Really going to eat?
Wenren Huaishu and Wang Qiang sat side by side, hands clenched into fists resting on their knees. They didn’t quite understand everything happening right now.
Wenren Fu had ordered ingredients and kitchenware online, and even bought an apron.
“Why is he so skilled at this?” Wenren Huaishu asked Wang Qiang. Wang Qiang shook his head, looking completely baffled.
Tao Fangyi didn’t get what they meant. “Skilled? You didn’t know he could cook?”
Wenren Huaishu and Wang Qiang shook their heads together.
Tao Fangyi: “…What did he eat when he was little?”
“Meat. He doesn’t like vegetables,” Wenren Huaishu said.
“My kid doesn’t like vegetables either.” Tao Fangyi remembered Wang hated the smell of vegetables too. He wanted to share his own child’s preferences, but quickly realized that wasn’t the point. “What I meant to ask was, did you feed him raw or cooked food?”
“We’re not human. We have no need to eat cooked food,” Wang Qiang said. “Wenren Fu had cultivation to begin with, so his digestive system is very strong.”
Tao Fangyi: …
“Makes sense. He’s probably used to it by now, eating like that since he was little.” It was just that Tao Fangyi didn’t understand their habits. Tao Fangyi had spent too long mingling among humans; all kinds of preferences had been influenced by human ways.
“It’s not like he’s especially used to it, haha.” Wenren Huaishu scratched her head. “We’re pretty busy, you know? Most of the time, he just hung out with the other kids from the Combat Department families. Occasionally he’d go eat at someone else’s house.”
“Then does he prefer cooked food or raw food?” Tao Fangyi was very curious.
Wenren Huaishu thought for a moment, then shouted Wenren Fu’s name. When Wenren Fu poked his head out, the smile on his face had noticeably dimmed.
“Do you prefer raw food or cooked food?” Wenren Huaishu asked.
Wenren Fu desperately wanted to sneer, but he controlled himself. “Cooked food.”
“Oh!” Wenren Huaishu looked enlightened, then answered Tao Fangyi, “Little Fu likes cooked food.”
Tao Fangyi: ?
Tao Fangyi slowly tilted his head.
Wenren Huaishu smiled and tilted her head right along with him. Tao Fangyi tilted his head the other way, and Wenren Huaishu tilted hers the other way too.
Wenren Huaishu’s tiger ears popped out. She seemed to think Tao Fangyi was playing a little game with her.
“How exactly did you two raise a child?” Tao Fangyi asked.
“Just the usual way,” Wang Qiang said.
“Even though Little Fu has something wrong with his brain, his body is still very healthy.” Wenren Huaishu raised one arm and patted her bicep with her other hand.
“But you didn’t even know whether he prefers raw or cooked food.” Tao Fangyi felt something was off.
“Neither raw nor cooked food would kill him.” Neither option was dangerous, so why would they need to know in detail? Wenren Huaishu didn’t understand.
“Then is he more into sweet or savory flavors?” Tao Fangyi asked Wenren Huaishu again.
This time Wenren Huaishu looked even more confused. Her ears stood straight up, her eyes wide. “Huh?”
Tao Fangyi just remembered—tigers supposedly can’t taste sweetness. The concept of “sweet tooth” didn’t even apply to Wenren Huaishu.
“Little Fu can taste sweet things,” Wang Qiang said, knowing what Tao Fangyi was thinking. “The way we care for our young is genuinely not on the same level as how humans raise children. That’s normal. Neither of our species spends the better part of a lifetime on a single offspring.”
“Little Fu wouldn’t care about this sort of thing, either,” Wang Qiang continued.
“Really? I feel like Wenren Fu is far more assimilated into human society than either of you,” Tao Fangyi observed. He thought Wenren Fu still carried a heavy human air about him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have so naturally assumed his parents’ house would have kitchenware.
“He’s just faking it.”
Tao Fangyi felt the impact of two forceful slaps from Wang. Wang’s emotions seemed increasingly agitated.
What he didn’t know was that right now, Wenren Fu—the one doing the cooking—was debating whether to continue making dinner or to stop what he was doing, pull up a forum, and write a post condemning his family of origin.
He recalled the dark memories of his childhood.
Wenren Fu, dressed in a little padded jacket, sat on his mother’s shoulder. His hair and eye color had been disguised, but his appearance was simply too adorable. Even without any excessively striking colors on his body, he could still attract the attention of a huge crowd.
The aroma of food wafted from a restaurant on the street corner. Wenren Fu touched his belly, feeling a little downcast.
Right at that moment, another child perched on an adult’s shoulders was being carried toward Wenren Fu.
That child was exceedingly average-looking, dark-skinned, with a trail of snot hanging from his nose.
But Wenren Fu’s eyes locked onto the candied hawthorn stick in that kid’s hand at first glance.
The kid was crunching away at the sugar coating. Wenren Fu couldn’t help but grab his mother’s hair and shake it, pointing a finger at the child. “Mom, I’m hungry.”
Wenren Huaishu took Wenren Fu’s feelings very seriously, so she brought him out into the wilderness, caught a half-dead wild rabbit from who-knows-where, and had Wenren Fu practice hunting while eating.
At that time, Wenren Fu still couldn’t control the limbs of his true form very well. He chased his prey while crying, his body practically tying itself into knots.
Meanwhile, Wenren Huaishu had transformed back into a big tiger. She lay sprawled to the side, yawning and squinting as she sunbathed.
Wang Qiang was even worse.
Whenever they passed by the ocean, he would ask Wenren Fu if he was hungry. Wenren Fu’s answer was always no.
Once Wenren Fu was so hungry his stomach started making noises, Wang Qiang, completely expressionless, would hurl his own son into the sea and make Wenren Fu catch his own food.
After his anger subsided, Wenren Fu calmed down again.
He knew his bloodthirsty nature was innate.
But his parents had better pray he never got caught, never had his true nature exposed.
Otherwise, Wenren Fu would pin all of his actions entirely on his parents.
With a family background like that, what could he possibly do about it?
Wenren Fu cupped his own cheek with one hand, using the other to dip a soup ladle in and scoop up a bit, tasting for seasoning.
Come to think of it, the type who’s good at cooking should be especially popular, right?
Wenren Fu conjured a mirror and admired his own figure through it.
The shirt sat elegantly on him. The apron wasn’t out of place at all; instead, it gave him an extra touch of domestic warmth.
Wenren Fu set down the ladle and tightened the apron strings behind his back, making his waistline look more pronounced.
His build leaned closer to that of a Tiger Demon: tall, strong, and robust. Showing too much muscle made it too easy for people to equate him with violence.
“A violent physique wrapped up under an apron—who wouldn’t love that kind of contrast?” Wenren Fu touched his own face. “And on top of that, this face.”
Keeping him in the Reserves was an absolute waste of a gift from heaven.
He was much better suited to being a gentle executioner.
Wenren Fu reflected on the uncontrollable excitement he felt when executing criminals.
Fine. He was a slightly… excessive executioner.
But at least, the strongest emotion in his heart when killing someone was joy.
Humming a tune, Wenren Fu turned around—and then he saw Tao Fangyi, standing stiffly at the door, completely at a loss.
Wenren Fu: …
Tao Fangyi: …
Wang: …
Wang had indeed sensed Tao Fangyi get up, but what Tao Fangyi had asked was, “Can I go look at the flowers you’ve planted on the balcony?”
Wang had naturally assumed Tao Fangyi had gone off to the balcony. After all, he couldn’t see outside the pocket.
By then, Wang had gotten swept up in self-admiration, following the emotions of his true form.
“Ah.” Tao Fangyi came back to his senses. He had originally meant to ask Wenren Fu if he needed any help. Instead, he’d walked in on Wenren Fu adjusting his clothes and making all sorts of expressions in the mirror.
Wenren Fu had to be incredibly embarrassed right now.
“Isn’t the path to the balcony this way?” Tao Fangyi decided to pretend he’d simply taken a wrong turn.
Wenren Fu stared at him.
Tao Fangyi considerately turned around.
“Uncle Tao,” Wenren Fu suddenly spoke.
Tao Fangyi looked back at him.
Wenren Fu gazed at Tao Fangyi for a moment in silence, then shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
Tao Fangyi walked away.
Wenren Fu turned off the stove and leaned against the kitchen counter in silence.
He hadn’t felt shy just now. He’d wanted to ask Tao Fangyi whether he wanted to touch his face—after all, Tao Fangyi liked his looks so much.
Wenren Fu wasn’t the least bit resistant to his own appeal to others. What’s more, the person he was attracting was Tao Fangyi, who was perfect in every way aside from a few odd quirks.
If Tao Fangyi had walked in just now and reached out a hand toward him, Wenren Fu felt he would have pressed the top of his head right into Tao Fangyi’s palm.
A pat on the head, a scratch under the chin—Wenren Fu would have cooperated with all of it.
But they weren’t that familiar yet. He couldn’t go too far.
A little over half an hour later, the food was on the table.
Wang Qiang thought Wenren Fu’s sitting posture was very coy. At first glance, he seemed completely relaxed, leaning back—except he hadn’t actually rested the full weight of his body against the chair back.
Somehow, that lean made Wenren Fu’s physique look even better, his shirt fitting more snugly, especially around his well-trained pectoral muscles. Was his chest subtly lifting?
Wang Qiang narrowed his eyes to observe and reached a conclusion: Wenren Fu was feigning languidness, trying to give off that kind of “effortlessly sexy” vibe. In reality, his core muscles were secretly tensed; his entire body was rigid.
Tao Fangyi looked at Wenren Fu and couldn’t help letting out a “wow.” “You really are so elegant.” It was only normal for this kid to be a bit narcissistic.
“Really?” Wenren Fu seemed slightly surprised.
“You carry yourself with real style right now.” Tao Fangyi nodded. “Every movement is especially good-looking.”
“Truly? Hahaha, you’re the first person to ever praise me like that.” Wenren Fu covered his mouth with one hand, letting out a low chuckle.
Wang Qiang: …
“No one’s ever praised you before?” Tao Fangyi felt that shouldn’t be the case.
“Never. Maybe my personality is just too strange.” Wenren Fu furrowed his brows and lowered his head, as if saddened.
Tao Fangyi hurriedly said, “Not strange at all! Your personality is very endearing!”
“Uncle, you’re such a sweet-talker~” Wenren Fu laughed for quite a while longer, then invited Tao Fangyi to add him as a friend.
Wang Qiang sensed something was off.
Wenren Fu was still closing in.
He looked toward his wife, only to find Wenren Huaishu paying absolutely no attention to whatever was happening between Wenren Fu and Tao Fangyi.
Wenren Huaishu had scooped a spoonful of mapo tofu into her own bowl. Now she was holding the bowl, circling her nose around it to sniff it, even lightly touching it with her tongue.
Then Wenren Huaishu lifted her spoon, scooped the tofu back up, and opened her mouth.
As she opened her mouth, the corners of her lips slowly split apart, her face beginning to beastify.
Finally, partially reverting to her true form, she opened her tiger jaws wide and took a ferocious bite of the spoon.
“Mm. Edible,” Wenren Huaishu said to Wang Qiang.
Wang Qiang: …
“Right, what were you saying just now?” Wenren Huaishu asked.
“Nothing.” He just thought his son was being very strange. Wang Qiang suspected Wenren Fu had set his sights on Tao Fangyi.
But Tao Fangyi was so strong; there was no way Wenren Fu could actually kill him. And Tao Fangyi probably wouldn’t beat Wenren Fu to death either.
Letting the kid suffer a setback would be good for him.
“So delicious!” Tao Fangyi exclaimed in high praise after tasting a bite of Wenren Fu’s cooking.
Wenren Fu let out a soft, smug laugh. He had spent longer practicing cooking than some humans had spent living in this world. Of course the food he made was delicious.
But his parents, who didn’t eat cooked food at all, couldn’t appreciate it.
“My god, how did a kid like you even turn out this way?” Tao Fangyi was genuinely shocked.
This kid was good-looking, a genius in combat, spoke to people gently and softly, and was an amazing cook on top of it all.
How could someone so perfect exist in this world?
Tao Fangyi practically emptied his brain of every word suitable for praising Wenren Fu, leaving Wenren Huaishu and Wang Qiang on the side utterly dumbfounded.
Was this kid really that amazing?
And Wenren Fu, the one being praised, acted very composed, only humbly replying with things like, “Not really,” or “You exaggerate too much.”
And so, this meet-and-greet turned into a conversation session between Wenren Fu and Tao Fangyi.
Wenren Huaishu and Wang Qiang didn’t eat much. They still preferred raw food.
A bit sheepishly, Tao Fangyi asked if he could take some home with him—this meal was simply too delicious.
Wenren Fu helped Tao Fangyi pack the food into his little lunchbox magical artifact.
It was said that this artifact could preserve freshness indefinitely. Even if opened a hundred years later, the food inside would be no different from when it had just come out of the pot.
Tao Fangyi sat for a little while longer before leaving. He had his own matters to attend to.
He returned to the small town on the Nineteenth Level. Once he got home, he let Wang out of his pocket.
Wang transformed back into his true form. He butted his head against Tao Fangyi, wanting to rub himself all over Tao Fangyi.
“Wait, not right now.” Tao Fangyi reached out and held his head back.
Then Tao Fangyi pulled out the little lunchbox. “First, taste this… uh, the food that young man made. I think you’ll like it.”
Wang: …
So Tao Fangyi had packed this portion for him?
Tao Fangyi pulled Wang along, making him sit at the dining table, then slid the lunchbox in front of him.
“I still have things to do. Go entertain yourself for a while.” Tao Fangyi patted Wang’s head.
Wang, who had just felt a faint stirring of being touched, was instantly unhappy again.
So Tao Fangyi found him annoying again, huh? Using food Wang himself had made just to brush him off, while Tao Fangyi himself was going back to listening to rock and roll again?
Wang let out a soft huff and buried his head in the meal, which held no surprises whatsoever for him.
And Tao Fangyi went back to his room.
After two bites, Wang sneered.
He’d figured it out. Getting too familiar with Tao Fangyi meant getting dismissed by Tao Fangyi.
Only during that half-familiar, half-unfamiliar phase could anyone experience Tao Fangyi’s enthusiasm.
Muttering all that stuff about how he looked good like this too—yet his patience for this outer appearance was clearly far less than for his true form.
Wang had seen through this looks-obsessed world.
Saying one thing and doing another. This was human nature.
But Tao Fangyi wasn’t human. His true form seemed to be a wooden doll.
So… this was doll nature.
After finishing his meal, Wang crossed his arms over his chest and looked disdainfully at that little magical artifact that had held the food—using eyes that didn’t exist.
This world was hypocritical to the extreme. Everyone was hypocritical to the extreme.
Wang felt he had already detached himself from this absurd world, drifting beyond the circle of dolls, observing coldly from the sidelines.
“Wang,” Tao Fangyi’s voice suddenly rang out.
Wang looked toward the door of Tao Fangyi’s room. Tao Fangyi was poking his head out, smiling at Wang.
But it was already too late. Even if Tao Fangyi’s smile was as stunning as ever, it was useless. Tao Fangyi’s image in his heart was already covered in cracks, beyond repair.
They could never go back to how things were between them.
Tao Fangyi walked toward Wang with his hands hidden behind his back. “I once made a very powerful soft whip magical artifact. I changed its shape a bit, and also modified some of its functions.”
Wang tilted his head slightly.
Tao Fangyi hadn’t been listening to rock and roll?
Tao Fangyi brought his hidden hands out front. In his hand, he held a length of bandage drenched in blood. “Do you like this?”
Wang didn’t move.
“This magical artifact is very flexible. And you like dark stuff, right? So, look.” Tao Fangyi demonstrated the bandage’s use to Wang.
As the bandage was lashed out, countless strands of black ghostly aura burst forth from within it, swirling and coiling around the bandage. Countless red particles splashed out as well, looking just like blood.
When the bandage came to a stop, it slowly darkened in hue, as if being scorched by flames.
Tao Fangyi had loaded the bandage with a bunch of flashy special effects. Of course, the bandage’s own inherent power was already formidable.
Wang finally reacted. “You… why are you giving me this?” Hadn’t he already received a gun?
“Because I gave that young man a gift. I thought I should prepare one for you too. After all, I’m going to be your supervisor from now on.” Tao Fangyi handed the bandage to Wang, and the bandage quickly wound itself around Wang’s wrist, merging seamlessly with his other bandages.
“If others have something, so should you,” Tao Fangyi explained. “I don’t want you feeling envious of others.”
“But I can’t even use it.” Wang couldn’t kill those evil-doing Non-Humans right now anyway. It didn’t matter how powerful this bandage was.
“Then… you don’t like it?” Tao Fangyi certainly couldn’t let Wang out to go around killing people.
Tao Fangyi began to feel uncertain about whether he’d chosen the right gift. Wang’s reaction was far too subdued.
The moment Tao Fangyi finished asking, Wang pounced and pinned him to the ground.
Tao Fangyi felt his cheek being licked by Wang’s long tongue. Then Wang kept burrowing frantically into Tao Fangyi’s arms.
“Tao Fangyi! Tao Fangyi!!” Wang shouted Tao Fangyi’s name while rooting against him.
Tao Fangyi lay on the floor. Because Wang was burrowing with so much force, Tao Fangyi was pushed over two meters across the ground.
“Tao Fangyi~” Wang lifted his head and called out.
“Mm.” Tao Fangyi smiled and reached out to pat Wang’s head.
“Tao Fangyi!” Wang buried his head back into the crook of Tao Fangyi’s neck.
“Then I take it you do like it.” Tao Fangyi felt happy too.
Wang’s pure, childlike joy was really infectious.
If only this kid could always be this happy.
The next day.
Tao Fangyi watched television with a blank expression.
“Tao Fangyi! Tao Fangyi!” Wang crouched beside him, incessantly calling his name.
Tao Fangyi pretended not to hear.
Wang reached out and poked Tao Fangyi’s thigh.
Tao Fangyi looked down at Wang, who was crouched down hugging his knees.
Wang: “Tao Fangyi!”
Tao Fangyi: “Is there something you need?”
Wang: “Hehehehehe, Tao Fangyi! Tao Fangyi!”
Tao Fangyi: …
He was starting to regret this.
But the registration paperwork was already processed. No more catch-and-release.
“Tao Fangyi, guess what I’m thinking right now?” Wang asked him.
Tao Fangyi: “You’re thinking ‘Tao Fangyi’?”
Wang: “You’re so smart~”
Tao Fangyi: …
Wang: “Tao Fangyi! Tao Fangyi!”
Tao Fangyi silently covered his face. “Do you like summer?”
Wang was puzzled. “It’s okay. Why?”
“Nothing.” Tao Fangyi just suspected that when Wang was alive, he had been a giant cicada.
