The mature and steady man's blush and racing heart surprised Ji Shiyi.
At the same time, it eased her nervousness. She couldn't waste Tian Jing's kind intentions: "Are you nervous?"
Zeng Jingrong pursed his lips and shook his head.
"Then why is your face red?"
As soon as she said this, Zeng Jingrong's face turned even redder.
She smiled brightly: "You're lying, you're very nervous."
Resisting the change in his body, Zeng Jingrong clenched his fists tightly. He was afraid that if he relaxed, his arms would automatically wrap around her.
Seeing his movement, Ji Shiyi raised her arm and wrapped it around his neck: "I'm tired of standing, lend me your shoulder."
A soft body pressed against his chest, disintegrating all his self-control.
His arms wrapped around her on their own.
His head lowered on its own.
His lips uttered, "No regrets," before meeting the lips of the woman looking up at him.
The last remnants of his rationality flew out of Zeng Jingrong's mind the moment his lips met her pink ones.
Only wild desire remained...
Tian Jing returned to the mess hall, where the cheerful noise could shake the ceiling.
"Mom, over here."
Li Weixin's shout silenced the mess hall instantly.
The deputy captain had arrived!
Everyone knew the deputy captain was the mother of Li Weihao's three brothers.
Everyone knew the deputy captain's rank was even higher than Captain Zeng.
Facing over twenty pairs of eyes, Tian Jing waved her hand: "Pretend I'm not here, release your joy."
She walked towards her two sons' dining table. A four-person table was already laid with food. Li Weihao was facing Xiao Xiaohei, who was sitting on a stool.
Li Weixin and Xiao Xiaohei sat together.
Seeing Xiao Xiaohei earnestly waiting for the meal, Tian Jing couldn't help but smile: "Ranan, are you really training Xiao Xiaohei like a person?"
Li Weixin stroked Xiao Xiaohei's head beside him: "This way, he's even cuter."
Tian Jing sat down beside her eldest son: "Let's eat."
Xiao Xiaohei immediately buried its head in the food bowl in front of it.
After Tian Jing served dishes to her elder and younger sons, she added a piece of pheasant meat to Xiao Xiaohei's bowl.
Xiao Xiaohei looked up for a moment, then continued to bury its head in eating.
Seeing that the deputy captain's table had already started eating lively, the team members finally began to speak.
Slowly, their voices grew louder again, though not as boisterous as before.
After the meal, Tian Jing, her two sons, and the wolf ambled slowly in the large courtyard.
Li Weihao asked his mother if she had talked with Captain Zeng.
Tian Jing shook her head: "No rush, Captain Zeng is handling personal matters. I just need to get home before dark."
It wasn't until three o'clock that Tian Jing bid farewell to her two sons and went to the archives.
In the archives, Zeng Jingrong gently tidied Ji Shiyi's clothes in his arms:
"Shiyi, you have no room for regret. You can't leave, and I won't let you go."
Ji Shiyi, her cheeks flushed, leaned weakly into Zeng Jingrong's embrace:
"Jingrong, the moment I pursued you, I never intended to regret it, nor did I ever think of turning back."
"Wherever you are, I will be there. When you go on missions, I will wait for you here."
"I know what you're worried about. I'm not afraid. As long as there's love, the future will never be lonely."
Zeng Jingrong lovingly hugged the woman in his arms. How could he bear to give such a foolish woman to anyone else?
Not even his cousin.
He knew he was hypocritical, advising Ji Shiyi to leave while not wanting any other man to possess her.
Therefore, his rationality wasn't shattered by impulse, but by his selfishness:
"Shiyi, when Tian Jing lets us go, I'll immediately file the marriage report."
"I'm sorry, our wedding can only be held here."
"It's okay." Ji Shiyi shook her head: "We can record it and send it to my parents to watch."
"Shiyi." Zeng Jingrong was touched and lowered his head to gently kiss the top of Ji Shiyi's head: "Meeting you is my fortune. I should also thank Tiantian."
"Thank me for what?"
A voice rang out, startling the two immersed in sweetness.
"Tiantian, you don't make any noise when you walk?"
Zeng Jingrong's words made Tian Jing shake her head and sigh: "Alas! They say people in love have an IQ of zero."
"Did you think I would come quietly? My footsteps made the secretary think there was an earthquake. The sound of me opening the door was deafening."
"Isn't that right, Comrade Secretary?"
The secretary, who had been forcibly dragged by Captain Tian and was shocked by the two embracing intimately within a human-like vine cocoon, turned and ran:
"I don't know anything, I didn't see anything."
The more one tries to hide something, the more obvious it becomes.
Tian Jing patted the vine cocoon and turned to leave: "Zeng Jingrong, you two clean yourselves up first, I'll wait for you in the office."
After unwinding from the two, the vines wrapped around them turned to ash.
Zeng Jingrong hugged Ji Shiyi, who was trying to escape: "Why were you so bold just now?"
Ji Shiyi buried her head in his chest: "The space was small earlier, and now, not only Tian Jing saw us, but the secretary did too."
Zeng Jingrong persuaded: "The secretary also saw that we were set up by Tian Jing. I'll file the marriage report shortly, and the secretary will understand. She wouldn't dare to spread it."
Tian Jing waited in the office for a long time before Zeng Jingrong finally appeared.
"Captain Zeng, it's not good for me to be home too late. Let's discuss business first."
Zeng Jingrong sat down at the desk: "Go ahead."
Tian Jing stared into his eyes: "Why didn't you let Ranan enter the maze?"
"This is what I wanted to discuss with you." Zeng Jingrong sat up straight: "I want him to not hide his upgrade."
"What did you say?" Tian Jing shot up from her seat: "You're using him as an experiment?"
"Yes!" Zeng Jingrong nodded: "Ranan has a purer heart than you or I. I want to try. I have an idea."
Tian Jing's tone was extremely displeased: "Speak!"
Zeng Jingrong was not annoyed: "After everyone practiced their hearts, I summarized. If that realm's rules were shattered and integrated into this world, perhaps we would have no level limitations."
"Bang!"
Tian Jing slammed her hand on the desk: "Your IQ is truly zero."
She raised her hand and pointed at Zeng Jingrong, her finger almost touching his forehead:
"We have people with special abilities, but does the outside world not? If we have no upgrade restrictions, will others not have them?"
"Are you planning to abet evil? Are you planning to help foreign countries train high-level talents to deal with us? Or are you yourself a foreign spy?"
"Do you think your level is so high that you can dominate the world? Or have you been in there so many times that you've been brainwashed by that realm's rules?"
"That thing might have been trapped by some powerful being. If it's released, won't the whole world be thrown into chaos?"
"You're turning a peaceful world into a world ruled by martial might. How are ordinary people supposed to survive? Where is your brain?"
Stung by Tian Jing's words, Zeng Jingrong sweated on his forehead: "Tiantian, I, I might have really been influenced by the rules."
"Pfft!" Tian Jing, who was furious, couldn't help but burst into laughter when she heard him misapply the word "influenced":
"You shouldn't go in there recently. It must be that you were struggling at the edge of love and got influenced."
Speaking of "influenced," Tian Jing couldn't help but want to laugh again: "Ranan's level must absolutely be kept secret."
"Once foreign superspies know that our levels are not suppressed, the secret of the maze will no longer be hidden."
"This mountain range will become a dangerous place. Can the villagers below still live in peace?"
Zeng Jingrong, with a bead of sweat on his forehead, took a deep breath: "The heart practice will be suspended for now. I need to re-assess the team's emotions."
"Because some team members have also made this suggestion to me."
Tian Jing nodded solemnly: "At least suspend it for half a year. In the future, only practice when necessary, don't treat heart practice as a daily routine."