Chapter 66

Chapter 66

"Can we use your true form?"

Sang Huaiyu hesitated briefly, not expecting Shi Yu to make such a request. The look he gave the other man turned thoughtful.

It seemed Shi Yu didn’t know what *your* true form was...

After speaking, Shi Yu remained completely unaware of any issue. Seeing that the Horror hadn’t responded, he wondered if his suggestion had been too presumptuous.

Did high-ranking Horrors consider their true forms too private to show casually?

He blinked, choosing his words carefully. "Um, Mr. Sang, if it’s inconvenient, forget I asked."

He’d just have to think of another way.

Sang Huaiyu watched him quietly. "It’s not inconvenient."

"Only, I’m a little worried you might be frightened."

Frightened?

He’d seen plenty of horrors before—normally, he shouldn’t be scared, right?

Aside from the initial terror when the Horror first appeared, Shi Yu considered himself fairly brave.

After some thought, he decided there was no harm in trying and said earnestly, "It should be fine."

Surely the Horror’s true form couldn’t be so sanity-shattering that one glance would destroy him?

Shi Yu even cracked a joke to himself. Seeing his resolve, the man across from him nodded slowly.

"In that case..."

"...then you can close your eyes now."

Wait, what?

Close his eyes?

Though puzzled, Shi Yu obediently shut his eyes, unable to stop his mind from racing through possibilities about what the Horror’s true form might be.

Originally, he’d just wanted to avoid awkwardness, but now he was genuinely curious.

The original novel hadn’t described the Horror’s true form in detail, only hinting at its nonhuman nature—right up until the chapter where Shi Yu had *transmigrated*, leaving him completely in the dark.

But based on the Little Monster, the Horror’s true form was probably something from the deep, right?

All sorts of crazy theories popped into his head, making the wait nerve-wracking.

Yet as time passed, Shi Yu still hadn’t heard the Horror tell him to open his eyes. Unable to hold back, he spoke up.

"Is it... done yet?"

Just moments ago, he’d been confident that facing the god's real form would be easier than embracing its human form. But now, after just a few minutes, a creeping dread settled over him, leaving him rooted to the spot.

Suddenly, he felt... like he’d made the wrong choice.

With his eyes closed, Shi Yu abruptly sensed something—as if something extremely dangerous and terrifying had locked onto him.

No one spoke; the office was dead silent.

Sang Huaiyu lowered his eyes. The serpent’s tail, which had been coiled in shadow, now silently filled the entire space—

clinging to the walls, the ceiling, the windows, even clinging to the humans themselves.

Fortunately, the curtains had been drawn from the start, so no one saw this chilling yet strangely seductive scene.

Just as Shi Yu was about to nervously speak up again—

The silver-white snake tail gently lifted, testingly winding around his wrist.

Feeling a slight movement at his wrist, followed by a chilling sensation, Shi Yu went rigid on instinct and abruptly opened his eyes.

Yet all he could see was the all-consuming darkness enveloping the room.

Sang Huaiyu stood behind him, leaving Shi Yu staring at undulating shadows.

As the tail slithered around his waist, carefully pressing against his pregnant belly, it slowly extended to wrap around his wrist.

The gorgeous man sucked in a sharp breath, stiffly lowering his head to see the scaled appendage now coiled around his wrist.

Awe. Terror. Fascination.

These were almost the first reactions any human would have upon seeing this scaled form. No other words could capture it.

After several stunned heartbeats, Shi Yu finally pieced together a realization—

—the deity’s true form was a serpent?

No, more accurately: something serpent-adjacent.

The scaled limb wrapped around his wrist dwarfed any natural serpent. Yet, this wasn’t even Sang Huaiyu’s full form—it was already diminished a thousandfold.

Because in the pale light bleeding through the curtains, Shi Yu could clearly see the enormous shadow hidden beneath that mesmerizing serpent’s tail, soundlessly undulating across the floor.

Perhaps the unseen tension and fear sent his thoughts spiraling. Right now, Shi Yu truly felt he had made a mistake.

A colossal miscalculation.

His face filled with despair, he couldn’t help but wonder: Just what was that massive silver serpent doing right now, lurking in the shadows behind him?

Was it planning to… devour him?

His heart pounded wildly, “thump, thump, thump,” as Shi Yu froze completely, hesitantly asking, “Mr. Sang?”

As he spoke, the Spirit Threads in his mind quietly retreated. He had no idea how heart-wrenchingly vulnerable his expression was right then.

With a faint sigh, Sang Huaiyu narrowed his eyes. “Wasn’t it you who asked to experience my true form?”

Shi Yu: ……

Well, yes—but was this the normal procedure?

Could he really trust a god not to deceive him?

Was “true form contact” even supposed to be like this?

The silver-white tail coiled tightly around his wrist—this defied all his expectations.

In Shi Yu's mind, he had imagined that direct contact would mean the evil god revealing its true form—something like their earlier handshake, a slow and cautious approach.

But not like this... as if being pulled into the embrace of some unknown horror.

Shi Yu took a deep breath, trying to rein in his imagination. "Mr. Sang, maybe I overestimated myself a bit."

"Maybe... we should go back to human form?"

The young man’s voice faltered, nothing like how it had been half an hour ago.

Sang Huaiyu chuckled softly. "As much as I'd like to agree..."

"But right now, we can't."

Why?

Shi Yu instinctively wanted to ask.

The evil god behind him replied casually, "The Little Monster’s already absorbing the Authority."

"Stopping now would disrupt it."

Shi Yu: "..."

So that meant all their efforts so far would be wasted if they reverted now.

He had to just wait like this until the Little Monster was done?

Shi Yu wanted to kick himself for suggesting this half an hour ago.

God help me.

What kind of idiot was he?

How could he have blurted out such a dumb idea and then gotten himself stuck like this!

Swallowing his despair, Shi Yu clamped his mouth shut, too afraid to speak anymore.

Sang Huaiyu took in Shi Yu’s stiff posture and arched a brow.

"Are you afraid of snakes?"

"Not really afraid."

"Just... not used to it, is all."

Besides, was this even a snake?

Sure, it was breathtakingly divine at first glance—but no snake should be this terrifying, right?

Shi Yu mused blankly. After answering, something about the tail’s color tickled his memory, though he couldn’t quite place it.

Sang Huaiyu’s eyes dipped downward. "If you’re scared, turn this way."

"Facing me might help."

Really...?

Shi Yu mulled it over. Maybe having his back to some unknown horror was worse than looking it in the eye. At this point, what else was there to be afraid of?

The salted fish's flexible moral boundaries talked himself into it, and after mentally preparing, he slowly turned around.

Unexpectedly—Sang Huaiyu's upper body remained humanoid, only his legs had transformed into a winding, coiled snake tail.

The silver-white scales combined with his handsome features made Shi Yu pause briefly in shock.

Sang Huaiyu slowly leaned down.

"Don't be nervous."

He felt a light touch on his cheek.

The snake-tailed god reached out, tucking away the loose strands by his face. Shi Yu held his breath, strangely nervous for some reason.

This tension was different from the instinctive prey-like fear he had felt earlier when facing away from the evil god, leaving him slightly bewildered.

He studied him with gentle eyes, concealing the burning intensity of his slit pupils beneath the white silk. His eyes lingered on Shi Yu’s ear tips before he teased in a meaningful tone, "Why are your ears red?"

What?

Red ears?

Slow on the uptake, Shi Yu reached up and touched his own ear, finding it actually burning—from just seeing this sight a moment ago.

Even he was surprised.

Ah, how mortifying.

Shi Yu struggled to suppress his emotions, schooling his features into calm, determined not to let anyone guess what he was thinking.

Fortunately, Sang Huaiyu only touched him lightly before withdrawing his hand, pushing no further.

It was only when Shi Yu looked away to avoid eye contact that the deity suddenly spoke, "Why not touch it?"

"Maybe the snake's tail isn't so scary."

"Haven't you heard—touching a god’s scales might bring… unexpected good fortune?"

This line was entirely added by Sang Huaiyu based on Shi Yu’s earlier superstitious nature.

He thought it might have some effect.

Sure enough, the moment these words were spoken, Shi Yu felt the pull of temptation.

The man encircled by the serpent's tail remained motionless, his heart torn between fear and growing curiosity.

An evil god's true form—probably no one had ever seen it before.

Should he touch it?

Maybe it really… would bring good luck?

His mind fought an inner battle before Shi Yu finally turned his head, succumbing to temptation. Tentatively, he reached out, carefully… touching the snake scales coiled around him.

The icy sensation was sharp and unyielding, not soft, yet different from what he had imagined. When the snake tail lifted, Shi Yu flinched. In the end, the tail dangled playfully before him, as if teasing him, and dropped into his hand…

……

More than ten minutes passed...

Shi Yu came back to himself with a strange expression, watching the Deity return to a normal human form. Now looking at him with what seemed like apology.

"I apologize. Perhaps since it's never encountered a human before, my snake tail isn't entirely under my control."

Shi Yu fell silent...

Was he referring to that damn tail that kept teasing him?

He wasn’t buying it—how could a god not control their own tail?

Sang Huaiyu was definitely doing it on purpose!

He turned red with anger. Just then, the little monster, who had been struggling to break through the divine energy, suddenly let out a "Huh?"

Mom?

I think I heard your... voice?

The words froze Shi Yu.

Sang Huaiyu lowered his gaze, looking at his stomach as he explained.

"Hmm, it seems it has gained control of about sixty percent of the Authority now."

At least it can speak a few short sentences for now.

Shi Yu fell silent again...

So it was true.

Dammit, even so, he was still furious!

Sang Huaiyu thought it over. "Though offense was never my intention,"

"Still, allow me to make amends."

"How about we catch the fireworks tonight?"

Fireworks?

Shi Yu blinked in surprise.

"Wanshan Restaurant has an evening fireworks show. I’ve heard it’s quite good."

A few minutes later, Shi Yu pulled out his phone to look it up and grudgingly agreed.

Of course, it wasn’t that he thought the fireworks would be all that great—it was just that the restaurant had excellent reviews, even ranking among the top three in City B.

At this point, he’d be crazy to pass it up.

Their eyes met, and Shi Yu nodded.

Sang Huaiyu smirked.

The company employees waited half the day, but the CEO’s partner never showed up. Shockingly, President Sang actually left work early today.

It was only 4:30 p.m., yet the 6 p.m.-sharp workaholic had already told his secretary not to schedule anything else and booked a garden seat at “Wanshan” Restaurant.

Everything about it looked pretty damn date-like.

Secretaries Wu and Gan exchanged glances, quickly making the reservation while barely holding back their excitement.

Who knew the usually aloof Mr. Sang would pull something like this?

Shi Yu had no clue how things got to this point—everything today caught him completely off guard.

Whether it was coming up to Heling Tower, the physical closeness, or now... randomly accepting compensation in the afternoon and agreeing to dinner, he'd just been going along with Sang Huaiyu the whole time.

It wasn’t until they arrived at "Wanshan" restaurant that Shi Yu finally realized—

This place wasn’t just known for its great views and beautiful fireworks. It also seemed to be... a couples' restaurant?

Couples walked in arm in arm, sitting among rose bushes, some even celebrating anniversaries.

Shi Yu blinked as Sang Huaiyu beside him said, "Top floor. We have a reservation."

"Hello, this way, please."

The server glanced at the name and immediately led them into the elevator, heading upstairs.

Only after being separated from the couples downstairs did Shi Yu's weird feeling fade a bit.

He pursed his lips, thinking how weird it was for two guys to eat at a couples' spot.

As they were about to go up, they didn’t notice—before entering the elevator, a dude with his girlfriend on the first floor suddenly exclaimed, "Holy shit—" and his eyes went wide.

Zhang Qi had come to celebrate his girlfriend’s birthday.

But just after ordering, bored and looking around, he turned and spotted someone unexpected.

Although the young man walking from the corner wore a baggy jacket, the mask and faint glimpse of his eyes were enough for Zhang Qi to know instantly who it was.

Was that... Shi Yu?

That guy who balled with Bro Han—Han Chuyi's love rival?

He froze, about to take another look, when his gaze landed on the person beside Shi Yu.

Familiar platinum blonde curls came into view—a tall figure nearly enveloping the young man next to him, currently leaning down to say something to Shi Yu before lifting his eyes indifferently upon noticing Zhang Qi’s stare.

One look was all it took to make a playboy like Zhang Qi freeze and immediately lower his head.

No doubt about it.

Sang Huaiyu, CEO of the Sang Group.

What was he doing here?

Wait—no, the real question was: What were *they* doing here together?

Could it be... a date?

Zhang Qi made a weird face, then immediately grabbed his phone and messaged Han Chuyi:

"Bro Han!"

"Let me ask you something."

"Do you still like Mr. Sang?"

Han Chuyi was on duty at the Ability User Association when he suddenly got a message that left him feeling kinda annoyed.

"I don't like him anymore."

"What's going on?"

Ever since Shi Yu had shot back at him that day, he'd thought it over carefully.

Maybe he didn't actually like... Brother Sang that much?

Ahem, no—Sang Huaiyu, right.

Truthfully, Han Chuyi had always looked up to Sang Huaiyu for his strength. Out of everyone he knew, Sang Huaiyu was the only one who could make him feel truly outclassed. That was why Han Chuyi couldn’t forget him.

But... they’d hardly spent any time together, and he didn’t even know much about Sang Huaiyu’s personality. It wasn’t like he really *liked* him.

Han Chuyi frowned in irritation. If Shi Yu hadn’t said something, he might never have realized this.

The other person took a long time to reply, as if checking whether he meant it, then confirmed again.

"Are you serious, Han-ge?"

"You don't like Mr. Sang anymore?"

"Really."

"What would I gain by lying?"

Han Chuyi narrowed his eyes. "You still haven’t told me why you're asking this?"

At the Wanshan restaurant, Zhang Qi sighed in relief. Since Han-ge was clearly over Mr. Sang now, he finally felt at ease.

If Han-ge had already moved on, then telling him shouldn’t be a problem.

After all, he didn’t like Mr. Sang anymore.

So while his girlfriend was in the restroom, Zhang Qi shot off a quick text.

"No big deal really.

I just bumped into Mr. Sang today while celebrating my girlfriend’s birthday at Wanshan."

Bumped into Mr. Sang?

Being used to calling him Brother Sang, it felt weird for Han Chuyi to switch to "Mr. Sang" all of a sudden.

What was there to be cagey about running into Mr. Sang?

Han Chuyi raised an eyebrow. "That's it? That's all?"

"I thought you were going to say something important."

Seeing how Han-ge seemed totally over his crush, Zhang Qi calmly replied, "Exactly."

"Glad you see it that way."

"I got a real shock when I saw Mr. Sang walking in with that guy Mr. Shi earlier."

"But good thing you’ve already moved on."

Han Chuyi: Wait, with *whom*?

He blanked for a second, not processing it right away.

"Who did you say?"

Zhang Qi: "Mr. Sang and Mr. Shi."

"You know, Shi Yu—the one you invited to play basketball last time."

"Did you forget?"

Zhang Qi mused, wondering if Bro Han was seriously that forgetful.

Meanwhile, at the Ability User Association, Han Chuyi suddenly shot to his feet, his chair screeching across the floor.

Sang Huaiyu and Shi Yu—went to dinner at Wan Shan *together*?

What *was* Wan Shan?

—The go-to couples' spot in B City. Even Han Chuyi, clueless about this stuff, had heard of it. So… were they a thing now?

The association was dead silent—the sudden screech made everyone jump.

Zhao Wen looked up and saw Han Chuyi’s icy expression, trading a baffled look with Wang Shan.

What the hell was going on?

They’d *never* seen Han Chuyi this pissed—their stomachs dropped.

Han Chuyi shut his eyes briefly, blowing off Zhang Qi’s text. He grabbed his coat and turned toward the door.

Shen Yan stood up. "You’re still on duty."

His words made Han Chuyi halt, face blank.

"Shi Yu’s *on a date* with Sang Huaiyu at Wan Shan."

"You happy now?"

If Shen Yan hadn’t kept getting in his way, he wouldn’t have been left in the dark, only to find out *now* they’re dating.

His head spun—Han Chuyi could hardly *fucking* breathe, his expression ice-cold.

Shen Yan also froze, not expecting *Shi Yu and Sang Huaiyu* to be dating. His fists clenched, just slightly.

When he looked up again, he still held his ground.

"What gives you the right to chase after Shi Yu?"

"How’s that *your* business?"

"Thought you were *over* Sang Huaiyu?"

Over Sang Huaiyu?

Yeah, he was over Sang Huaiyu.

Han Chuyi was about to argue—it was *Shi Yu* he was after, not Sang Huaiyu—but then gritted his teeth, forcing himself to cool off. With a frustrated *tsk*, he slumped back into his chair.

He had even less reason to seek out Shi Yu. Even when he just heard Zhang Qi say that Sang Huaiyu and Shi Yu were on a date, all he could think about was the other person…

The mood at the Ability User Association was tense—everyone was still reeling from the news.

Han Chuyi took a deep breath: "Watch Sang Huaiyu and Shi Yu for me."

After sending the message, he ignored Zhang Qi on the other end and frantically scrolled through listings for Wanshan Restaurant on his phone.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qi was floored.

I thought he said he was over Mr. Sang?

Why was he still stalking them?

Zhang Qi was completely lost but still smirked, wondering if this guy had ever been to Wanshan Restaurant before—how was he supposed to watch them when they were on the top floor?

Shi Yu had no idea that just a casual glance downstairs had set off a firestorm at the Ability User Association.

Now that he’d eaten his fill, he felt that good food really was soul food.

No wonder it was ranked among the top three restaurants. Though the lovey-dovey vibe was awkward, the service and dishes were impeccable. And after a while, the rose decor was actually growing on him?

Shi Yu looked away and had just wiped his hands with a napkin when he heard a loud “bang”—fireworks exploded outside.

Under the night sky, fireworks burst, captivating everyone.

Sang Huaiyu also looked up. This was his first time experiencing such a human atmosphere, but he was enjoying himself. Probably because of the person sitting beside him.

Sang Huaiyu glanced at Shi Yu and saw him snap a picture of the sky before turning.

“This one came out nice, right?”

Shi Yu asked instinctively, only to remember that the person across from him was a god. Just as he was about to awkwardly withdraw his phone, a hand gently pressed down on it.

“Let me see.”

Cool fingertips brushed against his skin, and Shi Yu froze as Sang Huaiyu lowered his head to examine the colorful fireworks in the photo.

“It would make a good computer wallpaper,” he remarked casually.

Shi Yu was surprised that a god would be so… normal.

Sang Huaiyu tilted his head slightly. “Can you send it to me?”

It was merely a casual photo—there was no reason not to share it.

Shi Yu nodded, shifting uncomfortably. “I’ll just send it to your phone.”

He quickly forwarded the photo to the god and breathed a small sigh of relief.

For some reason, he felt like the atmosphere just now had been a little... off?

Shit, was this couples' vibe getting to him too?