Chapter 64
[Congratulations! Achieved “Expert Caretaker”! Altered two key plot points, creating a new branch in Demon World’s storyline!][Rewards: Deluxe Garden Pack, new shop “Owl Treehouse,” and +10% affection with all demon cubs!][+10% magic strength after receiving a cub’s gift. Demonic features will still appear when using magic, but can be partially suppressed!]
Lin Ran was surprised by the generous rewards: a garden pack, a new location, a halo, and even a magic boost! And he could control his transformations now. That was a relief.
“Cheep cheep!” Sootball, the first to log in, flew into his arms, nuzzling him.
“Cheep~” It then turned around, wagging its tail, urging him to look.
“What? Your wings look… better,” Lin Ran said, noticing the change.
“Cheep—” Correct! Sootball chirped happily.
“Good. Stay healthy this time,” Lin Ran said, petting it, remembering the sickly adult Sootball from the other timeline.
“Cheep?” Sootball, sensing his sadness, nuzzled his cheek, promising to be good. It had been studying diligently, especially the human language.
Oni and Yorke were both pleased and worried about Nemo’s desire to meet A-Ran in his human form. They were monitoring Lin Ran’s life and had enrolled Nemo in an international school in S City, near his university.
“If we arrange a ‘coincidental’ meeting, wouldn’t that satisfy him without breaking the rules?” Yorke wondered. Would “Demon World” allow it?
To their surprise, “Demon World” agreed, partially lifting the restriction, allowing a “natural and reasonable” encounter.
“How can we enter the university naturally?” Yorke pondered.
Oni smirked. “There’s an easy way.” They would simply donate and become members of the university’s board of trustees.
A few days later, a news article appeared on the university’s website:
[Overseas conglomerate donates 600 million yuan to the university’s medical center, receiving honorary trustee positions and invitations to the autumn festival.] 600 million was a substantial, though not excessive, donation. Most students just noted the new funding for buildings and labs, not caring about their dilapidated dorms. Lin Ran, however, paused, the conglomerate’s name seeming familiar.
Sootball, learning about the plan, was overjoyed, eager to go to school and show A-Ran his excellent grades.
“Ee…” Little Feather, jealous of Sootball’s clinginess, also snuggled against Lin Ran.
“Are you two trying to polish my face?” Lin Ran chuckled, gently pushing them away. “And Snowball, we’re making new clothes today!” He picked up An Xun and carried all three cubs to the workshop.
New clothes meant A-Ran sitting at the sewing machine! And he was livestreaming again, trying to teach the demons basic sewing, partly to earn back the gold he had spent in the Time Mirror.
[Is he seriously trying to teach us how to sew? It’s too difficult! I’ll just buy his!][I’ll just buy him and make him sew for me! [Dreaming]] Making demons, mostly large and clumsy, sew tiny clothes was a recipe for disaster.
“If you follow along and post pictures of your creations, I’ll give a gift to the best one,” Lin Ran said, wanting to increase interaction. “Can you even post pictures?” He leaned closer to the camera, checking the settings, his close-up making the demons blush, fumbling with their needles and thread. We’ll sew! Just show us your face!
[Image comments enabled!] As if reading his mind, “Demon World” updated the livestream, adding image comments, along with a long list of prohibited content and penalties. But the demons were excited. A free interaction with A-Ran! “Demon World” was being generous!
Lin Ran was surprised by the flood of pictures. “So many viewers?” He had thought his livestream was unpopular. But the pictures were mostly half-finished, and mostly… terrible.
“Maybe I wasn’t clear enough…” he said diplomatically. He noticed one picture showed a hand that looked like a small fin, strangely familiar. But as he tried to zoom in, the image was flagged as inappropriate. Had he imagined it?
[Lol, Scythe Clan banned!][Were they trying to stand out with their ugliness?] The other demons laughed, and Atylanthos glared at Ossi, who had forgotten to transform his hand back.
“…Ah.” Ossi looked down, sad. He missed A-Ran. It’s all Brother’s fault.
“Why is it my fault again?” Atylanthos said, though he knew he was being overprotective. He didn’t want Ossi to get too attached to the human; it wouldn’t end well.
Ossi, however, just wanted to see A-Ran. He wished A-Ran was real. He would invite him to their island. He sighed, flicking his tail.
“Ossi— Want to play soccer? It’s fun!” a cheerful voice called out. It was Shaman, a young great white shark demon, not a Scythe Clan member, but a friend, obsessed with human soccer.
Ossi shook his head. He wanted A-Ran, not soccer. Why would a fish play soccer?
“Captain, maybe he doesn’t like soccer. He’s obsessed with ‘Demon World’!” another sea creature explained.
Shaman, bouncing a soccer ball, remembered the human he had seen, who looked like A-Ran. He had disappeared quickly. Would he see him again? Maybe he could introduce him to Ossi.
Meanwhile, the other demons realized they could only post one picture. Those who had hastily submitted their unfinished projects now regretted it.
[This is a disaster! Like sending only one message, and I used it to say “Hi”…][I want to slap myself! Why didn’t they tell us?!] They watched as others submitted their creations, the later submissions noticeably better. And surprisingly, the Lek Golem had also participated, its craftsmanship impeccable.
[A giant with a needle! How?!][I’m actually impressed… ]
“Mr. Lek, you’re watching too?” Lin Ran said, recognizing the ID, and started chatting with him, missing Shao Mian’s last-minute submission, a picture of his clumsily made hat, which he had been too embarrassed to post earlier. He had worried Lin Ran would recognize his hand, but he had been ignored. Outrageous! He angrily placed the hat on his lion plushie. “It matches,” he muttered, pleased with the combination of the human’s handiwork and his own.
“Matches? Seriously?” Abyss said. “Yours is so ugly compared to A-Ran’s! He won’t choose it… Ow!” It was grabbed by Shao Mian.
“Demon World,” however, displayed a message from the Lek Golem: [I’m Stone. Not Lek.] Lek was the clan name.
“Stone? Is that your name? Sorry, I’ve been calling you Mr. Lek,” Lin Ran apologized.
[Not mister. Just became an adult.] Lek Golems were large, but Stone, by human standards, was just seventeen or eighteen.
“You just became an adult?” Lin Ran asked, surprised.
[Yes.] Stone felt a strange warmth at being called “Little Stone.”
“Then I’ll have to think of a special gift for you. Your hat is the best. You’re so talented,” Lin Ran said, choosing him as the winner, making the other demons feel slightly guilty for competing with a teenager. And Lek Golems were known for their declining intelligence after adulthood, eventually becoming mindless stone giants. Many believed they were a primitive species, their sentience temporary. Some even worried that other races might share the same fate. But Stone was a miracle, the first Lek Golem in a long time to retain his skills after adulthood.
Stone, however, felt a strange warmth in his chest at the mention of an “adult gift.” Lek Golems didn’t celebrate adulthood; it simply marked the beginning of their decline, though they weren’t sentimental about it. But A-Ran was congratulating him. It was a happy occasion. He couldn’t explain this new feeling, but whenever he looked at the raincoat plushie A-Ran had made for him, he felt it. He had been practicing his sewing ever since A-Ran’s last livestream, his clumsy fingers pricked countless times.
“That’s it for today’s stream! I’ll send you your gift later, Stone,” Lin Ran said, waving goodbye. The cubs, in their new raincoats, preened themselves. Little Feather, chosen for the upcoming magic act, had received the most elaborate outfit: a hat, a cape, and an eye patch, completely hiding its scars.
“The show depends on you now, Little Feather. I hope the audience likes it,” Lin Ran said, patting its head.
Little Feather nodded seriously. It would eliminate anyone who didn’t like A-Ran’s performance! It was better at eliminating than performing magic tricks.
Lin Ran, unaware of its murderous intentions, hoped the audience wouldn’t be too scared.
An Xun, however, was intrigued. A performance? He wondered what A-Ran would do on stage. Sootball also perked up, remembering Oni mentioning an invitation to a party.
Shao Mian, watching the livestream, was unusually quiet.
[What do we do?! A-Ran doesn’t know Stone might not be around much longer! And he hasn’t even received his gift yet! He’ll be so sad!] Abyss panicked.
“Can you save him, Shao Mian?” it asked.
“I could transfer some of my magic to sustain his consciousness, but it’s a temporary solution,” Shao Mian said, having never considered such an intervention before.
“Then A-Ran will be sad,” Abyss sighed, regretting the Lek Golem’s interaction with A-Ran. It would have been better if they hadn’t met.
“Humans are sentimental,” Shao Mian remarked.
“That’s not a flaw! A-Ran is kind to everyone, even you! He wouldn’t have bandaged your leg otherwise!” Abyss protested.
“…You seem to have too much free time. You’ve been skipping your training,” Shao Mian said, changing the subject.
Abyss: …! He always resorted to threats! A-Ran should teach him a lesson! And he was shamelessly using his cat form to get A-Ran’s attention! It had to warn A-Ran about that sneaky cat.
Shao Mian, back in his cat form, watched Lin Ran sleeping, wondering if he would be sad about Stone. He had never seen Lin Ran truly sad. He seemed resilient, despite his difficult upbringing, always taking care of everyone around him.
He flicked his tail, considering Abyss’s suggestion. He was making too many exceptions lately.
The next morning, Lin Ran, about to leave for rehearsal, petted the Maine Coon. “Stay here. I’ll take you back to the office later,” he said, having received no reply from Shao Mian. He was grateful for Tao Shu’s flexible internship schedule.
Arriving at the auditorium, he found the backstage area crowded. He preferred quiet spaces and was about to find a secluded corner to rehearse with Little Feather when the cub nudged him, sniffing the air. A familiar scent…
“A-Ran—!” a cheerful voice called out, and Lin Ran stopped, recognizing Snowball’s voice.
“A-Ran?” “Who’s A-Ran?” “Who is he calling?” Everyone turned to look at him.
“An Xun! Behave yourself!” Fu Yan hissed, grabbing his arm. An Xun was a top star; this public display of affection with an unknown student was inappropriate. And he disliked Lin Ran, suspecting he was using An Xun for connections, like that movie role he had somehow landed.
“What are you doing here, baby…?” Lin Ran asked, as An Xun hugged him, and he instinctively hugged him back, making the crowd gasp and scream.
“That student! Hugging An Xun! Take pictures!””So cute! Is he An Xun’s brother?””That’s Lin-zai! Our department’s heartthrob! Don’t you know him?” His classmates started promoting him.
Lin Ran, holding An Xun, blushed, feeling the full force of Snowball’s star power.
Meanwhile, Oni, Yorke, and their entourage arrived at the university, looking around curiously. “Master Nemo, this is S University. Humans come here to study,” the butler explained, ignoring the curious glances of the university staff, who were slightly intimidated by the small, regal-looking cub. He seemed so mature for his age, and incredibly handsome. Perhaps foreign children were just naturally stylish?
The university staff, leading them, wondered about their purpose.
