Cao Yuan couldn’t hide what was on his mind.
He looked at An Qingyu and asked:
“Were you glaring at me just now?”
That gaze had been far too obvious; there was no way he could have missed it.
This friend of Qiye’s seemed to hold some hostility toward him.
An Qingyu’s eyes curved with an innocuous smile:
“No, I was looking at the sea.”
He lifted his gaze, staring off at the distant waters:
“There’s someone over there.”
This sudden diversion made Cao Yuan turn to look.
A figure cloaked in a cape was walking across the surface of the sea.
“Really, someone’s there,” Cao Yuan said, mouth slightly open, unable to hide his surprise.
The cold, piercing look An Qingyu had flashed earlier must have just been Cao Yuan’s imagination.
Otherwise, it made no sense at all.
This person clearly carried hostility toward him; it couldn’t possibly be jealousy over Qiye, could it?
The cloaked man arrived on the iceboat where they were and smiled:
“Hello, I’m Ye Fan.”
Baili Pangpang’s hand trembled as he held the fish over the fire:
“The Night Watch Commander.”
Ye Fan found an empty spot to sit and nodded:
“No need to be formal. I came to see Lin Qiye to discuss forming a brand-new team.”
Cao Yuan’s eyes lit up:
“Qiye really is impressive, already getting the chance to form a Night Watch squad.”
An Qingyu subtly cast a glance at Cao Yuan.
He knew full well that Cao Yuan treated Qiye as someone important.
But…
An Qingyu didn’t like seeing his Qiye getting so close to other men.
Lin Qiye, slightly incredulous, pointed at himself:
“You’re not planning to make me the captain to form this new squad, are you?”
An Qingyu lightly tapped Qiye’s shoulder and curved his lips into a small smile:
“Qiye, have a little more confidence in yourself. You’re fully capable of leading a squad.”
Hearing An Qingyu’s encouragement, Qiye felt more settled inside, though he was still a little surprised:
“Why me?”
Ye Fan naturally took a bite of a grilled fish:
“An Qingyu is right. After consulting with the higher-ups, we all agreed that you, Lin Qiye, are qualified to lead a brand-new squad.”
“However, you’ll need to recruit your own team members.”
“It’s up to you whether you want to take on this role.”
Qiye looked at An Qingyu, who gave him an encouraging smile.
“Qiye, go do what you want to do. I’ll be with you every step of the way,” An Qingyu said with a smile.
Ye Fan glanced at An Qingyu, then went back to focusing on his fish.
He had already investigated and realized that the mysterious person who had solved the Cangnan crisis was most likely An Qingyu.
Originally, he had wondered what this person’s true intentions were.
Looking at Lin Qiye across from him, he knew the answer.
After a long moment of silence, Lin Qiye nodded firmly:
“Alright, I’m willing to be the captain.”
Ye Fan stood up, wiped the grease from his cloak, and tossed a bag to Lin Qiye:
“If there’s a mission, we’ll notify you.”
Baili Pangpang noticed Ye Fan preparing to leave and called out warmly:
“Take care, leader.”
Ye Fan nodded slightly and vanished over the sea.
“Captain Lin,”
An Qingyu glanced at the bag in Lin Qiye’s hands, then fixed his gaze on Qiye’s eyes.
“May I join your squad?”
“Of course,” Lin Qiye answered without hesitation.
An Qingyu was his good brother. Even if An Qingyu hadn’t asked, Qiye would have found a way to get him onto the team.
Cao Yuan looked at Lin Qiye and An Qingyu and felt a little puzzled, murmuring quietly:
“This conversation… somehow sounds like a proposal.”
Cao Yuan inexplicably imagined Lin Qiye and An Qingyu not on the ice boat, but in a proposal scene covered with flowers.
The only thing missing was An Qingyu pulling out a ring to put on Qiye’s finger.
He shook his head, definitely a hallucination.
After all, both Lin Qiye and An Qingyu were men; he shouldn’t be imagining things.
Lin Qiye pulled out a sealed file from the bag:
“Just press your fingerprint here.”
An Qingyu’s eyes curved in a smile. Without hesitation, he used an ice blade to cut his fingertip and pressed his fingerprint onto the file.
Lin Qiye watched the small cut on An Qingyu’s finger and slightly furrowed his brow. “You know, we could’ve just used ink once we reached shore.”
An Qingyu smiled lightly, unbothered: “I just wanted to join your squad as quickly as possible, Qiye.”
At that moment, his smile made him look like a gentle, refined young gentleman.
Lin Qiye couldn’t help but be taken aback. Truly a good brother, An Qingyu was so eager to join his team.
“Qiye,” Cao Yuan spoke up, “don’t forget about me and Pangpang.”
Baili Pangpang also looked excitedly at the file in Lin Qiye’s hand. “Yeah, you haven’t invited us yet!”
Lin Qiye smiled and handed the file over. “Looks like you two couldn’t wait either.”
Baili Pangpang and Cao Yuan quickly bit their fingers and pressed their fingerprints onto the document.
Then Lin Qiye carefully stored the completed file.
The group continued moving toward the shore.
“Qiye, I’m a bit cold,” An Qingyu said, forming ice crystals with one hand to patch parts of the ice boat that had melted under the sun.
Lin Qiye looked at him, and An Qingyu gave him a pitiful, almost pleading expression.
Cao Yuan opened his mouth to offer his coat, he wasn’t cold himself, so he could lend it, but before he could, An Qingyu’s free hand reached out and grasped Lin Qiye’s.
“Qiye, can you warm my hand for me?”
Without waiting for an answer, An Qingyu threaded his fingers through Lin Qiye’s, holding his hand tightly.
Baili Pangpang, seeing the two hands clasped together, slowly felt a question forming in his mind. He had the strange impression that An Qingyu was taking advantage of Lin Qiye.
Lin Qiye felt the icy chill from An Qingyu’s palm and said, “Why are your hands so cold?”
An Qingyu continued repairing the melted sections of the ice boat, lying without the slightest change in expression:
“It’s probably because I’ve been using my frost powers for too long. My body temperature must have dropped.”
In fact, An Qingyu wasn’t afraid of the cold at all.
Low temperatures meant nothing to him.
Lin Qiye considered that An Qingyu’s lowered temperature was due to creating the ice boat.
No matter how you looked at it, that counted as a work-related injury.
As the captain, he had a responsibility to look after his team members.
With that thought, Lin Qiye placed his other hand over the back of An Qingyu’s, trying to pass some warmth to him.
An Qingyu curved his lips slightly. Both his palm and the back of his hand were wrapped in warmth.
Watching Lin Qiye warm him, he felt a surge of warmth rising in his heart as well.
An Qingyu seemed a little shy as he spoke:
“Qiye, in the future… could you warm my bed for me?”
Cao Yuan: !
Baili Pangpang: !
Lin Qiye didn’t hesitate and agreed immediately:
“Sure. Since your body temperature is low, it must be hard for you to warm up the blankets at night.”
“I’ll warm them up for you in advance, so you won’t get cold when you go to sleep.”
An Qingyu smiled bashfully.
“Qiye, thank you.”
Cao Yuan let out a long breath. So he’d only meant warming the bed in the literal sense.
He had almost thought An Qingyu was harboring improper intentions toward Qiye.
Baili Pangpang was also briefly startled, then suddenly felt that something was off.
A person’s Forbidden Ruin ability usually affects their physical constitution to some degree.
Logically speaking, someone with frost powers shouldn’t be afraid of the cold.
Looking at An Qingyu’s innocent and harmless expression, Baili Pangpang thought that perhaps he was just an exception.