Chapter 5: S-Class Guide Just a Friend

There were noises of surprise in the classroom. Xu Nuo was secretly happy, but didn't want to show it, so he pretended to be calm and stood up slowly.

Huang Li, who was sitting next to her, looked at her in shock: "Xu Nuo, it's you! You you you you..."

Amidst the surprised and complicated looks of her classmates, she quickly walked out of the classroom.

"Okay, let's continue with the class."

Under the shade of the tree, the girl was happily following Wei Yan, stepping on his shadow. As she walked, she suddenly thought of something and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Wei Yan asked sideways.

Xu Nuo shook his head, and after a moment, nodded.

Wei Yan laughed: "My question is complicated?"

Xu Nuo said in a conflicted tone, "On the one hand, I'm grateful to you for helping me out. I'm very happy now. On the other hand, I've been in the spotlight twice today, and I feel like the physical training and mental manipulation classes I'll be facing will be more challenging."

Wei Yan: "Don't worry, being challenged frequently is proof of your strength. You're excellent. There aren't many B-level students in this class of the Guide Department."

Xu Nuo tilted his head and looked at this "cheap" senior.

He seems to be in a really good temper.

When they first met two days ago, Xu Nuo pointed a gun at him, but he didn't get angry and calmly threw down his gun and answered questions repeatedly; after saving her, he was suspected again, but he patiently provided evidence to prove himself; now, he happened to help her out of the predicament and continued to comfort her along the way.

Could this senior be the legendary kindhearted person who appears cold on the outside but warm on the inside? As expected, appearances are not always what you would expect. Could this be the reason for the enthusiastic reaction in the classroom just now?

Xu Nuo's eyes lit up and he ran up to him: "Senior, do you know the ratings of everyone in the Guidance Department?"

Wei Yan raised his eyebrows: "What do you want to ask?"

Xu Nuo said embarrassedly: "I want to know who the A-level guides in the department are."

Since the senior is so nice, it’s never too much to ask for some information.

"Is that so?" Wei Yan smiled faintly and extended a hand towards Xu Nuo, "Eat first."

The broad palm matched his body shape very well, with long and strong knuckles, but in the palm lay something that was totally out of place with the hand - two steaming buns.

Xu Nuo was surprised: "Me?"

Wei Yan nodded.

She didn't hesitate and said loudly: "Thank you, senior."

He is indeed a good person!

I actually missed the schoolmate I just met once and didn’t have breakfast!

His image in Xu Nuo's mind instantly changed from strong and powerful to kind and amiable yet strong and powerful.

Xu Nuo picked up a corner of the plastic bag and held it in his palm. The residual temperature of the bun was not hot, and it was just right for eating.

I took a bite and found the filling was salty and fresh vegetable leaves wrapped in gravy.

"Is it delicious?" he asked.

Xu Nuo nodded: "It's delicious."

Wei Yan glanced at her, said nothing, and walked over to the car and opened the door. His car was a high-riding black off-road vehicle. The body looked like it had just been washed, and there was fresh mud on the tires.

Xu Nuo sat in the passenger seat and ate the buns slowly.

Wei Yan lowered the window and expertly started the car. Outside, the trees slowly receded, and before him lay a broad avenue bathed in the morning sun. He turned the wheel, sensing the presence of someone beside him, a flicker of trance in his eyes.

"The morning sun is so beautiful." Xu Nuo basked in the sunshine and squinted his eyes lazily.

The car drove out of the lane and stopped by the side of the road not long after. Wei Yan let go of the steering wheel and leaned over.

He was tall, and with that, he pushed Xu Nuo into the corner. Their profiles were close together. Wei Yan had superior eyebrows and eyes, a high nose bridge, and a fresh scent of clean clothes lingered on his nose.

Xu Nuo stuttered: "You..."

The sentry stretched out his hand, his fingertips seemingly inadvertently brushing the scattered hair on her neck, spun it in the air, and grabbed the seat belt next to the seat.

The powerful hands that had just beaten the flying lizard deftly fastened her seatbelt. Xu Nuo was embarrassed: "It's been so long since I've ridden in a car, I forgot to fasten it. Thank you, senior."

"It's okay." Wei Yan looked calm, as if he was stroking the fur of a passing kitten. When he turned around, Xu Nuo touched the tip of his nose to hide the heat rising on his cheeks.

The car started and drove steadily onto the road.

The sunlight gradually became dazzling. Wei Yan raised his hand to open the sunshade and casually asked, "Do you like eating buns?"

Xu Nuo shook his head: "I can't say I like it."

When she traveled through time, her original self was only twelve years old, and she spent her days fighting for food with a group of other homeless children. Later, she found a child who had fallen into the water, and together they scavenged for scraps, their situation improved slightly. However, they only had enough to buy a few buns every day, which they would break into pieces and eat bit by bit.

The buns Wei Yan brought her today tasted very much like the bun shop he often went to when he was a child, and they tasted a bit more nostalgic.

But if she wanted to eat it out of nostalgia...was she feeling like she hadn't endured enough hardship? Those were the five years of hardship she and her friends endured in the slums.

She recalled the blurry, childish face and the pair of sparkling green eyes. Childhood memories faded faster than she expected, and she had forgotten what the grown-up boy looked like.

"...Qi Qian." This is his name.

The sentry driving the car had sharp hearing: "Qi Qian? Who is that?"

Xu Nuo smiled slightly. "A friend. I just asked you to take me back to school a few days ago, but I didn't expect to have to trouble you again today."

Wei Yan's eyes dropped slightly: "It's not a problem. Are you used to staying in school?"

Xu Nuo lowered his head: "It's okay. It's all school anyway, so it's pretty much the same everywhere."

The car fell silent again.

After a long pause, Wei Yan glanced sideways and said, "More than a decade ago, it was natural for guides to lead teams on missions. Now, they all stay in the White Tower waiting for the injured sentinels to return for purification. Only students in training will go on missions."

Xu Nuo shook his head. "If unrest breaks out in the future and the White Tower and the base lose their voice, the guides will have a very difficult time."

Wei Yan: "Are you sure there will be a war in the future? Do you know much about the White Tower?"

Xu Nuo lowered his eyes: "It's just some common knowledge."

"The White Tower is currently the best place for guides. While it may be overprotective of you, it also provides growth resources for guides without family support," Wei Yan said. "The mainstream thinking you're struggling with is difficult to change here. The White Tower has many Evolved People from all over the place, and the internal power structure is complex, involving numerous interests. If you want to change it, you have to..."

Xu Nuo looked at him curiously.

"Unless you stand at the pinnacle of this world," Wei Yan said calmly, "There are two S-level guides and three S-level sentinels inside the White Tower. They share the highest decision-making power with the Decision Seat."

Xu Nuo: "Only S-level is qualified to change?"

Wei Yan shook his head. "S-rank isn't enough. The White Tower needs a powerful and determined reformer who can unify the positions of all Sentinel Guides and change the current situation in preparation for... possible unrest in the future."

Xu Nuo's mind flashed with the image of himself trembling against five S-level sentries, and he shuddered.

How is this any different from the apocalyptic war? It's still better to find a way to stay in school.

"Senior," Xu Nuo stole a glance at his profile as he drove seriously, "Do you know how the Scouting Double Stars are evaluated?"

Every year, the Capital Military Academy awards the honorary title of Sentinel Double Star to the most outstanding guide and sentinel graduates of that year. In addition to enjoying various rewards, this honor allows them to bypass the enrollment agreement upon graduation and freely decide their future destination.

As a nobody with no resources or background, it seems that this is her only option if she wants to stay.

Wei Yan answered with familiarity: "The assessment for Sentry Double Stars mainly considers the regular grades in the first academic year and the training rating in the White Tower in the second academic year. Regular grades require all courses taken to be straight A, and the final practical exam score must be over 1,000 points."

Xu Nuo asked again: "What about the Baita's training rating?"

Wei Yan pondered for a moment: "The White Tower conducts training in the form of missions, so there are many factors that affect the rating. It may be related to the quality and quantity of the missions. You will know after you go there."

His voice suddenly lowered. "If you want to compete for the Sentinel Twin Stars, you must first have a permanent Sentinel partner. Do you... have someone you like?"

Xu Nuo shook his head: "I've only been enrolled for a few days, and I haven't met anyone from the Sentinel Department yet. I figured, since I won't be going to the White Tower for training until next year, it won't be too late to make a decision then."

"...Am I not?" the person next to him whispered.

Xu Nuo thought he had heard wrongly and turned around in confusion.

Wei Yan looked straight ahead, his handsome face revealing seriousness, his sharp black eyes seemed a little stubborn at this moment, even containing a hint of inexplicable emotion.

"Am I not a sentinel?"