The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 295: Always Knew

"You said you didn’t date?"

Ethan’s words hung heavily in the air.

It wasn’t that he was wrong. Until just recently, Lane didn’t date. And it wasn’t like his attitude had actually changed. He was still the same, ’casual flings are the best’ kind of person.

It was just that Damien was an exception. Every rule had to have one, after all. And Damien was hot and handsome, trustworthy, reliable, good in bed, cooked well... What was there not to like? Naturally, he was a perfect fit for Lane’s one and only dating attempt.

The problem was how Lane was supposed to respond to Ethan... Admitting that he treated Damien like an exception would be dangerous. Ethan was a spy working for his parents, after all. He would report everything to them. If Lane showed that he actually cared about Damien, then it could be used against him...

So what, just play it off cool for now? He could just explain it to Damien later, Damien would surely understand...

Just because he would understand, though, didn’t mean he wouldn’t feel hurt. He had been serious about Lane since long ago, patiently waiting for him to come around. And Lane had eventually agreed to date. If he backed out now, even if it was just a lie told for the sake of the spy...

He sighed inwardly. ’Ah, whatever, come what may...’

Then, he turned back to Ethan with a mocking smirk on his face. "I said many things in the past. Surely you don’t think that they all still hold true now, fifteen years later?"

But Ethan shook his head, undeterred. "It’s not just about when we were teens. Last year, when you met with your friend Jake..."

"Anyway!" Lane quickly interrupted, his eyes twitching nervously. He had no idea what conversation Ethan was referring to, and he was even more confused as to how he had obtained such information, but he wasn’t necessarily lying. Lane might have said something like that.

Not just might, he probably did.

"The point is that I’m in a relationship now, so even if I said something like that last year, it’s clearly no longer true. How dumb do you have to be not to understand that?"

Ethan only quirked his brows in response, not offended in the slightest. Or at least trying to pretend as if he wasn’t, because his darkened eyes suggested otherwise.

He didn’t dwell on it any further. Instead, he asked, "You said it’s the Bring Your Boyfriend to Work Day, didn’t you? So that means it’s only today, right?"

"...Did I say ’day’?" Lane tilted his head. "Sorry, I meant ’month’. It’s Bring Your Boyfriend to Work Month."

"Is that so? So you will be coming tomorrow as well?"

Damien and Lane answered at the same time,

"Of course!"

"We’re going on inspections tomorrow."

There was a pause, as Lane’s and Damien’s eyes met.

"Well, it doesn’t matter..." Lane was trying to say, but Damien shook his head lightly. He didn’t say anything out loud, as he didn’t want to openly contradict Lane in front of Ethan, but from his expression, it was clear what he meant.

’You can’t come. Not until you pass your license.’

That was quite a shock to Lane. Normally, he wouldn’t mind so much, as inspections were typically incredibly boring... So it would be fine to stay at home.

But Ethan was now a part of the team. Who knows what venomous words he might whisper into Damien’s ear when Lane was not around? It was a disaster waiting to happen! And Lane didn’t want there to be any conflict between him and Damien because of some stupid Guide! Not that Damien would be easily manipulated, but still... The thought of it just made him uncomfortable.

He would just have to somehow convince Damien to change his mind while they were back home. For now, he just grabbed the notes, and tried to focus on reading. Damien had also returned to his paperwork... While Ethan, like a pest that he was, just stuck around, sitting on one of the chairs and reading something on his phone.

As if he couldn’t just go do it anywhere else, and stop bothering Lane and Damien.

The atmosphere between them was still awkward and tense half an hour later, when they got up to go to the training hall.

"By the way," Ethan started the conversation again, as they walked down the hallway, just the three of them. Was his tongue still not tired from flapping around so much? "Congratulations on your advancement, Lane. I always knew you had it in you!"

Lane froze.

’I always knew you had it in you.’ It sounded like such a genuine phrase. As if Ethan had always believed in Lane’s potential, and had been cheering him on from the sidelines.

But it wasn’t that. What Ethan actually meant was that... He had suspected Lane. That Lane wasn’t what he said he was.

And he wasn’t just saying it. Now that Lane thought about it, Ethan DID notice something was off during their guiding sessions all those years ago. That Lane required more guiding than an F-ranker should.

Of course, it didn’t matter all that much now. Damien knew the truth about Lane’s ability. Director Torres believed that Lane had awakened as an ’A-rank’, and had been hiding his rank from the start because of his parents. As for the Allens... It didn’t matter if they found out that Lane had been lying to them about his rank for years. They already knew that he was a high-ranker, their deal was broken, so it was just whatever.

But he still couldn’t help but feel uneasy. About Ethan’s presence, about everything he knew, about how perceptive he was... Sure, he wasn’t as sharp as Damien, but still... Lane would have to really watch his actions from now on. From his speed and strength, to all of his abilities, he had to make sure he stuck with his ’A-ranker with air manipulation ability’ facade. Because if he slipped up and revealed something he shouldn’t...

It could potentially have serious consequences, both when it came to his current peaceful life, as well as his future plans.freēwēbηovel.c૦m