Su Ci wasn’t gripping her tightly, and his hold didn’t hurt her wrist.
But the strength in his palm was firm enough that she couldn’t pull free.
Only then did Su Yingli fully realize that Su Ci really was an adult S-rank Sentinel.
Even if he looked so well-behaved and innocent whenever he called her Sis.
She could tell something was off with Su Ci.
He should have been more energetic after guidance. Why was he the opposite of everyone else?
Unsure what to make of it, Su Yingli wiggled her wrist in his palm.
“Su Ci, let go of me first.”
Only after she said this did Su Ci seem to come fully back to himself. He released her wrist, blinked, and his lips curved into a soft smile again.
“I’m sorry, Sis. Did I hurt you?”
His clear, cool voice was tinged with apology, and the corners of his eyes drooped, making him look innocent and pitiful.
How could Su Yingli bring herself to scold him when he looked like that? Besides, he hadn’t hurt her.
She shook her head and asked, “What happened just now?”
If her optical brain hadn’t shown his berserk level as normal, she might have thought her guidance had made him worse instead of better.
Su Ci looked a little dazed.
“It’s been so long since I’ve had such thorough guidance. Sis really didn’t lie to me. I don’t feel uncomfortable anymore.”
Tentatively, he reached out and gently pinched the tip of Su Yingli’s finger between two long fingers.
When she didn’t pull away, a glint appeared in Su Ci’s dark eyes. His fingers slid upward little by little, lifting her pale hand before bringing it to his cheek. He looked up at her and rubbed against it softly.
As if thanking her this way.
He was the very picture of a sweet younger puppy.
That was so unfair!
Su Yingli felt the back of her hand grow hot, and her cheeks began to burn too.
Though she was a little reluctant, she steeled herself and pulled her hand back, then cleared her throat.
She said with a straight face, “Of course. I am an S-rank Guide, after all.”
“But have you really gone this long without guidance? You’re an S-rank Sentinel. How can you keep going on missions in this condition?”
Before the guidance, she’d forgotten to check Su Ci’s initial berserk level. But he’d seemed pretty steady, so surely it hadn’t been that high?
Still, she’d used about as much mental power as she had when guiding Charon. Charon had gone from the brink of a berserk state down to 36 percent.
How had Su Ci only dropped to 50 percent?
Su Yingli glanced at his personal profile beside her.
He was definitely an S-rank Sentinel.
Su Ci’s dark eyes shifted, and his voice softened with a hint of grievance.
“Before, Sis was busy guiding other Sentinels and kept rejecting my applications, so I used high-concentration guide serum. I always passed the checks before missions…”
Su Yingli was at a loss for words.
The original owner had rejected far too many applications. S-rank or good-looking, it didn’t matter—she only picked Sentinels who would fight back and satisfy her sadistic urges.
Like Charon.
Su Ci, with his sweet-puppy look, clearly wasn’t the original owner’s type.
High-concentration guide serum was effective, but it couldn’t work as well as guidance, and it caused drug resistance. Its effects would only grow weaker over time.
Thinking of Su Ci returning from clearing out contaminated entities, only to hole up in the Sentinel dormitory and inject himself with guide serum to ease his sensory overload…
Su Yingli couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.
She waved her little hand and magnanimously declared, “Next time you apply, I’ll definitely approve it!”
Su Ci’s eyes curved into a smile, and he nodded. “Mm. Don’t go back on your word, Sis~”
“Of course!”
His spirit was a little scary, but his personality was much better than Charon’s. Guiding ten Su Cis would be easier than guiding Charon!
With Su Ci guided, Su Yingli’s work for the day was over.
She was eager to send him on his way, but Su Ci was reluctant to leave and still wanted to chat with her. Wanting to get off work early, Su Yingli finally gave in and let him walk her downstairs.
Having a handsome, sweet puppy around during work was wonderful.
But getting off work was the one true blessing!
Humming a tune, Su Yingli headed back to the villa, light as a feather.
In the corridor downstairs from the Guidance Building,
Su Ci watched until she disappeared from sight before slowly turning around.
As he did, the clear laughter in his dark eyes vanished, leaving only a cold, sunken blackness, like stagnant water veiled in icy mist.
With one hand in his pocket, Su Ci strolled along on long legs, his military boots tapping crisply against the corridor floor.
His other hand kept time with his steps, tapping lightly. Then, as if something had occurred to him, he rolled his fingertips together, and a low chuckle slipped from his throat.
His gaze was fixed on the photo wall in the distance, a little vacant, as though he were looking through the pictures at someone else. As his eyes shifted, they held a chilling, obsessive intensity.
A trace of smugness touched the corners of his eyes. He tucked his other hand into his pocket, whistled in high spirits, and strolled toward the exit.
Outside the Guidance Building, a tall figure in vivid red leaned against the wall, waiting.
The moment Su Ci stepped out, an irritated voice called after him.
“Su Ci, you actually went to her for guidance without putting up a fight?”
Charon emerged in civilian clothes, frowning, arms crossed, and clearly spoiling for a fight.
Su Ci gave him a casual glance, his face utterly expressionless.
“Who?”
“Su Yingli! Don’t play dumb!”
Su Ci gave a soft laugh. This time, he looked at Charon with an icy, lifeless stare.
“You can go to her, but I can’t?”
“You!” Charon drew a deep breath and reined in his temper before asking, “You’d rather be locked in the confinement room and forcibly treated than let Su Yingli guide you. Why are you acting so strangely today?”
Su Ci narrowed his eyes.
“Why I’m acting strangely is none of your business. She’s my Guide. I’ll go to her if I want to.”
Su Ci’s gloomy manner infuriated Charon, and his voice rose despite himself.
“Get this straight: she’s not your Guide. You just happened to be scheduled with her today!”
Su Ci raised an eyebrow, looked Charon up and down, and let a playful curve touch his lips as he dropped a bombshell.
“You want to be her exclusive Sentinel? If I remember right, you were the one who reported her, and you were the one who choked her badly enough to send her to the hospital.”
“That’s none of your business either.”
Charon didn’t deny it. He stepped up beside Su Ci and deliberately bumped his shoulder.
“Whatever you’re planning, don’t you dare hurt her—or you’ll have me to answer to!”
He didn’t know why Su Ci was pretending in front of her, but it definitely wasn’t for anything good.
The Guide he’d set his sights on wasn’t going to be snatched away by anyone!
The instant Charon bumped into him, Su Ci’s expression turned icy.
A gigantic python, thick as a tree trunk, appeared on the stone pillar behind him, its scales gleaming pine-green in the dim light.
Compared to the python, the little snake Su Yingli had seen might as well have been a toy.
The python hissed menacingly twice.
The Flame-Mane Lion, its body wreathed in fire, let out a defiant growl and charged up to face it.
Just as a fight seemed about to break out, a lazy, resonant voice stopped them in time.
“If you two want to make sure Su Yingli never guides either of you again, by all means, carry on. I won’t stop you.”
Shen Qingyan walked over from the hospital, arms folded as he glanced at them both.
He’d gone to visit the injured Sentinels and hadn’t expected to find the two of them squaring off as soon as he came out.
One had a short fuse; the other was downright vicious. They’d never gotten along.
If they actually started fighting, it would be no small matter.
At the sight of Shen Qingyan, Charon gave a snort and was the first to withdraw his spirit.
“How are they doing?”
The Sentinel Shen Qingyan had visited was the one who’d gone on a mission with Charon and been contaminated by a contaminated entity.
“Their contamination level has come down. Don’t worry. Laizesi is waiting for you. Go to the command room.”
Charon nodded, then shot Su Ci a look and strode away.
Su Ci withdrew his spirit too, glanced at Shen Qingyan, and turned to leave.
Shen Qingyan suddenly spoke. “Whether it’s an act or not, Su Yingli really has changed. I know you hate people who control Sentinels, but you’d better not provoke her right now.”
Su Ci looked up, his gaze cold. “You want to be her exclusive Sentinel too?”
Shen Qingyan’s brows drew together.
“It’s because the intelligence department needs her spirit. You saw what happened on Charon’s mission this time. The contaminated entities on the front lines seem to be evolving, and the detectors’ maximum range isn’t enough anymore. We need her to open an information channel.”
Still, he didn’t deny that seeing Su Yingli in person had sparked a little interest in her.
Su Ci didn’t answer. He looked away and left.
Shen Qingyan sighed softly, a helpless smile curving his peach-blossom eyes.
If not for what happened back then, perhaps Su Ci wouldn’t have become like this either.