Obsessed with a High-Ranking Esper (BL)-Chapter 164: Get lost!

"I will," Xiaobao said, still watching him with concern. "But you don’t look fine."

"I’ll sleep for a while."

"Okay..."

She kept glancing at him, her worry growing by the second. Then, without warning, Yu Xi slumped forward.

"Yu Xi?" she gasped. "Yu Xi!"

She grabbed his shoulders, shaking him. His skin was burning hot, sweat beading on his brow. His breathing was shallow, uneven.

"Damn it," she whispered, fumbling for the hovercar’s controls. "Rerouting to the estate. Grandpa, get the doctors ready!"

She pulled him into her arms, cradling his head against her chest, her hands trembling.

"Stay with me, please," she whispered. "You are not allowed to do this."

She checked his temperature. The reading flashed red—dangerously high. Tears welled in her eyes.

They had survived in that dark cold cell together, starved and tortured. All the years of surviving hell, Yu Xi had always been the strong one, the unbreakable one.

But now, he was burning up in her arms. And for the first time, Xiaobao was terrified she might lose him.

When they reached the estate, the doctors were already waiting. They rushed to the hovercar, lifting Yu Xi onto a stretcher. Xiaobao followed, her fists clenched, her cheeks wet with tears.

***

Jian Ci sat on the edge of the med-bay cot like a man who had just watched his own funeral. His eyes were hollow, fixed on the floor, hands limp in his lap. The sterile light above him buzzed faintly, but he didn’t flinch. He barely blinked.

Jian Wei moved around him with clinical efficiency, drawing blood, scanning vitals, adjusting the neural interface nodes along Jian Ci’s temples.

Jian Rui leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching his younger brother with narrowed eyes. "What exactly happened?"

Jian Ci’s voice was hoarse. "I just... woke up. And she was there. And—fuck." He dragged a hand down his face. "She looked like a mess."

Jian Wei paused mid-scan. "So all these years of us trying to find a guide who could stabilize you, and she just conveniently shows up and does it?"

Jian Ci exhaled through his nose. "Yeah. And I imprinted on her too." The room went still.

Jian Wei blinked. "You what?"

"You what?" Jian Rui echoed, straightening.

Before either could say more, a soft chime filled the room. A moment later, Seraphyne’s projection flickered into existence—her holographic form tall, elegant, and faintly translucent, her voice as smooth as ever.

"If you imprinted on her," she said, "then we can begin negotiations with her family. This changes everything."

Jian Ci’s jaw tightened. "No."

Seraphyne tilted her head. "You are not thinking clearly. If she is the only one who can stabilize you, then her cooperation is essential. We need to ensure—"

"I will take responsibility for her," Jian Ci said, cutting her off.

The room fell silent again. Jian Wei looked up from the blood sample, his expression unreadable. Jian Rui’s brows lifted slightly, but he said nothing.

They all knew Jian Ci. Knew the kind of man he was. He wore his conscience like armor—heavy, unrelenting, impossible to ignore. If he said he would take responsibility, he meant it.

"If she’s the only one who can help me," Jian Ci said quietly, "then I will do what I have to. But only if she wants it."

Jian Rui stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever you decide, I’ve got your back."

Jian Ci nodded once. "I know."

A soft chime signaled the end of the scan. The floating screen above Jian Wei’s workstation flickered to life, displaying a complex neural map. Jian Wei turned to it, expecting the usual chaos—erratic pulses, jagged spikes, the signature of a mind on the brink.

But what he saw made him freeze. The map was calm. There were no storms, no ruptures and no signs of instability.

Just smooth, steady waves. Like any other esper. Jian Wei leaned in, eyes narrowing. "No way..."

"What is it?" Jian Rui asked, stepping closer.

Jian Wei tapped the screen. "His neural pattern. It’s... normal. Completely stabilized. No anomalies. No psychic turbulence. It’s like..."

"Like he is normal," Seraphyne finished, her voice tinged with awe.The three of them stared at the screen.

"What," they said in unison. Jian Rui let out a low whistle.

"You might as well marry her. She’s your cure."

Jian Ci didn’t answer. He stared at the screen, at the impossible calm where there had once been chaos. His chest felt tight—not with fear, but with something heavier. Something tangled. Relief, guilt, confusion and something else he didn’t dare name. He had been ready to die from this. Had made peace with it. But now... everything had changed. And he didn’t know what to do with that.

"Where’s Little Xi?" Jian Ci asked, his voice tight with urgency. He stood abruptly from the med-bed, brushing off the diagnostic leads still clinging to his skin. "I need to tell him what happened. He must be worried sick."

Jian Rui, seated on the edge of the console, glanced at the time. "He should be here by now. Call him."

Jian Ci didn’t wait for permission. He grabbed his communicator and strode out of the lab, the door sliding shut behind him with a soft hiss.

The moment it closed, the room shifted. Jian Wei leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "Something’s off."

Seraphyne’s projection flickered, her expression unusually grave. "Something doesn’t add up."

"I think so too," Jian Wei said. "There’s no way a guide who can actually stabilize Ah-Ci just happens to be there, unregistered, untrained, and conveniently alone."

Jian Rui folded his arms. "Either it’s a freak coincidence... or she’s lying."

Jian Wei scoffed. "The odds of that kind of compatibility? Slim to none. We’ve tested dozens of guides, all ranked higher than her. None of them worked."

Seraphyne’s eyes narrowed, her voice low and cold. "I want everything on her and her father. I don’t care how deep you have to dig. I want to know what she ate for breakfast, who she’s spoken to in the last year, and every dark secret buried in her family’s name."

Jian Rui nodded grimly. "Understood."

Just then, the door slid open again. Jian Ci stood there, frowning, his communicator still in hand. "Why did Little Xi’s grandfather answer his communicator and yell at me?"

The three of them blinked.

"...What?" Jian Rui asked.

Jian Ci looked genuinely baffled. "More like cursed at me. Called me a bloody bastard and said I shouldn’t even think of looking at Yu Xi again."

"..."

Jian Wei blinked. "Oh wow. What did you do?"

"I didn’t do anything!" Jian Ci threw up his hands. "I’ve never even spoken to his grandfather before!"

Jian Rui’s brow furrowed. Eros wouldn’t risk offending their family unless something serious happened. He’s too careful for that."

He stood, already heading for the door. "I am going to talk to him."

"I am coming too," Jian Ci said, stepping forward.

"No," Jian Rui said firmly. "You stay here. We still need to run more tests."

"But I am fine, right?" Jian Ci turned to Jian Wei for backup.

Jian Wei didn’t even look up from the data pad. "Do you want the old man to beat you up on sight? He just cursed at you."

"I didn’t do anything!"

Seraphyne’s voice was calm but final. "Stay here. Let your brother deal with it."

Jian Ci scowled but didn’t argue further. Jian Rui left. He arrived at the Eros estate thirty minutes later, only to be met at the gate by a wall of psychic pressure so dense it made the air shimmer. The guards didn’t even ask his name. They just opened the gate and stepped aside, eyes wary.

Eros was waiting in the courtyard, arms crossed, his expression thunderous.

"Eros," Jian Rui began, bowing slightly. "I am looking for Yu Xi. Is he okay?"

"Get lost," Eros snapped.

Jian Rui blinked in confusion.

"You are lucky I don’t blast your family’s estate to pieces with you inside it," Eros growled. "Now leave."

Jian Rui stood frozen for a beat, stunned. "...What the actual fuck is going on?" he muttered under his breath as he turned and walked away, the weight of unanswered questions pressing heavier with every step. Something had happened. Something big.