Revisiting Azur Lane

As Z23, Bush, and Javelin gradually left, leaving only Yudachi and Xuefeng, who were close to him, Zhou He restrained his lazy look, sat up straight, and spread his hands to London across from him: "It's a little late to greet you. It's our first meeting. Welcome to our port, London."

"Don't worry. I have fully experienced and felt your management policy. It is a bit loose for military management, but it is just right for us who no longer belong to the military. This management method must be the result of your careful consideration and adjustment."

London sat upright on the sofa, her posture as straight as a ruler. She gently pushed her glasses and spoke to Zhou He in a soothing tone. Finally, she stood up and bowed to Zhou He: "It is my honor to join Guigang."

"That's an exaggeration."

Zhou He also stood up and shook hands with London, saying, "On behalf of everyone in the port area, I welcome you to join us."

"Thank you. Please don't worry about future operations. I will try my best to complete the tasks assigned by you."

London also said some polite words, and after letting go, both of them relaxed a lot. Yudachi next to them finally couldn't help it and started asking Yukikaze if he could really lock onto the fish underwater. The answer was yes.

"Ms. Yudachi, please don't cheat."

London had naturally heard it. She was originally planning to leave after reporting to Zhou He, but she turned around and smiled at Yulichi: "I'm sure everyone hopes to be able to have a fair duel with their own abilities to determine the winner."

"That's right, you weren't so docile when you spoke to me before. Do you really want to win?"

Xuefeng originally wanted to show off in front of Yudachi and Zhou He, but after hearing London's words, he immediately changed his mind and joined London in questioning.

"Of course I want to win!"

Yudachi looked up at Zhou He's profile, then smiled and held his face in his hands and replied, "If we win the game, we'll have a new dormitory. The commander's room is very comfortable to sleep in now, but I want the commander to experience our Sakura-style room."

"..." x3

London and Xuefeng turned their eyes to Zhou He. The former pushed his glasses, as if he was re-examining Zhou He, while Xuefeng's expression was even more interesting, as all the pressure was on Zhou He.

Zhou He was holding his breath in his heart, but he looked calm on the surface: "Whether it's the new address of Sakura Empire or the new address of Iron Blood, Royal Army, White Eagle and other factions, I will reserve a room as my management housing, and there is no sleeping service."

"I see. Please forgive my impoliteness. However, please take care of your health and don't overwork yourself."

London heard that only Yudachi was relatively special. She personally approved of private relationships between two people who loved each other, and took the initiative to express her goodwill to Zhou He. However, thinking that Zhou He took such a deep nap and might be too tired on weekdays, she kindly gave him some advice.

“…Thank you. I’ll keep an eye on it.”

Zhou He understood, but he really hadn't done anything yet. He could only nod with a stern face, treating it as an advance experience.

"Then please allow me to leave first."

London smiled and left, leaving Yudachi and Xuefeng staring at each other. Xuefeng had also joined Minato for a while. Zhou He guessed that she must know that Yudachi likes to stay in his bed, so he smiled and said, "Yudachi always likes to come to my room at night, leaving his own room empty. What a waste."

"hey-hey."

Hearing this, Xili sat cross-legged on the sofa and touched the back of her head embarrassedly. She didn't know why, but she just liked staying by Zhou He's side. She could feel at ease just by looking at Zhou He. She felt happy when talking to him. Sleeping by Zhou He's side was more comfortable than sleeping alone.

"Well...what a fool."

Xuefeng puffed up his cheeks, feeling sad. He wanted to say something but couldn't. He could only snort, stand up, and walk away in a huff.

"Is she talking about me?"

Xili pointed at himself, seeking Zhou He's explanation. The latter put one hand on his waist and laughed: "Are you talking about me?"

"That's talking about me. The commander is the smartest!"

After Zhou He's teaching, Yuli was not so easily angered. Instead, when there was no one else around, he jumped up from the sofa and threw himself into Zhou He's arms. Zhou He was prepared. After the impact, he took a few steps back to dissipate his strength. Finally, he sat down directly on the sofa, feeling the little animal in his arms, his heartbeat accelerated a lot.

"Two big idiots!"

Xuefeng left angrily and kept walking along the road. Suddenly, he saw someone coming out of the hot spring pool not far away carrying a basin of clothes. He thought about it and trotted home to look for clothes.

……

Although a large amount of intelligence was obtained during this reconnaissance, and even the Siren support fleet was approaching this side, no one, including Zhou He, mentioned the issue of how to fight the Sirens next. Instead, they were making their own preparations. An invisible competitive atmosphere began to form in the port area.

Time passed and the day of the fishing competition arrived.

"commander!?"

In the bedroom on the third floor, Xili looked at Zhou He, who jumped out of the bed and washed and dressed in one go, and his sleepy eyes widened a lot.

"Today is an important day. You can't stay in bed."

Zhou He, who was standing at the door, had a somewhat unrestrained posture, and what he said made Xili's eyes sparkle. His attention had unconsciously shifted to the Home Mall, locking onto the pledge ring worth 60 Home Coins and half a house.

He now has a total of 173 Home Coins in his deposit, and 34 more can be collected today. If nothing unexpected happens, he will have enough spare money to buy a ring in two days.

"Damn it! I've become a commander with supreme power who can do whatever he wants, but why am I still restricted by this little thing? Am I pursuing the so-called sense of ritual!?"

Zhou He muttered to himself, as a commander with six years of experience, he naturally had the grand ideal of marrying off all the ship girls in the entire illustrated collection when playing the game, but unfortunately the port had limited funds and he could not buy too many rings, so he could only wait for them to fly away together.

As a result, now that he has traveled through time, he still keeps the habit of collecting rings. He would really feel guilty if he didn't give Yuli a ring!

"If after Yudachi, another ship girl comes to me, what should I do? Refusing is not realistic, so I have to say that it's just the right time, right?"

Even though Yudachi's ring had not yet arrived, Zhou He's thoughts had already drifted to somewhere else, so much so that he had to be called back to his senses by Yudachi, who had gotten up and dressed.

"Commander, are you wondering which side will win?"

After guessing, Yudachi smiled, clenched his fist and waved forward: "It must be us!"

"Haha, then I'll wait and see."

Zhou He answered in coordination, and then turned his eyes and decided to test Yuli's attitude first, so he raised his hand and coughed lightly, looking forward: "Yuli, if I say: I want to give you a promise ring, are you willing to accept it?"

"Oh? A pledge ring?"

Yudachi looked up and blinked, not understanding what was going on: "What is that?"

"Well... it's a ritual item for you and me to make a vow, so that our relationship can become closer."

Zhou He glanced down and met Yuli's gaze. That innocent look made him feel like he was doing something bad, and he felt guilty. He could only choose words that Yuli could understand: "Let's become a real family."

"Ah! I want it, I want it!"

Although Yuli still didn't quite understand what she heard, she understood that this would make her relationship with Zhou He better, and that was a good thing!

"Okay... ahem."

Zhou He felt like he was going to die for a moment, but he held on: "Don't rush to answer, go discuss it with your good friends, and then give me an answer."

"I see!"

At this time, Yuli was also very happy. He rushed forward and waved to Zhou He: "I'll go ask them now."

"Ah."

Zhou He smiled and waved as he watched Xili leave. He turned around and banged his head against the wall, reminding himself: "This is something that will be said and done sooner or later. You have to stay calm. It's just one ring. I may have to give away many more in the future... I hope there won't be that many."

When he got to the latter part, Zhou He suddenly couldn't hold it anymore and thought to himself that something was wrong.

As long as this thing starts, there will most likely be a second and third time later, so he should just be happy... Never mind, he is sincere anyway, he is not afraid of anyone, and with his status of being single since birth, it is unlikely that many people would be willing to entrust their lives to him. Look at the more than 30 ship girls, and only Yuudachi is given for free, and other people don't seem to have any interest in him in this regard.

"..."

"Humph, one is enough. I can't love more than one."

Zhou He was broken by what he said. He just moved his head away from the wall, took off his hat, dusted it off, put it back on and started to go downstairs.

It was still quite early, just past half past six, and there were not many people in the hall. Only Bismarck, Hood, Shokaku, and Yorktown were sitting in four directions with their own destroyers, waiting for Zhou He to come downstairs and lock onto him as soon as possible.

"The competition will start at 7:30, with no limit on the range, and end at 4:00 p.m. The seafood will be compared based on its quantity, quality, number of survivors, and other comprehensive edible properties. I will provide storage equipment for the catch and distribute it to you before the competition begins."

Zhou He was already used to this kind of scene, and he got straight to the point and announced the start, end, and rules of this event: "During the competition, it is forbidden to snatch or destroy the catch of other camps. If a siren approaches, I will warn them, and the people around them have the responsibility to go and fight. That's all."

"Any questions?"

He glanced at the crowd, and after more than ten seconds, no one objected, so he nodded: "That's it, let's go to the beach, and I'll distribute the equipment to you."

Zhou He took the lead and went out. It was hazy outside and not yet completely bright, but there were a lot of people, almost all of them were here. Yuli was among them. She was talking, and a large circle of people around her were listening. The scale was equivalent to a Hong Kong-wide announcement.

"..."

Zhou He's stomach began to ache, and he would probably have to eat some soft food this morning.

Chapter 157: Aboveboard!

Giving a ring is a big or small thing. In Zhou He's opinion, it can be a big or small thing. After all, Yuli is not opposed to this matter.

Therefore, he acted very calmly, facing the different looks from everyone, he raised his right hand calmly and said, "Personal matters should be handled privately. Today is the game time. If you want to win, you must seize the right time, place and people. You don't want all your hard work yesterday to go to waste, right?"

"…Commander, are you secretly reading books at home? Why do I feel like your speaking skills are getting better and better?"

When it comes to Zhou He's fun, Zuikaku is always the first to rush forward. Usually, she can still say a few words, but this time she was blocked before she could open her mouth. She couldn't help but murmur in surprise, standing on the roadside not far away with her left hand on her waist. She felt stuffy and uncomfortable in her heart. She glanced at Shokaku who came out of the hall at the back, and hooked her right hand at Zhou He and deliberately "lowered her voice": "I'm not surprised about Yudachi, but Commander, don't you like Sister Shokaku very much? How should this be handled?"

"Are these two things related?"

Zhou He smiled and asked back frankly.

If he really wants to say he likes it, there is nothing he doesn't like at the scene, but saying this would make people feel that he is being perfunctory, so it is better for him to speak his mind directly.

"Ugh?"

As expected, his frank question confused Zuikaku. Shokaku, who came closer, looked at Zuikaku with some shame and anger: "Zuikaku? Didn't I tell you not to say such things? It will make the commander feel troubled."

"Ah... no... that's it, Commander, I'm sorry."

Faced with the preaching of her good sister, Zuikaku tried to explain, but she was stared at and couldn't think of any words for a while. After struggling for a while, she gave up thinking, knocked her stupid head and walked aside.

"What's wrong? Everyone is looking at the commander like that."

A few people from York City who were walking a little slower also came over. They were used to seeing meetings, but the atmosphere before them didn't seem to be what a serious meeting should have?

"Well... I decided to give Yudachi a promise ring, and everyone might be curious about my idea."

Zhou He's initial idea was to rely on this competition to delay the heat, but he didn't expect that everyone would be so neatly waiting here for the competition to begin. Using Zuikaku's words as a buffer, he thought about it and decided to go straight to the point, so he took two steps to the side and faced everyone present.

He smiled and waved at Xi Li, then glanced around and said, "This is the decision I made after careful consideration. You can ask me anything you want to ask. If you hold back on your thoughts during the competition, it will probably affect your performance."

"The oath between the commander and Yudachi should be what I think it is, right?"

Hood in the crowd took two steps nonchalantly to Hermione and asked in a low voice.

"I think so."

Hermione entered with a calm face, but silently complained in her heart why did Hood come over to ask her?

She actually didn't care too much about this matter, especially Yuli. She had witnessed the relationship between Yuli and Zhou He, and there was nothing wrong with it, so she approved of it.

Moreover, no matter who Zhou He's relationship with improves, it will have little impact on her, unless Zhou He himself wants to quit her job as a personal maid.

"It seems that the commander prefers girls who act like spoiled brats."

Hood analyzed with a hum, causing Hermione's expression to tense, so why should he tell her?

"Excuse me!"

There weren't many people who whispered like Hood. For example, Z23 behind Bismarck raised his hand and asked earnestly, "The oath ring that the commander mentioned, is it a token for both parties to swear to spend their lives together?"

"Yes, if we put it in more common terms, it's a wedding ring."

Zhou He nodded, and then he thought for a moment and said, "It's just that in my opinion, the definition of a pledge ring is broader than that of a wedding ring. Marriage is only the simplest meaning. In addition, it can also be used as a symbol of overcoming difficulties and obstacles together, never betraying each other, as well as the sublimation of friendship, a tacit commemoration, and so on."

"I see! I'm enlightened."

Z23 exclaimed, this is knowledge that is difficult to learn from books.

"Ah, I didn't expect the commander to be so understanding."

In fact, most people at the scene agreed or were indifferent to this matter. Only a few people had some opinions, such as Kaga BB. When she heard Yuudachi's story, her first feeling was that Zhou He might not be able to survive in the future. But after listening to Zhou He's explanation, her most intuitive feeling was that this person was not simply trapped in hedonism, which was quite interesting.

"boring."

Tosa next to him hummed, and looked Zhou He up and down with sharp eyes: "You should know what I want to say."

"Prove it with your actions."

Zhou He nodded. Of all the people in the port area, he actually understood Tosa's thoughts best - he had been intimidated by this person too many times, and he was forced to figure it out.

After several rounds of questions and answers, the atmosphere on the scene gradually returned to normal. Cleveland smiled and patted Zhou He on the shoulder, saying that the commander was also a normal person and would cheer for him. The more honest and sincere people like Ashigara, Bush, London and others directly wished Yudachi well. The one who envied the Royal Ark the most was gnashing their teeth, and the one who was happiest eating the melon was Elbe.

The most confusing thing was Xuefeng who just came over from the outside.

……

Zhou He, who had dealt with everyone, seemed calm and composed, but he was actually sweating profusely.