Five years ago, Liang Ying lost her personal guide in the war.
He was her partner, her companion, and her lover.
He was the finest offensive guide in decades, and he had accompanied her to the front lines countless times.
When he died, their mental link had not yet been severed.
She felt his pain and his sorrow with perfect clarity.
Everything surged into her mind like a tide, completely overwhelming her mental domain.
From then on, her mental sea dried up completely.
She could no longer form a link with anyone.
She thought her fate was simply to wait for the day her mind became fully corrupted. Then she would go berserk and lose consciousness completely.
--
In a daze, Liang Ying received a notice from the Tower.
They had found her a guide with a compatibility rating of 99.8%, even higher than her former partner's.
They hoped she would rally and form a new mental link to repair her mental sea.
Liang Ying scoffed at the idea.
Since her partner's death, she had met countless guides, but not one of them could clear the corruption from her mind.
Still, out of courtesy, she went to meet the man.
On a dilapidated junk planet, dust swirled through the air, and the choking smell of fuel made her uncomfortable.
Led by a former colleague, she entered an abandoned metal-processing plant and saw a young man with a giant wrench in his hands, standing behind a damaged aircraft.
He wore work pants and was covered in grime. His black curls were a mess, and he wore black-framed glasses.
When he saw them, his expression stayed neutral. He showed none of the adoration other guides displayed, nor any of the curiosity one might expect upon meeting a legendary figure.
After looking over the group, he set down the wrench without changing expression. "I don't remember agreeing to take part in the matching process."
Liang Ying: "Hah."
Compared to the White Tower, which had gone ahead without asking her, this man standing before her somehow annoyed her even more.
--
When Liang Ying first partnered with Wei Zixian, the whole White Tower was thrown into chaos. Yet, for the first time in ages, the place had become lively again.
As for their relationship?
Of course they were just colleagues.
For those two, even forming a mental bond was no small feat. There was no way anything else could happen between them.
That was what their colleague thought, until he accidentally came across the two of them in the break room.
It seemed a mental guidance session had just ended.
Liang Ying had her eyes closed, pinning the man beneath her as if she had fallen asleep.
Wei Zixian had his arms around her waist, his head resting against the wall as his fingers gently brushed her hair. Her glasses lay abandoned on the floor beside them.
The colleague stopped short, making a noise.
Wei Zixian turned his head.
There seemed to be displeasure in his eyes, and a trace of hostility. He had never seen that look from her former partner.
The colleague jumped, then immediately backed out and shut the door.
How could those two... How could they...?
They were the pair everyone at the White Tower agreed could never become a couple!
* 1v1, the female lead is inexperienced, and the male lead is a virgin
* My take on the Sentinel-Guide setting, with the romance as the focus
* Female Sentinel x male Guide, but it's BG
Theme: Never give up hope
