SS-Class Guide - Chapter 1

A small quarrel every three days, a massive row every five. This was the current state of affairs for An Yuan and Gu Hanqing. They had known each other for eight years, been in love for five, and lived together for two. They had drifted from the passionate honeymoon phase of the beginning to the constant friction of the present.

They had fought again before leaving the house today, primarily over Gu Hanqing’s childhood friend, Ning Yuanqiao. In his phone, Gu Hanqing had An Yuan saved simply as “An Yuan,” while Ning Yuanqiao was saved as “A-Yuan Baby.” The first time An Yuan saw it, they had a huge argument. Gu Hanqing claimed that Ning Yuanqiao had set the nickname without permission, yet he never bothered to change it, claiming it was “too much trouble” whenever asked.

An Yuan had tried to change it himself, but he could not bypass the screen lock on Gu Hanqing’s phone. Every time An Yuan asked Gu Hanqing to unlock it in front of him, Gu Hanqing would either interrupt him or drop the phone and retreat to his room. Over time, An Yuan stopped bringing it up.

Today’s argument was sparked by Ning Yuanqiao contacting Gu Hanqing to invite him out for the evening. Today was the Qixi Festival. Though An Yuan was not particularly romantic, he still wanted to spend holidays with his lover whenever he was not working overtime, especially on the traditional Valentine’s Day. However, what infuriated An Yuan was that Gu Hanqing had actually accepted Ning Yuanqiao’s invitation. He was angry that Gu Hanqing treated Ning Yuanqiao better than him. He was also angry at Ning Yuanqiao’s total lack of boundaries. The more An Yuan thought about it, the more frustrated he became. Rather than dwelling on these messy romantic feelings, he decided it was better to focus on work. Work was better.

An Yuan was a Guide. Having awakened his Guide talents as a child, he was fast-tracked into Fanse Academy, which was one of the ten elite academies across the Five Districts. Upon graduation, he was assigned directly to the Se-An Temple. His talent was extraordinary. Within the Se-An Temple, which governed all Sentinels and Guides in the Five Districts, An Yuan was the youngest S-Rank Guide. He was also one of only seven S-Rank Guides in existence. Because of his immense power and flawless appearance, he became the official spokesperson for the Divine Healing Hall, the exclusive wing for Guides, shortly after joining the Temple.

As his car, marked with the Se-An Temple insignia, cruised toward the headquarters, a red light caused An Yuan to stop and wait. Looking out the window, the atmosphere of Qixi was everywhere. People carried bouquets, delivery riders rushed with flowers, and crowds ducked in and out of florist shops. When the light turned green, the car moved with the flow of traffic.

About half an hour later, An Yuan arrived at the Se-An Temple. Located in the heart of the Central District, which was District 1, the Temple occupied a massive area that seemed to stretch endlessly. After passing security, he drove into the underground parking lot. It was exactly time for the shift change. Looking out his window, he saw many colleagues in their uniforms. The Se-An Temple consisted solely of Sentinels and Guides.

The Sentinels wore deep blue military uniforms. Styles and epaulets varied based on their status within the Temple or the Five Districts. The Guides wore white suits with matching shirts and breastpins. The color and engravings of the pins denoted their rank. An Yuan’s pin was white gold with a silver plane tree pattern, signifying his status as an S-Rank Guide. In the entire Five Districts, there were only seven such pins.

As soon as An Yuan parked and stepped out, colleagues immediately gathered to walk with him. With his short white hair, icy gray eyes, and delicate features, he was known as the First Beauty of the Se-An Temple. Combined with his gentle temperament, he was highly popular and maintained good relationships with everyone.

As they rode the elevator up, the crowd split between the Divine Martial Hall for Sentinels and the Divine Healing Hall for Guides. Inside the elevator, a Guide grumbled, “I cannot believe we have to work on Qixi.”

“Because we need the paycheck,” another replied.

“Do not even mention Qixi,” a Sentinel added. “As long as nothing goes wrong today and I can get off work on time, I will be happy.”

Suddenly, one of the Sentinels looked at An Yuan and said, “Lord An Yuan, it is Qixi today. Surely you and Lord Hanqing have plans?”

The relationship between An Yuan and Gu Hanqing was public knowledge within the Temple. An Yuan’s eyelid flickered as he thought back to Gu Hanqing’s date with Ning Yuanqiao. After a pause, he replied, “Both Hanqing and I are very busy with work. We do not have time for Qixi.”

The Guides chimed in with agreement. Since Sentinels far outnumbered Guides, the Guides were constantly saddled with overtime. The elevator stopped at several floors. The Se-An Temple had ninety-nine floors in total, and An Yuan’s office was on the ninety-eighth floor. The higher the floor, the higher the status. The ninety-ninth floor was reserved for the two Temple Masters, while S-Rank Guides and SS-Rank Sentinels were stationed on the ninety-eighth.

When the doors opened at the ninety-eighth floor, An Yuan was met with the sight of a man in a navy blue Sentinel uniform holding a massive bouquet of roses. He looked to be in his twenties, radiating a cold, piercing aura that felt entirely at odds with the vibrant flowers in his hands. It was Jing Lan.

In the Five Districts, there were only three SS-Rank Sentinels, and Jing Lan was one of them. An Yuan greeted him politely, “Good morning, Excellency Jing Lan.”

In the Temple’s strict hierarchy, lower ranks used “Lord,” while equals used “Excellency.” An Yuan was very familiar with the three SS-Rank Sentinels. The first was Gu Hanqing, who was An Yuan’s current boyfriend and the strongest in District 2. The second was An Yuan’s childhood friend. The third was Jing Lan, the infamous crown prince of District 4. Coincidentally, An Yuan had a compatibility rating of over 90% with all three, making him their exclusive Guide.

To An Yuan, he and Jing Lan were just colleagues. Jing Lan was known for being indifferent, violent, and self-centered. Unless necessary, people avoided provoking him because of his overwhelming heat-based aura. An Yuan was surprised to see Jing Lan holding roses. He wondered if he was sending those to someone, as he thought a man like Jing Lan would not send roses to anyone.

Just then, Jing Lan suddenly thrust the bouquet in front of An Yuan. An Yuan froze, his icy gray eyes wide with shock. When An Yuan did not take them immediately, Jing Lan shoved the flowers into his arms.

“Uh?” An Yuan’s beautiful face was a mask of confusion. He looked at the red roses, then at Jing Lan. Without saying a word, Jing Lan turned and fled the moment the flowers were in An Yuan’s hands. Despite the distance, An Yuan noticed that Jing Lan’s earlobes were bright red. He wondered what on earth had just happened.

The elevator dinged again, and Bai Jinghui, another S-Rank Guide on the ninety-eighth floor, stepped out.

“Good morning, Lord Bai,” An Yuan greeted. Though they were the same rank, An Yuan used “Lord” out of respect for the man’s age. Bai Jinghui eyed the massive bouquet and asked, “Excellency An Yuan, did Excellency Hanqing send those?”

“No,” An Yuan replied. “Hanqing and I do not really care for holidays. Besides, it is a bit wasteful.”

Bai Jinghui chuckled and said, “It is not wasteful; it is romance for young people. So, who sent them?”

“Likely a Sentinel thanking me for a mental cleansing session,” An Yuan lied. He did not dare mention Jing Lan, who was considered the most uncontrollable and unapproachable person in the Temple.

Bai Jinghui sighed softly. “Our Excellency An Yuan is truly a sinful man. Even though you are taken, so many people still throw themselves at you. Sigh!”

An Yuan laughed awkwardly and hurried to his office, citing that the morning meeting was about to start. His office was a private suite with a lounge, a white-noise room, and a shower. Guides often required long periods of sleep to recover after intense cleansing sessions for Sentinels.

Inside, his two assistants were already cleaning. One assistant was an S-Rank male Sentinel responsible for An Yuan’s security, and the other was a B-Rank female Sentinel serving as An Yuan’s secretary. Both asked if the flowers were from Gu Hanqing. An Yuan gave them the same excuse, stating it was a thank-you gift from a Sentinel he helped.

The female assistant smiled and said, “They are beautiful. I wanted to give you flowers today too, Lord An Yuan, but I did not think it was appropriate. If I knew others were sending them, I would have brought some too.”

An Yuan smiled. Realizing he had not clocked in yet, he left the bouquet on his desk and hurried to the check-in point by the elevator. Even as an S-Rank Guide, he could not escape the punch-clock. When he returned, he began arranging the roses into vases. There were so many that he eventually had to use plastic takeout containers to hold the leftovers.

At nine-twenty, with ten minutes until the morning meeting, An Yuan prepared to leave. Today’s meeting was for Guides only, which was a relief as he was not ready to face Gu Hanqing yet. As he headed to the conference room, he noticed his colleagues had put extra effort into their appearances for Qixi. Inside the meeting room, the gossip was already in full swing.

“Is it true? I heard Sentinel Jing Lan arrived early today with a huge bouquet of roses!”

“Wow! Lord Jing Lan is giving flowers?”

“Who could it be for?”

An Yuan’s eyelid twitched. If he had not been the recipient, he would be asking the same thing.

“I can only think of one person!” one Guide said, looking directly at An Yuan. The room fell silent as everyone turned to him. An Yuan tensed, hating being the center of attention. Luckily, no one had actually witnessed the exchange.

A middle-aged S-Rank Guide sitting next to him intervened. “Alright, stop guessing. Do not go starting rumors that might affect Excellency An Yuan’s relationship with Sentinel Gu Hanqing.”

“Right, right,” others chimed in. “Everyone knows their relationship. Lord Jing Lan would not do that.”

An Yuan felt a pang of guilt. By nine-thirty, the room was packed with A-Rank and S-Rank Guides. The two Masters of the Divine Healing Hall stood at the front to begin.

The Temple Master began, “Recently, Zerg legions have invaded the Five Districts multiple times, causing significant trouble.”

The Deputy Master added, “The Master of the Divine Martial Hall met with us yesterday. The Zerg Queen is producing S-Rank soldier ants at an accelerated rate. If this continues, the power gap between us and the Zerg will become insurmountable.”

The Temple Master looked at the crowd and said, “The Divine Martial Hall has proposed a mission to assassinate the Zerg Queen.”

A collective gasp rippled through the room.

“Sentinel operations carry a high risk of mental collapse,” the Master continued. “We are now opening a registration list. Are there any Guides here willing to volunteer to accompany the army?”

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