Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Wait, what is he saying?

Shi Yu was stunned for a moment, completely unprepared for Sang Huaiyu to say something like that.

Intimate what?

Him?

He swallowed hard, trying to play it cool. But his grip on the phone tightened as his heart was racing.

He forced a laugh. "Hahaha, Mr. Sang, stop joking."

You can't just say things like that!

Supernatural beings... they've got no filter, do they?

Sang Huaiyu noticed his evasion and raised an eyebrow slightly, though He didn't press the issue with Xiao Yu.

Hmm, no need to scare her off.

The ethereally beautiful man gave a soft chuckle and a slow blink.

"Alright."

"I won't tease Xiao Yu anymore."

His voice was gentle, and not until He looked away did Shi Yu finally exhale deeply in relief, death-gripping the seatbelt with no longer caring about Dr. Shen's message.

It wasn't until they returned to the villa that Shi Yu snapped out of it like a startled cat.

"Aren't you coming in, Xiao Yu?"

Sang Huaiyu suddenly spoke.

Shi Yu: ...

What, they were already back?

He looked up and saw they were already home.

Shi Yu cleared his throat. "I guess I was tired from shopping earlier and didn't notice."

After saying this, he immediately unbuckled his seatbelt and went to get out.

But Sang Huaiyu suddenly leaned in again, and as Shi Yu sat frozen, His fingers lingered on the seatbelt buckle once more.

"You missed a latch."

Shi Yu: ...

!!!

(Ahhhh!)

So much for playing it cool—he'd been fumbling the whole time.

The evil god was probably getting a kick out of this.

Shi Yu felt utterly mortified. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the car.

After landing on the ground, he turned around, acting like it didn’t bother him at all.

"Mr. Sang, I’ll head upstairs first."

Half an hour later, Shi Yu lay dazed on the bed, wishing he could kick his past self for being so inexperienced.

Wasn’t it just a joke?

Why did he react so strongly? It made it seem like he actually had some ulterior motives.

Though the Evil God was indeed incredibly handsome, enough to make your heart skip.

But, it was just a joke.

Shi Yu groaned and punched the bed.

He tossed and turned restlessly.

Yet the next second, when a knock sounded at the door, Shi Yu immediately sat up straight.

After checking his reflection and smoothing out his messy clothes, he walked over to open the door.

"What’s up, Mr. Sang?"

Sang Huaiyu’s gaze lingered on Shi Yu, and the dark circles under Xiao Yu’s eyes told him he hadn’t slept.

He paused, lifting the bag in his hand.

"I forgot to give you something earlier in the car."

"Take a look, Xiao Yu."

Huh?

What was it for him?

Shi Yu was puzzled because the bag in Sang Huaiyu’s hand was clearly from the kids’ store they visited earlier.

Blinking, he took it and stared blankly for a second after unwrapping it.

Inside was a polar bear plushie.

Oh.

This thing…

"I noticed Xiao Yu couldn’t take your eyes off it while shopping, so I bought it on my way back."

Sang Huaiyu’s tone was casual.

Shi Yu had indeed kept staring at the polar bear plushie during the day, thinking it looked super soft and cute.

But because it seemed too childish—probably meant for little kids—he hadn’t bought it. He hadn’t expected Sang Huaiyu to notice.

He bit his lip, mumbling awkwardly, "Thanks, Mr. Sang."

"No problem."

Sang Huaiyu gently curled his lips and said, catching Shi Yu's surprised look, "Just don't be afraid of me, Xiao Yu, that's enough."

Shi Yu: "..."

He subconsciously raised his head, meeting Sang Huaiyu's unreadable gaze.

For a moment, he couldn't tell whether the other was serious or joking.

"Mr. Sang, you must be joking."

Only after closing the door did Shi Yu lower his head to look at the large bag in his hand. He took out the puffy white polar bear.

The plush fur melted into his palm—indeed, it felt even more comfortable than he had imagined when seeing it in the store.

Shi Yu and the polar bear pillow stared at each other as he felt conflicted.

Lying on the pillow, he couldn't help but pick up his phone. His gaze swept over the contact list and stopped at "Big Boss."

Sang Huaiyu had just settled in the living room when he received Shi Yu's message.

"Boss."

"If someone jokes about asking you to kiss them and then gives you a plush toy you like..."

"What does that mean?"

Or rather, does it signify anything?

Many behaviors are easy to analyze when it comes to humans, but when it comes to an evil god, due to preconceptions and species differences, Shi Yu always found it hard to grasp the other's thoughts.

What made him feel even more uneasy was—though he really didn’t want to admit it—when Sang Huaiyu suddenly leaned in during the day and asked if he wanted to kiss, he'd actually felt his heart race, dammit!

The cool touch of platinum blonde curls brushing against his neck and the small red mole on the side of Sang Huaiyu's nose flashed before his eyes.

His ears burned red.

Shi Yu flipped over and punched the pillow, knowing he was screwed.

He had previously resisted the original plot, thinking the main team was all bewitched by the evil god. But now, it seemed he... was also falling under the spell too.

His clear-headed Straight Man mentality and Sang Huaiyu's face waged war in his head.

At this moment, Shi Yu desperately wanted to talk to someone. Even if there was no brilliant insight, just something to distract his thoughts would do.

His mind was a mess as he instinctively lowered his head to look at his phone.

Fortunately, his phone lit up—the Big Boss was still online.

Sang Huaiyu didn’t answer his question immediately, hesitating briefly instead.

"Why ask what it represents?"

Because...

If it meant nothing and was just a whim from the evil god, then he wouldn’t have to be so worked up.

But if there was something more to it...

Shi Yu muttered through clenched teeth, "Because I'm curious."

How could he say he was afraid of misunderstanding and being presumptuous?

Sang Huaiyu stared at the word "curious" and quirked his lips.

"Why not ask him?"

"Perhaps if you ask directly, he’ll tell you."

Is this how power players think? So straightforward.

But Shi Yu felt he couldn’t muster the courage to ask.

He pressed his lips together and suddenly asked, "Does the big boss ever waver?"

Are business tycoons always these decisive, cutthroat types?

After a moment of silence, Sang Huaiyu looked at the screen.

"Of course."

And what has made him hesitate and endure this burning agitation repeatedly.

Afraid of scaring the other away, yet worried they might not even notice.

This had never happened in his long life, yet it strangely controlled all his emotions.

His fingers hovered over the phone, and just as Shi Yu’s curiosity was piqued with surprise, he glanced at the time.

"Time to call it a night."

Shi Yu checked the time—it was already so late.

Alright, bedtime. After saying "good night" to the big boss, he put down his phone.

Perhaps because of too much going on today.

After closing his eyes, Shi Yu fell asleep but, in a rare occurrence, had his first... dream.

In the dream, he had no control.

Shi Yu could only watch helplessly as the events of the day replayed—replying to Dr. Shen’s message in the car. Everything was the same as before, except in the dream, when Mr. Sang leaned in, he inexplicably lost his senses... and went and kissed him?!

Shi Yu: ...!!!

Holy shit!

What the hell kind of dream was that?!

The next morning, Shi Yu bolted upright, bleary-eyed, glancing at the alarm clock, still reeling.

He’d actually dreamed of kissing Mr. Sang?

Shi Yu blinked, and only when the alarm rang again did he reach out to silence it.

Just a dream, just a dream—dreams aren’t real.

He pressed his lips together, his head still muddled, but upon waking, he instinctively strained to listen for any movement outside.

When he didn’t hear Mr. Sang moving around in his study on the weekend, he breathed easier.

But he hesitated slightly, thinking about the dream he just had, and finally gritted his teeth, stood up, and gathered his clothes, intending to head to the bathroom.

A head peeked out furtively a few minutes later.

Shi Yu looked around warily before tiptoeing into the bathroom.

He only tossed the bedsheets and pillowcases into the laundry basket after closing the door, then stepped under the shower.

Next door in the study, Sang Huaiyu was writing when he suddenly paused.

Was Shi Yu washing something?

He furrowed his brow slightly, checking the time—it was only six in the morning, when Shi Yu was usually still asleep.

What was going on today?

The sound of running water from the adjacent bathroom continued, and Sang Huaiyu narrowed his eyes. After a while, he heard Shi Yu come out.

After showering and drying his hair, Shi Yu took his time hand-washing the three-piece set before finally pulling it out of the dryer, ready to replace everything unnoticed without anyone noticing.

Little did he know he had underestimated the deity next door’s attention to him. The moment Shi Yu took out the bedsheets and pillowcases, Sang Huaiyu quirked an eyebrow.

Laundry? This early?

Recalling his own reactions toward Shi Yu, a thought occurred to him. The moment the thought appeared, Sang Huaiyu’s gaze darkened.

Could it be what he was thinking?

Unaware he'd been caught, Shi Yu quickly shut the door behind him after carrying everything out, letting out a relieved sigh—like closing his eyes to reality.

It was fine as long as he pretended nothing had happened.

Right, just change everything and act as if he'd just woken up.

On the other side of the wall, Sang Huaiyu sensed his movements and had to smile.

His dark eyes were unreadable before he finally stood up after a while.

……

Shi Yu thought he'd pulled off his morning act perfectly.

It wasn’t until he made a show of waking at ten and went downstairs for breakfast that he noticed Mr. Sang looking at him.

The man sitting in the living room regarded him with gentle amusement as he glanced him over.

"Good morning."

Shi Yu felt oddly unsettled but still nodded.

"Good morning, Mr. Sang."

Strange. Why was Mr. Sang watching him that way?

Baffled, Shi Yu could only push down his confusion when the other man just gave him that look before turning away.

The Little Monster also let out a puzzled "warble."

Sang Huaiyu didn't call Shi Yu out but simply looked at his belly upon hearing the sound.

"This Little Monster seems to have gotten bigger again today."

Hmm?

Shi Yu had rushed through his shower in the morning, too nervous to really look. Now, prompted by Mr. Sang, he glanced down and realized his abdomen did seem larger than before.

He touched his belly curiously, and the Little Monster, sensing its mother's movement, stretched out a tentacle, obediently letting her touch it through the skin.

"Wala."

*Mom, does it hurt?*

Remembering how growing had made mom uncomfortable before due to lack of nutrients, the Little Monster grew concerned.

Shi Yu shook his head. "It doesn’t hurt."

Perhaps he'd gotten stronger—this time, he hadn’t even noticed the Little Monster’s growth until Mr. Sang pointed it out.

But then, it hit him.

*Last night’s dream… could it be related to pregnancy hormones?*

*Ahem… Is it possible that I’m actually a regular straight guy, and it’s just the hormonal imbalance from pregnancy that made me dream of Sang Huaiyu?*

His eyes lit up for a second, only to narrow suspiciously the next. *Wait, then why didn’t I dream of anyone else? Why only Sang Huaiyu?*

His expression shifted repeatedly until, sitting at the table, he couldn’t help but steal another look at Sang Huaiyu.

*With looks like that… maybe it’s not so strange I dreamed of Him…*

After a long moment of contemplation, his expression turned weird, mixed with disbelief.

*Damn, am I really that audacious—actually lusting after an evil god?!*