The Guide Always Wants to Run (GL) - Chapter 63

Qin Xiao was deep in thought. Once the room was down to just the two of them, that strange, unnameable atmosphere returned.

They locked eyes briefly, then just as quickly looked away.

“Xiao Xiao.”

“…Hm?”

Qin Xiao waited. She waited a long time, but that was all Yan Ningjin said. It felt like a thousand ants were crawling across her chest. She was already an impatient person, and now that restlessness flared even more fiercely at being called without explanation. Eventually, she couldn’t bear it any longer.

“Spit it out already.”

“Xiao Xiao.”

“…Hm?”

“I just wanted to call your name.”

Qin Xiao was left speechless. Every retort she had built up crumbled away. The irritation that had been mounting inside her vanished, replaced by something soft and faintly delightful. Her lips curved upward, and she muttered in a tone even she didn’t realize had become coquettish.

“What’s so great about a name?”

These past few days had been rough for Yan Ningjin. She kept thinking about the day Qin Xiao glared at her like a blade, then moved into Yu Jing’s room as if sentencing her to exile.

They were still in the middle of a trial marriage…

Could those gossiping voices be right? Was her little Guide planning to leave her?

Yan Ningjin stared intently at Qin Xiao.

“I want to call your name.”

Qin Xiao didn’t reply. What kind of bad habit was that?

She hesitated for a long while before finally offering, with exaggerated generosity, “Fine. I’ll allow it. But not too often. If you overdo it, I’ll get annoyed.”

Yan Ningjin cautiously inched closer. Seeing that the little Guide didn’t reject her like before, she grew bolder and took Qin Xiao’s hand again.

“Xiao Xiao, I haven’t slept well these past few nights without you. Will you sleep with me tonight?”

Qin Xiao thought of what Bai Xuan had said earlier, then glanced at Yan Ningjin’s face. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and fatigue was written all over her features. So it wasn’t just her who hadn’t been sleeping.

It made her feel better.

They had grown used to sleeping curled up together, and now she realized how hard it was to return to plain living. She had become spoiled. Those warm embraces, the shared bed, the occasional spiritual merging… Yan Ningjin had fed her tastes too well.

That first night in Yu Jing’s room, she had tossed and turned without rest. There was no fuzzy Tuan Tuan to snuggle against her, no warm body to anchor her. Meanwhile, that fish had been soaking in the tub all night, her tail constantly splashing or singing some tune. The noise was unbearable.

In the end, Qin Xiao stormed into the bathroom and tied a knot in Yu Jing’s tail.

…

Yan Ningjin’s hand naturally wrapped around her little Guide’s waist. She rested her head on the back of Qin Xiao’s neck, gazing at the delicate curve of her ear, tinged faintly red because of her.

She had her back in her arms again.

She couldn’t let herself lose control like that again. It had frightened her.

She had to take things slowly.

Breathing in Qin Xiao’s subtle fragrance, Yan Ningjin’s consciousness gradually slipped away. She fell into deep sleep.

Qin Xiao was sleepy too. The warmth of the body behind her was lulling her into slumber, but she couldn’t shake off Bai Xuan’s words. So she opened her awareness, letting the noisy fragments of palace gossip filter through her mind. She tuned into only the ones she wanted to hear.

“That General’s wife isn’t even all that pretty. Why does the General treasure her so much?”

“These past few days, I’ve run into the General several times in the corridors. The rooms His Majesty assigned them are far apart. It can’t be coincidence. Was the General waiting for her wife?”

“Several times? I go sneak a peek every night. No matter what time it is, the General’s always there. Looks so pitiful. Then again, she has a history. Maybe she mistreated that little Guide, and that’s why the Guide ran off.”

“A normal person with a Guide, ha.”

“Shh, keep your voice down. I hear Sentinels and Guides have sharp senses. They can hear us ordinary folks whispering.”

…

“Place your bets! Will General Yan Ningjin win back her beauty?”

“Haha, your bet is late. Someone just saw the General holding her wife’s hand and going back to their room all lovey-dovey. If you had bet a few days ago, maybe we’d have joined in.”

…

“Yu’er, don’t scratch it. The doctor said it will heal in time.”

“The doctor said… What doctor? They’re useless. None of them compares to that little Guide of Yan Ningjin’s. If she hadn’t helped me, I’d probably be tossed onto some waste planet for the mentally unstable.”

“That would never happen, Yu’er. Mother would never allow such a thing. Your face will be fine. Really, the fault lies with that little Guide of Yan Ningjin’s. I offered other solutions, but your father supported them and even scolded me.”

“Who’s there!”

…

Qin Xiao suddenly yanked her consciousness back. The chaotic chatter fell silent. All she heard now was the steady rhythm of the breathing behind her.

She shifted slightly. The arm wrapped around her waist moved with her, pulling her in tighter. Now they lay with not even a sliver of space between them.

Qin Xiao gave up and closed her eyes.

As sleep overtook her, her final thought surfaced. Ah Qin had changed so much that she felt like a stranger.

On their last day at the palace, Qin Xiao finally slept off her stress. She felt completely recharged as she headed to the treatment room. Yan Ningjin accompanied her the whole way. Their fingers were interlocked. Qin Xiao kept clinging to Yan Ningjin along the way like she had no bones in her body, grinning like a fox.

All those who had been waiting to watch the drama got slapped in the face.

Qin Xiao looped her arms around Yan Ningjin’s neck, whispering sweetly into her ear.

“Do you think His Majesty meant it? What if he changes his mind? Yan Yan, you have to make sure he doesn’t.”

Yan Ningjin adored it when she spoke like that. The anxious knot in her chest melted.

“He made that promise in front of the major families. He won’t break it.”

That reassured Qin Xiao.

“Alright. I’m going.”

But Yan Ningjin caught her wrist and didn’t let go.

“Xiao Xiao, I’m going with you.”

Qin Xiao looked down at Tuan Tuan, who was brushing up against her leg. His sparse fur made her laugh.

“Alright then.”

Inside the treatment room, the somber atmosphere from before had lifted. Yu Jing immediately darted into a corner upon seeing Yan Ningjin. She didn’t budge until Hunqiu needed her to extinguish flames.

Then she glanced at Qin Xiao with suspicion.

Only then did Qin Xiao snap out of it and quickly push Yan Ningjin out.

Hunqiu had grown a second paw these past few days. Now it ran across the floor with two tiny legs, quick as lightning. Whenever Yu Jing poured water, Hunqiu darted about wildly. Sometimes, Qin Xiao would end up soaked from a stray splash.

“Hunqiu!”

“Squeak.”

Qin Xiao grabbed it without hesitation and used it to iron her clothes. She rolled it across the fabric until the dampness steamed away.

The day flew by. Once all the healed Sentinels had left, Qin Xiao scooped up Hunqiu and clapped Yu Jing on the shoulder with flair.

“Xiao Yu, tell me. What do you want?”

Yu Jing actually paused to think seriously.

“You said you’d help me before.”

Qin Xiao tilted her head, surprised.

“I thought you hated Bai Xuan. You two fight every time you see each other.”

Yu Jing looked conflicted and muttered, “She just seems annoying.”

Qin Xiao nodded in strong agreement.

“Exactly. She looks annoying, talks annoyingly, and everything about her is annoying. Even if you didn’t ask, I’d settle scores with her.”

Yu Jing: …

Qin Xiao looked at her with a touch of pity.

“Xiao Yu, if Bai Xuan is really that awful, why not pick someone else? Tell me what type you like. I’ll have Yan Yan find one for you. A thousand times better than Bai Xuan.”

Yu Jing sighed.

“No matter how good they are, it’s pointless.”

“Why do you say that?”

Yu Jing’s eyes drifted away.

“Qin Xiao, I’m not even sure Bai Xuan is the person I’m looking for. Can you help me?”

Qin Xiao absentmindedly rubbed her fingers. What a coincidence. She wasn’t sure if Yuzhu was really Ah Qin either. Lately, she had started to suspect she had gotten the wrong person. If Yuzhu didn’t look exactly like Ah Qin, she would’ve already given up.

“Of course I’ll help. Tell me what you need.”

Yu Jing leaned in and whispered, “The person I’m looking for has a mark.”

Qin Xiao blinked. “What kind of mark?”

Yu Jing didn’t respond immediately. Qin Xiao turned to look and saw that the once-steamed fish had become a bright red, braised one.

“You… Why is your face so red?”

Yu Jing slapped her hands over her cheeks.

“Nothing! It’s nothing!”

Qin Xiao narrowed her eyes. “Wait… Don’t tell me the mark is on the butt?”

Even Yu Jing’s ears turned scarlet.

Qin Xiao stared. “No way. I was just joking. It really is?”

She instinctively touched her own behind, then burst into uncontrollable laughter.

“So that’s why you haven’t confirmed it all this time! You never had a chance to look at Bai Xuan’s butt? Hahaha!”

Yu Jing panicked and clamped her hand over Qin Xiao’s mouth.

“No! Not the butt. It’s on the inner thigh. Near the butt. Please, stop laughing!”

Qin Xiao blinked. Yu Jing took that as agreement. But as soon as she let go, Qin Xiao laughed even harder.

“Keep this up, and I’ll go tell the General you’re looking for Her Highness Yuzhu.”

“Go ahead.”

Qin Xiao waved dismissively. Yan Ningjin had been lurking outside Yu Jing’s room for days now. She had probably heard everything already. That woman could hide anything and still act normal. It was impressive.

Yu Jing frowned.

“You’re not worried she’ll kill Her Highness?”

Qin Xiao replied, “Then why are you tattling?”

Yu Jing hesitated, then said, “Because you kept laughing, and besides, I still haven’t found the chance.”

Bai Xuan was usually with the Xiao Corps. Seeing her was hard enough, and even if she managed that, how could she knock out a Sentinel and check her thigh?

Qin Xiao snorted, still grinning.

“Alright, alright. No more tattling. I’ll think of a way to help you find out whether Bai Xuan is the one.”

Marks on the butt were way easier to confirm than soul-deep ones, after all.