SS-Class Guide - Chapter 20

Upon waking up, Rong Xiushi felt his mind go blank as a pungent scent filled his nostrils. It was the smell of smoke; Wei Hetai was smoking.

Sentinels and Guides generally do not like the smell of cigarettes, though occasionally individual Sentinels or Guides will smoke when they are troubled. Wei Hetai did not smoke in front of Rong Xiushi; he had specifically closed the balcony door to smoke outside. However, with his keen sense of smell, Rong Xiushi could still detect it.

He got out of bed, put on the black-rimmed glasses left by his pillow, took some sobriety medicine from the refrigerator, and opened the balcony door. Wei Hetai turned around and, seeing Rong Xiushi approach, extinguished his cigarette.

Wei Hetai was the same age as Rong Xiushi, with short brown hair and amber eyes. He was a large man, standing over 190 centimeters tall. Even among Sentinels, his physique was exceptionally sturdy. In contrast, Rong Xiushi appeared very small and had to look up to meet his gaze.

Rong Xiushi handed the medicine to Wei Hetai. Wei Hetai took it and said, “I am sorry for troubling you yesterday.”

Wei Hetai rarely troubled Rong Xiushi. Usually, it was Rong Xiushi who sought help from him, particularly when he or his two younger siblings in the Fifth District needed financial assistance. Wei Hetai was the only person willing to lend money to Rong Xiushi.

Rong Xiushi shook his head. “It is what I should do.”

“Did my smoking affect you?” Wei Hetai asked.

“No, the smell dissipates once the wind blows,” Rong Xiushi replied. After a pause, he asked, “What would you like to eat this morning?”

“Anything is fine,” Wei Hetai said.

Wei Hetai was not a picky eater and basically ate whatever Rong Xiushi prepared. Rong Xiushi thought about going into the kitchen to cook, but he felt he could not leave Wei Hetai alone on the balcony in his current state. Wei Hetai was Rong Xiushi’s only friend; they had grown up together, and he felt it was necessary to show some concern.

After a moment’s hesitation, Rong Xiushi asked, “A-Tai, what happened yesterday?”

Under normal circumstances, Wei Hetai rarely got dead drunk. Wei Hetai looked into the distance with a blank expression, seemingly thinking about how to explain. Rong Xiushi frowned, feeling very worried.

After a short while, Wei Hetai spoke: “I broke up with my senior.”

Rong Xiushi thought for a moment, and another figure vaguely appeared in his mind. People said that entering university was the time for romance and that this was what a normal life looked like. Rong Xiushi was too busy studying to have time for such things, but Wei Hetai had plenty of time and participated in almost every party or social gathering. In his first year, he had confessed his feelings to a female student in the Guide department who was one year his senior, and they had naturally started dating.

Their relationship had been quite stable, and they had never argued until now. He had not expected them to break up so suddenly. Rong Xiushi wanted to comfort Wei Hetai, but his mind was filled with clichés like “breaking up is just a chance to meet someone better” or “do not dwell on it.” However, he knew such words were not suitable for the occasion.

Rong Xiushi felt somewhat at a loss. Sensing his friend’s mood, Wei Hetai said, “Let us go inside.”

“Alright,” Rong Xiushi replied.

Once inside, Rong Xiushi prepared a meal: millet congee with eggs, two poached eggs, and a side of stir-fried tomatoes and eggs. He seemed fixated on eggs, mainly because they were easy to prepare. After eating, the two walked to school together.

Suddenly, Wei Hetai called out his name: “Xiushi.”

Rong Xiushi looked at him, and their eyes met. Wei Hetai said, “If there is anything you need help with, do not keep it bottled up. Tell me everything.”

Rong Xiushi’s lips curved into a smile, and he gave an affirmative nod. Wei Hetai was truly a good person. If it were not for him, the lives of the original owner and his two siblings in the Fifth District would have been very difficult.

The two parted ways. Rong Xiushi followed his memory into the Guide department. Along the way, students frequently glanced at him, many whispering, “It is him. That is the Guide student who confessed to Wen Xiuyu.”

Rong Xiushi forced himself to remain calm, but he could not manage it. A flush quickly climbed his cheeks and spread, turning all of his exposed skin a deep red.

Aside from that, there was another point that felt very subtle to him. A rumor was spreading in small circles.

“Did you hear? A Sentinel sought Rong Xiushi for guidance yesterday. Their compatibility was originally very low, but yesterday, it seemed to have changed. Perhaps because he was heartbroken and his hair turned white overnight, his constitution changed as well. That Sentinel said that when Rong Xiushi guided him, there was almost no rejection, and the entire process was incredibly comfortable.”

“Wow, a post-awakening change in compatibility? That actually happened? How strange.”

Rong Xiushi thought that it was likely not just that one Sentinel. If nothing unexpected happened, his compatibility with the vast majority of Sentinels would be very high, just as it had been in his past life. He felt that to avoid unnecessary trouble, it would be best if he did not provide guidance to students for the time being.

He had two classes that morning. After they finished, he received many phone calls. Most were from Sentinels at the school who had heard about the change in his mental landscape from the student the previous day. They found it novel and wanted to test their compatibility with him.

Rong Xiushi thought to himself: fifty dollars per person.

Fifty dollars. What did fifty dollars mean? As a student of Fanse Academy, he tutored Xing Mingxu for eighty dollars an hour. Working six hours over three days a week, plus an extra six hours for the commute, his total income was only four hundred and eighty dollars. Yet, providing guidance to a fellow student took only twenty minutes and earned him a full fifty dollars.

The current Rong Xiushi lacked self-awareness. Until yesterday, when he earned his first fifty dollars, he had been shocked by such a low price. In just one day, his mindset had shifted from “only fifty dollars” to “a whole fifty dollars.” In this situation, he quickly adapted to a life of struggling for survival.

Rong Xiushi really wanted to agree, but considering the trouble that would follow, he could only endure the heartache and refuse. He frowned and politely declined everyone.

After his morning classes, he went to the library to study. The original owner was an honors student who received scholarships every year. Unfortunately, while he inherited most of the original owner’s memories, they did not include the academic knowledge he had learned and since forgotten. Fortunately, the second semester had only just begun. If he studied with a life-or-death intensity, there would be a way.

During this time, some students contacted him out of curiosity, wanting him to provide guidance. Rong Xiushi hesitated, took out his phone, and searched for a long time for the setting to turn on “Do Not Disturb” mode.

Toward noon, he felt overwhelmed. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and his footsteps felt floaty as he walked out of the library, feeling that studying was truly difficult. He realized once again that his past admission to Fanse Academy was likely due to a prestigious recommendation.

Leaving the library, he did not forget to turn off his phone’s “Do Not Disturb” mode. He returned to the small apartment he shared with Wei Hetai and prepared lunch. Just as he finished, Wei Hetai returned.

After lunch, Wei Hetai left, and Rong Xiushi checked his course schedule. Suddenly, his phone rang again. He sighed softly, assuming it was another student. He answered, intending to politely refuse again, but to his surprise, it was not a student from the academy.

A soft female voice spoke on the other end: “Hello, am I speaking with a family member of Rong Xiujia?”

Rong Xiushi paused and said, “Yes, I am her brother.”

There were three children in the Rong family. Rong Xiushi was the eldest, followed by the twins, the older sister Rong Xiujia and the younger brother Rong Xiuxi. Their parents had been quite imaginative; when naming the three children, they likely thought of holidays. The names either meant “rest,” “vacation,” or “break.” It was a simple, humble hope: they were too exhausted themselves, so they hoped their children would not have to work so hard.

The person on the phone said, “It is like this: your sister has been in a car accident. Could you come over?”

Rong Xiushi felt a sharp pain in his chest, an instinctive emotional response from this body. The three siblings were very close; they had supported each other and grown up together. Hearing that his sister was in trouble caused him a dull ache in his heart.

Traveling from the Central District to the Unnamed District took at least three days. Rong Xiushi informed the woman on the phone and immediately requested a leave of absence from school. The round trip would take six days, and including the stay, it would be at least ten days.

Fortunately, having a valid reason, he successfully obtained leave. He then called Xing Mingxu to cancel his tutoring sessions, followed by his weekend part-time jobs. Ten days meant missing two weeks of work; his boss was furious and fired him on the spot. There was nothing he could do about it.

He hurried back to the apartment, packed two changes of clothes in his backpack, and rushed to buy a high-speed rail ticket to the Fifth District. All the money in his accounts totaled only a bit over seven hundred dollars. After buying a ticket worth over five hundred dollars, he only had two hundred left to survive on for the foreseeable future. The five-hundred-dollar ticket was for a seat on a three-day journey. A sense of powerlessness washed over him; he had never known that being penniless was so difficult.

While sitting in his seat, he called his younger brother, Rong Xiuxi. The call was answered quickly, and Rong Xiuxi’s sobbing voice came through. Being the youngest and perhaps because boys mature later than girls, both Rong Xiushi and Rong Xiujia had doted on him, making him prone to acting spoiled. However, despite being spoiled, he was very sensible.

“Brother, Sister is still in the operating room. I am so worried about her,” he cried, unable to suppress his tears any longer.

Rong Xiushi felt his nose prickle with sadness. He comforted him softly, “Be good, just wait. I am already on the train. If there is any problem, tell me everything.”

The two brothers spoke for a long time, essentially comforting each other. After hanging up, Rong Xiushi stared blankly at the final two hundred dollars in his account. He thought of the students at Fanse Academy who had wanted guidance out of curiosity. Without exception, he had refused them all. Now, he instinctively converted every missed call into the money he could have earned from a guidance session. At fifty dollars a person, how much money had he lost?

At this moment, he deeply regretted refusing them. He even felt an impulse to contact Wen Xiuyan and ask for help. But his reason told him he could not do that; two years had passed, and he could not disrupt Wen Xiuyan’s current peaceful life.

So, who could help him? Sweat broke out on Rong Xiushi’s forehead. The original owner’s social circle was very simple. Aside from Wei Hetai, there was no one who could help him. But could he really keep troubling Wei Hetai?

After a moment’s hesitation, Rong Xiushi dialed Wei Hetai’s number. Aside from him, there was no one else he could turn to. The call was answered quickly.

“Xiushi, is something wrong?” Wei Hetai’s voice came through.

Rong Xiushi found it difficult to speak and bit his lip. He could not bring himself to say “I want to borrow money.” After a pause, he said, “I took a leave of absence today. I am on the high-speed train back to the Fifth District.”

There was a silence on the other end before Wei Hetai asked, “What happened?”

Rong Xiushi briefly explained that his sister was in the hospital after a car accident and was still in the operating room. Wei Hetai sighed softly and said, “You should have told me sooner.”

Rong Xiushi could not help it; tears streamed down his face. He felt that perhaps because the body he inhabited was so young, or because his tear ducts were overactive, his emotional self-control was much worse than it had been in his original life.

Inside the carriage, a childish voice rang out: “Mama, look! That brother with white hair is an adult, but he is still a crybaby.”

Rong Xiushi felt a sense of shame. Obviously, Wei Hetai heard it too; he let out a chuckle and said, “Xiushi, do not worry about the money. I still have some here I can lend you.”

Rong Xiushi thanked him repeatedly; he truly needed the help. From his inherited memories, he knew that the Rong and Wei families originally had similar financial backgrounds. However, the Wei family had two outstanding sons: the eldest, Wei Heshu, an A-rank Sentinel, and the second son, Wei Hetai, a B-rank Sentinel. Now, the eldest son worked in the Thean Temple and lived in the Jingye District. Because that district was far from Fanse Academy, he had rented a separate apartment for Wei Hetai near the school. Currently, Wei Hetai was the only one capable and willing to help Rong Xiushi.

“Tell me which hospital your sister is in,” Wei Hetai added.

Rong Xiushi quickly sent the information. With Wei Hetai’s help, he felt much more at ease. The high-speed train moved at top speed. About two hours later, he received a call from his sister, Rong Xiujia. Fortunately, there were no major complications, though she had broken some bones. According to the hospital’s recommendation, to avoid future complications, it was best to stay for two weeks of observation.

Undoubtedly, staying in the hospital would cost a large sum of money. Rong Xiujia was the first to object. Rong Xiuxi felt conflicted and called Rong Xiushi in distress. The Fifth District was famous for expensive medical care and low wages. A bed in a multi-patient ward cost three hundred dollars a day; two weeks would cost over four thousand dollars, not including treatment fees. However, no matter the cost, she had to be treated properly.

Rong Xiushi asked Rong Xiuxi to hand the phone to Rong Xiujia. To this girl who had just woken up from unconsciousness but was insisting on being discharged, he said, “If you dare to leave the hospital, I will dare to drop out of school.”

Hearing this, the girl on the other end could not help but sob softly. In Rong Xiushi’s memory, she was a very strong girl who rarely cried. The last time she had cried was when their parents died several years ago.

“Brother, I will be good,” Rong Xiujia choked out. “Do not drop out of school.”

The call ended. Rong Xiushi bit his lip as images of his time with the siblings flashed through his mind. When he had received his admission letter from Fanse Academy, the two had jumped for joy, hugging him as if they owned the world. That day, those two children were even happier than Rong Xiushi himself. They said he was their pride.

For Rong Xiushi, his greatest dream upon entering the academy was to take his siblings out of the Fifth District and into a safer area. For the twins, they were simply happy for their brother. They were willing to work more part-time jobs and push themselves to the limit just to provide him with a better learning environment. They were all living very seriously and working hard.

Rong Xiushi clenched his fists, his mind in a jumble. Suddenly, he remembered what Guide Bai Jinghui had once told him about the Fifth District: he had said it was incredibly chaotic. While there were basic rules forbidding human trafficking, organ harvesting, and arms dealing, the black market existed, and that was the true place of chaos. Bai Jinghui had told him that when he was in the Fifth District, he had earned money by providing guidance to others in the black market.

Rong Xiushi thought that perhaps he could do that too. At the very least, earning money this way should resolve his financial crisis. He could not keep draining Wei Hetai like a leech. In his inherited memories, Wei Hetai’s mother had actually sought him out and told him to stay away from her son. However, he had no choice and could not do it.

While Rong Xiushi was thinking, he received a notification for a transfer. Wei Hetai had sent him ten thousand dollars. Rong Xiushi called him to say thank you and then transferred the money to Rong Xiujia so she could pay the hospital.

Passengers on the train got off one after another. In the blink of an eye, three days passed, and he arrived at the final station. He followed the crowd out of the station and, by the time he realized it, his backpack was gone.

Rong Xiushi was speechless. He looked around in a daze. He was a Guide with sharp senses, yet in that chaotic crowd, someone had stolen the backpack containing his changes of clothes. This was the Fifth District.

He breathed a sigh of relief that he still had his lagging, obsolete phone; it was a model so old that even thieves disdained it. He left the station, boarded a bus, and headed to the hospital.

He had left the train at 8:00 AM, and it was already 10:00 AM by the time he reached the hospital. Having not showered for three days on the train and being covered in the miscellaneous smells of the carriage, he felt extremely dirty. It was no wonder that some fastidious passersby made an effort to avoid him.

Rong Xiushi entered the ward to meet the siblings and received a call from Wei Hetai. Wei Hetai had also arrived and said he would come directly to the hospital. Rong Xiushi was shocked, realizing that Wei Hetai had also taken a leave of absence from the academy. He said “Alright” and thanked him again. He was currently in a sorry state, dirty and smelly, but in his memory, Wei Hetai had seen him in all sorts of wretched conditions, so he did not mind.

Rong Xiujia was in an eight-person ward, which was the worst kind in the hospital. The twins were ordinary people; Rong Xiushi was the only Guide in the family. He sat on a chair and held Rong Xiujia’s hand. The twins were only sixteen, yet they appeared more mature than any other sixteen-year-olds in his memory. Their sun-darkened skin and hair yellowed from malnutrition made his eyes sting and his heart tighten.

At sixteen, he had already awakened his S-rank Guide talent and was being doted on by the entire Thean Temple. At sixteen, Gu Hanqing was loved by the entire Yunhai District. At sixteen, everyone around him was raised with the utmost care. Without exception, in his life, these siblings were the ones living the most difficult yet most earnest lives.

Rong Xiushi felt pained for the siblings, and they in turn felt pained for him.

“Brother, what happened to your hair?” Rong Xiujia asked. “Why are your eyebrows and eyelashes white?”

Rong Xiuxi looked nervous. “Brother, you must tell the truth. I,” he began to sob.

Rong Xiushi stroked Rong Xiujia’s hair. It did not feel soft, but she would be his most beloved sister. At this moment, he had a dream: he wanted to raise his sister as a princess and his brother as a prince. He did not want them to be so sensible; he hoped that occasionally, they could be more willful and selfish.

“I am fine,” Rong Xiushi said. “I just woke up like this a while ago. A-Tai took me for a checkup, and there is nothing wrong.”

Rong Xiujia frowned, looking at him sharply. “Brother, are you lying to me?”

“A-Tai will be here in a moment. If you do not believe me, you can ask him,” Rong Xiushi said.

On rare occasions when the siblings could not reach Rong Xiushi, they would contact Wei Hetai to ask about him. Regarding Rong Xiushi, whether for good or bad, Wei Hetai never lied to them. Hearing this, the two children finally breathed a sigh of relief.

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