There were no fireworks or firecrackers to mark the beginning of the new year. Instead, the dawn of the first day of the Lunar New Year arrived to the sound of two sentinels trading punches like rapid-fire cannons.
Although a bit too noisy, with one sentinel’s heartbreak level at 75 and the other’s at 85, Xin Hexue could still tolerate it.
Yan Ji had coldly said “let’s part on good terms,” but ended up silently coming back to help handle all the mess, then left just as silently.
It wasn’t until Xin Hexue woke up that he realized Yan Ji had cleaned the entire villa. He was so thorough that there was even no place left for the robot vacuum to be used. The vegetables and food in the freezer were categorized according to maximum storage time, labeled with sticky notes. Worried that Xin Hexue might look in the wrong place for something, he had left several pages of instructions.
He didn’t take anything with him. His frequently worn clothes still hung quietly in the closet of the side bedroom. The custom brown suit that Xin Hexue had made for him was stored in the storage room, placed alongside all the dust-covered belongings of He Botian.
According to Yan Ji’s categorization logic, it was clear he believed that the custom brown suit no longer belonged to him, but rather to a lingering ghost that should have been dead.
“…”
Xin Hexue held those sticky notes in his hand and sighed softly.
After such an in-depth cohabitation, it was as if Yan Ji had turned into moss after the breakup, still clinging on and leaving behind damp green traces that had crept into every corner of the villa.
Trying to clear it all out would be troublesome.
After all, even the groceries in the fridge had been bought together.
Only time could wear it all away.
Maintaining the image of a rational young man, Xin Hexue didn’t take the initiative to contact him, nor did he offer any further greetings. Just as he had said before, he had no intention of continuing this wrong relationship, and quietly withdrew from Yan Ji’s world.
When the new year’s course selection came around, Yan Ji couldn’t find a single course taught by Xin Hexue in the system. After asking around, he learned that Xin Hexue had resigned from his instructor position at the Sentinel-Guide Joint Military Academy and was now fully focused on his main role as a public guide.
Yan Ji had his communicator repaired at a shop, spending several thousand yuan. The shop owner even advised him that it would be better to just buy a new one, but Yan Ji didn’t know why, he simply wanted to keep the communicator.
The communicator that could still connect to Xin Hexue’s bedroom speaker and projector.
He threw almost all his energy and time into new courses, simulation training, and reserve legion missions, never glancing at the pinned profile icon that would no longer show new messages.
Only the occasional special notifications from the military or the reserve legion reminded Yan Ji that he had once been part of a guide’s life, and afterward, he received some subtle compensation and care from that person.
Jia Jin really couldn’t stand the low-pressure around him anymore. It was already spring, but coming back to the dorm felt like entering a freezer.
He could more or less guess what had happened based on Yan Ji’s behavior and tried to talk him through it gently.
As a result, around midnight that night, which was probably some special “music hour”, he was bombarded by a flood of messages from Yan Ji.
[Yan Ji: I really can’t take it anymore.]
[Yan Ji: I’m always the one who makes the first move, and always the one who gives in.]
[Yan Ji: I just casually mentioned breaking up, couldn’t you give me a way to back down?! I would’ve rolled down like a mudslide right away.]
[Yan Ji: You said you don’t want to delay me, Xin Hexue, you just don’t want to take responsibility. My clean and innocent life is ruined. Who would want someone like me, a second-hand sentinel?! Even my mental body got trained by you so much it evolved from a wolf to a dog, it changed species…Xin Hexue, I hate you. I’ll never forgive you!]
[Yan Ji: This time I’m not coming back to be your dog again. Hah. A breakup is a breakup, who cares?]
[Jia Jin: No, Brother… you sent this to the wrong person. Look carefully.]
[Yan Ji: I know. I didn’t send it to the wrong person.]
[Yan Ji: I just can’t bear to say it to him.]
[Jia Jin: ……]
Was his life not a life too?
No respect, no blessing, no lock-in.
………
Xin Hexue neither agreed to Wei Zhuo’s pursuit, nor did he seem worried or troubled by the tangled mess of relationships.
He calmly carried out his mental guidance tasks, and occasionally went to pay respects at He Botian’s grave. Yes, even though he hadn’t attended He Botian’s funeral at the time, afterward, he would go to his cenotaph on fixed days every month to sweep the grave.
When someone from the military came to find him, hoping he could transfer from logistics to the front line and re-enter the Folded zone of the strangling tree, Xin Hexue wasn’t surprised. He didn’t hesitate and nodded in agreement.
But because he hadn’t entered the Folded zone for a long time, both he and the military had to make preparations for this battle with an “unknown” level of danger.
According to satellite monitoring images, the abnormal energy fluctuations had recently subsided slightly and entered a period of stable confrontation. They planned to head to the small fishing village of Taobakou in the Eastern Frontier, where the strangling tree’s vines had been discovered, in June.
During this time, Xin Hexue went back to the research institute for a follow-up check on his physical condition and mental power.
Both had improved significantly compared to the initial state of exhaustion. The impact left by the previous sentinel had weakened, and the new sentinel’s mental power had invaded his mental landscape, sweeping away all traces of the former occupant, and was now freely growing, integrating into Xin Hexue’s mental landscape.
The researcher advised him to continue maintaining regular intimate relations.
Xin Hexue walked out from that side.
Ji Yushan was standing at the end of the glass corridor. It had just rained outside, and the air was fresh. Raindrops sparkled on the glass canopy above his head, the scene textured like ice cubes clinking in a mint cocktail, and the scent of grass in the rain curtain was detectable in the air.
Smoke rose, swirling between his knuckles.
Through the transparent lenses, Ji Yushan looked at the young man walking toward him from the other end of the corridor. It was the transition between spring and summer, and the temperature had already risen. The young man was wearing a shirt with a draped lapel and a loose casual jacket over it. He looked thin and fragile, and his gentle and harmless beauty made it hard to believe he had gone through the death of a partner. He looked like a student on campus, just like he had three years ago when Ji Yushan first met him.
The distance between them was getting closer and closer.
Ji Yushan stubbed out the cigarette and tossed it into the trash bin, greeting him in a tone like an old friend, “How have you been lately?”
Xin Hexue came to a stop and gave him a slight smile. “Not bad.”
Facing this smile, Ji Yushan realized his heart still beat the same as when he first fell in love at first sight.
He put both hands in his pockets and said in a calm voice, “I thought those two sentinels would be difficult to deal with.”
With a light chuckle as if making a casual joke, he added, “If you find them too troublesome, why not consider me? I work 996 at the research institute, always working overtime. I collapse into bed as soon as I get home. Even if you were having an affair with an ex, I wouldn’t even notice. How about it?”
Xin Hexue lowered his lashes, but didn’t follow along with the topic. Instead, he politely said, “Your job is too stressful. Smoking is bad for your health.”
There were no real ties between them, and the other party had already left him enough room for a polite rejection.
Ji Yushan suppressed the self-mockery in his eyes. The cold sheen of his glasses hid all his emotions. Before Xin Hexue stepped out of the glass corridor and left, he reached out on impulse and tugged at the sleeve of Xin Hexue’s clothes. “Wait.”
Seeing Xin Hexue turn back in surprise, he feigned casualness and said, “It’s going to rain today.”
With this excuse, Ji Yushan was able to naturally place a transparent umbrella into Xin Hexue’s hand.
However, the umbrella handle was pushed back into Ji Yushan’s palm, and even the thin edge of fabric slipped from his grasp like a cool breeze in the wilderness.
“No need, thank you,”
Xin Hexue declined.
“Someone’s waiting for me.”
Ji Yushan raised his eyes and looked up into the distance. Sure enough, a young sentinel was standing at the end, holding a black umbrella and a white paper with black text.
Ji Yushan seemed to have guessed what it was.
………
Yan Ji couldn’t bear it any longer.
The notification result letter had been delayed for three months and had finally arrived at his school address.
Whatever dignity he couldn’t let go of and whatever unnecessary pride he had could all be thrown away.
He hugged Xin Hexue so tightly that he almost rubbed him into his body.
The white paper was crumpled at the corners in his palm.
“The compatibility is one hundred percent.”
“Xin Hexue.”
“Our compatibility is one hundred percent.”
Yan Ji pronounced each word slowly and clearly. One hundred twenty-three days and eleven hours of crazy longing for Xin Hexue had built up to an unmeasurable intensity. He could only breathe in the faint, clean, cold scent from Xin Hexue’s body, as if without him, even the oxygen had been stripped away and he couldn’t breathe.
[Yan Ji heartbreak value +5]
Why was this person unhappy even with a one hundred percent compatibility score?
Xin Hexue raised his hand. His eyebrows and eyes looked like the moon melting into a lake as he said softly, “Alright.”
Feeling the gentle hand brushing the short strands at the back of his head, Yan Ji lowered his head, voice hoarse and choked, “You have to take responsibility for me. No one else will want me if I leave you.”
………
A few days before departure, Wei Zhuo saw a sentinel in the newly reorganized Honeysuckle Squad who shouldn’t have been there.
After nearly a year of training, Yan Ji had changed a lot from his former arrogant self. His originally tanned skin had darkened a few shades, the rebelliousness in his brows had faded, replaced by a steadier air. He even talked less now.
It was only when he pestered Xin Hexue that he still looked shameless.
Wei Zhuo’s expression turned cold. “Why is he here?”
Next to him, Kuike explained, “His compatibility rate with Hexue is 100%, and his performance in the reserve legion was outstanding. His record is impressive, so the military… gave special approval.”
Strictly speaking, this was only a preliminary expedition. They would first investigate the area around Taobakou and the nearby waters around the volcanic island after sailing out. At most, they would land on the outskirts of the island. Since this Folded zone hadn’t been entered into the official archives yet, venturing in without concrete understanding could result in complete annihilation, something no one wanted to see.
Wei Zhuo’s face remained cold, but when he turned to Xin Hexue, his tone softened. “Don’t act alone once we’re in the eastern territory, and don’t stray too far from me.”
There was no trace of the words he had once said about not being like He Botian, who protected him every step of the way.
Xin Hexue simply curved his eyes in agreement.
Their team composition this time wasn’t complicated. Most were former members of the Honeysuckle Squad, all soldiers who had seen the strangling tree in the No. 122 Rainforest Folded zone. Back then, they had lost He Botian and an A-rank sentinel. Now, their spots were filled by Yan Ji and Xing Xianqi.
Xing Xianqi had just been promoted from the B-sequence legion to the A-sequence legion last year. Having participated in the investigation of the abnormality in the northern folded Zone, he had also come into contact with the derivative Folded zone caused by the strangling tree’s vines.
To ensure the operation would go smoothly, Xin Hexue conducted mental guidance for every sentinel in the team before departure.
………
Xin Hexue felt dizzy and groggy, and cold water surged in from all directions. After a bout of uncontrollable choking, he swam up to the surface, chest heaving as he gasped for air, struggling free from a near-death experience.
He wiped the water from his face. His wet eyelashes stuck together like glue, barely able to open.
Dark blue, tinged with blood-red…an endless ocean.
He clung to a piece of driftwood with both arms, as if grabbing a life-saving straw, but his eyes were filled with desolate confusion.
Something drifted past him.
Xin Hexue subconsciously reached out, and caught a pile of white bones.
The finger bones were segmented and shaped like forking branches. They belonged to an adult sentinel.
Xin Hexue froze for a moment. Strangely, he realized…it was Wei Zhuo’s.
He lifted his gaze, scanning the sea surface around him. It was like a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Cold seawater soaked him to the bone, and Xin Hexue realized that something even more terrifying lurked beneath the restless waves.
A vast web of deep green vines spread across the sea like a net, about to close in and capture its prey.
Xin Hexue immediately lay flat on the driftwood and paddled forward. But the sea was endless, and he was like a speck of dust, unable to discern direction. He could barely think, driven only by instinct to move forward, to keep going, and not stop!
A shadow of land appeared on the horizon. Xin Hexue had no idea how much time had passed. When his hands were nearly numb from the cold seawater, he saw a neat little fishing village drawing closer and closer, until he could make out the flat-roofed houses near the shore and a longan tree beside one of them.
Finally, joy broke through his numb eyes.
From beneath the sea, came a strange, and eerie distant call. The deep green net of veins murmured:
“Stay…”
“Stay…”
“Stay with me…”
Floating bones seemed to follow him closely, rising and falling with the waves, but never drifting far from Xin Hexue’s driftwood.
So strange, so strange…
Xin Hexue felt a sharp pain in his head again, as if something sharp was drilling into his brain and altering what he saw.
All the bones instantly turned back into human bodies. Every face was familiar, the members of the Honeysuckle Squad. Their complexions were pale and showed the grayness of long-dead corpses. They looked like paper soaked in water, no longer like human faces.
Even the movement of their mouths was synchronized, mechanically repeating:
“Stay…”
A high-pitched ringing echoed in his skull, and Xin Hexue’s chest tightened. All vital signs seemed to freeze at this moment, and his body tilted as he fell into the sea unconscious.
[??? Love value +100]
………
Xin Hexue’s body tilted, and the pain from his head hitting the curved glass snapped him awake.
Outside, it was a bright sunny day. But inside the vehicle, his hands and feet were cold, and his back was soaked in sweat.
Was it… a dream?
But… what had he dreamed about?
He suddenly couldn’t remember.
Xin Hexue looked out the car window and realized that the vehicle had stopped at some point.
The window rolled down, and Xin Hexue asked the sentinel outside, “What happened?”
Yan Ji stood under the sun. “You’re awake? It’s nothing, just a sudden breakdown. Kuike is taking care of it. Do you want to get out and get some air?”
Xin Hexue’s face was a bit pale. When he stepped out into the sun, he looked like snow that hadn’t melted in years.
Xin Hexue: “Why did it suddenly break down?”
Kuike responded, “It is weird… I even had it specially checked before we left.”
Fortunately, it was just a small hiccup on the way. Kuike quickly identified the problem and fixed it, and the vehicle continued heading east.
The Eastern Frontier was a winding stretch of coastline of the Empire, and Taobakou was just one of countless inconspicuous little fishing villages. The closest watchtowers were over a hundred kilometers away, with only a small sentinel liaison point nearby. Ever since villagers had pulled up mutant species from the sea, fishing had been strictly prohibited, and most villagers were preparing to relocate inland under government organization.
Their temporary residence was an unused house in the village.
From the moment Xin Hexue got out of the car, he felt a strong sense of déjà vu. The flat-roofed house looked very familiar, even the longan tree beside it seemed like he’d seen it before.
Of course, it could be the hippocampus effect, a phenomenon caused by interaction between the brain and sensory systems, so the strange feeling passed quickly, and Xin Hexue didn’t think much of it.
When rooms were being assigned, due to the large number of people and insufficient rooms, Yan Ji happily managed to get a room together with Xin Hexue.
Their current relationship was ambiguous. Xin Hexue hadn’t agreed to rekindle things with Yan Ji, but since they were assigned the same room, and this was such a good opportunity, Yan Ji decided to put in some serious effort.
However, Wei Zhuo’s room was right next door. Yan Ji could only hope this house had good soundproofing.
It was already evening when they arrived. After Yan Ji looked around the room and walked from the bedroom to the front hall, Wei Zhuo and Kuike were already seated at the table, ready to eat.
Wei Zhuo looked up and, not seeing the guide behind Yan Ji, asked, “Where is Xin Hexue?”
Yan Ji: “He seemed to have gotten carsick during the day. He’s not feeling well. I’ll get his food and take it to him.”
As he passed by Wei Zhuo with some dishes, Yan Ji heard the other man say coldly, “Shameless.”
Yan Ji shrugged. “That line is for you.”
He talked back sarcastically, and feeling a bit thirsty, picked up the glass of wine clearly left at his seat and poured it down his throat. Then he turned around and carried the food to Xin Hexue.
Several sentinels nearby had them mocking each other and were completely confused. Only Kuike and Xing Xianqi, who knew part of the story, exchanged winks with twisted expressions.
………
At night.
Yan Ji turned over. The large bed was spacious enough for two adult men. He reached out an arm and pulled Xin Hexue into his embrace, lowering his head until his forehead pressed against the warm shoulder and neck of the young man.
The breath from the sentinel was scorching hot, slipping into Xin Hexue’s collarbone, and Xin Hexue shrank back uncomfortably.
Yan Ji’s low and hoarse voice begged.
“Is it okay? Just once…”
“You must be exhausted from doing mental guidance for so many people before, right? Our compatibility is one hundred percent, I can help replenish you…”
It was unclear how much time passed, maybe just a few breaths…
A soft sound rang out in the silent air, “Mm.”
………
The thin quilt easily revealed the downward slope and the rising curve underneath.
A coarse head quickly burrowed its way between his legs, and there was a quiet rustling sound. Apart from the friction of clothes, there are only faint sounds of water
Xin Hexue lay on his back on the bed, eyes slightly unfocused as he stared at the wooden beams on the ceiling. His thighs trembled and tightened around Yan Ji’s neck, and his toes curled up. Not long after, his lower abdomen tensed, twitching with shudders.
Because the old house’s sound insulation wasn’t guaranteed, even though their room was in the innermost part, Xin Hexue still bit his knuckles. The corners of his eyes were flushed red, and his breaths were unsteady, like forced sobs. “Come… come in…”
He pressed down on Yan Ji’s shoulder with his foot.
But the sentinel suddenly seemed to go crazy. He threw off the quilt and kept backing away, his expression flustered, as if he had just realized something unacceptable. “I… I need to go to the bathroom.”
Yan Ji rushed out of the room with a pale face.
Xin Hexue suspected he hadn’t showered, but he remembered Yan Ji had taken a bath in the evening.
‘…Useless sentinel.’
Useless little Yan drooped down.
No matter how anxiously his brother was moved, there was no response and no reaction, like it had died.
Yan Ji wanted to cry.
He really wanted to punch his brother, but brothers were like limbs, and he feared if he injured it, it wouldn’t be able to act as Xin Hexue’s dog anymore. So he could only grit his teeth in frustration.
Damn it, who the hell was harming him?
Author’s note:
Wei Zhuo 🙂
