Three Months Passed in the Blink of an Eye

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and three short months flew by. Smoker stared at Tashigi, his gaze carrying a trace of scrutiny. He had noticed that over the past three months, Tashigi had frequently taken leave. Especially during the last half month, even when she was at work, she was often absentminded, as though she had completely lost her usual focus and efficiency.

Unable to suppress his doubts any longer, Smoker asked, "Tashigi, what exactly is wrong with you?" Normally, as long as it did not affect work, he would not meddle too much in his subordinates' private lives. But Tashigi's current condition was clearly already having a negative impact on her work.

Hearing Smoker's question, Tashigi gently shook her head and replied, "It's nothing, Captain Smoker." Her voice was somewhat low, and she seemed unwilling to discuss the matter any further.

"Nothing?" Smoker's eyelid twitched slightly. He was clearly dissatisfied with Tashigi's answer. His eyes were not blind; naturally, he could see that something was wrong with her. So he immediately pressed, "What happened? What has left you so distracted?"

Yet the instant those words left his mouth, Smoker suddenly realized something. Lately, rumors had been circulating around the base that Tashigi had been dating a man. Could those rumors really have had some basis?

She was dating someone? This completely caught Smoker off guard, leaving him momentarily stunned. But before he could recover, Tashigi suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question. "Captain Smoker, do you think women are simply inferior to men when it comes to swordsmanship?"

The question caught Smoker off guard, forcibly interrupting his train of thought. He hesitated, trying to follow Tashigi's sudden leap in logic, but he still could not quite keep up. Still, he quickly realized that she might be using