To adapt to the world as it is now, society has already undergone huge changes.

And now, the Dragon Realm’s only remaining Three Passes and Nine Cities are its last refuge.

Among the Three Passes, the highest government officials have all become Guardians.

A Guardian, by definition, is someone who guards a region. So naturally, the role is held by powerful Demonhunters.

“Of course! But my grandpa’s already over fifty. In a few more years, he’ll probably retire.”

As Qu Yi finished speaking, Ye Thirteen suddenly remembered who the current Guardian was.

The surname was Qu, so it was most likely Qu Xuelin!

Qu Xuelin, fifty-six years old, a Royal-tier Demon Hunter. He followed the mage-elemental path.

He specialized in large-scale damage output and was known as a moving fire dragon.

Back then, Ye Thirteen’s squad had even faced Qu Xuelin’s team once. If he remembered right, they had won.

After all, in its early days, the Starlight Feather Squad was almost unbeatable.

As for the losers, he didn’t remember them too clearly.

But the people who could go toe-to-toe with his squad, he remembered very well.

And Senior Qu Xuelin just so happened to be on the losing side.

The reason Ye Thirteen thought of Senior Qu Xuelin was mainly because he vaguely remembered that seven years ago, Qu Xuelin and a batch of other seniors had left their squads and headed to the front lines.

Back then, that had shaken the entire Alliance.

Ye Thirteen just hadn’t expected that Senior Qu Xuelin, who used to look so righteous, had actually climbed all the way to the position of Guardian here at Southgate Garrison.

With him guarding Southgate Garrison, that was definitely a blessing.

And who would’ve thought that Senior Qu Xuelin, with that square, stern face of his, would have such a cute and charming granddaughter...

When Qu Yi saw that Ye Thirteen wasn’t speaking, she quickly said,

“Hehe, were you stunned by my grandpa’s reputation? But don’t worry. As long as you’re not some criminal doing evil stuff, my grandpa’s actually pretty easy to talk to!”

???

That old guy who used to curse up a storm whenever he lost a match... easy to talk to?

Yeah, right.

Ye Thirteen rolled his eyes, then pulled out a cigarette and was about to light it.

Seeing that, Qu Yi muttered softly,

“Smoking’s bad for your health...”

With Ye Thirteen’s strength, of course he heard her quiet mutter. But he didn’t pay it much mind.

As Ye Thirteen exhaled a cloud of white smoke, Qu Yi had already hopped off to the side.

Looking at the wind and snow growing a little heavier, Ye Thirteen frowned and asked,

“It’s this late already. Aren’t you going home?”

Qu Yi had a lollipop in her mouth. One hand was on her hip, and she spoke with boundless energy,

“I’m the future Guardian who’s going to take over from Grandpa and protect Southgate Garrison, so of course I need to patrol the city often and help people who need help!

“Ahem, so I’ll walk you home first, and then I’ll go home! It’s my duty!”

Hearing that, Ye Thirteen rolled his eyes again.

“Wow, thanks so much. But I live right over there. I’ll be there after a short walk. So, future Lady Guardian, shouldn’t you head home first?

“Guardian Qu’s family rules are probably pretty strict, right?”

Qu Yi glanced at the apartment building not far away, then grinned again.

“Hehehe, it’s fine, no rush! Grandpa dotes on me a lot anyway! Let’s chat a little longer!”

She sat back down on the bench again, only this time a little closer than before.

Ye Thirteen frowned slightly, then lowered his left hand holding the cigarette beneath the bench a little.

He hadn’t talked to anyone for days. And now that he had a cute, lively girl like Qu Yi chatting with him, he actually kind of liked it.

So the two of them started chatting on the bench. Though most of the time, it was Qu Yi chirping away while Ye Thirteen only responded every now and then.

By the end of it, Ye Thirteen had basically learned everything about her except private details like her measurements.

But Qu Yi only knew Ye Thirteen’s rough address and that his surname was Ye.

The atmosphere between them was pretty good. Or rather, with Qu Yi’s personality, there were barely any people she couldn’t get along with.

She wasn’t far from social-anxiety level.

No, scratch that.

She was a social menace!

Still, after checking the time on his phone, Ye Thirteen eventually shooed the little brat away.

If she stayed any longer, she’d miss the last bus.

He really didn’t want to run into Qu Xuelin right now. After all, that old guy counted as one of his acquaintances.

Only after watching that little troublemaker leave on the last bus did Ye Thirteen head back to his place.

He hadn’t lied to Qu Yi. He really did live in this residential area, and he hadn’t even lied about which building or unit.

There was no need.

She was just a little girl still in school.

And honestly, Ye Thirteen did hope Qu Yi would come hang out more often.

After all, no one could dislike a pretty, adorable girl so full of life.

It was just that Ye Thirteen didn’t want Qu Yi to know about his past. He believed his choices had been wrong, and his complete downfall was the best proof of that.

As soon as he got home and lay down, he turned on his phone and immediately heard a string of message notifications.

At that moment, Ye Thirteen suddenly regretted adding Qu Yi as a contact.

[I just got home. Going to shower.]

Ye Thirteen sent that reply, then went to take a shower.

But Qu Yi, sitting on the bus, didn’t think there was anything wrong with his reply. If anything, she looked delighted.

After sending two more messages and confirming that Ye Thirteen wasn’t replying, Qu Yi finally started chatting with her best friend.

[Yiren Buyi: I met a handsome older guy today!]

[Xiao Lai Bu Xiao: How handsome!?]

[Xiao Lai Bu Xiao: Wait, weren’t you out patrolling the city and defending humanity’s homeland!?]

[Yiren Buyi: (*^▽^*) Maybe it’s because my hard work was recognized, so heaven sent me a handsome older guy as a reward!]

[Xiao Lai Bu Xiao: Got a photo!?]

[Yiren Buyi: How could I? Handsome Uncle was super cold. I had to work so hard just to get his contact info!]

[Xiao Lai Bu Xiao: Tsk. No pic, no proof! I think you’re just being dumb again! Qu Yi, go find yourself a man already!]

[Yiren Buyi: (ノ｀Д)ノ Get lost, get lost, get lost!]

...

Ye Thirteen had no idea that this little girl, who probably wasn’t even fully grown yet, was actually lusting after his body!

After all, there was a ten-year age gap between them. Ye Thirteen had always just seen Qu Yi as a little sister.

Because of that, after he came out of the shower and started feeling sleepy, he ignored Qu Yi’s long string of messages. He only sent one last text—

[I’m sleepy. Bye-bye.]

Then he muted his phone and went to sleep.

From that alone, it was easy to tell that while Ye Thirteen carried the worn, weathered vibe of an older man, at heart he was still a straight-up dense guy.

It wasn’t that Ye Thirteen disliked talking to people.

It was just that ever since leaving his squad, he’d started to slack off.

Back then, he used to be a master of time management.

Now, every day, he just ate, lazed around, lay there scrolling on his phone, and at most went downstairs now and then to get some air.

Full-on bum mode.