"Gulp, gulp, gulp… Ah—I'm alive again!" Bremerton chugged a few mouthfuls of water and sighed contentedly. Due to her curvy figure, the same amount of activity required her to exert more effort and sweat more.
Baltimore took out a towel, wiped the sweat from her face, put it aside, and asked Lu Chen, "Do you want to play a round with me?"
"I'll pass. My knowledge of tennis is limited to the fact that you have to let the ball bounce once before hitting it," Lu Chen shook his head. He only remembered paying attention to the sport during the quadrennial major sporting events.
"That's enough," Baltimore flashed a hearty smile. "It's not a competition. Why worry about the rules when you're exercising?"
"Big Sister didn't say that when she was playing with me just now," Bremerton muttered quietly.
"Of course, you use different standards when dealing with opponents of different skill levels," Baltimore said without any guilt. "If you use 100% of your strength against a beginner, they won't get the fun that exercise should provide. How could they possibly stick with it?"
The curiosity in Lu Chen's heart drove him to ask the question that had been bothering him for a long time. "We'll get to that later, Baltimore. What's with the tattoo on you?"
"Oh, this?" Baltimore touched her lower abdomen and showed Lu Chen. "These are temporary tattoo stickers that Bremerton recommended to me. Don't they have a cool, somewhat intense vibe? They also make me look stronger, right? What do you think?"
Lu Chen silently shifted his gaze to Bremerton. The other girl nervously turned her head, avoiding eye contact with Lu Chen.
You knew exactly what this was!
"Ahaha, Lu Chen, don't you think Big Sister has a different kind of charm now?" Bremerton grabbed Lu Chen's arm and led him toward a corner. "By the way, I need to discuss something with Lu Chen. Big Sister, wait a moment."
"Oh," Baltimore nodded.
Lu Chen was pulled into a corner by Bremerton. She held the side fences with both hands, confining him in the narrow space. Her ample chest pressed tightly against Lu Chen's. Bremerton held a sliver of hope and asked, "Do you know what the meaning of Big Sister's tattoo is?"
Lu Chen said uncertainly, "I don't know about the black ones, but the pink one, in my memory, has an unhealthy connotation."
Bremerton's hope shattered. She just wanted to play a prank on her Big Sister. Who knew the Commander would happen to walk by? If Big Sister found out about this, even the good-natured Baltimore would surely punish her.
How she wished she were the one wearing that pink tattoo. She wouldn't have to worry about Big Sister's opinion and could even attempt to seduce the Commander. Unfortunately, one wrong step led to a series of mistakes.
"Don't tell her. She'll kill me," Bremerton said tearfully, trying to exaggerate the consequences to gain Lu Chen's sympathy.
"You knew what the consequences would be, yet you still did this?" Lu Chen asked.
"Big Sister is always busy helping everyone everywhere and has no 'girliness' whatsoever. I just wanted to play a joke. How was I supposed to know I'd run into you?" Bremerton pleaded. "Please, I beg you. If you keep this a secret for me, I'll do anything you want."
Lu Chen glanced down. With Bremerton's movement, her voluminous chest was moving up and down. It was hard not to be attracted, and she had said that. Hmm, Lu Chen was a little confused. Are you walking into the tiger's den?
As if noticing Lu Chen's gaze, Bremerton whispered shyly, "E-Even that kind of thing is okay, but we have to go somewhere else."
No, girl, you're giving yourself away too easily! I haven't even said anything, and you've already used your ultimate move. What's going on? A flash of understanding suddenly struck Lu Chen. Could she be doing this on purpose?
He thought of his previous speculation and the attitude of the other girls toward him over the past two days, which further confirmed his idea.
Lu Chen put his hands on Bremerton's shoulders and pushed them apart. "I understand. I won't tell anyone about this. Let's go back."
"Eh?" Bremerton was stunned, then quickly said, "No, that won't work. Um, do something. Otherwise, I won't feel reassured."
"You won't feel reassured?" Lu Chen raised his voice and shouted, "Baltimore, I have something to tell you—Mmmph, mmmph…"
Bremerton frantically covered Lu Chen's mouth. Developing something with the Commander was secondary; the most important thing was not to be discovered by Big Sister. She lowered her voice and said urgently, "Okay, okay! I believe you! Please don't say anything."
In just a few words, Baltimore walked over to the two of them. She looked at the pair, who were practically hugging, and asked, "Lu Chen, is something the matter?"
Lu Chen pulled Bremerton's hand away and said kindly, "Bremerton and I were just discussing your temporary tattoo. We both agreed it's very cool. Where did you buy it?"
"Huh? Didn't I tell you Bremerton gave it to me? You can just ask her for one," Baltimore said, assuming Lu Chen hadn't paid attention earlier. "Are you done talking? Do you want to join us for some exercise?"
Bremerton chimed in, "Yup, Big Sister is right. Just ask me if you want one."
"Is it the full set?" Lu Chen joked.
Bremerton thought for a moment. Considering the aesthetic of the Ship Girls and the Commander at the base, her eyes held a hint of flattery. "Only the pink ones."
"The pink ones don't suit Lu Chen's personality, do they?" Baltimore looked down at the distinctive tattoo on her lower abdomen. "This one is too delicate. If Bremerton hadn't told me it was the soul of the entire series, I wouldn't have chosen to put it on. Why? Do you know what it means?"
"More or less," Lu Chen said vaguely. "What do you mean by only giving me the pink ones?"
Bremerton hastily tried to smooth things over, thinking on her feet. "It's not for Lu Chen to wear himself. It's for him to give to other girls! Yes! That's it! In his eyes, this symbol represents a charming girl."
?
"Don't talk nonsense. I'm not that kind of casual person!" Lu Chen exclaimed. Giving a temporary lewd tattoo to a charming girl? What genius told you that's how you use a temporary tattoo?
"...A charming girl?" Baltimore murmured softly. A faint blush appeared on her beautiful face. "Is that how you see me?"
Bremerton was frantically giving him eye signals. Lu Chen ignored them and said from the bottom of his heart, "I was just captivated by Baltimore's heroic performance on the tennis court."
A breeze swept through Baltimore's sweat-dampened short hair. She smiled slightly, a sweet expression on her face. "Is that so? That's truly delightful."