The Price of a Prank

Zhuo couldn’t comprehend Yuan Anqing’s logic. He believed that the desire for love and intimacy was fundamentally no different from any other human desire, which made Yuan Anqing’s intense resistance to the topic puzzling.

“You know I wouldn’t be harmed even if my head were chopped off, right?” Zhuo asked.

They were on the balcony, letting the night breeze wash over them. This had become a nightly ritual.

“I know,” Yuan Anqing replied.

He wasn’t drinking alcohol himself, instead accompanying Zhuo with a soft drink. Since Zhuo had recently developed a slight, problematic dependency on cocktails, Yuan Anqing had temporarily abstained from drinking as well to prevent the monster from complaining about “unfairness.”

It hadn’t been particularly difficult to give up. Yuan Anqing had once believed that cigarettes and alcohol were the only escape routes left in his life. Yet, now that he was actually living a somewhat stable routine, the craving had dulled.

Had life simply been too easy lately? he wondered.

“So, why would you be scared of me being ‘played until I break’?” Zhuo twisted open the cap of a soda bottle hanging from his crystalline horn and poured himself a glass. “I don’t break, you know. I’m invincible.”

“That is… difficult to explain to someone with your lack of social context.” Yuan Anqing found it incredibly strange that Zhuo could utter such suggestive phrases so casually.

Was it frivolous? No, not exactly. For Zhuo, the urge to procreate held no sacred or taboo significance; he was merely chatting as if discussing the weather.

“In any case, it’s best not to let anyone else hear you say things like that,” Yuan Anqing cautioned him.

“What would happen if they did? I won’t be in any danger. They should be worried about what I’d do to them instead.” Zhuo maintained absolute confidence in his own lethality.

“But being treated as an object of someone else’s dark fantasy is also degrading, isn’t it?” Yuan Anqing still felt the monster’s lack of caution was a safety risk. “You can perceive others’ emotions. You wouldn’t want to be pinned down by some freak, would you?”

“Me? Pinned down?” Zhuo tilted his head, genuinely confused. “Those people who fantasize about me usually want me to sleep with them! I’m the predator!”

“But you just said you’d be ‘played until you break,'” Yuan Anqing reminded him.

“For someone as powerful as me, the very idea of being ‘broken’ is a joke! It’s hilarious!” Zhuo laughed.

Yuan Anqing fell silent for a moment. Then, looking utterly shocked, he exclaimed, “You were joking just now?!”

Zhuo nodded, grinning. He found the idea of a world-ending monster being “used” as comical as a weightlifter putting on a high-pitched voice to amuse a child. However, Yuan Anqing clearly didn’t share his sense of humor.

“What’s so funny about it?” Yuan Anqing reached out and grabbed the hem of Zhuo’s shirt, yanking it upward.

Zhuo let out a small, startled yelp.

Yuan Anqing set his drink down and reached out with his other hand to firmly poke Zhuo’s exposed, muscular abdomen. “Powerful individuals like you attract a specific type of person with very peculiar, dangerous preferences! It’s because you’re formidable that they want to see you humiliated! Don’t you understand how human depravity works?!”

Zhuo’s eyes widened. He stayed perfectly still, his breath hitching as Yuan’s cool fingers pressed into his skin.

Yuan Anqing finally lowered the shirt, staring intently into Zhuo’s red eyes. “You cannot relax your guard just because you can regenerate. Mental violation is still violation.”

Zhuo could only nod dumbly. “Are you… really that bothered by this?”

“It’s not that I’m bothered. It’s that you should be.” Yuan Anqing offered a blunt analogy. “If I were a twisted pervert, what would happen if I made a move on you right now? I have the contract ring. I could restrain you, and you wouldn’t be able to attack me. You would be completely at my mercy.”

Zhuo thought it over carefully. Finally, he whispered, “I wouldn’t exactly be unable to accept that.”

Yuan Anqing sleeping with him? How would that work? Would Yuan Anqing finally feel desire for him? Zhuo was intensely curious about what a person as stagnant as Yuan Anqing would look like when consumed by lust. He concluded that if Yuan Anqing were the one to “mercy” him, it would probably be Zhuo’s gain.

Yuan Anqing was at his wit’s end. “If you ever discuss this topic in front of an outsider again, I will use your own tail to whip my own palm.”

Zhuo finally panicked. “You can’t! That’s too much! That’s cheating!” (Note: Because of the contract ring, any pain Yuan Anqing inflicts on himself while intending to punish Zhuo is mirrored back to Zhuo with interest).

“If you think it’s too much, then keep your mouth shut.” Yuan Anqing smoothed Zhuo’s shirt back down. “From now on, the subject is closed.”

“Are you threatening me?” Zhuo found it unbelievable. “How can you threaten your first friend? Is it because I’ve given you too much freedom?” He felt Yuan was taking advantage of his affection.

“Perhaps,” Yuan Anqing conceded. He used to be too exhausted to care about anything, but Zhuo was becoming a full-time job. “But I don’t intend to change my stance.”

Zhuo felt deeply wronged. He wanted to continue the argument, but Yuan Anqing simply changed the subject to the next day’s grocery list, which made Zhuo even more frustrated. He felt that Yuan Anqing had no intention of treating him like an adult.

In that case, Zhuo had no intention of behaving like one.

He accompanied Yuan Anqing for the rest of the evening, enjoying the breeze. Afterward, they both showered and went to bed. Once he was certain Yuan Anqing was asleep, Zhuo carefully bundled the quilt around the man. He then quietly rose and tiptoed out of the bedroom.

Wait, what if a ghost comes back while I’m in the kitchen?

Zhuo looked back at the sleeping Savior. He changed his mind. He removed his shirt, sprouting several extra arms from his back. He wrapped Yuan Anqing in the heavy quilt, leaving only his head exposed, and then used three of his extra arms and his tail to lift the entire “Savior-burrito” into the air. He carried him into the kitchen so he could keep an eye on him.

He gently propped the bundled Yuan Anqing up against the kitchen cabinets, then turned to the liquor cabinet to find the strongest stuff available. Yuan Anqing had been truly mean to him earlier; this was a matter of wounded pride.

Yuan’s collection was mostly high-proof spirits. Should I mix it with soda? Zhuo wondered. He wasn’t fond of the burning taste. But mixing it would lower the potency, and he wanted to be “rebellious.”

Zhuo made a difficult executive decision: No mixing. Straight from the bottle.

However, he overlooked one small detail: the kitchen didn’t have air conditioning. It was the middle of a humid summer. Zhuo’s biology didn’t mind the heat, but Yuan Anqing was a fragile human.

Yuan Anqing was woken up by the stifling heat and the smell of raw ethanol. He groggily opened his eyes to pitch blackness, only to hear the faint clink of glass.

“Zhuo? Are you there?”

Then, he felt the “floor” beneath him shift.

Yuan Anqing: “!!”

Wait. Why am I upright? Why am I in a quilt?

Yuan Anqing struggled to get a hand out of the bundle to reach for his phone, but his wrist was immediately caught by a large hand. Then, another hand reached over and covered his eyes.

Yuan Anqing’s nose twitched. “…Zhuo? Are you drinking?” The scent of alcohol in the small kitchen was overpowering.

Zhuo didn’t move, nor did he answer.

“Zhuo!” Yuan Anqing confirmed he hadn’t been kidnapped by a ghost when he felt his “bed” trembling with suppressed laughter. “Are you secretly stealing my alcohol?!”

“I’m not stealing!” Zhuo retorted instinctively, forgetting his cover. “I’m taking it openly!”

The sound of colliding bottles echoed as Zhuo tried to hide them behind his back with his other five arms.

“You are not allowed to destroy evidence! I know exactly how much is in that cabinet! It won’t matter even if you eat the glass bottles!”

Five empty liquor bottles were neatly arranged on the coffee table. Yuan Anqing sat on the sofa in the living room, wreathed in a terrifying, icy silence.

Zhuo’s tail cautiously approached Yuan Anqing, attempting to tap his knee, but Yuan Anqing swatted it away without looking.

“Was it good?” Yuan Anqing finally spoke.

Zhuo silently shook his head.

“Not good? Then why did you drink five bottles of it?” Yuan Anqing’s voice was calm, which was much scarier than shouting.

“It… it was because of what you said on the balcony. About people breaking me.” Zhuo’s voice was tiny. “I thought you were being unfair. I wanted to… retaliate.”

“Retaliate?” Yuan Anqing finished the sentence for him.

Zhuo shook his head again, looking at his feet.

“So, according to your logic, the solution to me worrying about your safety is for you to sneak out and binge-drink poison?” Yuan Anqing tapped his knuckles against the coffee table. Clack. Clack. “Because I told you not to be a degenerate in public, you decided to harm your own body in private?”

“I…”

“Do you even realize your own biology has issues?” Yuan Anqing interrupted. “Harming yourself to ‘get back’ at someone else is the most goddamn foolish thing an intelligent being can do!”

“I didn’t harm myself! I’m a monster! I’m not afraid of alcohol!” Zhuo countered stubbornly. “I feel fine!”

“Then who was it who lost their heart rhythm and complained about feeling weird last time?! Did you know for a fact you wouldn’t have a seizure after drinking all this?”

Yuan Anqing felt a nameless, hot rage flaring in his chest—a genuine emotion, not a psychic side effect. “What if something happened to you? What if the alcohol forced you back into your true form? This is a residential apartment building! There are families here! Do you want the military to show up?!”

“I wouldn’t—”

“What guarantees do you have? Your word? You’re a child in a man’s body!” Yuan Anqing rubbed his temples. “You even promised me you wouldn’t drink. Did you keep your word? Did you?”

Zhuo fell into a sullen silence.

Yuan Anqing exhaled a long, shaky breath. “I’m very disappointed in you, Zhuo.”

Zhuo froze. That hit harder than any electric shock.

“Are you truly alright? Physically?” Yuan Anqing asked, needing medical confirmation.

Zhuo shook his head.

“Fine. Go to sleep. We’ll talk about your ‘punishment’ tomorrow.” Yuan Anqing felt utterly drained.

“I… I won’t do it again,” Zhuo whispered.

Yuan Anqing sighed. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. I don’t want to get angry again. It’s a waste of energy.”

Zhuo didn’t move. He stood by the coffee table like a giant, scolded puppy.

“What? Do you want to stand there all night?”

“I… I feel a bit off,” Zhuo admitted.

Yuan Anqing grew instantly vigilant. He walked to Zhuo’s side and placed a hand on his broad chest, feeling for a pulse. “Is your heart acting up? Are you nauseous?”

“My heart is… no, it’s fine.” Zhuo’s voice began to hitch and crack. “I just… I can’t explain it. It feels very wrong in here.” He pointed to his chest.

As he spoke, a large, heavy tear traced a path down his tanned face. Zhuo reached up to touch it, looking confused.

“You’re crying!” Yuan Anqing exclaimed, genuinely surprised.

“I… I’m not! I’m powerful! I don’t cry!” Zhuo’s words were no longer coherent. His eyes were bloodshot, and the tears began to fall even more fiercely.

“Is it the alcohol?” Yuan Anqing asked, softenning. “Or are you crying because I scolded you?”

“Neither! I’m… I’m an apex predator…” Zhuo sobbed, his shoulders shaking.

The suffocating feeling of guilt and the lingering effects of the high-proof spirits had finally crashed into him. He looked at Yuan Anqing with absolute desperation. “I won’t do it next time. Please.”

“What won’t you do? Drink? Or make me disappointed?”

Zhuo didn’t explain. He simply pointed to his own heart. “Can you… can you still believe me?”

Yuan Anqing realized the truth then: the alcohol had finally bypassed Zhuo’s physical resistance and hit his underdeveloped emotional core. Zhuo wasn’t just drunk; he had literally scared himself into an emotional breakdown by realizing he might actually lose his “friend.”