Free Web NovelChapter 121: Chapter 121: The Plan to Leave
The repetitive days of treatment were rather dull, but she was delighted to see the spirit bodies, one by one, being freed from their Poison Cocoons.
A Bird of Paradise happily flew around her spiritual power thread, a Black Panther actively jumped and rolled beside her, and a Nine-tailed Fox enthusiastically twined its nine tails around her spiritual power thread. As for He Hanshi, who always appeared calm and gentle, the White Lion spirit body within him was completely different. It slowly sidled up to her, then licked her spiritual power thread with its wet tongue.
Having played with Jiang Xia’s spirit body before, Shi Lan had experience and did her best to avoid such intimate contact with the others’ spirit bodies. But she wasn’t on guard against He Hanshi’s White Lion. She had assumed it would be as quiet and gentle as its master, but it turned out to be so excitable right from the start.
Shi Lan’s face instantly flushed red. Sensing that it was becoming difficult to continue the treatment with her spiritual power thread, she hastily withdrew from He Hanshi’s spirit sea.
He Hanshi lowered his eyelashes, tearing his gaze away from her. His hands at his sides were clenched into tight fists, and his Adam’s apple bobbed several times before he managed to suppress the sound that had nearly escaped him.
He couldn’t help but feel relieved that his susceptible period was over.
He Hanshi took a few deep breaths to suppress the fluttering in his chest, his expression softening into one of unthreatening gentleness. "Is the treatment complete?"
With her cheeks still flushed crimson, Shi Lan nodded. "It is, but the treatment is starting to become difficult now. You should check your collapse value."
"Alright."
He Hanshi agreed, his voice tightening slightly as his gaze swept over her ears, which were as red as ripe cherries.
He quickly averted his eyes and began the test.
"20%."
Shi Lan wasn’t entirely satisfied with that number. Although it had dropped to a low-level, everyone else’s had fallen into the teens.
Mu Tangfeng was at 14%, Ye Ming and Yan Huoshui were at 18%, and Jiang Xia was at 17%, yet He Hanshi was still at 20%.
But then she remembered his initial collapse value. ’Perhaps because it was so high to begin with,’ she mused, ’it’s just harder to lower it further now that it’s in the low-level range, after having dropped so much already.’
In contrast, Mu Tangfeng’s initial collapse value had been much lower, which was why the final results of his treatment seemed more impressive.
Seeing Shi Lan’s pensive expression, He Hanshi thought she was overthinking things again and quickly praised her. "Thank you, Lanlan. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be struggling with a High Level collapse value, enduring intense headaches and suffering from bouts of spiritual power breakdown."
"So, you’re truly amazing, Lanlan."
"Thank you."
In the end, he couldn’t resist pulling her into his arms. After her encounter with the White Lion spirit body, Shi Lan seemed fine on the surface, but in reality, her limbs felt weak and she couldn’t muster much strength.
He Hanshi embraced her with ease.
Her chin came to rest on his broad shoulder. He had eased his pull at the last moment, so she didn’t feel any pain, but a light, refreshing scent like fresh-cut grass instantly filled her senses, causing the blush on her cheeks to deepen.
Shi Lan’s first instinct was to push him away, but it suddenly occurred to her that now that everyone’s treatment was finished, they would probably be parting ways soon.
She hesitated. In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Clinging to a fondness she hadn’t even realized she felt, she let her cheek rest gently against his shoulder.
However, since they would have to part ways sooner or later, she didn’t allow herself to linger in the moment for too long.
After about a minute, she raised a hand and gave him a gentle push.
Though reluctant to let go, He Hanshi released her as soon as he felt her push.
Shi Lan got straight to the point. "So, when are you all planning to leave the prison?"
’Their departure meant her job here was over. She needed to start thinking about what to do next.’
But things were different now. She had earned a lot of money from them, and combined with her salary from the Prison Director, her savings now amounted to several million. She didn’t have to be as anxious as she was when she first arrived in this world.
Regarding the question of leaving, the men had discussed it at length last night, finally settling on a timeline of about a month from now.
However, that wasn’t when Shi Lan would be leaving.
To get out of the prison sooner, they needed to extricate Shi Lan from her current situation as quickly as possible.
His blue eyes turned slowly to her. "Lanlan, could you help us buy some chips? And also... help us put on an act."
He Hanshi briefly explained their plan to Shi Lan. She thought it was an excellent arrangement and readily agreed, "Alright."
He pursed his lips, his voice softening as a trace of apprehension entered his eyes. "We might... go a little too far. I hope you won’t take it to heart. No matter what we say, none of it will be what we truly feel."
"I get it. It’s just an act!"
After spending so much time with them, Shi Lan naturally understood how they felt about her.
She wasn’t too concerned about a little thing like that.
He Hanshi continued, "What are your plans after this, Lanlan? Are you thinking of going back to the Capital Star to work?"
Shi Lan pondered for a moment. "I think I will."
Before, she had wanted to escape the plot of the original novel, but now she had the means to protect herself. Besides, compared to other planets, the safety and security for females on the Capital Star were much better. And her friend, Jiang Yan, was there...
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. ’And He Hanshi and the others are there, too...’
’So, going back to the Capital Star is a good idea.’
He Hanshi’s smile deepened. Outside the room, the others who were eavesdropping also relaxed.
Ye Ming said, "Lanlan, what kind of work do you want to do when you go back to the Capital Star? I can arrange it for you."
Mu Tangfeng chimed in, "So can I."
Jiang Xia blinked, thought for a moment, and said, "Lanlan, I can just support you! No, wait, I’ll just give you all my money."
He thought for a moment. ’Anyway, Lanlan is going to be my wife in the future. I’ll just give her my money, and she can support me. That way, Lanlan won’t have to go to work and can spend every day with me!’
Jiang Xia’s mind was racing with his little scheme, and a goofy grin, at odds with his pale, manga-esque features, spread across his face.
Yan Huoshui added, "If you’re interested in teaching, Lanlan, I can help you with an introduction."
He Hanshi looked at Shi Lan, his lips parting as if to speak.
He had wanted to offer her a position in the military, but it was an all-male environment, and conditions were much harsher than on the Capital Star. He couldn’t bear to make her endure such hardship.
Still, he wondered if she might like it, and he wanted her to have as many options as possible. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, "If you have any interest in being a Military Doctor, you can let me know."
Hearing them all scrambling to arrange a job for her, Shi Lan couldn’t help but laugh. She looked at He Hanshi, a teasing light in her eyes. "So, does this mean I’ve successfully latched onto some powerful patrons?"
Hearing her joke, He Hanshi’s lips curved into a smile. He shook his head, his tone firm. "No. We’re the ones who have latched onto you." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Hearing this, the others readily agreed. "That’s right. Lanlan’s got it backward."
In this world, females were exceptionally rare, and a female with a healing ability like Shi Lan’s was practically one of a kind.
Yet, many males were at risk of their spiritual power collapsing...
All they could do was arrange a job for Shi Lan, but she could save their lives. It was obvious who was more important.
So, as far as they were concerned, Shi Lan was the true patron.
Shi Lan was a little overwhelmed to hear them all so earnestly insist that she was the powerful one.
Perhaps it was because she had rarely experienced such a feeling of being valued and acknowledged that it felt like she had received another precious gift.
She thought that maybe it was her good fortune to have ended up on Prison Star after coming to this world.
’It was my good fortune to meet them...’
