# Chapter 1858: In Broad Daylight Like This?
This feeling of being unable to catch up no matter how hard she tried made Zhong Yingxue's heart race!
Thousand Stars City felt too distant to her, so distant that it seemed like once Jiangnan went there, he would never come back!
Jiangnan pulled Zhong Yingxue into his arms, holding her tightly, as if embracing a blazing flame.
"I've been too thoughtless. I'm sorry, Xuexue..."
Zhong Yingxue shook her head, sobbing softly.
"No... it's not like that. Just pretend I didn't say anything."
She didn't want to bind Jiangnan, nor did she want him to stay on Lanxing forever, changing his plans and giving up on becoming stronger.
That would be too selfish. But she was also afraid of him leaving.
All the complex emotions in her heart piled up, surging and intertwining.
Perhaps love can never be fully explained, right?
But Zhong Yingxue wanted Jiangnan to become better more than anyone else, to shine like a blazing sun across this starry sky!
Jiangnan cupped Zhong Yingxue's face in his hands, smiling brightly.
"Xuexue, listen to me. It's not like I'm never coming back. How could I not come back? My home is here, right?"
"I'm just scouting the path first. The responsibilities on my shoulders are forcing me to charge into the starry sky."
"The future is still long. We've only walked a short distance together. The road ahead will still be walked hand in hand, just like this."
"From the moment I first saw you at the orphanage, our fates began to intertwine. Back then, I thought, 'This little girl is really beautiful.'"
Zhong Yingxue stared blankly at Jiangnan, pouting, her big eyes full of mist.
(｡ᵒ̴̶̷̥́～ᵒ̴̶̷̣̥̀)
Jiangnan gently stroked Zhong Yingxue's hair.
"Our story started from that moment and will continue until the end of time."
"No matter how strong I become, no matter what abilities I gain, I will always be your Xiao Nanhai. That will never change."
"Time may turn everything into dust, but it will never change who I am."
"If you fall behind, it's okay. Take your time catching up. Life is long, why worry about every moment? Do you think I'm the kind of person who would stop liking you just because you're weaker?"
Zhong Yingxue shook her head like a rattle drum, sniffling incessantly.
Jiangnan chuckled. "That's right. Maybe there will always be someone better, but for me, you are the best version of you. The best Xuexue."
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You can—hmm—"
Before he could finish, Zhong Yingxue lifted her head, stood on tiptoe, and directly sealed Jiangnan's lips with hers.
She didn't know how else to express her feelings.
So she would tell him with her mouth.
Literally.
Jiangnan's eyes flew wide open in shock, but the next moment, he closed them and wrapped his arms around Zhong Yingxue's slender waist.
In broad daylight, the two embraced and kissed.
At this moment, it felt like eternity.
...
Inside the time-stop light sphere, Xia Yao's face was flushed with excitement. She was breathing heavily, her eyes wide as she stared at the two on the sun.
(*⁰̷̴﹃⁰̷̴) "Why aren't they moving? Ehe~ Did they kiss? Ah, that's nice! Xuexue is super awesome! Xiao Nan really knows what he's doing!"
Jiangning's mouth twitched. Those two were kissing, so how was she more excited than they were?
Xiong Er swallowed hard.
(｡•～•｡｀) "Yao Yao, aren't you jealous?"
Xia Yao stared without blinking.
(ˊॢO̶̶̷̤﹃O̴̶̷̤ˋ) "What do you know? If Xiao Nan succeeds, I'll have two! Left arm, right arm, you know?"
"Look at you, you bear-shaped lump. You don't know how to enjoy life at all!"
Xiong Er's mouth hung wide open.
(٥｡•口•｡) "Ah, this..."
Wu Liang patted Xiong Er on the shoulder and shook his head. How could you ever understand Sister Yao's way of thinking?
She wanted to win both the king and the queen.
Since she couldn't see clearly, Xia Yao was getting anxious. "Lan Lan? Give me binoculars!"
Lan, without a word, immediately pulled out an ultra-high-power telescope and stuffed it into Xia Yao's hands.
Xia Yao raised the telescope to look, but the moment she lifted it, the intense sunlight passed through the lenses and focused directly onto her eyes.
With a "bang," Xia Yao's eyes were instantly scorched black, and two jets of flame shot out!
୧(●口●|||)୨ "Ah! My eyes! My eyes! My world is completely dark!"
Mila raised her hand and cast a restoration light pillar, snickering quietly. Using a telescope to stare directly at the sun from this close?
Was there anyone braver than this? Little Lan really was a mischievous kid, wasn't she?
...
If Jiangnan had to write a post-kiss essay about what it felt like to kiss a ball of fire, he could write ten thousand words on it.
His mouth was covered in blisters from the heat. Who could handle that?
Maybe Zhong Yingxue was so absorbed in the moment that she gradually forgot about heat insulation. Jiangnan's body was already starting to smoke from the burning.
He didn't dare say anything. They finally got to kiss once—he couldn't interrupt it over something like this.
But the next moment, with a "boom," the intense heat caused Jiangnan to burst into flames like a human torch!
Zhong Yingxue was startled and quickly pulled away.
(☍﹏⁰。) "Ah! I'm... I'm sorry. I forgot we were on the sun. I..."
She hurriedly tried to cool Jiangnan down, but Jiangnan hadn't had enough of the kiss. He even wanted to go for another three to five minutes.
(˵ಡ⊖ಡ˵) "You didn't explain clearly enough with your mouth. How about you tell me again?"
Zhong Yingxue abruptly turned her head away, the flames on her body burning even brighter.
˚‧º·(˚˃﹏˂)‧º·˚ "N-no... don't misunderstand. I was just paying for the ticket for this trip!"
Jiangnan teased her.
(˵ಡ⥎ಡ˵) "Liar. You already paid for the ticket earlier. You just wanted to kiss me, didn't you?"
Zhong Yingxue covered her face, her cheeks redder than a bubble tea pot. She stomped her foot. "Don't say it! Lend me your Little Gloves!"
Jiangnan looked smug. "I won't lend them. I'm saving the memory for tonight to replay and savor properly!"
You want to delete my memory? No way!
Zhong Yingxue muttered softly.
(⑉◔₃◔ิ) "Hmm~ Then I'll just have to kill you to silence you. We're on the sun right now. If I drop the heat protection and carbonize Xiao Nan, no one should find out, right?"
Jiangnan shuddered violently. Would you really be that ruthless?
"I won't say anything, I won't. Just don't leave me here on the sun, okay?"
Zhong Yingxue chuckled. "Just kidding. How could I bear to? The Star-Devouring Giant Worm should have shrunk by now, right?"
"Let's go. There's still work to do."
With that, she pulled Jiangnan away from the sun and regrouped with the others.
There was Xia Yao, with her two burnt-out eye sockets like panda eyes, raising an eyebrow at Jiangnan and secretly giving him a thumbs-up.
Jiangnan's mouth twitched. How did this happen?
Too many bamboo shoots stolen, cursed to look like a giant panda?
Clearly, after Jiangnan's encouragement, Zhong Yingxue had resolved her inner conflict.
Yes, the future was long. She would catch up eventually. But that didn't mean she would stop trying.
On the contrary, she would chase even harder.
The group first enlarged the Star Gate a hundred times, then returned to Jupiter's side, chopped up the shrunk Star-Devouring Giant Worm, and stuffed it inside.
They transferred it to Mars, then connected to the Andromeda Galaxy, where there were many planets.
They sent the Star-Devouring Giant Worm and the mining team over there, instructing them to work hard.
They also took the opportunity to enjoy the sights of the Andromeda Galaxy. While they were taking in the scenery, a urgent transmission came through on the snail shell.
"Jiangnan? Where are you? Hurry back! The situation is out of control, dammit!"
The caller was Yang Jian.
Jiangnan was stunned. (•︠～•︡) "What's going on? Did the Holy Star attack? That's impossible, right?"
"Where are you? I'm near the fourth spiral arm of the Andromeda Galaxy!"
Yang Jian: ???
Huh?
What the hell? The Andromeda Galaxy?
In no time at all, how did you manage to get to the Andromeda Galaxy, dammit!
The Milky Way wasn't big enough for you to wander around?
"Uh... hurry up. The Bad Beast Squad is out of control!"
Jiangnan was baffled. What kind of trouble was this now?
He didn't have time to sightsee in Andromeda. He hurried back to Mars, stuffed the Star Gate and star charts into the Alternate Dimension, and blasted toward Lanxing in a warp bubble.
Although he could use the Star Gate to return directly to Lanxing, the Star Gate was also on Mars, so it was better to take it with him.
He rushed all the way back to Jingdu City.
The moment he landed, he saw flames everywhere, with supply trucks hacked in half all over the place.
The Ninja Mantis was running wild, teleporting everywhere looking for trucks to slice.
He was laughing heartily, looking utterly delighted.
Beside him, the Parrot Lolo, White Goose, and the others were clapping and cheering.
Yang Jian stood helplessly on the spot, while a group of Pocket Rabbits trembled in fear in the distance.
Seeing their rabbit boss arrive, they immediately teleported behind Jiangnan, whimpering and seeking protection.
A crowd of strong warriors from various countries stood nearby, their mouths twitching.
Jiangnan was confused. "What's going on?"
Yang Jian rubbed his brow. "Badi and the others came to borrow the Pocket Rabbit transport team. I said we still need them—they're national treasures."
"The Bad Beast Squad heard about it and insisted that a bunch of trash rabbits could be national treasures. They said they usually play around hunting them."
"They claimed they were much more precious than Pocket Rabbits, had more uses, and wanted to be the big national treasures."
"Then Badi asked what they were good for, since they couldn't even carry things. The Bad Beast Squad wouldn't accept that and wanted to show off their skills."
"Well... there isn't a single intact vehicle left in Jingdu."
Jiangnan's face darkened. (̿▀̿̿Ĺ̯̿̿▀̿̿)̄ "The Ninja Mantis?"
The Ninja Mantis teleported right up to Jiangnan, eyes gleaming with excitement.
(へಠɷಠ)へ "Big Brother! Check me out—am I Mantis-cool or what?"
Jiangnan reached out and rapped the Ninja Mantis on the head, creating a big red bump. Displeased, he said, "I'm not checking! Why are you cutting up trucks?"
The Ninja Mantis covered his head, looking wronged.
(へ･᷄ɷ･᷅)へ "Didn't you say that once we got out, we could cut up as many cars as we wanted?"
"I had to show them what I, Ninja Mantis, can do. We want to be national treasures too!"
"A bunch of trash rabbits—what right do they have?"
The Pocket Rabbits didn't dare argue, even though they were unhappy. Their ancestors had been hunted for sport for generations. The fear was already carved into their DNA, okay?
Jiangnan rubbed his forehead. He really had said that.
"Then cut up the junk cars. There are plenty of scrap cars in the city ruins—Lamborghinis, Wranglers. Cut those all you want."
"Besides, the Pocket Rabbits became national treasures because they did meritorious service transporting supplies. Do you even have pouches to carry things?"
"If you want to be national treasures, it's not impossible. You have to contribute. Go chop up some spirit beasts, reclaim a few cities. Then you can become national treasures, right?"
The Ninja Mantis waved his blades, eyes shining. "Chop up spirit beasts and reclaim cities, and that's enough to be a national treasure? That simple?"
"Those small fry are just playthings to slice up anyway."
Yang Jian quickly seized the opportunity. "Ah, right, right, right. You can have fun slicing and dicing while becoming national treasures. Isn't that a beautiful thing?"
"How about we discuss where to go next to chop up spirit beasts?"
After Jiangnan's mediation, Reflex Fox and the others finally listened to Yang Jian and went off to hunt beasts, determined to become even more popular national treasures than the Pocket Rabbits.
Jiangnan's gaze shifted, landing on Badi and Bigg. His smile gradually twisted.
↜(⃔っ՞.̫՞C)⃕ "I heard you wanted to borrow the Pocket Rabbits to transport supplies?"