Chapter 23
Shi Xu’s attention was mostly on the pollutant. He barely registered the clothes he selected online, hastily adding a few sets to his cart and checking out.
Waiting for the delivery, a question occurred to him. He asked the pollutant, “How did you know I was in trouble?”
The pollutant hesitated, then confessed, “I… felt… your fragment… break.”
Shi Xu frowned, remembering something else. He pointed at his left shoulder. “You mean this?”
The pollutant nodded. Shi Xu scoffed, “I thought you planted that to protect me.”
He had assumed it was a protective measure, not a surveillance device.
Having learned about human customs, the pollutant realized its actions were inappropriate, but given another chance, it would still do the same.
Without that fragment, it wouldn’t have found him so quickly.
“Wife, are… you… angry?” the pollutant asked cautiously.
“There’s no reason to be angry. I should thank you. If you hadn’t come, I would be dead.”
The fragment had sacrificed itself to slow down the black worm’s invasion, buying him time until the pollutant arrived.
Shi Xu was telling the truth. He wasn’t angry, but his tone was cold, making it sound like a lie.
The pollutant, increasingly anxious, curled up on the sofa, occasionally glancing at Shi Xu with pitiful eyes.
Shi Xu’s heart softened, but he didn’t offer any comfort.
The delivery arrived within an hour. Shi Xu realized he had mostly chosen hoodies and jeans.
The pollutant chose a white hoodie and black jeans, instantly looking like a college student. Shi Xu saw a youthful vibrancy in him that he himself lacked.
The pollutant quickly recovered from Shi Xu’s earlier coldness, excitedly twirling around, showing off his new clothes. “Wife, do… I… look… good?”
The pollutant was 6’4″, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, looming over Shi Xu like a wall.
Shi Xu, feeling the pressure, replied perfunctorily, “You look good.”
The pollutant beamed. “Then… I’ll… wear this… always!”
Shi Xu replied indifferently, “Yes.”
As long as he wasn’t naked, he didn’t care what the pollutant wore.
The pollutant suddenly stopped, asking shyly, “Do… you… like it?”
Shi Xu rarely lied.
If he found the pollutant disgusting, he would say so.
He wouldn’t hide his attraction to the pollutant’s face and body either.
He looked into the pollutant’s expectant eyes, his gaze lingering on its face before answering, “I like it.”
This time, his tone was sincere.
The pollutant’s already bright eyes lit up. It wanted to embrace Shi Xu, to whisper sweet nothings in his ear, to express its joy and affection.
It restrained itself, asking tentatively, “Wife, I… like you… too. Can… I… hug you?”
Shi Xu pushed its head away. “No.”
The pollutant pouted, having expected this. It wasn’t disappointed, pleased by Shi Xu’s touch.
Before Shi Xu could withdraw his hand, it nudged his palm, bending its knees slightly to match Shi Xu’s height, making it easier for him to pet it.
Shi Xu felt like he wasn’t dealing with a person, nor a pollutant, but a large, affectionate dog.
The pollutant’s behavior reinforced this impression.
Clingy, affectionate, easily saddened by his anger, but easily cheered up, basking in the slightest bit of attention.
And it waited for him every day.
Shi Xu had never encountered anyone like this, so persistent, so devoted, its entire world revolving around him.
Perhaps it was true. It existed for him.
As long as he accepted it, this pollutant would stay with him forever.
Warm breath brushed against his cheek. Shi Xu snapped out of his thoughts. The pollutant’s hair mingled with his, strands tickling his forehead.
Those captivating golden eyes were inches from his. Having become human, the pollutant now breathed, spoke, and had lips that could kiss.
Beautifully shaped, full lips, a healthy red color, its warm breath washing over Shi Xu’s face and lips.
“I… like you. You… like me. We… like each other… right?” The pollutant’s gaze was intense, its nose almost touching Shi Xu’s. “After… liking each other… we kiss. I… want… to kiss you.”
Shi Xu felt a momentary dizziness. His silence was taken as consent. The pollutant trembled, its excitement causing transparent tentacles to sprout from its tailbone, pushing against its clothes, writhing in the air.
[Wife and I like each other! We’re going to kiss! We’re going to have a love crystal!!!]
Just before their lips touched, Shi Xu snapped out of it, the pollutant’s lips landing on his left cheek instead.
The soft touch, the warmth of another person, wasn’t unpleasant.
The awkward silence was broken by a guilty voice. The pollutant quickly retreated to the one-meter distance, saying anxiously, “Sorry!”
Shi Xu was taken aback. Before he could speak, the pollutant launched into a series of apologies and self-reproach. “I… didn’t want… to sexually harass… Wife. No… I did… I always… want to… kiss and hug and lick… Wife…”
Shi Xu: “…”
“I… misunderstood. I thought… Wife… agreed. I… touched you. Sorry…”
The tentacles behind it couldn’t retract, writhing with its agitation, their previous vibrancy replaced by listlessness, some drooping limply.
Shi Xu disliked physical intimacy. The pollutant had violated his boundaries, yet, strangely, he felt no revulsion.
The pollutant’s lips were gone, but the spot on his cheek burned, the heat spreading to his lips, then to his core, igniting a dangerous thought.
He wanted to know the texture, the temperature, the taste of the pollutant’s lips and tongue.
Was it the same as a human’s?
