The Unconventional Comfort

Zhuo desperately wanted to appear mature. After all, as a Differentiated Being capable of seeing through the darkest desires of humanity, his thoughts should transcend the mortal realm, unbound by earthly constraints.

However, much like a child who knows high school will be exhausting yet still harbors futile, nervous excitement on their first day, Zhuo was practically vibrating.

He was so excited, in fact, that he couldn’t sleep. Yuan Anqing, who had agreed to sleep beside him, enjoyed a perfectly good night’s rest, however. Zhuo’s smooth, crystalline tail made for a rather excellent cooling pillow.

The next morning, Zhuo rose early, donning a crisp dress shirt and his new bespoke suit.

“Do I need to wear glasses too?” he asked.

Yuan Anqing, who was eating breakfast at the table, silently lifted his gaze and glanced in Zhuo’s direction. “Are you nearsighted?”

“No, but I think your glasses look really cool,” Zhuo replied, tugging awkwardly at the tie around his neck. He felt a distinct discomfort.

“That’s because I’m nearsighted,” Yuan Anqing stated, beckoning Zhuo over.

Zhuo shoved an entire steamed bun into his mouth, then hurried to Yuan Anqing’s side. “What is it?”

“Your tie is knotted incorrectly. You’ve essentially made a slipknot around your own neck.” While Zhuo likely wouldn’t be strangled by a piece of silk, his fidgeting made Yuan Anqing uneasy.

Zhuo immediately squatted down beside the chair, allowing Yuan Anqing to re-tie it for him. “How do I look?”

“Very handsome.” Yuan Anqing lowered his gaze, his fingers deftly untying the knot. He appeared quiet and focused, but Zhuo knew perfectly well that this person was merely too lazy to form facial expressions, making him seem perpetually intimidating.

“But I don’t see any awe in your eyes,” Zhuo said, gazing up into Yuan Anqing’s face.

Once the Windsor knot was secured, Yuan Anqing patted it flat. “Do you want the truth?”

“What truth?” Zhuo tilted his head.

“You are truly stunning, incredibly handsome, and your presence is unique.” Yuan Anqing placed his hands on Zhuo’s broad shoulders. “Your appearance is many people’s absolute ideal type.”

Zhuo’s massive tail began to sway happily behind him.

Yuan Anqing added, “If you weren’t going to an office job.”

“Huh?” Zhuo’s excitement was abruptly cut short.

Yuan Anqing himself used to wear suits, but only when traveling for business or giving high-stakes presentations to clients. Wearing a three-piece suit to a standard desk job every day was both troublesome and absurdly unnecessary.

Yuan Anqing thought Zhuo resembled a fresh graduate attending their first job interview. The only difference was that a college student’s youthful inexperience was something a suit couldn’t conceal. Zhuo was also inexperienced, but his naivety was entirely masked by his terrifying, mob-boss aura.

Yuan Anqing said no more, leading Zhuo out the door.

They boarded a bus, then transferred to the subway, attracting countless terrified and awestruck stares along the way. Zhuo was quite pleased with the attention, but this satisfaction gradually faded as the subway traveled further and further into the city’s outskirts.

“Where exactly is this company located?” Zhuo asked in a low voice.

“Tianzhang District, Industrial Street. You can think of it as the deep suburbs,” Yuan Anqing explained.

Zhuo’s brow furrowed. “The suburbs? Not a skyscraper in the city center?”

“Renting an office building in the city center is very expensive. Besides, this company specializes in prototype models, so it’s normal for the office building to be attached to a manufacturing factory.” Yuan Anqing was quite knowledgeable about these matters. The “cover” job Bai Tian had arranged was indeed related to his past profession as a mechanical engineer.

Zhuo didn’t respond.

Yuan Anqing asked him, “Did you not understand?”

Zhuo nodded.

Yuan Anqing then asked, “And you think a company next to a factory lacks prestige?”

Zhuo nodded again.

Yuan Anqing sighed helplessly. “Not all high-end jobs come with a petty-bourgeois, downtown aesthetic.”

“Is this high-end?” Zhuo expressed deep suspicion.

“Do you think robotics is high-end?” Yuan Anqing asked him.

Zhuo remained silent.

“What about medical instruments?” Yuan Anqing pressed.

“I don’t understand any of that,” Zhuo muttered softly, his tail drooping.

Yuan Anqing sighed again, resigned to his role as a corporate guide. “Not all factory work involves mechanically tightening screws on an assembly line. You’ll understand later.”

They rode the subway to the second-to-last stop, transferred to a shuttle bus, and finally walked the last stretch to the company entrance.

The entire journey took nearly two hours. Zhuo finally understood why Yuan Anqing had forced him to wake up so early.

The company’s CEO and the Department Manager had already received word from the government and were waiting by the entrance.

The CEO appeared to be a human male in his forties, but given the traces of time on his face, his actual age was likely upwards of 550. He stood about 175 centimeters tall, dressed in a simple black polo shirt and dark blue slacks.

Black loafers adorned his feet—a stark contrast to the white sneakers of the Department Manager beside him, subtly highlighting his status as the boss. Yet, this meager symbol of corporate identity seemed incredibly fragile the moment Zhuo stepped into view.

Look at that towering, robust physique, those aggressive features, and that perfectly tailored suit!

The CEO had to crane his neck to meet Zhuo’s gaze. The man’s head barely reached Zhuo’s chest. If he stepped a little closer, he could lean perfectly against Zhuo’s lapels, though the image wouldn’t be particularly professional.

“Director Tu. Manager Yang,” Yuan Anqing greeted them first.

Compared to the overly striking Zhuo, Yuan Anqing’s attire was much more comfortable. A simple white short-sleeved button-down and brown trousers made him look clean and efficient. More importantly, Yuan Anqing was smiling.

Yuan Anqing’s “Customer Service” smile was exceptionally gentle, making him look like a patient senior colleague or a kind teacher.

“Ah? Oh, Mr. Yuan!” The CEO snapped out of his daze, reaching out to shake Yuan Anqing’s hand. “Just call me Tu Hongyu.”

The Department Manager beside him also extended a hand. “I’m Yang Shu.” Yang Shu was a subspecies—entirely orange-yellow, with his mouth located on his neck and two rows of eyes covering his face.

Tu Hongyu laughed nervously. “The gentleman next to you gave me quite a fright! I thought someone from the mob had come to collect a debt.”

Yuan Anqing politely joined in the corporate laughter. His smile was so flawlessly natural it left Zhuo utterly bewildered.

“I’ve seen Zhuo’s file before, but he was only six years old at the time,” Tu Hongyu said, his sentence revealing his high-clearance status. “I understand that your employment here is merely a front for your real duties.”

Yuan Anqing continued to smile pleasantly.

Zhuo reached out and poked Yuan Anqing’s cheek, annoyed by the fake expression.

“However, compared to the overt office work, there might be more pressing things you need to handle today,” Tu Hongyu continued, lowering his voice.

“Such as?” Yuan Anqing inquired.

“For example… my nephew underwent a low-grade differentiation this morning. Would you like to practice your Savior abilities on him?” Tu Hongyu gestured toward the company building. “I’ve tied him up in the basement warehouse. He’s throwing quite a tantrum right now.”

Yuan Anqing: “…”

Yuan Anqing: “Isn’t bringing your mutating nephew to the workplace a severe HR violation?”

“Not really. My nephew is highly dangerous. If I hadn’t tied him up here, his middle school would probably have collapsed,” Tu Hongyu explained. He turned around to show Yuan Anqing a massive tear in the back of his polo shirt. The fabric was almost entirely melted away, yet the old CEO stood there unperturbed. “He releases corrosive gas, so I can’t get close to him.”

“Corrosive gas?” Yuan Anqing was somewhat surprised. “He was a normal human boy, right?”

“Not anymore. After low-grade differentiation, a person’s darkest obsession and abilities become uncontrollable,” Tu Hongyu said, shaking his head.

“Then why did you hide him in your company basement? Aren’t you afraid your employees here will be in danger?” Yuan Anqing asked.

“No, because his obsession is specifically to blow up the school.”

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

Yuan Anqing reached up to adjust his glasses. “Ah?”

“Blow up the school, yes. It’s quite common for children to have such thoughts,” Tu Hongyu said matter-of-factly, leading Yuan Anqing into the office building. “This isn’t a school; this is a company. The building is perfectly safe.”

That logic is terrifyingly sound, Yuan Anqing thought.

Yuan Anqing and Zhuo followed Tu Hongyu into the freight elevator. The basement was a massive warehouse, piled high with cardboard boxes and prototype materials. Tu Hongyu’s nephew was tied to a chair in a relatively spacious storage cage. The boy was wearing a uniform blazer and a cartoon graphic tee.

“How old is he?” Yuan Anqing asked Tu Hongyu.

“Uh, I think ten? Or fourteen?” Tu Hongyu wasn’t sure. “I’m over five hundred years old, and this nephew has over a dozen older siblings. I really can’t keep track.”

“In any case, this kid didn’t finish his homework last night, then woke up like this,” Tu Hongyu said helplessly.

Low-grade differentiation was illogical. As far as Tu knew, his nephew never did his homework, yet this one time, the stress had triggered a mutation.

“What do you want to do?!” The child instantly became agitated upon seeing them. A thick orange mist erupted around him.

However, nothing happened.

Logically, the ropes binding him and the concrete beneath him should have melted, but only the child was snarling. The corrosive gas had no effect. Tu Hongyu glanced at Yuan Anqing with surprise.

Yuan Anqing’s pupils had turned molten gold, his passive ability instantly neutralizing the threat. Unlike the first Differentiated Being, this child, after a brief moment of stunned silence, became ferocious once more.

“Schools shouldn’t even exist!” the child shrieked.

“Why?” Yuan Anqing asked him calmly.

“Nobody likes school!” The child actually responded. Logically, individuals undergoing differentiation were irrational and incapable of conversation. Yet, the child’s gaze was unfocused even as he spoke. The resentment was resisting Yuan Anqing’s mental intrusion, forcing the child to articulate his rage.

Now, it was up to Yuan Anqing to verbally soothe the child.

Yuan Anqing gazed at the boy gently. “Indeed.”

Tu Hongyu: “Huh?”

Zhuo was not surprised. When Yuan Anqing was sick, he had begged Zhuo to eat his boss. A corporate drone devoid of positive energy wouldn’t offer motivational platitudes to a student.

“Schools are too dehumanizing,” Yuan Anqing added smoothly.

The little boy felt Yuan Anqing was absolutely right. “Right?! Places like that should just disappear completely!”

Yuan Anqing squatted down, meeting the boy’s gaze. “Though, I didn’t actually hate school that much.”

The little boy was puzzled. “Why?”

“Because when I was your age, I always got perfect scores on every test,” Yuan Anqing said. “The teachers all loved me, and they’d even give me candy when I visited the faculty office.”

The little boy’s eyes widened in horror, but he remained silent.

“I was also very annoyed back then,” Yuan Anqing continued casually, “because teachers would always gather around me, begging me to perform a solo musical act for the talent shows.”

The little boy began picking nervously at his tied hands.

“I was always the one chosen to give the valedictory speeches in front of the entire assembly. It got so exhausting,” Yuan Anqing paused, then asked the boy sincerely, “Is that why you hate school? The burden of absolute academic perfection?”

The little boy had never given a speech before. The only time he stood in front of the school was during a self-criticism assembly after being caught doing graffiti on the restroom door.

“Why aren’t you speaking?” Yuan Anqing asked him. “Is it because you’re shy about your perfect grades?”

The little boy: “I…”

“I actually think that if you can always get perfect scores on tests without studying, there’s absolutely no need for extra homework. Don’t you agree?”

This time, the little boy was completely silent. He held it in for a long time, his face turning red. Finally, he let out a very low, pathetic whimper from his throat.

“Getting perfect scores in elementary school is very easy, after all,” Yuan Anqing concluded.

The little boy broke down in tears.

“Ah.” Yuan Anqing’s brow lifted slightly. “His aura has dissipated.”

Tu Hongyu’s feelings were complex. He felt something wasn’t quite right about that therapy session, yet Yuan Anqing had indeed successfully cured the child. “Uh… well, then I’ll take him to the infirmary.”

Zhuo leaned close to Yuan Anqing’s ear. “You are absolutely terrible at comforting people.”

“I am perfectly capable,” Yuan Anqing said, lowering his gaze. “If I wanted to comfort him, I could have told him to observe the people and things around him more, and not to confine his thoughts to one small corner of his life.”

“But you didn’t comfort him,” Zhuo noted, looking at the child who had fainted from sheer academic inadequacy, tear streaks still wet on his cheeks.

“Why should I comfort him?” Yuan Anqing countered.

If he had offered warm comfort, that resentment might have taken advantage of it, continually pouring out excuses until it dissipated. While that might have been a gentle approach for the child, it would not have been friendly to Yuan Anqing’s mental state. He didn’t have the energy to play therapist. It was better to choose a method that was comfortable for Yuan Anqing: making the child feel so thoroughly inadequate that the resentment simply gave up and retreated in shame.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t offer comfort; he simply chose psychological warfare because it was faster.

“I saved him, but I don’t have to like him.” The gold in Yuan Anqing’s eyes receded, turning back to a deep, mundane black in the dim light.

Zhuo’s tail tip flicked happily behind him, and he swallowed hard. “Your personality is completely awful, you know that?”

But he loved it.