[COD] Newbie's Rise to Power

Your aggressive approach easily attracts the attention of those around you and the two people in your line of sight.

Keegan turned his head to look in your direction, then his smile deepened.

Only after you approached did he take the initiative to call you "kid".

His tone was slow and gentle, as if it contained countless memories of the past.

But you stood still in front of him, your lips pursed, and a deathly smile on your face.

"Keegan, your new friend?"

How infuriating! You were already standing right in front of him, and not only did he not give you a hug, he didn't even keep his distance from the girl!

Keegan followed your gaze, glanced at the girl beside him, and then spoke with a smile.

"Yes, friend."

You had to clench your teeth tightly to control your agitated emotions.

"How come I didn't know you started making friends so casually!"

Keegan smiled calmly and appropriately: "Kid, you should fulfill your promise now."

He was pointing at you, teasingly saying you wanted to give him a warm hug and a kiss.

Little did he know that his nonchalant attitude was like a spark that ignited the bomb of emotions within him!

You suddenly reach out your hand to the girl next to you and say, "Excuse me, ma'am, may I introduce myself?"

"I am his lover and fiancée. I don't know if he has mentioned this to you. We need to resolve this conflict. Could you please leave first?"

Try to speak to her in a calm tone, after all, you can understand that she may not know the truth.

But your foot is stomping hard on one of Keegan's shoes, venting your dissatisfaction.

The girl paused for a moment, seemingly realizing what you meant, then smiled and explained.

“Ms. YN, you have misunderstood. Sergeant Keegan and I are just colleagues.”

You frown and squint; she knows your code name...

You then looked at Keegan with a scrutinizing expression, and the latter immediately nodded in agreement:

“Navi is a logistics clerk at our base. It was a coincidence that she came here with me; she’s here for tourism.”

awkward.

Your mind is instantly filled with those two words.

But then he glared at Keegan: "You didn't tell me beforehand."

He did it on purpose! He deliberately didn't tell you that you came with your colleagues, otherwise you wouldn't have misunderstood.

Even his closeness to Navie might be intentional. After all, he has excellent reconnaissance skills. It's impossible that he didn't discover you in advance, and it's also impossible that he didn't keep his distance after you discovered him, or even fail to explain when you asked if you were a new friend!

Seeing that the atmosphere was turning sour, Navie quickly made her escape.

"Keegan, you'd better explain yourself. I'm leaving now!"

As you watched her departing figure, you pressed your feet harder.

"Kid, if you push any harder, you'll have to take me to the hospital in a wheelchair."

You moved your foot away, but your tone wasn't very friendly.

"You schemed against me again!"

From the beginning to the establishment of your relationship, your relationship was full of tests and calculations. Even saying "I like you" was a tug-of-war before you could finally say it.

I thought that after you two became a couple, he would stop testing you, but I didn't expect that he would start again after only a short time apart.

He stepped forward and took your hand, a satisfied smile on his face.

“I’m so glad. Do you know how obvious the possessiveness in your eyes was just now? Kid, you care about me and need me.”

At this moment, the mask of calm indifference finally cracked, revealing the stubbornness hidden beneath.

He always seems to care a lot about whether you need him, as if that's the only way he can feel secure in your relationship.

Or rather... a sense of direction?

People who seem to have no desires or wants are simply those who haven't found what they want yet. Once they have something they want, they will persevere in striving for it until they get the result they desire.

You know, in this relationship, Keegan's biggest obsession wasn't about longevity or exclusivity, but whether he was the one you cared about most.

Speechless, you put one hand on your hip and use the other to lift and pinch the frame of his glasses, revealing his glacier-blue eyes clearly.

“I gave you all the family member slots, and you still doubt my sincerity. It’s really heartbreaking.”

Keegan blinked his long eyelashes, and then the two glaciers were obscured by shadows, making them appear somewhat gloomy.

"Of course I don't doubt it, but actions and words are different."

"A butterfly will not be delighted if you take it to a sea of ​​flowers, but it will be moved if you pick a flower by hand and hand it to it."

"Kid, why won't you satisfy me?"

Bonus Chapter: Keegan x You 2

"If you want something, you should sincerely pursue it; what you get through trial and error will never be perfect."

Your fingers traced down his cheek, finally pressing your fingertips against his lips, signaling him to listen quietly.

"If you hadn't done that just now, and had asked me after our hug, perhaps I would have given you an answer."

"Instead of leaving both of us dissatisfied, as things are now."

After you finished speaking, you removed your finger.

He grabbed your hand, stopping you from leaving.

"I'm sorry, Kid. I acted impulsively. I always lose my ability to handle things rationally when it comes to you."

His apology softened the last bit of dissatisfaction in your heart like cream, and you slipped your fingers between his and intertwined yours.

"How about we agree to start being more honest with each other from now on?"

Keegan's eyes crinkled into a smile: "Copy, I will definitely execute it."

You nodded in satisfaction, then opened your arms and hugged him warmly and tightly!

With your ear pressed against his chest, you hear the deep, powerful heartbeat and laugh out loud.

"A warm hug, done."

Then you look up at him, your eyes shining: "The next promise will require your cooperation."

He let out a deep laugh upon hearing this, the vibration of his chest clearly conveying the sound.

"Of course, I'd be happy to."

As he spoke, he lowered his head and, amidst the bustling crowd at the airport, unabashedly captured your breathy red lips in his mouth.

You slowly close your eyes and immerse yourself in all your senses.

"Where do you want to go? I don't really have a plan, but I'm very interested in your ancient culture. Kid, do you have any recommendations?"

This is his reply to you when you asked Keegan where you wanted to go for a walk by the river after dinner.

You tilt your head and think: "As for ancient culture... it depends on which aspect you want to learn about."

Then you count on your fingers: "There are too many things like cultural relics, architecture, weapons, calligraphy, painting, musical instruments, dance, food, etc. It's hard to find a single place that can cover them all. It would probably take a lot of time."

Although you don't know why he's interested in ancient culture, you're willing to guide him through it gradually.

After you finished speaking, you could rarely see a look of surprise on Keegan's face.

"So many?"

You nodded with a smile: "After all, we have thousands of years of history, and you can find related historical records for anything you can think of."

Seeing your confident demeanor, he looked at you with gentle eyes.

"That's wonderful. You have so much history and culture, and your country is safe and beautiful. No wonder you have given birth to such an outstanding person like yourself."

Feeling a little embarrassed by the unexpected praise, you covered your mouth, coughed twice to suppress the urge to smile, and then looked at him with a beaming smile.

“You are excellent too, Keegan. It’s rare to be able to survive in such a chaotic life and maintain such good character.”

Finally, when Keegan chose literature, porcelain, and weapons, and even indicated that it would be best to go to a city where you could eat spicy food, you booked the tickets without hesitation.

In Jingdezhen, everything in the early morning is shrouded in a layer of mist as light as clouds.

Holding Keegan's hand, you strolled through the morning market and enjoyed local specialties such as cold noodles, meat soup, fried dough sticks and glutinous rice cakes, and dumplings.

Although it was mostly carbohydrates, you were quite satisfied with the variety of foods.

After the meal, we strolled around, where various porcelain pieces were neatly arranged on the stalls. Sunlight slanted down through the mist in the air, casting dappled light spots on the porcelain surfaces.

"This is sky blue."

You pick up a small porcelain bottle and run your fingertips across the smooth glaze.

"After the heavy rain, the sky cleared up, revealing a bright and pure blue sky, that's the color."

Keegan leaned in to look, his head very close to yours.

"Like a lake in spring, it reflects sunlight like a diamond."

You tilt your head to look at it, and praise with a smile: "This description is also very apt."

The color of azure is neither quite blue nor quite green, but rather a blend of the two with a touch of cool, gentle warmth.

After selecting some porcelain pieces you liked, you and Keegan stopped in front of a craft workshop.

"Want to give it a try? Create it yourself!"

You look at Keegan and extend an invitation.

The latter nodded earnestly!

Ten minutes later...

The brown clay rotates on the wooden turntable, gradually rising into a rounded shape. Then, in a moment of distraction, the clay instantly tilts into a crooked gourd.

He glanced awkwardly at Keegan beside him and found that the other man wasn't much better off.