「The next day.」
Gu Ning and Alex slept in, only packing up to leave well after sunrise.
"We'll have a signal once we get to the train station." Alex packed the small pot they used for meals into his bag. "Barto and the others will meet us there," he told Gu Ning, who was tapping on her terminal.
Hearing this, Gu Ning turned off her terminal and stood up, stretching her sore back and legs.
'Her thigh muscles really took a beating last night.'
When she glanced over, she saw Alex staring at her intently.
"Does it hurt?"
Alex stopped what he was doing and squatted in front of her. "Let me see."
Gu Ning waved her hand. "It doesn't hurt." 'Just a bit of muscle soreness.'
Alex had already checked when she woke up, and he'd even applied a cool, soothing ointment.
'But... there was still a bit of a stinging... foreign sensation.'
'It felt like they were still rubbing together.'
