After finishing the "friendly and harmonious" conversation with Lu Zexuan, Yu Ran pretended to be happy and carried the cream cake back to the dormitory.
Acting is so tiring. If he had known this, when Lu Zexuan first sent a cake, he should have said, "Although my family runs a cake shop, I don't like sweets and it's easy to gain weight." Now, one cake a week, delivered to the door, he can only ask his roommates to help him solve the problem.
Fortunately, my roommates all like to eat cakes. Seeing Yu Ran coming in with a cake, Camilla said enviously: "Brother Ran, General Lu came to see you again? He really cares about you and always brings you your favorite desserts."
Yu Ran smiled and said, "I can't finish it, let's eat together!"
He cut the cake into eight pieces, took only a small piece for himself, and left the rest for his three roommates... He hoped the task would be over soon, as he never wanted to see cake again in his life.
In the blink of an eye, January passed, and at the beginning of February, the Guide College held another grade-level joint examination.
Yu Ran deliberately answered a few questions incorrectly to keep the scores of all theoretical courses around 90 points. As a C-level guide, it was understandable that he was not so proficient in memorizing. But he got full marks in all the practical courses related to Mind Tentacles. In this way, his name would not be ranked on the grade total score list, and Dean Xie and the head teacher would be very satisfied with him - full marks in practical courses showed that he had mastered the practice of Mind Tentacles very well during this period, and lived up to the teacher's expectations.
Yu Ran tried to reduce his presence as much as possible. His daily routine was simple. Dormitory, teaching building, canteen, meditation room, library, he was like a spinning top, studying hard with no distractions. Under the influence of him as the class monitor, all the students in Class 107 also began to roll inward like crazy.
"Brother Ran is already up, why are you guys still sleeping in? Hurry up and start memorizing your lessons!"
"Brother Ran has gone to study again. Do you guys feel comfortable playing games?"
"Brother Ran stayed in the meditation room for three hours today, I want to stay there for three hours too!"
In this atmosphere of crazy inward-looking learning, in this grade exam, Class 107 ranked first among all C classes, even surpassing some B classes.
The head teacher Ai Qi was very happy and bought a bunch of snacks and candies for the students. She also helped Yu Ran apply for a scholarship and privately called Yu Ran over to praise him, saying, "Under your leadership, the whole class is working very hard. You are the most dedicated monitor in our grade."
Yu Ran: “… ”
He just didn't want to communicate too much with his 13-year-old classmates, so he buried his head in studying.
I really didn't mean it.
Time goes by day by day, and the special day of February 14 is getting closer and closer.
Yu Ran thought about the arrangements for the day. Since the man agreed to help him, Lu Zexuan would definitely have a day off on February 14. It happened to be a weekend, and the Guidance College was also on holiday, so Lu Zexuan would most likely come to see him. But in case of an accident, such as Lu Zexuan suddenly having dinner with a friend, Yu Ran thought it would be safer to make an appointment in advance.
On the evening of February 13, Yu Ran sent a message to Lu Zexuan: "Are you free tomorrow?"
Lu Zexuan replied immediately: "I have time. I was planning to come and see you."
Yu Ran breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You gave me so many cakes. I want to treat you to a meal tomorrow to express my gratitude."
Lu Zexuan said: "How can I let you treat me? You are still a student and you have no income."
Yu Ran said, "I just received a scholarship, which is the 'Best Improvement Award' for students in Class C. Although it's not much, I can still afford to treat you to a meal."
Lu Zexuan did not object: "Okay, then you invite me and I'll choose the place. I'll pick you up at 11 a.m. and we'll go straight to lunch."
The next morning, Lu Zexuan came to pick him up on time.
It was not too cold in February in the capital star. Yu Ran was standing at the school gate waiting for Lu Zexuan. When he saw Lu Zexuan's car, he trotted over, opened the door and jumped in.
A touch of red immediately caught his eyes, and Lu Zexuan couldn't look away for a moment - Yu Ran was wearing a red cashmere sweater today, paired with off-white slim-fit trousers, and the whole person looked full of energy. He usually wore light-colored clothes, always looking pitiful and thin, but today's outfit gave people a different and stunning look.
That red color just matched the color of his left pupil.
Warm, enthusiastic and full of vitality.
Lu Zexuan said, "You look good in red."
Yu Ran smiled and scratched his head, saying, "This is the clothes Joseph bought for me before school started. She said that I was young and shouldn't wear dull clothes all day long. I should be more energetic at my age... I think what she said makes sense. I can't wear school uniform when I go out to eat, so I picked a brighter color."
Lu Zexuan said: "Joseph's vision is indeed good. Red suits you very well."
Yu Ran felt a little embarrassed and changed the subject, asking, "Where are we going to eat?"
Lu Zexuan started the car and said, "I'll take you to a private restaurant. The table has been reserved."
The restaurant that Lu Zexuan chose this time was affordable, but the environment was great. The two of them ordered four dishes and a soup, and it only cost less than 200 star coins. Yu Ran looked at him and said, "Are you trying to save money for me by choosing a cheap place to eat?"
Lu Zexuan said seriously: "I used to come to this restaurant often. The price is not expensive, but the taste is very good. I think it is quite affordable." In fact, he had never been here. He found out about it by asking Moore. Moore often came here to dine with friends.
Yu Ran didn't worry about the price. He was a student now and couldn't afford to eat in an overly expensive restaurant. Lu Zexuan was quite attentive in choosing the place. When the dishes were served, Yu Ran tasted a few bites and found that the dishes in this restaurant were indeed delicious. He felt much better and a smile appeared on his face.
Lu Zexuan asked casually, "Did you get the scholarship because you ranked first in Class C in the grade joint exam this time?"
Yu Ran nodded: "Yes, but it's still far behind the students in Class A. They can get full marks in all subjects, and I only got 90% in several theory courses."
The guides had excellent memory, and the theoretical lessons were very easy for them. They memorized the lessons after just two days of memorization before the exam. However, Yu Ran obviously focused on the practical lessons and did not have that much energy to memorize the lessons.
Lu Zexuan encouraged: "You are already very good. And you are a growth guide, your mental strength can be improved."
The two of them ate and chatted in a happy atmosphere.
After finishing the meal, Yu Ran actively paid the bill, and Lu Zexuan did not stop him. The consumption was 175 star coins, which was indeed very affordable in a place like the capital star with high prices.
Lu Zexuan took the initiative to ask: "It's still early, where do you want to go this afternoon?"
Yu Ran thought for a moment and said, "Since I came to the Capital Star, I have been studying at the Guide Academy. I have only been out with you two or three times, and I haven't visited the attractions in the Capital Star yet... Is there any place with better scenery? I want to go and see it."
Yu Ran thought to himself: Let’s talk about Bayfront Park. I just want to go to Bayfront Park.
Lu Zexuan frowned and thought. The place with the best scenery in this season is of course the Bay Park on the Capital Star, where large areas of plum blossoms are planted. The plum blossoms bloom in February, and the whole air is filled with the fragrance of plum blossoms. Many tourists will go there to check in and take pictures.
Thinking of this, Lu Zexuan did not hesitate any longer: "I'll take you to the Bay Park, where there are many plum blossoms."
Yu Ran curled his lips and said, "Okay, I haven't seen plum blossoms yet. The climate in our constellation is harsh, and we rarely see flowers."
Lu Zexuan stood up and said, "Let's go, we'll go there now."
The two drove to the Bay Park. Today was Valentine's Day, February 14th. There were many couples walking hand in hand on the road. Most of them were ordinary humans, and there were also a small number of sentinels and guides. Only those who were fellow evolvers could see their spirits playing in the park.
Lu Zexuan was in a weird mood. He felt that the two of them coming to the park on Valentine's Day was a bit like a date, but in fact it was not a date... After all, his suspicion of Yu Ran had not been completely eliminated, and the two of them had not confirmed any relationship. They were still in the stage of "getting to know each other."
Bai Ying muttered in his mind: "You two are clearly in the ambiguous period! To confirm the relationship, isn't it just a confession from you? Why haven't you confessed yet?"
This guy kept urging his owner to confess, of course, not for the owner's sake, but for his own sake. As expected, animals don't have any "rationality" to speak of.
Lu Zexuan frowned: "Why should I confess? I don't like him now."
Bai Ying said unhappily: "If you are not in a hurry to find a partner, I would like to find a soul mate as soon as possible."
Lu Zexuan silently said "stupid bird" in his heart, and then ignored it. The evolution direction of the sentinels is physical strength, so most of the spirit bodies of the sentinels are physically strong birds of prey and beasts, but they are not that smart. Unlike the spirit bodies of the guides, each one is smarter and more clever.
At this time, the little fox also jumped off Yu Ran's shoulder, followed his owner, and raised his big tail happily.
After not seeing it for a while, it had grown a lot bigger and when it stood up it was already as tall as Yu Ran's waist.
The white eagle circled back and forth above its head, looking like it wanted to get closer but was too embarrassed to do so.
Seeing this, Yu Ran patted the fox's head and said softly, "You and the eagle can go play by yourselves."
Yu Ran, you are indeed the most caring master!
The little fox seemed a little shy. He glanced at the white eagle, then rubbed Yu Ran's palm and ran quickly into the depths of Merlin.
Lu Zexuan said: "There are many sentinels' spirit bodies here, you must protect the fox."
White Eagle: "Received!"
After saying that, he spread his wings and flew excitedly after the fox.
After successfully sending Lu Zexuan's spirit away, Yu Ran quietly put his hand into his trouser pocket, calmly took out an extremely thin metal needle, and held it in his palm.
Lu Zexuan took Yu Ran to the depths of Bay Park.
A large plum forest appeared in front of us. It snowed yesterday. At this time, pink plum blossoms were blooming in the white snow. The red and white contrasted with each other, and it was full of vitality. Many tourists walked through the plum forest. Yu Ran ran into the plum forest, took a deep breath and smelled the fragrance of the plum blossoms, and praised: "It's so beautiful here!"
Lu Zexuan followed him and said, "Let's go inside. There are more plum blossoms over there."
Yu Ran: “Okay!”
The two walked forward side by side.
There were many passers-by and tourists in Merlin, but Yu Ran quickly locked onto his target—not far ahead, an A-level guide and an A-level sentry were sitting on a stone bench by the roadside to rest.
The guide was a very gentle young man with shoulder-length blond curly hair, and a cute little squirrel was lying obediently at his feet. The sentinel with him was a handsome girl with a neat ponytail, and her spirit body was a silver wolf.
Judging from the close relationship between the two spirits, they should be a couple.
The moment he passed in front of the two people, Yu Ran's eyes turned cold, and he pierced his wrist with the needle in his hand without hesitation.
He flicked his fingers lightly, and a few drops of bright red blood fell accurately on the back of the guide's hand. Then, Yu Ran calmly put a hemostatic patch on his wrist.
The bleeding stopped quickly, and the red sweater perfectly covered all traces.
Lu Zexuan was walking in the plum forest when a fragrance suddenly wafted into his nose. The smell was fresh and cold, much like the scent of first snow covering plum blossoms - the smell of the guide element.
It was the same plum blossom scent, but the sentinel's keen sense of smell could easily distinguish the difference between the ambient scent and the scent of the guide element. Lu Zexuan immediately noticed the familiar smell, and he stopped in confusion and looked in the direction where the smell came from.
I saw a spirit body that was the guide of the squirrel and a spirit body that was the sentinel of the silver wolf sitting on the side of the road to rest.
The sentry asked with concern: "What's wrong?"
The guide said: "It's nothing, I just accidentally cut my hand."
As if noticing Lu Zexuan's gaze, the guide raised his head, and then a look of surprise appeared on his face: "General Lu? What a coincidence, you are here too?"
The female sentry also stood up: "General Lu."
Lu Zexuan looked at the two people with some confusion. He had no impression of them. But he still greeted them politely: "Hello."
The guide noticed his confusion and explained with a smile, "You may not remember us. We are also graduates of the First Federal Military Academy, in the same class as you. When we were in school, we often heard legendary stories about you."
The female sentinel echoed, "You are the only S-rank sentinel in our class, and you are also the idol of many sentins in our grade."
—It turns out that we are college classmates.
Lu Zexuan was considered a prominent figure in the military academy back then, but he always kept to himself. Apart from being familiar with a few roommates, he hardly even remembered the names of his other classmates.
The guide in front of me seems familiar
Lu Zexuan searched his memory carefully and suddenly remembered that this person seemed to be in the guide information for the graduation party given to him by his friend? He looked through the information in detail and found that there was indeed an A-level guide whose spirit was a squirrel.
"Your name is... Pullman?" Lu Zexuan remembered this name.
"I didn't expect you knew my name. It's such an honor!" Pullman said with a smile.
"…" Is this really the case? The smell of the guide element that I smelled at the graduation dance that year came from this spiritual body, the squirrel's guide, and had nothing to do with Yu Ran
What has been troubling Lu Zexuan is that the guide Su whom he met five years ago is almost identical to Yu Ran, so he suspects that there is something wrong with Yu Ran's background and his age is also fake.
Now it seems that all this is just a coincidence
At this time, Yu Ran had already walked a long way forward as if it was none of his business.
When he turned the corner, he found that Lu Zexuan had not caught up with him. He turned back to Lu Zexuan in confusion and asked, "What happened?"
Lu Zexuan collected his thoughts and said, "I met two college classmates and chatted with them for a while."
Yu Ran looked at the two people in front of him curiously.
Pullman smiled and said tactfully, "Are you two also visiting the park? Then we won't disturb you."
The sentry said, "We'll go back first. Have fun, both of you."
The two walked away side by side and turned to walk in another direction. Lu Zexuan looked at their backs, thinking.
Yu Ran guessed, "Looking at how close they are, they should be a couple, right? Are they all classmates from your class?"
Lu Zexuan shook his head: "No. As for the guide, I have only seen his information. He was from the Military Academy Medical School and joined the Starlight Corps after graduation. The sentinel... I don't know him very well."
Yu Ran asked curiously: "Star Legion? Is it similar to your Falcon Legion?"
Lu Zexuan: "Yes, it is also one of the four major legions of the Federation."
Yu Ran scratched his head and said, "I don't know much about this. Is your Falcon Special Forces an elite squad of the Falcon Corps?"
Lu Zexuan said: "Yes. The formation of the Falcon Legion is very complicated. I will explain it to you slowly when I have time."
Yu Ran successfully changed the topic.
He did not mention the prom or the Guide element at all. The Guide's ability to distinguish the "Guide element" was far inferior to that of the Sentinel. Even if he had smelled it just now, he could not tell whether it was the fragrance of plum blossoms or the fragrance of Guide element.
If you bring it up proactively, it will be too obvious.
Let Lu Zexuan think about it himself.
Once the seeds of doubt are planted, they will grow wildly in the heart, and everything will seem wrong. But once this doubt is explained in the most reasonable way, and all the logic before and after is connected, it will only take a moment to eliminate the doubt.
Lu Zexuan's expression was obviously much more relaxed - he got an answer, an answer that could finally explain it all.
At the college graduation dance five years ago, he met Pullman, not Yu Ran. If he had really met Yu Ran, Yu Ran could not be 18 years old now.
It's just a coincidence.
There are no two identical guide factors in the world, but there may be guide factors with a similarity of more than 95%, which he cannot accurately distinguish with his nose. Moreover, the time span is as long as five years. He cannot be 100% sure based on just a memory.
My good friend Medis was right—Yu Ran’s identity, age, and mental strength all didn’t match up. It was not a sufficient reason to believe that he had appeared five years ago based solely on the guide element.
That Pullman should be married, and Lu Zexuan couldn't go to the association to retrieve the guide essence of a married guide to verify. But just now, he clearly saw blood beads on the back of Pullman's hand, which would cause a strong guide essence, so it shouldn't be wrong.
So... Yu Ran is actually innocent
Then would you like to consider officially dating him
(End of this chapter)