Chapter 5
The pollutant didn’t understand restraint. Faced with the object of its affection, it was always enthusiastic and proactive.
Just as it had eagerly entangled Shi Xu in the dark rift, it acted on its impulses.
It wanted to lick Shi Xu’s fingers. The thought barely formed before it opened its mouth, engulfing Shi Xu’s index finger.
It had no tongue. The inside of its mouth, like its exterior, was a transparent, gelatinous substance.
Humans had a food called jelly. Its mouth was similar, but even more slippery and viscous.
Shi Xu’s eyes darkened. The moment the pollutant enveloped his finger, a familiar shudder ran through him, a wave of disgust washing over him, both physically and mentally.
A cold light flashed. The dagger plunged into the pollutant’s head, slicing away half of it. He quickly withdrew his finger. The severed portion of the pollutant fell to the floor, dissolving into puddles of water, then reassembling itself within seconds.
Shi Xu’s attack didn’t anger it. Its gold-rimmed eyes seemed to fill with ink, turning dark.
It wasn’t rage, but unfulfilled desire.
“Want… lick… Wife.”
Shi Xu’s temple throbbed. He grabbed the pollutant’s head, his gentle voice laced with malice, “Try licking me again and see if I don’t throw you into boiling water.”
The pollutant wasn’t afraid of blades, fire, ice, or even being stabbed. Shi Xu hadn’t tried boiling it yet, but he was certain it wouldn’t be afraid.
Perhaps its immense power was the source of its recklessness.
Held in Shi Xu’s grasp, the pollutant showed no resistance, its tentacles wriggling excitedly, some extending to wrap around Shi Xu’s wrist, sticky and clinging.
“Bath bath, lick Wife!”
Shi Xu: “…”
Initially, he hadn’t understood the pollutant, but after a few days, he could decipher its simple pronouncements. It was proposing a trade: he could boil it, and in exchange, he could lick it.
Truly a pollutant’s logic. No human would equate being submerged in boiling water with taking a bath.
Shi Xu’s eyes turned icy. “Let go.”
The wriggling tentacles gradually stilled. The pollutant widened its golden eyes, the excitement in its voice diminishing. “Wife?”
Shi Xu: “Did I give you permission to touch me?”
The pollutant quickly retracted its tentacles, its round head trembling.
It wasn’t afraid of Shi Xu’s violence, only his anger. This was a secret Shi Xu had inadvertently discovered.
Two nights ago, the pollutant had silently slipped into Shi Xu’s room. The moment its slippery tentacles touched his ankle, Shi Xu woke up, still grumpy from a nightmare. Unlike previous times, he didn’t immediately resort to violence.
Sensing his anger, the pollutant immediately released him, apologizing profusely with newly learned words.
“Sorry, Wife, don’t be angry…”
Now, the pollutant used the same pleading tone, cautiously saying, “Wrong, Wife don’t be angry…”
After only a few repetitions, it could already string together a sentence, its tone sounding genuinely pitiful and sincere. But Shi Xu knew it was just lip service. It would dare to do it again.
Ignoring the pollutant’s teary eyes, Shi Xu walked towards the living room.
The pollutant, its body drooping, quickly followed, apologies trailing behind Shi Xu.
“Wife don’t be angry!”
“Sorry!”
Shi Xu was territorial. Allowing his hated adversary into his space was a rare exception.
He noticed even the slightest changes in his home.
Entering the living room, he immediately spotted the difference. It was much cleaner than that morning.
It seemed to understand his dislike for things being moved. After cleaning, it had returned everything to its original place, but Shi Xu still noticed the signs of their displacement.
With the pollutant still whimpering apologies behind him, Shi Xu’s irritation lessened. He asked, “Did you clean the living room?”
The pollutant was adept at seizing opportunities. Given an inch, it took a mile.
Wiping away its tears, it hopped in front of Shi Xu, nodding excitedly, seeking praise. “Wife… like? Like… can… kiss kiss?”
These were also newly acquired phrases.
It was asking: if Shi Xu appreciated its diligence, could it have a kiss as a reward?
Shi Xu smiled faintly, glancing at the pollutant, feigning ignorance of its meaning, subtly shifting the focus. “I told you to learn human language. Is this all you’ve learned in the past few days?”
“Lick lick, hug hug, rub rub…”
The pollutant eagerly offered its new vocabulary, its tentacles writhing with each word.
The warm light reflected in Shi Xu’s eyes, but held no warmth.
He bent down, pinching the pollutant’s mouth. The soft, slippery texture was still unpleasant, but the words were worse.
In front of others, even when angry, Shi Xu maintained a facade of politeness. But with the pollutant, he dropped all pretense, revealing his true, mischievous nature.
“Do you know?” Shi Xu’s fingers dug into the pollutant’s body. His voice deepened. “We humans call your behavior sexual harassment. If you weren’t useful to me, I would send you to the research institute immediately.”
With only eyes and a mouth, the pollutant couldn’t express complex emotions, but Shi Xu’s grip forced a grimace.
Still, it didn’t resist, reveling in the warmth of Shi Xu’s hand. If it knew more words, it would tell him—
Wife, that pinch feels so good, harder!
But it instinctively knew that would only anger Shi Xu further.
So, it suppressed its excitement, blinking. “Sexual… harassment?”
Shi Xu walked to the sofa, opened his laptop, and typed, then held the pollutant’s head, directing its gaze to the screen.
[Sexual harassment is the act of making unwanted sexual advances or obscene remarks. ]
The pollutant stared at the screen for a long time. Just before Shi Xu lost patience, it reacted, turning its head with difficulty under his grip, blinking slowly before looking directly at him.
Shi Xu: “Do you understand now?”
“Wife… likes…” The pollutant stammered, but its tone was firm.
Shi Xu’s breath hitched, his grip tightening further.
He liked being sexually harassed by this pollutant?
Was it joking?!
Within moments, the sofa, carpet, coffee table, and floor were covered in jelly-like blobs.
They wriggled, attempting to coalesce, but Shi Xu stopped them. “Stay like this until I’m no longer angry.”
The pollutant: “…Eep!”
Shi Xu: “Unwilling?”
The pollutant immediately replied, “Willing… Listen to Wife~”
Despite its childish appearance, the pollutant’s voice was surprisingly mature. The clear, clean tone, now tinged with a slight choke, sounded incredibly soft, penetrating the listener’s heart.
Strange emotions stirred within Shi Xu.
His once hated enemy was now completely obedient.
How peculiar.
…
Countless transparent jellies glowed golden under the lights. Shi Xu sat on the sofa, admiring his handiwork.
He suddenly felt the lights weren’t as brilliant as the pollutant’s eyes.
The jellies trembled, their surfaces glistening with moisture, as if crying.
One of them whispered, “Wife don’t be angry…”
His anger fading, Shi Xu felt foolish explaining “sexual harassment” to a pollutant.
It wasn’t human, acting purely on instinct. Its inability to understand was normal. But he wouldn’t tolerate it.
“Touching me without my permission is sexual harassment.”
The jellies immediately stopped trembling.
The pollutant was clever, quickly applying the concept. “Wife touch me without my permission, Wife… also sexually harassing me?”
Shi Xu: “…”
Surprisingly, he wasn’t angered, finding it slightly amusing.
Suppressing his laughter, he explained in terms the pollutant could grasp. “You can’t call someone ‘wife’ if it’s one-sided. And you’re a pollutant, I’m human. I won’t date a pollutant. You can’t call me wife. I’ll get angry.”
The pollutant: “Eep!”
Why can’t I call you Wife?!
Why, why, why!!!
“Touching me without permission will also anger me.”
The pollutant: “Eep!”
“And…” A slow smile curved Shi Xu’s lips, hiding his mischief. “You touching me is sexual harassment, me touching you is not. Understand?”
It was a domineering statement, one most people wouldn’t agree with, but the pollutant didn’t consider that.
The jellies bobbed up and down, mimicking nodding.
It liked Wife… Shi Xu touching it didn’t require permission. It wanted to be touched by Shi Xu, preferably everywhere, caressed by those beautiful, clean hands…
Shi Xu smiled in satisfaction, picking up a jelly from the sofa and gently squeezing it, like rewarding an obedient child.
The pollutant’s whimpers turned into a sigh of contentment. However, the enjoyment was short-lived. Shi Xu tossed the fragment onto the coffee table.
“Eep…” The small jelly splattered on the table, whimpering pitifully.
I haven’t been touched enough!
Ignoring the pathetic jellies, Shi Xu checked the pollutant’s browsing history. He had lent it the laptop to learn about humans, but its recent activity… left him speechless.
He cleared the history, bookmarking some wholesome educational websites, warning sternly, “Don’t look at inappropriate things.”
The jellies collectively protested with “eep” sounds. Shi Xu glanced at them. “Unwilling?”
Silence. Then, a small, determined voice emerged from the sofa crevice, “Willing, listen to Wife!”
Shi Xu pursed his lips. It claimed to obey him, yet still hadn’t corrected its address.
He suddenly didn’t want to bother correcting it anymore. It would just keep calling him that anyway.
“I’m going to bed.” Shi Xu headed upstairs. No familiar voice followed him. As he turned the corner, he glanced back at the living room.
The jellies remained where he left them. He couldn’t see its eyes, but he felt a sticky gaze on him.
It wasn’t completely disobedient. At least it hadn’t followed him to his room tonight.
At 2 am, the living room lights were still on.
Obediently remaining divided, the jellies slowly crawled onto the laptop, painstakingly typing, finally managing eight words.
[How pollutant become human]
