter 11.5

Together With You, It’ll Be Alright

Luo Lan got into the cave and found that the place was very narrow, with a length of less than three meters, a width of less than one meter, and a height of only about one and a half meters. She couldn’t stand straight at all.

She squatted, took out a few centimeters of energy-saving lights^[1] and fist-sized air purifiers from her backpack. She began to arrange them to make their temporary shelter safer as soon as possible.

She sprayed some multifunctional biomaterial into the crevices of the rocks. The biomaterial would automatically expand and grow, the gravel would be glued together, which not only blocked the wind from coming in through the crevices but also increased the wind resistance of the rock.

After Luo Lan confirmed that the gaps in the crevices were filled, she took out a foldable metal shovel and moved the gravel on the ground to the entrance of the cave.

When she was done piling up the gravel, she checked the time. There were less than 10 minutes before the storm started.

Just as she was worrying over Qian Xu, a loud “bang” came and a large rock was dropped in the entrance, blocking it. Only a little sideway gap was left.

Luo Lan beamed, “Qian Xu!”

Qian Xu came in through the gap. He saw the gravels piled on the ground. He squatted and wasted no time building the gravel into a specific structure, from the base to the top.

Luo Lan followed behind him, spraying multifunctional biomaterials in time with his rhythm.

With their tacit cooperation, the gravel quickly glued together with the large rock.

They succeeded in closing the last gap before the storm started.

The sound of whistling wind came from outside, but it was safe inside the cave.

The energy-saving lights on both sides of the cave wall emitted soft light while the air purifiers at both ends automatically turned on to provide a steady stream of oxygen, making the air in the cave very fresh.

Qian Xu praised, “Good job!”

Luo Lan took off her goggles and teased, “Are you praising yourself?”

For ten years, she learned a lot of field survival skills from Qian Xu when he accompanied her traveling all around Alikarta. Although Alikarta’s environment couldn’t be compared to the extreme environment in Interstellar, Qian Xu was from a military background, when he taught Luo Lan, he didn’t follow the general standard. So much so that when Su Er was teaching her about field survival, the class that was originally supposed to be 100 hours was directly compressed to half an hour. 

Qian Xu smiled, “I’m praising you! No matter how good the teacher is, if the apprentice isn’t good, it won’t mean anything.”

Luo Lan took out the concentrated nutrient from her backpack and passed it to Qian Xu.

Because of the narrow cave, their shoulders touched each other when they sat in the middle of the cave, but their focus right now was on replenishing their energy. They discussed their next plan while resting.

Qian Xu told her, “The storm may destroy the cave. We must always stay alert. It’s better if we take turns to rest.”

Luo Lan remembered that a day in Big Gemini’s was 21 hours while the storm in Yanlin lasts for 15 hours a day. In other words, she and Qian Xu would continue to stay together in this narrow space for the next 15 hours.

It’s definitely not bad in the slightest. It’s just… Luo Lan missed the outside when she could feel the warmth of Qian Xu’s hand on hers.

Seeing that she was dispirited, Qian Xu was concerned, “What’s wrong? Uncomfortable?”

Luo Lan hurriedly shook her head. “No, I’m fine!”

Qian Xu took out a can of soft-packed drink from his backpack and gave it to her, “I originally planned to let you drink it later in the night. If you feel uncomfortable, you can drink some first.”

Luo Lan stared at the fluorescent light that flickered like a firefly and asked incredulously, “Youlan Youlu?“

“Mn.”

Luo Lan was still in disbelief. “Did you really bring this for me?”

“Obviously. It helps you relax.” Qian Xu stated with a very calm and scientific tone.

“But it also gets me drunk and lets me talk nonsense!”

Qian Xu glanced at her meaningfully and smiled, “It’s not something I haven’t heard. I’m not afraid. What are you afraid of?”

Under the hazy light of the lights, his smiling expression was like blinding starlight. Luo Lan’s heart was beating like crazy and she could feel her face warming.

She blushed and stuffed the drink back to Qian Xu, “Still, it’s better for me to not drink it. Before, we were separated by the distance of two planets, I could only talk nonsense when I got drunk. Now, we are so close to each other, I am afraid that I will misbehave. “

“What kind of misbehaving?”

Ai! A good man like Qian Xu who has a pure heart and few desires wouldn’t understand how complex and evil the lecherous woman’s heart could be! Luo Lan covered her face, turned away from Qian Xu, and muttered, “If I’m drunk and a beauty is in front of me, how can I keep control of myself?”

“Can’t keep control of yourself? What do you want to do?”

Luo Lan felt she could spit blood from Qian Xu’s question alone. Qian Xu asked her this kind of impure question with his pure voice. She was afraid she would commit a crime even before she got drunk.

A slender but powerful hand held Luo Lan’s wrist. Qian Xu gently tugged her hand away from her face. Luo Lan subconsciously took a peek and saw Qian Xu’s smile.

He guided her hand to his mouth and kissed it. With a soft voice, he asked, “Do you want to do this?”

Luo Lan’s heart skipped a beat. She opened and closed her mouth like a fish gasping for water. She was too shocked to even make a sound.

Knowing the question she wanted to ask, Qian Xu squeezed her hand. He gazed at her eyes and said, “I like you.”

Tears fall from Luo Lan’s eyes, like a broken pearl that fell off from the slightest touch.

Qian Xu wiped her tears with his fingers, “I’m sorry.”

Luo Lan shook her head. She was crying and laughing at the same time. She wanted to say ‘It’s alright, don’t worry. I have been trekking over numerous hills and streams^[2]. I have been through countless hardships^[3]. It’s alright. I’m alright. Because at the end of the journey, you are willing to hold my hand tight.’

Qian Xu hugged her closely in his arms. He patted her on the back and coaxed, “Don’t cry.”

Luo Lan asked with a whimper, “Have I already drunk Youlan Youlu and am having a spring dream now?”

Qian Xu laughed, his chest vibrated lightly. His laugh was like sweet-sounding music that was very pleasant to hear.

Luo Lan hugged him tightly. She buried her face on his chest. “Even if this is a spring dream… this is also good!”

He whispered in her ear, voice as gentle as ever, “It’s really like a dream. I’ve always really wanted to hold your hand; I’ve always really wanted to hug you close; I’ve always really wanted to tell you that I like you…”

Luo Lan shut her eyes tightly. It’s really a good dream! It’s absolutely fine to not wake up!

————·————·————

“Xiao Xun, Xiao Xun…”

Qian Xu softly called out while lightly shaking Luo Lan’s hand. It was said that this was the best way to wake someone up without frightening them.

Luo Lan was unwilling to wake. She didn’t want to open her eyes. As expected! Good things could only happen in a dream!

She straightened herself and asked dejectedly, “How long have I slept?”

“Three hours. I will rest for five hours. After that, you can rest for another five hours.”

“Won’t it be toilsome for your body if it’s like that? No! It’s won’t do!”

“I am aware of my body limit.” Qian Xu rubbed her hair and smoothly tidy up her messy clothes.

Luo Lan was awake in an instant. Her eyes were wide like a frightened kitten, staring at Qian Xu in surprise. Waking up, Qian Xu’s personality suddenly changed?

“What’s the matter?” Qian Xu asked,

Luo Lan reached out and poked Qian Xu’s cheek, “Are you really Qian Xu?”

Qian Xu grasped her hand, “Really!”

“Could it be that I am still in a dream and I dreamed that I was awakened by you in my dream?”

Qian Xu was helpless. “I don’t know what you just dreamed of. But now, it’s not a dream.”

“But…” Luo Lan secretly glanced at their interlinked hand. The pie falling from the sky before wasn’t just her dream?

Qian Xu lay down on the sleeping mat. “I just checked the cave. You can check it every other hour. If there is anything unusual, wake me up at once.”

“Okay!” Luo Lan nodded absent-mindedly.

Special ops soldiers had a good habit of being able to sleep in a second and wake up in a second. Qian Xu, who just lay down, put his hands on both sides of his body and entered deep sleep in a second.

Luo Lan hugged her knees and watched him. The person sleeping beside her was her Qian Xu? The one that likes her? She was still dreaming, right?

Luo Lan giggled like a fool.

She raised her hand and wanted to bite herself, wanting to see if it hurt. She hesitated for a moment and decided to not bite. She was not afraid of pain, but she was afraid that this was a dream. If she took a bite and it hurt, she would wake up because of the pain.

She looked at the time, quietly stood, and carefully checked the cave with the energy-saving lights.

After finished doing it, she sat down by the sleeping mat again. Watching Qian Xu in a daze while sometimes giggling like a fool.

There was a strong wind outside, but time stood still in the quiet cave.

Five hours later, before Luo Lan could wake him, Qian Xu woke up by himself.

“Your turn to rest”

Luo Lan said awkwardly, “I can’t seem to sleep.”

Before, she fell asleep easily because she had no idea this was real. Later, she didn’t want to wake up and didn’t dare to open her eyes because she thought it was a dream. Now, she was fully aware. She couldn’t bear to sleep.

Qian Xu handed the Youlan Youlu to her. Luo Lan immediately snatched it, “Don’t regret it!”

Qian Xu looked at her with a faint smile.

Luo Lan flushed. She drank the Youlan Youlu in one breath and lay down on the sleeping mat.

“Qian Xu”

“Mn?”

“You say it again!”

What to say, Luo Lan didn’t tell him and Qian Xu didn’t ask. Instead, he leaned down. His face was towering over hers. Their gazes met and he softly whispered, “I like you.”

Luo Lan’s face was beautifully dusted with pink. Her voice was dripping with sweetness, “I like you too.” 

Qian Xu’s smile overflowed from the corners of his eyes.

Luo Lan’s eyes curved like a crescent moon. The blush was apparent on her face. She acted coquettishly, “I still want to hear it.”

“I like you.”

“I still want to hear it.”

……

……

Luo Lan was drunk and obsessed with his “I like you,” but Qian Xu was not impatient. He obediently complied with Luo Lan’s request and repeated “I like you” over and over again like a fool until Luo Lan fell asleep with satisfaction.

Qian Xu flicked her forehead with a smile, “Where is the mischief you said you can’t control?”

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Footnotes

1. The one that looks like a christmas lights. Image in Attachment.↵

2. 千山万水 – qiān shān wàn shuǐ. Could also mean a journey filled with numerous difficulties and dangers.↵

3. 千辛万苦 – qiān xīn wàn kǔ. Could also mean through thick and thin↵

Attachment

Amoeba’s Corner

Luo Lan’s mind: [404 Error not found]

I’m dying inside! My heart, AH!?!

I can die happy.

Luo Lan then successfully passed her promotion task and went to her happily ever after with Qian Xu on another planet.

The end.

No, jk. It didn’t happen.

Mn. My favorite line in this chapter is actually the

‘It’s alright, don’t worry. I have been trekking over numerous hills and streams. I have been through countless hardships. It’s alright. I’m alright. Because at the end of the journey, you are willing to hold my hand tight.’

rather than the confession scene.

Luo Lan is so strong, so brave. Hopeful and optimistic. Just like a sunflower. She has gone through countless hardships, yet she never falters. She keeps going. I hope I can be like her someday.

It’s alright. I’m alright. Because at the end of the journey, you are willing to hold my hand tight.

In Chapter 7.3, after she was rescued by him, she told ‘it’s nothing‘ to Qian Xu, right? Mn. It’s nothing. It’s alright. She is alright. Because Qian Xu had come for her. That’s why I prefer the published version for that part instead of the online novel version where she told him she was kidnapped.

————·————·————

Something what Luo Lan? A soft and warm what.

Sneak-a-Peek

Her outstretched hand touched something, a soft and warm something. Her mind blanked and in an instant, she opened her eyes—

Obligatory Closing
If you like what I do, please consider checking my ko-fi! ( ˊᵕˋ)
I also put some advanced chapters there if you are interested! (づ￣ ³￣)づ

This chapter words count (excluding title, footnotes, and TL’s corner): 1972