Chapter 32: Inexplicably Attracted
Zhou Lin...
Yun Sheng remembered that face.
He was the S-Class Sentinel who had suddenly lost control and gone berserk at the gate on her first day back with the Lin Family.
Come to think of it, she was the one who, by a strange twist of fate, had "soothed" him and made him stop.
But from the look of things now, he probably thought Lin Yueyao deserved the credit.
If Zhou Lin was really going to cause trouble for her to stand up for his sister...
Yun Sheng’s lips curved into a self-mocking smile.
’A classic case of repaying kindness with enmity.’
At that moment, on the other side of the dining hall, Zhou Ying was complaining tearfully to her brother, embellishing the story of how Yun Sheng had been merciless, forcing Zhao Qian to apologize in public and even extorting money from her.
As Zhou Lin listened, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
"Zhou Ying, even if what you’re saying is true, her methods were within the rules. If Zhao Qian was going to falsely accuse someone for no reason, she had to be prepared to face the consequences. Why are you complaining now, instead of considering whether Zhao Qian’s own actions were appropriate in the first place?"
Zhou Ying’s face flushed red with shame and anger at his words, and she looked to Lin Yueyao for help.
Lin Yueyao gently patted the back of her hand and said to Zhou Lin in a soft voice, "Brother Zhou, don’t be so harsh. Zhou Ying was just worried about her friend and got a little carried away."
At this point, she changed the subject, a hint of worry coloring her tone.
"But Yun Sheng just got back, so her personality might be a bit too blunt, and she doesn’t leave any room for compromise. She was in the right today, but she didn’t offer any leeway at all... I’m a little worried that if she keeps acting like this, she’ll have a hard time getting along with everyone in the future."
Hearing this, Zhou Lin’s gaze subconsciously drifted to a corner of the dining hall.
He saw Yun Sheng sitting across from another girl, eating a meal.
The other girl seemed to be chattering away, while Yun Sheng merely nodded occasionally in response.
Her tranquil appearance was completely different from the person his sister had described.
Just then, as if sensing something, Yun Sheng suddenly looked up in Zhou Lin’s direction.
Their gazes met for a brief moment, crossing half the dining hall filled with noisy people and air.
For some reason, Zhou Lin’s heart skipped a beat.
’Her eyes... they’re so clear.’
Limpid and serene, like a deep autumn lake that reflected no ripples, yet they inexplicably captivated his gaze.
What was even stranger was that in the instant their eyes met, the perpetually restless spiritual power deep within his spiritual landscape seemed to... calm down for a fraction of a second?
The feeling was so fleeting it felt like an illusion, as if a cool, gentle breeze had swept over the scorching, chaotic edges of his mind, bringing a moment of peace.
’This feeling...’
Zhou Lin’s pupils contracted slightly.
The last time he had experienced this similar sensation of his spiritual power being soothed was after he had lost control and gone berserk.
His consciousness had been hazy then. He only remembered being stabilized by a gentle yet resilient force before falling into a deep sleep.
When he woke up, everyone told him that it was Lin Yueyao who had painstakingly soothed him.
He had always believed it without a doubt and felt grateful to Lin Yueyao.
’But why... why is it that when I look at Yun Sheng, I get an almost identical feeling?’
’Is it a coincidence?’
’Or are the fissures in my spiritual landscape getting worse, causing me to have hallucinations?’
Just as Zhou Lin was reeling in silent shock and doubt, Yun Sheng averted her gaze.
She lowered her head, said something to Li Wen, and then the two of them stood up, apparently ready to leave.
"Brother Zhou?" Lin Yueyao’s voice pulled Zhou Lin from his brief trance. "What’s wrong?"
Zhou Lin quickly schooled his expression and said flatly, "It’s nothing."
After speaking, his eyes once again swept over Yun Sheng’s departing figure.
A strange attraction, like an invisible thread, silently wound around him, making him involuntarily want to investigate.
Zhou Lin frowned, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and said in a low voice, "You two go on and eat. I’m going to step out for some air."
With that, he turned and walked out of the dining hall.
Lin Yueyao watched him leave, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.
She had noticed Zhou Lin’s brief lapse.
’This isn’t a good sign.’
Meanwhile, Yun Sheng, who had already left the dining hall, had no idea that her unintentional glance had cast a small stone into the world of a certain S-Class Sentinel—a stone destined to create ripples.
Yun Sheng and Li Wen had not gone far from the dining hall when a sharp, resentful voice called out from the side.
"Stop right there, Yun Sheng!"
Li Wei emerged from a side path, glaring at Yun Sheng with a look of pure hatred.
Ever since she had given Yun Sheng a hard time and been severely reprimanded by Director Cui, she had been forced to write a formal statement about the incident.
But when Director Cui glanced at it, he flew into a rage, saying she was glossing over the important details and shirking responsibility. He had her immediately transferred from her original post and exiled to a dead-end logistics department with no future.
"This is all your fault!" Li Wei rushed in front of Yun Sheng. "If you hadn’t put on that act the other day, how could I... how could I have been transferred to that hellhole! You’re just a piece of trash from a trash planet, what gives you the right!"
Li Wen frowned and started to step forward, but Yun Sheng gently raised a hand to stop her.
Looking at Li Wei, who seemed ready to lunge at her, Yun Sheng’s tone remained calm. "Your transfer was Director Cui’s decision. It has nothing to do with me. Please step aside."
"Nothing to do with you? Yun Sheng, that’s easy for you to say! If it weren’t for you, would Director Cui have treated me like that? You’re a menace! Trouble follows you wherever you go!"
Yun Sheng’s gaze turned cold.
"Li Wei, your current actions constitute a public insult and attempted provocation of a Tower trainee. According to the Tower’s ’Staff Code of Conduct,’ Chapter Three, Article Seven, unprovoked verbal abuse or provocation of a trainee, depending on the severity, is punishable by a warning, deduction of allowance, or even suspension pending investigation.
You were just transferred. I doubt you want to get a demerit so soon, or even... lose your job, do you?"
These words hit Li Wei right where it hurt, striking her fear.
Her face paled, but her anger flared even hotter, and she began to speak recklessly.
"Are you threatening me? Who do you think you are? A defective product who doesn’t even have a spiritual body, you think you’re worthy of being at the Tower—"
"Since when does the Tower allow its staff to publicly insult trainees?"
A cold voice came from behind them. It wasn’t loud, but it instantly cut off Li Wei’s sharp, unfinished retort.
Yun Sheng and Li Wen turned around at the same time.
There, just a few steps away, stood Zhou Lin.
His crisp, dark Sentinel uniform accentuated his broad shoulders and long legs. Even without being deliberately released, the powerful aura unique to an S-Class Sentinel was enough to make the air around them freeze.
Li Wei was like a strangled chicken, all her words dying in her throat.
She recognized that face: the heir to the Zhou Family, one of the Tower’s youngest S-Class Sentinels, Major General Zhou Lin.
Both his family background and his military rank were so far above hers that a low-level staff member like her could only look up in suffocating awe.
"N-No, that’s not it, Major General Zhou! I... I was just..."
"Apologize to the trainee," Zhou Lin cut her off. "Then, leave immediately. I will report your conduct to your direct superior."
That last sentence made Li Wei’s blood run cold.
She hurriedly bowed her head to Yun Sheng. "I-I’m sorry, Trainee Yun Sheng! It was my fault, I was talking nonsense. Please forgive me!"
After speaking, she didn’t even dare to look up at anyone’s expression. Covering her face, she stumbled away.
Quiet returned to the corridor.
Only then did Zhou Lin’s gaze fall upon Yun Sheng.
Now that he was closer, that comfortable presence he felt seemed to faintly stir again.
It was faint, yet impossible to ignore.
Zhou Lin pressed his lips together, suppressing the strange restlessness in his heart, and asked, "Are you all right?"
Yun Sheng lifted her eyes to meet his.
This Major General Zhou’s gaze was deep and scrutinizing, but it didn’t seem to hold... much malice toward her.