Chapter 364 - 262 Shared Lodging
Qin Lan’s eyes sharpened instantly when she heard Mo Qingyan say she wasn’t going back that night. However, seeing Mo Qingyan making a placating face with her back to Chen Xin, she hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement, saying nothing.
On certain matters, they had actually reached a tacit understanding, though what this understanding was wasn’t something to be shared with outsiders.
The only thing known was that this consensus between the two was something good for Chen Xin.
Even though Qin Lan did not object, Chen Xin couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. He was just joking, yet Mo Qingyan seriously wanted to stay. He couldn’t help but say, "Are you really going to stay? It’s all guys here. Where will you sleep? All the tents are occupied."
"I’ll sleep in yours, can’t I? You’re the only one sleeping in it, right? Your tent should have no problem accommodating two people," Mo Qingyan said nonchalantly as if testing whether Chen Xin’s tent could fit two people.
But as soon as she lay down, Mo Qingyan had to sit back up. She hadn’t taken off her exoskeleton, and lying down obviously poked her in the back.
Seeing Mo Qingyan’s display, Chen Xin looked pleadingly at Qin Lan for help, but Qin Lan acted as if she hadn’t seen it and simply discussed with Mo Qingyan whether it would be cold sleeping here at night.
"Oh, it won’t be cold! There are sleeping bags and a heater, the temperature should be sufficient," Mo Qingyan said, unconcerned, patting her impressive chest and pointing to the sleeping bag Chen Xin had set aside. "I’ve stocked this brand of sleeping bags before, the quality is very good. Even if the outside temperature is -10℃, you can strip inside the sleeping bag and still not feel cold. Also, the inside space is large, even a single-person sleeping bag can fit two people in a pinch, or you can put clothes in to warm, so you won’t freeze when you get up."
Seeing Mo Qingyan’s demeanor and Qin Lan’s lack of action, Chen Xin glanced at them helplessly. Although he didn’t understand what these two women were up to, he had no way of truly driving Mo Qingyan away.
"How could two people squeeze in? You girls can squeeze into one sleeping bag since you’re small, but men can’t." Though Chen Xin couldn’t directly drive Mo Qingyan away, he still tried to refuse her stay. "And I only have one sleeping bag, Dragon Lady, you couldn’t possibly squeeze into the same sleeping bag with me, right?"
"Why not? Didn’t we all squeeze into one tent before when we went camping?" Mo Qingyan said with an indifferent attitude.
Though Mo Qingyan’s indifference was a façade, what she said was true. In the past, when a group of them went camping and tents were limited, they indeed squeezed into one tent without distinction between male and female.
At that time, everyone wore plenty of clothes and each had a sleeping bag, so squeezing together wasn’t a problem.
With Mo Qingyan saying this, Chen Xin really couldn’t refute and reluctantly shook his head, left the tent, and fetched two spare sleeping bags from the storage area. After throwing one to Mo Qingyan, he grudgingly accepted her staying.
"A Lan, why don’t you stay too? It’s been a while since the three of us had a chat," Chen Xin said, simply letting go. To avoid Qin Lan overthinking or misunderstandings between her and Mo Qingyan, he invited Qin Lan to stay the night too.
When Qin Lan heard Chen Xin say this, she glanced at Mo Qingyan, whose expression had turned sour, and couldn’t help but smile mischievously, nodding. "Sure, although we usually live together, it has indeed been a while since we had a heart-to-heart chat."
Upon hearing Qin Lan say this, Mo Qingyan’s face fell, clearly showing things had strayed from her original expectations.
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At night, the workers’ rhythmic snoring came from outside the tent, inside three sleeping bags were laid out, and the three of them were already nestled in them.
Both sets of Power Armor had been placed outside the tent, and Mo Qingyan had also taken off her Exoskeleton Protective Suit, all three dressed in close-fitting garments.
The temperature inside the tent wasn’t low; the heater worked well, providing enough warmth to keep it at an acceptable level.
Chen Xin slept on the edge, Qin Lan in the middle, and Mo Qingyan on the other side.
Originally, according to Mo Qingyan’s plan, she should have been sleeping next to Chen Xin, using the excuse of the cold at night to sneak into Chen Xin’s sleeping bag, making certain things happen naturally.
But clearly, Chen Xin was still traditional or had certain boundaries, placing Qin Lan between them, conveniently separating him and Mo Qingyan.
Mo Qingyan had to give up a plan she prepared for a long time, finally mustering the courage, just shy of the crucial moment, and truly engaged in the long-lost chatting with Chen Xin and Qin Lan.
"Speaking of it, why did you come to Lin City, A Xin? Even with ’Daren’s’ cry for help, you actually didn’t need to get involved, right?" Mo Qingyan inquired curiously. To her, Chen Xin passing on Cao Daren’s call for help to the city authority was fulfilling his duty; there was no need to come to Lin City.
Doing so much, not to mention sleeping in a tent and living so frugally, made it confusing for Mo Qingyan.
It wasn’t that Mo Qingyan thought Chen Xin shouldn’t have come, she just felt there was no need for him to go through such hardships.
Regarding this question, Chen Xin smiled and replied, "Perhaps it’s just a sense of self-satisfaction. I feel like I have the capability, so I want to help those in need."
Chen Xin’s answer was heartfelt.
Even before obtaining the system, Chen Xin was someone who enjoyed helping others, but back then, he only helped within his means and wouldn’t do things as daringly as he does now.
However, after obtaining the system and gaining abilities others couldn’t, he naturally felt he should do more.
This wasn’t the "with great power comes great responsibility" superhero trope, but rather the ancestral teaching of "help oneself in poverty, help the world in wealth."
Chen Xin now met the standard of "wealth," so naturally, his consideration was "helping the world," not the previous goal of "help oneself" of ensuring good living for himself.
Regarding Chen Xin’s answer, neither Mo Qingyan nor Qin Lan felt anything was wrong. Since Chen Xin wanted to do it, they naturally had no reason to oppose.
However, Qin Lan still asked a follow-up question, "So, to what extent do you plan to do this, A Xin? You can’t stay here forever, right?"
"Of course not. My plan is..." Chen Xin smiled and began to explain his intentions to the two of them.