The Bride

"But liqueur chocolates are chocolate, not alcohol." Laffey blinked her big eyes, trying to win him over with cuteness.

"That's still not allowed."

Ye Ming refused without hesitation, but when he noticed the little girl's pitiful gaze, his heart softened a little. "Laffey, back in the Port District, did Enterprise and the others let you eat liqueur chocolates?"

"Mhm." Laffey nodded hard, the rabbit ears atop her head swaying. "Big Sister Enterprise and Big Sister Lexington both let Laffey eat chocolate. When Big Sister Belfast went on expeditions, she even brought Laffey chocolate from other places."

"Then... did Enterprise and the others allow you to drink alcohol?" Ye Ming asked casually, pretending not to care.

"Allo... not allowed." Laffey clutched Ye Ming's hand and stared uncertainly at the ground.

"..."

Ye Ming fell silent.

Laffey lowered her head even further, her big eyes filled with disappointment and sadness.

Ye Ming sighed helplessly.

"Fine. Liqueur chocolate it is, but you're not allowed to eat too much, and you're definitely not allowed to sneak alcohol."

"I like Commander the most!"

Seeing how happy the little girl was, Ye Ming could not help smiling as well.

Although he knew exactly what Laffey was thinking, as her Commander, it was sometimes simply too hard for him to disappoint someone as adorable as Laffey.

Ship-Girls were naturally born spirits, extraordinary life forms unlike ordinary humans. Unlike the usual supernatural beings in fantasy works, Ship-Girls were awakened by their Commanders using Wisdom Cubes. Though every Ship-Girl could theoretically develop a different personality under the influence of history, legends, her Commander, and countless other factors, most Ship-Girls were naturally kind-hearted spirits. Even the small number who were genuinely yandere or war-crazed could be satisfied and become quiet as long as they stayed by their Commander's side.

So long as a Commander had no problems with his mind or his life, his Ship-Girls would not have any problems either.

As extraordinary life forms, Ship-Girls naturally had bodily structures different from ordinary humans. Although they possessed beautiful appearances far more perfect than those of regular people, and even felt no different from humans to the touch, Ship-Girls actually possessed greater strength and firepower than massive warships and heavy guns.

Even little Laffey was not something ordinary destroyers could compare to.

So although Laffey looked like a little girl, there was no need to treat her like one in every respect. Alcohol still had to be approached cautiously, but liqueur chocolates were no big deal.

Still, could Ship-Girls have children with humans? If they could, would the child be human or a Ship-Girl?

A strange thought suddenly popped into Ye Ming's mind. He wanted to ask Laffey, but asking a little girl something like that felt a bit too perverse. After thinking it over, he decided to suppress his curiosity for now.

Forget it. If an Oath Ship came to this world someday, he could ask then.

No, wait. Since she would be an Oath Ship, couldn't he ask while trying it out?

With unrealistic thoughts spinning through his head, Ye Ming stopped when they passed a phone shop.

He suddenly realized that he ought to get Laffey a phone. With one, he could stay in touch with her anytime while he was at work.

No sooner thought than done. Ye Ming had not yet figured out how to solve Laffey's identity problem, so after buying her a phone, he went on Bilibili and used his own ID to get her a Little TV SIM card.

"Laffey, do you know how to use a phone?"

As he handed Laffey the phone, which did not have the SIM card installed yet, Ye Ming suddenly realized that he had not considered that question.

"Of course." Laffey nodded, took the phone, skillfully turned on the screen, and set a password. "Back in the Port District, Ming often carried a huge box of phones around to sell. Even the submarines each had a waterproof phone. Of course Laffey knows how to use one."

After fiddling with it for a while, Laffey finished setting it up. Looking at the phone's sky-blue wallpaper, she thought for a moment, then grabbed Ye Ming's hand and pulled downward with all her might. "Commander, crouch down. Hurry, crouch down. Laffey wants a photo with Commander. Laffey wants to use our photo as her wallpaper."

The little girl's first reaction after getting a phone was to use a photo with her Commander as the wallpaper. It moved and delighted Ye Ming, and he cooperatively crouched down in front of the camera.

Laffey leaned close to Ye Ming, pressing her little cheek tightly against the side of his face. As she adjusted the angle, she instructed him, "Commander, lean a little closer to Laffey. Mm, closer. Smile. Smile brighter. Make a pose. Make a pose."

"Okay, like that. Don't move, look at the camera, get ready—"

Smack~

The camera flashed, and something soft and damp seemed to brush against Ye Ming's cheek.

Ye Ming froze. When he turned around, he found that Laffey had already pulled away from him and was happily setting the wallpaper. Ye Ming glanced at the phone screen. The wallpaper was a photo of the little girl kissing him. In the picture, he was smiling as he held up a victory sign, with only the faintest flicker of surprise appearing in his eyes. The little girl kissing him, meanwhile, wore a blissful smile. Afternoon sunlight shone over them, draping them in a thin orange veil. The colors were incredibly warm.

Looking at the two of them in the wallpaper, Ye Ming was lost in thought for a moment.

"Commander, will you use this as your wallpaper too?"

Laffey held up her phone before him and looked at him expectantly.

"Okay."

Ye Ming came back to himself and forced himself to remain calm.

He had been won over by a little girl again.

My Laffey, you really are my angel.

Wedding Dress

After personally changing Ye Ming's phone background to the same wallpaper as hers, the satisfied Laffey finally returned his phone and began playing with her own.

Although the phone did not have a SIM card yet, Laffey successfully connected to this world's internet for the first time through the wireless hotspot set up on Ye Ming's phone. She immersed herself in the joy of exploring a new world.

Ye Ming held Laffey's hand with one hand, making sure the little girl, absorbed in her phone, did not crash headfirst into a pillar and snap it in half, or wander into the roadway and flip over a car, causing an accident. With the other, he occasionally glanced at Laffey's screen to make sure she did not accidentally tap into some strange website that might affect her mental health. At the same time, he silently considered several pressing problems.

First was Laffey's identity. Ye Ming still had no idea how to deal with it. After all, this country's household registration system was quite strict. It was already difficult enough to create a legal identity for someone who had appeared out of nowhere, and Laffey's conspicuous features—especially her white hair—would make getting identification even harder.

Ye Ming had never dealt with this sort of thing before, so he had no relevant experience. He could only ask knowledgeable friends later and see whether they had any ideas.

Second was the issue of work and Laffey.

Although Laffey was adorable and Ye Ming wanted to stay with her all the time, the real-world Ye Ming was not the Commander from the Azur Lane game. Without the game's military funding, he had to work hard if he wanted to make money.

Weekends were fine, but on workdays, leaving Laffey alone at home was obviously not a good idea. Yet if he sent her to school, there was the unresolved identity issue, and Ye Ming would not feel at ease either.

If only Ayanami, Z23, Javelin, Swanling, and the others could come to this world too. Then Laffey would have friends her own age.

Even so, Ye Ming knew that was unrealistic.

For now, the only thing Ye Ming could think of was to quickly develop a freelance career with flexible hours and a decent income. That way, he could work from home while staying with Laffey.

Being an online novel author or a content creator would both be suitable.

However, making money in either of those fields and reaching a stable income was far more difficult than in ordinary professions. There was no rushing it. He could only take things slowly.

For now, he could only keep trying to expand his sources of income while working hard and doing his best to earn more money.

Actually, if Ye Ming were willing to film his daily life with Laffey for Bilibili, he could probably gain quite a few followers. But he had no such plans. Having Laffey put on a Laffey avatar and become a VTuber would also be nice. The thought of Laffey being a Laffey VTuber was pretty amusing.

Moreover, Laffey's voice was lazy and soft, highly similar to the voice of Kanna, the little dragon girl from the anime Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. With such an adorable and distinctive voice, she would probably become popular as a VTuber unless something unexpected happened.

But having Laffey wear a Laffey avatar would probably be copyright infringement, so it was better not to try it.

And more importantly, making a little girl earn money just felt strange to Ye Ming.

Using money earned by a little girl to support a little girl sounded weird.

Wouldn't that make him someone living off a woman?

Ye Ming could not accept that. He did not like living off a woman at all, especially not a little girl.

Well, meals had to be eaten one bite at a time, and roads had to be walked one step at a time.

There was no need to neglect the person beside him just because he was too anxious. After all, he and Laffey still had a long road ahead of them.

Thinking that, Ye Ming let out a breath. He held Laffey's hand with one hand and took out his phone with the other to check the navigation.

After turning at the intersection ahead, they would reach the well-reviewed Wedding Dress shop he had found online.

It was precisely

while they were waiting for the red light at the intersection that a surprised voice sounded behind Ye Ming. "Eh? You? What a coincidence."

Ye Ming turned around and saw a young woman in a professional skirt suit, black stockings, and black high-heeled leather shoes looking at him in surprise. She wore purple contact lenses, and her long hair was a gorgeous purple as well.

Ye Ming paused before remembering that she was the Genshin Impact cosplayer from the subway yesterday.

"You?"

Ye Ming was surprised too. He had not expected the Keqing cosplayer to be an office worker as well.

"Surprised, right?" The young woman seemed to guess what Ye Ming was thinking and smiled. "You didn't expect me to be a white-collar worker? But cosplay really is my hobby."

As she spoke, the young woman glanced at Laffey, who was holding Ye Ming's hand, and asked, "What a coincidence, running into you here. Did you bring your little sister out to play?"

"Mm."

Ye Ming replied, originally not intending to say more. But when he thought of her identity as a cosplayer, an idea came to him, and he added, "I mainly came out this time to have a cosplay outfit custom-made for my little sister."

"A cosplay outfit? What kind?"

The young woman asked further, seemingly very interested.

"Laffey's Bridal Gown."

Ye Ming's expression remained calm, and so did his tone.

The young woman froze. She looked at Laffey, then at Ye Ming, her eyes widening in surprise. Then her surprise turned into a smile. "What a coincidence. I was also planning to get a cosplay outfit custom-made. Have you found a shop yet? Want to go together?"

"Not yet." Ye Ming shook his head, looking calm while secretly delighted. "Actually, I don't have much experience with this. If you don't mind the trouble, going together would be best. I could also hear the advice of a professional like you."

"I'm just an ordinary cosplay enthusiast." The young woman smiled. "Since we're so fated, let's go together. I happen to know a small shop that's quite professional and affordable."

"Thank you so much." Ye Ming finally let out a breath and smiled happily. "By the way, I still haven't asked what cosplay you're doing. Keqing again?"

"Mm."

The young woman nodded and smiled. "This time, it's Keqing's Bridal Gown."