Every Sentinel I Dreamed of Came Looking for Me

"Mom, don’t you know Brother Bai’s personality? He’s always been like this, and you’ve never said anything about it before. Why bring this up all of a sudden? Are you... are you trying to make me give the engagement to Yun Sheng?"

Lin Yueyao’s voice trembled as she looked up at Su Wan, her eyelashes wet with tears.

"Mom, I know Yun Sheng was lost to us for so many years and suffered a lot. It’s only natural that you want to compensate her. My heart aches for her too, but Mom, there are many ways to make it up to her. Houses, savings, company shares... Why does it have to be the engagement? Do you have to do it by... by taking away the most important thing I have?"

Seeing her adopted daughter looking so fragile and heartbroken, Su Wan’s heart softened, and she was on the verge of taking back her words.

But then she thought of Yun Sheng, and the guilt she felt toward her biological daughter, along with an urgent desire to make amends, overcame her hesitation.

She avoided Lin Yueyao’s gaze, her voice strained as she finally spoke.

"Yue Yao, Mom doesn’t want to hurt you. But this engagement... it was arranged by our families’ elders back when I was pregnant. It was originally meant for Shengsheng. I just... I want to return it to its rightful owner, to give back what was always supposed to be hers."

"Return it to its rightful owner...?"

Lin Yueyao stumbled back a step as if those words had viciously stabbed her, the color instantly draining from her face.

Shock and disbelief were quickly replaced by a surge of intense emotion.

"Mom! If you’re returning it to its rightful owner, then what does that make me? The one who swapped us was that nanny you fired for stealing, the one who held a grudge! It was her malicious revenge that created this whole situation. I’m a victim too!

Just because Yun Sheng is back, does that mean I have to bear all the consequences alone? Is that fair to me? Mom, tell me, is that really fair?!"

Su Wan was rendered speechless by her questions.

’That’s right, wasn’t Yue Yao innocent in all this, too?’

’Was taking things from her to compensate Shengsheng really the only right way to handle this?’

"Mom, everyone on Capital Star knows I’m Brother Bai’s fiancée. All these years, I’ve worked so hard to become a good guide, all to be worthy of him. Now you’re telling me to give the engagement back to Yun Sheng? Then what was all my effort over the years for?"

Her words and hysterical tears made Su Wan’s heart ache. She said quickly, "Yue Yao, don’t be like this. That’s not what I meant, I just..."

"Madam."

A calm female voice interrupted Su Wan’s flustered explanation.

Su Wan and Lin Yueyao both started, looking toward the source of the voice.

Yun Sheng had walked into the living room at some point and was now looking at them, her eyes clear and calm.

A flicker of embarrassment and panic crossed Su Wan’s face. "Shengsheng, when did you get back? We were just..."

"I heard everything."

Yun Sheng’s gaze swept over Lin Yueyao’s red-rimmed eyes before finally landing on Su Wan.

’Cancel the engagement between Lin Yueyao and Bai Ye, and give it to her?’

Yun Sheng found the idea utterly absurd.

’This scene wasn’t in the original novel!’

’Marry Bai Ye?’

The mere thought sent a shiver down her spine; she’d rather be stabbed outright.

’This wasn’t compensation. This was clearly a move to deepen Lin Yueyao’s hatred for her, adding fuel to the fire with their own hands!’

"Madam, regardless of how this engagement was initially arranged, Sister Yue Yao and General Bai have been together as an engaged couple for all these years. The public is well aware of their relationship. To abruptly transfer the engagement to me now would be unfair to Sister Yue Yao and difficult to explain to the outside world. It is indeed... very inappropriate.

"Besides, Sister Yue Yao is an S-class Guide with exceptional talent. She’s one of the Tower’s top priorities. Only someone with her status and strength is worthy of an SSS-level Sentinel like General Bai. Only she can truly help him in the future and become his asset."

She raised her head and looked directly at Su Wan, her expression frank and open.

"And me? I’m just a dud who doesn’t even have a spiritual body. I can’t even perform the most basic soothing. If I really accepted this engagement, wouldn’t I be jeopardizing General Bai’s future and safety? We can’t do something that harms others without benefiting ourselves."

Su Wan was stunned. "Shengsheng, I..." she began hesitantly.

"Madam," Yun Sheng interrupted her, "Sister Yue Yao is the one most suited for General Bai. As for the engagement, please... don’t bring it up again. It’s for the best—for me, for Sister Yue Yao, for General Bai, and even for the Lin Family."

Su Wan was filled with mixed emotions—guilt and yet also relief—which finally coalesced into a single sigh.

"Alright, I understand. I didn’t think it through."

Standing to the side, Lin Yueyao had her fingertips dug so deep into her palms that they left pale, crescent-shaped marks.

’What right did Yun Sheng have to put on such a reasonable and considerate act?’

’This engagement was clearly hers!’

’She had earned it with over a decade of hard work and her reputation!’

’Yun Sheng had not only stolen her identity as the Lin Family’s daughter and snatched away Su Wan’s affection and attention, but now, was she going to viciously trample her only remaining source of pride and conviction into the dirt?’

A resentment far more intense than before, like a venomous fire doused in oil, exploded in her chest, burning so fiercely it felt like her insides were twisting into knots.

’She absolutely could not lose this engagement!’

’It wasn’t just about her status and reputation on Capital Star; it was about whether she could rely on Bai Ye to become an SS Level guide.’

Lin Yueyao forcefully suppressed the expression that was threatening to break, lifting her tear-filled eyes to Yun Sheng.

"Yun Sheng, I’m sorry... I was too emotional just now and said a lot of things I shouldn’t have. I’m the one who took over your life and enjoyed everything that should have been yours..."

Her voice was choked with sobs, thick with apology and self-loathing.

"This engagement was yours to begin with. I was too greedy to let it go. It’s all my fault..."

Yun Sheng quietly watched Lin Yueyao’s performance, feeling nothing inside. She even found it a little ridiculous.

But on the surface, she feigned a hint of panic, took a step forward, and gently took Lin Yueyao’s hand.

"Sister Yue Yao, please don’t say that. How could any of this be your fault? You were innocent in what happened back then, too.

Since returning to the Lin Family, I have never wanted to take anything that belongs to you. The engagement, or anything else—what’s yours is yours. Please... rest assured."

As Lin Yueyao’s hand was held and she listened to these "heartfelt words," a chill shot up from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head.

The more magnanimous and reasonable Yun Sheng appeared, the more it made her own earlier outburst and accusations look like the antics of a greedy clown!

’This bitch... she’s on a whole other level than I expected!’

She could only force an even more grateful expression and squeeze Yun Sheng’s hand in return. "Sister... thank you. You’re so kind."

Thanks to the superb acting on both sides, the storm temporarily concluded in "harmony."

Yun Sheng made an excuse about being tired and headed upstairs.

The moment she closed her bedroom door, all the gentleness vanished from her face, replaced only by exhaustion and a cold indifference.

’Dealing with Lin Yueyao is even more exhausting than high-intensity training.’

She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the terminal on her wrist vibrated, notifying her of a new message.

’Could it be Si Jin?!’

Yun Sheng’s heart skipped a beat as she eagerly opened the terminal to check.

However, the profile picture that popped up wasn’t the grayed-out icon for "Lin Mo," but another name that shocked her to her core.

Bai Ye.

She froze for a moment before tapping open the message.

Bai Ye had sent an encrypted video file with the glaring title: *Hands-on Guide to Basic Spiritual Power Condensation and Guidance*.

Yun Sheng was utterly baffled.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. ’What in the world has gotten into Bai Ye today?’

’After she had so clearly rejected his offer, why would he proactively send her a video like this?!’