A Savior’s Dilemma and a Monster’s Jealousy

Zhuo believed Yuan Anqing desperately needed a good rest. It would be best if he could block out any information from Bai Tian and the other officials. After all, the government was vast and well-staffed, having managed these troublesome matters for many years. There was simply no need for Yuan Anqing to get involved; one tired man alone couldn’t uncover the deep secrets of the universe anyway.

“I shouldn’t have let you talk to those two dead Saviors in the void,” Zhuo grumbled, his tone akin to an exasperated, protective parent. “They’ve led your thoughts astray.”

“I merely exchanged a few words,” Yuan Anqing replied, a hint of helplessness in his voice.

“If a few words can make you doubt your own memories, what would happen if you talked to them more?” Zhuo persisted, still convinced that his predecessors were nothing but trouble.

“I just want to understand who I am, Zhuo. My origins,” Yuan Anqing reiterated quietly.

Zhuo handed a plate of neatly sliced apples to him. “Do you know how many scales I have on my true monster body?”

Yuan Anqing paused, slightly taken aback. “No.”

Zhuo snorted proudly. “You don’t know, do you? I don’t know either! Why bother trying to calculate such useless things? Whether my scales are odd or even doesn’t affect my luster in the slightest. I am still the most beautiful, powerful creature. The origin doesn’t matter.”

After praising himself, he didn’t forget his Savior. “Of course, you are also the greatest, most beautiful Savior.”

Yuan Anqing felt a profound sense of helplessness. “I will find out the truth eventually.” He sat primly on the sofa, as Zhuo had banned him from doing any housework while he was recovering from his stomach cramps.

Zhuo picked up a slice of apple and popped it into Yuan Anqing’s mouth. “Then find it out later. Much later.”

In the guest room, Zheng Xiao’an had already fallen asleep. The grueling day of hiking and socializing had been an immense drain on the teenager’s limited stamina.

With no guests active in the apartment, Zhuo began to let loose.

He squeezed his massive frame into Yuan Anqing’s lap, his entire upper body pressing down on Yuan Anqing’s thighs. He rested his head between Yuan’s arm and chest, looking up at him with a soft, needy expression.

Yuan Anqing, however, didn’t bear much actual weight. Zhuo was highly mindful of his own physical mass; he used his thick tail behind him to prop himself up slightly against the sofa cushions so he wouldn’t crush his fragile partner.

“I’m afraid of what will happen if you find out the truth too early,” Zhuo confessed quietly. “I don’t know how upset you’ll be, or how I can possibly comfort you if your mind breaks.”

Yuan Anqing lowered his head, his golden-flecked eyes meeting Zhuo’s red ones. Even when trying to make himself look small, Zhuo was so massive he occupied almost the entire couch. Yuan Anqing couldn’t even manage to wrap his arms fully around him.

Zhuo seemed to realize the physical restriction. He turned and lay on his side, his body flush against Yuan Anqing, his head tilted to maintain constant eye contact.

Yuan Anqing found the clinginess amusing, yet also incredibly endearing. He leaned down and gently kissed Zhuo’s nose.

“Oh! I’m not trying to play that game right now!” Zhuo’s expression turned serious, his pointed ears twitching. “I need you to promise me, right now, that you won’t actively investigate what you are.”

“Not at all?” Yuan Anqing asked.

Zhuo nodded emphatically. “Not at all!”

“Alright,” Yuan Anqing agreed readily.

Zhuo had expected to need a lot more persuasion, so Yuan Anqing’s immediate compliance caught him off guard. After Yuan Anqing released his chin, Zhuo let out a couple of soft, surprised huffs. “Why are you suddenly so cooperative today?”

“I’m de-stressing,” Yuan Anqing explained. “I need a sense of security.”

Zhuo reached out, pressing Yuan Anqing’s hand, which had begun to absentmindedly knead his chest through his clothes. “Is this how you find security, Savior?”

“Is it not allowed?” Yuan Anqing asked. He tried to pull his hand back, assuming Zhuo wanted to sleep, but Zhuo’s fingers tightened around his wrist.

“I didn’t say I disliked it,” Zhuo mumbled, shifting closer.

Then, Zhuo slipped off the sofa to squat on the carpet between Yuan’s knees, and Yuan Anqing’s hand naturally came along with him. Zhuo looked up at him. “If you like it, I can help you first tonight.”

His tail snaked out from the cushions and wrapped securely around Yuan Anqing’s ankle. Just as Zhuo was about to lean closer to Yuan’s lap, they heard a sudden rustling sound from the hallway.

The guest room door clicked open. The teenager was waking up.

Zhuo’s red eyes widened in panic. He instantly flopped flat onto the carpet, curling himself into a tight ball behind the coffee table so his massive form was completely concealed from view.

Zheng Xiao’an pushed open the bathroom door, rubbing their eyes. Noticing the living room light was still on and only Yuan Anqing was sitting on the sofa, they blinked groggy eyes. “Mr. Savior? Where’s Mr. Zhuo?”

“In the kitchen,” Yuan Anqing lied smoothly, waving a hand. “Go back to sleep quickly. You have a long day tomorrow.”

Zheng Xiao’an nodded sleepily and headed into the bathroom.

The moment the door clicked shut, Yuan Anqing looked down at the floorboards.

Zhuo poked his head out from behind the coffee table, mouthing fiercely: I hate children.

“You used to like them,” Yuan Anqing whispered back, a note of amusement in his voice.

Zhuo didn’t deny it, merely huffing that he had liked them in the past when they were fictional concepts on TV, but now that they were in his house, he had no interest. Yuan Anqing watched the frustrated monster and found him incredibly charming.

Yuan Anqing reached down. His long fingers caught the tip of Zhuo’s tail and began to gently stroke and rub the scales.

Zhuo’s entire body went rigid. The tip of his tail twitched, but he didn’t pull away. He glared up at Yuan Anqing.

He must have understood what I meant! He’s doing this on purpose!

“I’m out,” Zheng Xiao’an’s voice emerged from the bathroom. “Mr. Savior, do I still have to do calculus tomorrow?”

“We’ll see tomorrow,” Yuan Anqing replied calmly, his hand still stroking the tail scales under the table. “But after you return to school, you’ll at least need to catch up with your classmates. It’s better to stay ahead.”

Zhuo patted Yuan Anqing’s calf, silently demanding he stop the stimulation before he made a noise.

Only after Zheng Xiao’an’s bedroom door closed did Zhuo scramble back onto the sofa. He looked around the empty room, then at Yuan Anqing. “Is it over already?” He seemed quite disappointed, completely devoid of his previous panic.

“You should have talked to him about his homework today,” Zhuo lamented, his tail curling back into Yuan’s lap.

Yuan Anqing: “…”

He was clearly enjoying the risk just now, Yuan thought.

Zhuo’s original intention was for Yuan Anqing to rest for a week. He shouldn’t think about any of those distressing Savior mysteries. However, the very next morning, they were summoned by Bai Tian to Chen Jiao’s hospital ward.

Zhuo was very unhappy about the interruption, and Zheng Xiao’an was even more displeased. Because the teenager was undergoing biological stabilization, they had to remain within a certain radius of the Savior at all times, meaning they had to join the trip.

While Yuan Anqing and Chen Jiao were exchanging greetings, Zheng Xiao’an’s identity as a struggling high school sophomore was revealed. Chen Jiao’s eyes immediately lit up with professional interest.

Consequently, Zheng Xiao’an found themselves once again sitting at a hospital table doing math test papers.

“Do you remember that Reproductive Body, Qin Xiao?” Chen Jiao asked Yuan Anqing, sipping her tea.

Yuan Anqing nodded.

“I’ve been ‘tutoring’ him in his cell recently too,” Chen Jiao mused. “Before I arrived, that boy’s mind was entirely focused on finding a mate. Now, he probably only has mathematical trauma left.”

Yuan Anqing: “…”

“He literally studies while crying,” Chen Jiao continued.

Zheng Xiao’an, who was currently working on a limits problem at the nearby table, shivered violently.

“Knowledge is their only path to true rehabilitation; they just don’t understand that principle yet,” Chen Jiao said, taking a sip of hot tea.

Yuan Anqing saw right through his predecessor. “You’re just using your math degree to torment the prisoners.”

Chen Jiao had been a teacher for decades. She knew very well that advanced algebra wouldn’t do much to rehabilitate an assassin, but it was an incredibly effective way to crush his spirit and keep him docile. She pursed her lips slightly, offering no defense.

She changed the subject. “Regarding what you asked me yesterday, I’ve been reviewing the local textbooks.”

Yuan Anqing nodded.

“Our linguistic and mathematical systems are identical,” Chen Jiao stated. “Even the curriculum they learn in their sophomore year here is common with our original world.” She gestured toward Zheng Xiao’an’s papers. “I’ve even highlighted some of the exact same geometry theorems for my own students back on Earth.”

“Very subtle changes, yes,” Yuan Anqing confirmed. “I had planned to take the driver’s license test here. The traffic rules aren’t too different, save for some minor, bizarre discrepancies.”

Chen Jiao took another sip of tea, then looked past Yuan Anqing. “Can you tell your partner to stop staring at me? He looks like he’s planning my murder.”

Zhuo hadn’t given Chen Jiao a single pleasant look since entering the ward. Normally, Chen Jiao didn’t care about such things; she could ignore any amount of cold sneering. But right now, Zhuo was staring dead into her eyes. Wherever she shifted her gaze, his red eyes followed, making sure she felt his territorial hostility.

“I won’t listen to her today, Anqing,” Zhuo declared, crossing his arms. “What good is knowing all this high school stuff to you? You are Yuan Anqing. You are just my Savior.”

“Alright, alright,” Yuan Anqing said, reaching back to pat Zhuo’s arm to soothe the monster.

“He is, of course, just Yuan Anqing,” Chen Jiao said, putting down her thermos. “I don’t believe our past lives are fake anyway, as our personalities are entirely shaped by those memories. Even if the system fabricated the geography, the ‘me’ that taught students is real.”

Zhuo’s expression relaxed slightly at her logic.

“But I still can’t comprehend what we truly are,” Chen Jiao admitted, her eyes clouding. “Are we considered human? Will we truly die when our time comes?”

It was known that even after physical death, the souls of the Saviors Zhuo had consumed could still feel pain.

“Saviors will, of course, die,” Yuan Anqing said, pointing at Zhuo. “The two he ate died very cleanly. Their souls dissipated entirely.”

Chen Jiao’s eyes brightened. “They can die cleanly if he eats them?!”

Zhuo immediately knew what she was thinking. He recoiled in horror. “I won’t eat you, old lady!”

“Why? Is your sense of morality that strong?” Chen Jiao asked with a hint of genuine regret.

“I promised Yuan Anqing before that he would be my only Savior meal!” Zhuo’s monstrous logic was generally incomprehensible to humans. “I broke my word to him; I can’t eat him anymore. In this situation, it’s even more impossible for me to eat other Saviors. Do I look like the kind of person who would cheat on my partner?!”

“Cheat?” Chen Jiao’s mouth twitched.

“Hmph,” Zhuo hugged himself, moving a little further away from her bed. “I knew it. Apart from Yuan Anqing, none of you Saviors are any good.”

“Do you know how the officials summon us?” Chen Jiao asked Yuan Anqing, ignoring the monster.

“I’m not sure. I just pushed open the solid mahogany door to our company conference room and arrived in this world,” Yuan Anqing said, stroking the thick tail wrapped around his wrist.

“Do you think the officials could summon another one if we both strike?” Chen Jiao asked. “The kind of strike where we demand to be sent back?”

“Absolutely not!” Zhuo was the first to object loudly. “The officials don’t have the ability to protect Saviors properly! If they summon a new one, wouldn’t that poor person be unable to leave their house, just like you?”

He glared at Chen Jiao. “And if they had to go out on missions, would I have to protect them too? Are they going to live in our apartment?! I’d bite their throat through and throw them away!” He vehemently refused to have a long-term tenant in their home.

“Didn’t you just say you wouldn’t eat other Saviors?” Chen Jiao pointed out.

“When did I say I’d eat them? I just said I’d bite them to death! Bite through their throat and toss them out the window!”

“Won’t Yuan Anqing get angry with you?”

“He’ll get angry, but he won’t hit me,” Zhuo declared with absolute, smug confidence. “Yuan Anqing likes me way more than some stranger he doesn’t even know!”

“That’s true,” Yuan Anqing confirmed deadpan.

Chen Jiao: “…Could you please not indulge his delusions right to my face?”