Chapter 63
Anxius kept his word. Early the very next morning, he took Yomi back near the amusement park from before to continue playing the VR horseback-riding game.
At first Yomi felt rather embarrassed—using his boyfriend as a horse was a little too much, wasn’t it? But after one round, that exhilarating feeling of freedom came over him, and little by little he forgot all about shame. Especially once he saw his riding score go up, he immediately wanted to keep improving!
Once he had ridden many times, practice made perfect. By the time they finished, Yomi was sweating all over, yet his heart felt wonderfully refreshed. Smiling, he shared his achievement with Anxius: “I can even control the horse to jump over obstacles now—the really difficult obstacle!”
As he spoke, he replayed the most exciting moment so his boyfriend could admire his heroic bearing.
Anxius, who had been the one getting “controlled,” watched it several times very seriously, then turned and kissed him. “Impressive.”
Outwardly, Yomi modestly shook his head, but inside he was already floating. He even had the illusion that he could go compete in horse racing.
If Junk Star had horse-racing events, he would absolutely sign up and give it a try.
Only after Yomi had fully enjoyed himself did Anxius take him to eat at the restaurant next to the VR theater.
Just as they were finishing, they overheard two brothers at the next table chatting about the horseback-riding game in the VR theater.
Yomi pricked up his ears and listened for a while. Hearing that they still couldn’t clear the obstacle no matter what, he really couldn’t hold back and turned around to eagerly share his own experience. “Um… before you hit the jump button, you should first coordinate properly with the horse…”
The two brothers froze at once, though clearly not because of what he said. Rather, it was because of the appearance and size of the enthusiastic stranger.
He looked… like a doll that had stepped right out of a movie!
“You… you’ve played that game too?” asked the older brother in surprise.
“Yes!” Yomi said. “I like it a lot!”
The brothers exchanged a look, as though they had finally found a kindred spirit. And not just any kindred spirit, but a warm-hearted doll-like one at that—what kind of luck was this? If not for the way Anxius was looking at them, they probably would have scooted right over.
The brothers began chatting back and forth with Yomi, and after talking excitedly for quite a while, they became interested in his riding setup. “Where did you buy your riding equipment? A body size as cute as yours must be really rare. It can’t be easy to find something in the right size, right?”
Ah, well…
Yomi blushed, but facing fellow enthusiasts, he still answered honestly, though hesitantly: “M-my boyfriend acts as my riding equipment.”
“…”
In the silence, Yomi hurried to explain: “My boyfriend’s original form is really big, so I won’t crush him!”
Was crushing really the issue here? Even with this 1.9-meter human form, you wouldn’t crush him, okay?
Then they looked at the boyfriend himself. There wasn’t the slightest trace of grievance on that face. If anything, he didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with being used as riding equipment… When he looked at the little one, his gaze was pure indulgence. When he looked at them, it was only coldness.
The two brothers had nothing to say. Deep down, they knew this sort of thing was definitely not normal—back in their village, people would absolutely be pointing fingers! But then they looked again at the little one’s smiling face, and their hearts wavered. They instantly argued with themselves: it was just riding a horse while playing a game, right? It wasn’t like he was being ridden all the time!
Anxius: There would actually be nothing wrong with that every day either.
Meeting fellow enthusiasts while eating out and having such a pleasant exchange—what great luck was that? Yomi was smiling the whole time.
Unfortunately, not long after leaving the restaurant, his good mood was spoiled by a small incident.
A huge monster was approaching from the opposite direction. It had originally been walking around in human form, but the moment it spotted two smaller human figures coming its way, its eyes started darting around in obvious appraisal.
Both were clearly adults, and one of them in particular looked delicate and soft… The creature immediately got nasty ideas and suddenly switched into its original form right in front of Yomi, startling a cry out of him.
Yomi wasn’t overreacting. It was basically like someone suddenly lifting up their shirt to flash their stomach at you while you were walking along. A true form couldn’t really be compared to a stomach, of course, but with that lewd expression on the guy’s face, the level of harassment was only worse.
The instant Yomi cried out, Anxius transformed back into his original form.
The monster even whistled at Yomi. But after the whistle, when he realized the other man’s original form was so huge and powerful, he froze.
There was no need for any questions. Burning with rage, Anxius strode over, pinned the monster down, and beat the hell out of him!
Each punch landed solidly. Even the ground trembled.
Yomi was furious too. Scaring him was one thing, but harassing him on top of that?! He marched over, pointed at the creep, and declared righteously, “You shameless hooligan, I’m throwing you in prison!”
Only then did the big creep remember that Evil Ghost State had a prison, and he immediately tried to flee.
He failed.
By that very evening, Anxius had him shackled and escorted back to the farm.
After handing the creep over to the head guard and the others, Yomi was still huffing with anger. But when he turned his head, he discovered that Anxius’s expression looked even uglier. He quickly patted his boyfriend. “It’s fine, we don’t need to stoop to his level. He’s already crying prison tears, and he definitely won’t dare do it again… Dear, don’t think about it anymore.”
His heart completely melted under that pat. Anxius pulled his sweet boyfriend into his arms and kissed him for quite a while.
…
Yomi loved riding horses, and Anxius had originally wanted to give him a real horse. Unfortunately, the horses on Junk Star were mostly too wild and hard to tame. Leaving aside the danger, it was also difficult to find one suited to Yomi’s size. After considering everything, Anxius finally found a few farmers and bought a sturdy little donkey for Yomi to ride as his horse.
The day he received the donkey, Yomi could barely believe his own eyes: heaven, he actually had a mount now!
That made him even happier than owning a car. Before and after transmigrating, Yomi had mostly lived in cities. Cars weren’t anything special—if you had money, you could buy one. But a mount wasn’t something everyone could have.
Now that he had a donkey, Yomi felt he lacked nothing in life. Every day he rode the little donkey around the open spaces of the farm. When people passed by, they would think the farm owner was out inspecting things.
To help Yomi feel fully immersed in riding, Anxius even built a small track on the farm.
Yomi often raced around that track on the little donkey with Gousheng.
You could count that as horse racing too!
Gousheng was especially cooperative. The first time, he beat the little donkey, and after seeing that Yomi gave him a reward, by the second time, he actually knew to go easy. He waited until Yomi won first, then ran over the finish line only afterward. After that, like a person, he carried out one of his treasured strips of dried meat and gave it to Yomi as a prize.
Once he had offered it, he stood there shyly wagging his tail.
Yomi nearly cried from how touched he was.
That very night, tucked beneath the blankets, he told his boyfriend all about it.
Anxius rubbed hard against his cheek. “That’s because he thinks of you as his mother.”
Yomi said, “Ah, nonsense.”
But in his heart he was delighted. Of course it felt wonderful to be treated like a parent by a little animal.
…
After falling in love, every single day was sweet from morning to night.
Yomi valued a sense of ceremony. Whenever Anxius had to go out and wouldn’t return until evening, Yomi would plan to stay awake in the bedroom and wait until he came back before going to sleep. But he basically never succeeded.
In truth, it never got that late. Yet after barely two minutes, Yomi would grow drowsy, his head tilting to one side, and then he’d lie down and fall asleep completely carefree, sprawled out with limbs everywhere.
The next morning, whenever he woke up to find a boyfriend beside the pillow staring straight at him, there would be a flash of guilty conscience—but not much. In fact, he’d boldly say, “I waited for you for a really long time last night!”
“I’m sorry.” Recently, Anxius had been returning strictly within the times he promised, but he still apologized. He genuinely felt guilty that he couldn’t be there to accompany Yomi to sleep. Only the things needed for the surgery couldn’t be neglected. Every time he came home and saw his baby boyfriend asleep all crooked, it made his heart ache.
After that day, Anxius didn’t go out again for a very long stretch of time.
With such an attentive boyfriend, Yomi—who couldn’t resist taking advantage once offered—grew even lazier.
He was basically living like an emperor:
In the mornings, when Yomi refused to get out of bed, Anxius would lift him to the edge of the mattress, let him rest his head against the leg of his original form, brush his teeth and wash his face for him, then spoon nourishing porridge into his mouth. Whenever Yomi forgot to chew, Anxius would even kiss him as a reminder and to keep him from choking. If Yomi felt weak and wanted to do exercises to strengthen himself, but couldn’t keep up the habit every day, Anxius would simply hold the little one in the arms of his original form and, like manipulating a cat, take hold of Yomi’s hands and guide them through the exercises in sync with the video. Yomi didn’t even have to use any strength of his own! Sticking to workouts became so easy!
Ahhh… Yomi felt like he was going to become completely useless!
But it all felt so good… tomorrow, tomorrow he would change!
And in this kind of life, tomorrow remained forever tomorrow.
Every day, Yomi fell asleep kissed by his boyfriend, and woke up kissed as well. Whether awake or half-asleep, he felt steeped in love. Sometimes he’d stand on tiptoe staring out at the scenery beyond the window, dazed, and slowly the whole thing would begin to feel dreamlike. Then he’d pinch his own cheek… and yes, it was all real.
Day and night passed, and the chicks on the farm grew up quite a bit. The survival rate of this batch was very high. Yomi had originally thought the chicken coop was too big, but at this rate, it might not even be enough later on.
What reassured Yomi most was that ever since the chicks lost their down, they had required no special care from him at all. Gousheng kept them completely under control. Sometimes all it took was one howl from him, and they instantly knew which way to run.
Thinking of Gousheng pulled once more at Yomi’s fragile heartstrings. The day to return Gousheng to the wild was getting closer and closer… ah.
Like a mother watching a son prepare to leave on a long journey, Yomi had started spoiling Gousheng too. Every day he secretly gave him extra food and spent more time playing with him.
Sometimes when Anxius wasn’t around, he would carry Gousheng into the RV for an afternoon nap. One big, one small curled up together. Yomi resembled a tiny shrimp, while the little wolf lay there so obediently that he’d even drape his tail across Yomi’s stomach like a blanket.
Once Anxius came back just in time to see this scene. He covered Yomi with a blanket, then lured cheap son Gousheng away with dried meat. While Gousheng was busy eating, Anxius went and lay down in Gousheng’s place, held his boyfriend close, sucked lightly at his cheeks, kissed his lips, and acted as if he had some kind of skin hunger syndrome.
By the time Gousheng finished the jerky, he suddenly realized he couldn’t get back to his original spot. He looked utterly confused. A few seconds later, he finally realized he had been tricked!
Gousheng had nowhere to vent his misery. Afraid of waking Yomi, he ultimately stomped away in anger: who exactly here isn’t human?!
What had to come would always come. At last the day Yomi had planned to release Gousheng arrived.
It was supposed to be a hunting day too, but the person in charge of the hunting trip, Yesi, suddenly had something urgent come up and needed to postpone. Early that morning, he took Linda and left, apparently to go see some farmer who was ill.
The Little Lamb Chef Team had been wildly busy lately and were exhausted. Hearing that the hunt was canceled, they didn’t bother going out to run the stall either. The whole group requested leave and planned to relax properly for once.
The boys gathered together and said they wanted to go into town and have fun. During their discussion, Anxius received a call—he needed to go into town to pick something up.
After seeing her boyfriend off, Yomi could only postpone Gousheng’s release and turned his head toward the group of friends.
By the time he walked over, they had already reached a decision—they were going to that amusement park from before.
But Yomi couldn’t enter that park.
So he froze in place, not knowing how to bring it up.
The boys said they were leaving, and simply went. As if they’d forgotten Yomi entirely, they all rushed toward the vehicle in one cluster.
…They were really leaving just like that?
Yomi stared dumbly at the rear of the departing vehicle, feeling dazed.
And Karl, the only one left behind at the villa, took one look at Yomi’s desolate figure the moment he came outside and noticed immediately.
He froze, quickly understanding something, and instantly became so nervous he didn’t know what to do. If only the signal on his communicator had been stable enough, he would have wanted to call those people back right away.
In his haste, with no time to think of anything else, Karl quickly pulled a black crystal stone from his sleeve and began turning it over before Yomi’s eyes.
Still full of gloomy thoughts, Yomi was indeed instantly drawn to the black crystal. His large eyes filled with curiosity as he went over and asked, “What is that? It’s so pretty.”
Karl had been waiting exactly for that question and immediately handed it to him. “I bought it at the market recently. They say if you make a wish to it, the chances of your wish coming true go up quite a bit. Do you want to try?”
“…”
It sounded completely like a scam. Yet the crystal really was beautiful. In the sunlight it had that iridescent, many-colored blackness… Holding the crystal in both hands, Yomi looked up and asked, “Can I really use it? It’s your wishing stone. Shouldn’t you be the one to make wishes on it?”
“I already made mine,” Karl coaxed him with a smile. “They say the more people make wishes on it, the easier it is to awaken its spiritual power.”
“So powerful…” Yomi half believed it, half didn’t. He gently pressed the crystal to his chest, closed his eyes, and devoutly prepared to make a wish.
But what should he wish for?
Yomi hesitated. He had many wishes. He wanted the farm to grow bigger, wanted everyone to successfully return to Snar Star, wanted Gousheng to grow up healthy and safe, wanted things to remain this good forever between himself and Anxius…
Sensing his hesitation, Karl said, “If you have many wishes, that’s alright. You can take it slowly and make one each day. For now, just wish for something you want right now.”
Something he wanted right now…
Yomi’s heart stirred. He immediately spoke silently to the crystal stone: I hope Anxius and all of them come back and keep me company!
Once he opened his eyes, his lashes fluttered shyly at his own little wish. He returned the crystal to Karl, though his eyes still lingered admiringly on it. “I finished. The moment I made my wish, the crystal felt warm. That means it’ll come true.”
Karl knew perfectly well there had been no warmth at all. The crystal itself was only there to cheer Yomi up. At this point, it was Yomi who was kindly playing along.
Karl’s heart melted. “Mm. It definitely will.”
Once Yomi had made his wish, Karl went back to his room to read. Yomi, still bored, took Gousheng out to wander around a bit, but soon had nothing to do again.
Before, he’d never really found having nothing to do especially boring. But today, with most of the household away, he strongly wanted to find something—anything—to occupy himself, just so he wouldn’t keep thinking about why his companions had gone out to have fun without consulting him…
Yes, Yomi cared a lot!
But he couldn’t go into that amusement park anyway. The others were probably only afraid of making him feel awkward, which was why they didn’t mention it. They hadn’t gotten in last time, and maybe that had really disappointed them. So if they could go and enjoy it this time, then that was good too.
…Mm. Stop thinking about it.
Yomi shook his head and decided that since he had nothing else to do, he would make a batch of popsicles for the coming summer!
Bursting with enthusiasm, he opened the refrigerator—and immediately froze.
Inside it was packed full of brand-new ice cream, as well as some fruit-juice popsicles.
Who had done this?
No one answered him. Yomi didn’t want to bother Karl, so he took one popsicle and walked out with his head hanging low, feeling oddly hurt.
How come when making popsicles, they hadn’t invited him to do it together…
Yomi and Gousheng ate ice cream together. The more he ate, the colder his heart felt, until his eyes even became damp.
Had everyone stopped liking him?
Was it because he had become lazier and lazier?
…
Anxius returned home before eleven in the morning. All the way back, he had been thinking about Yomi. Never could he have imagined that the moment he entered the house, he would find Yomi red-eyed and talking to Gousheng.
“If you’re taking a day off to go play, shouldn’t you have taken me too?”
“Awoo…”
“You think I don’t have the energy to play… but I do… I’ve just been getting more and more listless…”
Anxius’s heart trembled as if someone were slicing into it with a knife. Before he even realized it, he had already rushed forward and hugged Yomi. “No, no!”
“Y-you’re back?” Yomi’s sadness was instantly replaced by shock.
“It’s not that they didn’t bring baby.” Anxius hurriedly kissed his cheek again and again, almost wanting to fuse himself into Yomi. “Don’t cry…” He was still trying to soothe him when suddenly the sound of a truck returning came from outside.
The instant Yomi heard it, he recognized the vehicle Lynn and the others had driven off in. His earlier mood vanished, replaced only by confusion and concern. “Huh? Why are they back so early? It’s not like they get to go out often… what can you even do in that short a time?”
Anxius wanted to say something, but in the end he simply pressed his lips together and let go, leaving the intensely curious Yomi to go and see for himself.
The moment Yomi reached the doorway, he saw lots of people getting down from the truck. Besides Lynn and the others, even the head guards and the others who had supposedly been resting today were there too!
What shocked him even more was that Black Feather, lord of Skull State, was among them as well!
Very quickly, Yomi understood everything.
The moment his companions jumped down from the truck, they came walking toward him holding up glowing signs and banners, shouting the words written on them: “Happy birthday, Mimi!”
Birthday…
That’s right! Today was his birthday. Yomi himself had forgotten!
He stood there dazed and still, and when he came back to himself, he lowered his head and started wiping at his eyes.
“Sorry, Mimi,” Lynn hurried over and said, “Anxius came looking for us a few days ago and said he wanted to throw you a birthday party. We all wanted to surprise you too. Knowing you like lively things, we arranged to invite some familiar people in advance. We mainly went out to pick up Lord Black Feather and his group this time, because he doesn’t really know the roads around here… We were afraid you’d notice, so that’s why we left in such a hurry.”
Yomi shook his head hard and softly said, “Thank you.”
He had never told anyone his birthday aloud. The date had only been filled in earlier when setting up his Snar Star communicator account. Yet Anxius remembered it. His friends remembered it too.
Yomi had nearly cried, and now he felt both moved and happy, his eyes glowing red.
Amid all the commotion, his friends and allies escorted him back inside. There, Anxius had already opened the cake he’d brought back: Yomi’s favorite strawberry cake.
This time the cake was huge, and on top, written in jam, were the words: Happy nineteenth birthday, Baby Mimi. Health and long life!
At that moment Karl made his appearance too, dressed in full fairy godmother style—clearly something he’d secretly changed into in the study. “Godmother” Karl walked over to tiny Yomi, black crystal in one hand and fairy wand in the other. “The blessing I bring is this: may Yomi live a long life… happy nineteenth birthday!”
Everyone clapped enthusiastically.
Receiving all that love, Yomi slowly walked toward the cake.
Anxius lit the candles, then took a crown and placed it on his head before quietly watching him.
Wearing the little crown, Yomi clasped his hands and closed his eyes to make a wish.
When he opened them again, they reflected the candlelight like black crystal. Puffing out his cheeks, Yomi blew, and the candles went out.
“Happy birthday. I love you,” Anxius whispered into his ear.
In the next instant, those words were drowned out by an even greater flood of blessings. Yomi was so happy he felt dizzy. He turned and hugged Anxius tightly, then went around hugging everyone else one by one.
It was only while eating together later that Yomi gradually came back to his senses.
In all his life, this was the first time he’d ever had such a lively birthday party. After the meal, they all sang, played games, and even Black Feather let go of his reserve and joined the boys in a round of Who’s the Spy.
The lively celebration lasted all the way until dusk.
Once the guests had been seen off, Yomi returned to the bedroom and began opening presents.
The birthday gifts had almost piled up into a little mountain. The black crystal from earlier had been one of Karl’s presents for him. Lord Black Feather’s gift was a solid gold skull cane—it looked very cool.
Yesi and Linda, the boys, and the guards had mostly given handmade gifts made with great effort. Some were bracelets, clothes, and bags they’d made themselves. Others were little seals crafted from a special material using imprints of Yomi’s hands. They were all very cute.
Anxius’s gifts were a bit numerous, and could roughly be divided into categories—
Practical gifts: clothes and accessories for all four seasons, including four little boots that only sheep hooves could possibly fit into.
Health gifts: a rare spirit lingzhi mushroom said to prolong life.
Artistic gifts: a Sheep Asura brooch made from Anxius’s own feathers and a scale from over his heart.
Luxury gifts: a diamond crown set with a gem as big as a pigeon’s egg.
Loving gifts: matching pajamas printed with “sheep heads,” one large and one small.
…
Yomi felt like he was going to faint under the avalanche of presents!
Even Gousheng had given Mommy a birthday gift: one treasured strip of jerky!
Yomi: …Thank you, Gousheng!
The melancholy Yomi from before was gone. Now there was only happy Yomi.
That night in bed, wearing their matching pajamas, Yomi and Anxius started shamelessly kissing again. But tonight was a little different. Anxius didn’t just use his hands—he kept kissing there too…
If Yomi had really been a sheep, he would already have turned into roast whole lamb!
He whimpered and squirmed for quite some time. By the end his eyes were full of tears. He had never imagined things could be done this way. Truthfully, even more than this could be done, but Yomi’s body was, by all accounts, genuinely delicate. Anxius was afraid his body wouldn’t be able to bear it. Before the symbiosis surgery, he absolutely didn’t want his precious treasure to suffer the slightest bit of pain.
As a result, Yomi—who had never watched that kind of film involving two men—spent a very long time believing that this was the farthest intimacy between them could go, even though the level of stimulation had already gone well beyond his expectations!
Anxius himself was shameless enough, but he wouldn’t make Yomi do that sort of thing. If he really couldn’t hold back, he would just “bully” his boyfriend’s leg a bit… Every time Anxius rubbed against his face or kissed him, Yomi felt all numb and tingling, itchy in the best way… Slowly, he began to feel that he and Anxius had turned into two drops of water that merged the moment they touched.
By the time he drifted off to sleep from exhaustion, they were still tangled together in intimate closeness. Yomi lay curled up in Anxius’s arms, while Anxius held him completely against himself, their hot breaths mingling as one…
Yomi closed his eyes. “Good night.”
He was nineteen now. Love was wonderful. Life was wonderful. Good night!
The next morning, Yomi immediately started insisting on going out to get online—yesterday had been his birthday, and he wanted to tell Brewer all about it!
After breakfast, Anxius took him to the market internet café.
The moment he sat down, Yomi turned on his communicator, ate the snacks his boyfriend kept feeding him, and went online. As soon as he logged into his account, the newest message he saw was Brewer wishing him a happy birthday.
Yomi’s smile simply wouldn’t leave his face. He chatted with Brewer for a while, and after learning that both of them were doing well, he felt relieved.
Since the internet fee had already been paid, he was definitely going to make use of every last second. Yomi continued tapping away, checking news from Snar Star.
The more he looked, the fainter his smile became.
Yesterday on Snar Star, there had been a heavy rainstorm. Along with the rainstorm came tremors in some of the suburban areas. That area happened to contain the cemetery, and several graves had been damaged by the storm.
One of them was Yomi’s.
He ought not to care how a grave looked, considering he was still alive. But when Yomi saw in the news a group of tall Snarian fans crying while carrying the small coffin that had held only his clothes, his own heart began to clench painfully.
Please don’t cry. I’m not dead. And even if I had died, a grave is only an external thing.
Seeing other people grieve for him made Yomi sad too.
He felt as though he had experienced death twice. The first time was before he came to Snar Star—back then he’d had no preparation at all. He’d blinked, and then he was here. The second time was when he staged his death and left Snar Star. He’d had a tiny bit of preparation then, but everything had still been rushed.
He had never truly had the chance to say goodbye to some people.
Yomi felt a little sad, but very quickly he pulled himself together.
It didn’t matter. As long as he returned to Snar Star someday, everything would be alright.
The moment he thought that, he couldn’t help lowering his gaze to Gousheng curled at his feet.
He himself wanted to go back to the place he’d come from. Then what about Gousheng?
That was a question Yomi couldn’t avoid, and shouldn’t avoid.
A few days later, choosing an auspicious day, Yomi hugged Gousheng and climbed into the RV driven by Anxius.
This time the RV’s destination was the forest where Gousheng had been born.
It was their first time going there, and they had to stop and ask directions several times along the way. After all the winding around, they finally reached it around noon.
The RV stopped by the roadside at the foot of the mountain. Holding Gousheng, Yomi walked forward nervously.
Anxius carried the things Yomi had prepared for Gousheng, his mood outwardly no different from usual. But when he noticed Yomi’s expression, a trace of worry entered his eyes.
Before setting off, Yomi had prepared an enormous ham specially for Gousheng. Even if Gousheng had already learned how to hunt, Yomi still wanted him to have enough food to last several days at least. That was Yomi’s final insistence.
At first, Gousheng didn’t realize he was being brought back to his “old home.” He thought he was simply going out somewhere fun with Mommy, and he was thrilled. But as the RV drove on and the scenery changed, once the familiar forest came into view, Gousheng gradually froze.
The moment Yomi saw that reaction, he knew Gousheng still remembered this forest.
…That was a good thing.
Once they got out of the RV, Gousheng suddenly struggled free from Yomi’s arms in a way he normally never did. Yomi thought he wanted to walk by himself, so he took some jerky and led the way in front. But Gousheng refused to follow no matter what.
Yomi stopped and beckoned to him.
Gousheng stayed stubbornly where he was.
At a loss, Yomi could only go back and pick him up. Yet the moment he did, obedient Gousheng suddenly opened his mouth and let out a mournful little whine.
The tears Yomi had been holding back instantly began to fall like bursting beans. Putting Gousheng down, he said, “Th-this is your home. Your family might still be here… Gousheng, your leg is already healed, and you’ve learned how to hunt. You’re a grown little wolf now. You can live here…”
He didn’t know whether Gousheng understood. But when Gousheng saw him crying, he stopped whining. He only looked at Yomi, and no longer made that heartbreaking sound again.
Gousheng seemed to think for a little while. Then, after a long silence, he looked toward the forest, stiffly turned around, and began walking away step by step.
Yomi remained standing where he was. Once he came back to himself, he began silently encouraging him in his heart.
Gousheng was so smart. He would definitely thrive here like a fish in water.
Definitely.
Before he knew it, tears welled up again. He raised a hand to wipe them away, only for Anxius to get there first. Holding him in his arms, Anxius suddenly said, “Look.”
Yomi lifted his head, and his expression changed immediately.
The little wolf who had been heading into the forest had at some point turned back. The cool and serious wolf from before now suddenly became like a little dog, running frantically toward him with its tail wagging wildly, howling all the way.
The sun was huge. It was blinding.
Yomi cried.
Yes—he didn’t want Gousheng to leave at all! He had been hoping all along that Gousheng would turn back. This was the first pet he had ever raised, and Gousheng had long since become part of his family.
Squatting down to catch him, Yomi was almost knocked over. It was the first time the little wolf had ever thrown himself so recklessly. It was as if he had poured every bit of love he had into sheer force. The moment he crashed into Yomi’s arms, he began howling nonstop.
It was only thanks to Anxius that Yomi managed to stay sitting upright. He hugged Gousheng while Anxius held him. “He won’t leave you. This is his choice.”
“Mm!” Even in the chaos of his feelings, a strange thought suddenly flashed through Yomi’s mind: was this because of all the wishes he had been making on the black crystal lately? But lowering his head and seeing Gousheng’s affectionate expression, he instantly shook that thought away.
It wasn’t some mystical force at all. Just like him, Gousheng simply couldn’t bear to part.
The sky above was a pure, dazzling blue. As the storm of emotion inside him slowly calmed, Yomi held Gousheng inside Anxius’s embrace and looked out over the green hills and wild fields, feeling something strange—like he had suddenly fallen from somewhere, only to be caught mid-fall by a giant bird.
It was a very concrete kind of happiness.
The little wolf kept nuzzling him with soft whines, as if complaining about why Yomi had tried to abandon him.
“No, no, it wasn’t that I didn’t want you!” Yomi said softly. “Gousheng, I just thought you would be happier and freer here.”
“With you around, he won’t feel that he isn’t free,” Anxius said instinctively.
If there was no freedom, then there was simply no freedom.
But without Yomi, planets would stop turning and everything would be destroyed… At least, that was what Anxius believed.
After the immense rise and fall of emotion, the “mother and son” pair cried together in each other’s arms. In the end, the giant ham prepared for Gousheng was nibbled by a hungry Yomi instead. Seeing that Yomi was hungry, Anxius simply picked him up and carried him back into the RV, then drove them to the nearest market to eat.
The two of them and the wolf sat down at a little roadside stall and had a harmonious, satisfying meal before climbing back into the RV.
Anxius rolled down the window for Yomi. As the vehicle drove forward, a gentle breeze drifted in, fresh and refreshing.
Before setting off, Yomi and Anxius had even shared a kiss right above Gousheng’s head.
Gousheng: “…”
They weren’t heading back to the farm yet. Yomi didn’t want Gousheng to think he was being abandoned, so he decided to take him to the family amusement park in town.
When they reached the entrance, little wolf Gousheng wasn’t eligible for free admission, but adult Yomi was actually exempt because of his size!
Not only that, the staff even praised him several times for being cute.
Led by his boyfriend’s hand, Yomi stood on tiptoe to look up at the ticket prices, swaying adorably from side to side~
Yomi: Just as the old saying goes, a blessing may come from a loss!
Seen that way, being small had its advantages too. True, there had been times he was turned away at the door, but sometimes he could also get in for free and have fun~
He was basically a little money-saving expert now!
Once inside, Yomi immediately set his eyes on the tall slide. It looked so fun!
One person and one wolf happily climbed to the top, while Anxius waited below to catch them.
Holding Gousheng, whose mouth had already split into a broad grin, Yomi asked, “Gousheng, are you ready?”
Gousheng: “Awo!” Ready!
Yomi wasn’t ready yet. He was a little scared—it was too high. After hesitating for a few seconds, he asked again, “I’m really going to slide now. Are you ready?”
Gousheng: “Awo!” Really ready!
A few seconds later: “Gousheng, don’t be scared, there’s no rush. I’ll count down ten seconds and ask you again!”
“…”
Below them, Anxius noticed his baby boyfriend’s fear. He immediately transformed and flew up. Scooping Yomi up, he moved him to the top of another slide—larger and even taller. Then he held Yomi, still clutching Gousheng, tightly in his arms. In case Yomi was scared, he also spread both his wings hard on either side like railings around his baby.
His sense of security shot straight to the maximum!
Yomi’s desire for excitement mixed with fear was solved instantly by his boyfriend.
He turned his head excitedly to look at Anxius. “Dear, you really know what you’re doing!”
The monster paused for a second in a daze, then wrapped his arms around his sweet little boyfriend and their cheap son and sent them sliding straight down.
The moment they pushed off, Yomi let out a joyful little cry. The whole ride felt like flying. In the blink of an eye, they had swept all the way to the bottom in one exhilarating rush!
Under the blue sky and white clouds, the little wolf howled excitedly, and Yomi shook his head and flicked his little ears with a smile. His ears brushed against the chest of his monster boyfriend as he said, “So fun! So fun! Dear, let’s do it again!”
