Shu Bai was startled and stood still, his chest still heaving from the intense fighting, sweat sliding down his taut jawline.
Li Yuheng's words were like a precise needle, piercing through his anxious exterior and revealing the core of his being that even he himself was unwilling to delve into.
He was too hasty.
He was so anxious that he didn't seem like an S-class Sentinel known for his control and precision; instead, he seemed like a reckless fool who only knew how to act blindly.
Why the rush?
Because of that damn pointer?
Because he wanted to prove he was capable?
Or is it because...the fear that even if things "stabilize," it won't be the same Shu Bai as before?
Li Yuheng walked over, rubbing his arm. The playful smile on his face disappeared, and his eyes were unusually clear and serious: "Hey, Shu Bai Sentinel, look at me."
Shu Bai raised her eyes and met his gaze.
“You are strong, stronger than everyone here, including me.” Li Yuheng pointed to the sentries around him who were already stunned. “You have a hard fist, fast speed, and first-class combat instincts. You don’t need to beat me down to prove this, nor do you need a broken watch to acknowledge it.”
He paused, then lowered his voice: "Whether you can clear your name or not shouldn't be determined by external factors, much less by the labels you've had over the past six years. It should be determined by you, by your fists, your judgment, and by the moment you stand on the battlefield."
"That pointer is stuck. It's not that you're incapable; it's that that piece of junk simply can't measure your level of awesomeness. Got it?"
Strangely, these words soothed the restless anxiety surging in Shu Bai's chest.
He silently looked at Li Yuheng, at the confident expression on the other's face.
Absurd, yet... somewhat satisfying.
"They're gone."
Shu Bai suddenly turned around, grabbed his coat from the ground, draped it over his shoulder, and walked out of the training field.
His steps were much steadyer than when he came.
Li Yuheng immediately followed, a smile playing on his lips: "Where are you going? Aren't you going to keep playing? I haven't had enough yet!"
"Let's eat." Shu Bai said without turning his head.
"Great! I'm starving! I can eat three servings of pork chops today!"
…
Lunchtime at a small restaurant.
Li Yuheng had a great appetite and ordered three servings of pork chops, which she devoured in no time. While eating, she kept pointing at her bare plate and saying, "Eat more, eat more! You burned so much energy just now, you need to make up for it! Look at you, you're as skinny as a cat..."
Although it was originally a cat.
Shu Bai cut the pork chop expressionlessly, saying, "Even eating can't shut you up."
Li Yuheng immediately stretched out his arm and swiftly forked the largest piece of meat from Shu Bai's plate. "Oh dear, is Shu Bai's sentinel worried about me and afraid I won't have enough to eat? Then I won't be polite!"
The movements were fluid and graceful, clearly the work had been planned for a long time.
Shu Bai stared at her empty plate, then looked at Li Yuheng's smug chewing, and her brows furrowed instantly.
The next second, the fork in his hand struck like a venomous snake, swiftly and accurately stabbing into the freshly cut piece of meat on Li Yuheng's plate.
"Give it back."
Li Yuheng immediately covered the plate with his hand as if protecting his food: "Hey! This is robbery! This is mine!"
“Mine.” Shu Bai tightened his wrist, the fork firmly embedded in the piece of meat, refusing to yield.
"Whoever gets it gets it!"
Li Yuheng tried to push the sparse white fork away with brute force.
"Robber logic." Shu Bai sneered, his wrist remaining perfectly still, instead using a clever trick to pull the piece of meat closer to himself.
The two were separated by a narrow dining table, their four hands subtly vying for dominance.
One of them, with a roguish smile on his face, refused to let go, while the other, with an icy expression and fierce eyes, continued to exert pressure.
The few sentries eating nearby stared in disbelief, forgetting to even put their spoons in their mouths.
This...this is that evil spirit Shu Bai?
This person who's fighting over meat with the new S-rank guide like a schoolchild, is really the same Shu Bai whose mental fluctuations are always off the charts and whoever gets close is doomed?!
Seeing that brute force wouldn't work, Li Yuheng's eyes darted around, and he suddenly leaned closer, his tone becoming mysterious: "Are you sure you want to take this piece of meat?"
Shu Bai didn't say anything, but he tightened his grip on his wrist, his eyes clearly saying: Enough talk, give me the meat.
Li Yuheng hissed, but instead of backing away, he moved even closer, almost touching Shu Bai's ear, and whispered rapidly, his voice full of mischievous laughter and provocation:
“Oh, White Sentinel, you probably don’t know, but I’ve had this problem since I was a child: I’m extremely, extremely, extremely possessive of my food.”
He deliberately dragged out his words, sensing the subtle change in the other person's earlobe as it tightened instantly.
"So, anything I set my sights on and am about to put in my mouth, I generally like to... first, lick, once, to, confirm, ownership."
He pronounced each word clearly and slowly, like pebbles being dropped into a calm lake.
"Hmm... guess if I've licked this piece of meat in your hand?"
His pale pupils suddenly contracted, and he felt completely unwell.
Li Yuheng's words struck him like a thunderbolt, piercing the depths of his chaotic memories.
Some vague fragments of memory surged up uncontrollably.
"you--!"
Shu Bai abruptly pulled his hand back, as if the piece of flesh had instantly turned into a red-hot branding iron.
His face turned pale and then flushed, but his ears uncontrollably blushed.
"Tsk, such a strong reaction?"
Li Yuheng, beaming with pride, seized the opportunity to quickly stuff the "controversial piece of meat" into his mouth, chewing it with great relish, and deliberately letting out a satisfied sigh, "Mmm~ As expected, the marked pieces are especially delicious."
The surrounding sentries dared not breathe, silently shoveling food into their plates, wishing they could bury their faces in it.
The scene was so horrifying that they couldn't understand it, but they were deeply shocked.
Shu Bai stared at Li Yuheng's smug face, his back teeth grinding together.
This guy... he's absolutely capable of doing that kind of thing!
He could even picture Li Yuheng sticking out his tongue mischievously at the food!
A chill mixed with an inexplicable sense of shame and annoyance rushed to the top of my head.
“Li Yuheng,” Shu Bai squeezed out the words through clenched teeth, “you’d better eat yourself to death.”
After saying that, he stopped looking at the annoying guy, suddenly lowered his head, picked up his spoon, and began to eat the remaining food on his plate at an astonishing speed.
The scene didn't resemble a meal; it was more like an annihilation battle, sweeping everything away with incredible efficiency, as if a second's delay would result in another sneak attack from the bandit on the other side.
Seeing Shu Bai's tense expression, Li Yuheng couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Shu Bai heard this but didn't look up. He kept eating, scraping the plate with his spoon as if he had a grudge against it.
Suddenly, a perfectly cooked steak was gently placed in the empty space on his plate.
He paused, then looked up.
Li Yuheng was resting his chin on his hand, smiling at him. "Here, take it back. I was just joking. I'm not that perverted. Weren't we together when we got the food? I didn't have time to do anything like that."
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