Guardian Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - Sundial of Reincarnation (6)

Translator: Rainbowse7en

Editor: Misaki Yata & Mirial

Quality Checker: Krrizis

, Edited and Reposted on Ainushi

Zhao Yunlan released his hold on the ledge and trusted Shen Wei with his literal life as though he was only a short distance above the ground, rather than dangling off an eighteen-storeyed building.

Despite having a gentle appearance, the professor turned out to be incredibly strong.

Zhao Yunlan's wrists grew numb and his hands turned purple as Shen Wei pulled him up with great effort.

Zhao Yunlan sank into Shen Wei's arms, and the two fell back onto the roof.

Not wanting to weigh down on the professor, Zhao Yunlan pushed against the ground but realized that his wrists were bruised. Shen Wei was embracing him tightly, worried for his safety.

Of course, Professor Shen promptly adjusted himself. As Zhao Yunlan pushed himself up, the professor relaxed his hold and released the other man, awkwardly pushing his gla.s.ses up the bridge of his nose.

Zhao Yunlan, being the observant kind, recognised a hint of desire, restraint and embarra.s.sment from Shen Wei's clumsiness. But he didn't have any intention of letting it play out in front of someone else.

Zhao Yunlan got back on his feet and took out a pack of tissues, pulling one out and casually wiping off the dirt, blood, and dust covering him as though nothing had happened. "I'm glad you came back, otherwise I might have turned into a meat pie."

Shen Wei, still in shock, didn't reply.

"And you, what's wrong with you?" Zhao Yunlan decided to give Shen Wei a break and instead started firing shots at the girl. "Did your boyfriend break up with you? Were you told off by the teacher? Or did you fail your exams? Kids these days, you're rich enough to afford an education, so you think you can do anything? What, were you just too bored and simply decided to jump down and see what happened?"

As tears rolled down her cheeks like a waterfall, the poor girl's sobs soon turned into screeching wails.

"That was too dangerous," professor Shen suddenly uttered.

"Totally!" Zhao Yunlan continued instantly. "Did you hear your teacher? That was way too dangerous! Alright, don't cry now. Let me take you to the hospital, and I'm gonna have to call your parents…"

Wearing a solemn face, Shen Wei got up and glanced at Zhao Yunlan, and then turned to the girl. Saying nothing, he merely stared at her, and the girl gradually stopped crying.

The professor reminded Zhao of his deceased Grandpa. He was also an experienced intellectual and a gentleman, always friendly and benign, never resorting to violence no matter how furious he was. But when angered, his stares were always more than enough to teach those mischievous kids a lesson.

"If someone else died because of you, would you be able to live with that?" Shen gravely interrogated her.

The girl stuttered, "I'm… sorry…"

Zhao Yunlan felt somewhat embarra.s.sed, "Well, look, I'm still fine, but you really can't be that reckless. You being so young, have your parents, a life, and a future to think about. Come now, stop crying, I will take you to the hospital."

He glanced at the frozen Professor Shen, and supported the fragile girl by the shoulder and brought her downstairs.

Downstairs, the unconscious Guo Changcheng was still lying flat on the ground. Da Qing the cat ran forward and woke him up with a few mighty cat punches.

The suicide scene caught the attention of a crowd of university personnel, and many teachers came to ask about the incident. Amidst the curious crowd, Guo Changcheng gradually regained consciousness.

Guo Changcheng opened his eyes, his face a bit bloodied.The Chief, beside a young girl in a rather awkward state, said, "You need some physical training, you can't do this job if you pa.s.s out all the time."

Guo Changcheng lowered his head in shame.

Zhao Yunlan briefly hesitated and continued, "I have something to take care of here, so how about you go investigate the background of the victim with Da Qing. Do you think you can handle that on your own?"

Emphasizing "on your own," Da Qing naughtily meowed and curiously licked its paws. Guo shivered.

This was a glorious but challenging mission. Wearing a reluctant and miserable face, Guo raised his head in despair. Zhao, ignoring his silent complaint, patted the other's head benevolently and left without a word.

Shen Wei, face twisted in a strange expression, had yet to say a word. Someone whispered and inquired about what happened, but he only shook his head.

Finally, out of everyone's line of sight, Shen Wei put his hand firmly against his collarbone. An outline of a pendant could be seen beneath his shirt.

After closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he followed after Zhao Yunlan.

On the way down, Zhao Yunlan asked the girl, "What's your name?"

"Li Qian."

"Which faculty are you from? What year?"

"Foreign languages, postgraduate year one."

"Were you born here?"

Hesitating, Li Qian nodded slowly.

"So why did you do it?"

Li Qian stood silent.

Zhao Yunlan carefully studied Li Qian; her eyes were baggy and she was visibly exhausted. Her red eyes appeared unfocused and her face was deathly white. She seemed to be withering away.

Professor Shen asked, "Have you been to one of my language elective courses?"

Li Qian carefully looked at Shen Wei and nodded.

As if giving a lecture, Shen Wei said, "As I've mentioned in cla.s.s before, there are only two things in this world that are worth dying for. The first is your country, and the second, your loved ones. Otherwise, you would only be dying a cowardly death, understand?"

"I…" Li Qian's voice trembled, "I'm sorry, Professor Shen, I really… I only did it out of impulse, I didn't think it through, and it almost got…"

She glanced at Zhao Yunlan and looked back down.

Although Chief Zhao was incredibly handsome and wore a friendly smile, Li Qian was somehow frightened of him, and instinctively stood closer to Shen Wei.

Zhao Yunlan lit a cigarette, and looked at her half-jokingly, "I have heard of killing someone out of impulse, but not killing yourself out of impulse. It's almost as if you were… possessed."

Li Qian's face instantly turned pale at the word "possessed".

Zhao Yunlan refused to let this go, "What are you afraid of? Tell me, did you see something on the rooftop?"

Li Qian laughed unconvincingly, "It's just… the rooftop, what could I have seen?"

"But I saw something." Zhao Yunlan staring off to s.p.a.ce, and blew out a cloud of smoke, "When you jumped down, there was a crowd on the rooftop, and they were all laughing at you."

Li Qian trembled and held her arms tightly; her teeth rattling.

Zhao Yunlan sized her up and flicked some ash. Nudging her shoulder, he said, "Right, go inside, this is the school's hospital."

Shen Wei accompanied Li Qian into the hospital while Zhao Yunlan stood outside, still smoking.

Dragon City University's school hospital had an artificial river at the entrance, with a small bridge across it. Zhao Yunlan sluggishly leaned against its wooden railing, and slowly exhaled smoke on his watch. The white smoke disappeared, and a cloud of white mist saturated the inside of the watch. Shortly after, an elderly woman appeared, staring at Zhao Yunlan through the watch.

"The old cat might have been right, it's a new ghost that only just died less than a week ago." Zhao Yunlan raised his eyebrows, murmuring, "Appearing on the 'revealing mirror' in broad daylight, what kind of ghost has that kind of power? Old lady, who are you really?"

Hearing footsteps, Zhao Yunlan quickly wiped the watch clean, and the reflection disappeared. He turned around to find Shen Wei carrying a small tray full of wet towels and medicine.

Shen Wei set aside the tray and took Zhao Yunlan's injured elbow. Gently rolling up his sleeve, Shen Wei grabbed the distilled water on the tray.

"It's okay, I can do it myself."

"By yourself?" Shen Wei washed the wound with water and dried it with cotton pads, as if he were taking care of a newborn baby, "Tell me if it hurts."

Zhao Yunlan, feeling slightly uncomfortable, stepped backwards, "I'm fine, really."

Shen Wei continued, "What if it gets infected?"

Shen Wei had long eyelashes, so when he looked down, he had a certain charm, almost like a well-crafted character straight from an oil painting. His gla.s.ses obscured parts of his face, but just a single look closer made apparent his glaringly appealing glamour.

Zhao Yunlan's perverted heart itched.

Zhao Yunlan wasn't exactly gay, but his taste was certainly wider than most. And better yet, he had to be the most perverted guy one had ever met; be it either a man or a women, anyone who was beautiful was enough ring his bell.

Luckily, he was just a perverted jerk, not a perverted playboy. If he fell for someone, he was determined and loyal; so credibly, he wasn't too shabby of a lover.

Around half a year had pa.s.sed since the end of his last relationship, and Professor Shen was wholly his cup of tea; it was hard to resist such temptation.

Go for it, or leave him alone?

Shen Wei was the type of guy who looked exceptionally serious.

It was clear to Zhao Yunlan what he had to offer- a bizarre and unconventional career, as well as a frivolous and callous lifestyle of drinking and partying. Sure, he drove an expensive car, but he lived in a dog's lair. He wasn't exactly boyfriend material, let alone the guy you'd want to settle down with and marry. He should probably stay away from someone who's decent and well-educated, but…

The young professor seemed to be attracted to Zhao Yunlan, and he was such a catch too. It would be too much of a waste if Zhao Yunlan lets this go.

Shen Wei cleaned the wound, applied the medicine, and was just about to bandage his elbow with gauze when Zhao Yunlan stopped him.

"It's just a scratch, the gauze is unnecessary. I don't wanna look like a mummy." Zhao Yunlan put off his cigarette and slung his arm around Shen Wei, "Now, shall we go take a look at the girl?"

The professor froze up like a statue and stumbled a few steps forward; his ears and neck dyed in shades of pink. He frantically wriggled out of Zhao Yunlan's arm and pretended to calmly pull at his shirt.

"What are you so embarra.s.sed about? Like a girl…" Zhao Yunlan chuckled carelessly, and suddenly changed the subject, "Professor Shen, have you perhaps met me before?"