First Interstellar Guide Chapter 25: Valentine’s Day

Chapter 25: Valentine’s Day

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

After ending the friendly conversation with Lu Zexuan, Yu Ran pretended to be happy as he carried the cream cake back to the dormitory. Acting was so exhausting. If only he had said “Although my family runs a cake shop, I’m not really fond of sweets and they make me fat” the first time Lu Zexuan brought a cake, now, it’s too late. One cake per week, delivered to the door, can only be resolved with the help of his roommates.

Fortunately, his roommates all loved cake. Seeing Yu Ran carrying the cake, Kamiya envied and said, “Brother Ran, General Lu came to see you again? He’s really attentive to you, bringing your favorite sweets every time.”

Yu Ran smiled and said, “I can’t finish it alone, let’s eat it together!”

He cut the cake into eight pieces, only taking a small portion for himself, and left the rest for his three roommates to enjoy… He hoped the task would end soon; he never wanted to see another cake in his life.

In the blink of an eye, January passed, and at the beginning of February, the Guide Academy held another grade-level joint examination.

Yu Ran deliberately answered a few questions wrong, keeping all his theoretical course grades around 90 points; being a C-level guide, it was understandable that he wasn’t so proficient in memorizing textbooks. But he scored full marks in the practical courses related to mental tendrils. As a result, his name wouldn’t even be on the grade total ranking, and Dean Xie and the class teacher would be very pleased—getting full marks in the practical courses showed that he had mastered the practice of mental tendrils very skillfully during this time, not letting his teachers down.

Yu Ran tried to minimize his presence; his daily life trajectory was very simple. Dormitory, classroom building, cafeteria, meditation classroom, library, he was like a spinning top, studying hard, with no distractions. Under his influence as the class leader, all the students in Class 107 also began to intensely compete with each other.

“Brother Ran has already gotten up, why are you still sleeping? Get up and study!”

“Brother Ran is studying again, are you guys going to play games shamelessly?”

“Brother Ran spent three hours in the meditation classroom today, I also want to spend three hours there!”

Under the atmosphere of intense competition among all the students, the results of the grade-level exam this time ranked first in Class 107 among all the C classes, even surpassing some of the B classes.

Class teacher Ai Qi was extremely happy, she bought a bunch of snacks and candies for the students. She also applied for a scholarship for Yu Ran and privately praised him, “Under your leadership, all the students in the class are particularly diligent, you are the most dedicated class leader in our entire grade.”

Yu Ran was speechless. He just didn’t want to have too much interaction with his 13-year-old classmates, so he buried himself in studying. It wasn’t intentional.

As time passed day by day, the special day of February 14 drew closer and closer.

Yu Ran contemplated the arrangements for that day. Since that person had promised to help him, Lu Zexuan would definitely have the day off on February 14. Since that day was also a weekend and the Guide Academy would be closed, Lu Zexuan would probably come to see him. But to prevent accidents, such as Lu Zexuan suddenly having dinner with friends, Yu Ran thought it would be safer to make arrangements in advance.

On the evening of February 13th, Yu Ran sent a message to Lu Zexuan, “Do you have time tomorrow?”

Lu Zexuan replied instantly, “I do. I was planning to come see you anyway.”

Yu Ran breathed a sigh of relief and said, “You’ve given me so many cakes, I want to treat you to a meal tomorrow as a thank you.”

Lu Zexuan said, “How can I let you treat me? You’re still a student with no income.”

Yu Ran said, “I just received a scholarship, the ‘Most Improved Award’ for C-class students. Although it’s not much, I can still afford to treat you to a meal.”

Lu Zexuan didn’t object anymore, “Alright, your treat, but I’ll choose the place. I’ll pick you up at 11 am, and we’ll go straight to lunch.”

The next morning, Lu Zexuan did indeed come to pick him up on time.

In February, the capital planet wasn’t too cold. Yu Ran stood at the school gate waiting for Lu Zexuan. When he saw Lu Zexuan’s car, he jogged over and hopped in as he opened the door himself.

A touch of red immediately caught Lu Zexuan’s eye, making him momentarily unable to look away—Yu Ran was wearing a red cashmere sweater today, paired with off-white slim trousers, giving off a vibrant aura. He usually wore light-colored clothes, always giving off a pitifully frail feeling, but today’s outfit was stunningly different.

That red color perfectly matched the color of his left eye pupil. Warm, passionate, full of vitality.

Lu Zexuan said, “Red looks good on you.”

Yu Ran smiled and scratched his head, saying, “Mrs. Joseph bought me this outfit before school started. She said, being young, I shouldn’t always dress so dull, I should have the energy that comes with my age… I think she’s right. You can’t go out for a meal in your school uniform, so I picked something brighter.”

Lu Zexuan said, “Mrs. Joseph has good taste, red suits you well.”

Yu Ran felt a little embarrassed and changed the subject, asking, “Where are we going to eat?”

Lu Zexuan started the car and said, “I’ll take you to a private restaurant, I’ve already made a reservation.”

The restaurant Lu Zexuan chose this time was affordable, but the environment was excellent. They ordered four dishes and a soup, and it cost less than 200 stars. Yu Ran looked at him and said, “Are you trying to save money by choosing a cheap place to eat?”

Lu Zexuan said seriously, “I used to come to this restaurant often, the price is not high, but the taste is very good, I think it’s quite cost-effective.” In fact, he had never been here before, but he found out from Mohr, who often came here to dine with friends.

Yu Ran wasn’t concerned about the price; he was a student now and couldn’t afford expensive restaurants. Lu Zexuan’s choice of venue showed that he cared. When the dishes arrived, Yu Ran tasted a few bites and found that the food at this restaurant was indeed delicious. His mood improved a lot, and a smile appeared on his face.

Lu Zexuan casually asked, “Did you only receive the scholarship for ranking first in Class C in this grade-level exam?”

Yu Ran nodded, “Yes, but compared to students in Class A, I’m still far behind. They can get full marks in all subjects, while I only scored 90 in several theoretical courses.”

Guides had excellent memory, and theoretical courses were very easy for them. They could memorize the books two days before the exam. However, Yu Ran clearly focused more on practical courses and didn’t have as much energy to memorize textbooks.

Lu Zexuan encouraged, “You’re already very outstanding. Besides, you’re a growth-type guide, your mental energy can still improve.”

As they chatted while eating, the atmosphere was harmonious and enjoyable. After finishing the meal, Yu Ran actively paid the bill, and Lu Zexuan didn’t stop him. The total cost was 175 stars, which was very affordable in a place like the capital planet, where prices were high.

Lu Zexuan asked, “It’s still early, do you want to go somewhere in the afternoon?”

Yu Ran thought for a moment and said, “Since I came to the capital planet, I’ve been studying at the Guide Academy and have only gone out with you two or three times. I haven’t visited any of the capital planet’s attractions… Are there any places with good scenery? I’d like to go see.”

Yu Ran thought to himself: Just say Bay Park, I just want to go to Bay Park.

Lu Zexuan furrowed his brows as he thought. The best place with scenery this season was undoubtedly the Bay Park in the capital planet, where large patches of plum blossoms were planted. In February, the plum blossoms would bloom, filling the air with their fragrance, and many tourists would go there to take photos.

Thinking of this, Lu Zexuan didn’t hesitate anymore. “Let’s go to the Bay Park, there are a lot of plum blossoms there.”

Yu Ran smiled faintly, “Alright, I’ve never seen plum blossoms before. In Norma, the climate is harsh, and we rarely see flowers.”

Lu Zexuan stood up and said, “Let’s go now.”

The two of them drove to the Bay Park. Today happened to be February 14th, Valentine’s Day, and there were many couples holding hands and strolling here. Most of them were ordinary humans, with a few sentinels and guides mixed in. Only fellow evolvers could see their spirit bodies playing in the park.

Lu Zexuan’s mood was somewhat subtle. He felt that coming to the park on Valentine’s Day with someone seemed like a date, but in reality, it wasn’t… After all, his suspicions about Yu Ran hadn’t been completely dispelled yet, and they hadn’t established any relationship. They were still in the stage of “getting to know each other.”

White Eagle grumbled in his mind, “You two are obviously in the ambiguous stage! Just define your relationship, all it takes is your confession! Why haven’t you confessed yet?”

This guy kept urging his master to confess, not for his master’s sake, but for his own. Indeed, animals didn’t have much “rationality.”

Lu Zexuan frowned, “Why should I confess? I don’t like him now.”

White Eagle unhappily said, “If you’re not in a hurry to get out of singlehood, I want to find a mental partner soon.”

Lu Zexuan silently muttered “Stupid bird” in his heart and ignored it. Sentinels evolved in terms of physical abilities, so most sentinel spirit bodies were powerful raptors or beasts, but not very intelligent. Unlike guide spirit bodies, each one was smarter and more agile than the other.

At this time, the little fox also jumped down from Yu Ran’s shoulder and followed beside him, wagging its big tail happily.

After not seeing each other for a while, its size had increased, and when standing up, it could reach Yu Ran’s waist. White Eagle circled above its head, looking like it wanted to get closer but was embarrassed to do so.

Seeing this scene, Yu Ran reached out and touched the fox’s head, saying softly, “You go play with the eagle yourself.”

White Eagle: “!!!” Yu Ran, you’re indeed the most thoughtful master!

The little fox seemed a bit shy, glanced at White Eagle, then rubbed against Yu Ran’s palm and quickly ran towards the depths of the plum forest.

Lu Zexuan said, “There are many sentinel spirit bodies here, protect the fox well.”

White Eagle replied, “Got it!”

With that said, it spread its wings and excitedly flew after the fox.

After successfully sending away Lu Zexuan’s spirit body, Yu Ran quietly put his hand into his pocket and discreetly took out an extremely thin metal needle, holding it in his palm without making a sound.

Lu Zexuan led Yu Ran towards the depths of the Bay Park.

A large area of plum forest appeared in front of them. It had snowed yesterday, and now, in the white snowy ground, pink plum blossoms were blooming vigorously. The red and white contrast was vibrant. Many tourists walked through the plum forest, and Yu Ran ran into the forest, taking a deep breath of the fragrance of plum blossoms, and exclaimed, “It’s so beautiful here!”

Lu Zexuan followed him and said, “Let’s go further in, there are even more plum blossoms over there.”

Yu Ran nodded, “Okay!”

The two walked side by side.

There were many pedestrians and tourists in the plum forest, but Yu Ran quickly locked onto his target. Not far ahead, there was an A-rank guide and an A-rank sentinel resting on a stone bench by the roadside.

The guide was a gentle young man with shoulder-length golden curly hair, and a cute little squirrel was obediently lying at his feet. The sentinel accompanying him was a handsome girl with a neat ponytail, and her spirit body was a silver wolf. Judging from the intimate relationship between their spirit bodies, they should be a couple.

As they passed by the two, Yu Ran’s eyes flashed coldly. Without hesitation, he pierced his own wrist with the needle he held in his hand. With a flick of his fingers, a few drops of blood precisely fell on the back of the guide’s hand. Then, Yu Ran calmly applied a hemostatic patch to his own wrist.

The bleeding quickly stopped, and the red sweater conveniently concealed all traces of this action.

Meanwhile, Lu Zexuan was taking a stroll in the plum forest when a fragrance suddenly wafted into his nose. It was a fresh and faint scent, much like the fragrance of plum blossoms covered in the first snow— the scent of guide essence.

With his keen sentinel sense of smell, Lu Zexuan immediately detected this familiar scent. He stopped in confusion and looked in the direction where the scent was coming from. He saw a guide with a squirrel spirit body and a sentinel with a silver wolf spirit body sitting by the roadside.

The sentinel asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

The guide replied, “Nothing, I accidentally cut my hand just now.”

As if sensing Lu Zexuan’s gaze, the guide looked up and then showed a surprised expression. “General Lu? What a coincidence, you’re here too?”

The female sentinel also stood up. “General Lu.”

Lu Zexuan looked at the two with some confusion. He didn’t have much of an impression of them. However, he politely greeted them, “Hello.”

The guide noticed his confusion and explained with a smile, “You may not remember us. We are also graduates of the Federal First Military Academy, the same year as you. When we were in school, we often heard legendary stories about you.”

The female sentinel echoed, “You were the only S-rank sentinel in our year, and the idol of many sentinels in our grade.”

—They turned out to be classmates from university.

Lu Zexuan was somewhat famous in the military academy back then, but he always kept to himself. Except for a few roommates he was familiar with, he didn’t remember the names of other classmates very well.

The guide in front of him seemed familiar?

Lu Zexuan carefully searched his memory and suddenly remembered the guide’s name from the graduation ball guide profile that his friend gave him. It seemed like there was this person? He had carefully read that profile, and indeed, there was an A-rank guide with a squirrel spirit body.

“You’re… Pullman?” Lu Zexuan recalled the name.

“I didn’t expect you to know my name, I’m truly honored!” Pullman smiled.

“…Is that so?” So, the guide essence scent he smelled at the graduation ball five years ago, which was almost identical to Yu Ran’s, had something to do with this guide with a squirrel spirit body?

The reason Lu Zexuan had been conflicted all along was because the guide essence scent he smelled five years ago was almost identical to Yu Ran’s, so he suspected that Yu Ran’s origins were suspicious and his age was fake.

Now it seemed that all of this was just a coincidence?

At this moment, Yu Ran had already walked quite far “minding his own business”. He turned back to look for Lu Zexuan, “Is something wrong?”

Lu Zexuan regained his thoughts and said, “I met two university classmates and chatted for a bit.”

Yu Ran curiously looked at the two in front of them.

Pullman smiled and tactfully said, “Are you two also strolling in the park? Then we won’t disturb you.”

The sentinel added, “We’ll head back first. Enjoy yourselves.”

The two left side by side, walking in the opposite direction. Lu Zexuan watched their backs, lost in thought.

Yu Ran guessed, “They look intimate, are they a couple? Are they classmates from your class?”

Lu Zexuan shook his head, “No. That guide, I’ve only seen his profile. He’s from the Medical Academy of the Military Academy and went to the Starlight Legion after graduation. As for the sentinel… I don’t really know her.”

Yu Ran was curious, “Starlight Legion? Is it similar to your Eagle Legion?”

Lu Zexuan nodded, “Yes, it’s one of the four major legions of the Federation.”

Yu Ran scratched his head and said, “I don’t know much about these. Your Eagle Special Forces, are they an elite team within the Eagle Legion?”

Lu Zexuan replied, “Yes. The organization of the Eagle Legion is quite complex. I’ll tell you more about it when we have time.”

Yu Ran successfully steered the conversation off track.

Lu Zexuan didn’t mention anything about the graduation ball or guide essence. Guides have much less ability to discern “guide essence” compared to sentinels. Even if he had smelled it just now, he wouldn’t be able to distinguish whether it was the scent of plum blossoms or guide essence.

Bringing it up himself would be too obvious.

Let Lu Zexuan figure it out on his own.

Once the seed of doubt is planted, it will grow wildly in the heart, making everything seem off. But once this doubt is given the most reasonable explanation, once all the logical connections are made, dispelling the doubt is just a matter of moments.

Lu Zexuan’s expression visibly relaxed — he had received an answer, finally able to explain everything.

Five years ago at the university graduation ball, he had met Pullman, not Yu Ran. If he had truly encountered Yu Ran, Yu Ran couldn’t possibly be 18 years old now.

It was just a coincidence.

There wouldn’t be identical guide essences in the world, but there could be similarities exceeding 95%, guide essences that he couldn’t accurately distinguish with his nose. Moreover, spanning a time frame of five years. Based on a single memory, he couldn’t be 100% sure.

His friend Meredith was right — Yu Ran’s identity, age, and mental energy didn’t match up at all. It wasn’t enough to assume that he had appeared five years ago just based on guide essence alone.

Pullman should already be married. Lu Zexuan couldn’t access the guide essence of married guides through association to verify. But just now, he clearly saw blood beads on Pullman’s hand, which would produce a strong guide essence. So… was Yu Ran actually innocent? Should he consider officially dating him?