Chapter 15: He Thought That When He Woke Up the Next Day…

You Fuzhou understood.

He understood it all too clearly.

You Fuzhou: “…”

Unhelpfully, his face burned bright red once more.

He couldn’t help it—Yu Yan had been far too direct.

Yu Yan felt a touch wronged. Considering how easily a young Sentinel like this might blush, he’d deliberately chosen a more tactful phrasing. He hadn’t anticipated You Fuzhou’s innocence running so deep that he wouldn’t even recognize talk of a rut.

Had this man done nothing in school but study, day in and day out?

Yu Yan wondered.

As Yu Yan watched You Fuzhou practically steaming where he stood, before he could say a word, You Fuzhou asked in a low voice, shame weighing heavy on his tongue, “Then… how do you get through it?”

Yu Yan paused.

He could feel the heartache and gloom directed his way amid You Fuzhou’s mental fluctuations. Any urge to tease evaporated in an instant. “Soak in ice water, pop suppressants, lock myself away…”

The Guide tilted his head ever so slightly, his tone utterly matter-of-fact. This time, Yu Yan truly saw it as the natural order of things. “There’s no other option. I only mate with someone I actually like.”

Mermaids only entered their breeding cycle after developing feelings for someone, after all. It was fundamentally a hormonal imperative.

But Yu Yan was an experimental creation, born from humanity’s sordid cravings, and thus riddled with flaws.

Once he matured, the hormonal surge triggered his ruts as naturally as breathing.

The first time, he’d assumed he’d been drugged. Without hesitation, he’d plunged a blade through his own waist and gut, then left it lodged there as he methodically investigated his surroundings. The next day, blood loss left him lightheaded before the supposed drug could fully wear off, and that’s when Yu Yan realized it might not have been poison at all.

He later learned the truth: Mermaid genes tangled with human ones had ignited these urges through hormonal overload. Yu Yan’s disgust for his uncontrollable body only deepened.

Gazing at You Fuzhou, Yu Yan said, “You don’t need to worry. I’ve endured this for a decade now. It’s nothing out of the ordinary for me.”

You Fuzhou’s brow furrowed. “No better way to help you through it?”

Yu Yan let out a low chuckle at that.

That face took on an entirely different allure in his Mermaid form—especially when he spoke, revealing glimpses of razor-sharp shark teeth. No matter how one sliced it, the laugh carried a dangerous, blood-scented edge, as if in the next heartbeat he’d shatter the glass tank, sink fangs into You Fuzhou’s throat, and coil his massive, otherworldly tail around him to drag the man into his lair.

” You Fuzhou,” Yu Yan said.

He turned to his Sentinel. “Does that mean you’re willing to mate with me?”

You Fuzhou: “…”

He detonated entirely.

All the more so with Yu Yan bare-chested before him, his tail swaying lazily, those eyes locked on without a shred of mercy…

Like a Sea Monster.

The kind that lured unwary youths from the shore.

You Fuzhou’s mental surges grew too wild to ignore. With a faint smile, Yu Yan dropped the teasing. He turned and plunged into the fish tank, ending the conversation himself. “Go take care of your business. I feel like swimming alone.”

Only then did You Fuzhou manage to exhale. “…Mm.”

His gaze lingered on the patch of inky fish scales blanketing Yu Yan’s nape. “Call for me if you need anything.”

~~~

You Fuzhou truly had matters demanding his attention.

After agreeing to become Yu Yan’s Sentinel, he’d braced himself for a daily barrage of joyful yet vexing complications. Unexpectedly, Yu Yan had settled into a quiet routine instead—not only resuming normalcy but even extending thanks and apologies to Li Santian.

The apologies were for the worry he’d caused Li Santian, and he’d offered the same gratitude and regrets to everyone else who’d fretted over him.

No one took it amiss. You Fuzhou had rescued countless souls, and some Guides bore psychological scars beyond mortal comprehension. Outbursts that turned everything upside down were par for the course.

Rather than judge, people pitied them and sought ways to offer comfort.

Even more surprising to You Fuzhou, Yu Yan hadn’t broadcast their bond to the world. He figured the news would have spread like wildfire by the time he woke the next morning.

The sole change lay in how much clingier Yu Yan had grown—and blatantly so.

He’d even hover nearby during You Fuzhou’s spars with the other Sentinels or his training sessions for them.

Those trainings encompassed Guides as well.

Ye Songhua qualified as an assault-type Guide, her hand-to-hand prowess exceptional. Ever since You Fuzhou had extracted her from that forced betrothal, he’d trained her personally—six hours a day as a baseline, only ever adding more. Plenty of Sentinels couldn’t take her in a fight… Nanzi included.

You Fuzhou adapted to this new spectator with ease.

Even after Yu Yan observed for an entire week before piping up to ask, “Mind if we spar sometime?”

You Fuzhou nodded without hesitation. “Of course.”

He never bought into the notion that Guides ought to be dainty and fragile, least of all someone like Yu Yan.

Gesturing ahead, You Fuzhou said, “Somewhere else.”

Yu Yan blinked in mild surprise. “Another room?”

Before Yu Yan could elaborate, You Fuzhou cut in. “This isn’t me going easy on you.”

He paused briefly. “I’m worried the others won’t be able to handle it.”

Yu Yan froze for half a beat, then played it off as if he hadn’t caught the implication—but he fell in step obediently.

Li Santian and the rest could only stare in bafflement. “Handle what? Why wouldn’t they be able to?”

Li Santian burst out, “Does the boss plan to go all-out against Yu Yan?!”

A full-throttle You Fuzhou would unconsciously leak Spiritual Oppression, overwhelming Sentinels of lesser grade.

Ye Songhua had sensed from day two that Yu Yan’s true colors diverged from his facade—and lately, she’d picked up the faintest whiff of green tea artifice. “…”

Irritated, she lashed out with a kick. “Zip it.”

She held her tongue not from any “innocent until proven guilty” nonsense, but…

Please.

Her brother might never have dated, might never have entertained the idea—but when it came to sniffing out green tea, he’d yet to meet his match.

Take that one female Sentinel friend of theirs who’d paired with a male Guide. Guides mingled freely in their circles, so female Guides around him at first raised no flags.

Then came mealtimes where the female Sentinel grew uneasy at their proximity—not least because that Guide kept thrusting herself into You Fuzhou’s path. He dodged, she pursued, relentlessly angling for face time. Finally, the Sentinel made a lighthearted quip about propriety between men and women.

The Guide brushed it off with breezy nonchalance. “We’re all friends here. Why so standoffish? You’re touchier than us Guides!”

No one saw it coming when You Fuzhou dismantled her on the spot. “Even friends maintain boundaries and decorum—and whether that’s all it is? That’s clearest to you.”

One line, and she stood there, frozen, wide-eyed and speechless.

Ye Songhua later asked if he’d spoken up for their friend or actually clocked the ploy. You Fuzhou’s reply? “Her ulterior motives were plastered across her face. I’m not blind.”

From then on, Ye Songhua knew: her brother outclassed even her at this game.

So if Yu Yan’s act persisted in his presence, it simply meant You Fuzhou didn’t mind the performance.

Ye Songhua pondered, quietly convinced she’d soon gain a brother-in-law.