Chapter 21
The boy who had suddenly appeared pressed tightly against him. Their arms touched—slick, soft, delicate—and that scorching warmth of a body against his own reminded Si Jingce in every way that this was not a dream.
And there was also that clear, gentle voice he hadn’t heard in a long time.
Si Jingce fell silent for a moment. Instead of responding to the boy right away, he first groped around under the blanket for his pearl bird.
He couldn’t find it.
Then he glanced around the places where the little bird liked to stay.
Finally, he looked down at the floor.
The boy didn’t understand what Si Jingce was doing and propped himself up.
The blanket draped over him slipped down, revealing a smooth, pale shoulder and neck…
In an instant, Si Jingce wrapped him up again.
The boy: ?
“What are you looking for?”
The boy’s voice pulled Si Jingce briefly back to reality. He studied the person in front of him, sinking into thought.
Caramel-colored hair that looked warm and soft, cheeks tinged with a faint blush as if naturally carrying a pair of rosy dimples, gentle eyes fixed on him with a trace of a smile.
Si Jingce’s breath caught.
Everything that had happened these past few days flooded into his mind, and an utterly unbelievable reality was laid before him…
“Yanyan?”
He called out tentatively.
The boy nodded excitedly. “Mm-hmm!”
Si Jingce: …
His little pearl bird… had really turned into a human.
Although they had spent a long time together, Yanyan’s human form was completely unfamiliar to him. He formed countless sentences in his mind, words rising to his lips, yet not a single one could be spoken.
After a long while, Si Jingce finally said, “How did you… suddenly turn into a human?”
Yanyan was also a bit confused and shook his head at him.
But when the man brought it up, Yanyan suddenly looked very annoyed. “I already turned into a human a long time ago! I even left you hints!”
“You’re just too dumb!!”
Si Jingce: …?
The boy opened his mouth and rattled on nonstop, not giving Si Jingce any chance to interrupt:
“Last time after I drank that sweet-and-sour rose sake, I turned into a human when I got back—but you were sleeping so, so deeply, you didn’t even wake up!”
“The next day I wanted to tell you through the pet communicator, but there weren’t even words for ‘I can turn into a human’! So I tried typing it on your phone to remind you, and you actually thought I wanted to watch TV dramas!”
“That human even called to remind you—did you listen? Did you listen?!”
“Three days ago I even laid out coconut shreds on the table to tell you I was fine. You just couldn’t see it and even held me while crying your eyes out!”
The little bird had always been noisy in bird form, but after turning human, Yanyan couldn’t control his chatter at all, leaving Si Jingce no room to speak.
No wonder… so many strange things had been happening these past few days.
And he had rejected the closest guess again and again, even treating Xiao Li as a liar.
Si Jingce suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
“I just didn’t think you could really turn into a human. And I didn’t hold you and cry,” he said, rubbing his temples with a headache. This whole matter was too bizarre for him; he needed time to process it. “You laid out ‘fine’ on the table? Then where was the ‘not’ character?”
Yanyan suddenly went quiet, glancing at him guiltily. “The ‘not’… just went missing.”
Missing strokes, missing characters, even mixing up sounds—just a lone “si” lying bare on the table. It was a good thing Si Jingce didn’t have any heart problems.
“Anyway, I’m fine now! I’m living well, and I won’t die anymore! And I’ve turned into a human!” Yanyan moved a bit too much, and the blanket wrapped around him slipped down again.
That pale, almost glowing skin spread before Si Jingce’s eyes. It felt as if with the slightest force, marks could be left on that slender body. And further down… a small red mole stood out clearly at his waist.
Si Jingce’s temples throbbed sharply, and he wrapped Yanyan up again.
“You don’t have feathers on you now,” he instructed the little bird. “You can’t go around naked in front of others.”
Yanyan responded slowly, “Oh… I see.”
After turning human, there sure were a lot more rules.
Si Jingce hurried to the walk-in closet to find clothes for him.
The boy’s frame was a size smaller than his, and after searching, Si Jingce could only barely find something that didn’t quite fit him.
Later, they would have to go out and measure Yanyan’s height and weight properly and buy him clothes.
Taking advantage of the spare moment, Si Jingce pulled out his phone. Just as he was about to add Xiao Li on WeChat, he suddenly noticed a friend request.
Xiao Li had already tracked him down through the number. After accepting it, Si Jingce suddenly realized something.
He pulled up the number he had previously blocked and compared it with the one Doctor Chen had sent him.
They were the same.
This really turned into a huge misunderstanding.
Si Jingce hurriedly apologized to Xiao Li:
[Sorry, I misunderstood you a few days ago.]
[It’s fine, it’s fine.] Xiao Li joked bitterly: [We found five owners whose pets are going through the same mutation phase as yours. Two didn’t pick up the phone, and three cursed me as a lunatic and blocked me.]
Compared to them, Si Jingce actually had a pretty high level of acceptance—he agreed to meet after just the third call.
He patiently asked: [Maybe we can set a time first, bring the little bird over for a checkup, and then come up with a plan to get through the mutation phase together.]
[Si Jingce]: Oh, no need to make a plan. He just turned into a human right in front of me.
Xiao Li: ?
Damn, no wonder he suddenly started calling him Teacher Li.
Xiao Li fell silent for a moment. [Haha, that’s fine. Then it’s best to bring the bird over for an examination now, get vaccinated, and bring some of your documents. We can help apply for an ID for the little animal and even register a household record.]
[Si Jingce]: …Are your channels legitimate?
[Xiao Li]: Absolutely legitimate…
After carefully asking whether Yanyan might still experience any abnormalities after turning human and receiving confirmation that nothing else would happen, Si Jingce arranged to meet Xiao Li tomorrow afternoon.
This place was close to W City, with a direct high-speed rail route. But just as he opened the ticket app, Si Jingce realized Yanyan didn’t have an ID yet…
So they could only drive there.
He returned to the room with clothes and placed them beside Yanyan.
“They might still be a bit big, not very well-fitting,” Si Jingce slightly turned his head. “I’ll have someone deliver proper clothes tomorrow. It’s already late… just make do for one night.”
Yanyan stared at the clothes for a long time, then stretched a slender, pale arm out from the blanket, awkwardly moving his fingers.
His wings had suddenly turned into human hands—he still didn’t know how to control them.
As he struggled to grab the clothes, another hand—well-defined and steady—covered his, guiding him to pick them up.
Si Jingce patiently corrected the boy’s grip, explaining step by step.
“When putting on clothes, first distinguish inside and outside, front and back. The side with seams goes inside.”
He pointed at the label on the collar. “Then tell front from back. The label is usually at the back.”
“Three openings. The biggest one goes over your head, and the two smaller ones are for your arms.”
Yanyan frowned and studied it for a long time, but in the end, Si Jingce still helped him put it on.
Those fingers, with faint calluses, brushed lightly against his smooth skin.
Yanyan trembled slightly but didn’t pull away.
“I’ll only help you these few times,” Si Jingce said. “After that, you’ll dress yourself.”
The spirit-awakened little bird learned quickly and immediately applied what he’d learned, pulling on his pants by himself.
Si Jingce glanced at him a few more times, a strange feeling suddenly rising in his chest.
It was too odd.
Even the smallest size in his wardrobe looked oversized on Yanyan.
The loose T-shirt hung on him, the hem barely covering his oversized shorts.
The neckline was wide, his frame unable to hold it up; before long, it slipped down his shoulder.
Si Jingce reached out and pulled the collar back into place.
Not long after, it slid down again.
After struggling with the neckline for more than ten minutes, Si Jingce gave up. “I’ll have them deliver clothes earlier tomorrow morning.”
Wrapped in the familiar, pleasant scent of Cangshan snow, Yanyan was unusually excited.
One moment he tugged at the sleeves, the next he touched the embroidered English letters on the shirt.
Then he pulled open the collar and looked down inside.
Standing taller, Si Jingce easily caught sight of what was under Yanyan’s clothes…
He closed his eyes. “…You can’t just pull open your collar and look inside.”
“Oh.” Yanyan hurriedly covered his collar.
Teaching a little bird was a long road—step by step.
“See if you can stand up and walk a few steps.”
Sitting on the bed, Yanyan moved his feet and placed them on the floor.
He tried pushing himself up with both hands, using the bedside cabinet for support.
His body wobbled slightly, but he steadied himself in panic. A smile slowly bloomed at the corner of his eyes. “I can stand!”
But judging from this… he probably couldn’t walk yet.
Si Jingce stood two steps away, thinking about where to find a wheelchair tomorrow—when the boy suddenly took a tentative first step.
He stepped into empty air and fell straight toward Si Jingce—
Quick-eyed and quick-handed, the man wrapped an arm around Yanyan’s waist and steadied him.
Si Jingce straightened Yanyan’s slightly messy clothes. “You still need to practice walking these days. There are a lot of cabinets at home—be careful.”
Yanyan looked at him. “Then can’t you carry me?”
Si Jingce replied coldly, “No.”
Yanyan: QAQ
“You need to learn to take care of yourself. I won’t always be by your side. Tomorrow we’ll leave early and take you for a checkup first,” the man said seriously. “That’s it for today. Let’s sleep.”
He looked at Yanyan, then at the bed.
…He had forgotten something important.
Si Jingce was a homebody and disliked socializing, so when decorating his house, he hadn’t planned for a guest room.
“Can you turn back into a bird?” he asked.
Yanyan said helplessly, “If I could freely transform anytime, I’d be able to follow my master to the West to fetch scriptures!”
Fair point.
“Then you’ll sleep with me tonight,” Si Jingce said. “I’ll clear out a spare room in a few days when I have time.”
Sleep separately?!
A flash of confusion crossed Yanyan’s face. “Can’t I sleep with you?”
Si Jingce pointed at himself. “I am an adult male.”
Then he pointed at Yanyan. “You are also an adult male.”
“The two of us cannot sleep together.”
Yanyan didn’t quite understand.
At his previous owner’s home, he used to sleep crowded together with other pearl birds in one nest, with no such taboos.
His gaze lingered blankly for a moment, then slowly moved to Si Jingce’s face as he suddenly realized something.
“I remember now,” Yanyan said, enlightened. “You like males. In the human world, that means if you sleep with me, you might end up liking me.”
Si Jingce: “…That’s not exactly what I meant.”
Animals had their own logic—Si Jingce had no way to refute it and could only tell Yanyan to lie back down.
As he tidied the bed, he stiffly changed the subject. “I’ll clear your little nest first. Do you still want to keep the plush toy to keep you company?”
The little bird used to sleep beside his pillow, where its nest and various toys were placed.
The winter nest had been moved onto the table. Si Jingce picked up the plush toy that used to accompany the bird and waved it in front of Yanyan.
“Don’t take this away.” Yanyan reached out to grab it. “I want to hug it while I sleep!”
He played with it for a moment, then suddenly realized he couldn’t hug it anymore.
The plush toy that used to be the same size as him was now only palm-sized. He couldn’t wrap his wings—no, arms—around it, nor lie on it to sleep.
He looked at Si Jingce with pleading eyes.
Si Jingce: “I’ll buy you a new one tomorrow.”
Yanyan still held onto the ugly little plush, reluctant to let go. He glanced at it one more time. “But you made this one.”
Si Jingce: “Fine, I’ll make you another.”
Only then was the little bird satisfied, grinning foolishly at him.
Si Jingce stared at him for a while, then couldn’t help but reach out and pat Yanyan’s hair.
Hasn’t changed much—still easy to coax.
“Sleep. We’re getting up early tomorrow.”
The lights were turned off, and Si Jingce lay down beside Yanyan.
Although he had never slept with anyone before, the familiar scent on Yanyan made it easy for him to adjust.
The boy beside him, newly turned human, was far from well-behaved, curiously touching and moving around.
Before long, Yanyan scooted closer.
The thin sleepwear made the warmth of the little pearl bird’s body very obvious.
“Master, what kind of checkup are we doing tomorrow?” Yanyan asked. “Will there be injections and blood draws?”
Si Jingce thought about what Xiao Li had said. “Probably. You’ll also need vaccinations.”
“Okay.” Yanyan accepted it. “I’ll try my best not to cry.”
Ten minutes later, Yanyan called him again: “Master, does that mean I can team up with you to play games now, and stream together to earn money?”
Si Jingce paused. “Why do you suddenly want to stream with me?”
“Brother Yunduan said you’re participating in the Annual Star selection—you need to team up,” Yanyan remembered everything clearly. “Can’t I be your partner?”
That was possible.
But right now, Yanyan couldn’t even grip things properly, let alone type on a keyboard.
Si Jingce didn’t reject him outright. “We’ll have to test you first when the time comes.”
Yanyan grinned. “I’ll work hard.”
It grew quiet again.
Yanyan probably wouldn’t ask anything else. Si Jingce set an alarm, adjusted his position, and prepared to sleep.
Then… he was shaken awake by Yanyan.
Yanyan was lying very close to him. Even in the dim light, his unusually serious expression could be seen clearly.
“Master, did you forget something important?”
Seeing how certain he was, Si Jingce suddenly woke up.
Forget something?
He ran through everything in his mind, but couldn’t recall anything.
Then Yanyan pointed at his own cheek. “You forgot to kiss me.”
A slow question mark appeared in Si Jingce’s mind.
“You forgot?” Seeing his unmoved expression, Yanyan grew anxious. “You give me a goodnight kiss every day.”
Back when he was still a little bird, Si Jingce loved kissing him.
He liked kissing the top of his head, and also those little rosy cheek patches.
But now the master didn’t react at all!
Si Jingce fell silent for a long time, finding it hard to explain. “It’s different now.”
“You used to be a bird, so of course I could kiss you casually. But now you’re human. A kiss has a different meaning—it requires consent from both sides.”
Yanyan leaned closer. “Then I agree to let you kiss me now.”
They were so close their noses were almost touching, but Si Jingce leaned back slightly.
“No. I don’t agree.” He held firmly to his principles.
After being rejected again and again, Yanyan pouted and lay back down without a word.
He obediently wrapped himself in the blanket and said in a muffled voice, “Alright then.”
“If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have turned into a human.”
Aggrieved and pitiful.
Si Jingce: …
Did he speak too harshly?
He lay still on the bed, listening to the boy’s steady breathing beside him.
Just as he didn’t know what to do, Yanyan suddenly called out.
“Master?”
Si Jingce turned his head—and a very light, very soft kiss landed on his cheek.
He froze.
“If you won’t kiss me, then I’ll kiss you,” the boy said, eyes bright even in the dark, flashing a sly smile. “Anyway, human rules don’t apply to little birds.”
He quickly lay back down, giving Si Jingce no time to react, and shut his eyes. “I’m going to sleep now. You should sleep too. Goodnight!”
Only after Yanyan had fully fallen asleep did Si Jingce move.
He raised a hand and touched the spot where he had been kissed—there was still a faint warmth lingering.
He closed his eyes, trying to suppress the thunderous pounding of his heart.
This is bad.
…
That night, Si Jingce had a bizarre and dreamlike dream.
He dreamed that his little pearl bird had grown huge, filling the entire bed. He couldn’t stop stroking its fluffy feathers, kissing those rosy cheek patches again and again.
Yanyan kept calling excitedly, “I want more kisses from Master!”
And so Si Jingce kissed until his lips went numb.
The next morning, after waking up, Si Jingce recalled the dream.
It was both cute… and terrifying.
Early in the morning, someone delivered all of Yanyan’s clothes. The boy, still half-asleep on the bed, was pulled up by Si Jingce and layered in clothes one after another.
The outer coat was fluffy, warm, and pleasant to touch.
The temperature had dropped sharply these past few days. After thinking for a while, Si Jingce wrapped a scarf around Yanyan.
Wrapped up like a ball, Yanyan said, “Master, I’m a bit hot…”
“It’s cold outside,” Si Jingce said, though he still loosened the scarf slightly.
Sure enough, the moment they stepped out, the cold wind froze Yanyan silly.
The chill stiffened his face until it went numb. Silently, he pulled the scarf higher to cover his cheeks.
Fortunately, they weren’t outside for long. Once inside the car, Yanyan’s body temperature gradually returned. He blinked and looked out at the scenery.
Tall buildings stood everywhere, and traffic flowed endlessly outside the window. Yanyan leaned closer to look—and suddenly a layer of white fog appeared in front of him.
For some reason, the glass had fogged up. He reached out and poked it, wiping a line across.
It was damp.
“If you feel carsick, tell me.”
Hearing this, Yanyan turned his head—his lips almost brushing against the man’s cheek.
Si Jingce fastened his seatbelt, then handed him a piece of bread after opening the packaging. “Eat something first.”
After quickly finishing the bread, Yanyan looked back at the window, studying how the fog formed.
He studied it for three whole hours. By the time they arrived, he had already learned how to draw smiley faces on the glass.
The car drove into the parking lot. The scene outside caught the curious little bird’s attention. He pressed against the window and looked toward the entrance not far away.
Because of the cold weather, there weren’t many visitors. At the entrance stood several inflatable bird figures, and some people dressed in strange bird mascot costumes were handing out flyers.
Yanyan recognized the four big characters on the sign—Waterbird World.
He turned to Si Jingce. “What is Waterbird World?”
“A bird zoo,” Si Jingce explained. “Humans pay money to go inside and look at all kinds of birds.”
“Are there many working birds inside?” The boy widened his eyes. “If people pay to see birds, do the birds have to perform?”
Si Jingce said, “They just live normally—eat and sleep. Caretakers look after them. They don’t need to perform.”
Yanyan: Wow OVO
He looked at the Waterbird World, then at Si Jingce. “Then you’re kind of pitiful.”
Si Jingce: …?
But Yanyan didn’t explain further—he was afraid his master would feel sad.
Humans paid to watch birds, and birds didn’t have to perform.
But when humans watched Si Jingce, he had to play games for them—and some people didn’t even pay.
Si Jingce got out of the car, went to the trunk, took out a folded wheelchair, helped Yanyan sit in it, and slowly pushed him into Waterbird World.
The combination of pushing someone in a wheelchair attracted quite a bit of attention. Passersby couldn’t help but glance over. The boy in the wheelchair, his face pale from the cold with a faint red at the corners of his eyes, stirred sympathy.
Si Jingce only felt that the gazes around him were a bit strange.
It wasn’t until a staff member subtly mentioned that people with special needs could use a priority lane that he realized—and quickly declined the offer.
When they reached the pelican area, someone told him Xiao Li was still busy. So Si Jingce took Yanyan to the lakeside railing to watch the birds while waiting.
A group of large white birds, with astonishingly big beaks, were catching fish on the lake. Yanyan clung to the railing, staring in shock, his mouth hanging open.
How could the size difference between birds be this huge?!
“Master,” Yanyan tugged at Si Jingce’s sleeve. “What kind of birds are these?”
Si Jingce glanced at them. “Pelicans.”
Yanyan: “Ti hu?”
Si Jingce picked up a branch and wrote the characters “Tí hú” on the ground.
“These birds eat fish—one bite, one fish,” he explained. “Be careful. They can clamp onto people. A little bird like you would be gone in one bite.”
Yanyan quickly pushed the wheels and rolled his wheelchair back a bit.
Only after retreating to a safe distance did he speak again. “Is it because they eat meat that they grow this big? If I keep eating meat, can I grow bigger than a bed?”
For some reason, Si Jingce thought of last night’s dream.
Probably not… his lips would really go numb from all the kissing…
After waiting there for about ten minutes, someone finally walked toward them.
The person was still wearing a caretaker’s uniform, carrying a bucket of fish, and recognized Si Jingce at a glance. “You must be Mr. lcberg, right? Hello, hello, I’m Xiao Li.”
He still pronounced “lcberg” like “Li Bo.”
Si Jingce said, “Teacher Li, you can just call me Xiao Si.”
Xiao Li was naturally outgoing and immediately picked it up. “Xiao Si… got it.”
He looked at Yanyan, his expression slightly puzzled, and spoke vaguely, “This one is…?”
“Yanyan,” Si Jingce took over and explained subtly, “He’s not very used to things yet, so he can’t walk for now.”
The confusion on Xiao Li’s face deepened. He muttered under his breath, “I remember most animals can walk after turning human…”
He looked Yanyan up and down. When their eyes met, the boy in the wheelchair guiltily turned his head away.
Xiao Li: …
Seems like he understood something he probably shouldn’t.
“It’s fine. Maybe there are individual differences. But he shouldn’t stay in a wheelchair all the time—remember to practice walking,” Xiao Li reminded. “This isn’t a good place to talk. Let’s go to my office.”
He led them into a small room. Inside was the standard pig-liver-red administrative desk seen everywhere, with a few green plants placed on top.
He pulled out several forms from a blue file folder and handed them, along with a pen, to Si Jingce and Yanyan.
“Fill these out first, then we’ll do the examination. After that, I’ll explain some precautions, and finally help register a household record and issue an ID.”
Yanyan picked up the paper and carefully read the characters on it. In the blink of an eye, he saw Si Jingce already signing his name.
The man’s handwriting was sharp and firm. After watching for a while, Yanyan imitated his grip on the pen and tried hard to write a “Si” in the name field.
Before he could write “Yan,” Si Jingce had already filled in the remaining two characters for him.
Si Yanyan.
Xiao Li took back the forms and immediately noticed the strange contrast in handwriting, unable to hold back a laugh.
“I won’t go into too much detail. Let me briefly explain what our organization does.” He put the forms away. “We were only established this year, under the Confidentiality Bureau. A lot of things aren’t fully developed yet, but our goal is to help animals who’ve undergone mutation integrate into society and become normal humans.”
Si Jingce asked, “Are there many animals in the organization now?”
“Not many,” Xiao Li said. “Yanyan is the second one to join.”
Si Jingce: …
This organization really is new.
Worried about another misunderstanding, Xiao Li showed Si Jingce all their licenses and certificates. “We’re really legitimate, definitely not scammers!”
“My apologies,” Si Jingce said again. “I was presumptuous last time. I should’ve asked Doctor Chen to contact you earlier.”
“Doctor Chen? You mean Teacher Chen?” Xiao Li looked slightly surprised at the name. “We haven’t been in touch for a long time.”
Si Jingce was stunned. “He hasn’t contacted you these past few days?”
Xiao Li looked completely confused. “No.”
Si Jingce: “Then how did you know Yanyan was in the mutation phase?”
“Well…” Xiao Li scratched his nose awkwardly. “I already said before—I happened to see your livestream, and the symptoms matched, so I used connections to get your contact info…”
And then got treated as a scammer and blocked.
Xiao Li also seemed to realize something. “Well… Teacher Chen and I had a falling out long ago. He’s been studying the mutation phase for over ten years without any progress…”
“Later, one animal here successfully completed the mutation. He wanted to take it away for research, but it’s a pelican—a nationally protected animal. How could we just let him take it? Not to mention the ethical issues involving animals turning into humans…”
Si Jingce fell silent for a long time. “Alright, I understand.”
Yanyan listened to their conversation, completely confused.
After finishing the earlier procedures, the next step was a full physical examination for Yanyan.
There was a professional medical team in the park. However, since Yanyan had already undergone many tests recently, they didn’t draw blood again.
Xiao Li brought them to the CT room. “During mutation, the most important thing to observe is the skeletal structure. Countless animals have died due to bone evolution. Even though Yanyan has successfully transformed, we still need to check if there are any issues.”
He hesitated, then asked Yanyan, “Can you turn back into your original form?”
The boy nervously gripped the wheelchair armrests. “I… I don’t know how.”
“Imagine you’re a light, floating cloud, then try to change.”
Yanyan closed his eyes and tried.
Before long, the wheelchair was empty. Clothes fell onto it, forming a small bulging lump in the middle that wriggled around.
The moving lump suddenly stopped, and a series of urgent chirps came from inside: “Chirp chirp chirp chirp!”
Ahhh, I can’t get out!
The thick clothes blocked the way. Si Jingce quickly rescued him, pulling off one layer, then another, then another…
Finally, the little pearl bird wriggled free, panting from exhaustion.
“Wow,” Xiao Li exclaimed. “This bird is really tiny.”
It was unbelievably small. Xiao Li, who usually dealt with large birds of prey, couldn’t help but take out his phone and snap several photos.
After resting, the little bird flew onto the CT bed and lay down, wings and claws spread out. A tiny round fluff sat there, almost invisible.
After clearing the room, the doctor performed the scan. Soon, he came out and handed the report to Si Jingce. “No issues.”
All results were normal.
Si Jingce went in, picked up the little bird, and carried out Yanyan’s clothes as well.
Yanyan flapped his wings and chirped at Xiao Li, “Chirp?”
How do I turn back?
“Try holding your breath like you’re blowing up a balloon,” Xiao Li said.
Yanyan immediately tried. Si Jingce quickly poked his head and turned to Xiao Li. “Where can he change clothes?”
Xiao Li pointed to a door on the left. “There’s a restroom there.”
Then he watched as Si Jingce carried his pearl bird inside.
Xiao Li: ?
Once the door closed, Si Jingce placed Yanyan on the ground. “Turn into a human first.”
Following Xiao Li’s instructions, the little bird held its breath. Its feathers puffed up into a round fluff ball. A familiar flash of light passed—and the boy appeared again, naked, stumbling as he accidentally bumped into Si Jingce and began to fall backward.
Si Jingce reached out, wrapped an arm around his waist, and steadied him. “Use your hands to hold onto my neck.”
Yanyan did as told.
Without feathers to cover him, his skin was even more sensitive to the cold air. Standing barefoot on Si Jingce’s shoes, he trembled slightly. Because of the cold, he unconsciously leaned closer to him.
The zipper of the man’s clothing brushed against his skin—cold and slightly painful—leaving faint marks in no time.
Holding Yanyan with one arm, Si Jingce used the other to spread his coat over the sink.
The warm breath from the person in his arms brushed against his neck, slightly damp…
Si Jingce paused. “…Yanyan, don’t lick my neck.”
There was a small mole on his neck. Back then, Yanyan always treated the moles on his body like seeds and would secretly peck at them.
Even after turning human, he hadn’t changed that habit at all.
Caught red-handed, Yanyan pretended not to hear. The next second, he was lifted up with one arm and placed onto the sink.
He grabbed onto Si Jingce’s collar, wrinkling the man’s clothes all over. Once he realized he was sitting steadily, he slowly let go and braced himself against the edge of the sink.
His back touched the mirror, and the cold made him shrink slightly. He didn’t dare lean back anymore.
Si Jingce dressed him piece by piece. Yanyan’s long, straight legs kept fidgeting, occasionally brushing against Si Jingce’s thigh.
The man finally lost patience and grabbed his calf.
Yanyan shuddered all over, his skin visibly flushing pink.
“Stay still. Stop moving.”
Si Jingce quickly finished putting his pants on him. When he looked up, Yanyan was sitting stiffly, his face so red it looked like it could bleed.
“I…” Yanyan opened his mouth, looking helplessly at Si Jingce. “I suddenly feel a bit strange… my whole body is hot and uncomfortable.”
Si Jingce froze for a moment—how could it happen so suddenly?
Xiao Li was just outside. He quickly scooped Yanyan up in his arms and walked out of the restroom.
“Yanyan says he feels really uncomfortable. Is this some kind of aftereffect from the mutation?”
He placed him onto the wheelchair. The surrounding doctors immediately stepped forward to check him and measure his vital signs.
Yanyan’s face was still flushed. He looked dazed, letting others examine him.
After the check, the doctor shook his head at Xiao Li.
Xiao Li understood at once. “Ah, it’s nothing… don’t worry too much. I was just about to talk to you about this.”
Yanyan was taken away by others to get his ID photo done. Xiao Li brought Si Jingce back to the office and poured him a cup of tea.
“Well… there are indeed aftereffects from the mutation.”
There are aftereffects?
Si Jingce frowned deeply.
“Don’t worry too much. These aftereffects aren’t life-threatening, just a bit troublesome.”
Xiao Li slowly explained, “Mutation usually happens during the animal’s mating period. After the mutation, it can delay the mating phase for a while, but it doesn’t mean the mating phase disappears entirely.”
“Maybe…” He scratched his head, trying to hint at it. “Well… how should I put it? The pelican I raised was very well-behaved. Once it turned human, it immediately knew how to take care of itself—no need for anyone to worry. But have you noticed…”
Yanyan acting clueless and helpless was completely an act!!
This bird was actually very clever, deliberately creating opportunities to cling to and cuddle with his master!
Xiao Li looked at Si Jingce expectantly, thinking he would understand the hint.
But Si Jingce said, “Every bird is different. Maybe Yanyan is just a bit… slow?”
Xiao Li: …
“I’m not saying he’s slow. I mean, if you don’t want this situation to happen, you should keep a bit of distance from him.”
Si Jingce finally understood.
Thinking about Yanyan’s intense reaction earlier—his flushed face—Si Jingce suddenly fell silent.
The room grew quiet. Xiao Li added more tea to his cup.
“Then his mating period…” Si Jingce took a sip of tea and asked, “When will it pass?”
Xiao Li shook his head. “The mating period isn’t a big problem, but it’s quite troublesome.”
“The most obvious symptom is craving physical contact—wanting to be hugged and touched.”
Si Jingce: “Skin hunger.”
“Then there’s weakness all over, flushed cheeks, and even the breath comes out hot.”
Si Jingce: “Omega?”
“Yanyan likes to eat seeds,” Si Jingce said, a bit dazed. “Grass-flavored ones.”
Xiao Li: …
Xiao Li: “As expected of a streamer—you really know quite a lot.”
