Chapter 48: Evolution
Xiang Er didn’t know where she was. Opening her eyes, she saw only a blur of grayish-yellow, and it took a long time for her vision to focus.
It was the afternoon sun, shining on the ceiling of her room, a bright, golden light, dappled with the shadows of leaves, like ripples on a golden lake.
Xiang Er was disoriented, her head throbbing, a dull ache in her ear. Images flashed through her mind, but she couldn’t piece them together, couldn’t remember why she was lying in bed.
She struggled to recall, vaguely remembering going to the police station this morning, with Shen Yuhe.
And then? And then the police station had been ravaged by wind, and she and Shen Yuhe had left, walking on the street, talking about mothers and daughters, and she had even cried, how embarrassing.
The memory was both warm and awkward.
But what happened after that? They had gone to a restaurant, Shen Yuhe had ordered spicy food, and leaned against her, acting coquettish… and then what?
Xiang Er racked her brains, but she couldn’t remember, she didn’t know how she had ended up in bed.
She must have fainted, but why? She couldn’t recall.
Was it another health issue? Xiang Er’s health hadn’t been great lately, all sorts of minor ailments common among young people, plus some lingering effects from childhood malnutrition, low blood sugar, low blood pressure, cervical spondylosis, all of which could cause her to faint.
Xiang Er ran her fingers through her hair, her head too heavy to even move.
She touched her ear, her fingers gently exploring its delicate contours, nothing unusual.
Then her fingertip reached her earlobe, and a jolt, like lightning, shot through her, her memory flooding back!
She remembered, Shen Yuhe had… kissed her earlobe!
Xiang Er’s face instantly flushed crimson, but then she remembered, her earlobe had hurt afterwards.
She gently touched her earlobe, but it was smooth and soft, no sign of injury, then what had that pain been about? It had felt like her earlobe was being ripped apart, the agony making her dizzy.
Xiang Er sat up and went to her desk to find her makeup mirror, examining her ears. Both earlobes were perfectly normal, no wounds, no tears.
Was her memory faulty?
Then why had she fainted? Because Shen Yuhe had kissed her earlobe, and she had been too overwhelmed? That seemed a bit far-fetched…
Xiang Er muttered to herself, then her gaze shifted, and she suddenly noticed… a large patch of black substance on her quilt.
She froze, her first thought that it was the small eyeball’s doing. That little thing was constantly secreting black slime, sometimes getting it on the bed and quilt, and she would have to force it to clean up the mess.
But… Xiang Er walked over and touched the black substance, and it suddenly transformed into a blood-red eyeball.
The large, black mass covering most of her bed… was a single, giant eyeball!
Xiang Er stumbled back, a scream escaping her lips:
“Ah!”
She couldn’t suppress her scream, this was too bizarre! How could there be such a large eyeball on her bed?!
She frantically searched the room, lifting the quilt, checking her desk, her heart pounding with fear.
No way… the small eyeball, the one that had been attached to her wrist, the size of a watch, was gone!
Then this one on her bed… Xiang Er slowly turned, her neck stiff, forcing herself to look at the eyeball, despite her fear and panic.
Dozens of tentacles extended from around the eyeball, spreading out in all directions, almost covering the entire bed, like courtiers surrounding their king.
The crimson pupil was fixed on Xiang Er, blinking, as if greeting her.
Xiang Er’s head buzzed, her mind unable to process what she was seeing. She slowly averted her gaze, her neck feeling incredibly heavy.
So… the small eyeball, it could… evolve?
When she had first found it, she hadn’t expected it to evolve!
This was terrifying, it had only been a few days, how had it grown so large?!
It had gone from the size of a fist, to the size of a football!
This thing… she hadn’t even fed it, how had it grown so much? Could it survive on air alone?
And how much larger would it get?
Xiang Er licked her dry lips, thinking about Akhe, how large was Akhe’s true form? Would this small eyeball eventually grow to that size?
Wouldn’t it burst through the entire building?!
Xiang Er felt faint, the thought of sharing her bed with a giant eyeball… She frowned.
The small eyeball… no, the large eyeball on her bed, was lazily spreading its tentacles, clinging to the edges of the bed, like a giant, red spider that had just woken up.
For Xiang Er, who was afraid of insects, this was even more terrifying! A strange thought crossed her mind, could bug spray kill this thing?
The large eyeball suddenly turned and glared at her, its expression one of shock, as if saying: You want to kill me! I haven’t done anything!
Xiang Er, under the gaze of that giant eye, felt a pang of guilt, and the guiltier she felt, the more ideas about getting rid of the eyeball popped into her head, along with images of delicious squid dishes: stir-fried squid, grilled squid, spicy squid tentacles, boiled octopus, raw squid sashimi…
She couldn’t control her thoughts!
The large eyeball stared at her, its expression shifting from shock to utter astonishment, completely bewildered by the images in her mind!
Seeing those tantalizing squid dishes, the large eyeball slowly retracted its tentacles.
Slowly, it curled up into a ball, nestled on the quilt, trying its best to look cute, even rolling around on the bed like a ball, occasionally glancing at Xiang Er with a pitiful, pleading look.
It seemed to be saying: If you want, I can be a ball for you to play with, just don’t eat me!
Xiang Er covered her head with her hands, sat down heavily at her desk, and, feeling a sense of resigned amusement, chuckled:
“Pfft… haha!”
Well, this was something new, who had a pet eyeball the size of a football! Her life was truly… haha! Stranger than fiction!
Just then, a knock on the door echoed, followed by Shen Yuhe’s voice:
“Little Ears, are you awake? I made you something, come out and have some.”
Shen Yuhe’s voice transformed the old room into a concert hall, even the large eyeball turned towards the door, swaying slightly, as if enjoying the sound.
Xiang Er walked to the bed, wrapped the large eyeball in the quilt, placed a pillow on top, and thought threateningly:
“If you dare to show even one tentacle, I’ll chop you up and stir-fry you! With extra chili peppers!”
A faint wave of panic emanated from the large eyeball, and Xiang Er was startled again.
It seemed that it wasn’t just its body that had grown, its communication abilities had also evolved, it could now project emotions directly into her mind… what was she going to do?
Xiang Er sighed, turned, and walked to the door, taking several deep breaths before opening it.
Shen Yuhe stood outside, wearing a thin, black nightgown, her jade-like skin visible beneath the sheer fabric.
Xiang Er suddenly realized, didn’t Shen Yuhe seem to… have a habit of not wearing a bra? And such a see-through nightgown…
She closed the bedroom door behind her, her gaze fixed on Shen Yuhe’s beautiful face, and said, forcing a cheerful tone:
“What did you make?”
Shen Yuhe smiled, holding up a large glass jar:
“Mulled wine.”
Xiang Er didn’t even bother asking where the wine had come from. She knew that someone as wealthy as Shen Yuhe probably had a large wine collection.
She followed Shen Yuhe to the sofa and sat down. Shen Yuhe placed the jar on the table. It was filled with a deep red liquid, swirling gently, with slices of orange and lemon, looking quite professional.
Shen Yuhe turned and walked towards the kitchen, her black nightgown swaying gracefully, her long legs flashing beneath the knee-length skirt.
Xiang Er’s face flushed, but her mind was racing with questions, leaving little room for such distractions. She had a lot to ask Shen Yuhe.
Shen Yuhe returned from the kitchen, carrying two elegant-looking stemmed glasses.
Xiang Er sat up straight. Shen Yuhe, still wearing her rabbit slippers, bent down gracefully and placed the glasses on the table.
Xiang Er, while she wasn’t looking, stole several glances at the beautiful, jade-white scenery beneath the black nightgown… She almost had a nosebleed and quickly rubbed her nose.
Shen Yuhe suddenly looked up, her gaze catching Xiang Er’s.
It was a look that hooked Xiang Er’s heart, making her eyes widen, her mouth open slightly, wanting to confess her transgression.
But Shen Yuhe just chuckled softly and poured the mulled wine into the glasses.
As she poured, her magnetic voice filled the air:
“I heard mulled wine doesn’t make you drunk easily, and it helps with sleep. I saw you were very tired lately, so I made this for you. I hope you like it.”
As she finished, she looked up at Xiang Er with a smile.
Xiang Er fidgeted, barely able to sit still, and said hesitantly:
“I… I like it. Thank you.”
Actually, she had never had mulled wine before. She had only had regular wine, and she couldn’t handle even a single glass. Even those alcoholic cocktails were too much for her, she had a very low tolerance for alcohol.
But it was fine now, she was at home, drinking mulled wine made by Shen Yuhe.
They said that the alcohol evaporated during the cooking process, so it wouldn’t make her drunk, and even if she did get drunk, Shen Yuhe would take care of her, everything would be fine.
Shen Yuhe finished pouring, the two stemmed glasses filled with a beautiful, deep red liquid, that looked almost like… blood.
Shen Yuhe picked up a glass, her slender fingers gently swirling the liquid, admiring its slow descent along the glass, a knowing smile playing on her lips.
Xiang Er also picked up her glass, hesitated for a moment, then asked:
“What exactly happened in the restaurant earlier?”
Shen Yuhe took a sip of wine, a deep red stain lingering on her lips, like a smear of blood.
She smiled, her gaze locking onto Xiang Er’s:
“Nothing much, we just… did what we wanted to do.”
Xiang Er narrowed her eyes:
“Specifically?”
Shen Yuhe:
“I kissed your earlobe, and you bit me.”
She pulled up the long sleeve of her nightgown.
There, on her arm, were two distinct bite marks, deep and dark red, the blood already dried, a shocking sight.
Xiang Er, completely unprepared for this revelation, stared at the marks, then looked up in disbelief:
“I… I did that?”
Shen Yuhe, with a mock-injured expression, extended her arm, her voice coquettish:
“You can bite me again and compare, if you want!”
Xiang Er, of course, wasn’t going to bite her again. She examined the marks closely and recognized her own teeth marks.
So… she had bitten Shen Yuhe, and she didn’t even remember?
Shen Yuhe took a sip of wine, her voice dropping slightly:
“I just thought your earlobe looked very pretty, so I kissed it gently, I didn’t expect such a big reaction, so you really hate me… I’ll remember that, I won’t touch you again.”
Xiang Er:
“…”
No!
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