Chapter 14: Your Husband
The White Tower, Guide Academy.
Creek—
The wooden door made an old, creaking sound.
“You’re here?”
The white-haired old man sitting at his desk, looking at documents, lifted his head from the pile, adjusted the reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, and made a small joke.
“I never thought I’d see the day you’d arrive right on time.”
Xu Xunyue closed the office door behind him.
“Dean, Teacher, it’s been a long time.”
The dean of the Guide Academy before him, Xia Feng, was his homeroom teacher from when he had studied at the Guide Academy eight years ago.
Eight years ago, the dean was not yet the dean, just a middle-aged man who had retired after his bonded Sentinel died and had been transferred to the White Tower to do research. He seemed to pour all his life’s passion into his work, teaching students with all his heart and conducting experiments day and night.
When Xu Xunyue first met him, he still had black hair, was gentle and scholarly, with a melancholic expression. Eight years later, he had a full head of white hair and sagging skin, looking no different from a man in his sixties or seventies.
Looking at his former teacher’s appearance, Xu Xunyue couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.
All those who had lost their bonded partners would suffer some after-effects, more or less. The symptoms varied from person to person, including but not limited to accelerated aging, memory loss, loss of control, mental disorientation, going berserk…
In short, the closer the emotional bond between two people, the deeper the level of their bond, the more terrifying the outbreak of the after-effects. Among them, those who had confirmed a Level Three Bonding relationship were the most severe, and the mortality rate for Sentinels was several times higher than for Guides.
He didn’t know whether, for the aging middle-aged Guide before him, his symptoms were considered light or severe.
“Has it been a long time?”
Hearing Xu Xunyue’s words, Xia Feng adjusted his glasses again, then simply took them off after a moment. “Oh, that’s right. It’s already been a year since I last visited your home.”
Xu Xunyue looked at him, and he also looked Xu Xunyue up and down, until he confirmed that although the young man was in a wheelchair, his spirit was very good, and he had no trouble moving around. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
“I tried to persuade you to come to the White Tower three years ago, and now you’re finally willing,” he showed a smile, probably feeling pleased for his former star student. “Good, good. What’s past is past. Although it’s not like before, you can’t go up mountains and into the water to provide support everywhere, but who says there’s no value in doing research and education at the White Tower? When the time comes, you can go teach the students, tell them you’re that legendary senior, and scare them to death!”
As he spoke, he pulled out a few blank forms from the pile of documents on his right and pushed them in front of Xu Xunyue.
“The registration forms and everything are here. Just fill them out and have them reviewed. How about being a teacher in name only? It’s not busy. You can just come and teach a class or two when you’re free and it’s convenient.”
Xu Xunyue acknowledged and picked up a pen on the desk to start filling out the forms.
The reason he came to the White Tower to take up a post was not as simple as Xia Feng said. Since his serious injury and disability were fake, his moody and reclusive personality couldn’t be real.
Although the White Tower was a fixed location, it was the place where one could come into contact with the most diverse range of people, second only to the military. The Empire had a rule that no matter where you were or what social class you belonged to, as long as you awakened as a Guide or a Sentinel, you had to enter the corresponding academy for study and testing.
In this era, the young and the combat-effective were the hope for the future. No one didn’t value the White Tower, and no one didn’t value the two foundational academies that nurtured these forces.
Therefore, holding a position at the White Tower was a prestigious thing. Making contributions within the White Tower was also a good way to increase one’s reputation outside the military.
There wasn’t much time left for preparation. It was time to get moving.
Besides, he could also use this opportunity to get to know someone…
The thoughts flew through his mind, but Xu Xunyue’s writing speed did not slow down. The ink marks on the white paper quickly multiplied.
Name, gender, age…
Health status, contact information, position…
Marital status: married, check.
“Huh? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait—you’re married?” Xia Feng suddenly exclaimed.
His voice held a complex emotion mixed with shock, and also obvious curiosity. The flames of gossip burned brightly.
“Dean, Teacher,” Xu Xunyue said with resignation.
Xia Feng ignored his tone and asked with a grin:
“Congratulations, congratulations! Which little Sentinel is it?”
He remembered that Xu Xunyue’s compatibility list had been blank before. So, according to Imperial regulations, it was probably a Sentinel who had just turned twenty-five and had just entered the testing range when they were detected.
Xu Xunyue said as he filled out the form, “His name is Zhu Hui. Haven’t you heard of him?”
Xia Feng squinted and said he didn’t think he had.
The pen that was writing paused.
Xu Xunyue looked up and said seriously:
“Teacher, you should also get out more. Don’t stay in the research lab all day. I was at home recovering for the past year, and I didn’t see you come to visit me. If this continues, you won’t even know what’s happening outside. If someone wants to trick you out of your research results, wouldn’t they be able to do it in a flash?”
“Go, go, you’re just jinxing me. Was it me who didn’t go to see you? It was clearly you who didn’t want to have contact with the outside world before. On what grounds are you saying I’m buried in the research lab all day and have no contact with the outside world?”
Xu Xunyue pushed the completed form back. “At the beginning of this year, Zhu Hui was selected as the new Chief Sentinel, breaking the age record for a Chief Sentinel in the Empire’s history. The headlines for that month were all about this. You didn’t know.”
Xia Feng sneered and began to change the subject.
“Broke the age record, huh? That’s really impressive. As outstanding as you. The previous age record for a Chief Sentinel was Qiu Ye’s, right? Twenty-seven? How old is he?”
“Twenty.”
“So young,” Xia Feng first exclaimed, then nodded with great satisfaction. “I remember you were also twenty when you became the Chief Guide. This is fate.”
“I’m not anymore, Dean, Teacher.” Xu Xunyue had a bit of a headache.
His teacher was good at everything except for being shrewd. At his age, his personality was still so straightforward. This was harmless in the military or the White Tower, but in the entire Imperial Capital, if it reached the ears of someone with ill intentions, they would definitely make something of it.
According to the Empire’s laws, the positions of Chief Guide and Chief Sentinel could be left vacant. Only if they were vacant for three years without an officer who had made a major contribution appearing would one be selected from among some of the more outstanding candidates.
It was said that Xu Xunyue had resigned three years ago, but strictly speaking, it hadn’t been a full three years yet. During this period, the position of Chief Guide of the Empire had actually been vacant. Many nobles had their eyes on this position, and they naturally couldn’t help but probe the seemingly depressed but not completely so Xu Xunyue.
Take yesterday’s banquet with the Minister of Finance as an example. If they hadn’t been instigated by someone, that group of Sentinels wouldn’t have been so foolish as to come and heckle him.
“Alright, I know. I’ll be more careful in the future.” Xia Feng took the papers in his hand and stood up. “Then shall we go for a walk? I’ll show you around the areas that the teachers commonly use. We can reminisce about the cafeteria at noon. Which cafeteria do you want to reminisce about?”
Four hours later.
Sentinel Academy, Academic Affairs Office.
“A few more months until graduation? Then you might be short on a few credits. But you have military merits and honors, so it’s not a big problem. You can just take some classes these few months. By the way, be careful when you’re packing. High-level Sentinels returning from the military always forget to bring their Guide pheromones…”
“Hmm? Applying to live off-campus? Right, then that’s fine. But you can go to your old dorm to see if there’s anything you didn’t take back before.”
Along with the sound of keyboard clicks, the administrative teacher’s words continued to flow.
“Your leave has been canceled. The credits corresponding to your military merits will be entered within a week of approval. Remember to check then. Come here to re-register your facial information, then go to the training grounds to re-test all your data. The academy system will reassign you to a class. The test results will be sent to your personal terminal tonight.”
“Okay, thank you.” The young Sentinel standing in front of the desk didn’t leave immediately. He paused and asked, “Is Qiu Ye not at the academy?”
“No.”
The administrative teacher quickly replied with two words. After a moment, she remembered that the person in front of her was the new Chief Sentinel who had gone to join the army after only three years of enrollment and hadn’t been back for classes for several years, so she wasn’t very clear on the academy’s recent situation. She added:
“Consultant Qiu Ye’s health has not been very stable in recent years. He comes to the academy less often.”
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock on the door suddenly sounded.
Then, the office door was pushed open.
A flamboyant male voice approached with the sound of footsteps:
“I heard the White Tower has a new teacher? And a teacher from the Guide Academy at that. My roommate said he saw the dean with him at the third cafeteria. It seems—Zhu Hui?!”
The person who came in was dressed in the uniform of a high-level student from the Sentinel Academy. He was quite handsome, but the space between his eyebrows was narrow, making him look a little harsh at first glance.
“What are you doing here? Coming back for classes right before graduation?”
His tone was strange.
Zhu Hui: “Is there something you need?”
He searched through his distant memories of the academy from three years ago and finally remembered that the person in front of him was a classmate from before he joined the army. He was from a noble family, had an arrogant personality, and he couldn’t remember his name for the moment.
Before he left the White Tower to join the army, the other person had always been second best and held a lot of resentment toward him. He would pick a fight with him every now and then, and even though he would get beaten to a pulp, he would persist. In a way, he was staying true to his original intentions.
Hearing Zhu Hui’s words, the person opposite him shook his head and let out a soft hiss. He put on a meaningful expression while sizing him up, clearly trying to keep him in suspense.
Unfortunately, Zhu Hui had no intention of cooperating. Seeing that he wasn’t speaking, he didn’t give him an extra glance and was about to leave the room with a long stride.
“Hey! Hey, hey!” The person panicked and blurted out, “In such a hurry? Going to chase after your husband?”
Zhu Hui’s footsteps faltered. He turned around.
“What did you say?”
“…You don’t know?”
“Speak clearly.”
Zhu Hui took a step toward him, his gaze already cold.
The handsome Sentinel subconsciously took a step back. Realizing this, he became a little annoyed and deliberately said:
“Xu Xunyue just came to the White Tower. You didn’t know, did you? You two got married yesterday, right? Why are you two doing things separately today?”
Zhu Hui frowned.
“You don’t even know your Guide’s schedule. How estranged are you two?” Seeing that Zhu Hui had a reaction, the handsome Sentinel became even more enthusiastic. “He just left. You didn’t know that either, did you?”
“It seems your married life really isn’t going so well…”
Bang!
“Ouch, ouch, ouch, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts…”
“Damn it, make your spiritual body let go, ahhh!”
