Chapter One: Farewell to Secret Love

The earnest, rhythmic voice echoed through the room—

“…Guides possess strong empathy. They can sense others’ emotions, and use their mental strength to control the emotions and thoughts of those around them. For example, they can soothe sentinels who have become agitated and lost control due to the trauma of war, lead sentinels out of deep mental pits, and even enter the sentinel’s spiritual domain to provide guidance or reconstruction.”

“Spirit entity.”

“Spirit entities are unique, summonable higher-dimensional organisms exclusive to sentinels and guides. Sentinels’ spirit entities are typically carnivorous animals, characterized by aggression and ferocity. Guides’ spirit entities are usually gentler, herbivorous or omnivorous animals.”

“Mental strength: On the microscopic level, the world is composed of essence and subtle matter, essentially a manifestation of energy; mental strength…”

Outside the bedroom, Father and Mother Ji exchanged glances.

Mother Ji whispered, “What’s going on?”

Father Ji replied, “I don’t know. He came home, went straight to his study, grabbed a pile of books, and said he wanted to study seriously.”

As they spoke, a sudden burst of loud crying erupted from the room—

“Boohoo, boohoo, waaah—! I! Don’t! Understand!! Boohoo waaah—”

Mother Ji peered through the crack in the door and saw her son sprawled over his desk, sobbing loudly. She frowned and looked at her husband. “Did he come back from the Fu family?”

“Probably. Isn’t he always running over there after school, whether he has something to do or not? He just loves playing with that boy from the Fu family—you know your son.”

“Could it be that Xiao Xing bullied him?”

“Impossible, Shuxing is a very well-behaved child,” Father Ji said. “You guides are best at comforting, go on!”

Ji Xun lay on his desk, heartbroken, crying as if the sky had fallen.

Across the desk, books about mental strength and spirit entities were scattered everywhere.

When Ji Xun felt he had cried enough, he grabbed a few tissues, wiped his tears, blew his nose, adjusted his emotions, and started quietly reading the words on the page, one by one, pointing with his finger.

He recognized every word, but strung together, they made no sense to him.

As he read, an inexplicable sense of grievance welled up again. He sniffled, about to burst into tears once more, when suddenly something warm and furry rubbed against his feet.

He paused, emotion interrupted, and looked down.

A round, chubby, light brown lop-eared rabbit nestled against his foot.

Its plump body pressed against his instep, a soft, rounded lump; its long ears drooped to the floor, and its tiny tri-lobed mouth moved as if trying to “eat” the carrot on Ji Xun’s slipper.

Unfortunately, the slipper was sturdy enough that it couldn’t bite it off.

Ji Xun watched for a couple of seconds, sniffled again, lifted his foot to gently hook up the chubby rabbit, and set it a little farther away.

But immediately, the lop-eared rabbit hopped back on its short legs to curl up at his feet once more.

Ji Xun, lacking energy, sprawled over the desk, watching the little fat rabbit through teary eyes for a while before finally bending down to scoop it up in his arms. “Qiuqiu…”

He stroked its long ears.

The lop-eared rabbit was very docile. When held, it tilted its head and gazed up at him with round, jet-black eyes, then lowered its head to gently kiss Ji Xun’s palm, showing affection and comfort: It’s okay, Xunxun, everything is fine.

Cradling the warm little creature, stroking its soft fur, Ji Xun felt inexplicably comforted.

He pulled himself together and continued reading.

Yet, after barely two lines, sorrow overwhelmed him again. Especially when he glanced through the wide-open window and saw the lit bedroom across the way, his nose tingled sharply with grievance, and he couldn’t help but cry out, hugging the rabbit and wailing with heartbreak.

Qiuqiu, the lop-eared rabbit, was unfazed. It lowered its head and patiently, gently kissed its master’s palm with its tiny mouth.

But after a while, its whole body froze, and even its drooping ears stood up halfway!

It sensed a threat and pressed closer to Ji Xun’s chest, alert.

Ji Xun, crying, noticed his spirit entity’s odd behavior. He looked down, stroked Qiuqiu’s back, and, sniffling, asked in a heavy nasal voice, “Qiuqiu, are you cold?”

Of course, there was no answer.

Ji Xun, supporting the rabbit with one hand, stood up to close the window.

His vision blurred by tears, he wasn’t sure if he was seeing things, but he caught a glimpse of a long, powerful, black-and-white striped tail flashing behind the big camphor tree downstairs.

Ji Xun quickly wiped his eyes and looked again.

Nothing.

He stared for a full two minutes; the camphor tree’s branches and leaves hadn’t so much as trembled.

Let alone a tiger’s tail.

Ji Xun closed the window and lowered the curtains.

The window was shut.

Though the movement was slight, the sentinel lying in the bed across the way heard it clearly.

Fu Shuxing opened his eyes.

After a moment, he turned over, somewhat disgruntled.

Meanwhile, a Bengal white tiger silently emerged from behind the camphor tree in the courtyard below.

King of beasts, majestic and imposing.

An adult white tiger, nearly two meters long and weighing over four hundred pounds, with striking black-and-white striped fur both beautiful and awe-inspiring. Its body was powerful and muscular, its limbs strong, and its amber eyes glowed emerald green in the dark.

It raised its head.

The window was closed; the person was out of sight.

It let out a breathy growl, its thick, long tail swaying before lifting high and dropping down.

It was a sign of its displeasure.

A moment later, its powerful forelegs lifted and fell silently, the four hundred pounds making no sound on the fallen leaves.

Soon, its figure vanished without a trace.

The lop-eared rabbit in Ji Xun’s arms relaxed, threat gone.

“Not cold anymore, right?” Ji Xun placed the rabbit on the desk, gently kneading and massaging it, mumbling, “Qiuqiu, tell Mom I’m fine. It’s just a tiny setback all men must go through, nothing serious.”

Sensing his emotions had stabilized, the lop-eared rabbit stood on its hind legs and pecked his cheek lightly.

Then, in his gaze, it slowly faded away.

After Qiuqiu left, Ji Xun took a deep breath, began tidying the messy pile of books. He intended to return them to his father’s study, but when he saw the title “A Detailed Explanation of Guides and Spirit Entities,” his sense of grievance and defiance surged instantly!

He sat down again with a thud, eyes wide and red from crying, opened the book, and with a serious, determined expression, started reading from the very first word!

Of course, he couldn’t understand it, so Ji Xun cried again.

Thus, in his cycle of reading and crying, crying and reading, Ji Xun bid farewell to his first love—not love, but secret love.

“Xunxun, who is this?”

“This is my new neighbor, Brother Xingxing. He’ll be playing with us from now on.”

“Xunxun, let’s not play with Xingxing anymore. He doesn’t talk, so dull, like a mute, really boring.”

“No! If you don’t play with Brother Xingxing, I won’t play with you either. I want to break off with you.”

“Break off then! We won’t play with you!”

“Nyah nyah nyah, Little Ji Xun is Fu Shuxing’s tag-along!”

“Little Ji Xun is Fu Shuxing’s tag-along!”

“Waaah—Brother Xingxing…”

“Don’t cry.”

“But they said I’m a tag-along!”

“You’re not.”

“Brother Xingxing, what does tag-along mean? Is it… boohoo… something bad?”

“…”

“Don’t cry. I’ll show you the white tiger.”

“Tiger? Will it bite me?”

“No.”

“Xingge, over here, pass the ball!”

“I want to play too!”

“Xunxun, you can’t run. You’ll trip after a few tries. Just cheer for us from the side.”

“No! I want to play soccer too! Xingge!!”

“Shitou, you get off, let Xunxun play.”

“Hey, Xingge, you can’t do that! We’ll lose.”

“Get off.”

“Fine, fine…”

“Xunxun, today I saw girls lining up to give Xingge love letters at the classroom stairs. Quite a few, one was especially pretty, pale skin, little dress, big sparkling eyes, long eyelashes, gentle voice.”

“Xingge won’t accept.”

“Of course. Xingge already has you as his little wife.”

“? Shitou, stop talking nonsense or I’ll hit you!”

“Haha, I’m not making it up. You two grew up together, he always protects you, puts you first, one guide, one sentinel, aren’t you a perfect match? Your families get along, you’ll definitely marry someday.”

“Really?”

“Of course! That’s how it usually goes.”

“Does Xingge… does he like me?”

“Obviously! Anyone can see he treats you differently!”

“No way… we’re just… close brothers…”

“Ha.”

“Zhao Zhanlei, does Xingge really like me?”

“…”

“Really, really?”

“Sigh! Xingge is smart, raising his wife from childhood, so when the time comes, they’ll marry, team up on the battlefield, unbeatable, unmatched in tacit understanding!”

“Where’s the wife, you give me one?”

“Ji Xun!”

“Ji Xun?” That familiar, pleasant voice sneered, disdainful, “Don’t be ridiculous. That little loser doesn’t even have a spirit entity.”

Ji Xun, that little loser, doesn’t even have a spirit entity…

Loser, doesn’t have a spirit entity…

No spirit entity…

None…

In the end of the dream, Ji Xun never managed to run home. He was too flustered and fell while escaping, alerting those talking in the room. They all came out, stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at him with contempt and ridicule, pointing and laughing.

The scene was terrifying.

“Ah—!!” Ji Xun jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat!

He breathed rapidly, looking around at the familiar furnishings of his bedroom. After the panic passed, he took a deep breath, then slumped back down, pulling the covers over his head.

Too much.

“Boohoo…” Ji Xun’s eyes, swollen and sore from crying all night, could shed no more tears. He was deeply hurt, not only because he loved the wrong person, but because he didn’t know how to face the friends he’d grown up with in the courtyard.

All Fu Shuxing’s fault…

That bastard—if he didn’t like him, why call him a loser?