Chapter 109 - 107: Can I have a hug?

Everyone unanimously refused, their resolve even firmer than hers. Jiang Si suddenly felt a little guilty. "I already promised Dr. Shire one."

Any decision Jiang Si made was bound to be for a good reason, and correct.

Jiang Linhai immediately said, "Fine. We’ll give them one as a token gesture and let them fight over it. But we absolutely can’t give away any more."

Jiang Si nodded. "Mm, we definitely won’t."

After they finished their discussion, Zhang Qingfang prepared to take Shen Baoying and Jiang Linhai to start farming.

The small seedlings she had been cultivating these past few days had all started to sprout.

She couldn’t wait to get to work.

First, she’d plant some vegetables, then some grains. The ship had plenty of space. It had heating anyway, so with a few modifications, they could even farm and raise livestock.

Jiang Si stopped them. "Farming can wait. While everyone’s feeling good, we’re going to learn English."

Everyone, except for Qin Shen, was taken aback.

The older ones, Zhang Qingfang and Jiang Chengwu, were especially incredulous, asking in unison, "Learn English?"

’Can we really do it at our age?’

Jiang Si smiled. "Yes. We’re in the Northern Country’s territory now, and it’s mostly full of Beiguo people. Learning English is a vital survival skill. You don’t need to learn anything too difficult, just enough for basic communication."

Jiang Linhai had been a poor student as a child and was especially nervous. "Sisi, how long did it take you to reach a basic conversational level?"

Shen Baoying blurted out, "She’s been learning English since elementary school!"

Jiang Si laughed. "It won’t take that long. With adult-focused English, if you study seriously, you can learn it quickly. If you have a dedicated language environment, it would be hard *not* to learn."

"What do you mean by a dedicated language environment?"

Qin Shen explained for Jiang Si, "It means everyone speaks only English."

’If we all speak English, how will we get anything done?’

Niu Niu raised her hand. "Sister Sisi, I don’t know how to speak English."

Jiang Si smiled. "We’ll take it slow, no rush. Once everyone has memorized over five hundred words, I’ll make it mandatory to communicate in English."

Jiang Linhai’s eyes went wide. ’Five hundred foreign words? That’ll be the death of me.’

He looked at Jiang Si pitifully. "What if I can’t learn it?"

Jiang Si’s face suddenly turned serious. "You have to learn, even if you can’t. This is a survival skill!"

Everyone immediately put on a serious expression and agreed in unison, "Okay!"

Both Jiang Si and Qin Shen knew English, so they needed to prepare the learning materials first.

When the others heard they wouldn’t have to start studying today, they breathed a collective sigh of relief and practically fled to go farm.

Jiang Si and Qin Shen went to the common study area. The books provided for the Antarctic researchers were all in English. Some of them were quite deep and interesting.

Jiang Si glanced at a few. The dense blocks of text made her eyes swim.

Although her spoken English was decent, it wasn’t her native language, and there were some obscure words she didn’t recognize at all.

Seeing her frown, Qin Shen said bluntly, "Do you need me to read it to you?"

’Even though it makes me seem inferior to him in every way, he really is... kind of considerate.’

’He has nice eyes, too.’

Jiang Si smiled. "I’m done looking. Let’s organize the material for their lessons first."

Qin Shen watched her put the book back, then turned and nodded. "Mm."

She had thought that teaching everyone English wouldn’t be too big of a deal.

But with a brilliant example like Qin Shen right in front of her—one who had already corrected her pronunciation several times—she decided to just tilt her head back, play the good student, and watch him as he read aloud and organized the materials.

’A man who’s focused is truly handsome, and Qin Shen has a deep sort of handsomeness.’

’If it weren’t for the end of the world, he’d definitely be a top-tier elite.’

For no particular reason, Jiang Si asked, "Was it hard to adjust when you first went to the Northern Country?"

’What she really wanted to ask was, wasn’t he worried about his mother?’

’But Qin Shen had never mentioned her and had even returned to their home country, which made her suspect that his mother might have already passed away.’

’It would be too abrupt to ask, so the words changed the moment they reached her lips.’

Qin Shen’s hands paused. He looked at her, his deep eyes holding a trace of loneliness. "It wasn’t easy."

Jiang Si’s heart skipped a beat, and she slightly regretted asking.

But since the topic was already on the table, she quickly tried to console him. "But your English is so good now, you must have adjusted eventually."

Qin Shen suddenly fell silent. "That wasn’t easy either."

Jiang Si was speechless.

’How the hell was she supposed to respond to that?!’

After much hesitation, she still asked, "Why?"

Qin Shen fell silent again. Just as Jiang Si thought she had made a fool of herself by prying, Qin Shen suddenly confided in her. "My mother remarried in the Northern Country and had another son. But my little brother, like his father, had an illness and could only survive with a bone marrow transplant. The reason she brought me over there was to be my brother’s living donor bank, because we were a match."

Jiang Si was horrified. ’How could Qin Shen’s mother treat him like that? Qin Shen had already had a pitiful enough childhood because of his father.’

Jiang Si opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. Qin Shen gave another self-deprecating smile. "If I hadn’t been a match, she probably would have thrown me into an orphanage without a second thought."

"I should be grateful to her."

Jiang Si didn’t know what state of mind Qin Shen was in to be able to state such a cruel reality so calmly, but right now, she felt deeply sorry for him.

’Even though she had suffered in her past life and her whole family had died tragically, she had still possessed her parents’ unconditional love.’

’No wonder Qin Shen was so gentle with her family. He was envious.’

Jiang Si reached out and placed a hand on Qin Shen’s back, gently, like a mother caressing her child. "It’s all in the past now."

Qin Shen looked up, his dark eyes locking onto hers, and suddenly smiled. "You’re right. It’s all in the past. And I’ve long since repaid my debt."

"Mm."

Perhaps because Qin Shen had opened up to her, the distance between them had invisibly shrunk.

Qin Shen walked her to her room. As he was about to leave, Jiang Si suddenly called out to him. She hesitated for a long moment before saying, "I’m suddenly feeling a little upset. Can you... stay with me for a bit?"

Qin Shen’s expression froze. "Do you want to go to my room?"

Jiang Si’s face flushed. "My room is fine, too."

Qin Shen entered Jiang Si’s room. There was only a bed and a work stool. He was so tall that the room suddenly felt cramped.

Jiang Si wanted to test if hugging Qin Shen would expand her space. Seeing him standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, she forced down her blush and feigned calmness. "You can lie down on the bed."

Qin Shen looked at her, making her face grow even hotter. "I mean... if you’re comfortable with it."

’They had already hugged like this last time. Jiang Si had thought she wouldn’t need to say anything, but who knew he would just stand there, motionless.’

Qin Shen noticed her embarrassment. "Can I go wash up first?"

Jiang Si froze for a second, then nodded meekly. "Yes, yes, of course. There are spare toiletries in the bathroom. If you’re not used to them, you can go back to your room to get yours." ’His room is right next door, anyway.’

’Oh god, how could I have forgotten how much of a clean freak he is?’