Meeting in a Dream

Just as Ye Ming raised his hand, he suddenly felt someone tugging at the hem of his shirt. Looking down, he found that it was Laffey.

Little Laffey lowered her head and stared at her toes, but her small hand gripped the hem of Ye Ming's shirt, tugging lightly without saying a word.

Ye Ming, who had originally intended to refuse, immediately hesitated.

"Is that really okay?"

Almost the instant the saleswoman finished speaking, Keqing spoke up. "There's actually a deal like that? What luck. Now we won't even have to pay for a photographer, and we can see how the bridal look turns out in advance. That's great!"

After speaking excitedly, Keqing glanced at Ye Ming again, as if she had only just remembered him. She hesitantly asked, "Um, can wedding photos be taken separately?"

The saleswoman's smile did not change. "Sorry, that won't be possible. But you can ask this gentleman to help. We can provide a suit for the photoshoot free of charge."

"Ah, well..."

Keqing froze for a moment. A perfectly timed hint of shyness and embarrassment appeared on her face. She looked at Ye Ming somewhat awkwardly and said shyly, "Um, I just got back to the country, and I don't really have any friends in this city. Could you, could you maybe..."

?

You could ask someone to help with wedding photos too?

Was she really going that far just for a discount?

Ye Ming was full of question marks, but after giving it some thought, he understood.

What he had brought Laffey here to order was a genuine, proper Wedding Dress. But in Keqing's eyes, both her own and Laffey's dresses were merely cosplay props, with nothing to do with actual wedding dresses.

Thinking of it that way, it was barely understandable.

"Of course."

Ye Ming nodded directly. Then, as if trying to get even more out of the deal, he looked at the saleswoman and pulled Laffey in front of him. "You said she could take a set too, right? Since it'd be a waste not to, could I take a set with her while we're at it?"

"Of course." The saleswoman nodded with a smile. "Please rest assured, we have professional wedding photographers here with extensive experience. The results will definitely be far better than ordinary cosplay photos. We'll certainly satisfy all of you."

A delighted expression appeared on Laffey's face.

Ye Ming smiled. With this move, he had not only helped Keqing out, but could also naturally take a real set of wedding photos with Laffey and fulfill the little girl's wish, all without worrying about being arrested as a pervert. He was practically a genius.

Keqing smiled too. With just a small trick, she had gained an unexpectedly huge reward. She was overjoyed.

The saleswoman smiled as well. Not only had she sold two wedding dresses, but she could also earn some extra money from the female customer. In the end, she might even help a loving couple get together. She had done a good deed and made money—was there anything more worth celebrating in the world?

Enterprise, however, wore a grave expression.

She stood on the street, looking at the various English signs hanging from the shops on both sides and listening to the English spoken by passersby, feeling somewhat lost.

What had happened? Where was this? Where were her companions?

Could it be that she had encountered the same situation as Laffey? Could Laffey have come to this world too?

She could not sense the Sirens, but why did she keep feeling a strange flutter in her heart? Could it be...

Enterprise's eyes slowly widened. She had guessed the reason for that stirring in her heart.

Commander! The Commander was in this world too!

Enterprise's eyes lit up. She had to return to the Commander's side as soon as possible!

Realizing that her Commander, her husband, was also in this world, Enterprise was filled with joy. She wished she could board an aircraft immediately and fly to him, but perhaps because the distance was too great, she could not sense her beloved's exact location.

Enterprise could only force herself to calm down.

This world seemed to have no Sirens. It was a little strange. To be safe, she had to quickly learn more about this world while concealing her identity as a Ship-Girl, lest she cause trouble for the Commander.

The Commander seemed to be from Huaxia and spoke Chinese. Once she learned more about this world, she needed to find a way to go to Huaxia.

"Are you all right?"

Perhaps Enterprise had been standing blankly in the street for too long, because a passerby kindly asked her.

Enterprise raised her head and found that the person who had asked was a young woman with long blue hair. Her features were delicate, her temperament gentle and quiet, and her eyes a gorgeous violet.

Enterprise sized the young woman up, then her gaze fell on the name badge pinned to the woman's chest.

Besides English, there was also a line of Chinese on the badge. It was the first Chinese Enterprise had seen on this street.

There were only four Chinese characters—Liyue International.

I'm a little out of it, sorry.

My brain feels like a bowl of mush. I'm so dumb. I'll have to adjust the update schedule later.

Meeting in a Dream

Overall, Ye Ming and Laffey's trip to the wedding dress shop had gone very smoothly. Not only had they ordered Laffey's Wedding Dress, they had also gotten the chance to take wedding photos together. Most importantly, no one would mistake him for a pervert and arrest him. In short, when they left the shop, Laffey was very happy to have gotten her Wedding Dress, and Ye Ming was happy to see her so happy.

Of course, Ye Ming was not some pervert who wanted to marry a little girl. But for a Ship-Girl like Laffey, he had already given her a ring in the game. Although Laffey was only a little girl and could not be treated as a true Oath Ship in certain respects, there were other respects in which Ye Ming did not want to disappoint her.

So Ye Ming was not a lolicon. He simply did not want Laffey to be sad. He wanted her to be happy.

"What are you two doing next? Want to have dinner together?"

It was already past five in the afternoon when they left the wedding dress shop. Perhaps because she had successfully gotten free wedding photos, Keqing was in an especially good mood and took the initiative to invite Ye Ming. "My treat."

"No, I still have something to take care of at home. I need to get back early."

Ye Ming politely declined. He had not forgotten that Fu Hua was still waiting for him at home. Come to think of it, although Fu Hua's proposal had been interrupted by Laffey's sudden appearance during the day, something like that could not be brushed aside forever. There had to be an answer eventually.

"I see. Then, let's add each other on WeChat. We can come pick up the wedding dresses together then, and while we're at it, take the wedding—uh, take the cosplay photos."

As she spoke, Keqing took out her phone from her bag.

"Okay."

Ye Ming added Keqing on WeChat and discovered that her username was simply Keqing. Her profile picture was unmistakably a cosplay photo of herself dressed as Keqing.

It was the same as Yae Sakura, who had added him on WeChat that morning. Was this what they meant by hardcore character fans?

After adding each other and saying goodbye to Keqing, Ye Ming took Laffey and left the wedding dress shop.

Only after they had left Keqing's field of vision did Laffey, who had seemed rather reserved and quiet earlier, suddenly speak. "Commander, did that big sister just now also want you to give her a ring?"

Little Laffey was usually rather spacey, but at critical moments, she was always unexpectedly perceptive. No one knew why.

"Give her a ring?"

Ye Ming was stunned for a moment before realizing that Laffey meant Keqing liked him. He immediately laughed and shook his head. "How could that be? She's so beautiful, and she seems to come from a very good family. At the very least, she's a wealthy young lady. Her upbringing is also far better than most people's. But your Commander is just an ordinary person from an ordinary family. An outstanding girl like Keqing could never fall for someone as ordinary as your Commander."

Ye Ming knew his place. "Besides, we've only met twice. At most, we just got along fairly well while chatting."

"But Enterprise said that the Commander is the military leader who commands everyone, a powerful warlord ruling over an entire region. Every country in the world wants to maintain good relations with the Commander. Enterprise said the Commander is a very outstanding man."

Laffey spoke with a serious expression.

Ye Ming rubbed Laffey's hair. "That was in Azure Lane. In this world, the Commander is just an ordinary office worker. A normal job, a peaceful life."

"Oh."

Laffey nodded as if she only half understood. After thinking for a moment, she added, "But in Laffey's heart, the Commander will always be the most amazing person. In every way, you're the best!"

The little girl's earnest expression softened Ye Ming's heart, and he replied, "Mm. In the Commander's heart, Laffey is also the cutest girl!"

In less than two days, Ye Ming had already become capable of naturally saying cheesy things to raise the little girl's affection for him. He had even learned to be a little wicked and enjoy watching her struggle.

"But Laffey, you said the Commander is the most amazing person in your heart. Then what about your Enterprise? Isn't Enterprise White Eagle's most accomplished Ship-Girl? The Grey Ghost, the White Eagle War God—between the Commander and your Enterprise, who is more amazing?"

"Huh?"

Laffey froze.

In the little girl's heart, the Commander was naturally the most important Commander. But Enterprise was not only White Eagle's war god, but also a reliable and cool big sister, as well as a powerful aircraft carrier. If she said an aircraft carrier was inferior to a human, would that not be lying?

However, although Laffey usually seemed drowsy and absentminded, she was actually a very smart girl. She hesitated for only a few breaths before coming up with a suitable answer.

"In Laffey's heart, the Commander will always be the most amazing person, and Enterprise will always be the most amazing Ship-Girl!"

"Mm, Laffey is right! The Commander likes your answer."

Ye Ming nodded approvingly.

Laffey's answer had struck right at his heart.

From another angle, the most amazing person naturally deserved the most amazing aircraft carrier!

A very reasonable answer.

But when would his girl, his Oath Ship, his Enterprise finally arrive?

Ye Ming had asked Laffey this question before, but even the little girl could not give him an exact answer.

According to Laffey, she had merely woken up normally and found herself in this world. Then she had vaguely sensed Ye Ming's general direction and found him that way. As for whether the other girls would come to this world, Laffey could not be sure. Even if other Ship-Girls came to this world, Laffey would not have any special sense of them—but as Ye Ming's Ship-Girls, any Ship-Girls who came to this world should be able to sense Ye Ming's existence and come knocking at his door.