The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers

Chapter 836: Chapter 836: Disliked

Inside the stone-built residence, two boys and a girl were still bickering nonstop, when suddenly, a faint ’knock knock’ sounded from outside the door, causing all three to gasp and turn their heads.

”Knock~”

”Knock~”

”Knock~”

...

Each sound, with a rhythmic pace, resonated in the hearts of the three people.

Girl: ”Is there someone?”

The short-haired boy took a step back: ”Who?”

The other black-haired boy thought for a moment, walked to the back of the door, and boldly asked, ”Who’s knocking?”

”It’s me, Shen Changqing.” The voice outside was Shen Changqing’s clear voice. Hearing this familiar voice, the black-haired boy, Liu Shun, moved closer to peek outside through the gap in the stone wall.

He immediately saw Shen Changqing’s face.

No mistake.

The tension in Liu Shun’s heart eased a bit, but he remained cautious. Wasn’t Shen Changqing and the entire Group 44 dispatched on a special mission by the Agricultural Star’s garrison to another planet?

How could he appear now?

Liu Shun felt a bit puzzled, and alarm bells rang in his heart.

Then, Liu Shun heard Shen Changqing outside ask, ”Is it inconvenient to open the door?”

Liu Shun frowned: ”What do you need?”

The blond-haired boy and the lone girl both hunched their bodies, watching the outside vigilantly.

Shen Changqing frowned and said, ”We encountered some trouble; our spaceship deviated from its course due to a mistake as we entered the dock, landing near the farm. Plus, we ran out of energy and the propulsion system broke down. We can’t move for now, so I walked back to the campsite with my teammates...”

Ridiculous!

Can a spaceship still deviate from its course while at the dock?

Liu Shun didn’t believe it at all, and neither did the girl nor the blond-haired boy.

Then.

Shen Changqing said: ”There’s no need to deceive you. I came back to the campsite first with Ji You to find some classmates for help.”

As he said this, Shen Changqing struggled to maintain composure, unable to stop his face from blushing furiously. Because these words were utter nonsense, they couldn’t even fool a three-year-old child.

Shen Changqing did his best. According to Ji You, it didn’t matter what nonsense it was; as long as he found an excuse to make contact, it would be fine.

Now, contact had been made, so... mission accomplished, right?

Listening to Shen Changqing, Liu Shun looked through the gap and saw Shen Changqing’s face, red and white with a hint of gray and black, looking a bit embarrassed, a bit awkward, and somewhat inexplicably shy...

Liu Shun saw it, and so did the girl and the blond-haired boy beside him. The three exchanged a rare glance, and the blond-haired boy raised an eyebrow: ”Did Group 44 finally mess up?”

The girl said, ”Looks like they really did mess up.”

Otherwise, Shen Changqing, who usually appeared calm, composed, and reserved, wouldn’t have shown such an expression now. Besides, if there was a trap or an ambush, wouldn’t it be more efficient for Group 44 to find a place to hide and ambush the three of them directly? No need to play tricks like this.

So, Shen Changqing was knocking openly because he had nothing to hide.

Liu Shun looked at the girl and mouthed, ”Should we open the door?”

Girl: ”No, ask a bit more first.”

Liu Shun was about to speak when he saw Shen Changqing, looking regretful, about to turn and leave. Liu Shun quickly said, ”Wait a minute. You still haven’t said why you’re here. Ask for our help? We can’t fix mecha or spaceships, you know.”

Shen Changqing lowered his voice: ”It’s not that. We just got into the campsite and didn’t see anyone. We heard faint voices from this house, so I came to ask you.”

Just then, Ji You came over and said to Shen Changqing, ”We couldn’t find anyone in the previous houses. Since they won’t respond, let’s see if there are any others around.”

Liu Shun said, ”You don’t know there’s a war going on?”

Ji You and Shen Changqing were startled, their faces full of confusion: ”Huh?”

Liu Shun, the girl, and the blond-haired boy kept a close eye on Shen Changqing and Ji You’s expressions through the gap. When Liu Shun said this, their instinctive reaction didn’t seem like they were pretending.

The three exchanged glances, and Liu Shun said, ”You don’t know?”

Shen Changqing gaped and said, ”We didn’t know. Teacher Mu isn’t here. Since we returned, we haven’t been able to find her, nor did she tell us the arrangements afterward. We thought we’d return to the campsite to inquire about the situation and ask the garrison to help repair the spaceship.”

Ji You curiously asked, ”Even if it’s an assessment, isn’t it still before 8 o’clock? Isn’t it supposed to be a ceasefire period?”

”What ceasefire period?” Liu Shun muttered, then thought for a moment. Talking through the gap like this could easily expose their location and raise others’ suspicions, so he said, ”Come in first. Let’s not attract attention.”

The door opened slightly, and Shen Changqing bent down to squeeze in. Ji You was about to follow, but the blond-haired boy blocked the way, saying, ”One person is enough. You don’t need to come in.”

They had absolute confidence in dealing with Shen Changqing alone, but if Ji You joined, things might go wrong.

Ji You frowned and asked in shock: ”Why can he come in, and I can’t?”

The blond-haired boy glanced at Ji You with small eyes and said, ”Are you as honest as he is?”

Ji You: ”!!!”

Ji You pointed at herself and said, ”Can’t you see the word ’honest’ written all over my face?”

Next to her, hearing the blond-haired boy say that, Shen Changqing’s already blushing face turned even redder. He struggled to keep a straight face and said, ”I’m not honest either.”

This ’honest,’ didn’t sound much like a compliment.

The blond-haired boy was mildly choked by Shen Changqing’s retort, further convinced of the truthfulness of all Shen Changqing had said earlier. Consequently, he pulled Shen Changqing in and blocked Ji You, shooing her away: ”Alright, go find a place to hide yourself. Don’t just stand there.”

Ji You: ”...”

Even knowing Shen Changqing had an honest face that probably couldn’t lie, facing such differential treatment left Ji You utterly shocked. Her lips quivered, unable to utter a word for a long time out of anger.

Then.

Ji You didn’t go elsewhere either. She just found an empty house, squatting under the eaves corner, waiting for Shen Changqing to finish gathering information and come out.

About five minutes later, Shen Changqing came out. As he walked out, he lightly dusted off his sleeve and then strolled towards Ji You...

Step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

...

His steps were light, his posture graceful as jade...

Ji You stood up and quietly asked: ”How did it go?”

Shen Changqing kept a straight face and didn’t say a word but raised his hand, making an ’OK’ gesture.

Ji You immediately chuckled and said, ”Not bad, honest guy.”

Shen Changqing: ”...”