Chapter 27
This was Yomi’s first time sleeping out in the wild. He did not sleep soundly at all, remaining in a light, half-alert state the whole time. In the middle of the night, he jolted awake with a start.
Still groggy, he had the instinctive feeling that something was staring at him.
He opened his eyes and, through the gaps in the wings, saw the silver moonlight—and the cave entrance beneath it…
At some unknown point, a group of fearsome wild beasts had appeared in front of the cave, now staring at him from afar with the gaze of predators eyeing their prey.
…Mangy leopards!
Before coming here, Yomi had seen pictures of them online. Although they had the shape of leopards, they looked nothing like ordinary leopards’ beauty. Their appearance radiated sheer savagery: no fur, only crocodile-like hide covering their bodies, overly long fangs protruding outside their mouths, and eerie green eyes.
Catching the scent of a human, they were drooling and hissing hungrily.
Mangy leopards liked to move around at night, and they especially liked eating Snarans in human form. They were exceptionally vicious, which was one of the main reasons Leia Continent was so dangerous.
Yomi did not dare make a sound. Trembling in Anxius’s arms, he had not even managed to wake him yet before the other was already roused by his shaking.
The monster instinctively stroked his head, then followed his line of sight and met the gaze of the mangy leopards.
Clearly, the reason the leopards had only been circling outside and dared not come in was because they were wary of this enormous monster. The mangy leopards had no human-like thoughts; they simply assumed Yomi was a cub the monster had abducted, since at a glance he obviously was not the same species.
They wanted to wait until the monster relaxed, then coordinate and steal away this fragrant little cub.
Naturally, Anxius saw through their intentions. His golden pupils narrowed dangerously.
Just as the mangy leopards were trying to retreat and wait for the monster to fall asleep again, the monster inside suddenly rose to his feet with a thunderous motion.
Poor trembling Yomi had not yet recovered before he experienced what felt like riding a roller coaster in Anxius’s arms.
With one arm holding him securely, Anxius’s body lowered forward into the exact posture of a beast before attack, every taut muscle coiled and ready. Just as the mangy leopards stared at one another in confusion, he lunged forward in one fierce charge…
As for what exactly happened next, Yomi did not know either—because he simply could not see clearly!
As his vision shook, Yomi heard the mangy leopards’ unbroken cries of pain, along with Anxius’s roaring growls full of intimidation.
It was completely a savage clash between beasts.
Too wild. As if on this whole continent, he alone was human… Oh, right, he was the only human to begin with!
When his vision finally steadied, the mangy leopards were already gone. Staring blankly, Yomi poked his head up, only to see the backs of a group of leopards slinking away in disgrace. Some of them even seemed injured, but who could care about injuries at a time like this? They were running unbelievably fast!
Their wind-like speed seemed to say: We’re really leaving, we’ll never dare think of stealing food from a tiger’s mouth again! Please don’t chase us!
Although it was already very late at night, the livestream still showed that quite a few people were staying up to watch.
[This is way too dangerous. Bring the little guy back to the capital. My heart can’t take it!]
[Exactly. The moment I saw those mangy leopards trying to steal Mimi away, my sleepiness vanished from fright!]
[Hahaha, I thought it was so satisfying! First time I’ve ever seen mangy leopards act this cowardly. Serves them right! What I hate most are those cub-stealing monsters of Leia Continent!]
[There are always wild beasts trying to steal Mimi! This is the fate of anyone who tries to steal Teacher Mimi!]
Inside the stone cave, Yomi still felt lingering fear. Even though he knew Anxius had won, his eyes remained full of worry.
Anxius knew he was frightened, so carrying him, he went nearby and found a somewhat larger stone, which he wedged diagonally across the cave entrance. It offered no real protection—any beast could have shoved it aside easily—but it did provide a certain psychological sense of security.
Yomi let out a breath of relief.
He curled back up in the monster’s arms to sleep again, but seeing that the other’s eyes remained open the whole time, he immediately patted his wing to comfort him. “It’s okay, Louis. Going out like that, we even got to see the night scenery of Leia Continent. I didn’t expect it to actually be pretty nice. It counts as an unexpected gain. It’s okay.”
The monster lowered his eyes, then suddenly bowed his head and tucked Yomi’s whole head tightly into the spot beneath his neck, rubbing his chin lightly against the little lamb horns.
Yomi gradually fell asleep again, but this time he had a nightmare. In the dream, he had been carried off by a mangy leopard. Terrified, he struggled desperately, and even the legs curled up in the monster’s arms started kicking and kicking, until they even kicked awake the monster who had been holding one of his lamb horns in his mouth.
Anxius opened his eyes sharply and alertly. Lowering his head, he immediately saw Yomi’s eyes damp at the corners.
Dawn was just beginning to break. In his dream, Yomi suddenly felt that he was being licked by the mangy leopard. He was about to be eaten, torn open and swallowed like the prey in this place. He was so frightened he began to cry, wanting the mangy leopard to just kill him quickly—but the mangy leopard refused to bite him, only kept licking at his face, even licking at his eyelids, ticklishly… Yomi struggled to twist away, but his body was pinned tightly by the other’s claws.
Then he woke with a start and, the moment he opened his eyes, saw fangs right in front of him.
He froze immediately, but the two fangs quickly retracted.
The monster lowered his head, revealing those golden eyes. “Good morning.”
“…” So it had only been a dream. Yomi slowly smiled. “Good morning.”
The sun had risen, and outside birds were chirping noisily. Just hearing it made everything feel safe.
The enormous monster carried the little one down to the riverbank. Retracting his sharp claws, he washed Yomi’s face for him, cleaning the frightened sweat from it until his skin was white and tender again, only then beginning his own washing.
Yomi crouched by the water brushing his teeth with his finger. While brushing, he kept turning his head to watch Anxius.
Out here in the wilderness there were no proper washing supplies. Anxius’s way of cleaning himself was fast and rough. Even washing his hands made huge splashes of water. Watching him, Yomi laughed helplessly.
[Good morning, everyone! Another day of inhaling Mimi has begun!]
[My daughter recommended this show to me last night. I didn’t expect it to be this interesting. This child is really such a little angel]
[At first I was really afraid Yomi would be in danger. This morning I watched the replay from last night, and now I feel much more reassured. Louis is very strong. He can protect Yomi here!]
[Teacher Mimi was really scared badly last night, wasn’t he?]
On the second day of Being Different Is Fine Too, the program’s popularity surged violently. Along with the show flying up the trending charts, Yomi’s name went right along with it.
#Yomi controlling a monster to fight mangy leopards#
#Yomi lies down once and the mangy leopards next door cry from greed#
#Yomi’s menu#
Completely cut off from the internet, Yomi only knew that his variety show work had just begun. He had no idea that the ratings had already hit the top so quickly, nor that the show had sparked such intense discussion. Even screenshots of him spacing out had already started being captioned and spread through group chats everywhere, turning into popular reaction memes.
People from all kinds of circles and age groups, through all sorts of different channels, discovered that this doll-like little figure had joined a survival show. Driven by curiosity, they too started paying attention to this season.
Meanwhile, in the official pairing vote, Yomi and Louis’s group had already become the indisputable number one by a landslide.
Gossip forum:
[I’m seriously crying. I stayed up all night chasing the livestream, and the instant those mangy leopards appeared, I screamed in fright and my mom called me insane. But that little one didn’t make a sound the entire time, and after Louis drove the leopards away, he even comforted Louis! Waaah, I formally apologize for what I said before about him definitely dragging the team down!]
[I always feel like Teacher Mimi could make life feel rich and meaningful anywhere. The flowers Teacher Mimi arranged are blooming beautifully today too! [image]]
[Heh, why is a wilderness survival mission made so overly fancy? I still prefer Mark’s side]
[Mark’s fans get out! Just look at the miserable state your idol is in right now. Is it that he doesn’t like refinement? [picking nose]]
[Stop arguing, everyone. Yomi has a new skin. Hurry and go look!]
[???]
Back at the cave, Yomi and Anxius ate part of the roast beef left over from yesterday. The rest could not be kept. If they left it any longer, it would spoil. There was no medicine here, so eating spoiled food and getting sick would be a disaster. Besides, Yomi already looked weak, and Anxius absolutely would not let him eat anything spoiled. So he threw all the remaining beef into the jungle where wild beasts roamed, and those beasts waiting for a full meal would take care of it.
They had eaten their fill in the morning. Sitting at the cave entrance sunning himself, Yomi decided they would not hunt today. After resting a while, he planned to go outside and gather some mushrooms, look for wild vegetables and fruit, and spend the rest of the day eating vegetarian food. That would be quite nice too.
Anxius agreed to his suggestion. After sunning himself for a bit, he carried Yomi into the woods to look for wild fruit.
In the forest mottled with patches of sunlight, two figures of hugely different sizes were busy at work.
Above, Anxius was picking fruit. Below, Yomi held a knife and shuffled through fallen leaves gathering mushrooms. He walked to a slope and failed to notice there was a puddle in front of him. The instant he stepped in, he cried out.
Hearing that little “ah!”, Anxius immediately looked over—Yomi had stepped into the puddle and more than half his body was soaked.
Anxius rushed over, picked him out of the puddle, and Yomi awkwardly wrung his clothes. Water dripped down steadily. His clothes were completely soaked through.
[Wet little Mimi!]
[Ahhh, the poor tiny guy’s only outfit!]
Anxius was stunned for a moment by the sight. When he heard Yomi say “It’s okay,” he frowned, said nothing, and simply set him down in a sunny patch. Then he went to a giant tree nearby, found soft leaves, and started weaving him a grass skirt.
A little one like Yomi did not need much “material” for a grass skirt. Working as fast as he could, Anxius finished it in about an hour.
Whenever guests needed to change clothes or bathe, the cameras would automatically withdraw. But even after handing the grass skirt over to Yomi, Anxius still looked all around warily, checking to make sure there were no cameras.
Filming the guests’ private bodies during the show was illegal. Naturally, the staff operating the cameras would not dare secretly film them. Once they received the signal that someone needed to change clothes, all the drones flew away.
Anxius took Yomi to the riverbank to bathe, then stood on the shore with his back turned toward the little one.
Yomi quickly finished washing and changed into the grass skirt. Knowing the cameras would withdraw at times like this, and that guests had to signal the cameras again after changing, he shouted at the empty air, “I’m dressed!”
Anxius turned back to look at him.
Yomi was still facing away from him. His white slender arms and the parts of his legs below the knees were all exposed, looking refreshingly cool. The grass skirt swaying in the breeze looked just like a short green dress.
Yomi lowered his head to use the river’s surface as a mirror, then turned back to look at the giant monster.
A gentle breeze blew past, baring his entire forehead. Pointing at the grass skirt, he said, “This grass skirt you made is especially comfortable, and it looks really nice too. I could never make something like this myself…” His voice gradually grew quieter. “Louis, thank you for always taking care of me.”
Several times, he had even thought of his father and mother.
Even in a strange world, if there was familiar warmth, one would not feel so lonely and afraid.
The giant creature stepped closer to him, then stopped, bent his back and lowered himself, easily lifting him into his arms. Yomi thought he was about to lift him up high again, so he very cooperatively stayed still, like a doll anyone could pose however they wished… But this time he did not raise him high.
The monster’s golden eyes gazed at him. He seemed to very much want to kiss him, but looking at that smiling face, in the end he did nothing.
Finally, Anxius rubbed his own sharp horns against Yomi’s little lamb horns, then bent down and set him back on the ground. Picking up the mud-stained clothes, he crouched by the river and patiently began washing them.
[See? I told you it’s pure friendship! Look at that. Such pure and innocent team love. No random shipping allowed!]
[I think… forget it, I won’t say it… you definitely won’t want to hear it anyway…]
[I really want to raise a Yomi. This child is too adorable… I heard he’s an orphan. May I apply to adopt him?]
[He’s already an adult, and he has a job too]
[Summary of Mimi’s costume show: Music-box dancer, tracksuit burrowing racer, fruit-shell armor warrior, grass-skirt little prince… new skins are still being updated, so stay tuned!]
[Little Mimi, mwah mwah! Thank you for filling me with energy today!]
