Chapter 66: The Intruder

Was it because of what Chu Yuyao said, or because of that woman named Shen Tinglan at the afternoon meeting?

Perhaps, both.

Night fell. The doorbell rang.

Hua Mu’ai opened the door. She froze.

Shen Tinglan stood outside. She still wore that neat GSA special ops combat uniform, a smile on her face. Behind her, several logistics staff in uniforms pushed several fully packed suitcases.

“Good evening, Captain. I’ll be troubling you from today.” Shen Tinglan’s voice was soft and pleasant.

“There’s… quite a lot of stuff.” Hua Mu’ai squeezed out a dry comment.

“Since I’m staying long-term, I also brought some precision instruments for research.” Shen Tinglan stepped aside, signaling the logistics staff to bring the luggage inside.

In the living room, Xia Xingyan, who had been sitting on the sofa reading a book, stood up when she heard the doorbell.

She stood in the middle of the living room, watching coldly as Shen Tinglan and the boxes were moved in.

Gu Qianqian and Lin Xiaolu were huddled in the corner of the sofa, holding pillows, not daring to breathe.

The air in the apartment froze at that moment.

On one side, a smiling, imposing Shen Tinglan.

On the other, an icy, unyielding Xia Xingyan.

Hua Mu’ai was caught in the middle, feeling like she was suffocating.

The logistics staff stacked the suitcases neatly in the living room and then stood still.

Shen Tinglan looked around the apartment, her gaze finally landing on Hua Mu’ai. Her smile was so warm that no one could find any fault with it.

“Captain, to facilitate observing your star power fluctuations at any time, I’ll be sleeping in the guest room next to yours. Is that okay?”

Hua Mu’ai was thinking about how to politely refuse, but a cold voice spoke first.

“I’m staying in that room.”

Xia Xingyan spoke.

Her voice wasn’t loud, but the temperature in the living room dropped a few more degrees.

This woman was more dangerous the closer she got to the captain. She absolutely couldn’t allow this!

Gu Qianqian and Lin Xiaolu exchanged a glance, both seeing fear on the other’s face.

They knew very well that after Xia Xingyan moved in, she had always been staying in the guest room at the end of the hallway.

She was lying through her teeth!

Shen Tinglan’s smile didn’t falter. She turned to Xia Xingyan, her tone laced with a hint of surprise and apology.

“Is that so? Then I’m sorry, Xia. But I recall Commander Qin saying this apartment has two guest rooms?”

Xia Xingyan’s voice was cold. “The other one is behind the living room.”

She pointed to the door next to Hua Mu’ai’s room and emphasized each word, “This one is mine.”

Shen Tinglan still looked at Xia Xingyan, her voice gentle, but her words brooked no argument.

“Xia, I understand you don’t want to give up your room. But my mission is to ensure the captain’s condition is foolproof. Many of my monitoring devices need to be in close range to work, especially at night, when the captain’s star power fluctuations are most active and most chaotic. I must record the data at all times.”

She added with a smile, “This is the highest directive from GSA Headquarters. The captain’s recovery takes priority.”

What a big hat! She directly invoked GSA Headquarters.

Xia Xingyan pursed her lips.

She knew what the other said was true, and that it concerned Hua Mu’ai’s safety. But the thought of this woman living next to Hua Mu’ai, with only a wall between them, made her feel like countless ants were crawling inside her. Sour and bitter, with a nameless anger.

This woman was here to steal her captain!

“I don’t agree.” Xia Xingyan’s voice was even colder.

“Xingyan!” Gu Qianqian finally couldn’t help but whisper a word of advice. “Deputy Shen is also for the captain’s good…”

Xia Xingyan shot her a look, and Gu Qianqian immediately swallowed the rest of her words.

“Alright, alright,” Hua Mu’ai said impatiently. “It’s just a room. Do you have to make such a fuss? If not, you can share one!”

“How can that be!”

Two voices spoke in unison.

One from Xia Xingyan, one from Shen Tinglan.

After saying that, they looked at each other again. The air seemed to crackle with sparks.

Hua Mu’ai was completely at a loss.

She found herself unable to handle this situation.

In this awkward standoff, Shen Tinglan suddenly laughed and took out her phone.

“It seems there’s a small misunderstanding between us. Let Commander Qin decide this.”

She made a call.

A few seconds later, Hua Mu’ai’s phone rang.

Caller ID: Qin Lan.

Hua Mu’ai resignedly answered the phone and said weakly, “Hello?”

“Put it on speaker.” Qin Lan’s voice was a bit cold.

Hua Mu’ai complied.

In the next second, Qin Lan’s unequivocal command rang through the living room.

“Xia Xingyan.”

“Shen Tinglan’s support mission has the highest priority. All her requests must be unconditionally complied with by all members of Starfall Squad.”

“Now, immediately, give up the room next to the captain.”

“This is an order.”

Every word struck at Xia Xingyan’s heart.

The living room was dead silent.

Xia Xingyan stood still, not moving.

The knuckles of her hand hanging by her side turned white from the pressure.

Hua Mu’ai could even hear her slightly rapid breathing.

After a long time, everyone thought she would explode on the spot.

But Xia Xingyan just slowly unclenched her fist.

She didn’t say anything. She just turned and walked toward the guest room at the other end of the hallway.

“Bang!”

A loud door slam crashed in everyone’s heart.

Gu Qianqian and Lin Xiaolu shuddered in fright.

Shen Tinglan hung up the phone, still wearing that gentle and warm smile, as if nothing had happened.

“Then, my apologies for the trouble.” She nodded to the logistics staff who were still in a daze. “That room, please.”

Looking at the closed door, Hua Mu’ai couldn’t describe what she felt.

She shouted in irritation, “What are you looking at! Get back to your own rooms!”

Then she rushed into her own bedroom without looking back, slamming the door shut.

“Bang!”

In the living room, only Gu Qianqian and Lin Xiaolu were left, staring at each other.

“Sister Qianqian, I… I’m a little scared.” Lin Xiaolu was about to cry.

“Me too…” Gu Qianqian pulled her. “Come on, let’s go back to our room and do homework. Don’t come out tonight…”

That night, Hua Mu’ai couldn’t sleep.

She lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

The apartment was very quiet, but her ears were full of all kinds of sounds.

From the left, the room next door.

From Shen Tinglan’s room, there were always some faint noises.

Was it the low hum of an instrument operating? Or the rustling of paper as she flipped through documents? Or the extremely subtle footsteps as she walked across the floor with a water glass?

These sounds were very soft, but like a feather, they constantly teased Hua Mu’ai’s nerves.

That familiar aura, which made her heart race and her instincts resist, seemed to penetrate the wall and wrap around her from all sides.

And at the other end of the hallway, Xia Xingyan’s room.

It should be completely silent by now.

She had stood at the other’s door for a long time earlier, but there was no sound from inside.

She felt like a piece of meat squeezed in a sandwich.

On one side, a warm flame with unknown danger.

On the other, an icy, resentful cold.

Caught between fire and ice.

“Damn it!”

Hua Mu’ai buried her head in her pillow and let out a muffled curse.

“How am I supposed to live like this!”

…

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Inside a magnificent Gothic cathedral, the cold marble floor reflected the black sun emblem.

Yue Xi knelt in the center of the hall.

Her usually proud head was deeply bowed, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

For the first time in her life, she felt an emotion called “fear.”

Those scarlet vertical pupils, once full of mockery and arrogance, now held only pure, incomprehensible terror.

“Mentor…”

Her voice was hoarse.

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