Jiqingzhuo remained in a dazed state. Due to her lack of communication skills, she couldn't grasp the boundaries between people. The student on the other side mentioned it, and she realized that the distance between the two of them seemed inappropriate.
She had been telling herself that Shen Rongyu wasn't human, so she could interact with him in a normal state.
But someone with the ability to think and a human-like appearance, how could he not be considered human?
If he was human...
She lowered her head and picked up the electronic device from the ground, but instead of immediately raising her body, she kept staring at the wooden planks in the cabin, observing the patterns on them to divert her gaze.
Jiqingzhuo thought for a long time, pondering how to answer Shen Rongyu's question. And Shen Rongyu was patient, quietly watching her, waiting for her response. His posture was like waiting for the best time to hunt, never getting tired of waiting.
"A boyfriend is..." Jiqingzhuo turned off the electronic device with the screen still lit and spoke in an academic and official tone, "It's the term used for the male partner in a romantic relationship."
"Oh?" Shen Rongyu responded, "So why did your student have such a misunderstanding?"
Jiqingzhuo didn't expect him to play innocent and act like he didn't say anything to cause the misunderstanding in the first place.
She told the truth, "It was the content that Mr. Shen spoke of. It can indeed be misunderstood by someone who doesn't know the current situation."
Shen Rongyu innocently replied, "I was merely explaining what we are about to do."
Jiqingzhuo narrowed her eyes as she seriously considered the meaning behind Shen Rongyu's words.
Of course, Shen Rongyu was just teasing her. He enjoyed seeing her blush. When she had no expression, she seemed so cold, but in reality, she was unexpectedly amusing.
But Jiqingzhuo misunderstood his intention.
She thought, maybe her method of collecting samples and data information was too clumsy, making him uncomfortable and offended, hence his complaint?
In that case, she...
Jiqingzhuo roughly calculated her bank balance. She thought about how much funding she would need to hire a professional to help with sample collection.
She could sense that Shen Rongyu had great research value, so she was willing to pay the price.
So, she took a deep breath, raised her head, and said to Shen Rongyu, "Okay, Mr. Shen, I understand."
Shen Rongyu: "?" What do you understand?
"I am indeed not good at collecting information." Jiqingzhuo organized her things and sincerely offered a suggestion, "In a few days, I will hire professionals to assist me with sample collection. This way, Mr. Shen can be more comfortable. It was my negligence, and if it becomes unbearable for Mr. Shen, I will find a solution."
Shen Rongyu thought she was daydreaming just a moment ago. He didn't expect that in just a few minutes, she would come to this misunderstanding.
Naturally, he wouldn't let just anyone touch him. Jiqingzhuo was one of the few who didn't make him feel repulsed. Otherwise, when she infiltrated underwater, he would have killed her.
Shen Rongyu said, "No need."
Jiqingzhuo was confused. She could analyze the patterns and connections behind all the data, but she couldn't understand people's thoughts.
Especially someone like Shen Rongyu.
Actually, his thoughts were quite simple, but Jiqingzhuo just couldn't comprehend them.
Her way of thinking was sometimes too rigid.
Jiqingzhuo asked, "Mr. Shen, if you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to..."
"No, I'm very comfortable," Shen Rongyu said.
Jiqingzhuo's slightly parted lips froze.
Her hand was subconsciously recording what he said, and she could clearly feel that he wasn't lying.
Being comfortable meant... like before as well?
"What kind of creature is he? It's terrifying!"
Ji Qingzhu was stunned, her recording pen stopped, and the whole cabin fell into a long silence.
The only one who didn't feel awkward was Shen Rongyu. He looked at Ji Qingzhu, who was once again bewildered, and coughed lightly, laughing.
"I was kidding," he said.
Ji Qingzhu once again determined that his statement was not a lie.
She was completely thrown into chaos, like a computer receiving conflicting commands. She couldn't decide which one to believe and execute.
Encountering and conversing with a creature similar to humans for the first time, Ji Qingzhu found that her judgment was in disarray.
However, for Shen Rongyu, every word he had said before was sincere, sincerely... meant to tease her.
Ji Qingzhu didn't dwell on this issue too much. She tentatively made it one of the topics to think about tonight and continued with her work.
"Mr. Shen, let's continue," she said, raising her head, her face still blushing.
"Alright," he replied.
While recording his body data, Shen Rongyu couldn't stay quiet: "Miss Ji seems to know a lot about me."
"Yes," Ji Qingzhu answered, her head lowered as she entered the data into the electronic device. The light from the screen fell on her delicate cheek.
"As an exchange, won't Miss Ji tell me some information about yourself?" Shen Rongyu asked.
"Me?" Ji Qingzhu was confused. What did she have to let others know?
During her school days, she was recognized as the most uninteresting person in the school. Although she knew she had a captivating appearance for both opposite and same sex, due to her personality, no one had ever approached her proactively.
She was fine with that, as long as no one's gaze fell on her, anything would do.
"It's about you," Shen Rongyu followed her movements and obediently raised his arm, making it easier for her to measure his arm length.
Ji Qingzhu raised her hand, her back brushed against his waist, and Shen Rongyu's eyes deepened, his body moved slightly.
"Mr. Shen, what's wrong?" Ji Qingzhu didn't notice this inappropriate touch.
"Itchy," Shen Rongyu said.
"I'm sorry." Ji Qingzhu had already resigned herself. Since Shen Rongyu didn't need a professional to collect the data, she would bear with it.
"Let's continue the previous topic," Shen Rongyu brought the conversation back.
"I'm just an ordinary researcher with nothing special," Ji Qingzhu replied.
"Then..." Shen Rongyu narrowed his eyes and continued to observe her. He needed to understand the outside world through Ji Qingzhu, "You're studying me, this is a task assigned to you by your superiors?"
"No, I don't have superiors," Ji Qingzhu was already the chief researcher herself, she managed the whole independent research institute, and after resigning, there was no one to manage her.
"Out of your own will, you want to study me?" Shen Rongyu asked.
Ji Qingzhu paused her hand that was about to measure his waist. She had originally planned to use the soft ruler to go around his body and record his waist size, but when he asked this question, she stopped her action and started to think about the answer.
Since she was still around Shen Rongyu's waist, it felt like she was hugging him with her hand.
Ji Qingzhu didn't overthink this issue too much. For her right now, Shen Rongyu was just a research subject, no different from the seawater in a test tube.
"It's my own will," Ji Qingzhu answered, "The history of the ocean, even its existence itself, is not a topic worth studying for many people."
"The resources buried under the seafloor, the creatures swimming in the ocean, and even the seawater and land... These parts that can be directly extracted and exploited are what everyone cares about." Ji Qingzhu's voice was gentle but clear.
"You seem to be focused on something that isn't worth focusing on," Shen Rongyu said.
He could clearly feel the connection between himself and the ocean. When he was submerged in the sea and had not yet grown his dragon tail, he did not have this feeling.
Shen Rongyu didn't like this feeling. Being connected to something meant being bound.
He shouldn't be bound by anything.
And that was the purpose of being submerged in the sea.
"Do you have a connection to this ocean?" Ji Qingzhu asked, her fingertips slowly tracing the markings on the ruler.
"What do you think, Miss Ji?" Shen Rongyu asked in return, not telling the truth.
"I'll know through investigation," Ji Qingzhu sighed lightly, her breath brushing against his chest.
"What is the name of this sea?" Shen Rongyu asked.
"Night Ripple Sea," Ji Qingzhu answered.
"Oh," he elongated the word after getting the information he wanted to know, "So, Miss Ji, how long will you hold me in your arms?"
"I didn't—" Ji Qingzhu answered in a panic, not realizing how ambiguous her actions were. In some ways, she was incredibly slow.
Shen Rongyu pretended to yawn casually, leaning his body forward, and Ji Qingzhu's cheek pressed against his chest.
He pressed himself against her, letting her fall into his embrace.
Shen Rongyu's voice resonated through his chest as he vibrated, "Miss Ji, you said you didn't."
Ji Qingzhu's fingers hooked onto the ruler behind her, but in her surprise, the ruler slipped from her grasp and fell silently to the ground.
In reality, she didn't even need tools to calculate the data. With her own judgment, she only needed to encircle his waist without any gaps, and she could accurately calculate the data, more precisely than some measuring tools with less precise calibration.
In that moment of hugging Shen Rongyu's narrow waist, damn it, an accurate string of data appeared in Ji Qingzhu's mind, indicating that she had completely enveloped him.
She had indeed offended him.
However, that string of data continued to echo in Ji Qingzhu's mind. She had a high sensitivity to numbers, and quickly made connections with other data.
Oh, his body data was truly exquisite, mathematically beautiful. Each set of data was linked by the golden ratio.
Ji Qingzhu became fascinated by these beautiful numbers, and as a result, she developed an inexplicable fondness for this shameless humanoid creature in front of her.
The tremor in her mind caused by the perfection of the data lasted only for a moment, and Ji Qingzhu reluctantly moved her arm away from his body.
This was probably the umpteenth time she had said "I'm sorry" today, and Shen Rongyu's ears were almost calloused from hearing it.
"Miss Ji," Shen Rongyu looked down at the ruler that had fallen to the ground and called out to her.
After Ji Qingzhu sorted out her emotions, she continued recording the information into the electronic device. The data she measured by hand was more accurate than the markings on the ruler, so in her fluster, she forgot about the ruler.
"What's wrong?" Ji Qingzhu didn't lift her head, afraid to meet Shen Rongyu's gaze. She answered softly.
"Your ruler fell," Shen Rongyu said.
"Oh," Ji Qingzhu didn't react, if it fell, it fell. She would pick it up later.
"You didn't use the ruler, how did you know the data?" Shen Rongyu asked.
Ji Qingzhu's fingertips landed on the laser keyboard and paused.
"So Miss Ji can measure in this way?" he continued to ask, his tone still calm, but with the innocence of a seeker of knowledge.