"No," Xinyuan rasped, immediately loosening his grip just enough to pull back. He grabbed Wenzhi by the shoulders, his eyes scanning every inch of his Guide’s face. "I am coming to get you. I’m already..."

"No, no, no." Wenzhi cut him off immediately, shaking his head. "I know this is the part where you decide to storm in and save me like some knight in shining armor, but listen first."

His eyes sharpened. "Jiang Zhaohe. She’s the mole."

Xinyuan’s eyes widened. "What?"

"She was the one who helped Jingxin infiltrate the manor, and she’s the one who orchestrated his escape using Ru Yi," Wenzhi quickly explained. "She genuinely believes you can fix the world. She’s working directly with the Old Blood, Xinyuan. She stabbed me and handed me right over to them."

"How is that even possible?" Xinyuan’s voice shook, a massive wave of denial crashing over him. "We found her after the explosion. She was unconscious, bleeding out. Someone hit her from behind."

Xinyuan was visibly struggling to process the betrayal. Wenzhi let out a dry scoff. "I would have shrugged it off as Jingxin using his abilities to mess with our heads, but it’s not a trick. It’s her. She put on a performance, and we all fell for it. I need you to navigate this without getting caught, Xinyuan. Right now, I am in a high-security facility. Wu Youran is here, along with your father and Doctor Bai Qinian."

At the mention of the doctor’s name, Xinyuan’s face darkened. The floating debris in his mindspace began to grind against each other from the sudden spike in gravity.

Wenzhi sighed, lifting a hand to place it flat against Xinyuan’s cheek. His fingers carefully caressed the sharp line of the Esper’s jaw.

The physical contact instantly triggered a massive, soothing feeling in the void, their wavelengths twisting together like silk threads.

"Why did you let her live, Xinyuan?" Wenzhi asked softly.

"I thought... I thought she died when the building collapsed," Xinyuan muttered. His jaw clenched, and he abruptly averted his gaze, completely avoiding Wenzhi’s eyes. "I... I couldn’t bring myself to do it back then."

Wenzhi let out a quiet sigh and started to pull his hand away, but Xinyuan reacted instantly. His large hand snapped out, catching Wenzhi by the wrist and firmly pressing the Guide’s palm right back against his cheek. He forced himself to look back at Wenzhi, his glowing red eyes wide with a terrifying mixture of vulnerability and rage.

"I’m sorry," Xinyuan breathed, his voice cracking. "I’m so sorry. I will do it right this time."

Wenzhi’s face creased with a flicker of exasperation. "Don’t. Don’t apologize to me." He rubbed his thumb against Xinyuan’s cheekbone, letting out a heavy breath. "Look, there’s something else. I am an S-rank Guide now."

Xinyuan froze entirely, his pupils contracting in pure shock. "What?"

"Well, at first I moved up to A-rank, but according to Bai Qinian, I just broke into S-rank. Doctor Ruixin mentioned before that my entire being is actively mutating and adapting to your wavelength so I can guide you without taking severe backlash, and—"

Wenzhi’s explanation was cut off instantly as Xinyuan leaned down and slammed his lips against Wenzhi’s in a sudden, desperate kiss. His arms wrapped completely around Wenzhi’s waist, lifting him slightly off the ground.

Wenzhi’s brain short-circuited. He knew that they were supposed to be thinking about a plan, not making out. But he wrapped his arms around Xinyuan’s neck and returned the kiss. It felt like fireworks were exploding across his soul, a rush of pure adrenaline that made his pulse race and his starved body feel entirely weightless.

Xinyuan finally broke the kiss, pulling back just an inch.

His right eye had returned to its natural warm brown color, leaving only his left eye glowing a vibrant crimson. His ears were flushed a bright, burning red, and a massive, blindingly joyful smile stretched across his face. A look so absurdly triumphant that one would think Wenzhi had just announced he was carrying his child.

Wenzhi instantly scrubbed that bizarre, terrifying image right out of his head, his freckled face flushing a deep, brilliant crimson to match Xinyuan’s ears.

"You can..." Xinyuan breathed, his hands still gripping Wenzhi’s waist with an unyielding, protective hold as he stared at him. "You can really guide me without getting hurt?"

"Let’s..." Wenzhi tried to speak, to push his brain back to the reality of their situation, but that dimpled smile and those brilliantly excited eyes were completely throwing him off.

Worse, he wanted Xinyuan to kiss him again.

As if the Esper could read his thoughts, he leaned down and captured Wenzhi’s lips a second time. This time, the restraint was gone. It was desperate, free, and entirely mutual, fueled by an equal hunger that threatened to pull Wenzhi under completely.

Wenzhi felt himself sinking, his fingers tightening in the fabric of Xinyuan’s shirt. He wanted more....

"Wait!" He abruptly pulled back, pressing his palm flat against Xinyuan’s chest to stop him. "Get a grip."

Xinyuan blinked down at him, his expression dropping into a dazed, slightly pouting look. "Oh..."

Wenzhi glared at him, though his own freckled face was still burning. Xinyuan just hovered there, looking at him like he was staring at the greatest treasure in the entire universe.

"Listen to me," Wenzhi commanded. "They could have easily injected any lethal toxin into my line while I was unconscious, but they didn’t. They are keeping me alive so Wu Youran can kill me herself, just like she promised on that video."

The mention of the video finally snapped Xinyuan out of his loving daze. The joyous warmth vanished from his features, his jaw locking. "Do you know exactly where you are?"

"I just know I am in a high-security containment cell," Wenzhi said, his brow furrowing. "I don’t even know how many days it’s been."

Xinyuan’s hands shifted to Wenzhi’s waist, his grip tightening as he scanned his Guide’s pale complexion. "You do not look okay either. You haven’t been eating, have you—"

"Shao Xinyuan, focus," Wenzhi snapped immediately. "If you are coming to rescue me, you have to do it properly. I swear to god, if you get yourself caught, I am going to kill myself."

Xinyuan, still holding him tightly, blinked rapidly at the threat before a soft, completely unbothered look returned to his eyes. "Fine. I am just... I’m really happy that you are fine, and that you’re here. Did you hear anything else? The conversation between Shao Guying and Bai Qinian."

Shao Guying. So that was his father’s name.

Wenzhi’s expression hardened. "They are duplicating my extracted guiding energy. They intend to ambush you the exact moment you arrive. Which means you cannot appear the way they think you will."

Wenzhi tapped his cheek. "Come straight to me. Can you do that?"

Xinyuan nodded. "Yeah. I can do that. But Zhaohe..."

"Just come to me first, sleeping beauty," Wenzhi interrupted, his fingers drifting up to Xinyuan’s forehead, gently pushing a strand of dark hair out of his eyes.

Xinyuan nodded, a protective determination settling over his face and then the void shattered.

Gasp.

Wenzhi snapped his eyes open. He was back inside the suffocating containment cell. His throat felt like sandpaper. He looked toward the heavy sealed door and noticed that the bloodstains from the guards had been immaculately scrubbed away, and the discarded food trays were gone.

Letting out a heavy, ragged breath, Wenzhi pushed himself up from the floor. He looked up at the security camera mounted in the corner, staring down at him like an eye.

Dragging his weak limbs across the floor, he used the cold metal wall to steady his balance until he reached the sealed doorway. He bent down and snatched up the full bottle of water they had left for him. Instead of drinking it, Wenzhi spun around and threw the heavy bottle with every ounce of his remaining strength straight at the security camera.

CRACK.

The impact fractured the protective casing. The bottle dropped to the floor. Wenzhi stumbled forward, retrieved it, and hurled it again.

SMASH.

He did it again, and again, relentlessly hammering the lens until the mechanics sparked and the glass was completely shattered into useless pieces.

Letting out a heavy, exhausted breath, Wenzhi finally stood fully upright. He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing the strands back from his face.

A sharp, slightly unhinged smile slowly pulled at the corner of his lips. "Come on..."

Right across the room, the air pressure suddenly plummeted.

A roaring wave of pitch-black mist abruptly tore through the room, swirling into a massive, howling vortex right in the center of the cell. The gravity warped, making the metal floor plates groan. A second later, the shadows snapped backward, sinking instantly into a familiar, imposing silhouette.

Xinyuan stood there, the dark mist receding into his skin, his eyes locked onto Wenzhi.

Wenzhi stood his ground against the lingering shockwave, breathing heavily as he looked the disaster class Esper up and down. "That was fast."