You Look So Beautiful When You Cry

At that, Wu Xi's expression suddenly turned utterly serious.

"So, Miss Guide, please give careful thought to your choice of exclusive sentinels. It's best to choose only sentinels with high spiritual power levels."

Only powerful sentinels were qualified to protect her, and they wouldn't die easily.

So it didn't matter even if she didn't choose him...

Miss Guide was so kind and pure that, no matter what, he didn't want her to suffer that kind of pain in the future.

"I understand."

In truth, if the Star Brain hadn't offered so much, Xin Lan had never intended to bond with any exclusive sentinels.

Now that she knew she would suffer a backlash if an exclusive sentinel died, she immediately abandoned the idea that the more gods of wealth she had, the better.

Handsome men were precious, and wealth was worth even more, but for the sake of her life, she could give up both.

"Lanlan..."

When Chi Ming still received no response, his gaze grew even more pleading as he knelt on the floor. Veins bulged on his large, well-defined hands, and he twisted the carpet into wrinkles.

He could sense that Xin Lan didn't dislike him.

So he desperately longed to get close to her, even if all he could do was kiss the back of her hand to show his loyalty and love.

But although Xin Lan looked at him with some interest, she still raised her foot and heartlessly kicked him aside.

"If you're uncomfortable, go take a cold shower. Now let's get down to business."

Wu Xi's gray eyes lit up like stars.

He hurriedly edged the dejected, drenched snake Chi Ming aside and tactfully offered her a glass of water.

"Miss Guide, would you like to ask how your work will proceed from now on?"

Xin Lan took a sip of water and raised her eyes, signaling him to continue.

Wu Xi got the message and immediately cleared things up for her.

"Here's how it works: although guides are under the Federation Government's centralized management and assignment, you've already registered your identity in K9 District, and you're its only guide. So until the Federation issues your transfer orders, you can work at the K9 District sanctuary or apply to go to another district."

"But I strongly recommend staying in K9 District. Since there are no guides here, you'll be paid several times more than guides of the same level in other districts."

Wu Xi's explanation was concise, but highly subjective.

Xin Lan had never intended to leave, but seeing the nervous look in his eyes, so afraid that she would go, she suddenly felt like teasing him again.

"But that also means my workload will far exceed that of other guides, doesn't it?"

In the apocalypse, she had grown accustomed to being a sly old fox and using her spiritual power to ambush people. She had long since learned to hide behind an expressionless mask, so others generally found it hard to tell what she was thinking from her face.

Wu Xi was no exception.

He thought Xin Lan still wanted to leave K9 District, and immediately grew anxious.

"No! The administrator will arrange a reasonable workload for you and absolutely won't let you get tired. Besides getting one day off for every two days of work, you can also take time off whenever you like. In any case, as long as you don't want to do something, no one will force you. Please rest assured!"

"I see..."

Xin Lan stroked the snake's head and asked another question.

"What about you guard sentinels? If I don't want any of you, can I unbind all of you right now?"

At the sudden change of subject, Wu Xi and Chi Ming both jerked their heads up, their faces taut with anxiety.

"Then not only would you get no soothing from a guide, you'd also lose half your assets. Would you be angry? Or would the five of you agree to come assassinate me together?"

Her tone was teasing, but her face was so expressionless that there was no telling whether she meant it.

"No! Absolutely not!" Wu Xi waved his hands in panic.

Chi Ming was also forced to recover and stand up, giving her a careful explanation.

"No, Lanlan. Sentinels would never hurt a guide, and we would never hurt you."

"Being unbound would only prove that we weren't good enough. The half of our assets you'd receive would be compensation for the time and energy you wasted testing us. No one would be angry about that, much less blame you."

Leaving aside the fact that a sentinel who harmed a guide would be sent to the Interstellar Court and sentenced to death, even without that interstellar law, sentinels were incapable of harming guides.

That was because it was an instinct written into their genes.

Sentinels were born to protect guides, even when they weren't needed.

Xin Lan knew about that genetic law, but she still enjoyed watching them panic while having to hold back and pretend to be magnanimous.

It was fun.

"Really? Then if I unbound you right now..."

She deliberately paused for a long time, waiting until they were sweating with anxiety before continuing, "What would you do?"

Wu Xi's already fair, luminous face turned even paler in an instant, almost ashen.

He tilted his head up, his gray eyes moist, looking utterly pitiful.

"Miss Guide, did we do something wrong and upset you? I can change. I can change anything. I can even get a tan."

Xin Lan: ...?

Wait, what was that about getting a tan?

When Wu Xi finished, Chi Ming shuffled forward on his knees and bowed before her. His deep golden eyes blinked, and his face was full of conflict.

"Lanlan, if you really don't want me anymore, I'll respect your choice. But before you unbind me, I still want to beg you for another chance. I make money very quickly, and my rampage value has dropped into the acceptable range now. From now on, I'll only make money faster."

Each commander sounded more humble than the other, yet neither seemed to realize it. Both were kneeling before her, gazing at her pleadingly, looking just like two puppies who didn't want to be abandoned by their owner.

Xin Lan reached out and patted both of them on the head, a pleased smile spreading across her lips.

"Nice to the touch."

Wu Xi and Chi Ming thought she had changed her mind and wouldn't unbind them. Their eyes immediately lit up, and their faces brightened, as though bathed in holy light, their whole beings lifted out of the gloom.

But before joy could reach their hearts, Xin Lan's next words plunged them into an endless abyss, leaving them feeling as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.

"But I don't need money now, and Wu Xi, a tan wouldn't suit you either. A polar bear turning into a brown bear would look awful."

The smile had yet to fade from her lips, but her tone was cold as a blade, stabbing mercilessly into their hearts.

Wu Xi and Chi Ming's smiles froze, and the color drained from their faces.

"I..."

Their lips trembled, but they truly didn't know what else they could offer.

Their faces deathly pale, both men slumped in an instant, as though abandoned by the whole world.

Wu Xi was better off. He had already prepared himself for not being chosen, and although his heart still ached, he could barely keep his emotions in check.

But Chi Ming had only just been through a deep spiritual link, and this was when he felt most attached to Xin Lan. Suddenly abandoned, his emotions fluctuated far more than usual, and his cold, narrow golden eyes abruptly filled with clear tears of pain and grievance.

The glistening liquid teetered in his reddened eyes before his thick, long black lashes brushed it down.

He quickly lowered his head, his slightly curly black hair concealing his face, but Xin Lan still saw two clear trails of tears slip one after the other down his handsome, wild face. They gathered into droplets that fell one by one onto the carpet.

Xin Lan blinked.

Wow!

That fragile look and contrast...

She immediately leaned forward and lifted Chi Ming's chin with her finger, her black eyes sparkling. There wasn't the slightest trace of guilt on her face for making him cry; instead, she seemed a little excited. "Why are you crying?"

Chi Ming pressed his lips together, his voice trembling as another string of tears slipped from the corners of his eyes.

"Because I'm sad. You don't want me anymore, Lanlan. I feel so much pain, so much despair."

He had already been very fond of Xin Lan, and his love had grown even stronger after the deep link. Being abandoned at a time like this was like falling straight from heaven into hell, and he simply couldn't bear it.

Not bursting into tears was already the result of his desperate efforts to restrain himself, yet he hadn't expected her to see them anyway.

Chi Ming was so ashamed he almost wanted to die.

Xin Lan, however, moved her fingers up to caress his face and slowly praised him.

"You look so beautiful when you cry."

Chi Ming was bewildered, staring up at her with a somewhat dazed expression.

Xin Lan took the opportunity to take him by the chin, pull him closer, and gently kiss his lips.

"Good boy. I don't mind having more money. Behave yourself. I hope you won't disappoint me in the future."