CH 31.1

three minutes later, four men silently sat down in xiao zhenyun’s car. each of them seemed as quiet as a mouse.

si di glanced at xiao nian, whose facial expression management system had gone dead in the passenger seat, and then at xiao jiali, who seemed to have no idea where to put his hands and feet in the driver’s seat. he frowned, his suspicion evident.

xiao zhenyun immediately cleared his throat and said, “nian nian, it’s been a while since you’ve seen the little brother. have you grown apart?”

“…” xiao nian was taken aback by the casual way xiao zhenyun said such nonsense. he couldn’t understand how someone could be so natural while saying something like that. he was baffled, truly shaken.

xiao jiali didn’t understand either, but he had no idea what xiao zhenyun was talking about in the first place. however, he knew when the atmosphere in the car wasn’t right, and at such times, it was best to remain silent or nod in agreement.

“long time no see,” xiao nian began to weave a lie for xiao zhenyun. “how have you been?”

“i…?” xiao jiali took a moment to realize that the young man next to him was speaking to him. he had been staring at the direction of the self-driving steering wheel earlier. “i’m okay… may i ask who you are?”

“you don’t remember me?… sorry, i forgot you had amnesia,” xiao nian said, trying to sound confident. “my name now is xiao nian.”

xiao jiali, upon hearing this, felt excited. “i’m xiao jiali. do we know each other from before?”

“ah… it’s better to forget,” xiao nian patted xiao jiali’s leg mysteriously, then took on a closed-off attitude as if he didn’t want to talk about sad memories, leaning back against the seat and refusing to open his eyes any longer.

the innocent amnesiac sentinel was left bewildered by this.

in the backseat of the car, xiao zhenyun took the thin blanket handed to him by si di and covered his knees. the car’s interior was cold due to the air conditioning, and all three of the others, including xiao nian, were warm-blooded. xiao zhenyun took a sip of warm water before turning his face and asking, “when did you return to the country?”

“…yesterday’s spaceship.”

the journey back from haleite takes twenty-six hours, and the spaceship from yesterday could only land today. yet, he had appeared at the white tower’s front gate before five o’clock? si di and xiao zhenyun exchanged a glance, not saying a word. si di lowered his gaze, and pulled out a pack of medicine from his pocket. he picked one, and held it between his teeth. before he could ask, xiao nian turned back and tossed a bottle of water to him. si di said, “thank you,” and gulped down half a bottle of water.

watching him do all this, xiao zhenyun suddenly released silent guiding elements without any warning.

after half a week of classes, plus the teachers’ thoughtful extra tutoring, xiao zhenyun realized how many mistakes he had made in the way he had released his guiding elements before. it was all in vain, making his already limited spiritual power even more strained. self-study, done in isolation and without a systematic teaching approach, simply couldn’t compare to the structured education at school.

si di’s throbbing forehead was soothed by the guiding elements as if an invisible hand had erected a barrier for his spiritual domain. si di suddenly felt refreshed, his furrowed brows relaxed, and his tense, pain-riddled body loosened. the doctor’s words were not wrong at all; staying by xiao zhenyun’s side was worth more than a hundred expensive medicines.

then he suddenly thought, in this narrow and enclosed space of the car, apart from soothing him, weren’t xiao zhenyun’s guiding elements also benefiting the sentinel in the driver’s seat? si di lifted his head and saw xiao jiali sitting upright with his horned eagle in his arms, looking straight ahead, completely uninterested in xiao zhenyun’s guiding elements.

either he was pretending… or these two were just not compatible.

si di was satisfied, and he leaned back in his chair before revealing the purpose of his visit, “xiao chu and feiran’s engagement ceremony is set for the end of this month. i hope you can make it and be a witness.”

“they decided this so quickly?” xiao zhenyun was surprised. xiao nian, upon hearing this, perked up and discreetly glanced at them through the rearview mirror.

“wasn’t it your hard work and active matchmaking that brought them together?” si di had observed xiao zhenyun’s actions at the haleite wedding ceremony, and he smiled knowingly. “from the way you’re talking, you don’t regret it, do you?”

“yeah,” xiao zhenyun unexpectedly nodded, “who wouldn’t like puppies?”

si di’s expression froze.

the electric collar on his neck flickered back and forth between green and red lights, indicating that he was unstable. xiao jiali was frightened seeing the unfamiliar device. he knew it was something that sentinels took with them during their manic episodes, a period of heightened mental instability. he also knew of si di’s reputation, displayed on the tower wind and cloud alumni honor roll, where he had set a series of inhuman records that left people speechless.

xiao jiali wondered if, in the event of a fight, he could protect the weak and frail members of the xiao family.

could he even escape the clutches of this wolf, or would he too become its prey?

in this eerie standoff, xiao zhenyun suddenly brought up a new topic as if nothing had happened, “do you have plans later? if not, come over to my place for a while. i can give you mental grooming.”

the electric collar turned green.

but si di’s expression remained cool.

“i just learned the basics from the old professor last night,” xiao zhenyun continued, “it’s simpler than i imagined, but becoming proficient in it won’t be easy. i heard that uncle struggled with mental grooming when he was at the white tower. the professor scolded him while teaching me… but he said there’s a high compatibility boost, so i should be able to handle your spiritual domain issues once i’ve learned the basics.”

si di’s expression softened, and he said casually, “no rush. your constitution is weak. rest early after your classes during the day, and don’t stay up late.” then, as if in passing, he added, “with haleite’s special treatment and your guide elements, i can hold out for a long time.”

this long-lasting male sentinel came to xiao zhenyun’s house reservedly, insisting that he would leave after receiving the mental grooming and that he had other matters to attend to. however, xiao zhenyun, with his meager spiritual pool, had only spent fifteen minutes on si di. in this short time, when he checked si di’s spiritual domain, he saw the sentinel lying in bed, fast asleep, completely unresponsive to any attempts to wake him.

meanwhile, si qiaorong had made several calls in a row, and xiao zhenyun even put the terminal next to si di’s ear, but he still didn’t wake up. xiao zhenyun became worried and re-entered si di’s spiritual domain to make sure that si di hadn’t fallen into a deep and potentially dangerous sleep.

in the end, xiao zhenyun had no choice but to answer one of the calls. he smiled gently and said, “qiaorong cousin…”

upon hearing this voice, si qiaorong felt his heart ache. he couldn’t help but ask, “xiao di…”

“xiao di is here with me,” xiao zhenyun turned the floating screen to show si di, who was sound asleep under the blanket.

si qiaorong widened his eyes, “did you…!” he suddenly stopped himself, realizing that xiao zhenyun didn’t have the means to do anything to si di… but then another, more terrifying, thought crossed his mind, and his voice shot up eight octaves, “did he do something to you?!”

“i gave him a mental grooming, and he fell asleep. i can’t wake him up,” xiao zhenyun quickly explained his innocence in just a few words.

“…” even though he was reluctant, si qiaorong finally accepted the situation and sighed, “let him sleep well… thank you for taking him in for the night.”

he had never seen si di in a state where he couldn’t be woken up; sentinels were always especially alert and sensitive. ever since si di’s spiritual domain had collapsed, anytime, anywhere, no matter how quiet or low the sound was, as long as their eyes fell on si di’s face, his eyes would always open, clear as day, as if he had never slept for a minute or a second.

as long as his son could get a good night’s sleep and recover his health, even if he had to stay by xiao zhenyun’s side, si qiaorong would accept it.

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