The way he spoke, his gestures, and even his mere existence seemed to grate on Luo Muchen’s nerves. It was a peculiar fascination that vexed him beyond measure.

Just as Luo Muchen was about to turn away from the display, the door to the cockpit slid open, and Bo Ailun stepped inside. Luo Muchen waved his hand, causing the floating hologram to vanish into thin air.

Bo Ailun approached with a gift bag in his hands, extending it towards Luo Muchen. "Here you go, Captain," he said, his voice respectful but tinged with caution.

Luo Muchen glanced at the gift bag, his attention momentarily diverted from the live feed. "Give it to my mother," he ordered tersely, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

However, before Bo Ailun could leave, he hesitated for a moment, the words seeming to slip out against his better judgment. "Captain, if I may... I noticed something earlier," he began, his tone almost hesitant.

Luo Muchen’s stern gaze bore into him, urging him to continue. "Speak," he commanded, his voice laced with a warning.

Bo Ailun swallowed nervously, sensing the Captain’s displeasure. "The psycho, Qie... he seems to be showing interest in Miss Lee," he admitted, his voice trailing off. Sure he spiced up the story a little but who cared? "He was giving her googly eyes, and it appeared that Miss Lee was somewhat charmed by him."

Luo Muchen’s eyes narrowed, his irritation mounting. He despised distractions within his crew, particularly those of a romantic nature. If there was a god of misery and single dogs he would be perfect for that position.

His grip tightened on the armrest of his chair, displaying his growing frustration. Bo Ailun quickly realised that this was a bad idea and fell silent, knowing better than to provoke his Captain further.

As the silence enveloped the cockpit, Captain Luo’s piercing gaze lingered on Bo Ailun, his displeasure evident. Without uttering a word, Luo Muchen’s glare conveyed a clear message: keep such observations to yourself in the future. Bo Ailun swallowed hard, his mouth tightly shut, understanding the Captain’s unspoken command.

"Re-emphasize that there will be no fraternising on my warship... the penalty will be a five per cent salary deduction. Oh and no more going shirtless, especially Mauve," he commanded and Bo Ailun’s eyes widened.

AN: Someone will regret the no fraternising decision that’s for sure.

Mauve kind of needed his shirt off because of his body anatomy. The captain never seemed to care about it in the past so what had changed?

"Yes captain," said Bo Ailun before excusing himself and running away lest his boss took it out on him.

Meanwhile, Qie Xieling was sitting on the hard bed of his cabin missing his comfortable bed in the real world. This bed was so hard and it was like sleeping on rocks.

"Since we will be sharing a cabin, don’t be as rude as your eyes and touch my stuff. If you so much as touch my stuff I will tear you from limb to limb and through in the trash shoot... got it," threatened Mauve and Qie Xieling raised his hands in surrender.

"I promise," he said only for an announcement from the PSA system to break the tension between them.

"... this is a service announcement from the captain. Refrain from fraternising on the ship. Those who break the rules will have five per cent of their salary deducted. Secondly, no personnel shall walk around shirtless on deck the fine will be ten per cent," said the voice resounding through the warship before he was interrupted.

"Oh, what? Really?... Captain’s orders?" he whispered but they could hear him.

"All crew members should wear clothes even in their cabins or the fine will be thirty per cent," he continued and the entire warship groaned. The captain was on a power trip again. New rules popped up every time and it was exhausting. There was the shower twice rule and the keep your cabin neat rule. Then there was the brush your teeth rule. For a group of rowdy men and women, it was torture.

Qie Xieling glanced at Mauve and said, "I think you offended the captain otherwise why would he target you?"

Mauve, "..."

Even he could tell that this rule was somewhat related to him but how on earth did he offend the captain? His lips twitched as he took a step back. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

He needed to find Bo Ailun and figure out what was going on. "Follow me. Let me show you where your tools are. You start work now," said Mauve and Qie Xieling had no choice but to follow while grumbling.

It didn’t take long before he was handed some cleaning supplies. "Oh for fuck’s sake. What use is the cleaning robot for? For decoration?"

Mauve sneered before saying, "Captain’s orders. Get cleaning rookie. The upper decks need to be spotless."

Qie Xieling, "..."

Where the fuck was Jolie when he needed her? Shuffling his heavy feet he walked to the elevator. When the doors opened he was surprised to find Lee Ya inside.

His limbs froze on the spot and he didn’t take a step forward. Lee Ya on the other hand was excited to see him. She grabbed his arm and pulled him in the elevator but Qie Xieling was already forseeing his death. He fought for his life and stepped out of the elevator.

"What? What’s wrong?" asked Lee Ya seeming really concerned.

Qie Xieling pursed his lips before coming up with the best lie he could possibly come up with. "I I am very allergic to women so please don’t touch me," he said lying his ass off.

"Oh... only women? That’s weird," she said and Qie Xieling ran with that narrative.

"Yes, very very allergic. I get a very bad case of cooties," he said seeming more confident the more he spoke.

"Is it bad?" she asked and Qie Xieling nodded his head his acting quite impressive.

"Very bad... Ow ow ow," he cried out when Mauve grabbed the back of his neck and said to Lee Ya,

"Miss Lee, please excuse us. He has work to do."

Qie Xieling wanted to protest but he wanted to get away from Lee Ya so he laughed nervously. "Yes, I almost forgot. We had-," he said only for another announcement to come from the PSA system.

"Recruit Qie, five per cent off your salary fine for fraternising," said the voice and his communicator showed a minus thirty being to his already negative balance.

Qie Xieling, "..."

’Oh my gosh Muchen you shrewd businessman!’ he protested internally wishing he could settle scores with him right now.