Zhi Guan rubbed his head for a moment longer and then motioned for Yun Bei Fen to follow him. The two of them went back to the courtyard and knocked on the door to Luo Lin’s room.
There was the rustling of clothes before Shen Lei opened the door with a smile. “Ah Guan, you’re back already.”
Zhi Guan gave a hum and didn’t bother trying to go in. “How are things going? Any news?”
Shen Lei looked over his shoulder and cleared his throat. “Well, so far, we haven’t managed to figure out how to switch abilities but he is slowly getting the hang of adjusting this one.”
At this point, Luo Lin finally appeared behind Shen Lei. His skin was still glowing with a faint luster but it wasn’t as exaggerated as before. If he went out of the door like this … people might actually think he had always looked like this. It sure was in line with his usual aesthetic.
Seeing him like this, Zhi Guan nodded faintly. “It’s good you’re slowly figuring it out.” He glanced at Yun Bei Fen who was standing next to him and looking at Luo Lin curiously and reached out to pat his head again. “You should also try and get a grasp on your ability. If you can’t figure it out on your own, ask your third senior martial brother or the guardians for help.”
In fact, he was pretty sure that Yun Bei Fen would have more difficulty getting the hang of it so he was pretty certain it would need blue butterfly’s help. But then, if Luo Lin was making progress, maybe he could help Yun Bei Fen as well. He might even have an easier time than the guardians considering that this was just as new to him as it was to Yun Bei Fen.
He thought for a moment about whether he should ask Luo Lin to do so but then, he reconsidered with a glance at Shen Lei. Who knew how exactly Luo Lin and Shen Lei had figured things out? It might be better to wait for Yun Bei Fen to figure it out on his own. Although then again …
Shen Lei saw his friend’s somewhat twisted expression and chuckled. “You’re worried about Fen’er?” He looked at his lover’s little junior and smiled. “Have you tried out your ability yet?”
Yun Bei Fen hesitated and then shook his head. “No, actually, I’m still not sure what it’s supposed to be.”
Shen Lei gave a hum and then turned to glance at Luo Lin. Even though he was happy to spend time together with just the two of them, Yun Bei Fen figuring out his ability was a question of safety. And with how much Luo Lin loved his little junior, they naturally had to prioritize that. “Maybe Luo Lin could help you?”
Luo Lin wrapped his hands around Shen Lei’s arm and nodded. “Yes, I could give it a try at least! I’m not too sure even about my own ability yet but it’s slowly getting better. Maybe we can figure it out together.”
Yun Bei Fen immediately nodded. He didn’t think that he would be able to do this on his own. If Mei Chao Bing wasn’t there to help, then he was afraid one of the others would need to have a look. He definitely couldn’t uncover this all on his own. He wouldn’t even know where to start!
Luo Lin smiled brightly and then turned to Zhi Guan. “Then what about you, first senior martial brother? Are you going to stay as well?” Anyway, if Yun Bei Fen was there, he already couldn’t do anything with Shen Lei so one person more or less didn’t matter.
Zhi Guan pondered for a moment but then shook his head. “We’ve just come up with a plan. I have to tell the Elders about it and then I will go and help out around the town. The three of you just keep trying. If you need help, you can come and find me. But there’s so much to do, if I can spare the time for the others, I should.”
Shen Lei nodded. “I’d help as well but … it seems Luo Lin indeed needs me here.” He smiled wryly, actually feeling embarrassed for once.
Originally, he hadn’t thought there was much to it but now, it seemed that Luo Lin, in fact, did need him to be there for his ability to work. They’d need to verify this with somebody whenever Luo Lin’s healing ability could be activated again but for the time being, it sure looked like this was the case.
He wasn’t sure why this was the case either. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Luo Lin had originally activated his ability when he was there and had even done so for him or maybe there was more to this that they currently couldn’t see. He didn’t know but somehow, it made him feel awkward.
He glanced at Luo Lin and couldn’t help but sigh. He knew why he felt like this: He felt like he had taken something from him. When he was injured, he had thought he would die without Luo Lin ever knowing how much he truly loved him because he hadn’t been man enough to propose out of fear of being rejected.
Then, even after being healed, he was the reason Luo Lin needed to go through so much pain to actually acquire the ability. Even though it had also given him something, that didn’t undo that night of pain. And now, even the ability he had received couldn’t be used freely but was somehow tied to him.
Yes, how could he not feel awkward? It was as if his selfishness had managed to bind Luo Lin to his side and even though he never wanted to let him go, he was afraid that he was also making it difficult for Luo Lin to make that decision on his own. As his fiance, that wasn’t something he wanted to see happening. No, he wanted Luo Lin to be with him enthusiastically, not out of the feeling that he was forced. And suddenly, he felt insecure about whether that was the case or not when previously, he had never doubted their relationship for a single moment.
