A Morning of Playful Banter

The weather had recently begun to turn cool. Early mornings were particularly chilly, prompting Yuan Anqing to layer a lightweight jacket over his usual short-sleeved shirt.

Turning from the mirror, he asked, “Zhuo, you should wear more… What on earth are you doing?”

“I’m pinching,” Zhuo replied, his massive hands physically kneading his own bare abdomen. “Why do you like pinching my flesh so much? Is it really that soft?”

Zhuo himself felt no particular physical pleasure from the action, but he knew Yuan had been obsessed with touching him there last night.

Yuan Anqing walked over, pulling Zhuo’s hands away from his waist and firmly tugging down the hem of the shirt Zhuo had lifted. “Because your muscles never tense up in front of me,” he explained dryly. No matter what kind of physical stimulation he subjected the monster to, Zhuo’s abdominal muscles never contracted in defense, which Yuan Anqing found biologically counter-intuitive.

The moment Yuan Anqing released his grip, Zhuo immediately pulled his shirt back up, resuming his self-poking. “I don’t feel the cold,” Zhuo stated, then emphasized, “I can’t feel pain, cold, or spices. But… I certainly felt something when you did that to me yesterday.”

Of course, Yuan Anqing knew Zhuo had felt it. He pulled the shirt down once more. “Your nerves only intensify when you’re overwhelmed by desire.” Yesterday, during the peak of the golden trance, Zhuo had even briefly experienced a sensitivity akin to pain.

“I really liked that,” Zhuo admitted shamelessly, lifting his shirt yet again. “But I can’t replicate that feeling by myself.”

Yuan Anqing pulled the hem down again, only for Zhuo to immediately tug it back up.

This time, Zhuo stopped pinching his own stomach. Instead, he fixed his red eyes on Yuan Anqing, waiting to see how long his Savior would play this game.

Yuan Anqing pulled it down; Zhuo lifted it up. After three such silent exchanges, Yuan Anqing simply grabbed a heavy blanket off the bed and threw it over Zhuo’s head, bundling him up like a mummy.

“You’re cheating!” Zhuo’s muffled voice protested loudly from inside the wool.

“You’re playing childish games with your shirt, and I’m the one cheating?” Yuan Anqing retorted, pressing his hands against Zhuo’s sides through the blanket. “Get dressed. It’s time for breakfast.”

“How can I eat breakfast if you won’t let me out?!” Zhuo squirmed, but he didn’t dare use his full strength to break free, fearing he might accidentally send his fragile Savior flying into the wall.

“You’re just going to be mischievous the second I let you out,” Yuan Anqing said. He didn’t believe Zhuo would meekly sit at the table, especially with the tip of the monster’s tail still twitching beneath the hem of the blanket.

“I won’t!” Zhuo denied.

“You will,” Yuan Anqing insisted, finding their morning argument remarkably childish, yet incredibly relaxing.

“Don’t press on me anymore; I’m getting so hot,” Zhuo shifted, his voice turning soft.

“I thought you couldn’t feel the heat,” Yuan Anqing remarked, yet he still loosened his hold.

The moment the pressure eased, Zhuo burst out of the blanket. He dashed toward the kitchen door, boldly yanking his shirt up to his chest as he ran, flashing a cheeky, triumphant grin over his shoulder.

Yuan Anqing followed him into the kitchen with a helpless sigh, only to find the two-meter-tall monster leaning casually against the sliding glass door, deliberately flaunting his physique.

“I knew you’d still be a menace,” Yuan Anqing sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“So what if I am?” Zhuo countered. “I won’t catch a cold. Why do you insist on pulling my shirt down? I could walk around naked in a snowstorm and nothing would happen to me.”

Yuan Anqing’s eyebrow lifted slightly. “Walk around naked outside?”

“What about it?” Zhuo huffed.

“Nothing. But you still have some red marks on your chest and neck,” Yuan Anqing pointed. “If you go out like that, people are going to get the wrong idea about what we do in this apartment.”

“Red marks? Where?” Zhuo looked down, trying to peer at his own chest. “I recover from bruises in seconds.”

“Before your differentiation, you wouldn’t have been marked at all,” Yuan Anqing said, slowly approaching him. “But the lingering effects of last night’s ‘research’ won’t disappear so easily now that you have feelings.”

Zhuo thought Yuan Anqing had a point, but he genuinely couldn’t see the hickeys from his own angle.

“Zhuo,” Yuan Anqing called his name softly.

Zhuo looked up. Yuan Anqing was already standing directly in front of him, mere inches away.

“What is it?” Zhuo tilted his head, then his red eyes widened as he realized Yuan Anqing’s hands were moving.

Yuan Anqing reached out and began to aggressively tickle Zhuo’s bare waist. He had long since discovered that the unchained Zhuo was no longer a solid block of stone impervious to physical sensation. As Zhuo’s affection for him blossomed, his body also developed very human vulnerabilities.

“Uwah-wah-wah!” Zhuo gasped. He had never experienced such a ticklish sensation before. He wanted to break free, but he was terrified of using too much force and hurting his fragile partner. In the end, Yuan Anqing cornered him against the kitchen counter, leaving the massive monster to helplessly curl into himself, giggling.

“I’m not playing anymore! Hahaha! Yuan Anqing, stop! I’m not playing!” Zhuo tried to block Yuan’s hands, but whenever he covered one spot, Yuan Anqing would instantly find another sensitive area to tickle.

Yuan Anqing only stopped when he had successfully tickled actual tears of laughter from Zhuo’s eyes.

“You are so annoying!” Zhuo huffed, wrapping his arms around himself defensively. “You should remember I am a dangerous predator. I could bite a huge chunk out of your neck in one go.”

“You’d bite me?” Yuan Anqing asked calmly, looking up at him.

Zhuo recoiled slightly, his tail dropping. “I… I was just trying to sound tough.”

“Scare me?” Yuan Anqing tilted his head.

“What do you want from me, then?! I can’t even try to sound like a tough guy?!” Zhuo grew wary, shielding his ribs in case Yuan Anqing lunged for another round of tickling.

Yuan Anqing didn’t respond. He slowly leaned closer to the towering monster. Zhuo became tense, his breath catching, but he didn’t pull back.

Then, he felt a soft, cool kiss planted on the corner of his lips.

“You’re supposed to be this formidable demon king, yet now you’re acting like a scolded puppy,” Yuan Anqing chuckled quietly, his face close. “Why would you think I’d get angry just because you threatened to bite me?”

Zhuo’s face flushed bright red. He quickly stood up, rolled up his sleeves, and reached out to tickle Yuan Anqing in return. But after rubbing Yuan’s waist for ten seconds, he found the Savior completely unresponsive.

“Wah! You’re too weird! Why aren’t you ticklish?!” Zhuo deflated, dropping his hands. “What are you even afraid of, then?”

“Being hungry,” Yuan Anqing said casually, walking to the stove. “We should eat. You’re a bit too hyperactive today.”

“You’re excited too, I can tell,” Zhuo retorted, following him.

“Indeed,” Yuan Anqing admitted easily as he plated the food. “This is my first time in a relationship, and I doubt there will ever be a second. It’s normal to feel happy.”

“It’s not ‘doubt there will be a second,’ it is ‘definitely no second,'” Zhuo corrected him possessively. “If you ever have a second, I will bite that person to death without hesitation.”

Suddenly, the phone on the counter rang. Yuan Anqing glanced down, saw Bai Tian’s name on the screen, and was about to answer when Zhuo swiped the device.

“This guy calls you every single day, and it is never good news,” Zhuo grumbled.

His large thumb accidentally pressed the green accept button, but Zhuo didn’t notice. He simply bared his teeth, feigning a menacing threat to Yuan Anqing. “You promise me there won’t be a second partner, or I’ll chew them to pieces!”

On the other end of the line, Bai Tian heard Zhuo’s loud voice. He didn’t speak, quickly pressing the mute button on his office phone, knowing Zhuo’s ears were sharp enough to detect his breathing.

“What’s wrong?” a colleague asked, walking into Bai Tian’s office.

“Nothing. Just some… lovers’ banter,” Bai Tian whispered, sweating slightly. “Zhuo probably doesn’t even realize he answered the call. It’s a good chance for me to make sure the Savior is still alive and well.”

“Are they arguing?” The colleague leaned closer to the speaker.

Zhuo’s booming voice came through clearly: “No matter if the second one is male or female, old or young, I’ll bite them to death! Even if you find some ancient old beast over five hundred and fifty years old, I’ll still chew them up without hesitation! Old bones might be tough, but my teeth can handle it!”

“Is that so?” Yuan Anqing’s voice sounded remarkably calm and amused in the background. “How is it that I think you won’t bite anyone, but will only cry in the bathroom instead?”

“Why would I cry?! What do you take me for?!” Zhuo roared defensively. “I am the most ferocious, unchained Differentiated Being in this world!”

“You’re ferocious, yet you’re terrified of hurting me,” Yuan Anqing’s voice sighed. “Just now, you threatened to bite me, but the second I leaned in, you got scared and hid your tail. When it truly comes to a fight, I’m afraid you’ll only sob.”

Zhuo fell into a sullen silence over the line.

“There won’t be any such possibility anyway,” Yuan Anqing quickly reassured, his voice softening as he noticed Zhuo’s dejected silence. “I only like you, Zhuo. Is there really a second ‘you’ in this world?”

“Someone like me isn’t even that good,” Zhuo mumbled.

“Not good? If someone like you isn’t good, where am I supposed to find someone better?” Yuan Anqing’s voice held a rare, warm hint of a smile. “Someone better-looking than you, with a better physique than you, and a cuter, more dramatic personality. Go find me one.”

Zhuo did not answer, his ego thoroughly massaged.

“Do you truly think there is anyone in this world better than you?” Yuan Anqing asked him again.

Zhuo honestly replied, “Aside from you, there is no one better than me.”

Zhuo wanted to feel humble and insecure, but he simply couldn’t. In terms of physique and appearance, he genuinely believed he was the absolute peak. As for personality… Zhuo felt Yuan Anqing’s description of him as ‘cute’ was somewhat inaccurate; he still considered himself a mighty, terrifying demon lord.

“I’m better than you?” Yuan Anqing sounded amused.

“Of course. Otherwise, why would I like you?” Zhuo believed his thought process was exceptionally logical. “Before you came to this world, I was number one. After you arrived, you became number one.”

Yuan Anqing chuckled.

Zhuo then asked softly, “After we eat, will we still sleep together?”

“You like sleeping with me that much?” Yuan Anqing inquired.

“I do! It’s incredibly comfortable.” From the night before last until now, they had spent most of their time—aside from eating—testing the “projects” Yuan Anqing had written down in his notebook. Although Zhuo always felt on the verge of losing his mind during the golden trance, he didn’t perceive any danger.

“Then… do you want to do it right here?” Yuan Anqing asked playfully.

Listening in, Bai Tian’s single eye widened. He finally understood what ‘sleeping’ meant in this context. He had initially thought they were just huddling together for innocent naps. It was only when Yuan Anqing said “right here” in that suggestive tone that he realized the horrifying truth.

Bai Tian quickly hung up the phone. “Ahem. Yes, their relationship seems… very stable.”

The colleague hadn’t noticed the subtext yet. “Is the Savior really that gentle in private?”

“Since when does Zhuo talk like a scolded puppy?”

“They’re a couple; who cares about the tone?” Bai Tian took another massive sip of cold tea to calm his nerves. “We’ll talk about those Differentiated Beings tomorrow.”

“You’re not calling back?”

“I’m afraid if I call again right now, Zhuo will actually come to the office and eat me,” Bai Tian said, shuddering. The young couple was clearly about to get busy, and interrupting them again would be suicide.

He would have to wait until Yuan Anqing was safely back at his desk tomorrow to discuss any further world-saving business.