◎Even if it binds me… I don’t mind.◎
Suspecting he had inherited the man’s handsome brows, he asked, “Why do you…” Pausing, he awkwardly squeezed out the rest, “want to help me bathe.”
Could it be that he wanted to lower his guard while bathing and kill him?
Not detecting the probing tone in the other’s words, Lin Jingdu raised the nearby phone, his eyes shining brightly: “Pet bloggers on short videos all bathe their pets!”
Yue Peihui’s gaze fell on the phone screen the young man was holding, showing a cute Shiba Inu lying in a bathtub, happily enjoying its owner’s top-notch scrubbing service.
Silence and awkwardness filled the kitchen, only the cheerful background music and the dog’s barking echoed.
The man’s temple twitched as he coldly said, “I don’t need you to help me bathe like that.”
The young man visibly wilted at a speed noticeable to the naked eye.
Yue Peihui showed no mercy.
The Evil God was persistent; after finishing the bread, he followed Yue Peihui all the way to the bedroom door.
“I’m going to close the door.” Gently picking up his fragile gentle persona, Yue Peihui said this and was about to close the door.
“Wait!” The young man lifted his eyes again, his delicate fingers blocking the door, “Really can’t help you bathe? …You’re injured.”
He used the most righteous reason, hoping the man couldn’t refuse.
But still hit a wall: “No need.”
The door closed in front of Lin Jingdu, and after a while, the sound of water rushing began.
Rubbing his nose, the Evil God stepped back a bit but didn’t plan to leave.
When the water stopped, Yue Peihui came out, and the Evil God was still waiting at the door. But now it was the bathroom door.
Sliding the door open, the round cat’s eye glanced at him, looking eager.
Yue Peihui: “…”
Pressing his forehead, Yue Peihui tried to communicate: “Why are you still waiting here?”
The Evil God’s gaze burned brightly as he persistently said, “I want to wait to dry your hair, or blow dry it.”
Drying hair, blow-drying hair. Each option seemed reasonably acceptable.
However, the man tugged at his extremely dry hair strands and said politely but distantly, "Thank you, but I've already finished blow-drying."
"…"
Still that poker face, but the Evil God inexplicably seemed to grow disappointed again.
Ignoring the other’s pretentious act of playing cute with a beautiful skin, Yue Peihui glanced at the electronic clock on the bedside table. It was already eight o'clock. The sky was darkening, usually the time when the strange beings gradually began to stir. Darkness was the most suitable environment for their survival.
Before he could look away from the clock, Yue Peihui heard the young man in front of him speak softly, "By the way, I’m going out later."
His black eyes, softened by the lingering moisture, hardened again with frost. The man holding the towel paused: "Going out?"
The Evil God nodded: "Yes, I have to go out for a bit. You behave yourself at home." His tone was like coaxing a small animal.
Yue Peihui squinted his eyes and tentatively made a request: "I want to go too."
"No." The expected refusal. Lin Jingdu’s heterochromatic eyes also showed a hint of caution.
What if the little pet ran away? And what if an ordinary person went out and got eaten by a strange being? After all, when he was found, the person was already covered in wounds inflicted by the strange beings.
Lin Jingdu took out his phone and showed a post on the screen: "Stray cat just arrived home, here are some precautions you need to see!"
Yue Peihui: "…"
Recognizing the strange logic, Yue Peihui was already calm enough to argue: "That’s a cat, not a person."
Lin Jingdu’s eyes glanced at him.
In the Evil God’s eyes, they really were quite similar—both fragile.
But the man seemed unwilling to give up: "I want to go out."
How could he let a dangerous bomb run around on its own? He had to follow.
Seeing that Lin Jingdu was still going to refuse, Yue Peihui lowered his voice: "I want to buy some things, like vegetables and meat—essentials."
Lin Jingdu didn’t relent: "I’ll buy those too."
"Can you tell what’s edible and what’s not?" The man raised an eyebrow. "What if you bring back poisonous mushrooms?"
"We’re all humans. I can tell the difference," Lin Jingdu said gloomily. If he couldn’t tell, he could always call for backup.
"I don’t quite trust that," Yue Peihui said. "Humans have tricks even ghosts and monsters can’t match. What if someone has ill intentions toward you…"
The Evil God almost carelessly blurted out "Just kill them," but thinking that the one he’d casually say to kill would be a fellow pet of his, he twisted his words into "Don’t worry, I can distinguish malice."
Seemingly out of reasons, the man lowered his head to think. His freshly washed and blow-dried hair was fluffy and soft, falling smoothly past his ears, covering his thoughtful brows and eyes.
Lin Jingdu looked at him hesitantly: "Do you really want to go out that badly?"
Really want to… run away from him?
When the Evil God had already pessimistically imagined "how to release a human," the man raised his head, his aggressive gaze firmly fixed on Lin Jingdu: "I just… worry about you."
The Evil God paused.
Looking into the strange being’s wide, round eyes, the man slowly and clearly said, "I’m worried you might be in danger outside, so I want to go with you."
The young man’s body trembled slightly. Like a slightly panicked kitten, he hesitated and glanced sideways from under his eyelashes at Yue Peihui, wanting to believe the man’s words but unable to be sure.
The man bent slightly. The scent of shower gel from his recent bath wafted to Lin Jingdu’s nose with his movement, warmly enveloping the slender youth. Yue Peihui’s dark eyes focused intently on the person before him, lips curling into a smile despite the coldness in his gaze.
"You can use whatever method you want to confirm your peace of mind, even restrain me… I don’t mind."
The man’s pale lips parted and closed, his tone a low murmur as if extremely intimate.
"Is that okay?"
Lin Jingdu: "…"
Damn, he couldn’t refuse.
"Hmm…" The young man’s voice was slow, then he relented, "It’s not impossible."
Hearing this, Yue Peihui raised his hand to cover the slight smile at his nose.
Sure enough, this strange being responds to softness, not hardness.
Lin Jingdu shifted his tone: "But you have to wear this."
"What?"
The young man opened his palm. A black viscous liquid condensed, gradually forming a ring. He held the ring out in front of Yue Peihui: "If you wear this, I can find you anytime."
Yue Peihui stared at the ring and decisively agreed: "Okay."
At worst, he could find a chance to destroy it.
Taking the ring from the young man’s palm, Yue Peihui was about to put it on his wrist.
"—Not there."
Lin Jingdu tugged at his collar and pointed to his slender, pale neck: "Wear it here."
The man’s black eyes swept over the youth’s fair neck, his hand gripping the ring tighter: "A collar?"
Lin Jingdu nodded: "Yes." He said puzzledly, "What’s wrong? I see all the pets wearing them." The one among them who knew humans quite well even customized many beautiful collars for their pet humans.
Yue Peihui: "…Can I not wear it?"
The Evil God was very firm: "No." He said seriously, "No collar, no going out."
The man was silent, then after a long moment asked, "Isn’t there a more dignified way?"
*
It was late April to early May, the nights were not hot, just pleasantly cool.
Inside a large supermarket, even though it was a good time for a post-meal stroll, the foot traffic was still pitifully sparse. It was as if no one chose to shop at this supermarket.
Yet despite the sparse crowd, passersby couldn’t help but frequently glance at the two people picking items by the shelves.
Because both of them were strikingly handsome.
Whether it was the aloof man or the slightly gloomy youth beside him, their appearances were stunningly rare.
Ignoring the amazed looks from passersby, the man irritably ran his hand through his hair. His sleeve slipped down slightly with the movement, revealing a black bracelet on his strong wrist. Hanging from the thin black cord was a small octopus charm—this was a bracelet Lin Jingdu had copied from a shopping app’s recommendation, the result of bargaining between Yue Peihui and Lin Jingdu.
…It was tolerable, at least he didn’t have to wear a collar.
Yue Peihui casually picked up a bag of chips and glanced at the production date: close to expiration. It was clear the staff hadn’t bothered to restock properly.
The Evil God, pushing the shopping cart enthusiastically, looked around curiously here and there. This was his first time shopping in a supermarket. Although he had absorbed memories of Lin Du’s supermarket visits, those memories were like flipping through a book—detached. To truly enjoy the experience, Lin Jingdu had to live it himself.
Secretly placing several bags of chips into the cart basket, Lin Jingdu suddenly looked up at Yue Peihui and asked, "Why did you choose this store?" His question seemed odd but was worth exploring. They had walked quite a distance to get here, even though there was a large supermarket right next to their residential area. There was no need to come to this one that looked like it was on the verge of closing down.
Yue Peihui came back to his senses and said casually, "I used to shop here."
That reason seemed fine; many humans were nostalgic.
Lin Jingdu’s gray and black eyes scanned Yue Peihui’s face, as if believing the reason, and nodded: "Oh, I see."
The topic ended. The youth pushed the cart forward, suddenly bumping into a wall of flesh.
"Ouch!"
The unlucky person who got bumped cried out in pain.
Lin Jingdu stood still, looking stunned, not apologizing.
A slender, well-defined hand rested on the edge of the cart. The man’s voice was cold: "Sorry, I bumped into you."
The bumped person, who had been wailing "ouch, ouch," straightened up at Yue Peihui’s cold gaze and smiled slyly: "Ah, it’s nothing, nothing serious."
He shamelessly reached out his hand and said pitifully, "Can you compensate me? Just a bag of chips, I’m not greedy."
Lin Jingdu’s round eyes blinked slightly, puzzled: "But didn’t you bump into me yourself?"
The bumped person: "…" Damn, looks like he was caught.
He scratched his furry head, trying to ignore his boss’s murderous glare beside him, and awkwardly said, "Ah, ah! That’s right! I wasn’t watching where I was going! Sorry, sorry."
"Oh," Lin Jingdu politely asked, "Do you still want compensation now?"
The man stammered, "No, no, I don’t!"
He quickly ended the conversation: "I’m going now, thanks for your kindness!"
After saying that, he hurried away. When passing Yue Peihui, their eyes met briefly then naturally looked away.
Lin Jingdu didn’t notice their eye contact. When the other said "I’m leaving first," his attention had already shifted from the human who deliberately bumped his cart to the nearby shelves displaying mandarins and oranges, as if trying to figure out the difference between the two fruits.
Naturally, the Evil God didn’t notice this either. Retracting his gaze, the man cast a faint, thoughtful look at him.
The young boy was carefully selecting fruits, frequently glancing at passersby walking by, silently observing how other humans chose their fruits. After those passersby left, he would imitate their methods of judging the quality of the fruit to make his own selections.
Sometimes, he would also observe Yue Peihui's actions to improve his own shopping skills.
Humbly learning and striving to integrate quickly into the new world—this was a principle the Evil God always adhered to.
Sensing the indifferent gaze cast upon him, the boy looked up, only to see the man had already lowered his eyes.
Looking at the shopping basket, which was more than half filled with his own purchases, Lin Jingdu asked, "Aren't you going to buy something?"
Unexpectedly, the man asked back, "What do you want to eat?"
He curled his lips into a gentle, calm, and cool smile: "I'll make it for you."
Lin Jingdu wanted to refuse: "No need, pets don't cook for their owners—"
Yue Peihui interrupted him, his black eyes fixed straight on the boy, the smile unchanged, his tone softened a bit: "I want to make it for you, is that not allowed?"
Lin Jingdu: "…"
Damn, it seems like there's really no way to refuse this.
[Author's Note]
Later on, someone fell in love and coaxed the Evil God into letting him wear a collar. [Shrugs]
