The Most Powerful Brain in the Interstellar Space

Chapter 366 Commander Zhou (Part 2)
“By the way, you are…” Jiang Hui glanced at Zhou Xiuwen, then abruptly stopped speaking.

Jiang Hui rarely looks people up and down directly, even when she's with someone she knows. Her gaze usually stays on the area above the shoulders.

Only after spending a long time talking and interacting with this person did she gradually form an overall impression and sense of him.

She hadn't noticed when he first came in, but now that he was sitting closer, she realized that Zhou Xiuwen was wearing a plain white military uniform. The subtle patterns on the collar and sleeves, along with the neat tassels on his shoulders, gave him a dignified and even solemn look.

Perhaps because Jiang Hui's gaze was too obvious, Zhou Xiuwen inexplicably looked back at his own outfit, wondering if there was something impolite about his clothing that had attracted such close scrutiny from Jiang Hui.

“You saw them off today,” Jiang Hui suddenly said.

Zhou Xiuwen was stunned for a moment before realizing the surprise in her words, and subconsciously said, "How did you know..."

The girl whispered, "I saw it on the news this morning."

The report wasn't actually that specific; it only stated that the soldiers who died in this battle would have their funeral procession at 11:00 AM, and their remains would be transported away by special plane. The news was very brief, with no extra seconds, only mentioning the participants at the end, such as "So-and-so from such-and-such army," etc.

Zhou Xiuwen had been elusive for the past two days, which wasn't strange, but the other party hadn't shown up at all today, nor had he sent any communications. Moreover, the one who did appear was wearing such a military uniform, so it was obvious that he had gone to see someone off.

Actually, when she saw the news this morning, she wanted to ask about Zhou Xiuwen's situation. However, the news that followed, "Twenty-seven lanes near Liukong Airport are blocked and traffic control is in place," brought her back to her senses.

She asked Zhou Xiuwen to confirm... Even if she confirmed that those soldiers were attending a funeral today, what could she do? She wanted to go and see them off, but it wasn't an ordinary funeral that she could just go to whenever she wanted.

That was a ceremony to confer honors upon the deceased, the empire's final lament for these heroic sacrifices. How could she, a complete stranger, go? Even now, Jiang Hui doesn't know the names of those soldiers who once protected them.
Even if Zhou Xiuwen could help her—would he spare her time to comfort her when she was also grieving? Or would he help her find a convenient way to go through the formalities at the scene…? It wouldn't matter. The person is dead; it's all meaningless.

Jiang Hui was very agitated, so she forced herself to focus all her attention on assembling the mecha, hoping to distract herself a little.

Unfortunately, the results didn't seem to be very good; she failed to do either of them well.

So when Jiang Hui saw Zhou Xiuwen's clothes, she couldn't help but ask—she had originally intended to remain silent about it.

Zhou Xiuwen seemed surprised to hear such an answer. He forced a bitter smile and nodded, "Yes."

"...Stop laughing." Jiang Hui turned her head away. The other person probably didn't realize how unnatural her expression was. Really, she felt so bitter inside, why was she still laughing? The more she laughed, the more bitter she felt.

"Why are you acting like Huan Xian now, making yourself uncomfortable and forcing yourself to wear a mask even when you're unhappy? There's no one here who needs you to pretend. Relax, I won't be scared by your expressions and emotions." Where did the honest Zhou Xiuwen she first met go?
Jiang Hui clearly remembered that the other person was incredibly straightforward and somewhat timid at the beginning, and could frankly express anything she couldn't do or bear. How could she have changed so drastically in just a few months? Or... was this the other person's true nature?
After being seen through by Jiang Hui time and time again, Zhou Xiuwen was a little stunned. Then, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, his straight posture and shoulders relaxed, and he leaned to the side, resting his shoulders against the back of the chair.

The young man sighed deeply, as if gathering his emotions or simply adjusting his mind, before finally saying, "A lot has really happened recently." Indeed, who could argue with that? She still hadn't recovered. If Jiang Hui was in such a state, one could only imagine the even more complicated situation Zhou Xiuwen was facing.

Jiang Hui didn't necessarily want to listen to the other person's complaints or heart-to-heart talks, but she felt that he seemed particularly tired today—even though he looked as usual when he came to her.

But clues were still visible. He was probably quite heartbroken; he seemed unable to maintain his usual gentle optimism, and looked like a tightly wound string, clearly in pain. Jiang Hui thought that he probably needed rest more than to force himself to say polite things.

A silence fell between the two, and after an unknown amount of time, Zhou Xiuwen's voice finally rang out again in the room.

"I'm sorry, I haven't been able to properly entertain you since I invited you to my home. I'm probably a very irresponsible host."

Jiang Hui shook his head: "That's hardly considerate. We should thank you and your family for taking us in as uninvited guests. We've probably already caused you trouble, and we're truly grateful. However..."

She changed the subject, a smile appearing at the corner of her eye, and said, "This time we came in a hurry, so let's not count it. We can start counting from next time. Next time you come, Zhou, you must treat us well."

Zhou Xiuwen's brows relaxed considerably, and he seemed a little lighter.

"Oh right, there's something else I came here for..." It was about time, Zhou Xiuwen was about to open his personal terminal to check the time when two footsteps came from the doorway.

"Aren't you ready yet? Xiuwen, didn't you tell us to come downstairs early and wait? Why are you two late?" The boy's lively and energetic voice broke the somewhat dull atmosphere in the room.

Then, a calm and composed voice came from behind Hillman, who quickly went inside. After a while, the other person slowly appeared outside the half-closed door. It was Huan Xian, who hadn't been seen for two days.

It turns out that Zhou Xiuwen had already informed Huan Xian and Hillman before coming to find Jiang Hui.

As a result, he talked to himself in the room for a long time and forgot about the other two people he had notified earlier, which caused them to come looking for him.

Jiang Hui: ? ? ? You can forget something like that?!

She looked at the person opposite her with a somewhat complicated expression. The melancholy and anxiety on the other person's face had quietly disappeared, replaced by a shy feeling of realizing that they had made a mistake.

Receiving Jiang Hui's questioning gaze, Zhou Xiuwen touched his nose and said, "Actually, it's nothing. My father said he'd like to invite you to dinner tonight. Are you going?"

Zhou Xiuwen's father, who is also the owner of this mansion, has never been seen by Jiang Hui since he came to the Zhou family.

(End of this chapter)