CHAPTER 66: BIRTHDAY PARTY

Meanwhile, in the lab, Jian Wei and Jian Rui were deep in analysis. Data streams glowed across the console, biometric logs and psychic resonance charts laid bare.

Jian Rui leaned back, eyes narrowing. "He really doesn’t need a guide," he murmured.

Jian Wei nodded slowly. "But he is still an esper. Through and through."

And that, more than anything, was what made Yu Xi so dangerous. There was no sign of him having the traits of a guide at all.

"See zero per cent guide traits," Jian Wei said, tapping the interface. "None. Not even recessive markers."

Jian Rui leaned in, eyes narrowing. "But his resonance is stable. He doesn’t destabilize without one."

"Exactly," Jian Wei replied. "He is a pure Esper. But more than that, he might never need a guide. His internal regulation is... unprecedented."

Jian Rui folded his arms, thoughtful. "Do you want to test him again?"

Jian Wei shrugged. "Yeah. Just to be sure."

Jian Rui nodded. "Do it."

Jian Wei hesitated, then turned to another screen, his fingers dancing across the controls. "By the way... I think we have a breakthrough."

Jian Rui’s head snapped toward him. "Seriously?"

Jian Wei’s eyes gleamed with restrained excitement. "It won’t cure him. But it will suppress the erratic pulses better than anything currently on the market."

He pulled up a molecular diagram. "I isolated a stabilizer compound from Yu Xi’s serum trial. It’s reactive, but it binds to the volatile strands without mutating them."

Jian Rui stared at the screen, silent. "It’s clean, efficient and there are minimal side effects," Jian Wei added.

Jian Rui exhaled, genuinely impressed. "You are exceptional. I am glad we have a genius in the family."

Jian Wei smirked, tapping through the stabilizer compound logs. "If we were all muscles and no brains, we would be doomed."

Jian Rui chuckled. "Don’t get too cocky now."

Jian Wei looked away, but the smile that reached his eyes lingered.

Jian Rui tapped the console. "Let him try it as soon as possible. Oh—and we need to plan his birthday. Otherwise, he will make trouble."

Jian Wei groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Argh, I almost forgot. Did you get him a gift?"

Jian Rui shook his head. "No. But Mum did."

Jian Wei sighed. "What can I get him? He is so hard to please."

Jian Rui mumbled, half to himself, "You might as well wrap Yu Xi up with a red bow and give him to him. That’s guaranteed to make him happy."

Jian Wei blinked. "..."

Jian Rui didn’t look up, already immersed in the compound logs.

"You are impossible," Jian Wei muttered.

Jian Rui smiled faintly. "I am giving you suggestions yet you are complaining."

***

The ceremonial hall of the Imperial palace shimmered with refracted light, each crystal arch catching the sun and scattering it in golden fragments across the polished marble floors.

Attendants moved like whispers, adjusting floral arrangements that bloomed with psychic resonance and recalibrating the dampeners embedded in the walls to ensure no stray emotion disrupted the sanctity of the occasion.

The air was thick with celebration, laughter, anticipation, the hum of noble presence, but Jian Ci felt none of it.

He stood near the balcony, a solitary figure in full royal regalia. His midnight blue tunic, woven from psi-reactive silk, shimmered faintly with each breath, as if alive with his restrained energy.

Gold trimmings curled into ancient sigils of Virelian lineage, symbols of power and duty etched into every thread. A ceremonial sash crossed his chest, anchored by a brooch shaped like the crest of House Seraphyne: a phoenix rising from a fractured crown.

His boots gleamed like obsidian, gloves tucked with precision into his belt. The cape over his shoulders was heavy, lined with psychic shielding, it’s weight unbearable.

His hair, wavy and ear-length, fell in soft layers, a few strands stubbornly veiling his forehead. He hadn’t bothered to push them back.

His expression was unreadable, carved from quiet restraint. But his eyes, his eyes held a storm. Today, he was no longer a minor.

According to the laws of Virelia, he had officially crossed the threshold into adulthood. But there was no joy in it.

He should have been at home, surrounded by his brothers, teasing Jian Wei, sharing cake with Yu Xi, maybe even watching a ridiculous movie in their pajamas. Maybe get wasted.

Instead, he stood beneath the vaulted crystal arches of the Imperial palace ceremonial hall, dressed in regalia he hadn’t chosen, enduring a celebration he hadn’t wanted.

His distant, cold, and more myth than man father had insisted on this. He had said every prince had a grand ceremony when they came of age. You are the tenth prince. You will not be the only one without one. But Jian Ci knew better. It was a lie. A convenient excuse.

Grand ceremonies weren’t mandatory. Jian Wei had never been offered one, and even if he had, he would have refused. Most princes and princesses without high esper or guide rankings were quietly passed over.

This wasn’t just a birthday party. It was a political showcase. A matchmaking market and Jian Ci wanted no part of it.

He stared out at the city lights beyond the balcony, hands clenched at his sides.

A voice echoed from the room behind him. It was Jian Rui’s voice, calm and commanding. "Come inside."

Jian Ci bit his lower lip, then turned and walked back into the room.

Jian Wei was waiting, holding out a familiar injector. "Take it again."

Without a word, Jian Ci took the suppressant and pressed it to his neck. The hiss of the injection was soft, almost soothing.

Two weeks ago, when Jian Wei had handed him the new formula, he had been wary. Every suppressant before had made him nauseous, dizzy, sometimes even feverish as his body fought to adapt. But this one was different. He didn’t get sick and there were no side effects.

In fact, he felt better, sharper and more balanced. It was the first time in years he didn’t feel like he was fighting his own body. And that, more than anything, made him uneasy. He suspected Yu Xi had something to do with this suppressant but what did it cost him? Jian Ci couldn’t help but feel guilty.