Chapter 350: Want to Eat

Chapter 350: Longing

Two days slipped by in the blink of an eye. Lu Liu had picked out small cakes in various flavors like strawberry and mango, and while Qi Yi was packing his luggage, the guide kept eyeing the sentinel’s fridge longingly.

Calling it packing was generous—the guide didn’t have much to begin with. He had been taken by Qi Yi, so all he had were just two changes of clothes. Qi Yi had someone tailor two more for him. As he tucked the clothes into the suitcase and closed it, he pursed his lips slightly, and he glanced at the guide with hesitation. "Lu Liu, you..."

—*Why aren’t you angry that I locked you up in prison?*

The guide tilted his head slightly. "Hmm?"

Qi Yi chose his words carefully. "Did I... bully you before?"

Lu Liu: "?"

He paused, fork in hand, looking utterly baffled. "Did you?"

If anything, his Spirit had bullied Caesar quite badly—tugging its ears and using it as a ride, reducing a proud leopard to a guinea pig’s mount.

"Never mind, it’s nothing." Qi Yi laughed it off. Tomorrow was the day Lu Liu would return to the White Tower. Logically, the White Tower was the guide’s home, while the Black Sentinel’s ship was practically a prison. Yet, Qi Yi felt an inexplicable worry.

He was afraid the guide might be mistreated upon returning.

After packing the luggage and adding two boxes of small cakes, time slipped by. When the sentinel turned the doorknob, Lu Liu finally realized—he was leaving the sentinel and going back to the White Tower.

"..."

Qi Yi turned back. "Come on, let’s go."

Lu Liu left the dining table and followed behind Qi Yi. He took the luggage in a daze, a growing reluctance stirring in him.

From the moment he arrived in this world, he had been with Qi Yi.

Back then, he was a guide of the White Tower, and Qi Yi was its prisoner. Every assignment revolved around Qi Yi. Even after the sentinel escaped and Lu Liu stayed alone in the White Tower, he knew Qi Yi would return eventually—and he would become Qi Yi’s prisoner.

This person’s existence was like bedrock in the story. Lu Liu only needed to follow along. But now, he was about to step off the beaten path and venture into a completely different world.

And he would have to part with Qi Yi.

Then, he wouldn’t be able to stay by Qi Yi’s side, play with his cute Spirit, watch him wear an apron, or eat the small cakes he made.

Lu Liu searched his database. He vaguely understood that, in human psychology, this sort of clinginess was called "imprinting."

But a system didn’t even have a heart—would its emotions really follow human psychology?

The guide felt conflicted.

So, as they walked down the long corridor toward the White Tower’s envoy, Lu Liu suddenly reached out and grabbed a corner of the sentinel’s sleeve.

The sentinel turned to look, and Lu Liu met those golden-brown eyes frankly, blurted out, "I don’t want to leave your side."

Subtlety wasn't in the system's vocabulary.

He liked the sentinel’s ship, the sentinel’s small cakes, the sentinel’s bed, even the sentinel’s somewhat ridiculous printed apron—so he simply said he didn’t want to leave.

Qi Yi’s breath caught.

He tried his best to sound nonchalant and hearty. "No biggie. You’re just going back to the White Tower. We’ve been negotiating with them a lot lately—we’ll cross paths plenty."

"I know." Lu Liu hesitated, gesturing to the new communicator on his wrist. "But..."

His old communicator had been destroyed during the battle when the White Tower fell. Later, as a prisoner, he naturally couldn't have one. This one was a recent purchase by the sentinel and had only been delivered to him a few days ago.

The sentinel tensed, waiting for what came next.

But what? Did the guide want to add him as a friend? Wanted to exchange messages? Wanted to say good morning and good night? Sentimental nonsense hardly fit the icy, razor-edged aura of a Dark Sentinel, but if the guide insisted, he could reluctantly respond daily...

Lu Liu dragged out his words, "Mind taking me off your blacklist?"

"..."

Yes, Lu Liu was still on Qi Yi's communication blacklist.

As Qi Yi’s underclassman, he’d already had a bit of a crush.

He treated sentinels like collectibles—trophies to acquire. Though Qi Yi was too aloof to sweet-talk like the others, his high rank and good looks made him a crowning jewel for his collection—bragging rights incarnate.

So, during their student days, Lu Liu had used various means to add Qi Yi's contact and attempted awkward small talk. After all, high-level guides could always count on sentinels to respond eagerly—except Qi Yi, who outright blocked him.

"..."

Qi Yi’s forehead gleamed with a thin sheen of sweat.

Lu Liu cocked his head. "So… unblocking me’s an option, yeah? I just want to send you messages. I’ll keep it low-key—no spam, promise."

Lu Liu couldn’t explain it, but he craved that connection. He was the most familiar person to him in this world.

"..."

Qi Yi faltered. "Right. Unblocking you. On it."

Mechanically, he tapped the screen, removed Lu Liu from the blacklist—only to painfully discover their last few messages:

Lu Liu: *Senior, are you free next Thursday?*

Qi Yi: *No. Stop bothering me.*

"..."

Qi Yi dropped the communicator like it burned him, feigning ignorance.

But Lu Liu had already tapped on his profile and sent him an emoji. He threw a lingering look at the ship. "Guess I’m off."

Qi Yi grunted.

Should he say goodbye? Tell him to be safe? The words stuck in his throat. His throat worked, but all that came out was a strangled, "Hey..."

*Do you have anything to say to me?*

Lugging his suitcase, Lu Liu asked, "How about unleashing Caesar?"

He still needed to bid the leopard farewell.

Qi Yi let out a breath, torn between relief and annoyance. Mist coalesced into the sleek form of a leopard. The leopard chirruped, then launched itself at the guide.

Lu Liu immediately smiled. He knelt, scrubbing the leopard’s head with rough affection, then hugged it tightly. The leopard draped its paws over his shoulders, butting its head into his chest.

Qi Yi stood aside, his mood unreadable.

Lu Liu: "I'm leaving now, Caesar, goodbye!"

He completely dropped his stoic act, his eyes curving into a smile. "Oh, and my guinea pig wanted me to tell you—it’ll miss you too."

Caesar: "!"

It nuzzled the guide's hand vigorously a couple of times.

Lu Liu said with a resigned laugh. "Alright, alright, I really have to go now. If I don’t leave soon, it’ll be dark."

The leopard raised a paw at him and meowed softly. The guide gave its fluffy head one last quick pat before turning to leave.

"..."

In the end, Lu Liu never said goodbye to the sentinel.

Qi Yi leaned against the railing, feigning indifference. He watched the guide’s retreating figure before lowering his head and giving the leopard a light nudge with his foot. "Alright, let’s head back."

Just then, Lu Liu reached the edge of the deck. Suddenly remembering something, he turned around and waved at Qi Yi. "Qi Yi, goodbye! I’ll miss you—and your little cakes!"

"..."

The sentinel paused briefly, watching the guide standing against the light. His lips quirked up unconsciously. "Yeah, goodbye."

*

After half a year of stalemate between the Dark Sentinels and the White Tower, Lu Liu returned to the White Tower.

The matter of changing the heir was a big deal. As soon as the White Tower and the Dark Sentinels made the announcement, it sparked widespread discussion. Lu Liu pulled the covers over his head like an ostrich, too afraid to read the public’s reactions.

After all, his predecessor had a bad reputation, and since taking over, he had focused solely on his tasks without doing much else. Compared to Bai Wen, the long-designated heir, he was clearly not the more suitable choice.

That night, the "ostrich" uninstalled the forum and instead messaged Qi Yi. "Is anyone trashing me?"

Qi Yi found it amusing. "Why would they? Everyone likes you."

The ostrich poked his head out from under the covers. "Really?"

Qi Yi: "Of course. You can check for yourself."

Lu Liu clicked into the news and scrolled down, surprised to find that his reputation among the sentinels was surprisingly positive.

During the time he waited for Qi Yi to take him away, Lu Liu had helped many sentinels—almost never refusing a request. Many sentinels with collapsing Spirit Seas sought him out with desperate hopes, willing to give anything, but the guide took no payment. He simply petted their Spirits.

One sentinel: "My Spirit is an Arctic hare. I asked the guide if I could trade my house for a single session of soothing. All he said was, ‘Let me touch your rabbit’s tail,’ and then he praised how pretty my hare was!"

Another: "My Spirit is a snake. The guide also gave its tail a squeeze. I had my Spirit subtly curl around his little finger."

"..."

Meanwhile, Qi Yi went through the comments one by one, his face darkening.

Beside him, Caesar slammed a paw on the table, annoyed.

It had a tail too! Its tail was also beautiful! Why couldn't he just pet its tail?

Of course, Lu Liu had no idea what the sentinel was thinking. He discovered that not only the sentinels he had helped but even a wealthy merchant he’d met once during afternoon tea had come forward to praise him, calling Lu Liu the most polite high-level guide they’d ever met. In contrast, his popularity among sentinels far surpassed Bai Wen’s.

The sentinels were effusive in their praise for the new heir. Lu Liu cocked his head slightly as he read the words on the screen.

Is this really him?

Would a slacker system really get this much love and care?

The Guide drew a deep breath.

He thought, "I need to get this right."

When he was just a system, he only interacted with his host and didn't need to care about others' opinions or external evaluations. But now, for the first time, he felt something called "responsibility."

So this is what it feels like to be expected and trusted.

He'd be a proper chief. He wouldn't disappoint his supporters.

After the discussions, the heir change was finalized. After the official notice went out, there would be a succession ceremony.

He put on the heavy ceremonial robes and was escorted by attendants to the highest floor of the White Tower to meet the current chief.

The chief was white-haired and frail, sleeping away most of his days. He'd long since handed off most duties, and these tasks naturally fell into Lu Liu's hands.

Thus, the system began learning how to be a proper chief of the White Tower.

He had never dealt with such matters before; he fumbled through it at first. Fortunately, there was a group chat—Jiang Xun, Lin You, and Xiao Shao were all charismatic rulers, along with several other outstanding leaders in their respective fields. After a couple months, things started to go smoothly.

But the workload never let up.

With the major personnel reshuffling in the White Tower, everything needed to be rebuilt from scratch. Lu Liu pored over all the sentinels' demands on the forum and, considering the plot's progression, decided to draft new laws.

He was buried under work, so Qi Yi sat untouched in his contacts for a long time. The sentinel's expected good-morning texts and good-night texts disappeared without a trace.

Qi Yi started grinding his teeth in frustration.

Brooding, he kept lurking online and noticed that Lu Liu always stayed up late.

On the ship, the Guide had maintained a very healthy routine—always in bed by ten, punctual as a grandfather clock, not at all like your typical pleasure-seeking Guide. But now, his profile picture stayed lit late into the night, went dark for six hours, and then lit up again very early.

Qi Yi couldn't help but wonder what the Guide was doing.

Had he met other sentinels? Had he petted any rabbit tails? Or was he doing something else entirely?

One day, the sentinel couldn't hold back anymore and messaged the Guide first.

"Hey, aren't you going to sleep yet?"

On the other end, the Guide had just finished venting about his idiotic colleagues in the group chat. Dizzy and exhausted, he absentmindedly opened the sentinel's message and sent his true feelings without thinking.

"QAQ."

Lu Liu complained plaintively, "What do I do? I only ate really late today, and now I'm so hungry."

"I want to eat Qi Yi's little cakes."