◎ A pet owner needs patience *and* a caring heart to wait for the pet to approach on its own. ◎
The room was dark, with no lights on. The sound of something slimy sliding across the floor came and went quickly.
Pale fingertips rested on the edge of the bed, a pair of bright eyes quietly watching the deeply unconscious person lying there.
After a few minutes, those eyes shifted away to look at the electronic clock on the side.
It was already three in the morning. Why hadn’t the human woken up yet? His complexion looked terrible.
He had already performed some simple treatment.
It was the Evil God’s first time trying to heal, but he believed he wouldn’t make a mistake.
So why wasn’t the human waking up?
Maybe the Evil God’s desire for the other to wake was too strong. Finally, he saw the man’s eyelids twitch slightly, then the man slowly opened his eyes.
His obsidian-like eyes were confused for a moment before suddenly clearing. Yue Peihui turned his head, and when his sharp gaze met the bright eyes by the bed, he immediately tried to sit up and draw his knife!
But he grasped at empty air—his outer coat was gone, only a tattered shirt remained on his body.
Yue Peihui slightly curled his fingers, squinting calmly, and spoke first to the person by the bed: "Who are you? Where is this?"
Weak light spilled through the uncovered floor-to-ceiling window. The young man lifted his face, cold light casting shadows on his pale skin, outlining fine fuzz on his cheek, adding an unknowingly eerie quality.
His voice was clear and bright: "This is my home. Don’t be afraid."
After a pause, he continued, "My name is Lin Jingdu… I’m human, so there’s no need to be afraid."
Lin Jingdu stared steadily at the man, observing every subtle movement on his face. The human seemed a bit wary, but that was fine—he had learned how to appear friendly. A harmless little lie should put the other at ease.
But something must have gone wrong. He thought the man would relax, but Yue Peihui’s black eyes grew even deeper and darker.
The man’s tone was very flat: "Do you know only those who are not human claim to be human?"
Such a clumsy trick, he had never seen it before.
Lin Jingdu: "?"
Isn’t the "Human Care Manual" supposed to teach you to claim you’re human? Why doesn’t it work on my own human?
After a moment’s thought, the Evil God chose to admit his mistake and said sincerely, "Is that so? Thank you for telling me that."
His tone was slow and even, with no inflection. His face, unable to show lively expressions, remained blank, making even his thanks sound flat—easily mistaken for sarcasm or threat.
The man before Lin Jingdu didn’t raise his eyelids but said coldly, "…What exactly are you thanking me for?"
Not understanding the subtext, Lin Jingdu replied blankly, "For what you just said."
After thinking, he added, "But I really am human." Before his pet relaxed around him, he would carefully hide his Evil God identity!
"…" No longer arguing, the man pressed on his bleeding abdomen and, with a hawk-like gaze, looked thoughtfully at Lin Jingdu. "What’s your purpose in bringing me back to your home?"
With a hint of mockery, he sneered, "To eat me?"
But he got no answer.
The young man kept staring at the spreading bloodstains, like a dark flower repeatedly blooming on the man’s shirt.
He first sniffed the scent in the air. The tip of his nose was filled with the aroma of human blood, but the next moment, the Evil God frowned, pulling himself out of that brief immersion and slowly answered the earlier question: "Although you smell good, I don’t eat just anything… Your wound has reopened."
After saying this, without asking or warning, the young man stood up, bent his knees, climbed onto the bed, and reached toward Yue Peihui’s abdomen.
The man’s eyelids twitched. He quickly grabbed the young man’s slender wrist, his voice icy cold: "…Don’t touch me."
His muscles tensed as if Lin Jingdu might attack at any moment.
The young man looked up, his calm gaze sweeping over the man’s face, and obediently said, "Oh."
His fragile wrist was still held by Yue Peihui, whose rough fingertips touched the pulse point but felt no beat—like touching the skin of a cold-blooded creature, chilling to the touch.
They stared at each other. The man frowned, his headache worsening. A sense of unease crept from his heart; his strong intuition told him this young man was not to be underestimated.
What seemed like a long gaze was actually only a few seconds before the owner of the heterochromatic eyes lowered his long lashes to cover his pupils.
If you won’t touch, then don’t. He probably wouldn’t die anyway.
"Can you let go of me now?" Lin Jingdu suddenly said, "Or do you like my hands? I could break one off for you to play with…"
The man’s temple twitched. Ignoring the young man’s poorly disguised act, he hesitated for a second, then released the wrist and glanced over the handsome face: "You still haven’t answered me—what’s your purpose in bringing me here?"
"Purpose?"
Lin Jingdu withdrew his hand. The pale wrist bore red finger marks. He blinked and casually said, "To raise you."
"Raise?"
"Yes!" The young man nodded, pointing at Yue Peihui and then at himself, radiating a bit of joyful energy. "You’re my pet, and I’m your owner now."
Yue Peihui: "…?"
For the first time, a trace of surprise flickered across his usually unflappable face. The man couldn’t help but repeat, "Pet?"
He twisted the corner of his mouth, with no smile in his eyes: "Aren’t you afraid I’ll bite you to death, owner?"
Lin Jingdu didn’t quite understand why his serious explanation angered his pet again.
But the gaze shifted from curiosity to coldness and scrutiny. Yue Peihui pressed on: "You don’t know Kugui?"
"What’s Kugui?" Lin Jingdu asked casually, his eyes scanning the man’s bloodless face and bleeding wound.
His mind didn’t spare any attention for Yue Peihui’s strange question. He was seriously thinking: the pet was injured, so according to the manual, he should feed him something to replenish energy immediately.
Raising an eyebrow, the man repeated, "Really don’t know?"
Lin Jingdu shook his head and slowly climbed down from the bed, saying, "Okay, no more talking. I have to cook for you."
No response came, but the Evil God didn’t mind. It was understandable that the newly picked-up little human was wary. He just didn’t realize that feeding someone at three in the morning wasn’t exactly ideal.
He fumbled his way to the kitchen, following his memory to light the stove, pour water, and cook soup.
He crouched down, reaching into the black shadow at his feet, stirring around before pulling out a clump of black fluff.
This ingredient was quite tasty; he hoped the human would like it.
After more than ten minutes, the soup was ready. The Evil God turned off the heat and looked at the pot with satisfaction.
Serving the soup, he carried the bowl and pushed open the bedroom door, catching the glow of a phone’s light flickering across the man’s handsome face.
The man who was caught didn’t change expression. Calmly, he turned off the phone screen and looked at Lin Jingdu holding the phone he somehow found. He clearly hadn’t expected the Evil God to leave just to cook a bowl of soup.
The young man’s gaze shifted slightly to the phone in Yue Peihui’s hand. Unexpectedly, he showed no anger, only calmness as he said, "Actually, if you wanted to use it, you could have just told me."
The man paused for a moment, then asked with an ambiguous tone, "Are you really agreeing to let me use it?"
He quickly recalled the scene from just when the door was opened, confident there was no mistake. He didn't want this strange being to see the message he had just sent:
[The bureau will classify this matter as confidential. Yue Peihui, you continue to observe and make contact. If necessary…]
[Eliminate potential threats on your own.]
Yue Peihui quickly closed it, so Lin Jingdu naturally didn't see that message. The Evil God’s indifferent gaze shifted away from the black screen of the phone and looked back at Yue Peihui, pursing his lips.
He had Lin Du’s memories and also knew what that little square icon was for: humans could use it to connect with the outside world, then return to their human groups to resist his nurturing.
But…
"You can’t run away." The Evil God placed the soup bowl on the bedside table and said, "You’re injured and powerless. Outside, where it’s dangerous, you’ll die."
He slowed his tone, as if wanting to reassure his pet, speaking gently: "Staying by my side is best. I will protect you well."
The boy was clearly saying "protect," but the words sounded more like those of a god born to wield the power to take away and grant rights, naturally telling Yue Peihui that staying by his side was the necessary and only choice.
Perhaps the word "protect" coming from a monster who wasn’t human but had to pretend to be was a bit laughable, or maybe the phrase "powerless" touched the deepest doubts in Yue Peihui’s heart. The light in the man’s eyes dimmed, like dark currents stirring in the deep sea.
Sensing the man’s mood was off, Lin Jingdu didn’t say more. He picked up the soup bowl again and brought it before Yue Peihui, his voice soft and gentle: "Drink some soup to regain your strength. It’s delicious; I’ve tasted it myself."
He earnestly promoted the soup he had cooked, slightly extending his hand forward. The light in Lin Jingdu’s eyes was astonishingly bright.
But the man lowered his eyes to look at the soup, water swirling inside, and fell silent.
What is this…?
Black dregs are black dregs, white water is white water.
If nothing unexpected, this should be the corpse of a low-hazard [Stain Fungal Colony].
Yue Peihui didn’t take the soup, nor did he say humans couldn’t drink soup brewed from strange corpses. Instead, he looked up at Lin Jingdu calmly and said, "I don’t want to be anyone’s pet, nor do I want to be nurtured by anyone."
The soup pulled back slightly. Lin Jingdu slowly uttered "ah," as if not fully understanding what he said.
Still not angry, he stared at Yue Peihui and explained, "No, you can’t. I saved you, I fed you. Our nurturing relationship is already established."
The man’s pale face showed no expression, cold to the point of ruthlessness: "You didn’t ask for my opinion, and I don’t need it."
"…"
With a crisp "clack," the ceramic bowl hit the table. The Evil God directly pointed out, "You want to escape."
The man’s black eyes were sharp as ice and snow. "If I could, of course I would choose to leave."
The atmosphere froze. The previously fake peaceful air twisted, becoming eerie and thick.
Yue Peihui’s gaze remained cold, meeting the boy’s eyes as if waiting for his next move. His whole body was like a taut bowstring.
They were locked in a standoff for several seconds.
Suddenly, the Evil God took a step back, as if giving up, sighing softly.
It’s okay, he comforted himself. It’s normal for a little pet to want to run away at first, because they never had a good owner before.
He was a good master; he shouldn’t kill the pet just because of this. That would make him seem irresponsible. Besides, after painstakingly selecting for so many days, he finally found one he liked. Lin Jingdu didn’t want to give up.
He lifted his head, expressionless, looking at Yue Peihui with calm and indifferent eyes, like a peaceful deep sea quietly flowing with tranquil currents.
A new plan silently took shape in his mind, but today, the Evil God generously decided to let the human rest well.
A master must have patience to wait for the pet to approach on its own.
His pet would definitely become very obedient. If it failed… he would just correct it.
Imagining a bright future, Lin Jingdu glanced at the soup on the bedside table: "You should still drink some to recover. I’ll leave now."
Grasping the bedroom door handle, the boy paused for a second and turned his head.
He met the man’s complicated black eyes and said softly, "It’s okay. I’m not sad, so you should rest well."
Acting a little pitiful—would that soften the pet’s heart?
[Author’s Note]
Little Jingdu: Before tasting human food, I really thought the strange corpse flavor was okay (chew chew chew)
Yue Peihui: (silent) (thinking) (studying) (bringing out various desserts)
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Thanks for the nutrient drink, I’m chewing too [Rabbit Ears Head]
