Chapter 136: Jealousy
Yun Sheng stared at her terminal screen. The line "I’m fine, will find you tonight" lingered before her eyes for a long time.
’Tonight... White Tiger is coming to see me?’
’Does that mean White Tiger is still at the abandoned mine and will return to the temporary camp tonight?’
’Can I get some information from him about what’s going on at the abandoned mine, then?’
’I’m not sure if Si Jin returned to the mine after fighting those pollutants, but this is my only lead right now.’
’Any little bit of information is better than nothing.’
Yun Sheng instinctively looked up, glancing through the car window at the darkening sky. She then quickly lowered her lashes, turned off her terminal, and clutched it in her palm.
Just then, she felt a gaze fall upon her.
Her heart tightened slightly. She instinctively turned her head and met Qi Yao’s gentle yet deep, bottomless eyes.
"Miss Yun," Qi Yao began, his tone holding its usual gentle concern. "Did you receive a message? You look a little pale."
Yun Sheng’s heart sank, but she struggled to keep her expression calm.
"It’s nothing. White Tiger just messaged me back. He said he’ll be returning to the temporary camp tonight and will report to you personally about the specific situation at the abandoned mine."
Qi Yao watched her for two seconds.
"Is that so? Good."
Yun Sheng nodded along, lowering her gaze to suppress the unease of being scrutinized.
The transport vehicle rumbled along, finally returning to the temporary camp before nightfall.
Once the vehicle came to a steady halt, the team members and the Sentinel squad disembarked one by one.
Qi Yao stood up to leave, glancing at Yun Sheng before he went.
"Miss Yun, let me know if you hear anything. And of course, you can come to me anytime if you need help."
Yun Sheng nodded. "Thank you, Major General Qi."
She watched his back as he left, finally letting out a long breath.
"He’s finally gone," Cheng Nian whispered, leaning in. "Yun Sheng, Major General Qi was sitting next to you the whole way. I was nervous for you. What did he want?"
"Nothing much," Yun Sheng said vaguely. "He was just asking about the situation."
Cheng Nian was about to ask more, but Li Wen tugged on her arm. "That’s enough. Let’s head back to the tent and clean up first. I’m covered in sweat, it’s disgusting."
Just then, Guo Kai’s voice came from behind them.
"Team Six, hold on a minute."
The three of them stopped and looked back.
Nearby, Zhou Ying and Zhao Qian, who had also just gotten off the vehicle, stood still and looked toward Guo Kai as well.
Not far away, He Yi also paused, standing there in silence.
Cheng Nian blinked. "Brother Guo, what is it?"
Guo Kai said, "You’ll be teaming up again for a mission tomorrow. I’ll create a temporary group chat tonight and add all six of you. Any news or changes will be announced in the group. Make sure you pay attention."
Ma Yu, standing beside him, pushed up his glasses and added, "Everyone did well today, especially with the teamwork at the end. Keep it up tomorrow."
As he spoke, his gaze lingered on Yun Sheng for a moment before quickly moving away.
Yun Sheng nodded. "Understood, thank you."
Guo Kai said no more and turned to leave with Ma Yu.
Cheng Nian watched their backs and muttered under her breath, "The original team... Zhao Qian is still here, ugh."
Zhao Qian happened to overhear this. Her face stiffened, and she shot a glare at Cheng Nian. Her lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing.
She was now completely isolated and friendless, so she didn’t dare act as arrogantly as before.
Zhou Ying gave them a cool glance, said nothing, and was the first to turn and walk toward the tent area.
He Yi gave a slight nod to Yun Sheng’s group of three before heading toward his own tent.
Cheng Nian pouted. "Let’s go, let’s go. I’m dead tired."
The three returned to their tent, washed up quickly, and lay down on their respective cots.
The tent was not quiet.
The cadets, exhausted from the day, chatted in small groups, sharing their experiences from the mission.
Some had encountered low-level pollutants and had a scare but no real danger. Others had completed their first combat mission alongside Sentinels. Still others were discussing whether tomorrow’s mission would be even more difficult.
The din of voices drifted from nearby, mingling with the rustle of the tent fabric as the night wind occasionally lifted it.
Yun Sheng lay on her cot, staring blankly at the ceiling of the tent.
Her body was exhausted and her eyelids were heavy, but her mind was terrifyingly awake.
She lay there stiffly for a while, counting her breaths, trying to let her chaotic thoughts settle.
Suddenly, the terminal on her wrist vibrated.
Yun Sheng opened it almost instantly.
S-1: I’m at the temporary camp. Come out and meet me?
F-3: Okay, I’m coming right out.
She sat up, moving as quietly as possible so as not to wake the others.
Beside her, Cheng Nian was already fast asleep, her breathing even and deep.
Li Wen, however, was still awake. Lying on her side, she looked at Yun Sheng in the faint light filtering in from outside the tent.
"Yun Sheng, what are you..." she whispered, her voice laced with concern and curiosity.
Yun Sheng was already putting on her jacket. "White Tiger is back," she replied in a low voice while buttoning it up. "I have to ask him something. I’m just stepping out for a bit."
"Now?" Li Wen was taken aback. She reflexively started to say something, but seeing Yun Sheng’s urgent expression, she swallowed her words. "Be careful, then."
"I will. I’ll be back soon."
Yun Sheng didn’t have time to say more. She lifted the tent flap and walked out quickly.
A cool night breeze hit her face. The clamor in the camp had mostly subsided, leaving only the Sentinels on duty to patrol.
A few emergency lights in the distance cast a dim, yellow glow, stretching the shadows of the tents long.
Following the location White Tiger had sent, Yun Sheng rounded a few tents and arrived at a lone banyan tree on the edge of the camp.
The gray figure was already waiting there.
He just stood there, his back to her. Moonlight filtered through the sparse branches, coating his silhouette with a faint silver edge.
Yun Sheng stopped three steps away from him, restraining herself to appear less anxious.
"White Tiger," she began, her voice steady enough. "Did you just come back from the abandoned mine? I heard it collapsed. Why? What’s... what’s the situation there now?"
She had wanted to ask if the mine’s collapse was related to the Dark Sentinel, but she swallowed the words before they could escape her lips.
’Asking something so specific, so direct, might make White Tiger suspicious...’
Yun Sheng hid it well.
But Bai Ye looked at her—at the unconcealable urgency and cautious probing in her eyes—and suddenly understood.
He knew what she was really asking, despite all her other questions.
’It’s Si Jin.’
The realization was like a thin thorn, stabbing unexpectedly into his heart.
Bai Ye stood there, looking at her, and suddenly found the situation laughable.
He had rushed back, suppressing his injuries the entire way, a complete recovery the last thing on his mind, all just to see her in person.
The dream he’d had was too illusory, too ethereal. He couldn’t see her face clearly or remember what she looked like, but he was almost certain that the person in his dream was Yun Sheng.
So he had hurried back, wanting to see her with his own eyes, hear her voice with his own ears, to confirm her identity in the real world.
This was the first time.
The first time an emotion had ever dictated his actions, making him as impatient as a hot-headed youth.
And Yun Sheng?
She was standing right here, and her mind and heart were completely filled with thoughts of another man.
An inexplicable sourness welled up from the bottom of his heart, impossible to suppress.