Even the Abyss Wants a Wife 19

Chapter 19

When Shi Changyuan heard the word “partner,” he finally understood what had been amiss with him.

He wanted his seed, his Little Flower, to be his partner.

He had seen a more intimate relationship in human society, and he uncontrollably wanted to take the next step with his Little Flower.

They were the closest people in the world to each other, inseparable.

Neighbor, friend, family, partner—no matter the label or the relationship, it should be him, and only him.

Just as Shi Changyuan was about to speak, Little Flower spoke first.

“But we’re family!” Little Flower blurted out, his ears slightly red as he refuted, his voice unusually loud, as if trying to mask other emotions in his tone.

The Abyss paused, not noticing the other emotions in Lin Ling’s words. He lowered his eyes, the words he wanted to say catching in his throat.

His Little Flower didn’t seem to think so.

Shi Changyuan felt as if someone was squeezing his heart, a wave of aching sorrow washing over him.

“Th-that’s just a misunderstanding on their part,” Little Flower glanced sideways at Shi Changyuan and said dryly. “It’s all their fault!”

Little Flower’s explanation was strained, and the Abyss’s “mm” in response was equally strained. The atmosphere between them suddenly became awkward.

“So you’re not a couple?” Lu Jiajia asked, surprised. Her gaze shifted between the two, and she immediately understood that Lin Ling was completely oblivious.

As for the other one, she figured even if he wasn’t aware before, this incident was enough to enlighten him.

Lu Jiajia smiled, looked at Lin Ling, and said teasingly, “Oh, it was a misunderstanding. But Lin Ling, it’s about time you found a partner. What’s your ideal type?”

“I…I haven’t thought about it,” Lin Ling seemed stumped, his answer hesitant. He looked at the Abyss as if seeking help, hoping he would find an excuse to change the subject or leave.

But this time, the Abyss stood still, listening intently, seemingly very interested in the topic.

“Think about it now,” Lu Jiajia pressed. “Lin Ling, do you like boys or girls? You should at least know that, right?”

Little Flower froze, subconsciously looking at Shi Changyuan again, and stammered, “B-boys… I guess?”

“Then do you like tall ones or short ones?”

“T-tall ones?”

“And you like them to wear black, be aloof but caring, and the type to spoil you?” Lu Jiajia described Shi Changyuan almost perfectly.

Little Flower didn’t react at first, nodding, then his gaze drifted to the Abyss beside him, and realization dawned on him. He blushed crimson.

Seeing Lin Ling’s reaction, Lu Jiajia immediately said, “Oh dear, oh dear, even though you’re family, you’re not blood-related, right? And you’re definitely not on the same household registration. There’s nothing wrong with falling in love.”

Lu Jiajia looked at the two and really wanted to say that even being blood-related wouldn’t matter; there were plenty of people engaging in taboo relationships in the apocalypse.

“But, if you’re not partners, your current state is a bit too intimate. It’s best to keep some distance,” Lu Jiajia changed the subject, her words half-truth, half-jest. “Humans place a lot of emphasis on boundaries. Your future partners might mind your current relationship, and it could become very troublesome. It might even lead to a falling out.”

“There are even cases of turning against each other. You must be careful.”

So, when Shi Changyuan and Lin Ling walked out of Lu Jiajia’s shop side by side, the atmosphere was no longer as stiff and awkward, but there seemed to be other indescribable emotions lingering between them.

After this incident, Little Flower was no longer in the mood to explore the base, so he returned to the villa prepared by the humans with Shi Changyuan.

Unlike the Abyss, they didn’t need to share a bed or squeeze onto a single sofa in the villa. There were many rooms, each with its own bed and sofa.

And according to the general human psychology, if there were enough rooms, each room should only be occupied by one person, not two squeezed together.

“Jiajia said we were a little too intimate.”

As they reached the second floor of the villa, Little Flower, who had been silent all the way, suddenly spoke, bringing up the matter. Little Flower seemed to have mentally prepared himself. He looked at the Abyss in front of him, trying to set things straight. “How about… we try interacting with normal levels of intimacy…?”

The more Lin Ling spoke, the softer his voice became, his breath growing weaker, and even his tone became uncertain.

“Okay.”

But the Abyss quickly agreed.

Compared to Little Flower’s confusion and hesitation, he had already decided, from the moment he agreed to move out of the Abyss, to create some distance between them, giving himself space to think things through.

Shi Changyuan looked at Lin Ling, whose brows were unconsciously furrowed, and almost subconsciously wanted to reach out and smooth them, but he stopped his hand.

He would be crossing the line.

He took another deep look at the little flower in front of him and sighed silently.

This was just as well.

If no one had pointed it out, and he had suddenly started keeping his distance from Little Flower before understanding his own strange emotions, Little Flower would probably have felt alienated and disliked, and would have been angry.

Now, it was Little Flower who had taken the initiative to suggest controlling their intimacy. This way, Little Flower shouldn’t be sad.

“Ling Ling, sleep here. I’ll sleep downstairs,” Shi Changyuan finally patted the top of Little Flower’s head and gently pushed him into the room.

“O-okay.”

Lin Ling walked into the unfamiliar room alone and almost immediately turned around, wanting to find the familiar figure that brought him a sense of security.

But before he could even take a few more glances, Shi Changyuan closed the door, looking very gentlemanly and polite.

Little Flower suddenly felt a bit lost.

He angrily raised his foot, wanting to kick the closed door, but then he seemed to feel that this was impolite, so he turned and threw himself onto the bed, punching the cotton pillow.

Leaving so heartlessly, he was going to be angry!

Thinking of this, Little Flower rolled around on the bed, punching the quilt and kicking the air.

Shi Changyuan stood at the door. At first, he could still hear the commotion inside the room, but soon Lin Ling’s footsteps faded away, and he could only hear rustling sounds, probably from playing.

He stood at the door, and for as long as he stood there, the alarms in Mo Cheng’s monitoring station blared.

The humans detected violent, unprecedented Abyssal fluctuations. A few months ago, everyone would have assumed this was a sign of an impending “volcanic eruption,” the first step towards the Abyss destroying the world.

Through the images transmitted by the helicopter, they could see that the Abyss’s main body wasn’t expanding, but several black shadows suddenly leaped from the sinkhole, flailing violently in the air like tentacles.

The tentacle-like shadows would also slam against the ground and even attack each other, nearly hitting the helicopter in the air.

According to the pilot in the helicopter, he truly felt the breath of death, but the moment the tentacle swung over and hit the helicopter, it seemed to simply adhere to the surface of the helicopter like a shadow before brushing past.

But that chilling aura left the experienced pilot grounded for three months.

But now, Mo Cheng, watching this scene, watching the shadows that could only be described as in a blind rage, understood.

She sighed and said with certainty, “He probably had a fight with Little Flower.”

“I’ll go ask Little Flower what happened.”

When Mo Cheng called, Shi Changyuan had already left, but Little Flower was still punching the air.

“Beep, beep, beep—”

The ringing of the communicator startled Little Flower. This was the first time he had used a communicator. He pressed several buttons randomly before finally connecting the call.

“Hello, is this Little Flower?” Mo Cheng asked cautiously.

“It’s me.”

Lin Ling immediately recognized Team Leader Mo’s voice. So when she said “This is Mo Cheng,” Little Flower’s eyes crinkled into a smile, and he even wagged his non-existent tail, proudly saying, “I recognized you!”

Little Flower’s proud tone made Mo Cheng chuckle. Then she asked, “Little Flower, did something happen between you and the Abyss? Why does the Abyss seem… a little angry?”

“Did he complain to you?” Lin Ling asked, stunned, projecting his own behavior.

“…Not really,” Mo Cheng rephrased. “It’s just quite obvious, so I’m asking, to see if I can help you resolve the issue.”

Before Mo Cheng could finish, she and the monitoring staff around her heard Little Flower on the other end muttering about how nice humans were.

The humans, watching the flailing Abyssal shadows: …We don’t dare not to be.

Little Flower briefly explained to Mo Cheng what had happened earlier.

The people in the base monitoring station were stunned. After all, among the higher-ups who knew the true identities of the Abyss and Little Flower, almost everyone assumed they were a couple. So they were only at this stage now?

Huh???

Did non-humans really call this friendship?

All the humans present reflected on themselves, on the human race, wondering if they were all too naive.

Mo Cheng, upon hearing this news, was also taken aback, but she quickly recovered and offered some very pertinent advice.

“Little Flower, do you remember what I told you before?”

“Love is a relationship between people based on mutual admiration, driven by basic human desires and psychological needs.”*

“I can see Little Flower’s psychological need for the Abyss, and perhaps some admiration as well. After all, it’s normal to admire a powerful, reliable being who also favors you.”

“So, the most important thing is, is there desire?”

“You are currently intimate and inseparable, but you also need passion, and more importantly, commitment.”

“I don’t know how long your non-human lifespans are, but from my perspective, if the Abyss makes a commitment to Little Flower, it should be an unbreakable vow, until the end of time.”

“He will care for you, protect you, and love you for eternity.”

“Can Little Flower do the same?”

Mo Cheng spoke these words with a heavy, almost frightening tone, partly out of self-interest. She truly hoped that the Abyss and Little Flower could be together forever. That would be beneficial to both humanity and the world.

Falling in love was just that. Breaking up or staying together was normal, it was all part of the process. No one would make an eternal vow from the get-go, that was all nonsense.

Passion and desire were also nonsense; some human males could even become aroused by inanimate objects.

But by scaring Little Flower like this, burdening him with the heavy psychological weight of “eternity,” if Little Flower still had the courage to cross that line, to rush into the Abyss’s embrace without hesitation…

What would that be if not love?

Even the most fleeting love could be eternal.

…

Mo Cheng’s words indeed placed a huge psychological burden on Lin Ling, almost suffocating him.

Lying on the empty bed, Little Flower suddenly wanted Shi Changyuan to hug him.

Faced with excessive intimacy, the clueless Little Flower instinctively retreated within the boundaries, but while his actions and behavior could retreat, his feelings, his subconscious, had long since crossed the line.

They were even stirring at the edge of completely crossing over.

Perhaps this was what they called passion?

But… Little Flower didn’t know how long such passion could last in the face of “eternity.”

Lin Ling spent the entire day thinking calmly in his room, considering all the pros and cons, but he found that he was still thinking about Shi Changyuan, still wanting him to hug him.

So he isolated himself for another day.

But no matter how long he isolated himself, the feeling only intensified.

So, in the evening, Lin Ling knocked on Shi Changyuan’s door.

“Knock, knock.”

After only two knocks, the door opened.

Little Flower looked at the familiar Abyss in front of him, wanting to rush into his arms and cry, but he held back.

“I…I want to talk to you.”

Shi Changyuan lowered his eyes, hiding his tightly clenched fists in his robe.

He stood before Lin Ling, like a defendant awaiting the judge’s final verdict.

“Mm, go ahead.”

Lin Ling’s eyelashes fluttered violently, but his expression was incredibly serious, filled with reckless courage. He said, “I’ve figured it out.”

“I don’t want to be just your seed, just your family anymore.”

“I don’t know if this is irresponsible, but eternity is too long.”

Little Flower’s tone was calm, but a tear inexplicably fell from his right eye.

“So I was thinking, if… if one day I change my mind, you can lock me up, lock me in the Abyss.”

“It’s a terrible ending.”

“But I realized that even so, I still want you to hug me, I still want you to kiss me, I still want to be your partner.”

Little Flower looked at Shi Changyuan expectantly. “So, can you agree?”