Chapter 58 · Age Gap part 1
Duan Ke’s current state was very magical.
His consciousness was very clear, observing the world through his small spherical body. But he couldn’t freely control his thoughts and actions, only letting the memory world operate on its own, while he was like a bystander.
In the memory, the little Duan Ke-ball was pinched by Qin Huai, turning from a round ball into a flat pancake.
When Qin Huai carried Duan Ke around, Duan Ke’s line of sight was always very far from the ground.
But now, Duan Ke looked at the garden soil too close to him, realizing more clearly that his boyfriend was now a child, even his height still very short.
The line of sight just happened to include the tombstone in front of Qin Huai. Duan Ke-ball looked intently.
These were two connected tombstones; the photos were of a man and a woman. Qin Huai’s brows and eyes resembled the woman, but his expression was as cold and calm as the man in the photo.
Obviously, these were Qin Huai’s parents.
Duan Ke wanted to be sad, but he couldn’t. Emotions were not controlled by the current him; he only felt a wave of anxiety, fierce enough to be unstoppable, washing away all other consciousness rising from his lower abdomen, making his fangs itchy and painful.
Duan Ke was very familiar with this feeling; he was starving to death.
So he foresaw his next move, panicked in his heart, but completely unable to stop it.
He bit down hard on Qin Huai’s palm.
Biting really deep, to the extent that it would definitely leave a scar—simple torture for a seven or eight-year-old child.
But Qin Huai just tsked faintly, frowning, dug Duan Ke’s little fangs out of his bloody palm, and wanted to throw him straight to the ground.
But Qin Huai’s hand paused in mid-air.
He put Duan Ke-ball down. The boy’s face wasn’t very good, but he froze slightly upon seeing the other party clearly.
…Crying so miserably?
Due to family background, Qin Huai had seen many monsters since childhood, but never one that loved to cry.
The veins on his forehead jumped; the expression on his face was a bit subtle. Qin Huai wiped the weird liquid—a mix of bright red and transparent fluid—off his hand, picked Duan Ke-ball up, and gave him a shake.
Warm, bright sunlight filtered down from above, shining on Duan Ke-ball, allowing one to see a thin layer of fuzz on him. This form was already soft like a slime; looking at it this way made him seem even more harmless.
Duan Ke-ball: “Human, I’m so hungry.”
Duan Ke-ball: “Woo woo.”
Cool liquid slid down from Qin Huai’s palm to his elbow; the boy’s expression was blank. He suspected this thing might be some unrecorded new species rather than a monster—how could there be a monster in the world that was a crying bag who wailed “woo woo”?
The little black ball, not even the size of a palm, flapped its short front limbs, wiping its face messily.
Tears soaked his entire ball. He repeated the words “Human” and “Hungry” back and forth several times. Organizing language seemed a bit difficult for him, but he could barely express his meaning.
Qin Huai looked at this thing not resisting, only knowing how to cry hunger, inexplicably reminded of the stray cat his mother fed two days ago.
That cat was like this when eating cat food, meowing loudly as if delicious, looking like it would pass out from hunger the next second.
Qin Huai didn’t know why he compared a biting monster to a cat, but he did.
He was too exhausted these past few days, with no strength to get angry at a monster attacking him, nor any interest. He asked without emotion: “You drink blood?”
Duan Ke-ball thought to himself that he didn’t seem to just drink blood, because he was a succubus.
But it was still difficult for him to express such a long sentence now. After organizing language for a few seconds, he smoothly gave up. Duan Ke gave a series of “Mhm, mhm” sounds, indicating he indeed loved drinking blood, hoping Qin Huai would feed him.
Qin Huai: .
Actually quite obedient.
The death of his parents and the urging from superiors made Qin Huai very numb. He was rarely provoked into a bit of emotional fluctuation by this little thing. This slight emotional rise made Qin Huai feel, for the first time in a while, that he might still count as half a living creature.
So he carried Duan Ke into the villa in the center of the garden.
The very young boy pulled out a few tissues, wiped the soft ball clean, placed him on the exquisite, intricate sofa, and gave a light pat.
Duan Ke-ball looked around. There seemed to be many surveillance cameras in this room, all covered with black cloth. The lenses pointing uniformly this way looked gloomy.
His gaze returned to the boy. Qin Huai picked up the fruit knife on the table, expressionlessly cut a line on his arm. Fresh blood accompanied by a rich fragrance gushed out instantly.
The softness on Qin Huai’s face hadn’t fully developed, and his outfit was childish according to his mother’s aesthetic. But his face already showed a maturity identical to his father’s, with no sign of childishness.
Holding Duan Ke with one hand and placing him on his wound, “Eat.”
Duan Ke-ball immediately began to lick, even making happy purring sounds.
The boy’s arm remained steady, watching the little ball puff up bit by bit with his own eyes. The little ball ate too hastily, even choking a few times; Qin Huai had to lift him up to manually brake, coaxing him a bit stiffly to eat slowly.
Duan Ke-ball was full, rolling around on the sofa a few times, drowsy, tail perking up.
Qin Huai, however, picked him up mercilessly, ignoring Duan Ke’s “I want to sleep” protest, placed him on the window sill, and patted Duan Ke’s butt.
“You leave,” Qin Huai said.
Duan Ke: “Ouch!”
He looked back at the boy with great dissatisfaction, revealing small fangs to show his unhappiness, but Qin Huai just turned and walked away.
Duan Ke lay blankly on the window sill, his heart empty.
Two seconds later, Qin Huai suddenly returned. Duan Ke extended his arms for a hug, but Qin Huai ignored it, hiding the ball in a flower pot on the window sill, whispering, “Not allowed to come out.”
Duan Ke didn’t know what scheme he was up to, but still obediently said “Oh,” using two leaves to cover himself.
He curled up in the flower pot, only a pair of beady eyes popping over the edge, watching the door vigilantly.
The door was pushed open. Several humans in uniforms appeared at the door. Duan Ke knew them; he had been chased by these people for the past few days, but he flew fast, so he wasn’t caught.
The leader looked at Qin Huai’s blood-covered hand, frowning as he wanted to enter the room. Qin Huai blocked him. Duan Ke-ball felt that person’s gaze leaning toward his direction, so he whoosh curled up.
He seriously hugged his tail with his claws to prevent it from disobeying and sticking out of the flower pot.
The conversation outside the door drifted over vaguely.
“How did your wound come about?”
“At the latest tomorrow, must depart to go there… your parents also hope you do this.”
“Please do not slander superiors. Your parents’ sacrifice is sacred… I have explained many times, it was not an intentional arrangement. Before departure, no one thought such a thing would happen.”
Compared to the leader’s words, Qin Huai’s answers were short, as if too lazy to say an extra word.
His voice still revealed a kind of childishness, but the tone was overly mature. Duan Ke in the flower pot could only hear his voice, but inexplicably could imagine Qin Huai’s serious expression.
So fierce, this person.
Duan Ke-ball had seen many fierce humans, yet inexplicably felt the one who fed him was the least annoying. He looked down and touched his bulging belly, sincerely feeling this person tasted good, and he hadn’t had enough.
Want to find him to be my keeper! Duan Ke thought righteously.
“Understood, I will go over in a few days,” Qin Huai said. “Please leave.”
The officer said, “Don’t block the surveillance. Your home could be visited by vengeful monsters at any time; superiors are doing this to ensure your safety… Hey!!”
He couldn’t finish his sentence; the main door closed.
Duan Ke-ball had excellent hearing and could hear the voices far outside the door clearly. The other party seemed to freeze for a long time before leaving, because footsteps didn’t sound immediately. They even whispered a few words.
Although Duan Ke hadn’t learned that part of human language yet, he felt they might be unpleasant words, so he silently reminded himself not to learn them.
Qin Huai’s footsteps also sounded, getting farther and farther.
A few minutes later, Duan Ke-ball cautiously pushed aside the green leaves, poking his head out from the flower pot. He looked around confusedly a few times, discovering this person had just gone upstairs, even forgetting to take him out of the flower pot.
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