Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Because of the sudden stabilization of his corruption level, Fu Nanyao caught the keen attention of the Ability User Association. Unfortunately, Fu Nanyao himself remembered nothing.

Meanwhile, the surveillance footage from Beishan Hospital had already been destroyed back when "Men's High Heels" let the Horror’s domain run wild.

The Association’s higher-ups left with nothing and could only take things step by step for now.

Even Shen Yan frowned slightly. From any angle, if they could figure out why Fu Nanyao’s corruption level stabilized… it would be like a second chance at life for every other Ability User who had fused with Horrors and was on the verge of losing control.

Unfortunately, there were still no clues to go on.

Sang Huaiyu glanced at the person in the examination room but wasn’t surprised by the answer. At this moment, he closed his eyes briefly, thinking about Shi Yu. He had a hunch that Fu Nanyao’s change was connected to Shi Yu somehow—after all, that human was kinda special, even in his eyes.

But he was patient and didn’t rush.

Unexpected changes never happened without reason. Eyes downcast, Sang Huaiyu recalled how today he’d had Han Chuyi say hi to Shi Yu for him, only to scare the other instead. Tilting his head slightly in confusion, he wondered—did Shi Yu… not like him?

Considering his looks, nobody should mind his appearance.

Sang Huaiyu’s gaze drifted toward the mirror in the hallway, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

...

The next day, Shi Yu was jolted awake by hunger.

He’d spent all day yesterday running around the hospital without eating, then collapsed into bed too exhausted to think about anything else. Now, just after nine in the morning, his stomach had woken him up.

Shi Yu, who had planned to sleep until noon on the weekend: …

Stupid stomach, never lets me sleep in!

After struggling between drowsiness and hunger for a while, the insistent growling in his belly finally beat out his urge to stay in bed. With a sigh, Shi Yu threw off the covers and got up, grumbling under his breath.

He felt like even a Horror popping up right now wouldn’t match his level of crankiness. Who gets the struggle of barely being able to open your eyes and still having to eat?

But the more he dragged his feet, the hungrier he got. Gritting his teeth, Shi Yu went straight to the fridge to check what was left.

As soon as he opened the fridge door, he realized the fridge was nearly empty. The food he had stocked up last week was now reduced to pale steamed buns and greasy fried chicken.

Looking at both options, the oily food seemed the most appetizing. Without wasting time, Shi Yu ripped open the fried chicken bag and tossed it into the oven.

After finishing the process, he leaned against the kitchen counter, hand on his growling stomach as he waited. His morning crankiness finally started to ease.

The little Mimosa heard clattering sounds coming from the kitchen and peeked out, spotting the human nearby.

The beautiful human had his back turned, lazily sipping water with his head tilted slightly. Even with messy hair and clearly half-awake, he looked stunning in the morning sunlight.

Whoa, so pretty—

Early in the morning, the little Mimosa’s face went red in an instant.

Huh? Someone here?

Shi Yu turned his head as soon as he sensed movement in the living room and guessed it was the Mimosa.

His gaze paused for a moment before he asked, “Do you... want to eat something too?”

For some reason, maybe because they’d lived together for a few days, even though he couldn't see the other, Shi Yu had still sensed the Mimosa’s presence the moment it appeared. Blinking in surprise, he found the feeling strangely new.

The Mimosa hadn't expected the handsome human to ask it, and happily shook its leaves, though it politely declined. It couldn’t eat human food.

Shi Yu nodded, understanding the Mimosa’s meaning. Then he awkwardly realized: Uh, lately, he'd completely forgotten to feed the Mimosa.

He wondered if the little thing had gone hungry.

He’d been so busy since yesterday that he nearly forgot about it, but now that it came up… While waiting for the fried chicken to heat up, Shi Yu waved the Mimosa closer.

"By the way, I forgot to ask—what do you usually eat when you need nourishment?"

"I originally wanted to reward you after the last livestream, but I didn’t get the chance. Might as well do it today."

What?

Shi Yu was going to give it a reward?!

The Mimosa was giddy, flooded with joy, nearly bouncing with excitement.

Though still a bit puzzled, who wouldn’t love a gift? Especially one from such a handsome human.

Its normally cool leaves flushed red in an instant. After hesitating shyly for a while, the Mimosa couldn’t help placing one of its leaves in Shi Yu’s palm and drew something gently.

Shi Yu froze, about to say he might not get it. But the next moment, he realized—he actually could.

"Is this… rainwater?" Shi Yu confirmed.

So the Mimosa’s usual food was rainwater? He mused.

The Mimosa bobbed its leaves eagerly.

Shi Yu picked up his phone. "Hmm, let me see."

"It hasn’t rained these past few days, so you probably couldn’t collect any yourself. But I’ll check online—maybe someone has some." You could find anything online; rainwater was probably no exception.

Sure enough, not long after he ordered, he got a reply: "I have some stored rainwater for brewing wine."

"How many jars do you want?"

Shi Yu considered the Mimosa’s size. "One jar."

"I’ll have a delivery person bring it over."

They worked out the details, and Shi Yu showed the chat log to the little Mimosa.

"There we go."

"When the delivery arrives, I’ll have them leave it at the door. Don’t forget to grab it."

The little Mimosa perked up excitedly.

Shi Yu tucked his phone away just as a "ding" sounded—the fried chicken was ready. He turned to take it out of the oven.

The fragrant fried chicken, perfectly reheated, was crispy on the outside and tender inside. The golden crust looked irresistibly delicious, making his mouth water before he even took a bite.

Shi Yu took a quick pic and uploaded it online—he couldn't wait to share it.

Though it was just store-bought, it looked pretty good.

But the moment he lifted it to his mouth, a sudden wave of sourness surged in his stomach, followed by violent cramps. The abrupt nausea caught him off guard, rooting him to the spot before he instinctively rushed to the bathroom.

After a while, retching sounds came from inside.

Shi Yu had been gagging all morning, his stomach burning. He hadn’t even figured out what was wrong.

Was the fried chicken bad?

But it didn’t smell funny at all.

It was the first time Shi Yu had vomited so violently—he felt tears welling up in his eyes.

The Mimosa outside was startled. It had been waiting for the food delivery but quickly rushed to pour a glass of water for the human.

After knocking on the bathroom door for a while, Shi Yu finally rinsed his mouth once the nausea eased slightly. His voice was hoarse: "Thanks."

The Mimosa fluttered its leaves anxiously, clearly worried about him.

What happened?

Why did he suddenly throw up?

Shi Yu sighed helplessly. He had known he wasn't feeling well lately—so much so that he’d gone to the hospital. Who could have guessed he'd run into something strange afterward? Now he hadn’t even finished his check-up.

Feeling a hollow, sick sensation in his gut, Shi Yu frowned slightly. Maybe he should take some time to visit a temple.

Otherwise, why had he been so unlucky lately?

...

No matter how hard Han Chuyi tried to deny it, Shi Yu had already deleted him. His usual confident smile vanished, replaced by a dark expression as he stared at the contact list, growing more irritated with every glance.

But Han Chuyi was too proud to swallow his pride and reach out.

After fuming for a while, he chucked his phone aside.

Whatever. Deleted is deleted. Like he really cared anyway.

The next day, members of the Ability Users Association noticed the young master was in a foul mood. Though he still wore his cheerful, youthful grin, those who knew him could sense the difference.

If before he had been like a playful pup, now he seemed provoked—his smirk cold, his raised eyebrows giving people an unnerving stare.

During the morning meeting about “Fu Nanyao,” Han Chuyi sat there zoned out, clearly uninterested in the subject. Whether it was an accident or not, the top brass hadn’t even figured it out yet—why rush into a meeting?

He leaned back in his chair, clearly not listening.

Shen Yan glanced at him, unsure what to think. He also believed discussing things without clarity was pointless.

The meeting dragged on in a perfunctory way, everyone lost in their own thoughts. It wasn’t until the higher-ups announced the end that they snapped back to reality.

Sang Huaiyu stood up first, ready to leave, when Han Chuyi—who had clearly spaced out—suddenly spoke.

“Brother Sang.”

The sudden call made Sang pause. His curls fell softly as his gaze, hidden behind white silk, turned calmly toward the right, wondering what Han wanted.

Fu Nanyao hadn’t moved from his spot.

Shen Yan, who had just stood up, frowned at Han, assuming the guy had found another excuse to bother Huaiyu.

Yet the usually cocky young master hesitated for a moment, tsked in irritation, then asked a completely random question.

"Brother Sang, that day at Beishan Hospital, you asked me to say hello to Shi Yu for you."

"You've met that guy?"

After Shi Yu ignored him, he was annoyed for a long time and spaced out all day. After hesitating for a while, Han Chuyi ended up chasing after him once the meeting concluded, asking Brother Sang about what happened that day.

He had only meant it as a passing question, but didn't expect it to draw anyone's attention.

At the familiar name, Fu Nanyao turned his head and finally showed a reaction.

Sang Huaiyu narrowed his eyes, surprised that Han Chuyi had stopped him just to ask about this.

Is it something to do with Shi Yu?

He paused briefly, his gray eyes sizing up Han Chuyi and studying his expression.

Was this man struggling just now when he spoke?

Interesting. What was this lowly ant so worked up about? Was he trying to judge him using human emotions?

If he remembered correctly, not long ago this insignificant creature had looked at him with admiration, yet now he was getting all worked up at the mention of Shi Yu’s name.

Noticing sidelong looks from the others, Sang Huaiyu curled his lips slightly, finding the situation amusing. With amused curiosity, and thinking back to that hostile young man who seemed to dislike him, he said, "Oh, Shi Yu?"

"I bumped into him at the Ability User Association a few days ago."

"I fell in love with him—at first sight."