Chapter 69 - SIXTY-NINE

Chapter 69: Chapter SIXTY-NINE

"He kept asking me to call you. He kept holding on to his head and yelling about someone attacking his mind."

Xin Linhua swallows lightly. He walks to his best friend, gazing down from above at that pale face.

"What exactly happened?" His voice is hoarse "He called me a while ago– said he had something to tell me tomorrow. I already planned to meet him before anything else comes up."

"I was on a call with him." Xin Linhai goes back to wiping "He was about to send me a file when the line went dead. He kept telling me to come find him in the morning. Said he’d be asleep."

The man carefully places the towel down on a bedside table. He turns to Xin Linhua.

"This has happened before." He says with certainty "He was sure he was going to fall asleep. He kept trying to stay awake. He was yelling and crying like he lost his mind. Xin Linhua, why does the doctor have an entry log for him dated back to two months?"

Xin Linhua swallows the lump in his throat. His hand covers the back of Zhao Xi’s.

"I asked him to look into someone for me." He says softly "I didn’t get any feedback after a week, so I went to look for him. He was asleep for five days straight. He was so tawny and pale. I had him admitted for a while. He said he had no recollection of our conversation. I didn’t think much of it back then."

"What was he looking into?"

Xin Linhua doesn’t respond. He doesn’t know how to.

"It was your Sentinel, wasn’t it?" Xin Linhai stands.

Xin Linhua snaps his head up. He wants to deny it, but he can’t. It’s true.

"Ah..." Xin Linhai grips the bed railings tight "You still defend him...that bastard. Even after what just happened to your best friend and childhood brother, you still defend him..."

Xin Linhua can detect the malice in his brother’s voice. Not aimed at him– no. Aimed at his Sentinel instead.

"I’m not defending–"

"Do you know why he called me?" Xin Linhai cuts him off "He found out something about that Sentinel of yours. He was going to send it to me because he was afraid something would happen. Guess what? He almost died on the call.

"Do you know how frightened he looked when I found him? Someone was in that room with him! His laptop and phone were crushed, the only two things he could use to communicate or send whatever he found to a third party.

"You think this is a coincidence!? He stalked you! To that restaurant. He stalked Linge and I on our way back. Xin Linhua, I hit your Sentinel with a stage three flame, and he absorbed it! Do you think he is who he says he is!?"

Xin Linhai points at the unconscious Zhao Xi, anger and disbelief blazing in his Hazel eyes.

"He found something about your Sentinel and suddenly, he went AWOL. You found him after five days only for him to have no memories of any assignment or reports.

"The same thing occurred tonight. He called me, said he found something he hid away a while ago– something related to your Sentinel’s past and true identity. All of a sudden, he’s in a coma! How do you explain that, Linhua!?"

Xin Linhua feels dizzy.

It’s not like he hadn’t suspected something was wrong back then, but he never linked it to Rong Yizhan.

Once is a coincidence, twice is a fucking pattern.

Even if he were to deny it before, he can’t continue to do that anymore!

"Brother..." His grip tightens on his friend’s hand "I won’t let Zhao Xi suffer because of my oversight. If Yaras? has anything to do with this, I won’t defend him."

"You think everyone’s stupid?" The man grabs his shoulders "Hua’er. Why are you damn stubborn? He almost attacked your brothers tonight, and he almost killed your best friend. Is that all you have to say?"

"I..."

Xin Linhua let go of his best friend’s hand. He can’t keep lying to himself. Something is truly wrong. If he has to beat Rong Yizhan to get the truth out of him, so be it.

"When did the doctor say he’ll wake up?"

Xin Linhai let go of his brother’s shoulders. His fist clenches tightly.

"We don’t know yet." The man turns away from him "They’ll monitor his health for now."

"Understood."

Xin Linhua takes off his coat and folds it neatly beside his brother’s. He rolls up his sleeves.

"I’ll look after him." He picks up the towel "You should head back. You look exhausted, the dark circles underneath your eyes looks painted."

"No need." The man walks towards the couch "I’ll wait for morning before heading back."

"Suit yourself then."

Xin Linhua wets the towel. He slowly wipes his friend’s forehead, pieces and bits of incidents slowly weaves into his mind.

He remembers that day– Zhao Xi had called him in a hurry and asked to meet. He refused to speak on the phone. When he arrived, the man suddenly goes quiet. He refuses to say anything, just handed over an empty file to him.

Thinking about that day, he had notice how Zhao Xi seems to be...afraid of Rong Yizhan.

The man had always wanted to meet his Sentinel, he was thrilled. But after he dug into Rong Yizhan, he suddenly forgot about his obsession with the triple S-Rank Sentinel, fear takes root in his heart instead.

How had he not noticed? Was he always this blind? He was never this sloppy, not in his old life and definitely not this one.

Ever since he became a guide who follows after his Sentinel like a loyal puppy, he has been less and less of Hollow and more like the original Xin Linhua– stupid and hopeless!

"Zhao Xi..." He touches the youth’s soft blue hair "I’m sorry. You’re the only one who never truly left my side. When you needed me the most, I wasn’t there. I’m sorry..."

Being betrayed and killed by your most trusted human can make one become emotionless, but Xin Linhua isn’t like that.

He cherishes Zhao Xi so much. But if he were to measure it with how much Zhao Xi values him, his own feelings amounts to nothing. A tenth fold.

"Zhao Xi. Wake up. Don’t sleep for too long."