Every Sentinel I Dreamed of Came Looking for Me

Yun Sheng was taken aback by Si Jin’s sudden closeness and blunt words, instinctively asking, "...What?"

Si Jin didn’t explain. The corners of his lips simply curled into a smile, his slightly narrowed eyes looking deep and inscrutable.

The next moment, he suddenly reached out and grasped Yun Sheng’s hand.

His palm was large with well-defined knuckles. A thin layer of calluses made it feel slightly rough, yet it was warm and strong, completely enveloping her hand.

"You..." Yun Sheng instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but the moment her fingers twitched, she heard Si Jin’s low voice, audible only to them. Tinged with a hint of wicked playfulness, he said, "Don’t move. What did you think of my proposal?"

"What are you trying to do?"

Yun Sheng forced herself to remain calm, but her voice still betrayed a hint of tension.

’Make Bai Ye’s life difficult? Of course I want to!’

The man’s constant probing, suspicion, and relentless pressure had left her feeling completely on edge.

But in reality, the power disparity between them was immense. Any rash provocation would likely backfire spectacularly.

Si Jin let out a low laugh, as if he had seen right through her concerns.

It was a soft laugh, and she could feel the faint vibration from his chest travel through their clasped hands.

"Don’t worry. It’s just... to give our friends working so hard to tail us some material worth reporting. This way, the content of their report will be a little more... *colorful*."

He deliberately emphasized the word "colorful," his mischievous and provocative tone undeniable.

From the way Bai Ye had looked at Yun Sheng at the crash scene, and a subtle disturbance in his aura—which he’d tried to suppress, but Si Jin had keenly detected—Si Jin was almost certain that Yun Sheng was different to Bai Ye.

It was a kind of interest that perhaps even Bai Ye himself didn’t fully comprehend.

Since the other party had sent a tail after them first, he didn’t mind adding some fuel to the fire.

He would muddy the waters and give that War God, who always acted like he had everything under control, a taste of frustration.

"Bai Ye suspects us, right? So let’s put on a show for him. Let him guess, let him investigate—the more he digs, the more confused he’ll become."

Yun Sheng glanced at her hand, which he was still holding tightly. "You mean... you want him to misunderstand our relationship?"

"If he’s convinced the identity of Lin Mo is suspicious, his most logical assumption would be that I’d immediately disappear and go into hiding. The more he expects that, the more I need to be Lin Mo out in the open. I should even... plausibly appear by your side."

Yun Sheng’s bright eyes blinked a few times in the gloom, and a curious, sly glint sparked within them.

Thinking back on Bai Ye’s relentless pressure, she had to admit it had been incredibly stifling.

’The chance to strike back, even in a small way... just to annoy him a little... That sounds incredibly satisfying, doesn’t it?’

"Alright."

She heard herself agree, her voice holding a note of reckless resolve and a subtle thrill she hadn’t even realized was there.

And so, from that moment on, the curtain rose on their unspoken "performance."

On the hovercar ride back, Si Jin flawlessly played the part of a man who had just developed feelings for his companion and wanted to grow closer and protect her.

He helped Yun Sheng to her seat and maintained a polite distance, though his gaze frequently drifted to her profile.

When the hovercar hit a rough patch of track and jolted, he quickly reached out to steady the seat beside her, his arm forming a barrier behind her to prevent her from being thrown by the bumps.

He made no moves that overtly crossed the line, yet every detail was filled with calculated ambiguity.

Soon, the hovercar came to a smooth stop at the station near Xinglan Garden.

Si Jin stepped off first, then turned and offered his hand to Yun Sheng with perfect naturalness.

After a brief hesitation, she placed her fingertips in his palm and used his support to steady herself.

Si Jin then escorted her from the platform, walking her all the way to the entrance of Xinglan Garden.

"Here we are." He stopped, his voice gentle.

Yun Sheng silently breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to thank him and say goodbye, Si Jin suddenly took half a step forward.

"Miss Yun Sheng," he began, his voice sounding a little nervous. "Forgive my forwardness... We just worked on that rescue together and traveled all this way back. I know it’s only been a short time, but I... I can’t help but want to confirm something."

His gaze locked onto hers, his deep eyes seeming to brim with careful hope and apprehension in the lamplight.

"Are you... seeing anyone right now?"

Yun Sheng froze, her mind going completely blank.

’Isn’t... isn’t he taking this act a little too far?’

’With lines like these, he’s not about to confess his feelings, is he?!’

She opened her mouth, but her throat felt constricted, and not a sound came out. She could only stare blankly up at him.

But the way Si Jin’s eyes were looking at her—so intense and focused, so magnetic at this close range—it felt like they could pull her sanity right in and shatter it.

’I know it’s fake! It’s just an act for the spies in the shadows!’

’But his gaze was too piercing, his expression too lifelike, the underlying tension and hope in his low voice too convincing... Even the air itself seemed to become thick and heated, saturated with the emotion in his words.’

"If... if you’re not, would it be alright if I pursued you? I know this is sudden, but I... I don’t want to miss this chance."

A blush crept up Yun Sheng’s cheeks uncontrollably, and even the tips of her ears began to burn.

She struggled to reclaim a shred of her scattered wits and said softly, "N-No... but, I’m not really thinking about that kind of thing right now."

The answer was awkward and stiff, but it was the perfect reaction for a young woman who was completely unprepared to be confessed to by a near-stranger.

"That’s alright."

Si Jin’s voice grew even gentler, his gaze even more ardent.

"I’m being too forward. But Miss Yun Sheng, I’ll do my best to show you my sincerity. Until... until you’re willing to consider me."

He spoke with such earnestness, such gravity, that every word seemed to carry a heavy weight.

Yun Sheng felt as if she were about to drown in the deeply affectionate atmosphere he had so meticulously crafted.

Even though she knew it was all a false performance, she found herself growing inexplicably nervous.

She gave a haphazard nod, unable to manage a proper goodbye, and quickly turned and walked into the complex, her figure soon vanishing into the depths of the garden.

Only when her figure had completely vanished from sight did the look of deep, focused affection on Si Jin’s face fade away, leaving no trace.

He stood in place, the halo of light from the entryway tracing his tall, solitary silhouette. All that remained on his face was his usual indifference.

Yet in the cold depths of his eyes, it seemed something infinitesimally small had been stirred, only to sink back into silence just as quickly.

Si Jin swiftly suppressed that flicker of strangeness. His gaze swept to a dark corner in the distance, and his lips curled into a mocking smile.

Then, he calmly turned and headed in the direction of the address registered to his identity as Lin Mo.

...

In a distant corner, two soldiers in plain clothes lay in wait, their auras suppressed to the absolute minimum.

Seeing Si Jin turn and walk away, the two exchanged a look, each seeing a trace of awkwardness in the other’s eyes.

"Was he just... confessing to her?" the younger soldier, codenamed Falcon, asked, his eyes wide with unconcealed shock. "Does... does this count as abnormal activity? Should we... report it right away?"

The older soldier, codenamed Eagle, frowned. "Report what just happened to Deputy Luo over the encrypted channel immediately. I’ll follow him alone."

"Yes, sir. But this content... If the General hears about this, won’t he..."

Eagle cut him off, his tone severe. "That’s not our concern. Our duty is to observe and report. How the General judges the information or reacts to it is not for us to speculate. Now, carry out your orders!"