Famine

Chapter 56

Even the teachers couldn't resist her; she was incredibly enthusiastic about attending classes and would even ask if she missed a day.

I thought Huang'e was just there to slack off, but it turns out she listened attentively in every class and even handed in her homework. The teacher even corrected every single one of them in great detail.

"...You used to find it boring." I was really confused.

"It is boring," Huang E glared at me, "but if you want to be a woman who is beautiful inside and out, you still need to have something inside, so that you can stand at the forefront of the times!"

When I found out that it was Tang Chen who had instilled this strange idea in her, I was completely dumbfounded.

Is it really okay for monsters to be so inspiring?

Although she was so uncoordinated, unable to even hold chopsticks and falling even on flat ground, the boys found her "adorable" and "pitiful." This little girl, so confident and queen-like, was so clumsy, throwing chopsticks and throwing tantrums—it was "extremely cute."

Eating is another disaster for me. She's a monster who doesn't need to eat; whatever she eats is excreted. But while she's learned to enjoy food, she just can't seem to learn how to use chopsticks. She often throws them down, picks up a spoon, and ends up eating with her face covered in food.

I was grateful she was willing to pick up the spoon, because a few times she used her magic to pick up chopsticks, which gave me the creeps.

Ara-gae was originally a youkai without hands, only wings. But she can write and so on, so it's not inconvenient for her at all. This is some kind of superpower of youkai, allowing them to control objects, which is even more convenient than using hands. But she's already transformed into a human, and she's still doing this…

I don't want her to perform this move on TV, which would only attract more powerful figures to hunt her down.

After much pleading, threatening, and bribing, she finally agreed to use a spoon. It's one thing to get food all over her face, since Tang Chen will wipe it for her... The only downside is the resentful stares from other boys, which will reduce her excellent popularity by fifty percent.

I was already under a lot of pressure, how could I withstand such a test for my heart? In less than a month, I lost a lot of weight, and my belt couldn't fit through any holes anymore, so Shuo had to punch two holes for me.

I'm saddened because this means I still have room to lose weight.

***

After two months of school, Huang'e became the campus's "sweetheart." I have no idea who came up with that awful nickname; she's clearly very fierce.

But if she just gave people an innocent (actually, she hadn't had enough sleep) look, those silly boys' hearts would melt into a puddle of water, and they would forget that she was fierce and stern.

When she first agreed to go out with a boy, I was terribly worried.

"It's just singing, no big deal." She was busy applying makeup to her face and casting a spell to make her eyelashes grow to a certain length.

"Don't hurt anyone!" I exclaimed anxiously.

"Relax, I know the rules." She started to get impatient.

"Don't hurt people to the point of no return," I began earnestly, "Even if they touch you inappropriately... just teach them a lesson."

"Hey, stop being such an old hag, okay?" she snapped, "With all the gossip I've heard over the years, do you think I'm less sensible than you? Why don't you take advantage of my absence and start thinking about how to get Tang Chen into bed with you..."

"Get out of here right now!"

She went out for a trip and came back saying it was a lot of fun. Except that she hit a really high note and knocked someone out... and that person thought they were drunk.

Seeing that nothing was wrong and she seemed to be enjoying herself, I stopped keeping such a close eye on her. As a result, she was partying every night and having a great time, and waking her up in the morning was exhausting.

She thought she could be a happy fake college student, enjoying a youth she had never experienced in thousands of years... but in the end, something still happened.

Compared to innocent monsters, humans are complex and prone to self-delusion.

One day at noon, a freshman who climbed to the top floor and started shouting broke the peace of the school.

He said that if "Tang Ruizheng" didn't become his girlfriend, he would jump.

I really wanted to tell him to just jump down and stop wasting food, but based on the old man's instructions and my duty as a worker, I couldn't do that.

Ara-Akatsuki was furious, but a bunch of classmates and teachers begged her to go up and "appease" them first. How could such a strong-willed monster girl possibly agree?

Finally, her classmates and teachers frantically retrieved her jewelry and clothes, saying that they only saw these on the ground after turning the corner, and they didn't know where "Tang Ruizheng" had gone.

I can't exactly tell them that "Tang Ruizheng" is so angry he's like a campfire, standing on my shoulder and roasting me.

"...She changed her clothes very quickly, she probably ran home after changing." I made up a reason while wiping the sweat from my forehead.

"Oh dear," I said to her in my heart, "don't be angry. You're making me burn."

“Sure,” she said coldly, “I’ll stop being angry if I kill this bastard.”

To be honest, I really wanted to say yes. But I couldn't really say it. Her anger and incomprehension almost pierced my heart. In fact, I was also puzzled. Just because I went out to sing a few times and received cakes and bouquets from him, did that mean I had to sell myself to him? That would probably mean I'd sold myself to more than a dozen boys.

The instructor was trying to persuade him, but the boy was yelling and shouting, demanding that Huang E explain himself.

I absurdly recalled a very old song, I think it was called "Seven" in the music video. But at least they dated, while this guy didn't even touch her hand.

Stepping forward, the boy dangled his heels over the railing, shouting, "Where's Ruizheng? Where is she? Why isn't she coming out? If she doesn't come out, I'm jumping!"

"Jump!" Huang E roared, "I don't think you have the guts to jump! Hurry up and jump! Jumping will save me the trouble, you bastard!"

I should be thankful that no one but me will hear her voice.

"She went home." I shrugged. "Relationships are about mutual consent; you can't use threats. Junior, calm down..."

"I can't calm down!" he roared. "I paid for all her singing, I bought her favorite cake and flowers! I spent so much money, and she still doesn't want to be my girlfriend? If she doesn't want to be my girlfriend, why is she smiling at me so ambiguously? Tell her to come out and explain herself! I don't accept the fact that she rejected me!"

Huang E practically pressed his face against him, yelling, "I'll kill you, you bastard! Bah! Go take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror. Do you even deserve to be my boyfriend? Who smiled at you? You're just trying to look good!"

"You come back here," I said coldly. It's not that I can't understand her feelings, but if Huang E really gets agitated, he might involuntarily risk his life.

The original residents of the school huddled in the shadows, peering around anxiously. I understand their concerns; if a vengeful ghost were to emerge, it would undoubtedly disrupt the school's stable and harmonious ecosystem.

Although I hate this bastard, it's not worth taking on so much negative impact because of him.

"Don't get agitated," I coaxed. "I'll call her right now." I picked up my phone, and as I was wondering what to do, I suddenly thought of an unrestricted deity.

I called Tang Chen and whispered a few instructions. Although he didn't understand, he did as I said. A short while later, King Ren arrived.

The old man was in charge of the district, and the Zhao men were in the fifth battalion; both were bound by divine rules and could not interfere. The old man originally didn't have a Tiger God, but when the Benevolent King arrived, it wasn't to take the Tiger God's place. He was a sinful god, protected by Tang Chen, and subject to the rules of human-ghost sacrifice, not to any divine duty.

But he is kind and benevolent, and his supernatural powers remain. All I need is a little illusion, not much supernatural power.

I asked the instructor to leave, and he was initially unwilling, but the principal insisted he listen to me. It's like the principal trusts me too much…

“Junior, Ruizheng said she doesn’t want to come,” I said.

"Then I'll jump!" Most of his feet were dangling in the air.

"Junior, let me say something. Listen first, then you can jump." I sighed. "The worst thing about jumping isn't death... it's being devoured by monsters, leaving no trace of your soul. If you don't get a quick death, while you're still conscious in mid-air, you'll be torn apart alive. Just imagine how painful that would be..."

"What nonsense are you spouting?! Don't think you can dissuade me like this!" he cursed.

"Whether it's bullshit or not, look back first," I said calmly.

He turned around and saw a huge, white-browed tiger with piercing eyes. How big was it? Its nose was right up against his junior's butt. Then Niou took a step back and roared silently. Its teeth, as big as a saber-toothed tiger's, gleamed in the sunlight.

"If you jump down, you'll end up in his mouth," I said coolly.

The junior student let out a miserable scream, desperately clinging to the railing, scrambling and rolling up to the top floor, only to be stopped by the instructor in a flash. He continued to scream hysterically.

This minor emotional blow is nothing. I bet he doesn't have the guts to jump off the building again.

I bowed respectfully to Niou, who returned the bow, winked, and said, "It's nothing." He then returned to his normal size and left with light steps.

In the crowd, a thin little girl rushed to the railing, glaring at Renwang, then at me. I smiled at her, but she turned her face away and ran away in a panic.

…Can she see Niou? An absurd thought popped into my head, but I had to think about it some more.

This incident enraged Huang E, who refused to go to school no matter what.

But knowledge is addictive. Although she didn't understand human greed and therefore loathed it, she reverted to her true form, squatted on my left shoulder, and listened to the lecture with great fascination. I even had to help her hand in her homework.

"Did she come to class?" The teacher craned her neck and looked around.

"Such a big incident..." I shrugged vaguely, "I have to record it and listen to it back for her. You know, she already had some issues with school... and now she's even more withdrawn."

“I don’t know what kids these days are thinking…” The teacher shook her head. “You can’t force a flower to bloom if it’s too fragrant. It would be so much better to let it bloom on the branch… In the end, we’ve hurt a lovely child. Let’s try to persuade her to come back to school when she’s in a better mood. Everyone likes her, but not everyone is like that.”

After handing in my homework, I walked out of the classroom and turned around to see Huang'e. I was terrified.

She forced back her tears instead of forcing herself to vomit.

Startled by my gaze, she said fiercely, "What are you looking at! What's so interesting? I, I, I... I didn't cry!"

She got so angry that she slapped me wildly and stormed off, her voice trailing off into the distance, accompanied by the cacophony of shouts and cries from the local residents.

The desolation is taking its anger out on others. Moreover, it has become insensitive to kindness and will even cry.

I admit, I was terrified. This was far more terrifying than the chaos at school.

(The End of "Demon Boy Ai")

Part Two: Inheritance

If this incident of "using suicide as a pretext for threats" has any positive side effect, it's that the number of ghost stories at the school has spontaneously decreased.

After Master Uncle completed the "separation of humans and ghosts," he should have been able to live a peaceful life. However, the original inhabitants of our school really love their students too much. After a long and lonely summer vacation, each of them used their meager spiritual abilities to break through the boundaries and find pleasure in the students' screams and panic.

This incident terrified them. Maintaining their meager cultivation level was exhausting, and only then did things calm down, allowing my weight to finally hit the brakes and stop plummeting.

I took the opportunity to earnestly warn them and showed them my weight, and they nodded with pitiful expressions.

It's not that I can't understand their loneliness and joy, so I haven't tried to control them too drastically. It's tiring, but controlling them too tightly would only cause trouble. Often, humans are making a fuss over nothing; it's not that they're bad.

Walking around campus, I realized that this run-down school is still my beloved "hometown." I have less than a year left before graduation. What will I do then?

My student loans are so high I don't even want to think about the numbers, and my grades are definitely not good enough for a scholarship. Do you think my dad would let me go to graduate school? In my next life.

"What can we do? We've graduated, why should we care about them?" Huang E yawned. She's been going on dates lately, and when she comes back, she's rolling around on the floor laughing with a mix of shyness and joy. During her dates, she's completely reserved, and I can't even sense her emotions. In other words, I absolutely don't want to know what's going on with her dates.

Yes, she got in touch with her senior apprentice, and that very day he drove his handsome RV to pick her up for their date. Keeping his promise to Guan Haifa, her senior apprentice, dressed in a sharp suit, waited at the door with a bouquet of red roses still glistening with dew.

The scene of their meeting... I wanted to die. (Die from shame)

They first held hands, and the master even turned Huang'e around once, gazing at each other tenderly. "My beloved little beauty," the master said affectionately, "even the most beautiful red rose pales in comparison to you."

Huang E shyly accepted the flower, took a deep sniff, and then burst into laughter an octave higher than usual, completely ruining the atmosphere.

Finally, they sped away, their high-pitched and excited laughter lingering in the air, while I... wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

They come back and start rolling around, making noise until almost dawn and not letting me sleep. My life is really miserable. Luckily, I can still take a nap in the small office during the day. The old devil is very considerate in chasing them away, not letting in either humans or other beings. He's really thoughtful.

Ara-e is right, but that's the difference between monsters and humans. Humans are inexplicably nostalgic, hopelessly so.

When I patrol the campus, Tang Chen usually doesn't accompany me, but when Ren Wang encounters my route, he will travel with me for a while.

Whenever I walk with Niou, I always find a thin little girl secretly following us. When I turn around, she thinks she's hiding well, but even though she's thin, she can't hide behind a small tree that's no bigger than a bowl.

“Commander-in-Chief, please don’t frighten her,” said the King of Benevolence. “It’s already exhausting for someone with the ability to see ghosts… She just doesn’t understand what I am and wants to figure it out.”

"Just call me Hengzhi." I've asked him to change how he addresses me for whoever he wants.

He smiled with his head down, but he still couldn't change. Such a kind and gentle Tiger Lord.

I know this girl; she's the one on the top floor who can see Niou. I secretly looked her up; she's a freshman named Tsering Lobsang. That surname is indeed strange… because she's a third-generation Tibetan.