Yu Yan said he wanted to try it right now, to see if he could successfully simulate You Fuzhou’s mental power within Rong Yao’s mental world.
After dinner, once You Fuzhou finished handling a few matters, the two of them went together to her side.
The bite mark on the back of Yu Yan’s neck was glaringly visible. Anyone passing by would notice it immediately, especially since Yu Yan was so tall that it was right there at eye level.
But no one dared to ask. It was mostly because You Fuzhou stood beside Yu Yan with a stony face, utterly expressionless, as if he were in a foul mood.
A nearby Sentinel wondered privately: Sexual frustration?
After all, Yu Yan looked perfectly cheerful, not at all like something serious had gone down.
If that Sentinel actually voiced the question, he’d be in real trouble.
You Fuzhou’s stern expression had nothing to do with a bad mood. Instead, he was tense—because of Rong Yao.
She was the one obstacle he simply couldn’t get past.
Yu Yan knew this all too well, of course. He moved his hand in silence, hooking a finger around one of You Fuzhou’s fingers before slowly clasping his hand.
The moment You Fuzhou felt his own mood ease a little, he realized what Yu Yan was doing—guiding him.
You Fuzhou turned his head toward Yu Yan, gripping his hand more tightly on instinct, though he said, “You don’t need to guide me.”
“It’s okay,” he added.
Yu Yan stayed quiet for a few seconds before obediently withdrawing his mental power.
Everyone had emotions, after all. It was perfectly normal for You Fuzhou to feel low about things like this. Yu Yan wanted him to feel better, but if You Fuzhou insisted he was fine, Yu Yan wouldn’t force the issue.
Sometimes sorrow was its own kind of comfort for a person.
They entered the room together once more. You Fuzhou gazed at Rong Yao, who lay inside the cabin. Yu Yan wasted no more words, simply telling You Fuzhou that he was beginning.
He didn’t release You Fuzhou’s hand, and You Fuzhou made no move to pull away.
Yu Yan pressed his palm to Rong Yao’s forehead. The instant he closed his eyes, he forced his way back into her mental world.
What an S-Class Guide could accomplish went far beyond what most people could imagine—especially for someone like Yu Yan, who hadn’t been raised in luxury and had pushed his mental power to its absolute limits.
Just like last time, but this time Yu Yan didn’t transplant his own familiar mental landscape. Instead, he tried to construct an open wilderness of grasslands… along with the White Lion and You Fuzhou.
It was as if the deeply sealed Rong Yao had sensed something. A gentle breeze swept through, and a sleek snow-white Leopard Cat appeared abruptly on the grassland. Semi-transparent, it cocked its head in bewilderment as it gazed at them.
Success.
Yu Yan didn’t hesitate. He anchored the lovely Leopard Cat with his mental power. “Rong Yao.”
He spoke softly. “You Fuzhou is waiting for you to wake up.”
The Leopard Cat’s form flickered and distorted for a split second at the sound of You Fuzhou’s name, but Rong Yao’s voice came through clear as day. “Brother… you’re here?”
Yu Yan nodded. “You just need to reopen your mental world, and you’ll be able to see him.”
The suggestion of opening her mental world nearly shattered the fragile construct Yu Yan had imposed here. It buckled under an onslaught of her fear, alarm, vigilance, and a storm of other negative emotions.
This wasn’t his mental world, after all—it was hers. For Yu Yan to pull off what he had in someone else’s domain was already extraordinary. And Rong Yao was a Guide above A-Class. Since she hadn’t been able to mature normally, no one could accurately gauge her rank.
She might be A-Class, but to reach that level at her age would put her at the pinnacle of A-Class—maybe even A+ under the old wartime classifications, achievable right after adulthood.
Or… she could be the second S-Class.
Yu Yan was a confirmed S-Class Guide.
His senses in these matters were razor-sharp. To him, Rong Yao had all the hallmarks of an S-Class.
He’d encountered A-Class Guides whose mental worlds had self-sealed before, but none had been this serene. Venturing inside those was like waging war. Salvaging them was usually impossible.
“Rong Yao.”
Yu Yan knew exactly what she feared. “You have to believe he’ll come save you for sure.”
It was a brilliantly perceptive thing to say. Rong Yao calmed at once.
“…Yeah.”
Her brother was the strongest person in the world. Of course he’d come save her.
She had to be safe by now.
No one needed to elaborate on Rong Yao’s own strength.
Her core was rock-solid. All she needed was a hand to pull her out and the assurance that it was over, and she could try emerging on her own.
Even so, those few fleeting moments had drained Yu Yan’s mental power to the brink of exhaustion.
You Fuzhou felt the grip on his hand tighten. Beads of cold sweat dotted Yu Yan’s temples.
He frowned, tempted to interrupt, but calling Yu Yan’s name did nothing.
Sentinels lacked mental power. You Fuzhou had no idea what to do.
He even considered contacting that teacher, but before he could dial, Yu Yan’s eyes fluttered open.
His body swayed. You Fuzhou caught him deftly and drew him close into his arms.
Yu Yan flashed him a crooked smile. “I’ll nap to recover. You two talk.”
You Fuzhou froze for a beat, hugging him tighter on reflex. As Yu Yan drifted off, unable to hold on, You Fuzhou scooped him up into a bridal carry and settled onto a chair.
The instant he sat, Rong Yao’s eyes slowly opened.
She sensed You Fuzhou’s mental fluctuations and turned her head.
Rong Yao hadn’t expected the sight of her brother cradling a man who looked every bit the Sentinel. “…”
She figured this must be the Guide who’d come searching for her inside. She just hadn’t realized You Fuzhou went for that type.
It figured, though.
Her brother was a total meathead, his brain stuffed full of muscle. Liking a Guide who resembled a Sentinel was right up his alley.
Brother and sister locked eyes, neither saying a word.
But Rong Yao could sense You Fuzhou’s emotions.
She understood. She felt them.
Beneath that impassive mask churned a tempest.
“…Sorry.”
They apologized in unison once more.
Rong Yao knew why You Fuzhou was apologizing. You Fuzhou knew why she was.
He was late to the rescue.
She’d let her guard down, making these past few years hell for him.
“But the ending is a good one.”
You Fuzhou spoke up first, and neither brought up apologies again. “Thank goodness the ending is good.”
Those were Rong Yao’s words to him once upon a time.
She had said that the journey might be full of rough patches sometimes, but the world held equal measures of good and bad—it all depended on your perspective.
If you fixated on your bad luck, seeing only the downsides, you’d attract nothing but misfortune.
But if you considered yourself fortunate and sought out the positives, good fortune would follow.
Every situation had two sides. It was up to the person living it how they chose to see it.
Take what happened to Rong Yao. It let You Fuzhou break free from Ares entirely, forcing him to grow by leaps and bounds. He hadn’t fallen for the Freedom Alliance’s deceptions—and now he could warn her they weren’t trustworthy either.
At the very least, Rong Yao wouldn’t end up as their tool in the future. Without this crisis, who knew? She might have aligned with the Free Alliance down the line, leading to something far worse.
Betrayal from those closest to you could be the most shattering despair of all.
And…
Rong Yao smiled. “Yeah. At least now I don’t have to hide my freedom revolution from you anymore.”
They stood united now.
You Fuzhou had a thousand things he wanted to tell Rong Yao, but he held back, unsure of her state.
Rong Yao took the lead. “Bro, I’m starving. Let me grab some food first.”
She paused. “And your Guide…”
She glanced apologetically at Yu Yan, who even in You Fuzhou’s arms took up serious space—anyone would figure it was awkward to carry him like that. “He burned through a ton. He needs real rest.”
You Fuzhou looked down at Yu Yan, who’d poured everything into helping him, and murmured his assent.
“Can you walk?” You Fuzhou asked Rong Yao.
She tested her legs. “…Gonna need rehab.”
She had been lying there for three years, after all.
You Fuzhou had someone bring in a wheelchair.
Rong Yao let out a wistful sigh. “I’ve always wondered why I wasn’t born lame. That way I could wheel around the world in a chair. Never thought the day would actually come.”
You Fuzhou: “…”
.
Word of Rong Yao’s awakening spread through the mothership in under an hour. Even Ye Songhua and the others, adrift in space to help resettle the beastman clans, got the news.
Ye Songhua, frantic, smacked Li Santian and Nanzi each once. “Quit bickering! Wrap it up already! I wanna get home to Rong-jie!”
The pair winced. “…Damn, your grip’s stronger than a Sentinel’s.”
But they were itching to head back too. They’d never crossed paths with Rong Yao themselves, but they’d heard plenty from folks who knew her about the kind of person she was.
News this good? They had to return and celebrate together!
Back on the mothership, Rong Yao watched You Fuzhou carry Yu Yan along as he trailed her to the cafeteria. She couldn’t resist. “You gonna put him down in bed or what?”
She chalked it up to innate Sentinel possessiveness making him loath to let go. It left her a touch concerned that her brother just wasn’t great at taking care of people.
You Fuzhou: “.”
Truth be told, Yu Yan matched him almost exactly in height. Lugging him around wasn’t easy. Awake, Yu Yan could adjust and help out. Asleep, though? Even shifting from bridal carry to draping him like a big kid left You Fuzhou walking a bit awkwardly.
He had considered placing Yu Yan atop Mianmian at one point, but You Fuzhou knew Yu Yan wouldn’t like it.
You Fuzhou couldn’t bring himself to utter those affectionate words, so he could only mutter sullenly, “Mind your own business.”
Rong Yao teased, “You’re shutting me out the moment I wake up? Now I’m heartbroken.”
Without even glancing up, You Fuzhou called out to the robot, “Bring her another bowl of porridge.”
Rong Yao laughed, even as her eyes remained unconsciously rimmed in red. “…Bro.”
Moments after waking, she had still felt disoriented. But now, gradually regaining her composure amid surroundings that were entirely new to her, a weight began to settle in Rong Yao’s chest. “I still want to say it one more time.”
“I’m sorry.”
Rong Yao gazed at You Fuzhou. “But thank you… I’m truly happy.”
They were both safe. They could see each other again.
You Fuzhou hadn’t come to harm on her account. He even had his own Guide now, and his life hadn’t been disrupted too terribly because of her. It was all perfect.
You Fuzhou fell silent for several seconds before quietly handing her a pack of tissues. “We’re family.”
He added, “You’re my sister.”
There were no further words, but Rong Yao wiped away her tears and beamed radiantly. “Right.”
She pivoted abruptly. “So, how exactly did you fall for Mr. Yu?”
She had overheard snippets along the way and knew Yu Yan was an S-Class Guide. She knew the story of how he and You Fuzhou had met.
You Fuzhou grumbled, “Why are you still so nosy?”
Rong Yao shot back indignantly, “My memories are frozen at fourteen! I’m allowed to be curious and gossipy—it’s immaturity! What’s wrong with that?”
You Fuzhou: “…”
These were the two people he was utterly helpless against: Rong Yao and Yu Yan.
“It’s just…”
You Fuzhou recalled the moment he’d asked Yu Yan if he could take a look at Rong Yao.
Truth be told, You Fuzhou wasn’t especially attuned to emotions. It was the heightened senses granted by his status as an S-Class Sentinel that let him “hear.”
He knew Yu Yan was putting on an act, but it didn’t bother him. He also knew Yu Yan wasn’t some paragon of purity and innocence, yet that didn’t faze him either.
Naivety alone wouldn’t ensure survival in this world.
One had to master schemes and stratagems. Guides like Yu Yan had no choice but to learn calculation and self-preservation if they wanted to endure.
At first, You Fuzhou had assumed Yu Yan was the scheming sort. When he’d posed the question, he’d already mentally mapped out potential demands—what he could accept, what he couldn’t.
He hadn’t expected Yu Yan, after hearing him out, to pause for just a few seconds before agreeing without a second thought.
You Fuzhou could hear his heartbeat.
He sensed that Yu Yan had likely pieced together the grim events surrounding Rong Yao.
Because that heartbeat thrummed with fury.
Yu Yan had endured so much himself, weathered such ordeals… trapped in a cage, humiliated and auctioned off like chattel by those monsters.
He must have known full well he could leverage the situation—extract concessions that would benefit him, ones You Fuzhou would grant without question.
Yet despite all that darkness, a bright flame still burned in Yu Yan’s heart.
You Fuzhou murmured softly, “So… I couldn’t help but take notice of him.”
From there, he tumbled step by step into Yu Yan’s trap, content to be deceived, unwilling to climb out.
He cherished that flame of Yu Yan’s.
~~~
