CH 50

After the last words, Duan Fei intentionally paused for a moment, but Xiao Jiali still showed no reaction. After a brief contemplation, Duan Fei casually remarked, “Anyway, I won’t show mercy.”

With that, Duan Fei turned and walked away. 

Xiao Jiali, however, took a few seconds to realize what had just happened. He hurriedly caught up, grabbing Duan Fei’s wrist, “What did you say? Do you know me?!”

Surprisingly, these two had a history. Xiao Jiali, male, age unknown, the male lead of the real novel, ‘More Real Than Diamonds.’ The first and second male leads haven’t appeared in almost ten chapters, and this person’s role has far exceeded that of Ye Feiran, possibly pushing the cute puppy out soon.

Xiao Zhenyun casually grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the guide doctor’s drawer and started munching. It seemed the doctor had quite the collection in there from his exciting consultations.

Duan Fei turned back in surprise, a fleeting moment of disbelief on his usually composed face, as if questioning whether he had mistaken the person. Xiao Jiali noticed this subtle expression and hastily explained, “I have amnesia. I don’t remember anything from before. Did you mean you know me from before?”

“Amnesia?” Duan Fei also looked stunned for a moment, a sudden realization flashing in his eyes, as if all the previous oddities had just been explained. Xiao Jiali, in distress, asked, “What was my name before? Where are my family? I… I…”

The mental strain aggravated his already pale complexion. Fueled by heightened emotions, he covered his forehead and took two steps back. The leopard sentinel quickly approached, supporting him and looking surprised, “You two knew each other before? Damn, what a small world. Bro, your surname isn’t Duan, is it?”

“Duan?” Lily eagerly joined the gossip team.

Duan Fei’s grandfather was the commander-in-chief of the military region. Before amnesia, his last name was Duan, and after amnesia, it became Xiao. Xiao Jiali has quite a background.

And if he indeed bore the surname Duan… coupled with Duan Fei’s earlier remark about changing names being good, it easily led to the assumption that Xiao Jiali was an illegitimate child, suffering abuse in the Duan family during his childhood.

A standard male lead setup, polished enough to be published directly. Xiao Zhenyun was nearly choking on sunflower seeds, taking out a coconut milk, pouring half for the doctor and drinking the rest himself.

Duan Fei shook his head, “You used to be called Tao Zhengliang… my high school classmate.”

“High school classmate? I’m your high school classmate too, why haven’t I seen him?” Lily questioned, puzzled. “Different classes in the same school? That shouldn’t have left such a lasting impression on you, and I, Lily, don’t know him?”

“He dropped out in the first year.” Duan Fei explained, “You transferred in the second year.”

Lily nodded, turned around, and scrutinized Tao Zhengliang, aka Xiao Jiali.

“Why did I drop out? Was it because of poor grades or some family issue?” Xiao Jiali kept asking, after all, this was the first person who claimed to know him since his amnesia. Duan Fei seemed to find this question a bit difficult to answer, shook his head and said, “I’m not sure about the details, probably something happened at home…”

“Well, then, what about my parents?” Xiao Jiali, after realizing Duan Fei’s uneasy expression, remembered that this person was just a classmate he had only known for less than a year, “I’m sorry… Where did we go to high school? After the exercise, I’ll go to the school to inquire about it myself.”

Xiao Zhenyun saw the sparkling light in Xiao Jiali’s eyes, the sweat beads on his cheek shining brightly. He had the last sip of coconut milk left, lifted the can to his lips, and suddenly a hand reached from behind, tightly covering his mouth. The remaining coconut milk spilled all over the back of this hand.

“…”

Before he could turn around, Xiao Zhenyun was lifted into the air, a sentinel with tiger ears suddenly picking him up. Under the bewildered gaze of the guide doctor, he brazenly snatched Xiao Zhenyun and ran.

How did this person get around to the back? Xiao Zhenyun, struggling to raise his head to look behind, saw the tiger sentinel rushing into the internal diagnostic room, where there was even a backdoor with a broken lock.

Damn…

After everyone had scattered, the leopard sentinel belatedly realized something was off. He quickly pushed Xiao Jiali and chased after, “Fuck!, This guy lied to you! The beauty was snatched away by his teammate!”

The road-robbery team outside the door looked like they had just snapped out of gossip-watching mode. After a series of expletives, they all joined the chase.

Xiao Jiali snapped out of his excitement, turned around to find Xiao Zhenyun’s seat empty, his face twisted in a sudden realization. In that moment, Duan Fei felt an intense murderous intent, surpassing the boundaries of simulated combat. Realizing he had been deceived, Xiao Jiali genuinely intended to kill him. “You lied to me?!”

Duan Fei instinctively took a step back, then forced himself to say calmly, “I didn’t lie to you. Taking Xiao Zhenyun was just a calculated move in response to this unexpected situation. After the exercise, come find me, and I’ll help you check your school records at the school office.”

As tiger sentinel carried Xiao Zhenyun in a mad dash, he was far less cautious than Si Di, causing Xiao Zhenyun all sorts of internal discomfort. Frustrated, he grabbed the tiger sentinel’s tail when he was turning a corner, pulling it hard. “It hurts! Can’t you run with me on your back?!”

Tiger sentinel: “…”

Tiger sentinel said seriously, “Assistant Xiao, you are my captive now. Please show some respect.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m the ‘innocent civilian’ you rescued from a murderer!” Xiao Zhenyun exerted more force. “Run with me on your back, hurry up!”

“…”

The tiger sentinel couldn’t handle him, swiftly lifting the overdramatic examiner onto his back, and off they went, sprinting like mad. Regular folks, of course, couldn’t keep up with the sentinel’s pace. Even though the highway robbery squad caught on and tried to intercept, the tiger sentinel smoothly brought Xiao Zhenyun to a room, closed the door, and gently set him down.

A Bengal tiger leaped out, landing on the sofa on the other side, fixating its gaze on him. The sentinel instructed the spiritual body to keep an eye on Xiao Zhenyun while he went to the bathroom to clean the coconut milk off his hands and sleeves.

Xiao Zhenyun stared silently at the Bengal tiger, suddenly sensing something keenly. He lifted his head and looked towards the direction of the window. Behind the curtain, he saw a shadow. He confirmed that just a minute ago when he entered, the window was closed. But now, a gentle sea breeze moved the curtains, and in that moment, a tranquilizer dart hit the tiger’s neck.

Afterward, Si Di silently flipped in from the window. He was as agile and nimble as a cat. Xiao Zhenyun didn’t even hear the sound of clothes rubbing, wondering how Si Di managed it. Si Di raised his index finger to his lips, signaling Xiao Zhenyun to stay quiet. Then, he swiftly picked up the person, held him horizontally, and retraced his steps before the tiger sentinels could react, leaping back out of the window.

In that instant of jumping out, Xiao Zhenyun smelled the strong salty scent of the sea. His ink-like hair scattered, and in the gap before the strands fell, he looked down and saw the deep, churning ocean, pitch-black like a bottomless abyss.

With both hands holding him, Si Di carried him, descending vertically.

Xiao Zhenyun: “…” If he had known this was the escape route, he would have reported this wolf-like thief Si Di long ago.

“Hold onto me,” Si Di suddenly said. Then, he freed a hand to support Xiao Zhenyun’s back, leveraging on the side of the ship. Miraculously, he jumped back up, protecting Xiao Zhenyun’s head with his own back, shielding him from the rolling impact on the ground.

Even so, Xiao Zhenyun still felt dizzy after the fall. Forgive him; he’s just a rarely moving disabled person, not as robust as a S-rank sentinel. As soon as he served as a human cushion for Xiao Zhenyun, Si Di stood up as if nothing had happened. He glanced around at the room number, lifted his long haired guide, and found a room to slip into. 

As soon as the door closed, a slow round of applause came from inside the room. Xiao Jingfeng sat on a single chair, mockingly applauding, “Impressive, Captain Si, living up to your words— said you’d rescue, and you did.”

Xiao Jiali sat on the sofa with a stiff formality, and when he saw Xiao Zhenyun enter, he quickly stood up, “Teacher Xiao!”

But because he stood up too forcefully, he ended up falling back with a headache.

Si Di explained to Xiao Zhenyun, “It’s troublesome to be constantly watched by others. I deliberately let you be taken away, planning to find an opportunity to sneak back. This way, everyone outside will think you’re in the hands of Duan Fei, and at least they won’t come bothering us tonight.”

Xiao Zhenyun also guessed the reason behind it. Otherwise, Si Di wouldn’t have left without even leaving Tai Ji. Despite this, he didn’t expect Si Di to act so quickly. He thought it would take until the latter part of the night. He had just had a quick exchange with the tiger sentinel and didn’t even know the guy’s name before Si Di brought him back to the base.

The tiger sentinel was probably confused too. In the time he took to wash his hands, his spiritual body fainted. The ‘innocent and beautiful civilian’ was gone. It couldn’t be that the spiritual body ate the person and then choked, right?

Xiao Zhenyun glanced at Xiao Jiali and then looked at Xiao Jingfeng, “Uncle, you came really fast. Have you checked the compatibility with Xiao Jiali?”

“The night is long, and I was bored in the camp. When I received Si Di’s communication, I flew over directly,” Xiao Jingfeng said. He held the testing device in his hand, and when Xiao Zhenyun asked, the results had just come out. He looked at it, showing surprise in his eyes, “0% compatibility… Can there really be 0% compatibility in this world?”

The amount of information tonight was too much, and Xiao Jiali was having a hard time accepting it. He asked Xiao Jingfeng blankly, “Chairman, does this mean I have 0% compatibility with all guides? What about my spiritual body being heavily injured? What if I lose control in the future and go into madness, what should I do?”

“Don’t worry,” Xiao Jingfeng reassured him, “Jiali, have you entered your spiritual domain?”

Xiao Jiali shook his head, “No, the instructor told me not to rush. He said that newly awakened sentinels would take a long time to find their spiritual domain, and some would need guides to lead them in. I don’t have a close guide of my same age, and I don’t want to trouble Teacher Xiao…”

No need to say sorry. Just tell him that your Teacher Xiao only has C-level spiritual power and can’t handle a S-level like you.

“…” Xiao Jingfeng pondered for a moment. “You have two choices now. One is to continue searching for a guide with compatibility, and the other is to let me try a breakthrough. It might be a bit painful, as I will forcibly enter your spiritual domain to check the situation. My suggestion is the second option, because in all my years, I rarely see sentinels with less than 60% compatibility with me.”

“Okay,” Xiao Jiali obediently nodded. “Chairman, please come. I can endure it.”

“Good boy,” Xiao Jingfeng smiled. He directed Si Di to move the coffee table, and in the next moment, a divine white foal suddenly appeared on the living room carpet. Xiao Jingfeng’s spiritual body curled up with all four limbs lying in front of Xiao Jiali, looking at him gently.

“If it hurts, you can grab onto it,” Xiao Jingfeng said.

Xiao Zhenyun sat on the sofa nearby, and Si Di half-sat on the sofa arm, raising one leg.

“How’s Si Chu doing recently?” Xiao Zhenyun suddenly showed concern for the true male lead, who hasn’t had a role for quite some time. Si Di didn’t know about Si Chu’s recent situation, so he just lowered his eyes and glanced at him, “What? Is being with me too boring, and you want to go find my younger brother?”

“…” What’s with this weird vinegar?

“After this, don’t disturb me until I open my eyes,” Xiao Jingfeng rarely spoke with a serious tone, then turned to Xiao Jiali, “Jiali, close your eyes and relax. I know it’s going to be very painful, but remember, absolutely do not resist me.”

The author has something to say:

The fake protagonist, Doggy, hasn’t appeared for ten chapters, probably off somewhere in the boonies sipping on northwest wind.

The real protagonist, Little Bird, hasn’t been written about at all. There are three rumored boyfriends in the comments area: Xiao Nian, Xiao Jingfeng, Duan Fei.

Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ