Chapter 16: "The Little Lion"

It rained all day long.
The downpour didn’t stop even by the time school ended in the afternoon.
Ji Xun crouched on the first floor of the Guide Building, waiting for Zhao Zhanlei.
He had casually given his—or rather, Fu Shuxing’s—umbrella to Sun Shuangjiang.
After all, Shi Tou would come to pick him up.
Sun Shuangjiang was different; her home was far from the sanctuary, and she didn’t have a flying device, so having an umbrella was just in case.
Still, she stubbornly refused to take it at first. Only when Ji Xun promised she could return it the next day did she reluctantly agree.
“Ah!” Ji Xun propped his chin on his hand and sighed softly.
“Ah!”
A sigh came from beside him.
Startled, Ji Xun turned his head and saw Zhao Zhanlei, who had quietly crouched down next to him. He flinched and recoiled half an inch, “Who are you?”
Zhao Zhanlei, his bruises from earlier just fading, looked at him with a faint gloom. “Ji Xun, you really have no heart.”
Ji Xun was speechless.
Feeling guilty, he moved back half an inch and said, “It’s not my fault. What happened to you? Who was so cruel? You only have that face to look at, and they picked on your face.”
Zhao Zhanlei straightened his chest defiantly, “I have a good figure too!”
“Oh.” Ji Xun glanced at him with slight disdain, clearly uninterested, then asked, “Could it have been Fu Shuxing who hit you?”
In the sanctuary, the only one who would dare to strike Zhao Zhanlei in the face like that, other than Fu Shuxing, Ji Xun couldn’t think of anyone else.
Zhao Zhanlei sighed deeply again.
Seeing his admission, Ji Xun asked, “Why did he hit you? Did you provoke him?”
Zhao Zhanlei thought: Me provoke him? Do I dare?
I practically worship you two as ancestors!
It’s all because you two fought, quarreled, and made me the sandwich caught in the middle.
Better not to mention it—it’s exhausting even to think about.
Zhao Zhanlei looked toward the relentless rain and, covering for Fu Shuxing about what happened yesterday, said in a plaintive tone, “The uncle came. You know how sentinels have those few days now and then.”
Ji Xun suddenly understood. “Uncle Gao’s been gone a bit long this time. Has he neglected the mental counseling during this period?”
Zhao Zhanlei said, “Today, Instructor Loude had Xingge undergo a test, so he probably had counseling then.”
“That’s good,” Ji Xun said. “With his high mental power, if he doesn’t get counseling, who knows what trouble might happen.”
Zhao Zhanlei agreed wholeheartedly: “Exactly, his temper has visibly worsened!”
Ji Xun was taken aback by this.
He suddenly wondered if Fu Shuxing’s unusual behavior that night was related to this.
Zhao Zhanlei asked, “When will this rain stop?”
Ji Xun came back to his senses and said, “I don’t know. Where’s your umbrella?”
Zhao Zhanlei wasn’t wet, obviously having used an umbrella to get from the Sentinel Guide Building to the Guide Building.
He said, “I gave it to a pretty girl in your building. She didn’t have one. Her little spirit flapped its wings and went into the rain, and in two seconds she was drenched like a drowned rat, then flapped back. I’m too kind; I couldn’t bear it.”
“You just saw her and got attracted, didn’t you?”
Zhao Zhanlei replied seriously, “You can’t say it like that, Xunxun. The ancients said: food and sex are natural desires.”
Ji Xun: “What nonsense?”
“… I forgot you failed culture class.”

Ji Xun immediately slapped him. “What does my failing culture class have to do with you giving the umbrella to a girl! Stop picking at my wounds! What else can I do in this heavy rain!”
Compared to sentinels, these few slaps from a junior guide were barely a tickle.
But Zhao Zhanlei cooperated, holding his head defensively and admitting his mistake repeatedly, “My jacket, I’ll take it off and cover you with it, okay? Let’s rush inside.”
“Fine.” Ji Xun stopped hitting and reached out.
Zhao Zhanlei, seeing Ji Xun agree so readily, was struck silent for a moment and looked at him, “Xunxun, can’t you be a little polite?”
Ji Xun raised an eyebrow, “Why should I be polite when you’re the one at fault?”
“Alright then…”
Zhao Zhanlei took off his jacket and wrapped Ji Xun with it, then raised a hand to shield his own head. “Xunxun, on the count of one, two, three, let’s rush.”
“Rush my foot.” Ji Xun opened the jacket and pulled Zhao Zhanlei inside, “Let’s walk slowly.”
“… Okay.”
Zhao Zhanlei was much taller; he bent down and both of them huddled under the same jacket, his hands creating a dry space. Most of the coverage leaned over Ji Xun, leaving more than half of Zhao Zhanlei’s body exposed.
Guides were delicate, unlike the sentinel men who rolled in mud and flew through the sky, accustomed to harsh environments, so a little rain was nothing.
The jacket was Zhao Zhanlei’s.
Its scent and warmth were all his.
Yet the cold wind blew on their faces, and raindrops struck their bodies.
In that small shared space, Zhao Zhanlei felt something had changed.
His heart felt warm.
After walking a while, Zhao Zhanlei emotionally remarked, “Xunxun, I finally understand how Xingge feels.”
Ji Xun looked at him puzzled: “?”
Zhao Zhanlei said, “You’ve always been biased towards him. No matter what good things there were, you only thought of him. I remember when we were little, you had a candy. Aunt Ji told you to share it, so you gave one each to me and Yeye. Aunt Ji said you still had plenty, so give two more. But you just hid your hands and pockets behind your back and said no, those were for Xingxing brother.”
Ji Xun: “…”
Zhao Zhanlei sighed, “If the three of us were hiding from the rain downstairs today with only one umbrella, you’d definitely share it with Xingge and let me get soaked.”
Ji Xun immediately denied it: “Of course not! I’d share with you!”
“???” Zhao Zhanlei didn’t believe it but was deeply touched.
Then Ji Xun said, “Because you’ve got enough water in your brain already. No more can get in.”
Zhao Zhanlei: “…………”
Ji Xun continued, “I said I’m quarrelling with him. Why would I share an umbrella with him? What a joke! When he came to the instructor building today while it was pouring, I didn’t hesitate—I stole his umbrella and used it myself!”
Zhao Zhanlei: “?”
Zhao Zhanlei was puzzled, “Xingge went to the instructor building? For what?”
Ji Xun: “How would I know?”
“When was that?”
“In the morning, before the first class.”
Zhao Zhanlei: “… That was Instructor Loude sending Xingge to the assessment building for mental power and emotional stability tests.”
“No way.” Ji Xun denied it without a second thought. “The assessment building and the instructor building are worlds apart. Even in heavy rain, Fu Shuxing wouldn’t get lost and come to the instructor building.”
Zhao Zhanlei sneered inwardly, wondering if maybe Fu Shuxing had deliberately sent the umbrella to him.
In the end, the two of them were drenched like drowned rats.
Such heavy rain—one jacket was no match.

As soon as Ji Xun got home, he took a shower.
The hot water from the showerhead washed over him, and he sneezed twice, wiping his nose. “Who’s cursing me?”
The rain grew heavier.
The sky darkened unusually fast.
Fu Shuxing across the way still hadn’t returned.
Wrapped in a large bath towel, holding the ginger tea his mother made, Ji Xun took a small sip and thought to himself that he had come back too hastily today and forgot to ask Shi Tou about Xuanyuangu’s matters.
Leaning against the window, his gaze casually swept downstairs—and what he saw was startling!
A little cat was getting soaked in the rain!
Ji Xun immediately put down the ginger tea and ran downstairs.
The rain poured down in torrents.
The white kitten was drenched, its fur clinging to its body, a small, warm, thin frame trembling constantly, calling out “meow meow meow” at Ji Xun.
Ji Xun carefully divided his towel in half and wrapped it around the kitten.
His mother saw him dressed that way running outside and frowned, “Xunxun, what are you doing? Have you finished the ginger tea?”
“Mom, I found a kitten!”
“A stray?” His mother put down the tray and said immediately, “Don’t bring it inside yet; it might have fleas. I’ll find a box to put it in. Tomorrow we’ll ask the community if anyone wants to adopt it.”
“Mom.” Ji Xun turned and showed her how he and the kitten were sharing the same towel.
His mother: “…”
She rubbed her forehead, “Alright, I’ll look for some pet flea treatment at home.”
“Also, warm me some milk. Mom, I love you!”
His mother, a little helpless but amused, turned to leave but then paused.
She came back, lifted the towel, and looked at the trembling white bundle that purred softly. She reached out and touched it, frowning, “This isn’t a stray cat. Someone’s spirit form must be wandering around.”
“Spirit form?”
“Yes.”
“Wow!” Ji Xun’s eyes lit up, “Then it must be mine! My little lion!”
“Mom, I’m going upstairs to give it a bath!”
Before finishing, he dashed off.
“Little lion, little lion!” Ji Xun carefully placed the towel in the bathtub filled with warm water.
The white “little lion” stepped lightly on the floating towel, eager to crawl into Ji Xun’s arms.
Ji Xun didn’t mind that it was soaking wet and dirty; he happily embraced it. “See? If this isn’t my spirit form, I wouldn’t believe it. It’s so clingy to me!”
“Good boy, I’ll give you a bath first.”
Ji Xun gently lifted the warm water with his fingers to wash the mud spots off it. Once nearly clean, he noticed the white fur had some silver-gray stripes.
Why did it look more and more familiar?
While bathing it, Ji Xun suddenly reached out and gently pressed the kitten’s head back.
The “little lion” was forced to raise its head.
A round, white head with round little ears.
Ji Xun was speechless.