Chapter 90: Summer Days
That night, they still slept separately, Xiang Er maintaining her cold demeanor, her bedroom door locked.
The next morning, Akhe had already prepared breakfast, a local specialty, waiting for Xiang Er to wash up and join her.
After breakfast, they returned home to Lǜ’è City.
At the car, Xiang Er opened the passenger door herself, sat in the back, her arms crossed, her face cold and distant, not speaking to Akhe.
She regretted saying those words at the playground last night. What was she doing? Was she really… that pathetic, that desperate for love?
She could still clearly feel the resentment towards Akhe, the pain of the past betrayals, still festering, no matter how much Akhe tried to make amends.
But she could also feel the sincerity of Akhe’s remorse, the genuineness of her affection…
And… that night, in bed, Xiang Er knew she hadn’t truly resisted. Perhaps it was the thrill of the unfamiliar environment, or perhaps her own feelings had shifted over time, but in that moment, when she had been pressed against the bed…
For some reason, inexplicably…
Her anticipation had outweighed her aversion.
And Akhe could read minds.
Akhe could hear her innermost thoughts, and although it was… considerate, it was also… incredibly annoying!
Xiang Er sat in the car, lost in thought, aware that Akhe could hear her, but she didn’t care anymore. She felt conflicted, like riding a banana boat in a dense fog, one side a chasm of pure hatred, the other the promise of a beautiful, unconditional love, and she… was stuck in the middle, pulled in both directions.
She was… getting angry.
She wasn’t sure who she was angry at, at Akhe for being able to read her mind, at herself for being so weak, at this messed-up world for not giving her any other options!
It was all so absurd and frustrating!
As she thought, Xiang Er ate her snacks and drank her milk tea, a spiteful thought crossing her mind: She would just eat until she was fat, then the Evil God wouldn’t love her anymore, and she would be free.
A soft chuckle came from the front seat, a happy, carefree sound, and Akhe’s voice, gentle, said:
“Eat all you want, I’ll love you no matter what you look like.”
Xiang Er’s annoyance intensified, and she put down the cake, her appetite gone.
The thought that even her unspoken thoughts, the constant stream of complaints and insults in her mind, were heard by Akhe, made her even angrier!
She couldn’t help but speak:
“Can you stop reading my mind? Don’t I deserve any privacy?”
Akhe, hidden behind the driver’s seat, extended a thick tentacle, which gently patted Xiang Er’s knee.
Her voice came from the front:
“Okay, I’ll try. But… our connection is very deep now, I can’t guarantee I can completely sever it, I can only try to… lower the volume.”
Then she fell silent, the tentacle also still, resting on Xiang Er’s knee, like a rubber toy.
Xiang Er looked at the blunt, black tentacle and covered it with a tissue. It was ugly, she didn’t want to look at it. The red ones were slightly better… no, they were all disgusting!
After a while, Akhe’s voice, soft, said:
“Okay, I’ve lowered the volume, I shouldn’t be able to hear you unless you shout in your mind.”
Xiang Er, testing it, thought silently: Can you really not hear me?
Akhe didn’t react, the tentacle also still.
She tried again: Akhe, get out of this planet!
No reaction.
She thought for a moment, then thought a little louder: I really hate Akhe!
Still no reaction.
She shouted in her mind, as loud as she could: Akhe, you’re a fucking idiot!
The tentacle twitched, knocking the tissue off Xiang Er’s knee. Akhe, in the driver’s seat, sighed:
“I heard that. Try not to curse so much, you’ll strain yourself.”
Xiang Er, surprised, said aloud:
“I told you to stop reading my mind before, why didn’t you listen to me then? Why now?”
Akhe’s voice was calm and gentle:
“I was afraid you would hurt yourself. Now, I don’t think you will, you said… we have a future.”
Xiang Er pursed her lips, silent. She shouldn’t have said those words yesterday, now this tentacle monster was treating them like a sacred decree… truly a crazy, tentacled monster!
Xiang Er, annoyed, continued shouting in her mind: Akhe, you’re a fucking idiot! Akhe, you liar! Akhe, you’re an idiot! Akhe, you’re terrible at that! Akhe, your tentacles are disgusting! Akhe, your true form is disgusting! Aaaah, I hate Akhe!
Akhe, in the driver’s seat, sighed occasionally, offering a mild rebuke, but she didn’t seem angry.
The tentacle coiled around Xiang Er’s knee, patting it gently, like a patient adult comforting a child.
It seemed that since Xiang Er had mentioned “the future,” Akhe’s mood had stabilized considerably. Xiang Er remembered the times Akhe had cried or hidden herself after being insulted, she seemed to have developed a tolerance now.
Xiang Er, having run out of insults, just repeated “I hate Akhe” over and over again, until her head started to hurt, and she gave up.
The scenery along the way was beautiful, and as they reached Lǜ’è City, Xiang Er felt a sense of relief, a homecoming, but she quickly suppressed the feeling.
Akhe chuckled softly, the sound light and joyful, like a dove taking flight, echoing in the narrow stairwell.
As they opened the apartment door, Akhe turned to get the luggage, and before Xiang Er could step inside, a small, black thing launched itself at her, colliding with her chest.
For a moment, she felt like she had a cat.
The small eyeball clung to her, its tentacles wrapping around her, its slit-like mouth emitting childish cries:
“Wuwuwah! Wuwuwah! I missed you! I missed you!”
Before Xiang Er could react, Akhe, grabbing the small eyeball with one hand, tried to pull it away:
“Don’t cling to her, she’s my wife!”
The small eyeball wailed, its thin tentacles stretching like rubber bands, refusing to let go, its cries loud enough to raise the roof.
Xiang Er, exasperated, grabbed her bag and started hitting Akhe:
“What nonsense are you spouting! Who’s your… get out, get out, get out! I hate both of you!”
The bag hit Akhe’s temple, drawing blood. Her hair tumbled over her beautiful face, and she looked at Xiang Er with an expression of pained innocence, as if wronged.
Xiang Er hesitated, then lowered her bag, still fuming, ignoring the small eyeball still clinging to her, and walked inside.
Akhe finally managed to detach the small eyeball, holding it in one hand, the suitcase in the other, and followed Xiang Er, a smile on her lips, her voice a soft murmur:
“Don’t be angry, don’t be angry, okay? It was a slip of the tongue, you’re not my wife yet, you’re my precious Miss Xiang Er, my Little Ears…”
Xiang Er didn’t look back, entering the guest room and closing the door just as Akhe reached it, almost catching Akhe’s nose.
Akhe touched her nose and smiled at the closed door, a blissful, contented smile, tinged with disbelief.
She couldn’t believe it, happiness had come so quickly, she had been prepared to wait a lifetime.
Xiang Er was truly the kindest, most gentle person in the world.
Akhe, touching the small cut on her temple, smiled sweetly.
Oh, right, they hadn’t had lunch yet. There was still time to prepare something light, and Akhe, unleashing her tentacles, hurried into the kitchen.
Summer was drawing to a close.
The days passed, one after another, a peaceful, uneventful flow, and before Xiang Er even realized it, it was the end of September.
These days… how to put it, they were similar to before, yet different.
Mainly, she and Akhe had developed a strange, unspoken understanding. Akhe could no longer read her mind, giving Xiang Er some much-needed privacy, but her care and attention hadn’t diminished, in fact, it had intensified.
For example, when Xiang Er wanted milk tea, Akhe would buy every new flavor, every brand, a luxurious indulgence, even more so than when she could read Xiang Er’s mind.
And when Xiang Er wanted to go out, Akhe would offer several options, letting Xiang Er choose, and if Xiang Er changed her mind, Akhe would adapt, her mood always calm and accommodating, Xiang Er’s wishes her top priority.
Xiang Er gradually realized that living with a god… was much better than living an ordinary life, at least, she never had to worry about money.
Akhe seemed to have an endless supply of it.
Xiang Er, finally unable to contain her curiosity, asked worriedly:
“Where do you get all this money? You’re not… robbing banks, are you?”
Akhe chuckled and patted her phone:
“It’s all legal income. I help those investigators kill monsters, the government pays me, I’m even on their payroll now, you can ask An Yue if you don’t believe me.”
So, one day, Xiang Er asked An Yue, who was following them at a discreet distance, pretending not to be there.
An Yue, her voice filled with respect, said:
“It’s true, Ms. Shen is now a special consultant for our bureau, a department-level position, several ranks above mine. She’s single-handedly eliminated over thirty Class S+ monsters, she’s definitely getting the Investigator of the Year award this year, you should come to the ceremony!”
Xiang Er’s expression was complex:
“…But… your bureau knows she’s an Evil God, right?”
An Yue’s eyes widened:
“So what if she’s an Evil God! As the great leader once said, it doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice! If an Evil God can kill monsters, then she’s not an Evil God, she’s our comrade! And she’s saved many of my comrades, you just don’t know it, why don’t you come with us next time she goes on a mission?”
Xiang Er’s expression grew even more complicated, taken aback by this twisted logic, but she still nodded:
“Okay.”
So, the next time Akhe received an urgent call from An Yue, she took Xiang Er with her.
Akhe, carrying Xiang Er, flew to the designated location, a coastal area, where a giant, mutated fish, the size of a skyscraper, was wreaking havoc.
With a single flick of its tail, the monster fish had demolished a thirty-story building.
Akhe, arriving just then, immediately unleashed a cloud of black mist, which transformed into countless tentacles, swiftly rescuing the people trapped inside the building.
While the mist-tentacles were busy, Akhe set up a lounge chair and a small table on a nearby rooftop, complete with flowers, milk tea, and a telescope.
She placed Xiang Er in the chair and smiled:
“This is the best viewing spot.”
Xiang Er sat in the chair, her mood a strange mix of emotions, she took a sip of her milk tea, her favorite flavor.
Ahead, several giant, snake-like tentacles erupted from behind Akhe, who winked at Xiang Er before flying towards the giant fish.
Xiang Er:
“…”
Even her tentacles seemed to be showing off.
However, despite being the “best viewing spot,” Xiang Er hadn’t even been watching for two minutes when the giant fish was completely devoured.
It was a complete annihilation… Xiang Er, sipping her milk tea, finally grasped the true extent of the Evil God’s power.
Akhe, after devouring the fish, continued to help with the rescue efforts on the ground, her tentacles carefully carrying the injured to the ambulances, some even receiving the Evil God’s direct healing touch.
Soon, it was over, and Akhe, flying back to the rooftop, her voice cheerful, said:
“Another zero-casualty mission, we’re definitely getting a big bonus this time!”
Xiang Er’s expression was complex:
“You’re really… good at making money.”
Akhe smiled, her tentacles swaying behind her like a gorgon’s hair, as she pulled out a bank card and offered it to Xiang Er:
“My salary card, for my wife.”
Xiang Er was about to angrily throw the card away…
When Akhe added:
“Nine figures.”
Xiang Er:
“…”
Her hand, holding the card, trembled slightly.
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