Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Shi Yu: "..."

A slender, artist's finger was right before his eyes.

To be honest, he really felt tempted to bite it. But he had a nagging feeling that something strange would happen if he did.

He took a deep breath and firmly refused, meeting Sang Huaiyu’s disappointed look.

"No need. I’m not an unreasonable person."

Sang Huaiyu pulled back his hand, clearly disappointed.

Shi Yu gave him a suspicious glance but couldn’t spot anything wrong. After all that, he couldn’t help but yawn.

Forget it, might as well take a nap.

From being trapped in the Energy Cocoon in the morning until now, he hadn’t taken a nap and was dead tired.

Fortunately, the Energy Cocoon had formed on its own to shield him, and the environment inside was quite comfortable.

Shi Yu settled into the cocoon and closed his eyes, was out like a light in no time.

Sang Huaiyu looked down, watching him quietly.

When he saw Xiao Yu asleep, his movements instinctively softened, though his gaze lingered even longer on the figure nestled inside the cocoon.

His fingers twitched with restless desire—a desire to hide Xiao Yu away in his heart.

But common sense won out, and Sang Huaiyu slowly restrained his dangerous thoughts. Still, while Xiao Yu slept soundly, he couldn’t help but bend down to press a kiss against the Energy Cocoon.

His platinum curls brushed against the cocoon, and before Xiao Yu could notice, Sang Huaiyu checked his hungry stare.

...

Just as Sang Huaiyu had guessed, the Little Monster wasn’t born on the first day.

Shi Yu stayed inside the cocoon, snacking and lounging, and when he woke up in the afternoon to head home with the evil god, there wasn’t a single sign of impending labor.

He gave a lazy stretch, and the moment they returned home, he eagerly asked Sang Huaiyu to expand the Energy Cocoon back to normal size.

Though shrinking it to the size of a goose egg made it easier to carry and didn’t cramp his style inside, who’d choose small when they could go big?

After tumbling about in the cocoon a couple of times, Shi Yu was ready to bounce back to his room when Sang Huaiyu stopped him.

"Xiao Yu, are you planning to return to your room?"

"Huh? What’s the matter?"

Shi Yu was surprised.

Sang Huaiyu lowered his eyes. "Though the estimate is three to four days, it’s not absolute."

"If Xiao Yu sleeps alone, what if the Little Monster arrives during the night..."

He trailed off there. Shi Yu hadn’t considered this possibility before, but just imagining it scared him silly.

"Wait, then what do we do?"

Sang Huaiyu said innocently, "Xiao Yu may need to stay with me for the next few days."

"If Xiao Yu’s uncomfortable, I can just sleep on the couch."

"Ah, no, that’s not needed."

Normally, he’d be worried about sharing a bed with Sang Huaiyu.

But now that he was in the Energy Cocoon, it wasn’t like Sang Huaiyu could get in. So it didn’t really matter if they slept together.

Shi Yu blinked. "Then… I guess we can just sleep together."

Sang Huaiyu’s gaze softened. "Thanks, Xiao Yu."

Shi Yu had thought he was ready, but stepping into Sang Huaiyu’s room still left him uneasy.

From inside the cocoon, he watched Sang Huaiyu set a book on the nightstand and turn back.

"Xiao Yu, have some tangyuan. I’ll go wash up."

Sang Huaiyu had made him an extra bowl since he’d been craving sweets.

Shi Yu nodded and took a sip after the other left.

The sweet sesame tangyuan melted on his tongue, and he couldn’t resist another bite.

Glancing up, he caught the sound of running water from the bathroom.

"Just a shower," Shi Yu reminded himself, forcing his gaze away. But with the bathroom so close, his thoughts kept drifting.

Especially when Sang Huaiyu emerged in loose loungewear, still damp from his shower.

His collar was open a couple buttons. Shi Yu’s pulse jumped as Sang Huaiyu neared, the scent of shower gel lingering.

If not for the cocoon, Shi Yu might’ve sworn… Sang Huaiyu was seducing him.

His heart hammered, and he sucked in a breath.

"Um… I’m finished."

"Mind putting the bowl aside?"

"I’ll turn in first."

"Xiao Yu’s tired already?"

Sang Huaiyu’s lips quirked as he set the bowl down, surprised.

"Want me to check on you?"

"No need."

"Just tired. Guess that’s the pregnancy."

Shi Yu knew perfectly well there was nothing wrong with his body—he had just underestimated how awkward it would be to share a room with Sang Huaiyu at night. He quickly tried to change the subject.

Sang Huaiyu hummed, thoughtful.

"If Xiao Yu is tired, you should sleep first."

"I'll watch over Xiao Yu."

Shi Yu nodded half-heartedly. Even though pregnancy made him sleepy all the time, he had slept so long during the day that he wasn’t sleepy anymore. After closing his eyes for a while, he still couldn’t fall asleep.

The soft sound of flipping pages reached his ears, making him unable to resist opening his eyes and peeking out of the Energy Cocoon.

What was Sang Huaiyu reading?

Hmm?

*The Complete Book of Baby Names*?

Shi Yu paused after stealing a look, then suddenly remembered—oh, right, the Little Monster was about to be born in a few days, and it seemed... it still didn’t have a name yet.

There was no way he was accepting "Genius" as a name!

Just as Shi Yu hesitated, he suddenly heard a voice beside him: "Did I wake you?"

Shi Yu shook his head, grabbing for an excuse.

"I’m just not sleepy anymore."

Sang Huaiyu studied him quietly, his expression gentle.

"Would Xiao Yu like to read with me?"

"This is a baby name book."

Shi Yu couldn’t shake the weird vibe that the two of them right now seemed like a loving couple curled up late at night, choosing a name for their soon-to-be-born child.

But...

He hesitated for a moment.

Sang Huaiyu lowered his eyes. "The Little Monster would probably really want its mother to name it, wouldn’t it?"

That one sentence hit Shi Yu right in the feels. Thinking of that silly little thing, Shi Yu twitched his lips and rolled the cocoon closer.

"Then I’ll take a look."

Whether the last name was Sang or Shi, what would sound nice?

He scanned the book from afar, not noticing how close the two of them had gotten.

Sang Huaiyu’s heart softened. His fingers twitched slightly, but he restrained himself from reaching out to touch the Energy Cocoon.

Xiao Yu hadn’t even noticed, but he was actually really looking forward to the Little Monster’s arrival.

After studying for a long time, though Shi Yu really wanted to give the Little Monster a tough, gender-neutral name, he couldn’t help but think of how silly the Little Monster was. Giving it some super tough name would just create too much of a contrast—it wouldn’t match at all, and it might even get laughed at in kindergarten.

After hesitating for a while, he finally pointed to the first and seventh characters on the page.

"What about these two characters?"

"Ling An."

Sang Huaiyu lowered his head, pondering for a moment.

"Sang Ling'an."

"Shi Ling'an."

"Both sound very nice."

Shi Yu was instantly validated, his tail practically perked up with pride.

"Right? Right?"

"I think it's good too."

So what if the child isn’t the brightest? As long as it's healthy and safe.

Even if it’s a Little Monster, when it comes to naming, Shi Yu holds the same expectations for it as he would for a human child.

Originally, he’d only meant to ask the Horror’s opinion, but the more Shi Yu repeated the name, the more pleasing it sounded to his ears. He settled on it right then.

"That's the one."

"Let’s use this name for the birth certificate."

But Sang Huaiyu zeroed in on Shi Yu's mention of registering the birth certificate.

If they were talking about registration... did this mean Xiao Yu was warming up to marrying Him?

His gaze deepened.

Shi Yu, oblivious to the subtext, finally felt truly drowsy after settling on the name. He bid Mr. Sang goodnight and rolled the Energy Cocoon away, asleep before the words left his mouth.

Sang Huaiyu blinked, then chuckled.

Nevertheless, He picked up a nearby sheet of paper, wrote down the name Xiao Yu had chosen, and tucked it back between the pages of the book.

……

For two whole days, Shi Yu remained inside the Energy Cocoon, absorbing the surrounding special energy. He had no idea his presence was already changing the atmosphere in City B.

Han Chuyi had just set out on patrol when he noticed that the usually docile Horrors were suddenly acting like they’d lost their minds, bolting for the city limits as though the urban area had abruptly become uninhabitable.

Didn’t these things love crowded places?

The hell?

Han Chuyi scowled, baffled. "Is it another damn spatial glitch?"

Given the recent discovery of spatial instability and abnormal weather patterns, he figured it was more of the same.

However, the Ability User Association's detector said otherwise.

"All spatial anchors are stable."

"No red flags yet."

"Where’d it pop up?" Shen Yan suddenly asked over the phone.

Though puzzled as to why Wang Shan had handed the call over to *that hypocrite*, Han Chuyi tsked. "Shunhe Road."

The second he said it, Shen Yan knew exactly whose fault it was.

Shi Yu currently lives on Shunhe Road.

He paused for a moment, and while Han Chuyi was still puzzled, he spoke up, "Leave it be."

"Keep patrolling."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

What did he mean by "leave it be" and just keep patrolling?

Han Chuyi was stunned, had no idea what Shen Yan was up to.

Something this big, and he just said to ignore it?

Who knew if it was an SSS Horror being born that drove the other Horrors away, or perhaps... that deity they'd been theorizing about.

No matter what, Han Chuyi felt this was no trivial matter.

Yet Shen Yan’s attitude was completely different from what he had expected.

Even though Han Chuyi was usually too lazy to overthink things, he couldn't help but wonder.

Annoyed, he checked the readings. Since he couldn’t return yet and had to continue patrolling, he could only wait until tomorrow to ask Shen Yan what was really going on.

Sang Huaiyu had long noticed Shi Yu’s expulsion of the surrounding dark energies.

Just as He had guessed, to ensure an absolutely safe birthing environment, anything Xiao Yu didn't like would be cleared out immediately.

What threw Him off was that when Xiao Yu fell into deep slumber and began expelling the surrounding creatures, He sensed another spatial fluctuation.

And this ripple in space was coming from Xiao Yu himself.

After giving the name, Shi Yu had gone to sleep early. He thought it would be the same as usual, but this time, something felt different after he dozed off.

He dreamed of entering a pitch-black space, and in the next second, he was a cat playing whack-a-mole.

Shi Yu: "..."

Though the moles were no match for him, rats were just too disgusting.

Shi Yu felt even his mental feelers were tainted, but he still raised them to drive away the sea of shadowy "rats."

There were way too many moles—all night long, Shi Yu was busy expelling them.

In the dream, the cat chased from behind while a horde of rats scurried ahead.

Shi Yu pursued them for several kilometers until the surroundings felt clean, then finally lowered his paws. He prowled around on velvet paws, inspecting the area for any other nasty things.

Hmm, the little rats were gone.

The cardboard box was intact too.

But he got the creepy feeling of being watched.

The cat in his dream did a full sweep before finally settling down after sensing no malice in the gaze. He ducked back into the cardboard box and licked his paws.

The moment Shi Yu opened his eyes, he thought last night's dream was weird—where did that crazy dream come from? But the moment he tuned into his surroundings, he went still.

"Hold on, that's not right. Where did all the surrounding Horrors go?"

It seems... they're really gone?

Did he actually banish them in his dream?

Recalling the group of little mice he chased away as a cat, Shi Yu made a strange face.

But where exactly did he drive those Horrors to?

Shi Yu only remembered tearing open a curtain, but had no recollection of what happened afterward. He felt a twinge of guilt.

Surely no one would notice, right?

He looked up and was startled to see Mr. Sang staring straight at him.

"Mr. Sang?"

Sang Huaiyu raised an eyebrow. "Xiao Yu's awake."

"Do you know what just happened?"

Shi Yu shook his head. Though he had some guesses, he wasn't entirely sure.

Sang Huaiyu had sensed the dream more clearly than Shi Yu himself.

"Xiao Yu just created a new space in this world."

Wait, what?

Shi Yu almost thought he misheard. What did he mean by carving out a space?

Sang Huaiyu was slightly surprised that Xiao Yu didn't know, but continued, "It seems you did it in your dream."

"You know about pocket dimensions, yeah?"

Shi Yu nodded. These were independent spaces created by gods who control spatial laws, like that ancient god called "Twisted Figures."

Was Mr. Sang saying he had created a pocket dimension in his dream?

Considering he had apparently grasped some spatial rules, Shi Yu started to relax, thinking it wasn't a big deal.

But then Mr. Sang added, "Xiao Yu probably doesn't know this, but pocket dimensions are just ordinary spaces—they couldn't support life."

"Yet the space you created in your dream is a fully livable world."

To ensure Xiao Yu understood, Sang Huaiyu elaborated:

"You could think of it as like the world humans live in."

Only this place was better suited for Horrors to inhabit.

Shi Yu froze. He hadn't expected to do something this huge—dreaming a whole new space into existence in his dream and shoving a bunch of Horrors into it.

Hold on—wasn't this way over his head?

Was he actually capable of that?

Confused, he reached out to sense the space he had created in his dream, but couldn't feel a thing now.

Sang Huaiyu pondered, "Perhaps it might need some kind of trigger."

"Xiao Yu, don't worry."

He reached out and gently soothed the energy cocoon.

"Xiao Yu, stay still. Let me check if you're alright."

The movements in the dream had been too intense, and Sang Huaiyu was concerned he might lack energy. Surprisingly, however, Shi Yu's energy reserves were abundant.

Shi Yu also came back to himself: "I should be fine."

"But as for that space business, I don’t remember anything at all."

At this point, Shi Yu couldn’t help feeling suspicious.

He felt there was something off about who he was.

It was a bit strange.

Whether it was the mental tentacles, the ability to fix space vortices, or just now creating livable space—none of these seemed like things a human could do.

Yet his memories of transmigrating into the book remained vivid in his mind, and they didn’t seem fake.

What exactly was going on?

Shi Yu took a deep breath and glanced to the side.

"Mr. Sang, aren’t you suspicious of me?"

His mind was racing.

Sang Huaiyu gave a light chuckle, "Why would I suspect Xiao Yu?"

"No matter who Xiao Yu is, how does that affect me loving you?"

As long as Shi Yu didn’t leave, Sang Huaiyu didn’t care about these things.

Of course, the premise was—Xiao Yu couldn’t leave.

Shi Yu vaguely sensed there might have been a hidden condition in those words.

Still, he relaxed slightly. It was good that the evil god didn’t push the matter. He couldn’t figure it out himself right now anyway—better to leave it for later.

Just as Shi Yu sighed in relief, Sang Huaiyu suddenly asked, "Are you done with your questions, Xiao Yu?"

As Shi Yu was puzzling over this, Sang Huaiyu said casually with a smile:

"If the questions are done, then regarding that boyfriend question from before—shouldn’t Xiao Yu also give me an answer now?"