Mobile Game Wife Comes Knocking

Laffey pressed her cheek against Ye Ming's palm and rubbed it gently. "Laffey isn't human, Laffey is a Ship-Girl, and Ship-Girls are the Commander's property. Laffey and everyone in the Port District all think so."

What else could Ye Ming say?

He was deeply moved by little Laffey, so he crouched down, hugged her tightly, and rubbed his cheek against hers.

But Laffey wasn't finished speaking yet.

"So, even if Laffey knows the Commander is lying, Laffey will pretend not to notice, because Laffey doesn't want to cause trouble for her favorite Commander, doesn't want to make things hard for him..."

Laffey's voice choked up a little. "Actually, actually the Wedding Dress isn't important at all. Actually, actually Laffey doesn't need a Wedding Dress. Laffey, Laffey isn't sad at all."

"Commander, Laffey, Laffey doesn't want the Wedding Dress anymore."

"Laffey."

Ye Ming froze. He heard the little girl's sobbing tone and quickly let her go, only to find tears glistening in her wine-red eyes.

That really pained Ye Ming.

Only then did he realize that Laffey had long seen through his perfunctory attitude, but the understanding little girl had been pretending not to know all along. When she said earlier at the elevator that she wanted him to buy her Wedding Dress along the way, that was probably her first and last attempt to test him. Because she saw his hesitation, Laffey immediately gave up on the Wedding Dress.

And what a Wedding Dress means to a girl goes without saying. Even to a naive little girl like Laffey, a Wedding Dress is very important.

So little Laffey, after coming to this world and meeting Ye Ming, had only one wish—her first and only one—and that was for him to buy her a new Wedding Dress.

Because her old Wedding Dress was left behind in the Blue World, and she might never see it again.

Realizing this, Ye Ming thought of more details.

Laffey, who came to this strange world all alone, must miss her companions from the Port District terribly, right? But she never once mentioned looking for her old friends, never once said she wanted to go back to her old world. The reason, aside from wanting to stay with Ye Ming, was probably that she felt she couldn't go back anymore.

Because she felt she couldn't go back, she didn't want her Commander to overthink it, didn't want to trouble him. So when Ye Ming asked, Laffey said things like, "It won't be long before everyone finds the Commander, reunites, stays by his side, and rebuilds the Port District."

At the time, Ye Ming was struck by Laffey's earnest tone and instinctively thought of the girls wandering the world searching for their Commander. But now that he thought about it, that firm tone of hers wasn't just answering Ye Ming—wasn't it also her way of giving herself confidence?

Yet, because she didn't want to pressure the Commander, Laffey never brought any of this up to Ye Ming.

This is what Ship-Girls are. This is Laffey.

What a spirit that weighs heavy on the shoulders.

She doesn't contend or snatch, doesn't fuss or make a scene. She just silently stays by your side, relying on you while protecting you, yet always manages to unexpectedly win your heart, quietly claiming the most important place in it, healing your soul, letting you feel that heavy affection while also feeling the weighty responsibility on your shoulders.

For some reason, Ye Ming—a seasoned adult worn down by society—felt his eyes sting, and his voice uncontrollably choked up.

How embarrassing.

"Laffey, the Commander promises he will pick out the most beautiful Wedding Dress for you, and then put it on you with his own hands."

Ye Ming hugged Laffey.

"I'm sorry, Laffey. Please forgive the Commander. From now on, rely on the Commander a little more, okay?"

Chapter 20: Not a Lolicon

Ye Ming wasn't the type to drag things out. Since he'd made up his mind to buy Laffey a Wedding Dress, the sooner the better.

As luck would have it, it was the weekend. Ye Ming decided that after breakfast and settling Fu Hua in, he'd take Laffey to check out the nearby bridal shops.

Of course, even though she was an Oath Ship, Laffey was still a little girl. For a little girl, there probably wouldn't be any ready-made Wedding Dresses in the shop, right?

So Laffey's Wedding Dress would most likely need to be custom-made.

Naturally, to avoid being mistaken for a pervert and reported to the police, Ye Ming had already thought of an excuse—the Wedding Dress was for Laffey to use as a cosplay prop.

That way, he could successfully escape punishment, right?

Ye Ming thought nervously, but kept a calm face.

"Laffey, after breakfast, the Commander will take you to order a new Wedding Dress."

Ye Ming made a serious promise.

Laffey was stunned for a long moment after hearing the promise before she reacted. The little girl happily stood on tiptoe and planted a kiss on Ye Ming's cheek, her tear-streaked face breaking into a sweet, heartwarming smile.

"Thank you, Commander! Laffey loves the Commander the most!"

"The Commander loves Laffey the most too."

Little Laffey was very happy, and Ye Ming, who got his reward, was also very happy. He reached out to wipe the tears from Laffey's face and opened the door.

Entering the living room, Ye Ming set breakfast on the coffee table, told Laffey to eat first, then went into the bedroom to open the window for some air.

But once inside the bedroom, he noticed the window was half-open.

Strange? Did I open the window? I don't think so.

Could it have been Laffey or Fu Hua?

The question flashed through his mind, but Ye Ming didn't dwell on it.

He pulled the curtains tight, closed the half-open window a bit more, turned back to tidy the bed, and then left the bedroom.

But as he reached the bedroom door, he noticed a patch of wetness on the floor behind the door, scattered like droplets of water falling one by one.

A leak?

Ye Ming frowned, looked up, and carefully examined the ceiling. There was no sign of a leak.

Ye Ming let out a sigh of relief, mopped the floor clean, and returned to the living room.

On the living room sofa, Laffey hugged a throw pillow, leaning back against the cushion, her chin resting on the pillow, eyes half-open and half-closed, as if she was about to fall asleep again.

Little Laffey always had that adorable, perpetually sleepy look.

"Huh? Why aren't you eating?" Ye Ming noticed the breakfast on the coffee table hadn't even been unwrapped, and asked in surprise.

"This is Laffey and the Commander's first breakfast together. Laffey wanted to eat it with the Commander."

Laffey dropped the throw pillow, pulled Ye Ming to sit down beside her, and before he could move, she opened the bag herself, took out a bun, and held it up to his mouth.

"Commander, ah~"

Laffey's beautiful wine-red eyes stared at Ye Ming expectantly.

Ye Ming, who was a bit embarrassed, couldn't resist the little girl's hopeful gaze and took a bite of the bun.

Laffey smiled: "That bite was fed to the Commander by Laffey. Commander, do you want some soy milk?"

Ye Ming swallowed the bun and shook his head.

"Ah~"

Laffey held the remaining half of the bun up to his mouth again.

"Uh, Laffey, the Commander can eat by himself."

Even as he said that, Ye Ming obediently opened his mouth and ate the half bun Laffey offered in one bite.

Because he was a bit nervous being fed by a little girl for the first time, his lips accidentally brushed against Laffey's fingers when he closed his mouth. The little girl seemed to find it amusing, giggling softly, and said seriously: "That bite was fed by Laffey on behalf of Ayanami, Javelin, Z23, and the others. They're also the Commander's Oath Ships. When everyone reunites in the future, the Commander has to vouch for Laffey—Laffey didn't forget them."

Ye Ming nodded obediently, looking at Laffey's smile, feeling happy inside.

Of course, his happiness wasn't because he was enjoying being fed by a little girl for the first time, but because Laffey had finally loosened up a bit in front of him and started talking about their Port District companions. That was a good sign.

Laffey picked up another bun and held it to Ye Ming's mouth: "This bite was fed by Laffey on behalf of Sister Enterprise and the others. Sister Enterprise is the Commander's second Oath Ship, and she served as Secretary Ship for a long time, always diligently assisting the Commander in handling Port District affairs. Everyone in White Eagle has always been the ones who like the Commander the most in the Port District. In the future, when the Commander gives out rings, he should definitely consider the seniors of White Eagle."

Laffey started boosting her sisters' affection.

Ye Ming could only nod.

"This bite was fed on behalf of Sister Belfast, Little Belfast, and the sisters of the Royal Maid Corps..."

Next came the Royal Maid Corps, who had always taken good care of Laffey.

Ye Ming panicked.

Good grief, he hadn't counted exactly how many Ship-Girls there were in Azur Lane, but it had to be at least over four hundred. His account before he quit was a full collection. If he let Laffey feed him bite by bite, even if he ate himself to death, he wouldn't finish.

Of course, there were so many Ship-Girls in the Port District that even Laffey might not be familiar with every single one, but even just the Oath Ships alone would be enough to stuff Ye Ming to death.

The initial joy of being fed by a little girl quickly turned into panic, and Ye Ming decisively backed down.

"Laffey, you eat too."

Ye Ming snatched the bun from Laffey's hand and brought it to her mouth. "This is the first time the Commander has fed someone. Laffey can't refuse, okay?"

Hearing those words from her most beloved Commander, a Ship-Girl like Laffey naturally couldn't refuse.

Little Laffey could only obediently open her mouth to accept Ye Ming's feeding, and Ye Ming successfully averted the crisis of being stuffed to death.

Well, not that Laffey would deliberately try to stuff him to death, anyway.

But...

Come to think of it, whether being fed by little Laffey or feeding little Laffey, both were things that brought joy. Ye Ming realized he came out ahead no matter what.

And, though it sounded a bit narcissistic, Ye Ming found that even though he had never had experience dealing with little girls, after just one short day with Laffey, he had already begun to grasp the knack of interacting with them, able to use his wits to defuse crises.

Was this what they called talent?

But it was strange—he clearly wasn't a loli himself, so why did he have this kind of talent?

Ye Ming was puzzled. While his Oath Ships included quite a few destroyer lolis and submarine lolis, there were far more main fleet ships with long legs and big busts.