A Commander Burdened with Sin

Laffey lay in Ye Ming's arms and vigorously waved her little fist. "Laffey is full of energy! Probably."

Ye Ming did not know whether to laugh or cry. He also felt that Laffey could not possibly get drunk after drinking two bottles of low-alcohol red wine, but he still put on a stern face. "What's so good about alcohol? Why does Laffey like drinking so much?"

"Mmm~ Because after drinking, I sleep more soundly. When I wake up, I feel really comfortable too—light and floaty, like I'm flying up into the clouds. It feels wonderful."

Laffey leaned against Ye Ming's shoulder, gently rubbing her little face against his cheek. "Laffey likes Commander the most. Next time, Commander should drink with Laffey too, sleep with Laffey too, and happily fly into the clouds with Laffey."

"Mmm~ Laffey wants to share all her happiness with Commander."

Ye Ming fell silent.

He simply could not bring himself to be angry at such an adorable and considerate Laffey.

Besides...

Ship-Girls were extraordinary spirits, after all. There was no need for them to be exactly like ordinary people, right?

Laffey was so cute. It should be fine for her to drink a little red wine, right?

As Laffey's favorite Commander, he could not possibly keep a stern face and scare the little girl, could he?

In an instant, Ye Ming came up with countless excuses for himself. In the end, he could only gently stroke Laffey's hair and say helplessly, "All right, hurry up and get out of bed. Go wash up and eat, or the food will get cold."

"Laffey likes Commander the most!"

The moment she heard Ye Ming's words, the little girl's drowsiness vanished. Laffey forcefully kissed Ye Ming's cheek, then jumped off the bed and dashed into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.

Ye Ming was left standing there alone, touching the cheek the little girl had kissed with a helpless smile on his face.

Well, although he looked very helpless on the surface, he was still a tiny bit happy inside.

In any case, Ye Ming tidied up the messy bedroom before leaving the room.

In the dining room, Laffey and Fu Hua were already sitting together and eating. After washing his hands, Ye Ming sat beside Laffey, picked up a bun, and noticed Fu Hua tapping away at her phone.

"What game are you playing?"

Ye Ming asked casually.

Fu Hua shook her head. "I'm not playing games. I'm talking to the company's HR manager about starting work tomorrow."

"Starting work, huh."

This was Fu Hua's first job after graduation. Ye Ming thought for a moment, then asked curiously, "What kind of job is it? How's the pay?"

"General manager's secretary. I'll need to discuss the annual salary with the general manager after I start tomorrow. There are company stock option rewards too, but the specifics will also need to be discussed."

Fu Hua answered readily, with no intention of hiding anything. Then, as though she remembered something, she hurriedly added, "The general manager is a woman."

"You have to discuss the pay after starting work?"

Ye Ming frowned upon hearing that. "Why is that different from the usual process? What company is it?"

"Mond International. I've already looked into it. It's a European company with substantial capital, and it only plans to enter the mainland market this year. It's a legitimate company, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"Mond International?"

Ye Ming vaguely felt that there was something strange about the company's name, but he could not recall what exactly felt wrong about it.

Bzz~

Before Ye Ming could think further, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated twice. He took it out and saw that it was a message from his boss, Sister Wang.

"Ye Ming, the company landed a major project. They want me to choose someone who understands both technology and sales to handle communication between the two sides. I recommended you right away. Come in early tomorrow, and I'll brief you on a few things. Work hard. If you do well on this project, I guarantee I'll give you a huge bonus big enough to shock you. If you want, you can buy a house outright!"

It was obvious that Sister Wang was excited. She was so carried away that she had even said something like buying a house outright.

Of course, Ye Ming would not turn down an opportunity to make money. He typed a few lines to show his determination, then put his phone away.

"What is it?" Fu Hua asked him.

Ye Ming swallowed the bun in his mouth and smiled. "There's a major project. I'll probably make quite a bit of money once it's done."

"That's good."

Fu Hua was happy for him too and handed Ye Ming a cup of soy milk. "Here. Eat well these next few days and build yourself up. Get your body in good shape, then work hard!"

"Good luck!" Laffey cheered Ye Ming on as well.

"Yeah."

Ye Ming took a deep breath. "For Laffey's sake, I'll give it everything I've got and work hard!"

P.S. It's the weekend again. C-could I ask for some votes?

The Sin-Laden Commander

Today was Sunday, and tomorrow would be Monday. Ye Ming had to go to work, and Fu Hua had to report for her new job. Thus, a very serious problem lay before Ye Ming.

What would Laffey do?

The company Ye Ming worked for was a very small private enterprise. Since Ye Ming had solid professional skills, experience working at a state-owned enterprise, and decent business abilities, life had been fairly easy for him in this small company with fewer rules. On top of handling technical work, he also did business, so his working hours were flexible and he did not need to stay at the company all day.

Under normal circumstances, Ye Ming would not have needed to worry about Laffey.

But next week would be different.

Because he had to work on an external project, Ye Ming obviously could not maintain his flexible schedule, nor could he run home to check on Laffey during work hours.

Should he leave Laffey home alone?

To be honest, Ye Ming was a little worried. It was not that he feared Laffey would be harmed. The main issue was that Laffey was already lazy enough, always groggy, and might even fall asleep while walking down the street. If he left her alone at home, would she not sleep twenty-four hours a day?

And if she were home alone, no matter how much the little girl liked sleeping, she would occasionally feel lonely, right?

It would be great if another destroyer loli or Submarine Loli showed up. Then the little girls could play together.

If that was not possible, Little Javelin would work too. Although she was the famed White Eagle aircraft carrier Saratoga, Little Javelin would definitely get along well with the little girls.

Still, it would be best if a mature capital ship or a young cruiser arrived. Better yet, an Oath Ship. Someone like Illustrious or that fat dinosaur would be nice. She could play with little Laffey during the day and play with Ye Ming at night.

Just thinking about it was unbearably exciting.

But for now, it was nothing more than an unrealistic fantasy.

What should he do about Laffey?

After hearing Ye Ming's worries, Fu Hua thought for a moment and suggested, "How about letting one of my friends take care of Laffey during the day?"

"Your friend?"

Ye Ming looked at Fu Hua in surprise. "Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

Besides, he would not feel at ease.

How could he casually entrust his favorite, cutest Laffey to someone whose background he did not know?

"You've met this friend of mine before."

Fu Hua smiled. "Do you remember the girl named Yae Sakura we ran into when we were buying breakfast the morning before yesterday? She's the friend I mean."

"Yae Sakura? She..."

It would have been better if Fu Hua had not mentioned her. Once she did, Ye Ming became even more uneasy. After all, that girl who was deeply obsessed with chuuni characters did not look reliable no matter how he viewed her.

"Actually, Yae Sakura is a very nice person. She's a friend I met while I was doing my graduate studies. She's an excellent student, sincere and kind. Although she's a character fan, she's actually extremely reliable and loves children. Unlike us, Yae Sakura comes from a wealthy family. She's a rich woman who doesn't need to work and stays home with nothing to do every day."

Fu Hua lied without changing expression. "Other than me, she doesn't have many friends, so Yae Sakura gets rather lonely when she has nothing to do. If Laffey keeps her company during the day, I'm sure she'll be very happy and take good care of Laffey."

"I see..."

After hearing Fu Hua's words, Ye Ming hesitated.

Honestly, Yae Sakura had left Ye Ming with a pretty good impression yesterday. But no matter how good that impression was, it was not enough for him to entrust Laffey to someone he had only met twice. The person Ye Ming trusted was Fu Hua.

Given Fu Hua's personality, the fact that she was willing to recommend Yae Sakura so strongly was enough to prove that Yae Sakura was reliable.

But the most important thing was still what his little Princess Laffey thought.

"What does Laffey think?"

Ye Ming asked Laffey.

"Who is Yae Sakura?"

Laffey, sprawled lazily on the sofa watching Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, asked without turning around.

"Do you remember the big sister who was talking to me when we went downstairs to buy breakfast the morning before yesterday? She was Yae Sakura."

Ye Ming explained.

"Oh."

Laffey suddenly understood.

"Laffey remembers now. Big Sister Yae Sakura came to Commander's bedroom last night too!"

"What?"

Ye Ming was completely confused.

Cold sweat immediately broke out on Fu Hua's forehead, and she hurriedly explained, "Ah, it was like this. Didn't I come back rather late yesterday? Yae Sakura was worried and insisted on walking me home. After we got back, she stayed at our place for a while too."

"Oh, so that's what happened."